Fantasy Football Update

I thought it might be time to give an update on our Fantasy Football progress. Kevin is dominating our league so far;



He took an early lead and although I've managed to close the gap he keeps edging away. It's fair to say that we are all not doing particularly well.

Here's my current team with some additional ponderings;

Ben Foster Manchester United £3.0m (20 points - for my team)

The Foster experiment hasn't gone particularly well. Especially for Ben Foster. His reputation as the great hope of English goalkeeping has nose dived considerably after some high profile howlers. Van Der Sar's return to fitness will probably result in another one year contract extent ion and Foster will be kicking his heels and playing understudy to both the Dutchman, and at international level, to David James.

Alternatives - Foster provided excellent value for the period he was in the first team and only Petr Cech scored more points from 'the big 4' teams. Still I need to use some of those precious transfers and looking at who is doing well elsewhere, discounting Thomas Sorensen (Stoke City) as top points scorer an extra £500,000 gets me the reliable Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) from a team who should do better until the end of the season.

Glenn Johnson Liverpool £4.0m (20 points)

The Liverpool right back is a safe choice for any FF manager. His attacking instincts have provided 30 points for those who have stuck with him all season and he'll only add more. If only he could be more consistent. Still doesn't look worth £18m though.

Thomas Vermaelen Arsenal £3.7m (6 points)

Those who registered Vermaelen's uncanny knack for popping up with a goal early on have been rewarded with a mammoth 36 points. I said in my season preview that Vermaelen settling down quickly at the Emirates would be integral to any success that Arsenal might achieve this season. So far so good.

Stephen Warnock Aston Villa £3.5m (14 points)

Warnock's transfer from Blackburn to Aston Villa didn't surprise anyone who has followed the talented full back. It did mean missing a couple of games and settling down into a new team. Still I think he's one worth persevering with.

Graham Alexander Burnley £3.0m (6 points)

I don't think anyone outside Burnley celebrated when they got their first penalty more than me. But Bunley are shipping goals at an alarming rate away from home. I need to stop being stubborn and change this one.

Alternatives - It looks like Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), on 37 points, is this seasons must have defender, although that's going to mean a lot of changes if I'm to stick to my 2 players per team rule. Abdoulaye Faye (Stoke City) is scoring well and offers good value at £3.5m. And on Merseyside Leighton Baines (Everton) and Emiliano Insua (Liverpool) are on 28 and 27 points respectively, a note of caution though, Everton aren't getting the results lately and officially have 128 players on the injury list. Aquilani may mean Aurellio being accomadated at left back, it shouldn't happen but it's Benitez, so who knows?

Wild Card - Might be Roger Johnson (Birmingham City) who although he has only scored 16 points is a bargain at £2.8m and has popped up with a few goals in past seasons.

Frank Lampard Chelsea £7.0m (42 points)

Expensive yes but reliable always, the news that Fat Frank is back amongst the goals and Gerrard's injury means most FF players are scrambling to get him in.

Cesc Fabregas Arsenal £5.0m (46 points)

I read some nonsense questioning the Arsenal captain's form this season. His assists alone stand at 9. His value to points ratio is 0.5 ahead of anyone else. I guess that's why he's in 42% of people's teams.

James Milner Aston Villa £4.0m (4 points)

Milner is a classy midfielder and has been getting some people very excited (see Number 4). I've not long moved him into my team and so I'm hoping his excellent delivery, occasional goals and push for berth in the World Cup squad reap rewards for me!

Marouane Fellaini Everton £3.7m (17 points)

Despite playing 6 times for Everton this season Fellaini has only picked up 17 points and I might be carrying a player here. No doubt his actual real performances have been good in a poor Everton team but this is Fantasy.

Alternatives - There are a couple of Bolton midfielders who are doing well, Tamir Cohen's 3 goals have propelled him up the points to £ ratio but I'd plump for the perennially underrated Matt Taylor, 9 league starts and 3 goals. Another favourite of mine is Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham Hotspur) although Modric has been the catalyst for Spurs' successful start to the season and Lennon has provided the sparkle, Huddlestone's unexpected rediscovery of the form that got us so excited when he burst onto the scene at 16 as has been the highlight for me.

Wild Card - Kevin Prince-Boateng's (Portsmouth) 26 points for £2.5m looks outstanding value.

Didier Drogba Chelsea £6.4m (14 points)

Despite being a goal behind Torres in the race for the golden boot his extra start has yielded 7 more points than the Spaniard. Drogba can be a conundrum at times but when he's motivated he's unplayable.

Craig Bellamy Manchester City £5.2m (9 points)

I shoe horned Bellamy in to the team, not to complete the most odious front line you could imagine, but due to a Monday night game to bag some extra points. He duly delivered that night and has 4 goals for the season. As a Coventry fan it's impossible not to hate our former player with the rap sheet as long as your arm - but on the pitch he's doing the business.

