PLFantasy

Over half the teams have now played and to be honest - with the exception of the impressive Germans - I am pretty underwhelmed. Too many team have been overly cautious and are scared of losing rather than trying to win. As a keen amateur economist I must once again point to risk aversion - the fear of losing something weighs greater on the mind than the joy in gaining. So, the fear of losing a point prevents teams risking it all to win three (a two point gain). How true then is the notion that you simply can't lose your first game? Let's look at the data from the last 3 World Cups to see the trends: 2006 - of the 16 teams that qualified there were 11 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses in the first game 2002 - of the 16 teams that qualified there were 9 wins, 6 draws and 1 losses in the first game 1998 - of the 16 teams that qualified there were 11 wins, 5 draws and 0 losses in the first game The above data shows that if you lose your first game, the chance of making the last 16 based...

I am assuming here that most of us are playing the official FIFA fantasy game and so I will focus all strategy ideas and player picks on that game. Before we start, here's a quick run down of the key rules regarding lineups and transfers: Transfers Once the tournament kicks off, its only 1 transfer before round 2 and 1 before round 3 (without incurring a 3 point penalty) and so your squad really needs to carry you through the group stages (save for an injury or an unexpected benching). After the group stages you can reload your entire team so there isn't an absolute need for your squad to be made up players challenging for the trophy. However, with the price rises, it will pay somewhat to get on board a player early who you think might make an unexpected run to the last 8 and beyond. Substitutions At the start of each day, you can replace any player in your starting eleven with a player from the bench who is yet to play (provided he wasn't sent off). You do not have to re...