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.

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 🙂

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

Quick Strategy Summary

The all important question is: HOW DO I SELECT MY TEAM?

The entire strategy of playing fantasy is governed by cost. You get a certain amount to spend on your team for the week (100). Now of course each player costs a different amount based on their weekly game statistics. In simple terms: When a player is not playing well, he’s cheap. The minute he scores, his price goes up. Therein lies the challenge. You have to buy a player who is on the way up before he gets too far out of your price range. But the decision is made so much more difficult because of your REAL TEAM.

It’s very difficult to be unbiased when it comes to your Fantasy selection…though all successful fantasy players will tell you that you should have no club loyalty (Glory, Glory, Man United!); you should show no mercy and not get emotionally attached to your players. But those would all be guys. As a female, I’m telling you that I do get attached to players.

I do sometimes choose players because I believe they’ll do well, and not necessarily because they’ve proven to be dependable point scorers. There are times when one should sell players because they just aren’t playing well, but I’ll hold on one more week – keeping the faith that THIS week… is his week. I’ve been known to just have a gut feeling and make a selection, when all odds are against it. Sometimes it pays off – but the thing with this move is that you can’t be kwaad (angry) if it doesn’t work. With great risk comes great… no, that’s not how it goes, but you know what I mean. It is not something to do every week. Be warned, you’ll soon want to quit your league if you’re sitting at the bottom of the log saying, ‘You may be getting away from me, but just wait and see when Michael Owen scores and none of you have him! (#KnowWhenToCutYourLosses)

A CLUB LOYALTY CASE STUDY:
Last season I was in denial for many many weeks about Drogba. I hate Chelsea… ergo, I was NOT going to put Didier – the Drog, in my fantasy team. I didn’t want to want them to win, or him to score. But week after week, guys were getting away from me because Drogs was scoring every single week. Then it became about pride (the whole: ‘No I will not give in’ kind of thing). A few more weeks went by and eveeeentually I succumbed to the Drog. Best decision I made last season. There was no way you couldn’t have him.

So I guess what Im saying is that you need a balance. I still choose Man U players where I can because it adds to the vibe of watching the game. But if they aren’t doing well, I’m going to change strategy and sell Rooney. In fact, I may not start with Rooney this season because of his shocker of a World Cup. A decision I will be making this week! Stay tuned.

Choosing a team name

So the YAHOO LEAGUE is finally open and we can begin!! Yaaaaay!!

Now before we even get to the real player selection… we are going to have to decide on a team name. There are so many ways this could go. Options Options Options:

You could work with the name of your favourite premier league team. Eg. TanyaUnited (BORING)
Or you could use your name and do something interesting with that. Eg. TDazzlers (CHEESY)

OR >> You could do something lots more interesting. Always remember that nothing humiliates guys more than being beaten by a woman!! And I just love that 🙂 We are at liberty of pushing that envelope. This is supposed to be fun, remember – not serious.

According to Football Babble (granted, thats American Football, but who cares?), here are some options:

Fantasy Team Name

1        Girl Power
2        Women Do It Better
3        Weekend Widows
4        Women Who Score
5        Girls Gone Wild
6        Married…With Children
7        Chicks with Balls

Source: Football Babble

IF you don’t want to go with a male bashing name… Here are the top names from Teamnames.net

Fantasy Team Name

1        Bloodbath and Beyond
2        Meth Lab Einsteins
3        The Sons of Pitches
4        French Toast Mafia
5        F.B.I (Female Body Inspectors)
6        Paintball Wizards
7        Kung Fu Pandas
8        The Funky Town Monkey Pimps
9        The Beer View Mirrors
10      Multiple Scorgasms

Source: www.teamnames.net

Rest assured, you can change it all through the season, so its not something to stress about. But I spent a while thinking about it yesterday and today and finally decided on: KICK YOU IN THE BALLS. Hahahahaaaa 🙂

Welcome to your Guide to Fantasy Football

Welcome to ALL Newbies (and others, who just won’t admit to needing some help!) to the Yahoo Fantasy Football League. And just to be clear, we’re talking soccer here. http://uk.premiership.fantasysports.yahoo.com/football

As a female who played her first season in 2009, I was lucky to have come from a soccer-loving family and have a husband who could help by talking me through the initial stages. We’ve got a strict rule in our league, however, about “helping”. One could very well get kicked out of the league if they believe you’re being “helped” too much!

Of course, as a female these are the things you are faced with. Constantly having to prove yourself in this male-dominated arena. They talk in code, they want to keep us out. But I am here, helping you. I will try to answer some of the things you may be too embarrassed to ask .. I will tell you what the nicknames of the players and clubs are… Together, we will break the code. And infiltrate the Fantasy Football League – cos they cant be the only ones having fun!

Truth be told, there are so many advantages to managing your own team in the FF (Fantasy Football) League. If you are watching the games anyway, this is the ideal way to really get into it and start enjoying your weekends again!

I look forward to our journey…