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Syracusefan.com group for the official Fantasy Premier League game

My Wolves are killing me. I have a lot of thoughts but this is a family friendly website.

My EPL team is mediocre but I chose the wrong captain three of the last four weeks and was too late on the Salah train (burnt by him last year).

I do think you’ll see Arsenal make a big run over the next six matches and probably make it 2 pt differential with Pool by mid-Jan.
 
I'm sticking with Cunha for a bit, but Wolves' last couple games have scared me.

0-4 to Everton?! Everton are total a$$

I've also stubbornly stuck to Haaland captain the last few weeks which hasn't paid off..
 
I waited way too long to get a dependable captain candidate. The problem with Captains is you can't have 3 or 4 guys to choose from, because most of the time you'll pick the wrong guy.

You have to have only a couple real choices, so you can go with who is hot, and still have solid points, and maybe one more guy who could serve as captain if one of your 2 first choice guys is injured.
 
Big move for me this week, from 9th to 6th - without any points from Mo Salah!
 
We're a bit more than halfway through the season
so thought this was a good time to drum up some conversation:

What are you guys happy with and disappointed with so far when it comes to your roster decisions?
I have a ton:

Rough
- Had M'beumo in first draft and knew he was a season keeper from watching a ton of Brentford last year, but tried to cut costs by like 1 mill by starting with Rogers and Smith-Rowe instead.

-had Isak from the start in my team for a number of weeks, then transfered him to save some cash, bc he wasn't returning, so missed all his recent hauls.

- Have had Haaland since Week 1 - not too upset about this one, even though he has been dry outside of the beginning of the season.

Switched out recently:
- Gvardiol > Munoz - Gvardiol has been azz defensively and straight up given away goals in a number of games but Pep still starts him due to attacking threat I guess.

Dan Burn > Mazraiou once Amorim had a few games under his belt and then Newcastle proceed to keep like 4 clean sheets in a row.

Morgan Rogers > Semenyo

Cunha > Wood
Transfered out Cunha because I thought he'd be banned for a number of games, but the FA appeared to be on vacation for two weeks and said *** it after charging him with misconduct...

Smooth
- Had Salah, Palmer since start and that's pretty much it lol
 
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ROCcuse said:
We're a bit more than halfway through the season
so thought this was a good time to drum up some converastion:

What are you guys happy with and disappointed with so far when it comes to your roster decisions?
I have a ton:

Rough
- Had M'beumo in first draft and knew he was a season keeper from watching a ton of Brentford last year, but tried to cut costs by like 1 mill by starting with Rogers and Smith-Rowe instead.

-had Isak from the start in my team for a number of weeks, then transfered him to save some cash, bc he wasn't returning, so missed all his recent hauls.

- Have had Haaland since Week 1 - not too upset about this one, even though he has been dry outside of the beginning of the season.

Switched out recently:
- Gvardiol > Munoz - Gvardiol has been azz defensively and straight up given away goals in a number of games but Pep still starts him due to attacking threat I guess.

Dan Burn > Mazraiou once Amorim had a few games under his belt and then Newcastle proceed to keep like 4 clean sheets in a row.

Morgan Rogers > Semenyo

Cunha > Wood
Transfered out Cunha because I thought he'd be banned for a number of games, but the FA appeared to be on vacation for two weeks and said *** it after charging him with misconduct...

Smooth
- Had Salah, Palmer since start and that's pretty much it lol
Expand...

My big mistake was roster construction at the outset, and not having a "proven" person to captain. I thought it would be better, long term to not buy the most expensive guys because their point totals are not so much better, on a points per dollar basis, than having a bunch of very good guys - 3 of the top 5 at a position, let's say, but not the most expensive guy.

I've seen 2 problems with this approach. I hung in there a long time with that strategy, but not having a "go to" captain, meant I was hit and miss. "Oh, this guy is playing against this team and their defensive record isn't that great so I'll captain him this week."

So, of course some other guy has the big week, and I wind up leaving 2 or 3 guys on the bench who could have each given me 5-10 points.

I've recently gone and got Salah, and have a very strong midfield. He rewarded me with a 42 point week a couple weeks ago. My defensive choices also have not doing great, though, so I'm still down toward the bottom. I'd be happy to work my way back to the top 4 or so by the end of the season.
 
I thought not having Haaland was a mistake at first when I realized Week 3 I couldn't afford him but it's worked out.

Points fluctuate by the week so everyone is still in it too.

This is more entertaining than Fantasy Football. Not sure why I didn't start playing it sooner...
 
After pointing out the Friday start,
I was too busy with work and forgot to Triple Captain Salah for this past week :mad:
Oh well, there are more double game weeks to come.

