Fantasy Premier League

[Isileth]

Yeah sadly im the sort of guy who has sat down for quite a while and worked out each transfer and twiddled it over and over.

Certainly wont make any changes early this week, but if I think I have a better option by the end I might.

[Anubis]

Yeah sadly im the sort of guy who has sat down for quite a while and worked out each transfer and twiddled it over and over.

Same, heh. I have several screenshots I've took of workable teams to aim for, with moves numbers next to each player (thank you Paint)

[Isileth]

I just have screenshots, havent quite gone as far as annotating them.

[Isileth]

Well looks like Dunne saved my bacon there, looks like we are all pretty well grouped, you three at the very least.

[Whizbang]

Talk about having an off week there. That was one of the worst I've had in a while. Now that I have two hurt midfielders I'm left playing a 5-3-2 until one of the two is back up and firing on all cylinders.

[Anubis]

Talk about having an off week there. That was one of the worst I've had in a while. Now that I have two hurt midfielders I'm left playing a 5-3-2 until one of the two is back up and firing on all cylinders.

I'd swap out Modric if I were you, as he's apparently going to be out till at least November from what I have heard - possibly longer. You could get quite a good replacement for his 7.2 price, last I looked Milner is only 7.0 and is doing well recently.

Your team continually surprises me though with regards to the points you manage to accumulate (this week aside), simply because you don't rely on the big four like I do. You seem to keep scoring consistantly decently, and that's something I would have thought highly difficult to do without a big four reliant team

[Whizbang]

Talk about having an off week there. That was one of the worst I've had in a while. Now that I have two hurt midfielders I'm left playing a 5-3-2 until one of the two is back up and firing on all cylinders.

I'd swap out Modric if I were you, as he's apparently going to be out till at least November from what I have heard - possibly longer. You could get quite a good replacement for his 7.2 price, last I looked Milner is only 7.0 and is doing well recently.

Your team continually surprises me though with regards to the points you manage to accumulate (this week aside), simply because you don't rely on the big four like I do. You seem to keep scoring consistantly decently, and that's something I would have thought highly difficult to do without a big four reliant team

I've been sitting Modric out since he was hurt back in week 3. I had Damian Duff in to help keep up the balance but he hurt himself recently so that forced me to go with an awkward setup until he recovers. I won't bother getting rid of Modric because he's a strong midfielder/winger and produces assists and goals. Now if he comes back from injury and displays poor performance I might consider it then, but until then I want to keep him on. He's reliable for points.

As for the big four, depends on who you consider big four. I have 3 from Liverpool, 1 from ManU, and 1 from Arsenal. I'd call them big 4 unless you are going off the current table in which case....let's not go there.

[Anubis]

As for the big four, depends on who you consider big four. I have 3 from Liverpool, 1 from ManU, and 1 from Arsenal. I'd call them big 4 unless you are going off the current table in which case....let's not go there.

Those are the four I meant, yep heh. Though I hadn't noticed Reina in your goal!

What I mean more though is that Gerrard and Torres are really your only "big names from a big team" - Clichy is arguable. If you look at me, I have tended to rely upon Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, and at least one of the biggest defenders from the big four. Players like O'Shea and Clichy are all well and good, but they aren't really the players that will pull in big points in the long term, and that's why I tend to see you as less big four reliant.

[Whizbang]

As for the big four, depends on who you consider big four. I have 3 from Liverpool, 1 from ManU, and 1 from Arsenal. I'd call them big 4 unless you are going off the current table in which case....let's not go there.

Those are the four I meant, yep heh. Though I hadn't noticed Reina in your goal!

What I mean more though is that Gerrard and Torres are really your only "big names from a big team" - Clichy is arguable. If you look at me, I have tended to rely upon Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, and at least one of the biggest defenders from the big four. Players like O'Shea and Clichy are all well and good, but they aren't really the players that will pull in big points in the long term, and that's why I tend to see you as less big four reliant.

