GW Points: 30
Overall Points: 1,274
Overall Rank: 174,311
Transfers: None used
Game week 20 was a complete disaster, what could have gone wrong went wrong and the result is a drop in the overall leaderboard. We would have been better off not making the transfers we made at the start of the month. Salah outscored Sterling and Lukaku outscored Morata. Not only did Lukaku score but Morata getting sent off topped off an awful game week. I don’t regret the decisions, and I don’t think they were bad choices. It’s just been the way this season has gone – try to make a couple of proactive changes to pinch some points where others can’t and it completely backfires. Although Morata had been poor anyway, I still don’t think he should have been sent off. I wouldn’t call it a dive when he had a hand on his shoulder. It’s probably not a penalty for me but at the same time I wouldn’t call it a dive as I’ve seen them given.
Positives:
Clean sheet for Cahill despite picking up an injury, which apparently isn’t too serious. If I’d have saved the transfers I’d have probably looked to replace him but with one left in the bank I think Salah is a bigger priority.
Sane grabbed a goal and 7+ rating.
Kane continued his fine goal scoring form and picked up another 18 points.
Potential Issues:
Morata has been poor and I’ve reverted back to Lukaku. Before anyone points this out as being a rash decision – this was the plan in the first place.
With one transfer left we are still without Salah in the team. I’ve left Sterling in for this week hoping he can outscore Salah with games against Newcastle and Bristol City. I’m hoping we have enough funds to transfer Salah back in after these fixtures.
Pieters is an on going problem but what can you do with a player whose value is 0.5m. Ideally he gets replaced but I can’t see an option for this at the moment.
Keane didn’t play for Everton, which actually saved us some negative points. I was hoping he would recover quickly from what sounded like a small injury. This will be another to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
Tips for Game Week 21
Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal all have additional fixtures this week due to the second leg of the EFL cup semi finals. Man City’s fixtures look the most favourable with a home game against Newcastle at the weekend and a trip to Bristol City in the week. Any of their big hitters could have a decent game week – Sterling, Sane, De Bruyne, Aguero.
As always, feel free to share your own progress, suggest any players to look out for or provide any other useful comments below.
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To be blunt most game weeks have been a disaster…..we should be nearer 1500pts….
Next year we will form a panel select the perfect 11 then put a committe together to vote for our 3 in and outs per month
The start is VITAL we started poorly
Then dithered with injured players
More imputt more brainstorming
Season 18/19 bring it on
To be honest I don’t think it will make much difference – I asked for everyone’s input this month and everyone wanted to make the transfers proposed and they were a disaster. It comes down to luck and we’ve not had any this season. That’s the only difference compared to last season.
I wasn’t with the transfers this month…. but my suggestions fared no better! Captain Hindsight is back again! He he
We underestimated the importance of a strong defence at the start, and the front 6 had a slowish start (although all high scorers now). Darren is right, if you are behind at the end of November it’s very hard to catch up
I agree completely – bad start has meant it is impossible to catch up. But I still don’t think I’d have done much differently. Our defence was weakish but it’s not possible to have all the best players given the budget. You just need good luck at the start to allow your squad value to rise.
You could have had good team with a decent defence DTT.
I didn’t specifically pick bad defenders, it was all that was available with the remaining budget.
Well you picked defenders that were never going to win you the game. What budget did the current teams have on the leaderboard, same as everyone else & there’s plenty teams with a top front 6.
And they would have started with a team that looks very different to what it does now. I’ve been through the process. Last season I had the luxury of being able to pick any player I wanted because I’d made such a strong start.
….and the teams that end up on the leaderboard ultimately are semi blocks or complete blocks & this is the tactic that a shrewd player will go for….at no point, have you attempted to achieve this.
Just giving you good advice for next season.
The biggest mistake that DTT has made, which has been the biggest factor, that’s continued to screw up his season, is a weak defence from the very begining. You cannot win this game, with 6 players.
Captain Hindsight, will gladly point out the next rash decision….which we can ALL be guilty of, including myself !
Too many don’t have the patience to still with their decisions & clearly DTT is one such player !
In one comment you say I’ve got no patience and in another you say I hold onto players for too long.
A. Morata ( For one ! )
B. Kompany.
Fact.
Is there such thing as the perfect 11, that’s the unpredictability of the game and football in general. Sometimes you go with logic, others luck it’s just not run as smooth this season. You can prepare for weeks/months before but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will get the perfect team.
I’d agree with that – it’s simply not possible to predict accurately. It’s not something you can plan/research and the more time you put in definitely doesn’t guarantee success. It simply doesn’t work that way.
No such thing as the perfect 11, unless you have a crystal ball !
Not a negative comment bad luck also i was one who opted foe morata to come in…….
But debryne out early doors was poor
Hanging on for kompany too long cost points
Baines the same…….