Anyway, we have another Friday kick off this week folks.
Have teams set by 1:30 pm Eastern again.
 
Really interesting article on BBC.com.

www.bbc.com

Man City: Why Pep Guardiola's tactics stopped working amid rise of rapid football

BBC Sport analyses why Pep Guardiola's possession-focused tactics have stopped working amid the rise in rapid, direct football.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

The article talks about this maybe not just being Man City getting old in its midfield, but rather that people have figured out Pep Guardiola's tactics. Maybe this is the end of possession based football, as more elite teams are playing the long ball in behind high defensive lines, and counter-attacking quickly after a turnover.

Kind of like how Mourhinho's Real Madrid eventually unseated Pep's greatest Barca team. Tough defense, strike on the counter with Ronaldo and Angel DiMaria.

Chelsea's success earlier this season (2nd place on Christmas) has been followed by only 2 wins in their last 10 matches, as they have repeatedly given up leads late. Chelsea was at its best early in the season attacking quickly and decisively.

However, Enzo Maresca - a member of Guardiola's Treble-Winning Staff - wants them to play slower, so they can rest in possession, and not be too open to the counter themselves. (He calls it "playing basketball" when the game is too back-and-forth). But the slower Chelsea play, and the more they play out of the back, the more they make unforced errors that give away the ball in really dangerous positions close to their own goal. They get too passive in possession.

Under Guardiola's system, he wanted 20-25-30 passes in the opponent's half of the field in one spell of possession. But they (and other teams using his tactics) are finding it harder to beat the high press without booting the ball long. Presses have gotten more sophisticated.

The article talks about possession ball and exclusively playing out of the back may be a trend in decline. This sucks for Chelsea to have a guy who wants to play a style that is quickly being figured out at the top levels.
 
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Haha it’s been a rough week for Liverpool… losses in the Champions league & the Carbaoro Cup, lots of contract chatter involving Van Dijk, Salah & Alexander-Arnold. We’re just flat right now. I think we have enough cushion to get that Premier League crown (can’t wait to celebrate), but not quite as confident based on play that I was 2 weeks ago or so.

gbo continues to have a great season going… I’m not sure I can cover the 70 point or so cushion he has on me before the season is over, need to have some crazy lucky things fall my way. I’ve been happy with the season overall, but it’s looking like a 2nd place finish for me! I’m currently playing my assistant manager chip, not sure how I feel about that addition yet. It stops you from playing other chips as a 3 week commitment. I currently have David Moyes, would have had a nice point haul last week from him if Everton hadn’t banged in an equalizer in the 90th (of course). I would like to do a better job with that chip next year.

FPL is my favorite of all fantasy league options, hoping for maybe even a couple more from here to get the Syracusefan mini league REALLY going!
 
Well, Maresca seems to have sucked all the life out of the Chelsea attack. Meanwhile their Board Room is more focused on buying too many players to ever play for us in the future than in making sure we have a complete team to compete this current season.

They had injuries in attack and defense, and then sent 3 or 4 guys away for nothing in January. We still paid most of their wages, so don't say it's to get money off the books. And we could have used that depth now. Stupid, stupid "stock trader" types run our club, with no sense of actually building a proper functioning team.

They buy all these young guys, and then never give them even a 10 game run in the side before deciding whether or not they are worth keeping. How do you decide without letting them actually play, and learn?
 
JDubbin said:
Haha it’s been a rough week for Liverpool… losses in the Champions league & the Carbaoro Cup, lots of contract chatter involving Van Dijk, Salah & Alexander-Arnold. We’re just flat right now. I think we have enough cushion to get that Premier League crown (can’t wait to celebrate), but not quite as confident based on play that I was 2 weeks ago or so.

gbo continues to have a great season going… I’m not sure I can cover the 70 point or so cushion he has on me before the season is over, need to have some crazy lucky things fall my way. I’ve been happy with the season overall, but it’s looking like a 2nd place finish for me! I’m currently playing my assistant manager chip, not sure how I feel about that addition yet. It stops you from playing other chips as a 3 week commitment. I currently have David Moyes, would have had a nice point haul last week from him if Everton hadn’t banged in an equalizer in the 90th (of course). I would like to do a better job with that chip next year.

FPL is my favorite of all fantasy league options, hoping for maybe even a couple more from here to get the Syracusefan mini league REALLY going!
Expand...
You're still not out of it. Doesn't take much for thr tide to turn.

100% on Liverpool. It's been depressing to watch. The egg laid against Newcastle was some of the worst football played I've seen.
 
