GW Points: 66
Overall Points: 315
Overall Rank: 184,337
Transfers: Mane out, Eriksen in
Game week 5 was another average week. We were once again let down by a couple of players which cost us a fair few points. We’ve now had five game weeks where the team has just about done enough, what we need is a really big week to climb the leaderboard and maintain this position.
Positives:
All three Man Utd players got on the score sheet. This was a good result as bringing in Mkhitaryan for De Bruyne hadn’t really paid off until now. Valencia also picked up a clean sheet bonus. This result pretty much saved our game week.
Salah once again got on the score sheet for Liverpool and picked up the star man award. He’s probably been our consistent shining light for the season so far.
Ogbonna is going to appear as a positive but also a potential issue. It was great to see him pick up 13 points with a goal and a clean sheet in the EFL cup. However very disappointing that he missed out on a clean sheet in the Premier League last weekend.
Potential Issues:
Kompany being injured probably cost us another 8 points. His value is also falling behind other City defenders now. However I think saving the transfer for Aguero was a good move. His hat trick last weekend and upcoming fixtures suggest it’s essential to have him in. I’m just hoping Kompany can get some game time quickly. My concern is that he will be reintroduced very slowly and may find it difficult to break back into the team now.
Despite a good game week in terms of points, it was disappointing to see Ogbonna on the bench at the weekend. West Ham kept another clean sheet and played three centre backs. He still didn’t make the starting line up. I still believe he’s a good option if he can get his first team place back. However I’m not convinced he will. A good performance in the cup midweek will give him a case for a start at the weekend and Collins also picked up an injury. However this will still be unfortunate timing as West Ham face Spurs. He may well come back in, then West Ham get a poor result and he gets dropped again.
I opted for Eriksen as Spurs have favourable fixtures until the end of September. I expected some big points for Eriksen and/or Kane over the weekend with easier opposition. I felt this game could be a turning point for the team, but it once again failed to live up to expectation.
Morata was fairly poor against Arsenal and ended up on -1 point after picking up a yellow card. The plan never was to have Morata at this stage but I felt like I needed to wait and see when Kompany would be fit again before using my last transfer. This was very costly with Aguero grabbing a hat trick over the weekend.
Man City’s high scoring form is a huge concern. I’ve got no City attacking representation and as a result this needs addressing very quickly. I’ve opted to transfer out Morata for Aguero as my last transfer for September.
Tips for Game Week 6
From looking at upcoming fixtures, I think it’s vital to have some Man City attacking coverage. They’ve got a good game week coming up and then very favourable fixtures during October. I think now is the time to bring in Jesus or Aguero if you don’t have one of these two. I’ve personally favoured Aguero as I think he’s got the potential to score more goals, however there is little to separate them.
Spurs have a couple of favourable fixtures between now and the end of the month. However if you’ve not brought in any of their players yet, I’d probably not bother now. They have an incredibly tough run during October.
Chelsea have a couple of tough fixtures before the end of the month and I’ve heard a lot of talk around bringing Hazard in. I’d personally look at holding out until October when Chelsea have a good run of games.
If you’ve got transfers to spare for September, I’d almost certainly look at some Everton defenders. They’ve had a very difficult period of games and their values have dropped significantly. Now would be a great time to bring in Baines (2.7m), Williams (2.8m), Keane (3.2m) or even Pickford (2.6m). If I had transfers left over I’d almost certainly be going for one of these players while they are at bargain prices.
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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My team
Pickford
Valencia bailey mendy Davies
Mikhtaryan eriksen salah
Morata lukaku Jesus
1 transfer left. Considering taking out bailey for Everton defender to free up funds. Any thoughts?
I’d probably do exactly that – it will give you more freedom for making some changes in October then.
what do you think about getting 2 everton defenders because they are at such a good price or do you think that is putting to many eggs in one basket.
I’d take one of them but probably not two. They have had a tough run of fixtures but they look like they are struggling a little bit in general so two could be a bit risky.
by the way I just watched the Man City press conference and Pep said that Kompany is now fit “Vincent is back from the training session in general they are ok” talking about the fitness of all of his players the only doubt is Ilkay Gundogan.
That’s a good sign. Hopefully he will get some game time soon but can see him being benched for a while considering their form.
DTT, have you put Aguero in for Morata ?
Yeah I have – put him in last night.
That’s an excellent front 6…..of course though, there will be thousands of teams with the same front 6. ( That already had them. You can’t get Aguero’s 28pts from last week, of course ! )
Class move, DTT !!! I think the lesson learned from this is that you have to be patient with your choices ! ( With all due respect ! )
Haha are you suggesting that logically it wasn’t the right move? Because it was clearly the right move. If I had the choice between Morata or Aguero for this game week (and I did have the choice) I’d have chosen Aguero all day long. So would most other people. I don’t think it’s a mistake, it’s unfortunate.
Everything seems to be unfortunate, unlucky, or a disappointment ! ( Wink ! )
Haha you didn’t answer the question. Are you suggesting it was the wrong move?
Yep ! You bought Morata in, for the Arsenal forward, expecting him to score big in CL, when he wasn’t selected, so you ditched him after one game !
As i said, you need some patience & belief with your team selections.
If you knew beforehand that Moratta was going to bang in a hat trick, i doubt you would have shipped him out ?? ( Not that Aguero is a poor replacement ! )
I put Morata in and only ever intended to put him in for one week (which I stated in the blog). I always wanted Jesus or Aguero (again which I stated), I purely put Morata in to try and pinch some points in that Champions League game. I had belief, belief in the plan that I’d had.
On paper, given the choice, there’s not many people who wouldn’t have wanted Aguero over Morata for this game week. I mean just look at the fixtures:
Aguero:
Palace (H) – they’ve made the worst start to the season out of any team
Shakhtar (H) – fairly comfortable Champions League game at home
Morata:
Stoke (A) – can be a very difficult place to go and the only team to take points off Man Utd this season.
Atletico (A) – very very difficult away Champions League fixture.
On paper it was absolutely the right decision. Aguero was also in better form. I didn’t see anyone disagreeing when I proposed the transfer, it’s easy to point it out in hindsight. Although I do completely expect some stick for the decision, it is funny. But it’s definitely bad luck/unfortunate nothing to do with poor decision making.
I put Moratta in, some of my teams, purely because he is a class player. My only regret is that i didn’t stick to my original decision of putting him in all 10 teams. Like Aguero, who is in every team.
I don’t really see the point of putting a player like Moratta in for just one game.
I only have the option of one team. He is a class player but if I was going to pick the best three strikers in the league it would be Lukaku, Kane and Aguero. We’ve only got space for three and I’ve only got one team to focus on.
DTT
Pickford
Stephens, Lowe, Davies, Valencia
Hazard, de bryne,Salah
Jesus, Kane, Lukaku
1 transfer remaining 0 in the bank.
What would you be doing at this point???
If it was me I’d probably wait another game week and stay as you are. With nothing in the bank you would only be making like for like changes and you’re already in a strong position.
I think you’re right, how about after another game week??
I’d just see if any injuries come around or suspensions. If not I’d probably take out anyone who’s not getting a game. Someone like Stephens, but with nothing in the bank you’re going to have very few options.
Your attacking six look good moving forwards. Are future transfers going to focus on defence? Need to improve Foster, Ogbonna and Kompany. Pieters looks decent but Stoke have no extra games being out of EPL cup.
You can only improve that defence by getting rid of one of the front 6, or even more than one ! Budget wise, you can’t have it all.
For those that got defenders at a good price, that has increased, they stand the better chance of also getting a valuable front 6.
The key to this game is getting the defence right, as much as the front 6. You can have the best front 6, but without picking up defensive points, then your chances of winning are diminished.
Praying City run riot today & don’t concede….but i’m certain they will ! It’s just written in the stars ! ( Thankfully, i expect United to concede & possibly lose ?? )
Budget wise, even with that front six, I’ve still got 1.3m in the bank. With regards to defenders they historically score less points over the season. As you say – you can’t have it all so why not build from the front. Missing out on Aguero’s hat trick last weekend but he picked up 30 points. If a defender keeps a clean sheet they generally pick up 8 points – Aguero’s 30 points means 3 defenders picking up clean sheets. That’s one players contribution matching 3 defenders. I also dropped all of last season’s points into a spreadsheet so that I could still examine it. It’s clear that defenders score less points. Here’s some useful info:
– There was no defender in the top 10 highest scorers last season
– You have to go down to 15th before you get to Azpilicueta who picked up 188 points. That’s almost half what Sanchez picked up.
– No defender scored over 200 points. 14 other players did.
– Goalkeepers did even worse, you have to go down to 44th position before you get to Lloris.
– The average points scored by the top 10 strikers was 243 and the average for the top 10 defenders was 164.
With regards to my defence:
Foster – decent cheap option. Pickford is close enough in value to get him.
Kompany – had he not got injured, he would have risen in value in the same way the other City defenders have and would have picked up the same points as well. Unfortunate.
Valencia – good option
Pieters – not ideal but will get a regular game at a mid table team
Ogbonna – far from ideal. However I still believe if he can hold down a regular place at West Ham that he’s a good option. He’s scored the same or more points than Koscielny, Milner, Luiz, Baines, Cahill, Stephens, Martina, Alexander-Arnold and Lovren yet he’s much cheaper than most of them.
