Fantasy Adviser

Here's Your Upset

2009-10-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

[Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Reuters]

I said Sunderland would upset and I bet Liverpool are exactly that.

Upset.

The other upset was of course the Chelsea v Aston Villa game.

We now have a few question marks over Chelsea's defense. They aren't exactly conceding like made, but set pieces are proving their undoing. Cech is looking like the worse keeper of the Top 4. From the Villa game, Bosingwa proving the goods either (he is suppose to be like G Johnson but he is getting less points).

I think, it's time us Fantasy managers look at attacking style teams. Cleansheets seem to be pretty rare this season, perhaps it's time to go for something like 3 - 4- 3?

Kind regards,

Fantasy Adviser

Rooney, Gerrard and Torres

2009-10-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

What do these three players have in common?

Other than all being absolute super stars for their teams, they will be injured for the next game against Bolton and Sunderland respectively.

These could be tricky games and while I wouldn't sell any of them, you should seriously be thinking about an upset from Sunderland and a possible draw from the United.

It's no doubt that the departure of Ronaldo has put huge emphasis on the importance of Rooney in attack. We would expect that Berbatov should be coming in but his other half has just given birth. A serious doubt.

And 3rd choice?

He will be returning from a calf strain. He is Mr. Injury-prone. He is Michael Owen.

As for the Liverpool game, I would expect that Benayoun (after bagging him) should do excellent. He will provide the majority attacking options. But with Stevie-G missing, I don't think they are looking too good in their midfield.

If Sunderland take the game to Liverpool and really look for a win, I think they could find it. A lot is riding on Liverpool. I don't think they can afford a slip up.

Kind regards

Fantasy Adviser

Bagging Benayoun

2009-10-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am going to keep bagging Benayoun. Not because he is a bad player, but because he is a bad investment in Fantasy Premier League.

Played 24 minutes
Accrued 1 point
Valued at 7.7 million (up 0.2 million)
In the Official Dream Team

You take out that week he scored 24 points from his hat trick and assist and you have a player who gives you 19 points from 7 games.

If he left and joined a team that gave him more first team football than what Liverpool are providing, I could see him doing very well. Benayoun could is more than talented enough to play the full 90 minutes. I just don't think Rafa appreciates him as much as he should.

I hope I have convinced enough to stay away from Benayoun.

Kind regards,

Fantasy Adviser

Getting accreditations

2009-10-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks been busy with some exams for further Fantasy Adviser credits.

I'll pick things back up on Monday.

Kind regards,

Fantasy Adviser

Restructure

2009-09-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about changing the formatting for this blog.

I don't think it is necessary for me to pick every single Man of the Match, but perhaps instead I should just highlight key players who I believe will do well.

I think I will try this.

Kind regards,

Fantasty Adviser

No review this week

2009-09-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

I will be away on leave for the next few weeks.

So this week and probably next week won't have posts.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

Kind regards

Fantasy Adviser

Adebayor Three Match Sanction

2009-09-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Bad news for Adebayor. Perhaps good news for you.

Adebayor receives sanction

Thursday, 17 September, 2009

Three-match suspension for Manchester City forward.

A Regulatory Commission today considered the charge of violent conduct issued against Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor under the fast-track disciplinary procedure, following an incident with Robin van Persie during their fixture against Arsenal on the 12 September.

Taking into consideration Mr Adebayor’s acceptance of the charge of violent conduct the Regulatory Commission have ordered that he serve a three-match suspension from all football, commencing Thursday 17 September.

A separate charge of improper conduct will be considered at a later date.

Source: http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/Disciplinary/NewsAndFeatures/2009/Adebayor1709.aspx

With any lucky, we'll see a drop in price from Adebayor as he misses two crucial Premier League games and a not so important Carling cup game. We could see the ban extended to 4 matches as well. Could this be the drop we are all waiting for?

Weirdly about 24000 managers brought him into the team knowing he was not going to play. They need Fantasy Adviser.