Cat wait till next season i kind of given up interest now this season
Athony dean and the rest of the regular followers need to be ready come mid july we have some serious work to do to wipe out this seasons woeful showing
I don’t regret any decision that I’ve made. At the time of making the decisions they made complete sense to me and I’ve never had anyone point out that it would be a big mistake before the transfer was made. I’m all for sharing ideas for next season but I still don’t think it will make much difference – this isn’t something you can practice and get better at. Football is impossible to predict. This is the season I’ve put the most thought and time into my team and I’ve had a poor season. Research and planning can only take you so far, the rest comes down to luck and we’ve had none of that.
Ddt made this site to advise and it’s always going to be opinions. I love this site and occasionally use it. However I think some take it very literal when they go with ddt and it goes the wrong way.
To be honest the site is simply to document my team selection, I thought it would be useful for people to look at and use any blogs about upcoming fixtures to plan their own transfers. It was never intended to be a “copy my team and you will win” kind of blog.
Lets hope cahill plays tmrw or midweek DTT
This time on transfer dealings
I have no faith in hanging around
Waiting like kompany and baines
Theres bad luck then theres waiting for injuries to clear up when pts could be made in alternative picks
If you look at points that were dropped because of those injuries it would be minimal. I don’t remember anyone calling for those players to be removed quickly at the time.
You hung onto Kompany for dear life !….and you say no one advised you to get rid of ??
PIETERS
Always said he would come good
DTT, looking at differentials for February, people like Vardy , the Ox, & even Mktharian, cld play him in Europe league to get back match fitness, getting close to the point now of taking risks.
I think DTT is bringing in Van Dijk and Salah next, Salah is not differential and Van Dijk is likely to be a very popular transfer next month. The way DTT likes to play is with safe picks, players that highly selected usually by the teams above as shown by transfer of Lukaku who is the most selected player in the game. When behind in an mini league, I tend to look at players with ownership at 10% or less. I recently replaced Morata with a player whose ownership is less than 2%. Risky but I had to do something different and you need to be brave to make these risky decisions knowing that they could end season with failure.
Hard to apply logic to risky picks but to win big, you have to risk everything.
I didn’t do that last season and did well. Salah is a player I want to bring in, if you can make a case for a risky choice then I’m all ears? My thought process is that I can’t see anyone else out scoring Salah so why not just pick the best players that you want. I can’t see anyone in the stats table who look like they would be worth a punt in comparison to Salah.
If you want Salah so badly, why take him out in the first place. What was the advantage gained in taking out Salah?
Value? No. Salah price increased and further likely to whereas Sterling price has decreased and possibly to go down more.
Points? So far since the transfer made, Salah has outscored Sterling so no advantage gained there.
So two transfers used taking out Salah and bringing him back in although it is likely three will be used. Worst case, even that will not be enough.
It was clearly documented at the time.
You want to select the best players, that’s not a problem if you are in the top 10k or higher. Salah, Sterling, Aguero, Alonso, Lukaku, Hazard, Kane, Walker are highly owned so what is the advantage gained in bringing in players everyone else has. In a mini league, the person on top won’t have to block you, you would be blocking yourself.
For me,last season is the past. I had all pre season to review the good and bad of last season. I finished top 750 but my aim this season is better that, currently in top 1k. Unlike others, I am not concerned about next season. I plan my game play on now and the next few months.
The person top of the main mini league for me doesn’t have Lukaku or Hazard. If I’m being honest I’m not sure what you’re trying to contribute, there’s plenty of “I’d do this” or “I’d do that” but never any actual suggestions on players.
I think i am contributing well to your blog. If you or others disagree, i like to hear. If i wanted to just criticise, i could do in a short amount of time and with fewer words.
Fantasy football is not just a case of selecting players A, B or C, its more advanced than that. Player values have to be considered and tactical plans have to be drawn out. I give out my thoughts on how i tackle the game. You might think otherwise but thats ok. My main team has 300 points over yours and you might put all down to luck whereas i would think (if vice versa) that better transfers and tactical execution was applied by the team in front. If a team beats me by 50 points at the end of the season, sure i would say luck but if i lose by 150, 200 or more points than i would myself feel silly saying that and would hold my hands up that the person played better than me. I believe more skill than luck is involved in the game.
What I meant was you don’t ever seem to give any actionable advice in terms of players to take out or bring in. If it comes down to skill, how have I gone from a top 500 finish to a terrible season while applying the same principles?
What I meant was you don’t ever seem to give any actionable advice in terms of players to take out or bring in?
‘As a frustrated Morata owner, I wouldn’t recommend him. Watching him miss big chances (5 in a row in two games now) has been a nightmare and making me kick the sofa. I rather keep Lukaku.’
Posted this on your blog on 4th Jan. Next day you bring in Morata for Lukaku.
Yeah that’s fair enough but I believe the main question was “who was a better option” and ultimately there didn’t appear to be a better option.
And you always dodge the main question – If it comes down to skill, how have I gone from a top 500 finish to a terrible season while applying the same principles?
LOL
DTT, even tries to defend this, RR. It’s quite funny, actually.
I don’t think he realises how much he contradicts himself ? ( & then backtracks with, “What option did i have” ? )
True !