Pieters and Ogbonna are both players that back up your points of “you can’t have it all”. You certainly can’t as that would make it way too easy. So if you’ve got to have an area of weakness I’d rather have it in a defensive area – for all of the reasons above around defenders scoring less overall.
Yes, of course defenders don’t score as highly has strikers & midfield, but who keeps the most clean sheets, is one of the key factors/
I think you definitely did the right thing getting Aguero in & it’s even better that you’ve got 1.3m left over.
I only really have one team that’s got a reasonable 1.8m left over, but that was only because i’d taken gambles with two transfers.
I think Jesus will start on the bench today….
Yeah I’ve tried to keep a balance by having Kompany (didn’t work out well) and Valencia. I think Jesus will probably get a hat trick after I’ve gone for Aguero haha but we will see.
Don’t say that ! LOL ( I’ve got one team though with an Aguero / Jesus combo. )
My next transfer may be Hazard. However I do plan to look at the defence:
Foster – not sure why we would need to improve? Goalkeepers historically don’t pick up a huge amount of points so I kept my budget down by going for a cheaper option.
Kompany – there’s a risk he will be benched now he’s fit. However if he comes back into the team, why swap him for another City defender if he’s getting a game?
Obgonna – if he can get a regular game for West Ham he’s not a bad option. But agreed that’s a big if. But to put it into perspective, he’s scored the same or more points than Koscielny, Milner, Luiz, Baines, Cahill, Stephens, Martina, Alexander-Arnold and Lovren yet he’s much cheaper than most of them. In my opinion he’s been unfortunate to be dropped, he played in their more difficult fixtures and got dropped for the easier ones (in the Premier League). If he’s earnt a start this weekend, again it’s come at a bad time as they play Spurs.
Pieters – not ideal but a fairly cheap option in a mid table team.
The problem is you can’t have it all. There is always going to be an area of weakness and I choose for it to be defensively. As historically defenders score less points.
Still think the “block” was the way to go. ( Or a semi one. ) These are the teams that are all over the leaderboard & it is this type of block that will win it.
I think we just approach things differently. If I was blogging about 10 teams I’d have set up this team and a block of Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Spurs teams. However the block approach doesn’t really work when you’re only focusing on one team. It’s too much of a risk. A block of Everton/Spurs/Liverpool/Arsenal/Chelsea players wouldn’t be doing very well. It just happens that the two Manchester clubs have made a good start. I don’t have the luxury of writing about 10 teams and only talking about the one or two that are doing well. It’s much easier when you’ve got 10 teams and you can pick your best to talk about.
I’m just saying ( & it’s only my opinion. ) that i would aim with your blog team to try & turn it into a defensive block, semi block, if you get the opportunity ? Which of course will be difficult even with budget left over.
That doesn’t mean to say it has to be a City or United one.
I can see how it works but over the course of the season I tend to think it’s worth spreading the risk out. I think having Valencia and a Man City defender is good coverage. If I had the choice I’d have a regular from Chelsea and Spurs to match this rather than a block. If the team with the block failed to keep a clean sheet that’s the defensive line down the pan. I’d rather have one from each of the big teams and hope two or three out of the four keep a clean sheet. Although I do agree looking at the leader board that teams with a block are doing better. But surely this is down to City and United getting off to very good starts, and it probably won’t last for the whole season. Neither team can maintain this level of clean sheets for the duration.
I had Kompany in all 10 teams, but i got rid, once he was injured…..he has proven to be a “breakdown machine” for the last two or three or seasons & i don’t expect this season to be any different. The odds of him breaking down again are very high.
Good start to GW6 🙂
Don’t mind players scoring against Ogbonna if they are our players!
Good start to the week was what we needed. Let’s hope other games go our way. Bit annoying that Ogbonna gets his chance against a difficult team and missed the last two clean sheets in the Premier League but we will see how that pans out.
How r we going to stop this man city juggernaut, i’m sitting 4th in my mini league, just lost mendy to injury for the rest of month, how many clean sheets in a row now, kompany not even on the bench, started the day 15pts off top now 49, people chancing their arm with sane & stirling, not even regulars in starting 11, also have jesus in my team, we thought along with de bruyne undropable, not so, who starts in champions league, perhaps pep guardiola himself.
It’s a tricky one, but they can’t maintain this form over the whole season. Or at least I hope not. You’d like to think things will even out over time but it’s difficult. Last season I’d have not had a bad weekend with five out of my front six scoring but it’s not moved me anywhere in the overall league.
Mendy is a blow & i have no transfers left. The one decision i’m pig sick about is not putting Sane in & instead opted for Knockaert, because i would have had less left for a striker & i ballsed that choice up to going for Llorente. Presently on 442pts with this team, it could have been so much more if i’d gone with Sane.
Pissed off that the transfer dates suddenly changed, after i had used them all.
Glad I still kept Morata – heard Stoke had a few defenders out so kept the faith
He is a class player….imagine the amount of goals he will score when Hazard is back to his best.
One of the reasons I kept Morata – Hazard back and Chelsea got a good run of fixtures in October. Morata was always a long term pick for me. With Costa out of the picture, he is the main man. I have seen quite a lot of Morata playing this season and his movement of the ball is impressive and he has got a good partnership going with Apzilcueta. I fancied Morata to do well yesterday given that Stoke had only one central defender available. Now thinking on bringing in Hazard to join Morata in my team for my next transfer.
I did the Hegazi to Kolasinac transfer as my last remaining one for September. I could have done Morata to Aguero but my front six of DeBruyne, Salah, Mkhitaryan, Kane, Lukaku and Morata I was fairly content at this moment with but my defence was the weakest area of my team with Stephens, Hegazi, Matip, Valencia with Foster in goal. Been very impressed with Kolasinac and with his price rising I wanted to bring him in. Very difficult with defenders right now with Man City, United, Arsenal, Chelsea increasing in price and becoming out of reach. All that is left are Liverpool and Everton defenders and I am not sure I want any of their defenders right now.
With Morata and the front six in general. I’m always looking for midfielders who play almost as strikers or very advanced. Purely because there are only three spaces for strikers. For example having Salah who is classed as a midfielder means I don’t need a Liverpool striker. There isn’t really this option with Man Utd as they don’t have a consistent scoring midfielder. Neither do Spurs and I favour Aguero/Jesus over any of their midfielders. However I felt with Chelsea that this would be a good opportunity to save on a striker by having Hazard, who is capable of scoring as many points as a striker. I’d delayed this move as Chelsea have Atletico and Man City to play before the end of September. Hazard is on my list for October, as you say for the easier fixtures.
I seriously now have an intense hatred for Pep Guardiola for droping Jesus
That was obviously going to happen. He couldn’t ignore Sane & he said he won’t always play Aguero & Jesus together. I expect Aguero to start in CL.
I expect Jesus to start Champions league with Aguero on the bench. Musical chairs pep is playing. Both should start against Chelsea though.
Another ‘car crash’ transfer
Morata out sergio in cost us 18 pts
Kompany on his sick bed for the whole month and DDT not making this a prority probably cost us another 24 pts….. my mini league has teams with 2 or more utd city and chelsea defenders pts we have on the board compared to them is getting to the unreachable stage and its not even october…..want to keep faith but am kicking myself in putting DDT blog in my works league getting embaressing going to work every monday morning 100 pts behind leader and 13th outta 15 entries…
Any chance you could do a blog next season antony ?
I did ask for your opinion specifically before making the transfer as you had questioned decisions in the past. You said:
“Right move
Eden in oct as he will be match fit and chelsea have good fixtures most probably for eriksen as spurs have some monster games…
Then look at kompanys position at city and upgrade ogbonna… hopefully we can turn a corner… still think we can hit 2k for the season when we get all engines fireing… if sergio pulls up with a hamstring the weekend we know were cursed this season
…lift off starts next game week”
If you disagreed I gave you the opportunity to cast doubt on the decision. I can’t see any suggestion from you above that Morata might have a better week than Aguero. It’s easy enough to say it once it’s happened.
He never asked you to follow his advice DDT ranked 467 in the entire world last season this game is hugely based on luck all you can do if pick the most likely option and cross your fingers.
That’s quite right. I didn’t ever expect anyone to copy my team exactly. All I’m doing with the blog is documenting my decisions, I’ve never suggested anyone copy it. There’s plenty of information around upcoming fixtures and stats from last year for people to look at and make their own choices.
It’s just another bad luck story. I don’t think anyone would have thought, short term, Morata outscoring Aguero in away games at Stoke and A. Madrid, where Aguero has some fixtures against Palace and Shakhtar. Aguero could quite possibly net a hat trick Tuesday night and still finish the week on more points.
I do get the point, Morata is Chelseas only real option up top. If they are going to score, inevitably it will be him and he will play almost every game. But I still think, at the end of the season he will fall behind Kane, Lukaku and Aguero. Long term plan has to be that front 3.
