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***
Hello everybody, it’s been a great week here at the Ro Camp,
in every sense other than with my actual fantasy team. Our debut podcast had a
lot more listens that we hoped for, and since most of the listeners were our
readers, I’d like to take the chance now to say thanks very much, if you can
help share it and make comments etc, that’d be great.
Also Darragh of Captain’s Corner has joined twitter
@darraghFPL so please follow him and myself @backofthenetboy – we’ll do our
best to be the best ever.
REVIEW OF NEW CORK COSMOS IN GAMEWEEK 23
Due to watching the 1000th episode of WWE’s Monday Night Raw
last night, I went down a little bit down memory lane when the APA appeared and
in keeping with Farooq, all I can say about my returns last week is………. DAMN!
Gameweek 23 was my biggest point haul since way back to
Gameweek 1, (I have only got over 60 points five times all season), this has
been an embaressement of a season. But even with my huge 81 point haul, all
those around (and more importantly above) me did better.
WHAT’S THE POINTS?
Points scored last week - 81 Points
Average points scored in that week - 54 points
Points off the top - 301 points, a further 4 points
since christmas.
Position in BOTNB League - 61st (up 8 places, whoop di do )
Annoyingly, I took our captain’s advice (you can hear our
debut podcast at www.podomatic.com/backofthenetboy) and brought in Davies at Swansea, but sure didn’t I only go and put him on my
bench. So that 1 defender left on my bench managed to score as much as the
other 4 defenders in my squad, that in one move sums up my decision making and
luck, which are the two main things you need in FPL.
LAST WEEK’S TEAM
THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS
… the highest scorer of each gameweek in our league is
invited to share a few insights into what got them so many points… Gameweek
23’s had two joint highest scorers, both with 99 points (statistic fans out
there will remember to be the highest score in GM22 in the BOTNB league
too!). We had varying responses from the
two high scorers when asked to contribute to this section, [I wanna flag that
if you look at both their XIs, they only had 3 players in common, but both
accrued massive scores which does defeat the ‘everyone has the same team now’
argument.]
We had this from Philip Bunney…
Philip’s team
…and this more considered response from Mark McCarthy
The secret to my success this gameweek was keeping faith in
my players. Looking back the only transfer I made could have been left until
another week as Lampard scored more points than the incoming Michu. Still, I'm
happy with my points total and proud to have scored the highest in most of my
leagues. Sadly I was more prepared for this double gameweek than the previous
one.
I am involved in a few leagues but this year the one that
has really amped things up it the newly formed head-to-head one at work. A
Facebook group was set up, a total of 6 players committed to the season. Two
Irishmen, two Englighmen, a Scotsman and a Dane signed up to a Fantasy Football
league...and proceeded to take the almighty piss out of each other!! There have
been some epic Saturdays, Super Sundays and the odd midweek miracle. Santi
Cazorla scoring a hatrick almost reduced some men to jibbering wrecks as others
took pictures of themselves celebrating and posted them online. This was the
spawn of 'Team Cazorla'.
Any serious Fantasy Football manager knew of the Arsenal and
West Ham double gameweek before the turn of the year. Walcott and Cazorla were
added to my squad as soon as they had outscored Newcastle in an entertaining
game at The Emirates. It still being December I was happy enough to buy only
these two players and to keep an eye on others coming up to the this gameweek.
Then came January and with it the wildcard. Some people
still insist I was wrong to not use my wildcard right away. I usually like to
wait until the end of January to use my wildcard in case of any 'real life'
transfers changing things around. The rearranged Chelsea and Southampton game
threw a spanner in the works but having planned this gameweek earier I
persisted with my squad, besides I already had Walcott and Cazorla.
In the lead up to the gameweek guys from the league kept
insisting I needed to fill my team with Arsenal and West Ham players. I told
them I wasn't too keen on some of
the West Ham players and didn't want to tinker with my team
too much. My options were limited to West Ham defenders, no chance! Joe Cole
and Mark Noble were also looked at but I played it safe and only used my one
free transfer.
Fast forward to four grown men in a living room on a school
night split into their head-to-head pairings. Each pairing consisting of a
member of 'Team Cazorla' playing a member of 'Team Walcott'. I cannot say much
more, mostly because of the extreme embarrassment it may cause, but I was glad
I made Walcott my captain!
Mark’s team.
***
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TRANSFERS
It’s getting to a point that I forget sometimes if I heard
@DarraghFPL, our captain, says something in conversation or on the podcast, but
he did point out that if you end up making a transfer the week after you use
your gameweek you’ve done something wrong. With that in mind I won’t be making
any changes buuuuuuuut I was going to hold off anyway (for a different reason),
I want to have three transfers to play with a minimal points cost for GM25 when
the transfer deadline has closed.
THIS WEEK’S SELECTION
This week’s one is pretty simple, Begovic at home to Wigan
is more sense than Jaaskelainen away to a relatively resurgent Sunderland, I
don’t want to have two West Ham defenders either, so I’ve dropped Tompkins (it
was perhaps too short sighted to bring him in for that double Gameweek), I’ve
packed my midfield with Lambert as the appointed first sub on. Cameron has a
yellow mark so perhaps won’t play, so perhaps Rickyyyyyyyyyyy will step in for
him. I brought in Davies this time because “fool me once, shame on — shame on
you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again”.
Here’s the screenshot.