Kind regards,

Fantasy Adviser

Reviews Week 5

2009-09-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Another game week gone, another review I bring for you. I'm going to admit right now that I rarely if ever get the correct scorelines. My abilities lie in the fact that I can highlight who will shine and who won't. I am not a "I Know The Score" Adviser. I am Fantasy Adviser.

On that note, congratulations to me who moves to the top of the high stakes Private League I am in. I also won a nice $10 on the side.

Shall we review?

Blackburn

3 V 1

Wolves

My pick of the match, Christopher Samba did well. He got the clean sheet bonus even though the Rovers conceded. He raked in a nice 7 points and at 4.9 million, was one of the better defenders during the weekend. He might a worthy acquisition after October. The Rovers have one of the worst set of fixtures coming up. Keep him on the watchlist. Keep away from Dunn (10) and Roberts (11) even though they did well. Historically, they are not Fantasy bargains.

On the Wolves side of the equation there are some worrying signs. Nenad Milijas (1) is not quite proving the quality he can be. His value is going to plummet very soon. Sell him now.

Liverpool

4 V 0

Burnley

The man known as Benayoun (24) shot into the offcial Dream team with his stunnig hat trick. Sensational. Do not buy him. The man will forever be associated with the word: "rotation". He symbolises everything which is wrong with Liverpool. A quality player who is subject to being rotated. Prior to his hat trick, Benayoun played 216 minutes in 5 games for a not so amazing 8 points. Scoring a hat trick is never easy, but let's not forget who the opposition was. We also need to remember that Aqualiani will return and threaten Benayoun for a spot again.

On a last note on this game, I think it might be an excellent idea to pick up Johnson (9) before he hits the 8.0 million mark. He should be picking up some clean sheets in the next few games, so if you can shuffle and do a bit of a sacrifice; why not? The Reds only have the Man United and Chelsea to worry about and it's more or less clear sailing for about 2 months.

Man City

4 V 2

Arsenal

I'm glad I changed my prediction. I identified that van Persie (6) would do well. Unlucky with his shot that clearly beat Given (2) but clipped the post. He could have easily made double digits for his contirbution this week. A nasty stomp by Adebayor (8) on van Persie will also have ramifications for 8.2% of the Fantasy Premier League teams.

For 5.5 million, I thought Micah Richards (7) looked very very good. He has been solid for City as in more or less the first choice right back for them. He was also slightly unlucky that Almunia was accredited for the own goal.

Lastly, on the Adebayor stomp. This might be a blessing in disguise for many of us who have been eyeballing him. His price might drop if the FA give him the alleged four match ban. He could come back fresher than ever against Fullham, Burnley and Birmimgham to set you up before he leaves for the African Cup.

Portsmouth

2 V 3

Bolton

Is Kevin Davies (7) finally finding his start? 16 points in the last two matches is pretty good. His price has dropped to 6.7 million but Bolton now looks forward to a few tough weeks. Might be worth a punt if you think Stoke next week will actually play instead of parking the bus.

My man of the Match, Matthew Taylor (7) did ok but really needs to step up his game. 13 points in 5 games is not good enough.

In Portsmouth, I am looking at Kevin Prince-Boateng (7) who has been part of a Portsmouth team conceding like crazy but scoring 2 goals already. This is against fairly decent teams too (Man City and Bolton) and at only 5.0 million, he could be a very cheap option if you need to do a reshuffle. Granted he won't be scoring many clean sheet points but Portsmouth do have some winnable games coming up.

Surely their not as bad as their made out to be?

Stoke City

1 V 2

Chelsea

I was a bit surprised Stoke didn't get away from this game with at least 1 point. They played a suffocating game plan which more or less restricted Chelsea for the best part of 90 minutes. Lampard (8) and Drogba (6) combined perfectly to equalise and Malouda (9) won it with a very lucky goal. I was actually a bit surprised that Drogba didn't get more points than 6. Especially since he was a colossus in defense as well. He repelled quite a few of the Stoke set pieces.

It's obviously little wonder as to why Stoke are so hard to break down. They more or less park the bus and hope that their giant men will score. And Faye (7) showed us all again why he is a good alternate to Shawcross. He is cheaper and has 27 points to his name from the last 5 games.