Also, DDT has been clear with his tactic from the start. Spread the risk and not duplicate teams to ensure coverage of all the top teams. A combo of Hazard and Aguero is better than Morata and and City midfielder who rotate too much for my liking
Completely agree. In my opinion it simply is bad luck and like you say the game week isn’t over yet. Not that I’m suggesting Aguero may score better than Morata now as I think it’s unlikely but you never know.
What a merry go round this is, enjoying ur jousting with Anthony, here’s the team at present,
Fostrer
Valencia
Mendy
Davies
Baines
Mktharian
Saleh
Erickson
Jesus
Lukaku
Kane
Sitting on 408pts, areas of concern, October trasfers.
Erickson out Hazard in, Mendy leave hopefully only short-term, is their a case to put in Moratta aswell, taking out Jesus, less rotational and good october fixtures, back end of month, Davies out, in depending on funds, Monreal/kolasinic, barring injuries last area of concern Mktharian, pts haul of late not prolific, player’s to replace him around 5 million, open to suggestions.
I personally won’t be doubling up with Chelsea players but I agree with all of your comments. The front six I’m aiming for is:
Hazard, Salah, Mkhitaryan
Aguero, Kane, Lukaku
For me that’s a good blend. Hopefully the top 3 strikers this season. Salah basically playing as a striker and hopefully Hazard will do the same. If I dropped Aguero for Morata I can’t see a City midfielder who will play on a regular basis and as far advanced as Hazard or Salah. I also wouldn’t be comfortable not having a City player in the front six at the moment. Out o the six I do agree that Mkhitaryan is the weakest link, but at the moment I’m struggling to spot a better option at around the same price. He’s getting a good amount of game time but he’s one to keep an eye on.
Thanx 4 feedback , the bottom line is this dreamteam is very competitive, we want to win our mini leagues, urself, Anthony, Darren, and many others r just looking for a winning formula, the 2 teams i have in my mini league r 4th and 12th, the team languishing in 12th is is basiclly ur team minus Ogbonna and Foster, i opted for stephens and Hennessey so is in a worse position, but i have to agree with u on most transfers, i think the kompany issue has to b solved in October, and of course Ogbonna, Eric kson to Hazard looks a definite, i have Stephens, Hennessey, and kompany, so one will have to b left till November, my other team can’t allow jesus to b rotational, front six have to b on teamsheet every week, what bothers me other people in my mini league doing well, and their plan is nothing more than lucky, but only September.
The thing is at the moment there’s very similar teams, because of the pricing especially for strikers, that started at 5m.
Salah, at 4m was nailed on. If he would have been 5m he wouldn’t have had the same selection percentage.
In some respects SDT made it a bit too easy to choose a decent team, from the begining….of course price changes throws a spanner in the works ! ( Or could do ! )
I think you’ve got to go by your own choices, Darren, regardless of what DTT, or i say, or anyone else for that matter !
There’s no experts at this game, but there’s many that claim to be ! ( Not saying that’s anyone at all that posts on this blog…..but a certain fantasy football forum ! )
You’re quite right, it’s almost impossible to be an expert in something when a big chunk of it comes down to luck. This blog also isn’t intended to offer expert advice, it’s more to document the process I go through and offer a forum for discussion in the comments. I’ve never claimed to be an expert and this is all outlined on this page: http://www.dreamteamtips.co.uk/about-this-website-blog/
Having said that, keep the comments coming both. As soon as I saw the hat trick from Morata I was expecting a comment from Anthony and looked forward to seeing it. If the boot was on the other foot I’d be making the same comments, it’s all in good spirit.
It’s good that this blog is here. It’s just a shame that there’s not more people posting, but it’s not a fantasy football forum like Fiso, that does have members that think they know it all.
Glad you take my observations, in the right spirit. You’re always more than welcome to be critical of my teams & choices. ( & i’m still kicking myself, on my Knockaert & Lllorente decisons in my best team, especially as Sane was constantly in my thoughts ! )
I will have to use transfers ( October ) straight away, to try & rectify !
I hope you don’t blame those decisions on bad luck Anthony. Lol
Haha those decisions are nothing to do with luck
No, just stupid mistakes. Trying to be “clever” & “different”.
A bit too early in the season to be different mate. I tend to leave that till the end of the season when chasing. Other than that, you have a good score.
Yeah, i had a mad moment, which i quite often do ! Imagine my score if i had put Sane in, but there’s nothing i can do about it now.
Praying for a City clean sheet tonight & United to concede tomorrow.
i think you need to chill out a little Darren, its early days and definitely not at an unreachable stage to catch anyone up. DTT offers sound advice even if you don’t completely copy his team, i havent but have some similarities. if you don’t like the way it’s going then hop along elsewhere without these negative rants about being “embarrassed at work” – christ the DTT team isnt completely bombing especially not after Kane’s hatrick tonight
Very very sorry for the rant !!
My rival has 429 pts and i have beaten him every season and i need you help to do it again this season……there was a lot of us asking you to bin off kompany a few weeks ago…as his injury time was still unknown if we would have replaced him with the likes of stones jones who knows morata still had game time….not gonna bitch were all in it together just had to vent my anger out
My rival who we have a long standing £50 bet each season as the following team
Foster
Bailly valencia stones jones
Debryne brady salah
Lukaku jesus aguero
429 pts 2 transfers left this month and £1.3m in the bank
DDT Antony dave dean help me out here…..a man is on his knees here!!! Keep up the good work…
Were in it together!
KDB overpriced. Brady’s form won’t last. Kane will punish him. relax
Thanks phil…..i only hope he does not downgrade a defender brings kane in for jesus then his 50 plus lead could be hard to catch
Eriksen v kdb may be close
Mikthartan v brady will win comfy
Kane v jesus likewise but in defence at present with all these utd city clean sheets its killling me !!
No vincent i see again tmrw
He has to be looking at to get the boot in oct trouble is with all these clean sheets most other city defenders are outta reach pricewise….i am trying to keep the faith i’m hanging on to the fact its not even oct yet….
I wouldn’t have gone for Stones if I had taken Kompany out. I’d have gone for Mendy which wouldn’t have panned out well. I do agree with Phil though. He’s not even got Kane. You could fall even further behind if Man Utd keep a clean sheet in the Champions League though. You’ll have to hang in there and hope things even out. Trust me no one is more frustrated than the results than I am. I only put this blog together because I hate losing at anything.
Darren , i wouldn’t b to concerned about the defecit at the moment i have a similar one to bridge aswell, 850 quid in my mini league 10 manager’s of the month at 20 quid, & 650 quid for 1st to 4th, u clearly know what ur doing, i wouldn’t b trying to counter his team just yet, play ur own game if gap get’s greater, then have a punt on other players, if we r looking to reach 2000 pts for season long way to go.
I like reading this blog but I don’t copy DDT’s team as my opinions on player selections differ. I do my own research and keep a fantasy football diary where I also do a weekly summary of my team. It is useful as it does highlight my team’s weaknesses (especially in my defence – an area of my team I need to concentrate my future transfers on). I do player comparisons when deciding transfers. I agree that the case for including Aguero is strong but the uncertainty surrounding the Man City attack (Jesus or Aguero) is not good for fantasy football. I personally don’t believe the case to discard Morata was very strong considering he had been scoring goals beforehand, is Chelsea’s main source of goals and Stoke had hardly any defenders available to them. Bad luck maybe but this team seems have cursed from day one. Kompany, Ogbonna, KDB, Morata, the list goes on. I am waiting for the next bad luck case. Maybe next week?
I have to agree on everything you say there, Red Rum !
Aguero playing Palace at home and Shakhtar at home. Compared to Morata playing Stoke and Atletico away. This wasn’t a bad decision. I still don’t look at it and think that I made the wrong move.
I don’t even know if you’re being sarcastic about it being bad luck. But I honestly can’t see what else you can put it down to. I mean look at the news now that Eriksen is out of the Champions League game with an illness. It’s just never ending. I honestly don’t think I’ve made a single bad move. Every player and transfer has been well thought through and no one has ever raised a doubt before a decision has been made. Comments tend to only come after, which is the easy part.
What i don’t understand is the emphasis on Stoke away. I think you were being drawn in by past seasons & the theory that “Stoke away” is always a difficult fixture, which pundits and media brainwash with.
It was more getting Palace at Home and avoiding Atletico away to be honest.
Understand that. On another day Aguero could have had a hat trick, or expect him to. Atletico a different story, but still wouldn’t be surprised if Moratta scores against them.
nothing is won in September!
Eriksen ‘ill’ and unavailable for tommorow..
Argggtthhhhh !!!!
It’s just never ending. Need a lucky break at some point.
Ribs ?
It’s interesting to see a lot of the high scoring teams posted here, and in my own mini leagues have Man Utd heavy defences. We are essentially playing with 1 defender at the moment, and Pieters has done us no favours (he has kinda gone under the radar a bit after the Ogbonna start)
Other teams dont have the front 6 that we have/will have once Hazard is in, and are carrying at least 1 midfielder or striker. (for example the guy leading my mini league on 459pts has Tom Ince and Tammy Abrahams!)
The big points are scored by the front 6 – DTT has done the right thing, in my opinion, by sorting that area of the pitch first. It has meant that we have dropped behind others that have 3 Man Utd players in their back line – but they will have a run where they concede a few, and their defence is far from settled.
