PLFantasy

I started this post saying how the FA Cup weekend offers little guidance as to fantasy tips and only serves as a series of games in which our players get injured. However, I then tuned into the late kick off at Old Trafford in time to see Berbatov look incredibly dangerous and Ronaldo impotent once more. I have previously stated my recommendation to hold two United defenders over the next 5-6 weeks which means I only have room for one of these men in the side. I, along with many others, have held Ronaldo all season, who despite being the 5 th top points scorer, has failed to justify his lofty price tag. My original strategy was to hold him until at least the two double gameweeks pass, but I am now leaning towards Berbatov to capitalise on this scheduling anomaly. Berbatov's cup goal today gives him 4 goals in 5 along with 5 bonus points in his last 4 premier league outings. Ronaldo on the other hand hasn't scored in the league since 15 November. Berbatov is himself r...

After two more miserable performances from Ronaldo over the Christmas period, many owners are getting close to dumping Ronaldo and the net transfers for the week are in a small outflow position. I myself was considering dumping him for Gerrard until Gerrard's off the field antics cast doubt over his future for the coming weeks. Three points need raising though before any rash decisions are made: 1. Ronaldo still leads all fantasy players with 6.67 points per game ( PPG ) which equates to a Points Per Million Spent ( PPMS ) of 0.457, which is ahead of Deco (o.444) and Fabregas (0.424) among others. If you have captained Ronaldo every week (or even just a few of his 15 point+ performances) then his PPMS will be up with anyone else in the league. It is also important to remember that value for money ( ie PPMS ) will only carry your team a certain distance and it is actual points ( PPG ) that really matters. 2. United have two double gameweeks in the next 5 and then have a 3 g...

No not an invitation to a christmas party but rather a fantasy conundrum. As I have three Wigan players, a lame duck (Agger) and Ronaldo I need to make two transfers to ensure I can even field a team this week. I am therefore transferring Ronaldo out on the assumption that if I act quickly I can initially lose 0.3m which will be cut to 0.2 as I expect his price to fall by next week and Gerrard's to rise due to all the Ronaldo sellers. I have all but settled on Gerrard as the replacement which, on the assumption that prices don't move, leaves me 0.2 to spend upgrading somewhere else whilst still leaving me with 3.1 to get Ronaldo back next week for the Stoke game. The question therefore is how to spend that 0.2m. I need to use it on one of my players who are off this week so the choice is Figueroa or Agger (I'm still holding Zaki and Valencia). Agger (5.9) This gives me 6.1 which doesn't buy a great deal these days as you cannot touch the big boys apart from Alex or O...

After suffering through another miserable fantasy weekend which saw me slip in the standings for the 4 th week running and surrender my once solid 120 point lead my work league I have decided to implement two new strategies. The second one to be discussed in a separate article is that I will now be employing a 3-man striking rotation of mid-priced strikers based on match up . The first to be discussed here is that my team selection has gotten too cute and I will now focus on the following key factors when selecting my squad and team lineup: 1. Don't select players who I do not rate as good or better, no matter what they have done in the last couple of weeks. As they say, form is temporary, class is permanent. I've had Carlton Cole, Javier Garrido , Jonas Olsson , Edwin Van Der Sar and Andy Dawson, all of whom I rate no better than average Premiership players (van der Sar once was obviously a class keeper). 2. Don't take avoiding point chasing to a ridiculous degree. La...

Here we are, a super sunday if ever there was one. The Manchester derby, the two biggest London teams squaring off along with a couple of other interesting fixtures featuring fantasy studs such as Defoe, Johnson, Arteta among others. With minutes until kick off at the Middle Eastlands I am literally giddy for the action to start though I am (regrettably) predicting a United win. I can see City starting the brighter, perhaps even taking the lead though United's power and depth will possibly shine through in the end. Robinho to score first and 2-1 United pays 90-1, interesting. 13:31 We're under way and the main fantasy news is that Berbatov will start alongside Rooney and Ronaldo . Rafael gets his turn at right back making him a useful pickup for next week if Neville or Brown haven't returned. 13:38 Measured start by both teams, who are both trying to keep their shape. Rafael has been bombing forward though which could leave space in behind him as the game moves on. I ...

For those of you with Ronaldo in your team - that's a quarter of you - the weekly question is whether anyone should take the armband from your premium midfielder. Since I bought him in week 7 I have captained Ronaldo every week and he has had 2 poor weeks, 2 good weeks and 2 monster weeks, averaging 8.33 points over that 6 game stretch. Last week was a stupid move captaining him against Arsenal rather than Lampard against Blackburn , and I am now cautious about captaining him again this week. I know I know, Stoke have shipped 10 in 6 on the road, and 19 in total, and I know that Ronaldo has now scored in his last 10 domestic home games, but my question is whether he will play. Looking back to last year is encouraging as Ronaldo featured in 34 league games, and of the 4 he missed, three were due to suspension. However, with his injury over the summer potentially still lingering, will Ferguson be tempted to drop his leading man? On the other hand, you can be almost certain that ...