Alternatives - From Fernando Torres (Liverpool) I've bagged 66 points of his total of 73 this season and I'll try and get him back in my team soon. Darren Bent (Sunderland) is enjoying his partnership with Kenwyne Jones and provides the best points to £ ratio currently (will he hit a drought).

Wild Card -This year's biggest surprise for me has to be Hugo Rodellega (Wigan) he has 5 goals, a couple of spectacular ones too, but I'm getting a touch of the Zaki's about him, maybe.

Fantasy XI - Part III

Last season was my first foray into the aggravating and depressing world of Fantasy Football, and my abysmal performance in my friends’ league should have warned me off a second stab. I spent most of the season in the cellar, eventually finishing mid-table only because some of the others in the league basically stopped playing. Of course, settling comfortably in the middle of the pack by virtue of not being as bad as everyone around you is probably the most accurate approximation of the Premier League, so give it some points for realism. I fear I’m still stuck in the Guardian mentality, which had a ridiculous system of +2 for every clearance, giving decent defenders in really poor teams the advantage over everyone else, so I expect my Telegraph team will change rather quickly once the season gets underway. I went with a 4-4-2, just because I don’t trust strikers.

Jussi Jaaskaleinen – £3.2 m

A real bargain at that price, he’s capable of some magic in goals. Even if the Bolton clean sheet record isn’t as strong as it was under Allardyce, I would hope a slightly more solid defense this season will give Jussi some help. Either way he’s certainly in Friedel’s league, and on a good day I’d throw him down against any Cech you got.

Vincent Kompany - £3.5 m

Another cheap buy (as is the rest of the defense), he played really well last season. Since Citeh’s big summer buys went almost solely to attacking players, I think he’s got his place in the team sewn up. He’s got the pace to keep the wingers in check, and on occasion he’s a threat going the other way. Cards might be an issue due to a sometimes-poor temperament, but I think he’s a keeper.

Ricardo Gardner - £3.4 m

Another cog in the hopefully solid Bolton defense, it’s his forward ability that sets him apart. Even if he doesn’t start every game, when subbed in he can wake up a side that has a tendency to fall asleep at the wheel. Honestly he should probably have been listed as a midfielder, but if I’m really lucky I can get the best of both worlds out of the error.

Michael Turner - £3.4 m

The best points-getter for me last season, this will probably be a mistake as he alone won’t be able to save Hull from being ripped apart again and again. Still, he’s an excellent player, and with a bit of luck, he might get sold to a better team before the transfer window shuts. Okay, that’s wishful thinking, but still a bargain.

Alan Hutton - £3.2 m

Within minutes of this selection I was questioning why the hell I chose him. I still don’t know. Maybe I just wanted a comedy Scot in the side? Either way, expect a swift transfer out in the coming weeks.

Steven Gerrard - £6.5 m

He may be the biggest tool this side of John Terry, but his influence on a game is incredible. Guaranteed goals, and probably more assists if he has to pick up some of the slack from the dearly departed Alonso, it will probably help that this year is (another) make-or-break for Benitez. Even if the augurs don’t look good for a trophy, it won’t be for lack of effort on Gerrard’s part.

Andrei Arshavin - £5.5 m

More than just THE footballer picture meme of the 2008/2009 season, Arshavin was probably the best signing of the year. He settled into the team quickly, and I can’t help but think he’ll only get better. No matter what Wenger says, the loss of Adebayor does hurt their goal-scoring ability, so I’ll expect a greater emphasis on the midfield and the wingers since van Persie has never struck me as the ideal target man. Plus, that Liverpool game.

Cesc Fabregas - £5 m

If Wenger really is moving towards a Barcelona shape-is-the-key system, then Fabregas will be the lynchpin. In any case, with 3,000 passes a game, one of them’s gotta be an assist, right?

Darren Fletcher – £3.3 m

There might be a bit of the Scottish romanticism here, but he’s a good player and without Ronaldo around, I expect he’ll fancy a pop from outside the box now and again. His performance in the Charity Shield (first half, anyway) makes me think this is real value for money.

Fernando Torres - £7 m

If he stays fit, he’ll be the focus of Liverpool’s attack and he’ll score a lot of goals. Bonus points come from games where his team is dominating, and he’ll slot a few extra in just for the hell of it.

Kevin Davies - £5.9 m

I don’t expect much from Elmander, so once again Davies will be the go-to man for a desperate side out of ideas. Everyone take a drink when he’s described as a “journeyman” and “workmanlike”, but he’s got a lot of skill to go with his strong-arm tactics. Points will be deducted for a surplus of yellow cards, as every season he has about 4 or 5 contenders for Most Atrocious Tackle of the Year, but it’s a risk worth taking. In a team that thrives on sloppy goalmouth confusion, he’s the king of the scramble. I’m not sure any player works harder for mid-table obscurity.

So that’s the team. I really intended to get past my Chelsea-dislike and drop Carvalho or Cech in, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Such is the irrational world of fantasy football, but since I expect the Blues to do well, I might get over my prejudice and transfer some in down the road.