It is an absolute kick in the balls Morata did what he did on Saturday… but things are definitely coming together!
Couldn’t agree more. And now Eriksen is out with an illness. I guess we can’t put that down to bad luck either according to some. I’ll have to start getting the crystal ball out before making transfers – maybe I could have seen these injuries and suspensions coming then haha.
It only makes me more determined to try and turn things around.
Eriksen not available is a set back but one can recover from.
My criticism might be harsh but I think it comes down to different opinions on how to play the game. Maybe I don’t put too much emphasis on the front six. The back 5 are important. As someone once said ‘goals win games, defences win titles’. Same thought applies to mini leagues. You front six can score lots of goals but if getting minus points at the other end the whole thing is counterproductive.
Problem now is good defenders are expensive and you might need downgrade your front six to significantly improve the defence (although I think you are against this idea).
Totally agree with you, RR. As i keep saying, or trying to say, best front 6 won’t win you anything, without picking up points from your defence. It’s a game of 11 players, not 6.
The best front 6 won me everything last season. Granted I didn’t win the top prize but a top 500 finish for me and cleaning up in every mini league I entered was a big win. I’m simply applying what worked last season.
I try to do the best I can defensively. I think a Man Utd, a Man City, a Everton and a cheap option isn’t a bad way to go. I’m purely going on what worked for me last year. A strong front 6 got me into the top 500 teams and won me all the mini leagues I entered into. There’s got to be areas of weakness, otherwise it would be too easy, and I choose these to be at the back. As this is where points are traditionally harder to come by.
All the teams will concede, but the thing is with United & City blocks is, they’re already building up a lead. You won’t win this with back 5, no matter how good your front 6 is & they’re not going to be easy to change, even with left over budget.
I don’t really know what’s going on with Kompany, he was meant to be fit last weekend but it keeps getting delayed. But should he come back and get in the team and stay there. We will have a defender from both United and City. Then enough in the bank to grab an Everton defender in place of either Ogbonna or Pieters. That leaves us with one weak link. Every team has a weak player or two somewhere.
I don’t understand the obsession with Kompany ?? The bottom line is, he is not playing & not scoring anything.
How long do you want to hang onto the hope of his return ? Then, as already pointed out, he is an accident waiting to happen.
You’ve got one decent defender pick in Valencia & that’s only because he is in a form team. Your other four are just very poor picks, because you went top heavy with your front 6.
There’s no obsession with Kompany. I don’t even want him in my team. I’d have swapped him for Mendy if I’d have had one more transfer for September. In terms of the others – forget the keeper position as they score very low.
Once Kompany is sorted that leaves two weaker defenders. You’ll have a weak link in your team somewhere if it’s not at the back. But I can’t remember what your line up is. I think you’ve mentioned a few – but I believe you run 10 teams and generally talk about the one that’s doing the best. If only I had that luxury.
DTT, i really don’t understand your logic. You don’t even want Kompany, but YOU brought him into your team. You would have changed him for Mendy, if you had a transfer left. If that had happened & misses tonights game, or the weekend one, would have that been bad luck, as well ??
You say forget the keeper position, but who would you rather have right now, de Gea, Ederson or Foster ?
Of course there’s going to be a weak link in any team, it’s just that you have a few too many at present & they can’t all possibly be down to bad luck.
My best team on 441pts, is where i’ve made my poorest choices. ( With my 3 transfers. ) I have 8 teams over 400 & two below that, 325pts, my lowest, which i’m more than happy to post.
This is as you keep reminding us, a blog of one team, but no one’s stopping you from posting about other teams….it’s your page & blog….and is open to all to comment & observe your decision making & the reasoning behind them, which you explain.
I think bad luck is an excuse where you make a choice and if it’s doesn’t go well, I can blame it on bad luck. Picking Kompany and him getting injured is not a bad luck story. Every one knows his injury history. By picking him, you are taking a huge risk. There is a small chance of it being successful but more likely to end in a frustrating transfer. Injuries and suspensions are part of the game – if I can avoid a injury prone player, I am best to avoid it no matter what team he plays for.
In terms of “bad luck” is it not time we put that one to bed haha? Even you said this team has been cursed from day one – that suggests you agree I’ve been unfortunate at times. If you think picking a fantasy football team is all about skill and time spent in research then that’s completely wrong. A huge slice of it comes down to luck. I try to counter that by researching teams with good fixtures and who played well last season but luck plays a big factor without a shadow of doubt. I’d agree that some decisions have been slightly off the mark but I don’t think I’ve had much luck at all so far.
De Bruyne – maybe a poor choice, but picks up star man the week I take him out.
Mane – sent off, and for something even the pundits couldn’t agree about. Couldn’t have predicted it.
Kompany – injured one game after I put him in, despite playing every other game. Yes I agree he’s a risk but he was fit at the time
Morata not playing in the thumping in the Champions League – I put him in purely for this game and he was dropped. Maybe I should have seen it coming but not many did.
Aguero in with better fixtures/Morata out with harder fixtures and grabs a hat trick – maybe a bit of both in terms of luck or poor judgment but on paper given the choice between Aguero or Morata for that game week, most people go with Aguero.
Eriksen ill – I put him in because they had an easier Champions League game this month. You can’t predict when a player is going to fall ill. Eriksen missing in this game can’t be put down to poor decision making.
I’d never make excuses. I don’t regret a single decision I’ve made, as I think they’ve been well thought through. They’ve just not panned out for one reason or another. I’d say some of them definitely come down to not having the rub of the green. I don’t see how you could possibly think that I’ve not been unfortunate at times.
I went for Kompany as he was a good price for a City defender. So I identified the need for a City defender early on. So I did want him. I obviously don’t now with all the issues around this injury. I meant had I taken Kompany out when he first got injured I’d have gone for Mendy in replacement but now he’s injured as well. So that wouldn’t have panned out well. I really haven’t got enough time in the day to blog about more than one team, this one is time consuming enough. I also thought it would be too confusing to try and analyse 10 teams each week.
Lots of hope pinned down on Kompany. One of the most injury prone players in the game. He is 31 years old, suffers from lots of niggling injuries, over the last two seasons Kompany playing time averages 20 games. For 3.5m investment, I want my defender to play every week. Even if he becomes fit, Pep might settle with Stones as he has done well recently and will be difficult to drop. The manager might take it easy with him and slowly reintroduce him into the side.
On paper you have a Man City defender but in reality unfortunately you have the most unreliable one (and currently the cheapest). Kompany has to be considered a weak link.
Again, totally agree with everything you say, RR.
I do agree. And he will be replaced. I don’t plan on keeping him if he isn’t a regular come October.
Hi DDT
What do you think about the option of David Luiz he is suspended at the moment and his price had dropped from 5.0M to 4.5M
do you think when he is back from the suspension he will be a good pick as Conte does not leave him out because he players the Libero (sweeper) role which is one of the most important players in Contes 3-4-3 system a vital player he David Luiz was in the starting 11 33/38 games last season.
Also DDT I wanted some advice I have Ben Davies in my team do you think it is worth it to keep him when the really hard fixtures start or do you think I should transfer him out ?
It really depends on how the rest of your team looks and what you plan to do with your transfers. They do have a difficult run of fixtures but if you’ve got bigger priorities then I wouldn’t say there’s an urgency to take him out.
I’ve got the chance to turn one of my teams into a Chelsea block, with Lukaku, Aguero & Moratta & i think i’m going to go for it, with October transfers.
I think he’s a good option and can see Chelsea keeping a lot of clean sheets. For me he’s too pricey as I wouldn’t be able to afford him with the attacking players I’ve got but if you’ve got the budget he’s a decent option.
Tonight’s headline will be ‘DDT strikes back with an Aguero hat trick’
Can’t wait for tonight’s games. Loving the game.
Me too. I
I can’t see Pep benching Aguero for this game. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same starting 11.
I’m literally just waiting for a big haul of points so that I can shout about it haha. I hate losing at anything and all the stick just makes me want to win more so you’ll definitely hear about it if Aguero ends up outscoring Morata over the game week.
Dream Team Tips = DTT*** NOT DDT
Yeah, sorry about that Dream Team Tips (DTT)
A player not mentioned a lot in this chat is Rüdiger. He is getting game time, only missing the Arsenal game. At £3.7m he is a bit of a bargain and a decent replacement for Kompany.
That swap would have the team looking pretty strong to me and balances the issue in defence. I know DTT isnt a fan of swapping GK, but you could even opt for Ogbonna over Pieters and upgrade to Cech in the sticks…
Cech, Valencia, Rudiger, Baines, Ogbonna, Hazard, Salah, Mkhi, Aguero, Kane, Lukaku
Conscious that that is 4 transfers, and I would never want to make all of the changes in one go. This might be un-achievable with players price fluctuations…. but we are only a few small tweaks away from a very strong team!