Sunderland

4 V 1

Hull City

Darren Bent (10) with 10 points and no bonus? That's an outright conspiracy right there. And that is exactly why you never ever pick players strikers who get bonus points. Bonus points are few and rare in general for strikers. Enjoy the fact that Bent also has chances to increase his points tally against Burnley and Wolves. I am quite please with picking Bent as a Man of the Match because I honestly thought Hull had it more in them.

Didn't I say Hunt (2) wouldn't get too many points? I feel like I need to stress this all the time: "Form is temporary. Class is forever"

Wigan

1 V 0

West Ham

I was honestly surprised that Wigan won this. I have a feeling Jason Koumas (6) is reading my blog because I bagged him so badly and he did quite well to set up and grab some bonus points. It also seems that Melchiot (8) could be some good value for 4.5. I lied. Wigan have some very tough games coming up and with any luck, Rodallega (6) might drop even more.

On the West Ham side, I don't see much worth picking up. The way Carlton Cole (2) plays, is to hold up the ball and bring the midfield into play. Similar to Heskey (0) and Zamora (2). If points were awarded for working hard and holding the ball up, then by all means pick these guys up. But there are no points for that. Except maybe bonus points.

Birmingham

0 V 1

Aston Villa

I was mightily dissappointed with the Villa midfield who between them only scored 14 points between them. What this game did show us what that Gabby Agbonlahor (6) and Richard Dunne (9) can still be excellent acquisitions and are somewhat underpriced given their starts to the season. I also thought James Collins (8) did well for himself given how little time he had to settle into the Villa defence.

With Davies out for sometime, Dunne and Collins should get some solid play time.

Fulham

2 V 1

Everton

Who's worried that Everton might get relegated? Nobody should. Much like their poor start to last season they will bounce back. But before they do, the prices of their players will continue to slip and as a result we need to analyse what week we should be picking them up to get maximum bang for buck. I'm just saying players like Cahill (8) and Baines (3) can do so so much better. And they will, they have some must win games coming up and the spark should be happening against Blackburn.

On the Fulham side, Duff (10) played 85 minutes and looks likes he is getting over those niggling injuries which plagued him at Newcastle. He could be quite the snag at 5.5 million. Some interesting times for Fulham. Wolves next week followed by Arsenal at home and then West Ham. I can see some brightness.

And that's it people! I changed the layout slightly and highlighted some players who i thought did well. Obviously the number after their name is the points they scored.

Sorry for taking so long. Reality has been dominating me like crazy.

Kind regards

Fantasy Adviser

Arshavin Out!

2009-09-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

Bad news for Arsenal fans and Fantasy teams who went with Arshavin.

Andrey Arshavin will miss the next three Arsenal games after aggravating a groin injury while on international duty this week.

Speaking to Arsenal TV Online on Thursday, Arsène Wenger admitted he was “upset” the midfielder had played a full 90 minutes for Russia in Wales the night before. The manager had taken him off against Manchester United 10 days earlier after he had picked up the problem during the 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

Source: http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/29600/arshavin

Quick! Change your fantasy teams! There is still time! 3 games is highly significant for your Fantasy Premier team. My advice would be to trade out next week. Chances are you would have made your free transfer already.

On that note, I think that with Arshavin out, Fabregas still not 100% fit and Rosicky being Rosicky, the Arsenal midfield will look a little less threatening going forward. It will be on Van Persie to carry them.

Amended prediction:

Man City

2 V 1

Arsenal

I do want to touch on one topic before I leave. And that is Fabregas scoring on international duty. Good work. I want to reiterate that this does not automatically translate to club form. Simply because, different tactics, different teams, different atmosphere, different skill levels.

Remember Ronaldinho circa 2006? Undoubtedly billed as the greatest player at the time but come World Cup he didn't do so well. It works both ways.

And yes, we all know how Lennon is THE man right now. We'll see how good he is come the Man United match this weekend to assess him further.