IthacaMatt said:
Well, Maresca seems to have sucked all the life out of the Chelsea attack. Meanwhile their Board Room is more focused on buying too many players to ever play for us in the future than in making sure we have a complete team to compete this current season.

They had injuries in attack and defense, and then sent 3 or 4 guys away for nothing in January. We still paid most of their wages, so don't say it's to get money off the books. And we could have used that depth now. Stupid, stupid "stock trader" types run our club, with no sense of actually building a proper functioning team.

They buy all these young guys, and then never give them even a 10 game run in the side before deciding whether or not they are worth keeping. How do you decide without letting them actually play, and learn?
Expand...
Palmer fell off a cliff performance wise real quick
 
JDubbin said:
Palmer fell off a cliff performance wise real quick
Expand...

Yup. and I still have him on my Fantasy team :oops:

Second biggest mistake after keeping Haaland for so long instead of switching to Isak at the right time.
 
ROCcuse said:
Yup. and I still have him on my Fantasy team :oops:

Second biggest mistake after keeping Haaland for so long instead of switching to Isak at the right time.
Expand...
Me too, I’ve had untimely injuries that I’ve needed to fill, thinking I’d keep a guy that at least gets 90 minutes until I can switch… then he’s not in the squad at all last week & his price has dropped. Brutal
 
As we hit the final 5 weeks of the season, I'm well out of the race in our Fantasy League.
But the race for the Champions League spots in real life is on a knife's edge.

Right now, 5 games to play, and 5 teams are within 2 points of each other, competing for only 3 places. The other 2 will likely fall to Europa League, although there are so many permutations that the Premier League could wind up with 10 teams playing in Europe next year.

Liverpool win their 2nd title of the Premier League era for Step Dad Arne Slot. That's a wonderful thing, plus they kept Salah and Virgil for another 2 years. With Man City in decline, maybe they can win another one or two titles.

Arsenal are obviously going to finish 2nd, and are in the Champions League Semifinals vs. PSG. Inter vs. Barca is the other Semi. Man United and Spurs are in the Europa League Semis, and Chelsea are in the Conf. League Semis, and have been called favorites to win it, but they have been a mid-table team since January, and are just barely hanging on to the top places.

Who do you think will claim the 3 spots from among Newcastle (59 pts), Man City (58), Chelsea, Nottingham Forest or Aston Villa (all on 57, although Chelsea has a sizable lead on goal difference)?

Recent Form:
  • Newcastle: Bad loss to Villa after 4 straight wins
  • Man City: 3 wins and a draw in their last 4, despite losing Haaland for the rest of the season
  • Chelsea: 2 wins and 2 draws from the last 4, against beatable competition. Points lost.
  • Forest: Lost back to back games after 3 straight wins. Is Chris Wood tiring up front?
  • Villa: Really had a great near-comeback against PSG in the Champions League quarterfinals, and then kicked Newscastle's butt, making it 5 straight wins in the league.
To me, I think City have stabilized and will finish in the Top 5. Villa are the form team that nobody wants to play. I could see them finishing 3rd. Newcastle is reasonably healthy and has a very good team. Pope has been back for a while in goal.

I think Chelsea and Forest miss out on Champions League for next year. Your thoughts?
 
IthacaMatt said:
As we hit the final 5 weeks of the season, I'm well out of the race in our Fantasy League.
But the race for the Champions League spots in real life is on a knife's edge.

Right now, 5 games to play, and 5 teams are within 2 points of each other, competing for only 3 places. The other 2 will likely fall to Europa League, although there are so many permutations that the Premier League could wind up with 10 teams playing in Europe next year.

Liverpool win their 2nd title of the Premier League era for Step Dad Arne Slot. That's a wonderful thing, plus they kept Salah and Virgil for another 2 years. With Man City in decline, maybe they can win another one or two titles.

Arsenal are obviously going to finish 2nd, and are in the Champions League Semifinals vs. PSG. Inter vs. Barca is the other Semi. Man United and Spurs are in the Europa League Semis, and Chelsea are in the Conf. League Semis, and have been called favorites to win it, but they have been a mid-table team since January, and are just barely hanging on to the top places.

Who do you think will claim the 3 spots from among Newcastle (59 pts), Man City (58), Chelsea, Nottingham Forest or Aston Villa (all on 57, although Chelsea has a sizable lead on goal difference)?

Recent Form:
  • Newcastle: Bad loss to Villa after 4 straight wins
  • Man City: 3 wins and a draw in their last 4, despite losing Haaland for the rest of the season
  • Chelsea: 2 wins and 2 draws from the last 4, against beatable competition. Points lost.
  • Forest: Lost back to back games after 3 straight wins. Is Chris Wood tiring up front?
  • Villa: Really had a great near-comeback against PSG in the Champions League quarterfinals, and then kicked Newscastle's butt, making it 5 straight wins in the league.
To me, I think City have stabilized and will finish in the Top 5. Villa are the form team that nobody wants to play. I could see them finishing 3rd. Newcastle is reasonably healthy and has a very good team. Pope has been back for a while in goal.