As i keep saying, RR, DTT makes rash decisions, all too frequently. Then he can’t get the players back in, that he needn’t have transfered out, in the first place !
I’ve never not been able to bring a player back in. I’m not a big risk taker, I plan far enough in advance to always have enough funds to bring whoever I really want back in.
Did you say you couldn’t bring Salah back in, sorry if i’ve got that wrong ??
Not currently, and I can’t see prices changing to allow this on Friday. However I’ve got a fairly straightforward solution to getting him back if deemed essential.
You’ve just completely contradicted yourself, DTT. ( Not for the first time. )
“I’ve never not been able to bring a player back in”
“Not currently”
What is the fairly straight forward solution ? Enlighten us all.
And you’re completely proving why this blog is draining my time. It’s not a contradiction because I’m one game week away from getting him so it’s not the case that I can’t bring him back in. It’s simple Cahill out for Van Dijk and Salah in for Sterling. I don’t see Van Dijk as a downgrade to Cahill as I believe Chelsea will go out of the Champions League before Liverpool.
You keep missing the point, DTT. You didn’t have to take Salah or Lukaku out in the first place. Your own admission is that you regret doing it, or certainly convey that, “Would have been better off to keep them”, ( without double checking your post. )
Obviously it didn’t pan out. But do I regret it? Nope. I’m not looking up the number of matches but both players had better runs of matches. It was a roll of the dice to try and pinch a few more points. No one disagreed with the decision at the time. Again you’re wasting my time going over old ground.
In your own admission you said you regret it, DTT.
In hindsight I wouldn’t have made the transfers. But I stand by the thought process at the time, it made perfect sense to me then and I still don’t look at it and think it was a foolish move. I just think it didn’t work out how it possibly could have.
Who would you suggest taking out?
Just because i can’t respond to your post DTT, but you say you have 1.3m in bank & you bought Lukaku back in for Morata, just to confirm ?
Your plan is to take out Cahill for VvD & then next month replace Sterling with Salah.
My immediate thought is to wait & see if Cahill is back, tonight, or weekend & keep Sterling & use up your remaining transfer trying to address one of your defenders, but need to check values of those players, till i come back with a suggestion of which one to take out ?
Yeah I put Lukaku back in. And Van Dijk/Salah is just an idea at the moment. I plan to wait at least until prices change on Friday before making any decision.
Well i had a look at your defenders values, Walker 3.8m ( Didn’t know he dropped this low. ) Cahill 4.2m Pieters 0.5m Keane 1,8m
Pieters, Keane not listed as injured on premierinjuries.com The thing is, it’s difficult to replace them, the only option i would say is, bringing in Evans WBA for 2.6m, if he should move ?
I’d be tempted to hold your midfield. If Walker had been a higher value, i would have considered getting rid of him, still could & replace with VvD, but was thinking to try for another Chelsea defender, trying to get semi block.
Not that I’m disagreeing but out of curiosity, why Chelsea? Don’t you see them going out of the Champions League because I do?
Only just trying to double up. I forget who they have in CL ? Is it Barcelona ?
Yeah it’s Barcelona I believe
The only thing is, there’s plenty of Chelsea blocks above you, regardless of CL result. Perhaps your best plan is to go with VvD. Then decide what you want to do in Feb ? Whether that’s Salah, or not ?
I can see Sanchez scoring big, but i have no transfers left to bring him into my best team.
I know i give you a bit of ribbing, DTT, but i don’t mean anything malicious by it. I actually feel frustrated if anything, because i think why did you do that ! ? Not that i claim to be an expert !
That was may plan to get Van Dijk in which then gives the flexibility in February. I don’t mind a bit of a ribbing, I’m just in a difficult position when I’m adamant that I’m making the right decisions but can’t really defend it when I’m in the position I am on the leaderboard. It’s been a very frustrating season.
If you were making the right decisions, DTT, you’d be higher & scoring more points, i would have thought ?
That’s exactly my point. I can hardly defend myself when I’m not higher up. But I do genuinely believe I should be much higher up.
I think it’s a great site and the advice I have got on here has helped me win my mini league twice in last 3 years.i Definately feel if you get off to good start and get players whose values increase it massively helps . Also I think you have to be ruthless with players like kompany whose Track record of reliability once injured is poor. Get them out early . Also feel that studying team news/ injury updates is crucial – time consuming but crucial . Keep up the good work
I do agree i have loved the site
Just a little frustrated DTT team has had a poor season i had hoped for a better return but as he said
All the pre planning cannot adjudge for damn right bad look
We go again next week !