Kind regards,

Fantasy Adviser

Predictions Week 5

2009-09-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

Blackburn

1 V 0

Wolves

From the impressive but unlucky performances of Christopher Samba, I am predicting a Blackburn clean sheet and a win. Set piece from Samba to knock it into the onion bag.This is probably your last game with Samba before Blackburn concede 10 goals. Wolves looked good last weekend, but I suspect Dolye will toil but inevitably be shut down by Big Sam's negative football.

Man of the Match: Christopher Samba

Liverpool

3 V 0

Burnley

I see the Red Holy Trinity of Torres, Gerrard and Johnson wrecking absolute havoc in this game. They have a point to prove considering how poorly they played against Bolton. Carragher should finally be able to give you a clean sheet. Gerrard should be either your number 1 or number 2 candidate for captain this week. Chance to score and chance to get a clean sheet against a limp Burnley offence.

Man of the Match: Steven Gerrard

Man City

2 V 2

Arsenal

There are question marks over 22-point-midfield-maestreo aka Fabregas. I can inform you that he is expected to return for this game but I highly doubt he will play. Expect Arshavin and Van Persie to do well in causing trouble. However, I do think Adebayor should be good for at least one goal in this game. He has everything to prove against his former employers. Who in the Arsenal defense could keep him quiet? Toure? Oh wait...

Man of the Match: Emmanuel Adebayor

Portsmouth

0 V 2

Bolton

Johnson, Defoe, Crouch, Kranjcar and Distin all have all left Portsmouth in one of the biggest mass exodus from a team that isn't relegated. Combined, they would have earned you 91 points this season already. That is not to be scoffed at. Contrary to what David James is saying at the Guardian, Bolton are going to keep Portsmouth in the relegation zone. Matthew Taylor has had two weeks rest, is undervalued and is roaring to go. Bolton should have this.

Also see this topic over at Fantasy Premier League Zone which suggests that Portsmouth could be the next Derby. A little exaggerated by my standards but you get the gist of it.

Man of the Match: Matthew Taylor

Stoke City

0 V 2

Chelsea

Ahh the battle of the Dream Teams. Sort of. In Fantasy land, Stoke has Sorenson and Shawcross and Chelsea have Drogba, Lampard, Ballack and Cole. All these plays are in the official Dream Team (points total of 163). Let's not forget that Chelsea has had quite an easy run so far and Stoke have already had a top 4 clash with Liverpool. I have question marks over Ballack being in the starting lineup at the expense of Essien/Mikel (purely because I am a Chelsea supporter). Still, he seems to do well across the crappier teams. I don't think Stoke are crappy but they are at home. Recommendation: stay away from Ballack. Drogba is still the main man at Chelsea. He is the main focal point of attack with Anelka supporting him. Everything seems to go through or to Drogba in the final third.

Man of the Match: Didier Drogba

Sunderland

2 V 0

Hull City

Is Bent beginning to taper off? I doubt it. He has a proven goal scoring record since his days at Charlton and I would expect that he could score against a Hull defense that just loss it's captain to...Sunderland. Ironic. Bent also has a few games coming up all against suspect defense so hold him on for a bit long. Don't expect too much from Stephen Hunt this game though. I think the Premier League managers have realised how good he has been for Hull in the last month.

Man of the Match: Darren Bent

Wigan

0 V 1

West Ham

When Jason Koumas scored against Villa in week 1 and raked in an impressive 10 points for an initial outlay of 5.1 million, 69508 people jumped onto his bandwagon. Like Warren Buffet has said; look for value and hold onto it. Since then Koumas has brought Fantasy Teams around the world 4 points in 3 games. Repeat this mantra: Form is temporary. Class is forever. On that note, I see a rather toothless game. Let's go for a big punt. Luiz Jiminez to score his first goal. Matthew Upson to keep a clean sheet and get bonus points will make him invaluable.

Man of the Match: Matthew Upson

Birmingham

0 V 1

Aston Villa

Some new faces at Villa park with Dunne, Warnock and Collins signing on board and giving the Villa defense some more depth. Other than Warnock who is priced at a tantalizing 4.9, I really would stay away from the Villan defense. But, that's not to say this won't affect the midfield. The strength in depth and the added quality of Dunne (yes that's right) should give the Villa midfield more chances to get some clean sheet bonuses. Ashley Young, Milner and Petrov should score you hose extra points here and there now. McFadden scoring during the international break does not mean he will score during the EPL game week. The undervalued Young could serve well as captain this week too.

