This Blog has MOVED

Hi everyone… In case you are still coming here to find me and thought I’m totally neglecting my blog… IM NOT!!

We’ve moved to www.fantasyepl.co.za > My very own place on the World Wide Web.
Come around for a visit…

Some Shockers in Week 7

So I’ve been quiet over the last few weeks, and I must apologise – but I was really unsure of myself just before Week 6 – and quite rightly so as I only scored 38 points. Week 7 however, showed me some mercy with 93.5 and I even managed to hang on to 4^th place! (With 5^th and 6^th close behind as always)

There were some shockers for me this weekend. Mainly the Man U draw with Sunderland and the Liverpool loss at Anfield against Blackpool.  The Chelsea/Arsenal result wasn’t surprising so I wont even get into it!

LIVERPOOL: In the relegation zone

Reina: Dont pick me for your Fantasy team!

A win by Blackpool doesn’t surprise me much because they’ve been doing fairly ok, but the Liverpool LOSS causing them to find themselves in the bottom 3 of the table? Liverpool manager,  Hodgson said: “There are 31 games left but when you are in the relegation zone you are in a relegation battle.” [WATCH THE VIDEO OF HODGSON’S POST GAME INTERVIEW HERE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/9056132.stm]

In terms of the Fantasy, Reina is my keeper – and I’m definitely reconsidering that choice! And those poor die hard YNWA guys who put Torres in along with their hopes and prayers – alas the golden boy did not make it past the 10^th minute.  Blackpool manager Ian Holloway revealed when the Liverpool striker limped off early on he had thought: “Maybe this is our day.” I have to admit, the same thought went through my mind. HAHA!

MANCHESTER UNITED: Another draw and yet stay in the top 3

Berba: Looook into my eyeball

My team, my team, my team, Manchester United is another cause of major concern. In terms of my fantasy – I made the hard decision of dropping Berbatov this week in exchange for Van Der Vaart. Best choice of the week for me – but it was bitter sweet in a sense. Oh, Fergie better pull out something spectacular in training because I don’t want to witness another draw or even loss in 2 weeks when they face WBA at home. According to an article on yahoo sports this morning, Ryan Giggs is considering a career in United management. [http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/04102010/58/premier-league-paper-round-giggs-wants-fergie-heir.html] – what do you think of this?

Aaaaaaaaaaand on to the Good news….

SPURS: Van Der Vaart – need I say more

Van Der Vaart - you have a new FAN!

With Tottenham really being like my ‘second team’ – Ive been quite disappointed that there are no players who I can depend on. Croutch? Defoe?  Modric?  Pav?  Lennon? None of whom are actually scoring at this point.

VdV is the one guy on this team who is showing major potential and not only that, is actually scoring! So at home against Villa, coming from behind, VdV made himself a fan favourite for sure with his 2 goals, securing the win. And he definitely found a fan in ME. Harry and I are patting ourselves on the back for a good choice here!

I’ll be back in a week with discussions and considerations for Week 8. Ya’ll keep safe till then!

It was Berba vs Reina

Berba vs Reina

… and guess who I chose???  The WRONG one.

Reina’s score ended up being -7 points.. which actually wasnt as bas as it couldve been. And my final tally for the weekend was 90.. which also wasnt too bad.

My points aim per week is 90 – 100.. so that didnt pan out too badly for me in the end. The ‘what ifs’ plagued me as I was watching the game, but there really isn’t anything you can do, so you just have to try and emotionally detach yourself. (Easier said than done of course!)

I couldn’t hardly even watch the game. As a Man U supporter, with Reina in my fantasy team, I was SO torn. I decided then and there that I was not going to do that to myself again. But in hindsight, Im ok with my decision, and Im not going to let it change the way I select my team in the future. If Man U had lost I wouldve been singing a different tune, so Im just going to chalk it up to bad luck and move on.

I was considering dropping Malouda from my team this week, but thought I’ll keep him just ONE more week. Luckily!! He scored 31.5 points!! I wouldve dropped significantly if he wasnt in my team.. So Im still in 4th, but 5th isnt that far behind. So I have to stay on my toes 🙂

After that emotional weekend, I just need a few days rest before I start it all again. See you on Friday.

QUESTION: Who are your must have cheap guys? It really is the season of the cheap player since almost everyone has the same big names.

Just a little update

Good morning all!

I’ve got a big weekend ahead of me, with our basketball club having our 24 hour basketball marathon starting at 5pm today. So I had to just make the absolutely necessary changes, say  a prayer and leave it there. Im not going to have any time for a Saturday morning double check or Friday night analysis.