Lot of talk about a committee of players for player selection and transfers. I post here regularly but i not sure it would work. Firstly, people might not have the time – I spend hours of research to make my team(s) better abd i am planning more involvement next season on fantasy football that i doubt i will have time to figure out how to improve other people’s teams. Secondly, I think dream team selection and tactics should be an individual process – my thoughts are totally different from DTT – not a bad thing as both of us will make mistakes – human nature. I liked DTT thoughts at the start of the season – choose players of his accord but i felt he lost confidence in his ability early on (criticism of morata transfer in game week 6) and then he seeked permission for the players selected. Maybe to free blame if transfers didnt work. Can’t blame bad luck for every decision – everyone tires from it in the end. Like real life football, fantasy football is a results based business. If you are not competing at the top of mini leagues, you are under pressure and criticism (especially if in the public eye). It is unfortunate that DTT is not having a great season as he does put a lot of effort into his game but his tactics (front 6 is old school now, that Kevin Keegan style of play looks good but doesnt win titles) and player selection (lacazatte, pieters, Bailey and kompany stand out) plus i dont think much emphasis has been placed on value: i feel he overpaid for players and then found it hard to sell for profit. I think 4.8m paid for Cahill was too much, i brought him for a million less and also sane at 6.2m (I was selling him at that price), even Walker brought for 5.2 when i brought him two weeks later for 4.6m. Buying low and selling high has become an important part of dream team success. More recently, it looks at the moment that the removal of Salah has created more problems (price increase) than a solution.
I don’t seek permission, I simply give the opportunity to point out any mistakes before they are made. Something that’s yet to happen.
how many points are you on?
You nailed it, RR ! I absolutely agree with everything you’ve observed & your views on how to approach the game, not saying that anyone is an expert, but the shrewd players tend to be on the leaderboard, more than just a one off year.
This game, with the price changes, is more like a game of chess now & like the stock market, knowing when to buy & sell, in order to be in a better position. Many players don’t just screw up with team selection, but then can’t amend it, because they don’t have the funds.
If you start the game with the likes of Foster & Ogbonna, just to name two, you’re already at a disadvantage. ( & that’s not hindsight ! ) The top teams in this game are there for a reason, mainly because they choose their players mainly from the teams that are likely to finish in the top 4 or 6.
If your both such guru’s then why not make a more positive contribution rather than posting constant criticism?
I think i have made a positive contribution to this blog. I have given a detailed account of how i would play the game and my tactical thoughts.
Criticism is a tool i use to spur me on to do better. I am very critical of my team’s performance and am never satisfied. I always want to beat last week’s score. If others criticise me, i become more determined to prove them wrong. I remember my first season playing, i had a poor start to the season. Someone said ‘you should take up another hobby. Your team is going nowhere.’ That made me more determined and i wanted to prove this person wrong no matter what injuries, suspensions and bad luck came my way. I won my mini league.
What an inspiring story…
Well i have asked for your budget left, but not sure if you’ve answered ?
I said “1.3m budget, 1 transfer left but being so close to Feb it could be used to tee up another transfer then”
I beg to differ on being able to ‘improve’ in this game!
When I first started out many moons ago, I would mostly assume mid-table positions, where as these days if I’m not top, I’m almost always in contention (almost because every now and then it’s possible to have a season like DTT is having).
This year I’m in 3 leagues (2 Sun, 1 Telegraph) and am presently winning them all, despite this being the first time I’ve ever done The Telegraph league.
One of my Sun leagues has almost 50 players so there is much competition within this league.
Yes, luck plays a large part, but I think you need to give yourself that edge with research and shrewd transfers if you want any chance of winning.
I think that’s what I was saying. You can give yourself a big advantage but it can only take you so far. Blogging my progress almost proves it – last year top 500, this season no where. Although I’ve put more time in this season.
I totally agree with Lee – I have playing the sun dream team for 3 years now and every season i feel i am improving. I think one sportman (can’t remember who) once said: ‘The more i practice, the luckier i get’. I learn from my mistakes (keep a fantasy football diary) and use strategies in helping make transfers. Lee comes across like a top player.
I agree that it can give you an advantage but it can only take you so far.
It is about learning from your mistakes each year. I’ve done well at this game, finished in the top 100 ( Joint 77th. ) but i am the type of player that likes to take a gamble on a particular player & that tends to be my main weakness.
My best team is in 7.000 position, a Spurs defensive block. It’s going to be difficult to achieve getting on the leaderboard, especially now that we’re at the end of January, but i haven’t given up total hope. A couple of clean sheets & you can move up thousands of places. Come on Spurs !!! I wonder how many Spurs blocks there are ??
I think a great tip for starting out is to leave a couple mil in the bank to make fast adjustments at the start of the season. For example I saw the clean sheets of United racking up and used all 3 of my first month transfers on their regular defenders. The price changes don’t take effect in the first month or so which allows you to get these players in for a good price before they rocket. It’s a great way to ensuring you get off to a decent start.
Value also plays a huge part, transfer in low and transfer out high. You’ve always gotta be on the look out for a good deal, which is great fun in its own right and very rewarding when that player performs.
I certainly enjoy this blog, it’s always fun to hear other people’s opinions and suggestions. As you mentioned it’s not a “copy my team” blog, I don’t understand why some people would want to copy a team outright, for me that takes a big chunk of the fun out of the game but each to their own. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Jason, will do. Although it’s getting a little frustrating when trying to play catch up.