16:09 Back under way in the Premier League with no notable substitutions to comment on. 16:12 100 league goals for Lampard as the goals keep flowing at Stamford Bridge. Lampard is in delicious form and is a must have for fantasy teams if your budget will stretch to it. I can almost feel the 3 bonus points. 16:13 Anelka hattrick! Okay so maybe it'll be 2 bonus points for Lamps. Another assist for Malouda too. Chelsea are rampant 5-0. 16:16 Bednar makes a claim to the top sub-6m striker title with his 4th of the season. At 5.4 he might be worth a look. 16:17 United get their 4th through Vidic, assisted by Rooney. That's Vidic's first this season. 16:22 West Brom take the lead as they punish 10 man Blackburn, no points for identifying the turning point of that game! This time its a sub-5m man, Ishmael Miller, who has tempted me in the past. If he continues to play he is a steal at 4.9m. Only the second time this season the Baggies have bagged two. 16:26 As we stand Pure Juice ...

15:05 Ronaldo opens the 3pm scoring with his 5th league goal of the season. This man is pure fantasy gold and is proving that 14m was well worth it. So long as you captain him his PPMS is well over 1.000. 15:13 Stoke take the lead via another Delap throw which is turning into one of the most dangerous weapons in the league right now. He, along with scorer Fuller are turning into legitimate fantasy starters this season. 15:13 Benni McCarthy slots home a soft penalty to take the lead over West Brom. The former Porto man has 2 in 3 and might be developing into a decent fantasy player at 7.2m. 15:21 Former Pure Juice substitute Hayden Mullins scores for the Hammers and suggests he may be a decent bench man at 4.3m. Boro's defense is looking less convincing by the week. 15:24 Hull tie things up at Old Trafford and Van der Sar's clean sheet goes begging. The big Dutchman was benched last week and might be heading towards the Pure Juice chopping board in the near future. Dawson is in ...

So far its been a pretty successful season, having scored 466 points and lying 620th place after gameweek 8. However, having already used my wildcard to get into the Ronaldo sweepstakes, it is vital that I use my transfers wisely over the coming weeks. A quick look at my team in terms of Points per Million Spent makes interesting reading (I have assumed that I will captain Ronaldo every week): E.Van der Sar The big Dutchman has been a great acquisition for me, notching 3 clean sheets in the 3 games I've had him. Indeed he's been great value all season notching 4 clean sheets in the 6 full games he's played. I can't see why he is still 5.9m and I am sure he will rise in value in the next couple of weeks. With United facing only one hard game over the next 5 (@Ars) now is as good a time as any to buy Van der Sar. M.Schwarzer I'm pleased with Schwarzer's value and only Myhill (4m) has scored more points for the same value. Sorenson and Turnbull are also decent buy...

I've never really considered capital growth as a legitimate reason to invest in a fantasy player, but with the current credit crunch caused by the arrival of Ronaldo , I decided to take a look at those players whose value may increase over the next few weeks. The latest premierleague .com pundit article suggests a couple of players who may be undervalued at this point (Alex, Keane and Bentley). I agree with Alex and have indeed bought him for my team. However, I am neutral on Keane and downright opposed to the suggestion of Bentley. I've set out some ideas for those players whose value looks set to rise/fall over the next few weeks: Ronaldo ( CRON ) is now held by 15.2% of all players but his value has only increased by 0.1. If he has another big week this week you can bet people will be reaching for the wildcard and his value will increase rapidly. Zaki ( AZAK ) has had by far the biggest gain in all of fantasy football and is now owned by 29% of all players. However, at 6...

As debate rages on in the presidential debate and on Wall Street , the debate within the Pure Juice clubhouse is over - my wildcard has been played. This was partly a move fuelled by desire to shake things up, but more because of the actions of my competitors. With four players already jumping on Ronaldo last week, I simply cannot afford to let my early lead slip away and have to play catch up. Therefore I have moved my team around to accommodate Ronaldo , and to be honest it probably hasn't suffered all that much, though I don't feel its infinitely better. For those debating on whether to use their wildcard , I would suggest looking at the following points and applying them to your team: Performance to date In fantasy football it is highly advantageous to be out in front by mid season when people's teams start to converge and differentiating between your team and your competitors' can become tricky. For example, another 50,000 players have transferred Zaki in this...