One other option (I am looking for solutions, not just moaning! :-P)…. I like looking at my players in Combo’s… for a 0.2m dip into the bank… could transfer Kompany and Mkhi for Stones and Sane…
Would make the team a little City heavy, but it is only moving the balance from 3 Utd players to 3 City players…
I cant see Mkhi continuing his high scoring throughout the season if I am totally honest, but understand for his price tag he is very hard to ignore… Its just whether Sane will get the game time…
This is why we love and hate this game, so many different combinations and ideas!!!!! 🙂
Again I can’t disagree, Mkhitaryan looks a little inconsistent to say the least. I’m not sure Sane is much of an improvement though. However I think Stones would be a big improvement on Kompany. I think there’s going to be a lot to consider come October but I’m hoping we can turn a corner – purely just to prove Anthony and RR wrong. I just wish a few of us had put one team in a mini league at the start of the season and properly competed against each other. It’s way too easy to have more than one team and keep picking your best team as an example of how things should be done.
I don’t honestly believe me and Anthony have said anything wrong. It’s just your approach to team tactics differ from ours. To improve in this game you have to be critical. When I look at my team, I am my own biggest critic. I recognise weak areas of my team and look to improve it. That’s why I didn’t agree fully with your Aguero move, you were making a change to your attack which didn’t need strengthening. I have only mentioned one of my teams on 416 points and is as follows: Foster, Stephens, Matip, Valencia, Kolasinac, Salah, Mkhitaryan, De Bruyne, Kane, Morata and Lukaku. I had the opportunity to upgrade Morata to Aguero but chose to upgrade Hegazi to Kolasinac as I felt good defender prices were going up and I feel Kolasinac might be a good season long pick. I have other teams better than this but my entire focus (and footy diary) is based on this team and to improve it. I hate losing as well but when I am, it makes me work harder at this game. I remember one manager saying ‘when I won a cup final, I watched the replay one or two times but when I lost a cup final, I watched the replay 50 times’. He learned more about his team and himself from defeat.
Your points are fair. There are different approaches to the game, different tactics and strategies. That is what makes it fun! I think this is the best time of the year for Fantasy Football… I tend to find that come Jan-Feb time most people have the same nucleolus of 7-8 players. The thing that I like about this blog is the conversation and the listening to people’s different viewpoints.
We all make decisions with our Fantasy Teams that we believe is the right move at the time! There is also a huge element of luck and fortune to this game.
I dont talk too much about my other teams on here, cos I am interested in following DTT and providing my thoughts and input on his team. I bought in Shane Duffy in my other team at the beginning of the month. Brighton had a good run of fixtures, and was expecting a couple of clean sheets. This turned out quite fortuitous – 20pts, 2 clean sheets and increased the value of my team by £0.3m. I didnt mention it here as I know that that is not the approach DTT takes, and swapping Ogbonna for Duffy would have been a wasted transfer in his mind.
The majority of us were behind the Aguero transfer, I cant remember many (if anyone) saying that it was a bad move at the time.
I really enjoy reading other people’s views and opinions on the game…. and look forward to reading more….
Well said Dean. We only get better through our mistakes. I said the Aguero was not a bad move but my question was it necessary? considering other areas of team might need reinforcements.
Anyways, well done on success with Duffy. He make you a nice tidy profit and may chip in with a goal as he can be a threat at set pieces.
Couldn’t put it better myself. I enjoy all the different views and hopefully it can create a bit of competition between us as well. I’m more than willing to listen to others ideas as well, it’s always interesting to see how other people approach their teams.
You’ve said absolutely nothing wrong, no one on this blog ever has. I just meant because you’ve challenged my decisions and given me some stick over claiming bad luck, I’m obviously going to want to turn that around and get some bragging rights of my own. That’s what it’s all about. I’d encourage you both to keep the comments coming. I love a good debate and building up a bit of rivalry is all part of the fun for me. I’m glad there are people who follow the blog who have their own ideas and challenge mine. Having said that, most critical comments come in after a decision has gone the wrong way. I’m yet to see many comments with suggestions before a decision is made or pointing out mistakes before they happen. It’s very easy to point out errors in hindsight.
It’s not about proving me wrong, or anyone else really. This is my worst team presently….feel free to tear it apart.
Ederson
Danilo
Mendy
VvD
Matip
KdB
Coutinho
Eriksen
Wood
Aguero
Abraham
No transfers left. 325pts.
I think the whole format is about proving people wrong. I play in mini leagues against people that I know, and for me it’s more about the satisfaction of winning and having bragging rights than winning money. On that basis competing against other people is all about proving that you’re team is better than theirs. I didn’t mean it in a personal way, I just meant you’ve both challenged my decisions (which I encourage you to keep doing), of course now I want things to swing back my way. I’d love nothing more than an Aguero hat trick and a red card for Morata in the Champions League, just so I could say I told you so. I can’t see it happening but you get my point. You’ve both challenged my decisions and I’ve taken a bit of stick for putting things down to bad luck, it obviously creates a competitive environment where I’m going to want things to swing my way so I can give you some back, surely that’s what it’s all about.
It sounds like a good option to me. I think we’ve got a few options at the back to sort things out quite quickly. Pickford could even be a good option in goal as his price is very similar to Foster and they have easier fixtures now. There’s also the option of doubling up on Everton defenders with both Williams and Baines under 3m. Both will probably score 100+ points by the end of the season. There’s also Monreal who is fairly cheap. I also agree that Rüdiger could be a good option.
As soon as Kompany was injured i replaced him with Rudiger in every team. It’s gained me 18pts, in total, i think ? ( Compared to Kompany, who is presently having his calf massaged ! )
re your above comment. What type of defence do you reckon we need to win it?
Utd or City blocks?
Pep just said that Kompany is “not ready to play” after the other day saying that every player was good and ready to play I think good old Pep is playing mind games with us again.
It is bizarre – I left him in because he was apparently ready yet he’s still not even made the bench since.
If money was no object what would your current team be this is my picks.
Aguero Kane Lukaku
Hazard Coutinho Salah
Valencia Azpilicueta Otamendi Vertonghen
De Gea
I’d probably have the same front six but I’d swap Coutinho for Eriksen or Mane.
hey fellas.
what do we think is a good score right in terms of if we have a chance to win? around 430? I say that number because its around 100points behind the current number one.
I think it’s really early days so being 100 points behind the current leader is enough of a gap to catch up. I’d probably say even a bit lower than 430 and you’re in with a chance. Things can change very quickly.
Top 1k at the moment stands at 468…..our front 3 are no doubt the best front 3 hazard for eriksen oct and the middle 3 are also sound……the back 5 is where we all need to pull together october get our heads around conscructivly coming up with an ideal combination that will start us moving in the right direction…a brainstorming exercise is needed happy enough to throw some ideas out there come october
Lets get the calculators out and look at this from purely a mathematical POV.
Looking at the top 10 defenders they have an average of 46 points and price tag of £4.92m. The midfielders have an average of 39.4 points and price tag of £5.09m
Based on these numbers, it appears that strengthening in the defence is the priority. There is a bigger ROI and will improve the teams overall scoring.
(for comparison sake, strikers: 50pts/£5.58m)
With that in mind….
October Transfers:
OUT: Mkhi / Eriksen / Pieters
IN: Stones / Hazard / Sterling
Foster, Stones, Valencia, Kompany, Ogbonna, Hazard, Salah, Sterling, Aguero, Kane, Lukaku
(current prices: £0.3m left in the bank)
Couple of issues remain…. Gamble on Kompany, Ogbonna still there, Sterling wont start every game… But we are not going to perfect the team in October!!
Thx dean
I’ll compile a list early oct..i do feel city at some stage will have a blip dont wont to take the risk of going top heavy on them…..will look at evertons fixtures in oct may look at one of there boys….
I always feel like leaving one transfer free till right at the end just in case a major pt scorer goes down mid month….but i am sure if we get our heads together we can structure a line up which will take us only in one direction…just hope city concede tonight and although valencia on board utd let one in…oct cant come quick enough….this manchester clean sheet machine cant go on forever…..kane and sergio need to continue…
All sound like great ideas. We will have a bit of time to think between end of September and first games in October. I’m sure we can sort out the defence based on the budget we’ve got available.
Sounds like a good idea to me. I’ll put some thoughts up way in advance but won’t make any actual decisions. We can then discuss what we think is the best route to go down.
City and utd keeping clean sheet after clean sheet and without kompany has not helped the cause
Sergio and kane continue there fine form stoke west ham wba have not got the worse of fixtures this weekend…..we have to change the corner sooner rather than….
We are all soooo competive on here and hate not winning
I am certain come october we will almost have the last pieces of the jigsaw in place this is a journey
There will be some moans and groans some banter….but we all want the same end product
Winning !!!!
3 of evertons 5 fixtures in oct
Lyon chelsea and arsenal
Might leave pickford baines keane williams for another month……over the weekend i’ll take a look at all teams fixtures for oct dependant who i deem and on paper the easier games look at options tottenham have mamouth games so your 3 ins and outs could be valid
Heres to a good couple of nights !
Aguero & Jesus start….
My competitive spirit is coming through, I’m loving the discussion but there’s only one real way to settle the debate. I know we are a few weeks in but would you have any interest if I created a small mini league starting for the next game week until end of the season? Only allowed to enter one team and all that’s at stake is bragging rights come the end of the season.
My struggle at the moment is that we’ve can’t compare our teams like for like. This would solve it.
I am game!
Already in your DTT mini league DTT. Is this another one you want to set up ?