I agree with you points in value Jason.I did some analysis and left a comment on a previous post comparing the value of DTT team to the guys at the top of the leaderboard. With that in mind, what are your views on bringing Salah back in?
At £9.1m he is very expensive. DTT tactic has always been to make sure the top scorers are in the team – but does this come at a cost? Willian for example, is better value for money (25.4 pts per £1m) vs. Salah (25.1). At £4.3m cheaper this would enable us to draft is someone like Smalling – who is another great value for money player (25.9 pts per £1m). Collectively these 2 players have more points than Salah and would replace Peiters and Keane, who on many weeks are scoring minus points! The other advantage to this approach, is you are not relying on the big players too much. We have seen players like De Bruyne, Sane, Lukaku, Aguero go through some dry patches this season which hasnt helped. Relying on 6 players to score points vs. all 11 does bring risk, and means that you have to be very reactive with your transfers, which arguably DTT hasnt been
I like downloading the data into Excel and doing this sort of analysis, something I will do more next year….
One thing to add, that will cheer DTT up, following the weekend, Erik Pieters is now by far, the best value for money player in the game with a massive 42 points per £1m investment! 🙂
Just for laughs…. I did the best value team of the year
Only stipulation: Must have scored over 100pts!
De Gea, Walker, Smalling, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Sane, Willian, Salah, Martial, Rashford, Lukaku
Team cost: £57.5m (Starting Prices £48.5m)
Team Points: 1567
No Kane, No Aguero, No Hazard!
Without taking form, fixtures, injuries/suspensions into account this team would be faring quite well! Definitely a metric to consider when making decisions I think!
Haha I think Pieters could be that differential player that we need based on that stat.
I’m not sure about Willian and Smalling – it’s a good point that they’ve scored as much as Salah combined but I don’t see Chelsea going much further in the Champions League. Also I’m not sure we’ve ever only relied on 6 players. We’ve mostly had two decent defenders – Valencia, Walker or Cahill. Pickford has been OK. If Keane can get back in the team I don’t think he’s an awful option. The only major weakness is Pieters.
We couldn’t have had a much better game week either. It’s probably been one of our best yet.
I wasn’t using it as a suggestion. More another angle. Like I said, there are more factors to consider, but value isn’t really something that has been discussed to often on the blog when making decsions. Who are the bargain players likely to rise in value
Yeah it’s an area I do overlook if I’m honest. I’ve never really bought players in at value hoping they will rise, I’ve always just picked the players I’ve wanted on the assumption that their price will rise with good form.
Good post, Jason.
Sometimes when there is no better option it's can be an advantage to do nothing and save transfers to strengthen other areas. I myself is a not a fan of short term transfers in the sun game. They are suited to other fantasy football games where transfers can made with less restrictions such as sky sports or telegraph games. Short term transfers are useful at the beginning of the season to take advantage of the extra european games which tend high point scoring as the opposition is weaker but english teams play full strength teams as they don't want to get knocked at the first hurdle and they need to build fitness and confidence. That's why I went heavy on Liverpool players at the start (Mane, Salah and Firmino) and got rid of them in September. Salah i quickly brought when i realised how dangerous he was. Even i make mistakes – errors of judgement happen to everyone.
Next, the lukaku-to Morata-back to Lukaku move and salah-sterling-salah moves. The reasons and logic have been documented but my personal preference is to avoid these short term moves due to volatile nature of price changes within the month and small gain of points at the cost of valuable transfers. Extra games don't guarantee extra points, just an opportunity to do so. In the telegraph game, the general consensus for a transfer to be worthwhile is 10 points. In the Sun i see the threshold to be higher due to transfer restrictions (40:30 seasonal tranfers in favour of telegraph and can do 5 transfers per week in that particular game). So every transfer i make in the sun for me has to bring around 40 points. Obviously some players will be duds – can’t get everything right otherwise game would be easy. Anyways, to cut a long story short (I am on holiday in India) morata and Sterling needed to massively outscore lukaku and sterling). Sadly this has been the case even with extra fixtures. Even though Salah blanked on Monday, I still his price will increase by 0.3. Not looked at Sterling in detail but wont be surprised if he drops again. The path to bring back Salah is a difficult one and maybe best avoided.
I will answer DTT main question later.
“Even I make mistakes” sorry should we start calling you ‘the great one’ haha
Regardless of the transfers that have been made, it’s not been a bad game week has it?
I’ll look forward to your thoughts on the main question.
I would be lying if i didnt say i made mistakes. Better than saying bad luck. Mistakes can be looked at, analysed and avoided in the future. Bad luck can be easily dismissed and any bad transfer in the future can be labelled as bad luck and forgotten about whereas upon reflection could have been avoided. Sure, there will bouts of bad luck but for every transfer made that doesnt work out it becomes suspicious when the reason given is bad luck. Maybe it is easier to focus only on our strengths and ignore our weaknesses.
‘The great one’ – no i didnt see myself as that. I have not made it yet. I still trying to improve my game. My strength is my desire and refusal to give up. I am not even thinking about next season. My thoughts are focused on the present and reaching my goals at the end of the season.