Man of the Match: Ashley Young

Tottenham

1 V 1

Man Utd

The form team of the EPL versus the Premiers is a mouth watering fixture which will end in a...draw. I wonder if CR7 is the real reason why Manchester United have had a bit of a lethargic start. Could it actually be that Ferdidnand on the injury table has caused some slight issues. Or maybe...because finally after 17 months or something, G Neville is back in town and needs to resettle? I won't predict a clean sheet for Man Utd until Ferdidnand is back. He was quite the commander. I'm thinking Crouch could be interesting choice for this game if I was Redknapp. That would surprise SAF. Why not?

Man of the Match: Peter Crouch

Fulham

0 V 0

Everton

So Everton welcomes Distin into the fold as that extra centre back that Moyes wanted. Yay or Nay? Personally, I think it is an excellent stop-gap option but fantasy points wise, he will definitely be subject to rotation. The real coup as we all know is the snagging of Heitinga. I can see him getting a clean sheet for his first game and then a slight rise in game price as people leap onto his bandwagon. A possible option but do you really have 6.5 million at this stage of the season to spend on an unproven EPL defender? I think not. Don't see much going forward for Fullham but a I think they would be happy with a clean sheet. I'm going to put Baines down again for a brilliant defensive master piece.

Man of the Match: Leighton Baines

And that's it for the week. How do you like the new match preview set out? Do you guys want to see this sort of writing or topics? Let me know in the Fantasy Chatbox. I might also start do a "Advice of the Week" post which will be a short statement on a bargain player.

Kind regards,

Fantasy Adviser

Terrifying Teams

2009-09-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today I want to discuss team selection in "Theory Thursdays".

Back at the beginning of the season, I was toying with a devilish idea of using a 3 - 4 - 3 and picking up Lampard, Gerrard and Arshavin. Statistically speaking, this could have potentially generated at least 550 points alone for the entire season. That's 183 points a player or 5 points a game. Not so unlikely is it?

[22 points]

In fact the game week just gone by; Lampard scored 10, Gerrard raked in 6 and Arshavin brought you 8 points. 22 points for around $35.0 million?

In head to head leagues, that is a terrifying notion to know. And I haven't even mentioned captain points either.

The problem starts to happen when you take it that next step further and pick up some of their buddies to give your team some firepower upfront and solidarity down back.

I like to call this as "Top Load". Top load is when you choose invest heavily into the Top 4 teams and then you bank on 4 relegation backed teams to make up the rest of your squad. And let me tell you it is damn well possible.

The reason why I would advise against this is quite simple. Like investing in the share market, you shouldn't put all your eggs into one basket.

When the Top Teams collide, you can expect your points for that week to look awfully disappointing. With the Top 4 getting tighter with the emergence of Spurs, Villa, Everton and City consistently knocking on the door of that final spot will mean high scoring games will drain away.

Winning the Fantasy Premier League means you need to be lucky with injuries and rotations. Injuries can cut down your team and you are faced with a trade dilemma. Especially when it's Stevie G or Super Frank Lampard.

We can use the recent Manchester United v Arsenal game as an example of when Top Loading goes bad. I've only picked a handful of players that i might have gone for at the beginning of the season. So excuse me if you went for Giggs.

Let's look at the Arsenal team first:

Fabregas: 0 points (injured),
Arshavin: 8 points,
Van Persie: 1 point; and
Gallas: 0 points.

And the Manchester United team.

Rooney: 8 points,
Evra: 1 point,
Vidic: 1 point; and
Nani: 2 points.

A total of 21 points from 8 players who are collectively valued at $67.0 million. Now this won't happen every week. However over the course of the season the top 4 play each other 12 times, throw in Spurs, Everton, City and Villa and you now look slightly foolish and not so terrifying for Top Loading.

And that is the risk of going with a Top Loading strategy.

Fantasy Adviser

Who to replace Modric with?