***
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***
MY CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
I think Fellaini at home to WBA or Walcott to Liverpool,
with the dark horse of Walters at home to Wigan, be assured it will be a
midfielder with an element of white in their jersey. Those kinds of ‘enigmatic’
captaincy hunches [which clearly fail] are why we have a pro to make these
decisions, it’s time for….
CAPTAIN’S CORNER with @darraghFPL
Bah, who said double
gameweeks were fruitless endeavors (well I did, but I digress). Theo, Santi and
Lucas all produced double digit returns and the latter even missed the Sunday
game due to illness. Elsewhere, David Silva revealed he can actually score as
well as assist goals and Liverpool showed that variety is the spice of life
with four different goal scorers and assisters. My neck-sticking-out selection
of Walcott along with four out of my five selections scoring 5 points or more
ensured I had a productive week. Moving on to this week’s fixtures, I’ve a toss
up between the plainly obvious (RVP, Mata, Fellaini, Aguero etc) and the sort
of obscure left field/wing selections that make Trappatoni look like a youthful
sprog.
I’ve sided with the latter of
these two options and since I’m wildcarding in the midst of Jim White’s
orgasmic exclaims of ‘Transfer deadline day!’ and unknown Sky Sports presenters
freezing their proverbial knockers off outside the Britannia, I can afford a
one week punt on the unknown. To start off, I’m going for the two strikers who
lie at opposite sides of the form spectrum.
I’m opting for Demba Ba as my
first choice for gameweek 24. He may
have displaced perennial fantasy pariah Nando Torres but El Nino managed to
spank in a late equalizer against Brentford in the FA Cup last weekend,
shadowing the potential of rotation on the Senegalese international. I think
that the Reading game however, has become (get the cliché police on alert for
this) ‘must-win’ for Benitez and Ba paves the clearest route to victory for the
Blues. Aside from the stat-tacular Suarez, Ba offers a plethora of bountiful
numbers to rest Chelsea hopes upon. He ranks 2nd in goal attempts, 3rd
in minutes per chance (Dzeko lies 2nd) and 3rd in goals
scored. He faces a Reading side that have conceded the 2nd most
goals in the league, one behind Villa, and allowed the most chances in the
centre and right of the field, areas that Juan Mata is likely to occupy. Here
comes the icing underneath the cherry however. The Royals have also allowed the
most shots in the penalty area (248: nearest competitor Sunderland is on 237) and
given up the most ‘big chances’* (65: Nearest competitor is Newcastle on 58) thus far
in the campaign. Woof.
From a stat starring striker
from Senegal to a cringingly crumbling fantasy cast-a-side from Croatia; Nicola
Jelavic. Unlike Ba, he has miserly returns to date, offering just one goal and
assist in twelve. These sort of bedazzling returns have of course lead to him
being my second selection in my captain’s choices this week. Recently, I wrote
how if any Everton attacking cover was needed, than the afro styled Belgian
path was clearly the way to go. While I maintain this stance, two things have
changed; positioning and attempts. Previously Fallaini had dominated these
categories but in the Toffee’s last two outings, Jelavic has had 6 attempts to
Fellaini’s 4, held an average pitch position up to two pitch quadrants higher
and all while playing 28 minutes less. I’m not saying Jelavic is a better long
term prospect, but merely offers a differential from the widespread love of the
‘Power 5’ discussed in this weeks podcast.
I just have to have one ol’
reliable in my selections this week however, with the accolade going to trigger
happy, dive happy and ear surgery happy Welshman Gareth Bale. His away
performances so far this term have clearly outshone his form at White Hart
Lane, with seven out his nice goals coming on the road. Furthermore, his has
more attempts on goal, more crosses and more final third pitch touches than any
other FPL midfielder on opposition soil this season. Coupled with this is
Norwich’s recapitulation at the back (11 goals in 4 games) and the obvious
emphasis placed by AVB on the Premier League over other cup competitions. Dempsey
remains in my one week pot luck mindset although the managers claims that Defoe
‘may start’ have made me veer clear of the Clint.
Moving on to other dubious
contenders for this week’s choices, I’ve unearthed a recent piece of fantasy
love for the ever malnourished looking Adam Johnson. Years of productive cameo
appearances for City against sub par opposition had led me to the opinion that
once he bailed from his bench warming activities, he’d walk straight into my
fantasy 11 (See also: Kolorov, Aleksander). It seemed initially as if my
premonitions of fantasy fruitfulness had been misguided following a move to the
North East but of late, the skinny one has seemed to come good. Coming in with
four scoring returns in his last five, including two double digiters (made that
word up, but I like it), he seems to have found his grove. His allocation to
set pieces along with his high success of his dribble completions (44.2%) have
coincided nicely with Sunderland’s rediscovery of the opposition’s goal line.
Similarly, Duncan Fergus…..I mean Steven Fletcher, offers superb value at just
£7.1 million but against a stingy Swansea centre back partnership, I fancy the
Black Cats midfield to strike it lucky against the Swans.
Falling into my 5th
choice, however dangerously over my weekly ‘punt’ option, is Javier Hernandez.
No numbers shall be sprouted for Chicarito’s inclusion. Instead, my gut rumbles
that Ferguson fancies resting either RVP or Rooney for the Saints visit to Old
Trafford seeing as the face Fulham at the cottage next weekend. This is a high
risk, inevitably low reward choice so my words will be salted and vinergered,
ready for consumption come next weeks blog. Nom nom….
*‘Big
chances’ are an Opta stat where a defense allows a clear cut chance at
goal.