I probably see myself as a fantasy football critic – i give an honest view which I’m guessing DTT doesnt like. To some, I might be talking rubbish but i feel my record backs me up. Last season i finished 750th and this season got 3 teams in the top 2k. So my form is consistent, not up one season up and the other down. I am currently top of DTT’s league which he set up in late autumn. Now if i talked out of my ass, would i be top or in contention of this league. I very much doubt it. I know what i am doing.
About the current game week, well done indeed. 100 points or over is great. Now need a run of great game weeks.
My only question Is this the turning point of the season or another false dawn? I seen DTT in game week 14 in 174k, go up the rankings and then return to 174k in game week 20. The key to sustaining success is to keep moving fowards.
I think the big point you miss is that it’s not a perfect art form. It’s not completely down to skill and time spent researching. In some situations it is literally impossible to choose between two players. One may have the best form and better track record of scoring points but the other may go on to score a hat trick, that purely and simply comes down to luck in selecting the right player.
There’s nothing that I “don’t like” – no comment could possibly offend me or bother me. If it did, I could simply bin comments before they even make it onto the website but I encourage debate. What does slightly annoy me is that you seem more interested in criticising than pulling together and helping. It’s purely because I don’t really have the time to keep responding to comments which aren’t really helping to move the team forward.
And no of course it’s not a turning point. The team is too far behind. The game favours people who got off to a good start. The team grows enough in size to allow you to bring in any player you want and then it’s impossible for people who are behind to catch up.
I’m still awaiting your thoughts on how I’ve gone from a top 500 finish last season to a terrible season this year. I either had good luck last season or bad luck this season? As nothing else has changed, I’ve put in more time this season and follow the same principles. Thoughts?
Luck is involved, DTT, but ultimately it’s choices & from the word go, i pointed out your weak questionable defence, that you have been stuck with ever since.
I didn’t see you throw in your starting team as an example of how to approach it though.
I didn’t know i had to, DTT ? All i pointed out was an immediate observation about your defence. I’ve got 10 teams, like most, i guess, which starting 11 would you like me to post ?
All i can say is, none of them have West Brom, West Ham, or Stoke defenders, from the off, or at any point of the season.
You don’t have to but if you’re just here to cause trouble then I can’t see the point. It will get to the point where I don’t bother next season because responding to pointless/negative comments all the time is simply too time consuming.
No i’m not, i don’t think anyone is ? As i said, you don’t have to reply, like i don’t have to respond to your posts.
I wouldn’t give up the blog, purely because of comments.
It’s not because of the comments, it would be because it takes too much of my time. Which is mainly responding to comments.
It’s a different season DTT. Last year has no bearing on how you do this year. You can put all the time in you like, but if you make questionable choices, then you’re asking for possible problems throughout the season.
Principles ? Explain what principles you used, for the choices of players like Ogbonna, Foster, Pieters. Were these principled choices, good choices ? Logic, isn’t a reason, or budget you were left with, because you were “blinded” by the fact, that you just needed to have a good front 6.
I ask anyone on here, would have you chosen those players, did you ? and i’d guess no one did, or would ?
You may start to get the idea of where you went wrong, DTT ? If you come back with a “logical” “documented” reasoning, then that says it all, respectfully !
I’m not wasting my time rewriting decisions that are already written down. Once again, what’s your agenda other than to waste my time? This conversation is not giving a positive contribution so as I say, if you don’t agree with anything why are you even here?
To highlight your mistakes, DTT & try and give advice, if you’re willing to take it ? Being documented means sod all ! Regards wasting your time, i’m not holding a gun to your head to respond.
You set up a great blog, for others to contribute, but you don’t like any criticism. There’s no point in doing it, if you can’t take criticism.
You document your choices, but no one can criticise them, without out a “Well you haven’t said what you would do” ?
Criticism is fine but it’s pointless unless you’re trying to help. You’re more interested in gloating and your view is never balanced – you never give any credit for a good decision. All you do is wait for something to go wrong then jump on it as an opportunity to criticise. All you ever post is criticism. That’s the problem.
Do you have one transfer left, DTT & what’s your budget left & i’ll give a suggestion.
Regards gloating ? This is the man that posted his not so good selections of Llorente & Knockaert, so hardly something to gloat about !
Regardless of whether it’s gloating or not it comes across as constant criticism and negativity.
1.3m budget, 1 transfer left but being so close to Feb it could be used to tee up another transfer then. I’ve had arguably one of my best game weeks yet this week so based on what I’ve got available I’m fairly happy with the team as it is.
Kane & Aguero, ( finally ) Hazard, e..t.c. all great choices. but hardly inspired, when most people have them.
The shrewd choices from the off, were players like Sterling & Sane, that’s not said with any hindsight.
I always go with players i rate, that’s why i would never go with a Ogbonna, Foster, Pieters selection.
Yeah, agree no point in rewriting decisions. I would suggest a season long review (something i do) where you reflect on what was good, bax and lessons learned for the future.