2009-09-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

Prior to having his leg broken, Luka Modric featured in more than 15% of teams in the Fantasy Premier League landscape.

[Croation maestro]

He was a rich and potential source of creative assists and possible goal scoring threat from the Tottenham midfield combined with a fair amount of gametime and bonus points too. At 7.5 million, he was an excellent punt for many fantasy managers.

It has now been confirmed that he will be out for 6 weeks and missing vital games against Chelsea and Manchester United. 6 weeks with a broken leg means his fittness will take a dive so pencil him to return in 8.

For many of us (myself included) we now have 7.5 million to spend in finding a new midfielder. And quite frankly, Modrics returns leading up to his broken leg warranted a new find anyways.

Today I'll be looking at a few alternatives.

Stephen Hunt - Hull City

The man has been a revelation at Hull. He has been playing the full 90 mins in every game bar the Chelsea fixture and bringing in 5 points on average. Not too shabby at all for 5.0. A slight problem is that with Turner moving to Sunderland clean sheets might be harder to come by. A low risk option considering Hull's excellent run of fixtures. The extra 2.5 you could use to trade in for another defender and snag Glen Johnson who will be giving Burnley all sort of problems.

Denilson - Arsenal

The Brazillian from Arsenal gets my nod of approval. With Cesc out for a little while yet, Denilson will continue to keep his spot in the starting line up. Clean sheets aren't as rare as many people think down at the Emirates either. A tricky fixture away to Man City and then a whole host of easy home games could see quite a nice boost in your fantasy team. There shouldn't be too much of a problem for Wenger to fit Cesc when he returns anyways.

Matthew Taylor - Bolton Wanderers

Playing every single minute of the season so far, Matthew Taylor has been pretty dissappointing by his own standards and fantasy managers worldwide. No assists, no goals, no clean sheets, nothing. Zilcho. His value has dropped 0.2 million since the season started as well. The good news though is that form is temporary and class is permananent. He has three winnable games to prove himself.

James Milner - Aston Villa

After being dumped by Rapid Vienna from the Europa League, James Milner and the Villans can look to focus completely on that elusive top four finish. Milner forms an important part of the Villa squad, taking corners and free kicks and raked in an impressive 128 points last season. Another interesting stat is that he has only been booked 15 times in pver 200 appearances. You can expect very few deductions from this young man. He might be a good option for the time being, be aware that Villa have a tough set of games in about 4 weeks.

And those are my recommendations for who you should replace Modric with.

I look forward to your company.

Fantasy Adviser

Reviews Week 4

2009-08-31T04:55:00.000-07:00

This is a before and after for you guys to compare.

Chelsea (3) v (0) Burnley [Correct]

The boys from Chelsea gave Burnley a considerable belting. Jensen proving quite the colossus with some quality saves. But I rather have a keeper who keeps cleans sheets than a keeper that concedes and makes awesome saves. Lampard also got going with a fabulous 10 points. Bravo to Ash Cole as well with his 14 points. Don't be fooled though, Cole rarely scores.

Blackburn (0) v (0) West Ham [Incorrect]

Unlucky for both sides but it did highlight my recommendations of Luiz Jiminez to be on your watch list. After their terrible run of games I would look into getting this fella as your bargain in November. Christopher Samba also had an excellent game but with Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and Villa all looming, you could "samba" away clean sheets. FYI: Samba means dance away Brazilian style. Lame I know. He is listed as a defender but spends quite a fair amount of time down the other end.

Bolton (2) v (3) Liverpool [Incorrect]

Bolton had this game until Sean Davies was given marching orders. That's a fact. There is no doubt that once Bolton were to reduced to 10 men Liverpool could finally go about winning the game. The diving debate has been raging since Eduardo's dive and I don't think Lucas did any favors for the reputation of South Americans standing up in the tackle. I don't think I need to highlight the Torres, Gerrard and Johnson attacking prowess. Having at least one will do your fantasy team a world of good.

