PLFantasy

We often talk about the different strategies we can use to assemble our team or squad and in the past there have been a number of different options. For a couple of seasons it was essential to own at least one (preferably two) of the holy trinity of midfielders (Ronaldo, Lampard and Gerrard) and play/captain them every week regardless of their fixtures. At other times, the difference between elite defenses and everyone else was huge, making it necessary to double down on United defenders (remember those 12 straight clean sheets!) or pair John Terry with Ashley Cole just to keep up. We've had elite forwards, must-own budget midfielders (Chaz Adam anyone?) and spot start subs, all of which provide a different number of ways to go each year (at least until the late stages when teams start to look pretty homogenous). This year has been different so far. Good defenders are starting to dominate the listings and no one from either Manchester team or Chelsea come at a discount. The midf...

Looking back at last season Just 5 clean sheets last year, better than only West Brom. GPG conceded at home (1.58) and on the road (1.89) were both fairly disastrous. Roger Johnson is an upgrade but this team still lacks the talent to provide every week defensive starters Big difference when playing at home or away. At home they failed to score just 3 times and averaged 1.58 GPG , better than Villa and Sunderland and tied with Spurs. However on the road they managed just 0.84 GPG and were shutout 7 times. Keepers ranked 19th in P90 but there low cost allowed them to register a respectable 14th ranking in P$. I still struggle to see how they can be owned this year though The defense was a similar story with a 16th ranking in P90 but a P$ rank of 12th. Again, it's hard to see owning these players other than for a short loan spell when the fixtures are particularly good (and home heavy) The midfield was a useful source of fantasy points last year with a 13th ranking in P...

Okay, I'm not superstitious: I don't cross the street to avoid ladders, I'm not scared of black cats and I routinely open my umbrella inside the house. However, when you tip a player as your third best captain pick of the week , and post a message hours before the transfer deadline about not signing him in favour of a player you didn't rank in your top 5, and he goes on to score 5 goals in a game, you could forgive me for feeling slightly unlucky especially in week thirteen! I do not however think I was unlucky, as Defoe had the best matchup of the weekend which I why I rated him so highly in the first place. I decided to play the long game and City have better fixtures than Spurs over the next 5 weeks. What I failed to account for is the fact that sometimes a single fixture or gameweek is so appealing for a player that you should consider bringing a player in for that week alone. Now while Defoe's five goals were an amazing return, I don't consider Wigan to b...

Another great weekend of action is in the books, and some interesting conclusions can be drawn: The big four is still a big four, at least for now. The two big challengers stepped up, and were duly dispatched by their more successful neighbours, with Spurs putting up less of a fight than City. City were unfortunate to lose in the circumstances but overall their defensive frailty, particularly in the air, were exposed and they will struggle to break the big four unless this area is improved. Spurs meanwhile were easily dismissed, and again, despite being unlucky to not get a penalty for a foul on Robbie Keane, they were easily the weaker side on the day. The big strikers keep on rolling. I feel somewhat vindicated for my controversial decision to drop Lampard in favour of big name strikers, as Drogba, Van Persie, Torres, Rooney and Agbonlahor all finding the net. Of the 8m+ midfielders only Cesc, Kuyt and Ballack scored for their respective sides. The promoted sides are for real and all...