With the start of the 2013/14 Premier League season fast
approaching, I imagine many of you will be starting to think about Fantasy
Football teams.
For those of you not familiar with it, FF is a fun way
of competing with your mates or colleagues to see who has the best football
nous! The way it works (I’ll use the Sky Sports one as an example as that is
what we use) is you have £75m - virtually unfortunately! - to spend on a team
of 11 players; better players cost more money so you have to balance it out if
you want the superstars!
Each player receives points each week based on their
performance, so 2 points for starting a match, 5 points for scoring a goal, 3
for an assist, 5 for keeping a clean sheet (GK + DEF) etc.. Your nominated
Captain also gets double their tally, and this year you can change your captain
between days, ie. you could have Jack Wilshere for a Saturday match, then
change it to Eden Hazard for the Sunday match. Your captain is usually the
player you think will accumulate the most points!
However players can also score negative points; 1 is
lost per goal or yellow card, while a red will see 3 points deducted, as will a
missed penalty..
You can make transfers (40 throughout the season) to
cover for injured players, or if you simply decide to change your mind because
a player is out of form, which can obviously fluctuate throughout the course of
38 weeks!
Anyway, you can read the full T&Cs when you join up!
For now though, here are my tips for putting your team together..
GENERAL
Balance your team;
you don’t want to end up selecting players who sit on the bench earning 0pts
because you have spent all your money ! Youngsters are sometimes a gamble worth
taking because they have a point to prove so may pop up with goals or assists
every now and again.
Look at picking
players who play week in/week out because they will get you points, and at the
end of the season, they all count, so when it comes to filling your team with
cheaper players, try and pick a regular... With respect, teams in the lower
reaches of the table are a good place to look for these.
Look at pre-season
form, it will generally carry over into the start of the season, but don’t
discount last season’s form; if a player had a great season last season, they may
not necessarily do the same this season, especially if the team has been
shuffled. It is usually only the top players who sustain consistent form.
STRUCTURING YOUR TEAM
There is no definite way to construct your team, it is
entirely up to you, and I always find that you tinker with your team
continuously when you are first putting it together. But if there is one thing
I’d say, it’s that you want a skewer of ‘top’ players - a decent GK, 1 decent
DEF and FWD, and 2 decent MIDs, then work off that. I usually play with 1 3-5-2
formation, but this season I’ve gone for standard 4-4-2 because my defenders
did well last season..
GOALKEEPER
Quite simply, since you only need one keeper, it’s worth
the money to have a decent keeper who is likely to keep clean sheets, and most
importantly, play. A common mistake I see is people with a keeper who will
never see a substitutes bench, let alone the pitch, so they don’t win points.
DEFENDERS
You want to pick at least one ‘solid’ defender who, like
your keeper, will pick up clean sheet points, but also factor in whether the
defender may score or create goals too; Leighton Baines was last season’s top
defender, chipping in with 5 goals, 7 assists and 11 clean sheets.
I’d suggest picking two top defenders though because they
are generally a regular player who may contribute a couple of goals, and often
pick up clean sheets - in other words they pick up points more regularly than
others if you choose the right ones.
In terms of completing your backline, I’d then pick a
mid-table defender and a youngster. Last season, Joey O’Brien (West Ham) was a
good bargain after picking up 2 goals, 4 assists and 11 clean sheets, so he may
be worth a shot again, then the youngster being tipped to perform this season
is Southampton’s Luke Shaw, and at £5.3million, he could be a bargain.
Personally I’ve gone for 3 younger players - Shaw, Cesar
Azpilicueta and Danny Rose - because I think this year managers may show some
faith in bringing youth through. Azpilicueta especially had a great debut (half)
season for Chelsea, and this season I expect him to kick on with a place in
Spain’s 2014 World Cup Squad beckoning. Phil Jones, Rafael, Kieron Gibbs and
Kyle Walker are others to consider in the same sort of price bracket.
MIDFIELDERS
I think this is the most tricky part of the team to put
together because a midfielders’ form fluctuates the most in a season, and
changes instantly, so you have to be patient. I’d always suggest picking two
top midfielders who are guaranteed to get points (assuming they play). What
some might call “old guard” players are often a good option, so either Stevie
Gerrard, Frank Lampard, or Scott Parker, then an attacking midfielder with
flair will usually serve you well, so the likes of Juan Mata, Gareth Bale (if
he’s still here), Santi Cazorla, Eden Hazard or Theo Walcott.
For the other two spaces, midfield is good for tinkering
around with costs because you can usually pick up cheaper midfielders from the
bottom half teams who pick up points because they regularly play, then can pipe
up with the odd goal or assist. Charlie Adam proved to be a bargain during
Blackpool’s short stay in the BPL, so keep an eye and an ear out for players
who are performing well. Bargains are essential to Fantasy, so you need to pay
attention.
I’ve gone for Lewis Holtby because he was impressive in
the early stages of his Spurs career last season, and at £5.1million, I’d
certainly recommend him - AVB would be mad to not include him regularly this
season!
FORWARDS
Consistency is key, and is often as unpredictable as
British summer in the Premier League. Nobody expected Michu or Christian
Benteke to impress so much in their debuts in English football, or for Romelu
Lukaku, Rickie Lambert or Arouna Kone to finish ahead of seasoned PL strikers
such as Fernando Torres... But that’s what football is all about!
Of course you pay premiums for consistent scorers like
Robin van Persie or Luis Suarez, but for a first time player who may not
necessarily have the nous for a good talent they are worth the expenditure.
For punters like me, I like to take risks so I’ve opted
for Wilfried Bony and Daniel Sturridge. The former is a new signing for
Swansea, but with flair, speed and accuracy, I think for a while he could stun
teams while they figure out how to keep him under control. Also having watched
his Swansea debut against Malmo in the Europa League, he’s my recommendation.
Sturridge, meanwhile, has always had talent but never managed to break into
Chelsea’s first team. However since his move to Liverpool he certainly had an
impact after scoring 10 goals in 14 appearances.
Once you’ve completed your team, remember to join our league to see how you do against our teams, and compete against other readers!
Sky Fantasy Football - https://fantasyfootball.skysports.com/
League Name – Outside The Box
League PIN – 8028312
Premier League Fantasy Football - http://fantasy.premierleague.com/
League Name – Outside The Box
League PIN – 903992-214859
The Sun Dream Team - https://www.dreamteamfc.com/
League PIN – 8083882
League Password – itsbinews
Check the Twitter @ItsBizLive or e-mail us for details
of how to join, and if you’ve got any questions feel free to tweet me at
@willtm10.
Now all that’s left to say is “good luck”!
By @willtm10
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