The week in Fantasy Premier League: Time to keep the faith
One of the best ways to score big - really big - in FPL is to bring in form players before everyone else.
You can do this by spotting them play well despite not quite getting the points returns, or noticing their fantastic underlying stats. Of course, it’s is a high-risk strategy and for every success there will be a few disasters.
We all sit up and take notice when a rival buys a player just before a hot streak - he won’t be long telling you about anyway if you don’t notice! Less celebrated are the times when another fantasy manager wisely resists the urge to sell that same player. But it’s just as profitable - more so in fact, given that there’s no transfer needed to do it!
A good example of this phenomenon at the moment, I believe, is the case of . His failure to score for the last two weeks has seen the West Ham winger’s value drop by 0.1.
His stats in those two games (15 penalty area touches, including four shots) show that he still has promise though, and with four kind fixtures coming up, a spell at centre forward, as well as an England place and a rumoured new Hammers contract on the line, it’s surely worth keeping the faith for now.
When deciding to whether to sell a player, using the three-game rule is usually worthwhile - but always look to the underlying stats. Such was Eden Hazard’s collapse in goal attempts etc. that dumping him after two games proved a canny move.
Others panic as soon as they see that little “i” player icon change colour, and end up selling a player that is well worth keeping, even if he has to drop to the bench for a while.
This week for instance, doesn’t exactly look like a man in mental turmoil, contemplating the long, agonising road to recovery.
So always take those small, vaguely identified injuries with a pinch of salt - especially before international breaks.
Of course, if you really want to know if a player is injured or not then…
#AskBenDinnery
There’s a thriving FPL community out there, and the first name on any Twitter list should be the one and only Ben Dinnery.
The affable Geordie is the go-to guy for Premier League injury news and accommodating, almost to a fault, to the dozens of people who ask him for updates on players every day (just have a look through his feed first, yeah?).
Giroud will start running outside today, needs to build his fitness. #AFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) October 13, 2016
You’re not alone - how the FPL community can help your game
The first port of call for fantasy managers in need of a helping hand (other than this column of course!) is Fantasy Football Scout (FFS).
From relatively humble beginnings, the site has grown with FPL itself and boasts well-researched articles and active discussion boards.
And we suffer along with Mark, Granville, Jonty, Andy and Luke as they lament their Gameweeks on the site’s popular podcast series, which recently celebrated its 200th episode.
Indeed, podcasts are a great way to catch up on all the FPL chatter (and still get some housework/commuting done!).
The simple, uncluttered format of two guys just shooting the breeze makes Always Cheating a real gem here.
If you’re the type who finds the sound of an Irish accent inherently reassuring, you’ll find plenty of them courtesy of Dave O'Grady and FPL Stag on the weekly Fanfeud podcast.
If you prefer a bit of lively banter to with your FPL analysis, then Fantasy Football Surgery is well worth a listen.
A new YouTube podcast hosted by FPL Chief has just started up and - so if you're looking for something fun and inteactive you can subscribe here.
Getting back to websites, a brash young pretender to Fantasy Football Scout’s throne has sprung up recently in the form of Fantasy Football Fix. It’s a slick, attractive site, focusing more on statistics and algorithms than FFS.
Probably the best feature here is its Price Change Predictor - which is also available as part of a free companion app.
Current price change status of popular transfers IN & OUT pic.twitter.com/LWqkG6nVCR
— Fantasy Football Fix (@FantasyFootyFix) October 5, 2016
Both sites offer additional features for paid-up members who like to really geek out on this kind of stuff (guilty!), but there’s plenty on both free versions to keep the more casual player occupied.
I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but the best-kept secret among FPL devotees is Peter Blake’s Mathematically Safe blog. With so much stats available these days, he really drills down into them to reveal some potentially season-changing insights.
Absolutely bloody brilliant đź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Ź #FPL
— Fantasy Football Pundits (@FFPundits) October 4, 2016
A little birdie told me…
Another great way of keeping up with FPL goings-on is to set up a dedicated Twitter list and dip into it from time to time (especially before transfer deadlines).
Along with the accounts linked earlier, here’s a few more active FPL tweeters (in no particular order) that you really should be following: Opta Joe, EPL Statman, FPL General, FPL Secrets, FPL Fly, FPL Coach, FPL Jesus and Kevin Blundell.
BUY
So what about this week? Well, Spurs and Arsenal defenders seem to be all the rage at the moment, but in the absence of a standout candidate, I’m sticking my neck out and tipping to deliver despite some tough fixtures over the next few weeks.
TRY
It might seem strange to be tipping players from 19th-placed team, but hear me out. Draws in their last two games has seen the Stoke ship steady a bit, and they have some great upcoming fixtures. These results have coincided with the arrival of goalkeeper Lee Grant - he’s  a snip at just 4.0m.
Lee Grant wants to extend his stay at the club. Going from what we've seen so far, surely it's a no-brainer that Stoke keep him for longer? pic.twitter.com/IIoZJKwgSO
— Stoke Loud & Proud (@StokeLoudProud) October 12, 2016
GOODBYE
That Tony Pulis defensive magic just hasn’t happened so far this season, and with ties against Spurs, Liverpool, Man City and Leicester, clean sheets will be in short supply for for a while.
Top of the League
A healthy 48 points was enough to keep 's Elegantly wasted side at the top of . Koscielny (ARS, 6.2) was the star of the show with 15 points, and having played his wildcard in GW6, Declan now has a solid squad to build on for the season.
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