I couldn’t see you in there. I’d be keen to get RR in as well. Ideally I want to track my main team against your main teams. So a competition on a level playing field until the end of the season – all of us only having one team each.
So it hasn’t got to be your best scoring team so far ?
Well I’ll go with this team as my main team. It’s not my highest point scoring team but I’ll stick to the team I focused on. It’s difficult to compete/compare when I can’t see how your team is getting on.
A lot of manager in my works mini league have this combo….
I do feel when the 2 of them start
9 times outta 10 sergio outscores him……freeing up kane to do the damage on jesus……theres the que for jesus hatrick tonight the way the early season form as gone
Please please no !!!! Sergio hatrick and city to concede would be heaven
Anyone tempted to bring Coutinho in?
He’s a decent price but I was happy with Salah for the time being. Also lacking in transfers at the moment.
Had a strong feeling that Aguero was going to miss that pen !
I probably should have seen that penalty miss coming when I transferred him in. Another bad judgement call
I remember him missing one last year. Still think he will outscore Jesus though.
DTT
Stephens, Lowe, Valencia, Davies
Salah, Hazard,De Bryne
Kane,Lukaku, Jesus
0 in bank 1 transfer.
Was having a look last night, feel that I really need to get Stephens out utilising my 1 transfer remaining and incorporating with October transfers to get the defence strengthened, theres not much I can swap Stephens for other than maybe really cheap Everton? Holgate, Martina, unless I dip into the midfield to free up some cash? Not happy with Hazard already lost cash on him, certain if I take him out he will start to bang the points in?!?!
Any ideas?? Loving the chats on here, great website!!!
Danny Simpson isnt a bad option for £2.1m.
0.1 cheaper than Stephens and have some favorable fixtures coming up (Bournemouth, WBA, Swansea, Leeds). You are in a very similar position to DTT with your team. I wouldnt mess too much with the front 6, however to strengthen the defence you will have too. Advantage DTT has, is he has money in the bank.
Stephens probably wont play this weeknd, so using your last transfer makes sense. Looking at the fixtures, I think that Simpson or Martina/Holgate are the right options. Its annoying for you that Everton play Sunday, would have been good to see the team news before making the transfer!
After that…. then lets see what DTT does. There are couple of different ways to take the team, plenty of people around here willing to give their advice too 🙂
That’s a difficult one. It’s almost not worth swapping Stephens for someone like for like at the same price. Although Dean’s shout of Simpson isn’t a bad idea. You’ve got two real options – swap him for a cheap alternative. I’d try to find a regular from a club who may keep a fair number of clean sheets. Or downgrade a midfielder and upgrade this position. I’d probably hold onto the transfer until you’re just about to lose it and swap him if he doesn’t get a game at the weekend.
When do the transfer reset now?? hasn’t it changed??
October’s will be credited at 7am on Friday 6 October. They have been changed slightly.
After Aguero penalty miss, I must admit you have been unfortunate but you change the team’s fortunes. My main team and the one I focus on currently has around 457 points, I believe to a good score. I am going to do a exercise where I compare my team to yours so that you can have an insight into my thought processes. Firstly my team has more points right now than yours: it is down to luck, maybe? But I believe my decision making has paid off.
(Stress to add, this is not an opportunity to say my team is better than yours or anything else degrading you as a fantasy football ability). Your record of a top 500 finish last season speaks for itself and the effort you put into the game is to admired and your blog is great and continues for a long time.
I started the season with Firmino (you started with Lacazette) you had Mane and Salah so did I. You didn’t want to go with the triple Liverpool attack but went with the highly owned Lacazette who had difficult games with Stoke and Liverpool away. Firmino had 5 games and the Liverpool attack can be good at times. Result? Firmino got more points than Lacazette. Made the profit on him and traded him for Morata, another successful purchase and one I can profit it from.
Second, if you look at my team (already posted before but it is as follows: Foster, Stephens, Matip, Valencia, Kolasinac, Salah, Mkhitaryan, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Morata, Kane) you will notice De Bruyne is my sole attacking Man City representative. Why no Aguero or Jesus? Because I can’t decide which one to pick. You did a comparison between the two (very good analysis by the way) but my conclusion from it was a 50/50 split between the two or 60/40 in Aguero’s favour. Certainly there was not a majority decision. Even the overall ownership is tightly contested: Aguero (25%) and Jesus (20%). Select Jesus and then Aguero scores the hat trick or vice versa. A easy decision to make will be to pick both, saves a big massive headache. Some players in my mini league have adopted this approach. I don’t see Aguero and Jesus as essential players right now: minutes are shared, chances are shared, goals are shared. When they play together, one plays deeper than the other. One plays, the other on the bench. One has to get points within 60 minutes before being subbed off. I personally like my striker to play as many games and minutes as possible. Too much uncertainty surrounds the Man City strikers. That’s not to say I am ruling myself out of bringing in Aguero or Jesus in the future but circumstances have to change in order for pick one: long term injury to one (bad wish but does fantasy football so much easier) or Pep himself saying I love Jesus (like the Spurs manager on Kane) or an unbelievable run of form. Some of my mates are texting me ‘watch out they will bringing in Morata next month’. They already got Lukaku, Kane and either Jesus or Aguero. No prizes for who they are likely to get rid?
Now hopefully you can understand my logic of having De Bruyne in my team. City score goals, KBD creates chances. He ticks all the points nicely and brings in a shed load of points (mainly from assists, a few goals and Star Man awards). From my pre season research I had him down as one if not the highest point scorers in the game. The best news is he is rarely prone to rotation, he is too important as he creates more chances. He crosses the ball more than any other city player apart the now injured Mendy. My front six next month is likely to be De Bruyne, Hazard (to replace Mkhitaryan as Utd in recent times struggle to score goals from midfield), Salah, Kane, Lukaku and Morata. I am more than satisfied with that.
I think you have a good team there, RR. I like your front 6. The one option i didn’t put in , was a Kane, Lukaku & Morata, frontline. I wanted to & would have done so, if i could have had more than 10 teams. ( I put Aguero in every team. )
My best team on 475pts has no Kane or Lukaku. ( & two really bad choices with 2 transfers, bringing in Knockaert & Llorente. ) That are both dropping in price, which isn’t going to help. Who knows, these two could score this weekend ?
Hazard is one player to try & fit in, but that may have to be at the cost of KdB, whom i’m reluctant to get rid of, for the same reasons you mention.
Of course, i could have got more points by putting my original intention in. ( Sane. ) but i didn’t so can’t cry over spilt milk, although i feel like that.
Long way to go, still in a good position. The leaderboard & as far down as 20k is not seperated by a great deal of points difference. I’ve never known it so close points wise.
This is what is making it so good, so far this season & i’m interested to see how things stand at the end of October & beyond.
Without trying to sound argumentative but I’ve got to raise this. You’ve challenged my defence quite a lot, but you’ve not mentioned RR’s defence when evaluating his team. Is it much better? You didn’t hold back in the slightest when commenting on mine on a number of occasions. Let’s compare the two briefly:
Foster, Valencia, Matip, Kolasinac, Stephens
Foster, Valencia, Kompany, Obgonna, Pieters
So we are really comparing:
Matip, Kolasinac, Stephens
Kompany, Obgonna, Pieters
In the time Kompany has been injured Matip has picked up minus points so may as well have not played.
Ogbonna has picked up a point more than Stephens to date
Kolasinac has obviously done much better than Pieters
My point isn’t to criticise RR’s defence. As mine is slightly weaker. I just wondered why you hadn’t highlighted it Anthony? As you’ve been very critical of mine but I don’t see RR’s as much better.
My humble apologies, DTT, but i did not disect it, it was my immediate initial thoughts, i.e. that it looked a decent team, at first glance.
I don’t think you can fault the front 6, or be unhappy with it, at present. The defence obviously will need some attention. i.e. Stephens & Foster….Matip, i’d put a question mark…Liverpool are capable of a clean sheet run, even though their record of conceding is there for all to see.
If i had to choose either of your highlighted defender options, it would be RR, but ideally i wouldn’t want either.
Kompany, i wouldn’t consider now, just too likely to break down, Obgonna, NO WAY ! Pieters, NO WAY ! These latter two are not going to feature in a winning team, i.e. finishing on that magic leaderboard !
RR – Matip, could still come good. Kolasinac, i would seriously consider putting him in my team. Stephens, is he currently not being selected in the starting 11 ? Wouldn’t even give him a thought.
Many selections are being chosen because of budget, an hopeful “enabler”, to get the likes of Kane, Aguero, Lukaku e.t.c. e.t.c.
Hope this helps, DTT……
That’s more like it
Totally agree with my defence not being that good but the real weakness is Stephens who is not playing. I am looking to replace him but got a few ideas but waiting for price drops in my favour. The rest of the defence not too bad – Matip can have good games and Liverpool have extra games in Europe. He does have a indirect threat from set pieces. Valencia we all know about. Really happy to have Kolasinac onboard, he is a good player and likely to be 5m soon, so good investment I made when brought him in at 3.8m. Picking defenders has been a weak area but certainly hope it can get better.
