PLFantasy

Arsenal Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby, Arteta, Cazorla, Walcott, Gervinho, Podolski Subs: Mannone, Andre Santos, Giroud, Ramsey, Djourou, Coquelin, Arshavin. Not too many surprises here, though I had assumed Santos would get the nod at left back over Gibbs. Gervinho's inclusion was also mildly surprising, though Wenger had mentioned on several occasions that Giroud was not ready to start in gameweek one and thus he found himself on the bench. Over the course of the season I would expect Giroud to get significant minutes up top with Podolski pushed out wide in those games. Koscielny and Sagna are due back at the end of the month and thus I would temper any early excitement there might be over Jenkinson and Mertesacker. The team looked better going forward than the final score suggests though I suppose one could argue that the game was a reminder that players take time to fit together, with the occasional move breaking down due to miscommunicati...

Two trains are set to depart at the same time for your given destination. One will take 90 minutes and cost $20 (apologies to UK readers but my keyboard doesn’t have a pound sign), the other will take just an hour but cost $70. In most cases you would opt for the cheaper train, right? The other is faster, but not sufficiently so as to justify the extra cost. Why then, do we often still talk about fantasy points in terms of absolute points earned? Every point you earn comes at cost, namely the opportunity cost of using your limited resources to strengthen other areas of your team. Getting this balance right is the name of the game, and it’s where we’ll start our look back at the 2011-12 season. Note that in some cases, continuing the analogy, you would want to take the faster train. Perhaps there is a vital metting you need to attend or you are a millionaire and thus $50 is immaterial to you. The same goes for the fantasy world. You may wish to ‘overpay’ for a certain player given hi...