The all important question over the last few days for me has been: Do I drop Reina (who I got el-cheapo-ish) since they are facing my team on Sunday. Talk about divided loyalties, I’ve also had Skrtel for the last few weeks. Quite a difficult game for me because Ive got 2 Liverpool defenders, and Im a ManU supporter. This is clearly a problem. Unfortunately I cannot reveal my decision before the teams are finalized. (There are spies all around!)

Good Luck to all 🙂

This is going to be an interesting one as always. Will update over the weekend.

Week 4 : Post mortem

What a great Monday morning this is! The sun is shining in Cape Town, bringing with it…the promise of summer 🙂 How could we NOT be happy today. OH, thats right.. if we didnt do well in the Fantasy this past weekend. Well, luckily for most, it was a pretty good weekend.

Some highlights were:

• The Man U 3-3 draw with Berbatov scoring again. Surprise Surprise! Whats happening with this guy?
• The Arsenal 4-1 win with Chamach scoring. Surprise Surprise! (I didnt have him. I guess Im still in denial)
• The Newcastle loss!! (I had Carroll AND Barton, but also Charlie Adam who scored the penalty for Blackpool)
• Spurs draw?! I thought they’d win that game for sure. So that was a surprise!
• Fulham vs Wolves…. I dont even want to talk about it. I committed the classic mistake of having Dembele in my team – and then selling him and rather going with Ebanks-Blake?! My guy scoring 2.5 and Dembele scoring 27.5. Are you KIDDING ME!??

Week 4 Results

All in all, it was a good week for me – having moved up a place. Now at no 4 🙂

I’m also behind 3rd place by a mere 3 points.

BIG decision coming up this week. Shall I keep Reina when he’s playing against my team next week??? Any advice?

Back in Business… Soon!

Im so sorry for the long silence!!!

EPL had a weekend off last week. But never fear – we are going to be back in business SOON SOON!

Just to let you in on what my Team Manager page looks like:  I have 3 spots open with only 12.6 to spend. So Ive got plenty decisions to be made in the next few.

Will definitely keep you all in the loop and we shall see where this coming weekend takes us 🙂

Week 3 : Some forecasts and considerations for your fantasy team

So with the season warming up now and decisions becoming increasingly difficult – we start HERE:  looking at the fixtures for the weekend ahead.

Newbie TIP: Matches are easier when teams are playing at HOME. So we look where the games are happening for the big teams to decide which teams we should be looking at.

FORWARDS DEBATE (We don’t call them Strikers hey!)

United home against Westham

So in theory, United should win this comfortably. The problem is that none of their players are doing anything noteworthy. Rooney?? Hernandez?? Nani?? The only one worth considering at this point is Berbatov, and thats saying alot. He costs 13,21 on yahoo for those thinking about it. I certainly am.

City away to Sunderland

With City’s win against Liverpool on Monday, I think they should win this one. It is away though – and the only player I’d put in my team right now is Tevez. But he costs a whopping 17,69 – which is too much for my budget!

Spurs home against Wigan

So I’ll be hanging on to my keeper (Gomes) – because Spurs should take this one. He is in a bit of injury doubt though, so I’ll have to keep my eye on him on the Saturday morning injury list.  In terms of forwards, Crouch scored 3 goals for them last night in their Euro qualifier, so Im considering him. He also only costs 9,30 so thats not too bad.

Chelsea home against Stoke

You should be getting the hang on this by now, so you’ll know Im about to say: Stock up on Chelsea players this week! I’m keeping Drogba and Malouda. Im not one for putting all my eggs in one basket though, so in my opinion, I’d only put a max of 3 players from one team, in my fantasy team.

Liverpool home against West Brom

Aaah, Liverpool is upsetting me as much as United, so Im steering clear of these guys. They should win this match. But the question is WHO will score. Will Torres start?  Etc etc.. N’gog is already in my team, and I got him for very cheap (not that he’s increased in price that much) – but I’m still not sure if I’ll keep him. Reality is that he is only the second forward and will not shine as brightly as Torres.

Arsenal away to Blackburn

Now Arsenal had a great game last week, with Walcott scoring 3 goals. The question for me is: What are the chances of him scoring again? I’ve always liked him, but he’s not a consistent goal scorer. He also now costs 13,55. So if you can afford him, put him in – Im doubtful I will.

Newcastle away to Wolves

Goldenboy of the moment: Carroll, who plays for Newcastle, who also scored 3 goals for them last week. Same question applies! They are playing away. This is a new boy. Will he score again?? You just can’t be sure. He costs 11,34 if you’re interested. I might be..