….and here’s my two Kane teams, for you to compare, with your own, DTT. ( No transfers left. )
Ederson
Rudiger
Mendy
Stones
B. Davies
Salah
MkH
Tadic
Kane
Lukaku
Aguero
( 459pts. )
Pickford
Walker
Baines
Rudiger
Mendy
Salah
Ericksen
Tadic
Kane
Aguero
Morata
( 435pts. )
Thanks – always useful to take a look at other teams who are doing well. I did mean I’d like to compete against each other directly until the end of the season. Both picking just one team so it’s a fair comparison.
Great analysis RR. There are so many fine margins in this game! All decisions are well thought out. The difference between your team and DTT is not that significant. DTT documented that he wanted Firmino for August, however was priced out and thought that having Mane and Salah as attacking options was enough. A move that paid off for you and didnt for him.
Similarly with De Bruyne. His exclusion may have been hasteful, but it was looking like he was playing a different role this season. First few games he was playing a lot deeper. In hindsight, letting the team settle a bit may have been a wise move, but £6m for a deep lying midfielder is not going to win you leagues! DTT felt like he had to make the move. Again, the logic was sound, just hasnt paid off, with KDB now playing a more influential box-to-box role that we have not seen him play before.
The Morata move has been discussed at length… unfortunate week, but I dont think there will be a lot between Morata and Aguero at the end of the season, can go either way.
I can also look at Ogbonna and Stephens as a comparison. Stephens looks like he is 4th choice at Saints at the moment behind VVD, Hoedt and Yoshida… he is picking up 0 points. HAD Ogbonna played in the 2 games WHU kept a clean sheet then that would have clawed back some ground for DTT. I dont think their defensive woes are due to the individual, I just think it has been unlucky! Kolasinac is a good pick, but there was uncertainty abut the game time he would get…
You have made some great decisions at key times, that have boosted your team and gambles on players like Kolasinac have really payed off. Interested to see how your team progresses and input into the DTT….
I think you’ve said exactly what I was trying to say in a much better way there Dean. Completely agree that there’s not much difference between the teams and that being hasty with De Bruyne was a bad move, as was excluding Firmino. Glad someone else acknowledges that some decisions have been unfortunate/unlucky to go against us as well.
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said. I instantly regretted not putting Firmino in but I felt like it was a bit risky considering I had 2 liverpool attacking players already. He also had a great first month but hasn’t done much since. In hindsight that was a mistake rather than bad luck, which I’ve always said from the start anyway.
I had the exact same dilemma with City and being undecided about who to go for. Which was why I didn’t have Jesus or Aguero until last week. I still think it’s unfortunate on paper that Morata is going to outscore Aguero this week. Aguero had more favourable fixtures if you take into account the Champions League games as well. However I still feel this is a transfer for the long term. Aguero looks like he’s going to get enough game time for me and I hope he will finish as one of the top three point scoring strikers this year – alongside Kane and Lukaku. I can see your logic behind De Bruyne, that’s why I had him in the first place but for me he was playing too deep to pick up enough points. This has changed somewhat since I took him out but I’m not suggesting this is bad luck. I feel that Hazard is more dangerous in terms of scoring goals than De Bruyne which was another reason I opted for Aguero, so that I can bring in Hazard in as my Chelsea representation. I think this will create a balanced front six of:
Hazard, Salah, Mkhitaryan
Kane, Lukaku, Aguero
I’m more than happy with that going into October. Our teams and thought process doesn’t look too dissimilar.
The only thing that fires me up is when I feel like I’ve been unlucky with how things have gone and this gets dismissed as an excuse. I think the margins between success and failure are so small that things could have easily gone the other way at times. It also comes down to context, I’m assuming you didn’t follow my team last year but I had huge slices of good fortune. Everything I touched turned to gold. I bought Ozil in for a very short period and he got the hat trick in the Champions League in the first game I had him. Eriksen hadn’t picked up many points but I went for him and he seemed to score or get star man for weeks on end. Almost every move I made played out perfectly, which resulted in the top 500 position. When I now say I feel unlucky this season, it’s a comparison to when everything went for me last season. Whereas this season decisions aren’t instantly resulting in points and in some cases it’s because of problems you can’t really see coming. In terms of trying to change the team’s fortunes, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing with the transfers I’ve made.
@Anthony
re your above comment. What type of defence do you reckon we need to win it?
Utd or City blocks? or is a defence spread over 2-3 solid teams better?
There’s no outright, or obvious option at this point. Regards blocks, Chelsea, Spurs & Arsenal are more than likely to come into contention.
Clean sheets won’t keep going for City or United, it would be rare if it did. I expect United to concede tonight. ( & City have Chelsea on Saturday…..cue goaless draw ! ? ( Or 2-2 !
You can either choose to go for a full block, as many have done, or a semi block, unfortunately, no one can predict anything. So there’s no right or wrong choice. It’s just that presently United & City are leading the field.
Everything is also dictated on price of what you can afford & that of course will be no different as the weeks progress….or i should say, that will be even harder to achieve if clean sheet runs continue ! ( For any side. )
I can’t really advise who you should go for, because i don’t have a crystal ball, but i would say, that “long term”, a semi block will likely benefit more, than an outright full block ?
Thanks. Was actually thinking the same thing with semi block. reckon 2 united/spurs and 2 city/chelsea with one cheap enabler like schindler is the way to go. or some sort of combination with these teams.
A bit off topic guys but is this the first season this game has been free to play?
also from what i have read its the first season you can pick 10 teams, whereas before you could pick 100?
I believe it’s the first time it that it’s been free. The limit used to be 60 teams. ( Or i should say, 120 for many, who used their WAG to enter teams. ) No surprise to me though, that there’s regular players getting round the 10 team limit, by entering teams, using their extended family members. Noticed a few of them scrolling down the leaderboard.
Hey Anthony, Mendy our for the season with knee injury, just saying 🤣
For the season ?? According to social media he was rated 50/50 for last night’s game.
Looking at west hams oct fixtures providing ogbonna plays may be an option to keep him ?
Not looked at stokes games but upgrading pieters for a chelsea defender work ?
1 utd 1 city 1 chelsea hopefully vincent comes back and we dont have to make an unforced transfer
Those guys who doubled up on either utd city or chelsea defenders have at present a 90-110 pt gap on us…going all defensive mode now will that claw the points gap long term ?
Or here me out guys
Keeping the 3 best pt strikers there in lukaku sergio and harry
Then downgrading defence and having the 3 best midfield pt scorers in
Eriksen countinho hazard
Is that approach to clawing back the 100+ gap too gung ho ?
Just putting an option out there
Would love all your feedback and comments
Looking at the team as it is now I’d probably say:
Foster – keep
Valencia – keep
Kompany – transfer out (unless he starts before October)
Ogbonna – keep (if he starts every game until October)
Pieters – transfer out (unless Ogbonna gets dropped)
Salah – keep (good option as a cheaper midfielder
Eriksen – transfer out for Hazard
Mkhitaryan – keep but considering a better option long term
Lukaku – keep
Kane – keep
Aguero – keep
I just feel hazard and countinho could reach 200-250 pts whereas mikth and salah only in my view will slow up pts wise providing clean sheets do dry up for the big clubs theres an opening to fast track pts……might be a far fetched option as it leaves our defence more exposed than kevin keegans in the mid 90s going for glory
Love to hear all your thought proccesses on how we close this gap….interesting period
Lets hope both chelsea and utd concede tonight and not let this pts gap get outta reach
Darren, i agree with you on Coutinho, his head is in the right place now, as each week passes he cld go up as much as 0.3 every week, Erickson out Hazard in, the defence needs surgery, whoever is regarded as the weakest link get rid, if funds permit, Mktharian out Coutinho in, i may take out Jesus in my other team, and go 4-4-2.
All this time & thought people r putting in2 their teams, in the words of David coleman is remarkable, has anybody’s partners filed for divorce yet, October plans i think we r agreed centres around the defence, but Mktharians goals output needs to improve & b monitored. Players of interest, bearing in mind we have 2 more prices hikes & dips to negotiate, depending on players performane this week-end we cld make transfers as pending next Thursday, any injuries incorred over international break, can b countered by undoing them.
Kolasinic, probably out of reach
Monreal, will not play europa league, or league cup till later
stages.
Rudiger, plenty of game-time, even with Cahill back.
Sanchez, not in October.
Keane, Williams, Baines, lesser degree Martina, all attainable, strong lineups in all cup competitions, some tough fixtures though.
Stones, cld b out of reach.
Mendy, depends on injury.
Looking at the team as it is now I’d probably say:
Foster – keep
Valencia – keep
Kompany – transfer out for another City defender (unless he starts before October)
Ogbonna – keep (if he starts every game until October)
Pieters – transfer out for Everton defender (unless Ogbonna gets dropped)
Salah – keep (good option as a cheaper midfielder
Eriksen – transfer out for Hazard
Mkhitaryan – keep but considering a better option long term
Lukaku – keep
Kane – keep
Aguero – keep
Hazard and Morata linking up well tonight, big dilemma for me. Tempted to bring in Morata and Hazard now???
This would give me a front 6 of:
Salah/Hazard/Mkhi
Kane/Lukaku/Morata
But desperately lacking Man City coverage??
