In this week’s Fantasy Football Insider, JOE takes a look at new rule changes, and at who might be good value in the opening week.
By Conor Hogan
Don’t talk to us about withdrawals. Throughout the summer, the staff at JOE have been locking themselves in their room, rocking back and forth, and taking on plenty of fluids. But finally, the Premier League is back, but what’s more important, the fantasy Premier League is back. We are looking forward to it once again taking over our lives, of waking up in cold sweats at four in the morning, wondering whether we should have transferred Drogba for Torres.
Rules
First things first, let’s consider the changes for this year’s competition. Saved transfers carry over multiple game weeks. That is, if you don’t use your free transfer it will carry over and be available to use whenever you want. You can still use your wildcard anytime, but now you will get an extra wildcard that will be available to use between weeks 23 and 27. Scoring an own goal will now deduct two points from your points total.
A new interesting feature is that now you’ll have the option to post your league code to your Facebook wall and Twitter stream.
Team selection
Now that the legislation is out of the way it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty. Picking your opening team, it is important to take a look at the opening few fixtures. Tottenham have an exceptional opening couple of months. After their first match at the Lane against Manchester City (who they have a tremendous record against in the Premier League), Spurs’ next five fixtures are against Stoke, Wigan, West Brom, Wolves and West Ham. They won’t, but they could realistically go unbeaten until 30 October when they face Manchester United.
Spurs players worth a punt include Gareth Bale, who isn’t as good value as he was towards the end of last year when he was classified as a defender, but if he continues his form he will be well worth £6.5million, much more reasonable than £8million man Aaron Lennon. Another Spurs player worth buying is Heurelho Gomes at £5.5million, due to his propensity to save penalties and pick up bonus points.
Another team with tremendous opening fixtures are champions Chelsea. Ashley Cole is expensive at £7.5million, but managed 135 points last season despite missing long stretches with injury. He will pick up clean sheet bonuses, performance bonuses, and points for assists. For Manchester United, expect Jonny Evans to feature a lot and at £5.5million, he could be a real bargain.
JOE’s Fantasy Football picks:
Top dollar: It is recommended to splash out on a couple of players. You get what you pay for. The big points earners last season were the most expensive players, like Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney, while nobody earned more than Frank Lampard, whose 22 goals and 17 assists earned him 284 points. He is easily worth his £13million price tag.
Mid-range: Manchester United’s Nani was outstanding for much of last season. If he continues his improvement, £8million could be a bargain.
Bargain basement: Birmingham kept it tight at the back last year and Joe Hart managed 140 points. McLeish has replaced him with Ben Foster this season, and the ex-Man Utd man is only £4.5million.
Irish pick: Performances last year have seen some players’ values drop significantly. Nobody more than Robbie Keane who is available at £5.5million. His form pre-season has been excellent, and could start for Tottenham, while if he moves on, he will retain his price and suddenly look like an absolute bargain.
Captain’s pick for this week: Frank Lampard. A home game against West Brom, it’s a no-brainer.