Ah, I see. I'm a Liverpool supporter so I filled those players in first , then I filled in around them by looking at last year's squad and what points I had left to spend. Ab Faye and Hangeland are surefire defenders that will provide some good points and I looked at midfielders with the idea of getting points through assists and time played while I let Gerrard (my captain) and Torres (my golden boy) provide the real meat of my points. Kenwyne Jones was brought in as a transfer when I saw him producing goals early in the season. A good choice to Keane who I had previously and wasn't producing the points I wanted.

As we get closer to the January transfer window I'll start evaluating my squad for any possible changes.

[Anubis]

Very VERY good week for me. I think my best this season actually.

I am hopeful it is the start of my changes paying off. We shall see in a few weeks time I suppose, and the changes carry on for now

[Isileth]

Even though I didnt score anywhere near Anny it does seem it was a lower scoring week for a lot of people, in which case ive come off quite well. Nice to be back in a decent position, even if someone is nipping at my heels.

[Whizbang]

I suffered horribly this past week what with Gerrard and Torres both out. That stopped me from building points overall. I can only hope that Torres is match fit for Sunday's match and that my squad gets out on their respective pitches and starts earning me points.

[Anubis]

I suffered horribly this past week what with Gerrard and Torres both out. That stopped me from building points overall. I can only hope that Torres is match fit for Sunday's match and that my squad gets out on their respective pitches and starts earning me points.

Gerrard came off injured again tonight. Money is probably on neither of them being fit for the United game, though even if one of them is I can't see them winning looking at current form tbh.

I'll be ditching Gerrard before the weekend. Considering they're both such high profile players, you may want to consider swapping out Torres for Drogba just for one week perhaps?

[Whizbang]

I suffered horribly this past week what with Gerrard and Torres both out. That stopped me from building points overall. I can only hope that Torres is match fit for Sunday's match and that my squad gets out on their respective pitches and starts earning me points.

Gerrard came off injured again tonight. Money is probably on neither of them being fit for the United game, though even if one of them is I can't see them winning looking at current form tbh.

I'll be ditching Gerrard before the weekend. Considering they're both such high profile players, you may want to consider swapping out Torres for Drogba just for one week perhaps?

I'm a staunch Liverpool fan. I'd rather eat points than swap them out. And yeah, I wasn't happy to see Gerrard taken off the pitch in the 25'. Makes me very worried about his and Torres form for the Sunday derby against United. We lost tonight and if we don't produce a win, a big win, then we're in for a very rough season. A win against United at home would really boost our spirits right now.

[Anubis]

I'm a staunch Liverpool fan. I'd rather eat points than swap them out. And yeah, I wasn't happy to see Gerrard taken off the pitch in the 25'. Makes me very worried about his and Torres form for the Sunday derby against United. We lost tonight and if we don't produce a win, a big win, then we're in for a very rough season. A win against United at home would really boost our spirits right now.

Very much so - a boost in spirits is what the team needs right now, but with both Torres and Gerrard out (and Benitez seemingly unwilling to play Benayoun properly) I just can't see it coming. A loss, and people have to be questioning how much longer Benitez will be in the job imo - especially if they fail to rectify the disaster of their Champions League group. That said, we are swamped with injuries as a team currently (United), and it could be a somewhat limited teamsheet for us on Sunday too because of that - so who knows what could happen.

On the topic of the game, as a United fan I have no United players in my squad. Why? Mainly because few seem consistant point scorers at present. I move where the points lie, and whilst I can understand your point of view on the matter being a staunch Liverpool fan I have to say that it makes me worry that you in particular will be in for a tough few weeks yourself.

With me for example, Torres did and does still factor into my plans for changing my squad - but he won't until Liverpool pick up their form a little. Van Persie will probably substitute until then. I do understand though as I say

[SL33PY]

I can only applaud your die hard liverpool feelings, only because they will be an opportunity for everyone else to score more points then yourself. Still, very admirable.

I must admit I have no liverpool player in my selection

[Whizbang]

I think that with things still so early in the season that I can go a short while without producing more than around the 30 point mark and still pull off a comeback later on. Both Gerrard and Torres are known for their ability to generate goals when there is none and with Benayoun, Kuyt, and Lucas starting to find their niche on the pitch I think I could see recovery earlier than expected.

