FFF - Fantasy Football Facts

By Lee Jaundrell 16/8/12

It’s that time again, all the excitement. It’s all about to begin, the meaningless internationals are out of the way, and the most important league in the world is about to get under way. No,no, not the Premier League, the most important league is your Fantasy League with your mates and colleagues. 

Never mind that your favourite team, challenging for a Champions League spot, failed to score, you had oppositions goalkeeper in your fantasy team and that’s an extra 4 points. Result. Below are some of my ramblings, things I have noticed, read, digested and regurgitated. Some things that I have probably just made up. Take it or leave it, but these are the FFFs - Fantasy Football Facts;-

1. Check the double game weeks.
2. Chelsea and Reading have a double game week in week 1.
3. Fernando Torres is Chelsea’s only fit striker.
4. Fernando Torres has 2 games in the first week, against 2 of the favourites for relegation, away to Wigan and at home to Reading.
5. Fernando Torres is £10 million, Rooney is £12m, Van Persie is £13m.
6. Fernando Torres is Chelsea’s only fit striker. (Yes I know I’ve said this,but it deserves a repeat).
7. Ivanovic is not suspended following his red card in the charity shield.
8. Ivanovic is £6.5m, Luiz is £6.5m, Cahill is £6.5m, Terry is £7m
9. Ivanovic will play.
10. Chelsea have 2 games in week 1.
11. I like to repeat things, in order to pad things out a little
12. It can be worth having a cheap goalkeeper.
13. At £4.5m, Reading’s Federici is as cheap as they come for a starting goalkeeper.
14. Jaaskelainen is £4.5m, Davis is also £4.5m
15. Reading have 2 games in week 1
16. Vorm of Swansea was the cheapest starting goalkeeper last season at £4.5m
17. Vorm got 14 clean sheets last season
18. Cech got 10 clean sheets last season, Reina 12, Szczesny 13
19. Vorm is £5.5m this season
20. Some of you may have noticed that I have stolen the format of this fantasy list from   Matthew Berry of ESPN. If you enjoy Fantasy NFL and good fun reading material look him up.
21. Imitation is the highest form of flattery
22. Gerrard will be playing high up the pitch this season.
23. Despite playing deep last season Gerrard scored 1 less goal than David Silva.
24. Silva only scored 6 goals for the rampant Man City
25. Silva is £10m
26. Juan Mata also scored just 6 goals last season
27. Chelsea have bought Hazard, Oscar and Marin this summer
28. Mata is £9.5m
29. When fit, Gerrard will be playing the second striker role this season
30. Gerrard is 9.5m
31. Ramires scored 1 less goal than Mata last season
32. Ramires is class and will play
33. Chelsea have 2 games in week 1
34. Ramires is £7m
35. Man City have made 1 major signing so far this summer. Jack Rodwell.
36. Rodwell becomes another DM, along with Barry & De Jong in their squad
37. Yaya Toure is a monster
38. Toure will in all probability play the attacking midfield role, and terrorise defences with his marauding brilliance
39. Toure is £8m
40. Moussa Dembele is a future World Cup winner with Belgium
41. Dempsey could be leaving Fulham soon
42. A question, who will replace the goals provided by Dempsey in his absence?
43. Dembele is £6m
44. Sometimes you take a gamble, sometimes you play it safe.
45. Dempsey is £9.5m
46. I have just returned from lunch in the pub, I had gammon and eggs, and ‘some’ beer.
47. Alex Song had 13 assists last season.
48. Song is rumoured to be a Barcelona target this summer.
49. Adam Johnson had 6 assists last season, Aaron Ramsey had 6 assists too.
50. Johnson is £7m, Ramsey is £6m.
51. Song is £6m
52. Gervinho is £7.5m
53. Newcastle kept 15 clean sheets last season, only bettered by Man City
54. Tim Krul is £5.5m, Joe Hart is £7.5m
55. Tony Hibbert has never scored a goal for Everton
56. Hibbert did have 5 assists, 1 behind Patrice Evra and Ashley Cole.
57. Hibbert is £5.5m
58. Hibbert is a gamble.
59. A. Cole is £6.5m
60. Chelsea have 2 games in week 1
61. A.Cole is playing it safe
62. Stewart Downing didn’t score a goal last season, and had just 2 assists (not including the sacking of the manager)
63. Downing’s position has changed from last season, from left midfield, to right sided attacking winger. He can cut in and shoot from the right.
64. Downing has already scored this season.
65. Downing is £6.5m, he is a gamble, but Gervinho is £7.5m
66. Nikica Jelavic scores goals
67. Jelavic will start every league game
68. Jelavic is £8.5m
69. Andy Carroll is £8.5m
70. Carroll has scored 6 league goals in 18 months at Liverpool
71. Carroll will not start every game
72. Lukas Podolski is £8.5m
73. Podolski scores goals, but.......
74. In his first season at Bayern Munich he scored 4 league goals
75. In his first season at FC Koln he scored 2 league goals.
76. Podolski takes time to settle
77. Jelavic scored 9 goals in 13 league games for Everton
78. Torres is the only fit striker at Chelsea
79. Matthew Berry’s 100 facts can be found here; http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/football/ffl/story?page=NFLDK2K12_100facts
80. The current strikers at Tottenham are Defoe, Giovani, Kane and Lancaster.
81. Jermaine Defoe is £7.5m
82. Danny Graham of Swansea scored more points than Luis Suarez last season
83. Graham 138 points, Suarez 136 points.
84. Grant Holt also got 138 points
85. Graham is £6.5m
86. Holt is £6.5m
87. Suarez is £9.5m
88. Jay Rodriguez is £5.5m
89. Rodriguez would be a gamble
90. Away from Fantasy Football for a moment, Man Utd will have 4 strikers next season, Rooney, Van Persie, Wellbeck & Hernandez. Man City have Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko & Ballotelli. Chelsea have Fernando Torres and Sturridge. Aguero, Rooney and Van Persie are all shorter price to be top goalscorer this season. Torres is 10/1.
91. Dembele is 125/1. Defoe is 50/1. Carroll & Podolski are 33/1.
92. Always check team news, as late as possible.
93. Ba, Cisse & Sammy Ameobi could all be missing this weekend.
94. Shola Ameobi is fit to play
95. Cisse is £9.5m, Shola is £5.5m
96. Always make use of your transfers, even if it costs you points.
97. If the team is right, don’t change it
98. When it comes to your captain, the obvious choice is the only choice, don’t try and be clever.
99. Torres is Chelsea’s only fit striker, he will play 2 games in week 1 against 2 of the weaker teams in the league, he is the obvious and only choice for captain this week.
100. Good luck

Fantasy football can be played at http://fantasy.premierleague.com it is free and by far the best fantasy around, and if you want to join me in my league, the entry code is 418762-117593.