I’ll certainly be doing that at the end of the season, if I’ve still got the enthusiasm by then. If I’m not winning at something, I tend to lose interest.
Another well written observation, RR. You can’t keep blaming “bad luck”, for how you are doing.
It’s great that DTT has this blog, but he clearly doesn’t like criticism & defends to the hilt, his decisions, even when they’re glaring bad ones…..being “documented” doesn’t win you prizes, unfortunately !
Criticism doesn’t bother me, why would it? But I’m obviously going to defend my position. My frustration comes from the constant unhelpful criticism. Mainly because it just drains my time having to reply. I also really don’t get it – if you don’t agree with how I approach things and aren’t following my team. Why are you even here if it’s just to be critical?
Are you sure, DTT ? Defending yourself, yes, you’re that type of person, “defensive”.
Do you ever take anyone’s advice on here ? Have you ever made a choice that someone has suggested ? I’m not sure you have, because i don’t think you’re the type of person to be swayed.
I think you have this, “I’m going to do what i want”, which defeats the object of setting up a blog, asking for opinions & advice.
I didn’t set the blog up to ask for advice or suggestions.
I want DTT to make his own choices, he is the manager of his team. I never ask for advice or suggestions because i always an idea of next moves and back up plans are quickly figured if something unexpected happens.
A big part of me wishes that DTT was more daring with his player selection. Like to say ‘sod it. If are going to lose, lets go out fighting. Let’s put in a bundle of differential players in the team.’ Yes, this might not work in the end but it would certainly make it more interesting (to read about). Safe is good approach but can be boring like winning 1-0 instead of an entertaining 4-3.
I think I’m about 140 points off top in the mini league I’m bothered about. If I was completely out of it, I’d probably throw more caution to the wind but as I think there’s a very slim chance of catching up, I’m less likely to make a risky move. Although I am considering someone like Mkhitaryan who can’t be a bad punt at 2.6m.
Ok, that’s understandable. That gap could be possible to make up playing your way. Good luck.
I think you have to be daring, RR, My approach is to aim to go with players i rate.
Out of interest, what would you do with my best team, with Feb approaching, no transfers left.
Lloris
Trippier
Davies
Vertonghen
Sanchez
Salah
Hazard
Lallana
Lukaku
Kane
Aguero
No budget left.
Anthony
I would lose some spurs coverage they have a tough February – downgrade 2 of there defenders – lloris for ederson? Trippier for kyle walker or try and get a Man Utd defender in as they have good fictures and defend well – also is it possible to swap llana for Sane (not sure on ££ though)
It’s just that some are bigger than others & less frequent, DTT !
My friends went to India, last November, Goa…..yes, i’ve pointed out to DTT, that extra games, doesn’t mean more points.
Need some advice here…
My front 6 currently are:
Mid: Sterling, Salah, Pogba, Hazard
Striker: Aguero, Kane
I’m 120 points behind someone in my mini league who’s front 6 are:
Mid: KDB, Salah, Sane
Striker: Lukaku, Kane, Agueo
Now I’m thinking about bringing in Sanchez for one of my 4 midfielders, leaning towards Hazard atm, to try and catch this guy up.
Thoughts?
I wouldnt take Hazard out if I was you. Maybe if you was to bring Sanchez in take out pogba. Just my opinion of course. I’ve not looked at fixtures yet for Feb
Yes after the last two games I’m now going to stick with Hazard. I’m thinking of taking a punt and taking Salah out to free up funds for a better defender, I’m thinking Salah’s form is going to suddenly drop, probably going to be wrong though!
United have a decent set of fixtures for Feb so believe Pogba will get a few assists.
Looking forward to game week 21 review – should be a good one.
Van dyke for cahill
Free up funds for salah for sterling 1st feb
Seems the logic thing to do in my view…..thoughts welcome
It looks like the best option to me at the moment.
Dtt i would defo keep the blog going next season…if you just want it as your team blog fine,however if you want to expand it where we all have a major say in the teams transfers and policy i’m up for that..although as you stated very time consuming…maybe all declare an 11 pre season and go from there.?
Whatever best suits
It could work if we all pitch in ideas. I don’t know how this would effect the structure of the website but could figure that out. My main concern is that the website gets around 200 visits per day but many people don’t comment. There’s only a few of us who post on a regular basis.
Or with arsenal fixtures coming up and europa starting up soon
Mikth is very very cheap
If u want to start gambling
Replace him with sterling and bolster defence up ?
But would a mikth/5m defender outscore a salah/ pieters combo ?
These are the topics i think next season given the time tho need to discuss prior to transfers if indeed we want to go that way ?
Or indeed some one like anthony who looks very very knowledgable and switched on doing a blog or twitter feed open to debate and transfer changes
Mkhitaryan is very cheap and could be worth a punt. I’d rather drop someone like Sane though and use the funds for the defence. It’s also hard to predict if he will play in the Europa League at the moment. I’m not sure Anthony would be keen to form part of group who pull ideas together, I get the impression he would rather do his own thing. I wouldn’t say anyone is anymore switched on than anyone else either to be honest. It’s easy for other people to criticise this team because it’s done so badly this season but I don’t think it comes from a lack of knowledge it’s just how things have gone.