Of course Bale needs to get a mention because he is THE best ‘defender’ in the EPL, and you’ve just got to have him.

Good Luck with your team and let me know how things are going!

The Must-have!

Mess up with Yahoo scores last week!

Just a note: I woke up yesterday to the great news that I was second on the log again. Such a mess up with Yahoo scores last week. So the image that shows I only scored 60.5 is incorrect. My official score for Week 1 was: 74! I thank you.

Still waiting for the scores to update…. But Im sure I wont be able to hold on to my 2nd place since I didnt have Walcott. SUCH A LUCKY GUESS by some that he would do well. But I dont even think those people anticipated the Hattrick that he produced. But sometimes, just sometimes people get lucky. And this was one of those times. There wasnt much indication that this was going to happen. Especially with Blackpools good debut performance last week. So here we are – lets just see what happens.

N.B. TIP::  Theres this little thing about buying players before the scores update.  When the scores update, so do the player prices. SO – if any player has a really good game, of course his price is going to increase. What this means isssss…. you’ve gotta buy them before the scores update. This ensures that you’ll be able to buy them at the price they were before they scored 🙂 Thus beating the slow coaches to the punch. If you decide you dont want them, just sell ’em when you’re working on your team during the week. Either way, its best to cover your bases this way.

So getting back to this week..

Im really hoping Fergie gives the new wunderkind a chance to shine – I need some luck on my side today. LETS GO UNITED!!

Saturday night…

Ok, testing this posting via the iPhone app..

So how’s your Saturday going??? I’m happy that Bale scored twice 🙂 Malouda also scored… Drogbas the only one who didn’t score – but it’s all good. Everyone had him, so there’s no real problem with that.

Classic rookie mistake of the week.. Making a change on Friday meaning to do more research on Fri night or Saturday morning. Shyte happens and I didn’t get a chance to do that! So I’m stuck with a guy who’s NOT playing today – so I’ll just take that 0!

Looking forward to tomorrows United game and also the Liverpool game on Monday as well.

So let me know how it’s going!

T

Week 1 Postmortem and Some tips for Week 2

Week 1: Postmortem

Ok Ok.. so even after my own post about Drogba…. I decided to go with Rooney. And for those of you who did the same – you feel me that we made the WRONG DECISION 😦

With Drogba earning the lucky few 35 points and Rooney only scoring 4 points… those dreaded words playing over and over in my mind.. ‘I shouldve gone with Drogba’ ‘I shouldve gone with Drogba’ ‘I shouldve gone with Drogba’. Well.. thats where we are lucky if we’re playing on Yahoo. It means we can change our team without any cost (shame, the poor guys on the official one cant make changes as easily) – so Im definitely selling Rooney and putting in Drogs this week. [TIP 1]

As for the other selections – Bale was a good choice scoring me 18.5. I didnt have him last season, and he’s a great player to have because he is listed as a defender, but actually plays in the mid field – so you are effectively playing with 5 mids, if you’re playing 3-4-3 [i.e. 3 defenders, 4 mids and 3 strikers – which is the formation I suggest!] – SO HES A KEEPER 🙂  [TIP 2]

And talking about Keepers. My keeper for week 1 was a cheap option because I wanted Bale and Rooney and Malouda.. This also not a great decision. In fact, it was an ok decision – but it just didnt play out the way I had hoped. Wigan was playing Blackpool (a fresh, new team in the EPL) – chances are Wigan was going to beat them. However, Blackpool killed them 4-0.  So this one’s gotta go!!! Im going with my old favorite, he is one of the best: Gomes (Tottenham).  [TIP 3]

As for the midfield… week 1 I got lucky with choice of Malouda. He scored me 25 points 🙂 I unfortunately had Joe Cole, who got a red card. (So he’ll be suspended and must not be selected this week or next I think) Valencia scoring 5 and C Adam scoring ZERO. Overall, a rough week – but still managed to finish 4th  out of 20.

There was such a mess up with the scores this week because I was actually at Number 2.. but on Wednesday, scores magically changed and I found myself at Number 4. What can ya do! But I was pissed off.. Cos now my husbands team is ahead of mine. I was enjoying gloating just for a few days because I know thats probably not going to happen again.

To summarize…  This weeks must haves: Drogba, Malouda, Bale > The fillers you have to decide. Make sure they are playing. Preferably at home and against lesser teams. Sounds simple ey? hahaaaa

Good Luck this week ok, and let me know how things are going?