RADIO
One of the fastest growing fantasy games is the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) - a season-long version of fantasy soccer for the English Premier League (EPL). With millions of players each year, the FPL game is becoming a fixture for soccer enthusiasts across the globe.
Having played the game for the last twelve seasons and largely languished in mediocrity (apart from a top 30K finish in 2009/10), I was ready to finally put my largely wasted knowledge of football statistics to use and strive to become one of the game's elite players. Last season, I finished around the 250K mark and in the process won my family league - but that is not enough for me.
Tired of wasting my time with meaningless, emotion-fueled transfers, I have decided to make a concerted effort to not only destroy my fantasy league this year, but improve on last year's finish and - hopefully - have a good amount of fun in the process. Thanks for joining me on my journey through EPL's Fantasy Premier League. I hope you enjoy the embarrassment that is about to unfold and, just maybe, pick up a piece of advice from a self-described non-expert on the game.
EPL Diaries - Fantasy Premier League
The Squad:
GK: Joe Hart (4.5M), Maarten Stekelenburg (4M)
DF: Marcos Alonso (6.8M), Benjamin Mendy (6.5M), Andrew Robertson (6.2M), Aymeric Laporte (5.6M), Ryan Bennett (4M)
MF: Eden Hazard (10.9M), Sadio Mane (10M), Christian Eriksen (9.3M), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7.1M), Pedro (6.8M)
FW: Romelu Lukaku (11M) , Aboubakar Kamara (4.5M), Isaac Success (4.5M)
Analysis:
After finishing in the top 6.5K last week, I was determined to at least attempt to repeat my performance. My team once again performed admirably, with a finish in the top 310K at 75 points for the week. Granted, much of that was from captaining Eden Hazard (praise be his glorious name), but I still felt like I had a solid showing and have now moved up to the top 240K players in the game. Let's see how my team performed.
Joe Hart was unable to keep a clean sheet once again, but recorded five saves en route to a modest three-point performance. With Mendy being rotated, cheap defender Ryan Bennett slid into the lineup and was able to earn six points (along with Aymeric Laporte - so far, my strategy of having a Man City center back is paying off due to the team's propensity for clean sheets). Alonso and Robertson were unable to get more than two points apiece, but after weeks of solid production, I was willing to forgive their lack of contributions in the attacking third.
Of course, the midfield points output was dominated by Eden Hazard, whose hattrick earned him 40 points for the week as my captain. A fantastic performance from a great player and one who I hope will keep banging in goals left and right for his club. Eriksen, who has largely been a disappointment this season, was also able to chip in with an assist. I will stick with him as I expect some reversion to the mean for the talented Spurs playmaker. Although Mane and Pedro were unable to score or assist, I am confident that they will return to better points outputs sooner rather than later due to the way their teams play. As it stands, I will look to transfer out Pedro in the next few weeks for someone who is more nailed-on for consistent minutes at his price point. The biggest disappointment in the midfield has been Mkhitaryan. His failure to start and produce has been dropping his value to the point where I considered trading him out before this week. However, I should still have the funds to complete my planned moves and hope that he gets a start against Everton this weekend.
Lukaku scored an absolutely ugly goal with his stomach, but that's what strikers are paid to do and it was good enough for me. The big Belgian has been riding a wave of good form which should hopefully continue into the coming weeks.
In terms of transfers, my plan is still to get out Mkhitaryan and Kamara and bring in Schneiderlin and Mitrovic after this gameweek. Therefore, I saved my transfer from last week and will pull a double move once this weekend's fixtures are finished.
My team once again is riddled with good fixtures next week. Hopefully, Joe Hart can finally keep a clean sheet against Bournemouth this weekend, while my defense has easy fixtures all around that should yield some solid returns out of the back. If Mendy doesn't play, I have faith in Bennett to step in and put in a good shift.
I have decided to once again captain The God Hazard against a frail West Ham side. Even though I don't expect another hattrick, Hazard is Chelsea's talisman and has played as such so far this season - he should contribute meaningfully to any offensive output that his team has, making him the perfect captain choice for me. Elsewhere, Mane plays Southampton and Eriksen plays Brighton - now is the time for them to shine against inferior opposition. If either Pedro or Mkhiki can do something to contribute as well, I will consider that a bonus.
Up top with a game against Wolves is Lukaku - hopefully, he can do some damage against a team that has definitely performed well to start the season. If Mendy suits up and Bennett subsequently does not play, I truly hope that Lukaku unleashes his fury on the Wolves backline and scores some memorable goals. After all, 11M for a striker is no small fee to pay - I expect premium returns for a premium option.
Can I continue this streak of good form and ride the Hazard train to victory? I remember a few weeks back someone commented and said that my strategy was abysmal due to my aversion to Salah, Kane, and Aguero. I thank that person, for although there should definitely be some reversion to the mean with the aforementioned trio of players, my strategy has paid off wonderfully thus far. Hopefully, it can last me for at least the next few weeks as I put distance between myself and the rest of my family league as well as attempt to climb the overall leaderboards to reach the top 100K.
That's all for this week - good luck gents!