I think Chelsea and Forest miss out on Champions League for next year. Your thoughts?
Expand...
Shame Forrest fell off, I will always root for them

On a side note, it appears that Wrexham has run out of steam and with a friendly schedule have underperformed last four weeks, putting their auto promotion in jeopardy.
 
orangenauburn said:
Shame Forrest fell off, I will always root for them

On a side note, it appears that Wrexham has run out of steam and with a friendly schedule have underperformed last four weeks, putting their auto promotion in jeopardy.
Expand...

Yeah, it looks like they are going to land in the playoff. Hopefully they can hang on to 3rd to have home field advantage.
 
IthacaMatt said:
As we hit the final 5 weeks of the season, I'm well out of the race in our Fantasy League.
But the race for the Champions League spots in real life is on a knife's edge.

Right now, 5 games to play, and 5 teams are within 2 points of each other, competing for only 3 places. The other 2 will likely fall to Europa League, although there are so many permutations that the Premier League could wind up with 10 teams playing in Europe next year.

Liverpool win their 2nd title of the Premier League era for Step Dad Arne Slot. That's a wonderful thing, plus they kept Salah and Virgil for another 2 years. With Man City in decline, maybe they can win another one or two titles.

Arsenal are obviously going to finish 2nd, and are in the Champions League Semifinals vs. PSG. Inter vs. Barca is the other Semi. Man United and Spurs are in the Europa League Semis, and Chelsea are in the Conf. League Semis, and have been called favorites to win it, but they have been a mid-table team since January, and are just barely hanging on to the top places.

Who do you think will claim the 3 spots from among Newcastle (59 pts), Man City (58), Chelsea, Nottingham Forest or Aston Villa (all on 57, although Chelsea has a sizable lead on goal difference)?

Recent Form:
  • Newcastle: Bad loss to Villa after 4 straight wins
  • Man City: 3 wins and a draw in their last 4, despite losing Haaland for the rest of the season
  • Chelsea: 2 wins and 2 draws from the last 4, against beatable competition. Points lost.
  • Forest: Lost back to back games after 3 straight wins. Is Chris Wood tiring up front?
  • Villa: Really had a great near-comeback against PSG in the Champions League quarterfinals, and then kicked Newscastle's butt, making it 5 straight wins in the league.
To me, I think City have stabilized and will finish in the Top 5. Villa are the form team that nobody wants to play. I could see them finishing 3rd. Newcastle is reasonably healthy and has a very good team. Pope has been back for a while in goal.

I think Chelsea and Forest miss out on Champions League for next year. Your thoughts?
Expand...
Great breakdown, IM. It’s hard to argue with any of your points. As a Liverpool fan, I’ve been disappointed with their Boeheim-esque skid, losing to PSG in Anfield to crash out of Champions League, and then the inexcusable loss to Newcastle at Wembley. They even looked meh against LC today. I hope they close the season strong.

Arsenal is in top form right now (only took the whole season) and has a legit chance to win the big one. Knocking out Real Madrid deserves major props, and I do mean knocking out, Mike Tyson style. They are going to have a real tough time with PSG’s forwards. They are all but locked for second in the EPL.

Man City is also a lock at this point. They seem to have found their groove and should have enough to hold on for a top 3 finish. If they beat Villa, I think they lock up 3rd. Their schedule is pretty weak.

Newcastle is a team that seems like they could finish near the top, but I’m just not sold on them. They are Jeckle and Hyde despite the cup win. And they have Arsenal twice in the last 5 games. I think they could very well stub their toe and find a way to drop.

As you said, Villa is scary right now and give as good as they are getting. They could easily slide into the top 5, but a lot hinges on a win against Man City. If they can win that game and win 3 of the last four, I think they have a shot. They have a tough run of matches.

I’ve been pulling for Forest all season. Nuno deserves something out of this team. He’s had nothing but heartache the past few seasons. They need to dig deep and finish this thing strong, and I think they do. If they beat Spurs, I think they hold on and grab the last UCL spot.

Chelsea has a ton of talent that is really starting to gel, but I don’t think they are ready to grab that last UCL spot in the standings. They have the toughest slate of games remaining and needed late match heroics to pull today’s result out.

My final standings prediction:

Liverpool
Arsenal
Man City
Newcastle
Forest
Villa
Chelsea
 

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