Stoke City (1) v (0) Sunderland [Incorrect]

"The Potters are at home in a match with Sorenson, Shawcross and Faye coming off a good clean sheet week." -Fantasy Adviser. I don't like to gloat but hey! Did they not keep a clean sheet? Curses to Beattie who withdrew from an injury. Kitson will be the Stoke threat upfront and he proved it by scoring midweek in the Carling Cup and followed it up here against Sunderland. But don't even think about picking 4.9 ass up. Stoke have some tough games coming but just change your formation. Put him on the watch list

Tottemham (2) v (1) Birmingham [Incorrect]

I knew Lennon would rip this game up and he proved it to us all when he snatched a goal and victory deep into extra time. I probably wouldn't sell him now even though he has difficult games against Man Utd and Chelsea consecutively. But with Modric out (we will discuss this in further detail) it might disrupt their good start to the season. After the Chelsea game, I will be transferring him in if he doesn't get injured during the international break.

Wolves (1) v (1) Hull [Incorrect]

I have a confession to make. I'm a bit in love with Kevin Doyle. He was one of my best signings in Football Manager 2009 and I bought him for around 6 million and then sold him for close to 22 million to Manchester United after he had two excellent seasons. Could he be the bargain fo the season? Wolves have some good games and he is only 5.4.

Manchester United (2) v (1) Arsenal [Incorrect]

I felt the Gods of Football punished Arsenal for Eduardo's dive against Celtic when Rooney went down a bit too easily. Arshavin has had a slight dip in price too. With Fab still out, the creative and goal scoring threat will come from the Russian in midfield. I do think Man City will be able to eek a draw from the Gunners next week so pick him up for some good points for the Wigan to Spurs run of fixtures. My thoughts on Manchester United: "Is that Carrick?!" I don't like this rotation policy that SAF is bringing in.

Portsmouth (0) v (1) Manchester City [Incorrect]

I'm glad Adebayor scored because he will need the confidence boost for his next game against his former employers. His price has not budged from the 10.0 million but this is a gamble that I wouldn't make right now. The real test will come to Man City over the next two weeks where we can all gauge how complete their squad is properly. They have Gunners and a Manchester derby to prove that 120 million pounds was not wasted.

Everton (2) v (1) Wigan [Incorrect]

I have a passionate Everton friend who I laughed at 90 minutes when the scores were level 1 - 1. he went to check the scores and laughed right back me ebcause in extra time Baines scored a goal. BAINES. The man was wonderful with 12 points. The man has a a great run of games which could finally get him some clean sheets. I like very much.

Aston Villa (2) v (0) Fullham [Correct]

With Europe no longer on their minds, Villa can focus on a top four finish much better. Why would you focus on Europe when the Premiership pays so much better? Rapid Vienna? I only know they exist because of Football Manager 2010. Ashely Young had another fine game for Villa and in truth it was this man which got me over the line in my fantasy league. Clean sheets should come by more now that personal terms are being settled for Richard Dunne. Young in.

And that's it for match reviews. While I didn't get many scores correct, I think I managed to highlight which players would get fantasy points. Thoughts? Felt I was too biased? Let me know! That's what the chatbox is for.

During the week we will be talking about who to replace Modric with, undervalued players, formations and my favorite...predictions.

I look forward to your company.

Fantasy Adviser

Predictions Week 4

2009-08-27T10:30:00.001-07:00

Let's get down to to Advising. These are my predictions and thoughts.

Chelsea (3) v (0) Burnley

The boys from West London should give Burnley a considerable belting. Whilst they are adjusting to a new formation they still have quality all over the field, the grit of the Mourinho era and are playing at home. Drogba looks pretty sharp and I doubt the Burnley have the defense capable of containing him. Lampard is due to start his season proper and this will probably be it. Chelsea should earn some easy points this week with Lampard starring and dictating the midfield.

Blackburn (1) v (0) West Ham

I don't know why so many people are wailing on Blackburn as a possible relegation candidate. They are solid and have been carving out chances. While their squad isn't star studded it is solid and with Big Sam in charge they can secure a home win. Goals should come from set piece takers. McCarthy might be a good bet but there is no lasting value in their players. I can see Luis Jiminez being a potential star but their run of games will be too much to score too many points.