As for your comment on Benayoun, I agree that Rafa needs to play him in an attacking midfield position. He's quick, sneaky, and he can get behind the defence before they know what's happening and find that cross and put the ball into the net. If Rafa can remember that then I think we'll do well through this season. And I think that Lucas is becoming integral to our midfield as he's learning his role better and finding just what he can bring to the matches and I think that Rafa does see this so I am happy to watch him support our boys out front. Alongside Gerrard I think the two really lock the middle and create opportunities for our strikers.

Here's to a quality match on Sunday!

[Anubis]

It's interesting you say that regarding Lucas, since I feel that he will probably be the player to drop out of the squad once Aquilani returns to full fitness - and if he's as good as we're lead to believe an Aquilani/Benayoun/Gerrard midfield could be a force to be reckoned with. I feel somewhat sorry for Lucas as I can't see him holding a regular starting spot if and when that becomes the case, and he admittedly is doing a decent job so far this season.

It's ironic in many ways that Liverpool and United seem to me to be diametric opposites at the moment. Since Ronaldo left, our attacking force has been much weaker and no matter how good Rooney is he just can't fill the hole on his own - our success so far this season has been down to our conceding relatively few. Liverpool on the other hand have a fantastic attacking setup (when Gerrard and Torres are fit), but it's the defensive aspect that's been the downfall so far this season.

In the same way it's unreasonable for us to heap everything on Rooney, it's the same for Carragher in the Liverpool back line - end result of both situations is that when the player has an off patch (as Carragher is currently) the team struggles. If Carragher was at his best Liverpool wouldn't be 7 points behind in the table, just as we wouldn't be on top if we hadn't managed to give away so few. Indeed, if you guys defend well at the weekend we'll have a tough task on our hands even without factoring in the fact that it's at Anfield - we're relying far too heavily on defences slipping up currently.

Regardless, I am sure it will be a great match on Sunday - always is with the Liverpool/United game even when it's us on the end of a beating. May the best team win, naturally

[Anubis]

Oh god. Oh.....god. Come on Arsenal tomorrow. I need a clean sheet and hat tricks from both Vermaelen and Fabregas, with the latter also setting up all of the former's goals. You can do it. Salvage my week.

[SL33PY]

Unfortunately that didn't happen Anubis

Oh well, there is always next week, already did a transfer in preparation of next week

[Anubis]

Unfortunately that didn't happen Anubis

Oh well, there is always next week, already did a transfer in preparation of next week

Indeed, an altogether shocking week. I believe that barely anyone within the (then) top eight won, so that's why everything is so skewed.

I'll be making a change or two myself before the weekend, but I'm holding off until the Carling Cup games are out of the way - want to be sure my changes don't get injured before they play!

[Isileth]

Well I got pretty lucky this round as I was planning on removing Lampard to start making some of the bigger changes but one of my players got injured so swapped him instead.

But thats not important when you remember that im ahead by 1 point! Certainly a fair comeback. Sadly I can see all my changes failing and dropping back down though

[Whizbang]

I must say that I'm happy with staying with my choices and not looking at transfers at this time. I walked away with 50 points for the week. Still 4th in the rankings, but I was able to salvage much needed points.

As for the match on Sunday, it was bloody brilliant. Nipped down to the pub with the missus. All seats where taking and all standing room was full. 2/3 United fans and 1/3 Liverpool fans all screaming and cheering. Torres' goal shook the walls of the pub. N'Gog's goal in the 94' cause the pub to go silent as the United fans started making their way out. When the final whistle blew the pub erupted in screams and cheers as we Liverpool supporters watched our team get themselves right again. Songs and chants issued forth as the missus and I made our way out.

Was a perfect way to start a Sunday off.

[Anubis]

Would have been a completely different story if Carragher got the straight red he should have had No, but seriously - we did not deserve to win the game really. Valencia's shot against the bar aside, we created very little - though I would say that 1-0 would probably have been a fairer result as neither team was way ahead of the other. Grats, and we'll see you at Old Trafford to exact punishment in six months

As for changes failing Isi, I'm not sure you could get any worse than me. Pick the player that catches Swine Flu before the game why don't I? Just my luck

[SL33PY]

Aston villa is playing two games in this gameweek, 2 times the points