-Matt

(The) Mothers of Invention

So Ryan's done his team. Here's mine:



I stuck to the two-players-from-one-team rule. It's a nice constraint.

I went with Jose Reina in goal. I think this is a safe option to get some points. Oh balls, I just realised I have three Liverpool players now. I added Johnson after another change. There goes the rule. OK, changing Reina to Cech. Reina I originally chose because he was the cheapest of the big three, and I think Foster is a risk for a permanent slot, despite VdS's injury. Ha, Cech's picture is better than Reina's. He has his protective hat on and is shouting. I think Chelsea have just scored a goal. Or perhaps he just saved a penalty. This made me smile.

My defence is less of the midfielder-cum-defender style that Ryan went for. I'm not sure what the style of mine is. I changed my mind a few times. Glen Johnson is probably the safest player here. If he settles into the team and doesn't do a Robbie Keane. Jagielka I'm not sure if he's going to be fit for the start of the season. I should probably look into that. Everton do OK with clean sheets, and Jagielka pops up with stuff now and then. Onuoha I don't have a clue about, to be honest. I'm curious about Man City and want to see if he might pick up some points on the sly. I'll probably transfer him out. Rafael seems like a decent punt at 3 mil. He might not play much. I'll see how it goes.

(Oh, I also went with a 4-3-3. It seems the easy option but I might mix it up during the season. Can we do that? I hope so.)

Gerrard is my other guaranteed points-getter. I think he is value for money. Kranjcar is a cheap option. I've liked watching him play for Portsmouth. I think how good he is will depend on how Portsmouth start the season. Barry Ferguson is sort of a joke choice. But McLeish loves him. I think he has a chance of doing well. He takes a lot of free-kicks and penalties. But he didn't do that well the last time he left Rangers. I will probably transfer him out. When he moved to Blackburn I thought he would do well. I don't particularly think that now. This feels a bit cruel.

I hope Wayne Rooney does well this season. It seems that Ronaldo leaving might be the best thing for his career. We'll see. Robbie Keane should hopefully be back to normal this year. And Agbonlahor has so much potential that I think he is worth trying. I am a bit worried that all of my strikers tend to have dry spells. I will have some money to play with if they don't work. It seemed too easy to go for Anelka as well as Gerrard. I may regret this later in the season.

I think I am most worried that some of the players I picked won't even play. This would be embarrassing. I am looking forward to this making me more active in my following the Premier League.

Fantasy Football Team

Every year I pick a fantasy football XI. Every year I don’t do very well. One year I tried to pick a team made up entirely of players with the surname Taylor, with Ricardo Vaz Te and Stern John upfront. That was a particularly bad year.

This year I’ve decided to tell you about the team I’ve picked. Think of my selections as a guide on who you should probably not pick. Prices come from the Telegraph Fantasy Football game. I’ve picked a 4-3-3 formation and limit myself to 2 players from each team, that’s not an official rule I just think it’s more sporting.


Ben Foster ­– Manchester United (£3.0)

Even before van der Sar's injury I pencilled in Foster this year. If he claims the number 1 spot you'll have a cheap keeper playing regularly, sweet.

Stephen Warnock – Blackburn Rovers (£3.5)

The Blackburn full back often pushes into midfield, he scored 3 goals last season and plays regularly.

Yuri Zhirkov – Chelsea (£4.2)

This is a bit of a gamble as I haven't seen him play that much but he could make the position on the left of Ancelloti's diamond his own. Another defender playing in midfield.

Graham Alexander – Burnley (£3.0)

This one is probably my biggest folly. I just really like the Coventry born Scotland international. Coyle deployed him as a holding midfielder last year and he managed to score 9 goals.

Herita Ilunga – West Ham (£3.6)

Another attacking full back Ilunga bagged a lot of points last term in an improving West Ham team.

Marouane Fellaini – Everton (£3.7)

The big Fella (ahem) looked impressive last season and is a cheaper alternative to the equally useful Cahill and Arteta.

Andrei Arshavin – Arsenal (£5.5)

The diminutive Russian looks like he is going to be key to the Arsenal set up this season. Playing in a system that will give him license to roam and get goals.

Martin Petrov – Manchester City (£3.1)

I didn't want to go for any City players as it's almost impossible to pick out who will start regularly. Arguably Petrov hugging the left hand side might give them some balance.

I'm rethinking this one already.

Eduardo – Arsenal (£5.3)

It looks like Wenger might start the season with van Persie on his own upfront. On the evidence of van Persie's performance against Atletico Madrid it wont be long before Eduardo is introduced as he is more naturally suited to the role (with van Persie dropping in behind).

Michael Owen – Manchester United (£6.2)

It's got to happen hasn't it? He will get goals, wont he?

Fernando Torres – Liverpool (£7.0)

A full season without injury could bring a 20 goal return for the brilliant Spaniard.