Bolton (2) v (1) Liverpool

Bolton at home are notoriously tough to break down at home. While Taylor and Davies haven't been performing to their standard that many expected, I think they can still win this. They should have been able to eek a draw from the Hull game considering they had so many shots on goal. Wasteful finishing from their forwards should be corrected at home against a Liverpool side that is wondering if Alonso was really that important. For the record Lucas is not a like-for-like. Gerrard should be raving to go but if Bolton have any tactical nous, they would shut him down.

Stoke City (1) v (1) Sunderland

The Potters are at home in a match with Sorenson, Shawcross and Faye coming off a good clean sheet week. I can see a goal coming from a Delap bomb. The problem with Stoke though is that going forward, I don't see much. Beattie and...? He's not exactly getting quality supply from the midfield. I smell a draw. The Black Cats have an inform strike duo of Bent and Jones. I'm going for Bent to score early and fade away as the game goes on. By the way, the Sunderland lads have a few winnable games coming up so now would be a good time to buy Jones.

Tottemham (3) v (0) Birmingham

The attacking play of Spurs with Defoe, Modric and Lennon all combining to prove a serious threat in a home game. I can see no reason why Lennon can't rip this game up with his electric pace against a stubborn Birmingham defense. Might think about selling some of your Spurs players after this week with their next few games particularly tough.

Wolves (2) v (1) Hull

The signing of Altidore seemed exactly what Hull needed. He looked dangerous when he came on and combined with Ghilas to create in the Bolton game. I'm tipping him to start and score. At 5.0 as well, he could be a solid signing for the next 9 weeks with all winnable games except for maybe Liverpool and Fullham causing difficulties. But...I like Wolves at home and they have a good run of games too. Pick up your bargains here.

Manchester United (2) v (0) Arsenal

I think a red hot Arsenal will be shut down by a Manchester United outfit at home. The Man United defense welcomes back Blockhead Vidic who should provide the foundations for a win. Slightly disappointed that his price didn't drop very much since his injury but he is far too expensive at 8.0 million. The United offense has enough craft to open up the Gunners. Rooney and Berbatov to score. Eboue will get sent off. Or at least yellow carded.

Portsmouth (0) v (3) Manchester City

Man City should have this comfortably. The fools at Portsmouth agreed to selling Distin, weakening a squad that is in dire straits already. The threat from Adebayor and Tevez is magnified without the experienced Distin in the back line. Adebayor for a brace and Tevez to open his ManCity account. I get a feeling that David James will probably leaving to Spurs so he can be reunited with Redknapp as well.

Everton (1) v (0) Wigan

The Goodison park faithful deserve something from this game. It will be 85 minutes of dour defending from a Wigan side looking to bounce back and prove their worth and then a late goal from Everton to secure the win. Probably Tim Cahill ghosting in from a Fellaini knock down. The Pundit argues that their are some undervalued gems in the Everton squad and he is damn right. They have an excellent run of matches until the end of October to launch their season. If Baines drops another 0.1, I am advising you to pick him up.

Aston Villa (2) v (0) Fullham

I am one that does not believe in Fullham achieving the success of last season again. Villa will want this game badly to prove their Liverpool game was not just a lucky win. Fullham will find it difficult to score without pacy front man Johnson. The pace and speed that Ashley Young provides on the left in front of a home crowd will see them over the line. No Murphy for Fullham either to drive them in midfield.

Fantasy Adviser

Fantasy Adviser

2009-08-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

I would like to welcome you all to my blog about Fantasy Premier League (official).

My mission will be to be provide a forum on discussing fantasy premier league and providing advice and recommendations. I thought up this blog because I have been sorely disappointed with some of the Fantasy blogs going around and their lack of any real material.

Hopefully, mine will beg the differ and provide you with some good insight.

Just a little about me:

I have been in the official Fantasy Premier League scene for a few years now but only recently reigniting my passion. I am also an avid Football Manager fan since 2004 playing and conquering each of them to the detriment of my family, friends and Jennifer. I also run my indoor team as a Captain-Coach with great enjoyment. All this is balanced by a love of martial arts, food, kung fu and humour.

I look forward to your company.

Fantasy Adviser