Like many on here, my choices have to be my own, that doesn’t mean to say that i don’t get influenced by people’s opinions, i do.
Have you decided what you’re doing with your final transfer, DTT ?
( & i do appreciate your blog, even though you think i’m just here to be critical. )
I’ll probably do the Cahill to Van Dijk transfer. Seems like the most logical move to create some flexibility with the first transfer of February.
Or we could be brave and downgrade kane for firmino with tough fixtures coming up ?
Then slot salah for sterling feb 1st ?
These suggestions are out there
Any feedback ?
I’m not so keen on dropping Kane. I think we’ve got plenty of options and can hold onto him.
I wouldn’t drop Kane, unless he got injured.
DTT I for one find your site very useful and informative, in your own free time you have created a platform to allow fellow sun dream players to discuss transfers and tactics. It is easy for some people to criticize but I would rather say thanks as I can appreciate how difficult and time consuming it is to keep this website up-to-date. Keep up the good work
Thanks Singh, appreciate the support.
I wouldn’t downgrade Kane either.
Kane may well start against Newport due to the amount of injuries that Spurs have.
I can also see Firmino and Salah being rested against West Brom, so I wouldn’t be too hasty in getting Salah in just yet.
AJF, in reference to my Spurs block team, i do appreciate your advice, but i think i have to be bold, i’ve got to keep this Spurs block, especially at this time of the season.
As RR as posted previously, you have to do something daring, going with the consensus, does not get you above “them”.
Lalana, needs attention, but could at least get some playing time this weekend, like most, you can only go with the budget you have.
It’s win or bust, being at postion 7.002, so i have to stick with the block & hope Spurs can get some clean sheets, even with difficult fixtures !
Anthony,
FYI – Lallana is ruled out for this weekend pal..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5317031/Liverpool-star-Adam-Lallana-ruled-West-Brom-tie.html
Oh great ! I won’t be getting any points from him ! Thanks, Lee. Got no transfers left.
Anthony, I would probably go with a Spurs semi now maybe replacing Trippier (rotation risk) and Sanchez with walker and Van Dijk. Yes, these are not daring moves but with a good rank of 7k it might worthwhile to wait till March to play risky moves. At the same time, it depends on your position. If you are 100 points you can wait to play risky or if 200 points make some daring moves. In this game, timing of player selection is key to success.
I’ll bear your thoughts in mind, RR. I’m on 1.589 pts at present. Trippier, should at least play this weekend. Aurier, a doubt. Then you have to consider Toby. A coming back…
Just to echo what others have touched upon…
DTT – This is a great blog. I’m sure that everyone who visits it appreciates the time and effort that you put into it, irrespective of whether they agree with your decisions or not.
I realise that constant negativity can become demoralising, especially when your season hasn’t been the best but you’ve already proven that your logic can take you into the top 500 so don’t let it stop you, if it’s something that you enjoy.
**Inspirational injection – The guy at the bottom of one of my leagues is only on 800 points (almost 1000 behind me), yet he still makes his subs each month and continues to play even though he knows that his chance of a prize position ended in September/October…. Moral of the story – Play to the final whistle with a smile on your face and you’ll always be winning.
True, Lee. I always make changes to my teams, in Sun Dreamteam, regardess of how bad they’re soing. All my other fantasy football games get neglected, even the one’s i’ve paid for, like TFF.
I’m doing TFF this year for the first time. Not the paid one though, it’s free.
I got invited into a league by work colleagues and I must say that I’m quite enjoying it.
There are pros and cons to DT & TFF, but I do love the freedom that TFF gives you with your subs and the fact that you cannot see each other’s teams.
Not sure my colleagues are overly happy though, as I’m 130 points clear at the top and in the top 400 in the country. Just before Xmas I got up to 150th place, but have fell a bit since new year.
Well done, Lee. I just find TFF too much to maintain and then i forget to check my teams, by the time i do, i’m so far behind, that i can’t be bothered.
Very well done Lee. You doing great in your TFF debut season. I’m in the top 500. You are doing great in dream team as well.
That’s the problem right there isn’t it Anthony?… ‘teams’ (plural).
I reckon I’d find it hard to maintain too if I entered loads of different teams.
I only ever enter one team per competition, so my DT team is the same for both of my DT leagues I’m in and then I have my TFF team which is different but that’s a different game.
Can’t be messing about with multiple teams in the same league.
He’s got more willpower than I’d have. If it wasn’t for keeping this blog up to date I’d have probably given up a while ago. Fortunately I’m only around 140 points off the top of the mini league I’d like to win so there is still hope.
I think you have shown a tremendous amout of willpower to keep this blog going in what has been a testing season. Most people would have given up. Keep up the good work.
Keep going, DTT !
Any transfer activity tonight or tmrw DTT ?
It will almost certainly be Cahill to Van Dijk but will probably do it tomorrow.
Sanchez starts