Morata’s had a brilliant game week and although it’s lost me points. I’m happy with Aguero up front. I like to spread risk out across the top clubs. So a front 6 of:
Salah/Mkhi/Hazard
Lukaku/Kane/Aguero
Seems very balanced to me. I wouldn’t want a front six missing a City player but I’d also not want to miss a Chelsea player. As a result I’d rather have Hazard/Aguero than say De Bruyne/Morata.
There’s no getting round the decision of your Morata move, i.e. bringing him in for one game, making a hasty decision to immediately replace him.
As RR said, there was no need to remove him. ( Not even for Aguero ! ) That poor decision making has cost you 29pts. Add the fact that you put Aguero in, AFTER he scored 30pts, then i’d say you’ve made two bad moves. ( Even though, you’d expect Aguero to be a good long term move ! )
My punt was Llorente, influenced that he could do well against Barnsley. It didn’t work, could still do though, at the weekend. The difference between my decision & yours is that i wouldn’t have never considered of getting rid of a player like Morata, who has got “goalscorer” written all over him & he is in a top side, that is going to create chances. You questioned his fixtures & removed him based on that decision. He’s scored in both fixtures and amassed 36pts.
That call was not bad luck, but bordering on stupidity & needless. My Llorente decision could also be bordering on stupidity, especially has i’ve scored -1 0r -2 pts bringing him in, but i would have rather taken that punt, at the time. Perhaps for both of us, those decisions were “moments of madness”. ( Although, your change is a good one in terms of the player you bought in. )
It’s all about timing, bringing in, taking out players, picking up their points & all that can only be achieved with a great deal of luck !
Anyway, DTT, will be interesting to see your write up, during the international break & to see how many points you have after the weekend ?
October could be crucial. The leaders could pull away from the pack, but every month is crucial, if you’re fortunate to be up there !
I’m starting to feel like a broken record but I’ve explained that decision on several occasions. I still stand by it. There was no stupidity in it whatsoever. You contradict yourself with everything you say. “It’s all about timing, bringing in, taking out players, picking up their points” – exactly that which is why I felt like Augero was a better option than Morata for this game week. And given the choice between the two so would many other people. He’s also a sound move for the rest of the season. Yes it didn’t pan out that way but I’ve not blamed that on bad luck, I’ve said that’s just how it panned out but I stand by the decision I made as the correct decision for me at the time. It could have quite easily gone the other way. And also it wasn’t a hasty decision – if you read the blogs I mentioned as soon as I bought Morata in that I planned to take him straight out.
I wouldn’t compare it to having Llorente. I can’t see how that makes sense in the slightest when there are striker like Kane, Lukaku, Aguero, Morata and Jesus who are all going to score much higher.
Sorry Antony. But bringing in Llorente is BY FAR a worse decision than Morata > Aguero. Before the weekend a lot would have agreed that was a sound move. I really dont get the logic or reasoning behind Llorente. With all due respect an extremely poor and stupid (your own words) decision. You bought in a player who plays second fiddle and knew wouldnt get the full months games. First rule of this game is surely to bring in players who will play the most games. I.e the main players from teams who have europe basically.
Completely agree. I’d also already explained the logic behind the Morata to Aguero switch. Not one person questioned it before it was made. Based on this weeks fixtures it wasn’t a bad move. Yes it’s panned out that it’s lost me points but that wasn’t easy to predict. There are very fine margins between success and failure and this could have easily gone the other way.
Totally agree. Its captain hindsight at its best. Fair enough making the comments before the event but making them after is just being an arse tbf, sorry!
That was my thoughts beforehand, i.e. why put Morata in for one game, a player of his calibre & the team he plays for. My Llorente move was just that, till the end of this month, hoping that he could get a chance in the games.
If DTT, is now considering dumping Eriksen after just a couple of games, i’d also question that, even though i can see he is aiming for Hazard.
Perhaps, seeing as you’re not so much of an “arse”, as you eloquently put, can you post your best team & you can endulge me with your expertise & knowledge ?
But you didnt make comments beforehand you made them after the event! Well done mystic meg lol.
I have already posted my team below.
No one’s claiming to be an expert. I’m happy to be corrected but I think you were called an arse for the manner in which you comment. Often very negative and constantly having a dig.
Captain hindsight – I like it.
Captain “bad luck”.
Ogbonna = bad luck
Kompany = bad luck
KdB = Hasty
Eriksen = Now that WAS bad luck
Morata = bad luck to miss CL home game = impatience = shipping him out.
Augero missed pen = bad luck, for many, including Captain Hindsight.
Llorente = a punt…..and i didn’t misspell punt !
I wonder how much “bad luck” is in store for the weekend ??
I think I’m just going to give up trying to explain things to you. I could easily reply to all of those points with what I’ve actually said at the time but we are just going around in circles and you’re clearly not listening. For example, it wasn’t impatience with Morata, I said before I even transferred him in that I planned to transfer him straight out. I still don’t think I’ve had the best of luck, especially in comparison to how certain things fell into place last season but I really can’t keep going over the same things all the time.
I’ve never questioned the choice of Aguero. Your logic for Morata was expecting him to play CL, ( in home match. ) pick up some points, dump him….because you thought he wouldn’t pick up points against Stoke & Atletico, which didn’t go to plan.
Yet, you’ve posted that Morata could be next on your list, not sure if that was sarcasm ??
My Llorente could have paid off & yes it was a gamble, especially has he is not first team choice, but i convinced myself that he could pick up points against Barnsley in the Cup. If that had come off, it could have been a short term shrewd move. I actually think that Llorente could be influential where Spurs are concerned this season, especially if Kane gets injured.
Can i risk sticking with him, when transfers are allocated….very, very unlikely !!
No it wasn’t sarcasm – who can argue with his form over the past week. This completely proved my decision to take him out wrong. Although I would add I didn’t take him out because I thought he wouldn’t score. I took him out because I thought Aguero would score more. And I wanted Aguero in that position long term with Hazard as my midfielder.
The fact is that you brought Morata in to replace Lacazette, because he wasn’t doing the business for you.
You brought Morata in expecting him to be selected for the CL home match & he wasn’t.
That led you to be impatient & Immediately ship him out for Aguero. ( Not a bad choice of player at all, we can all agree. )
RR’s opinion ( & mine. ) that wasn’t a transfer you needed to do. ( That’s nothing based on what happened. Personally, i wouldn’t have got rid, just because of one match. Morata, isn’t a punt, like Llorente.
What happens with your next transfers, if impatient” mode sets in ?? Are you going to ship out again after one game ??
Please don’t take it as a dig. I think we can all be guilty of making impatient decisions.
If i recall correctly, Eriksen, last season, took sometime, before he started racking up the points. That would have put many off with selection….those that kept faith benefitted.
Look at Chelsea last season, those that kept faith with their defence, benefitted greatly by being patient.
I’m lost for words. There was no impatience. Every transfer was planned – like I’ve said before I even transferred in Morata I said when I planned to take him out. He actually stayed a week longer than planned. There is no impatient mode, everything is thought through and it’s all documented in advance.
As i said it was a punt, the same punt as Knockaert. It wasn’t / isn’t meant as long term. I still think Lllorente could play a part, or the last two Spurs games could have worked out that he did, but it didn’t. Do i regret it, yes, but more so, not putting Sane in for Knockaert
Morata to Aguero is not a punt. I would only dump either due to injury, wouldn’t consider either for just one game & then dump them.
….and going on gut instinct, although highly unlikely, who’s to say that Kane won’t be rested for Huddersfield ?
Kane will never get rested vs Hudds you are clutching at straws now!
Knocky at least is a first team regular. Fantasy football is about playing the numbers and minimising risk. Bringing in Llorente who you KNEW wasnt a starter in the hope he would start vs Barnsley is just an absolute rookie move.
Well this “rookie” hasn’t done too bad over the years. I have finished as high as joint 77th, when Kane was 1.5m. ( Influenced that he had the makings of a great player….not his price ! )
We can compare “straws” at the end of the season….
not interested in comparing ”straws” just pulling you up on your hypocrisy.
Oh, and 100% certain that he would start against Barnsley….that was the reason i brought him in. I’ve called selections right so far….said Aguero would start in CL, when others said he’d be on the bench.
I can gurantee you that Jason Punceon will start all of Palace’s matches too…but doesnt mean I will bring him in…
I am going with Hazard/Morata combo and De Bruyne as my sole Man City representative.
Feel Pep might put Aguero on the sidelines once he has broken the man city scoring record.
That’s the trio i would like. The problem is i doubt i’ll be able to fit them in ?? ( My one October transfer is already decided. Mendy, is in all of my teams. )
Aguero, will be rested at times, but he is too good a player to leave on the bench. ( Told you he would start in CL. Just a shame he missed that pen ! )
I’ll call a punt now, for the weekend….City keep a clean sheet away to Chelsea & Man U concede at home against Crystal Palace.
He may well do, Morata would be my next striker on the list if this was to happen.
But that will leave you back again to no Man City coverage? Take you back to square one.
I don’t see Aguero being dropped so can’t see it coming to that. I think the point I was trying to make is I think Morata could be the 4th highest point scoring striker this season.
Ok. Still on the positive side, Aguero price will go up and not many teams will hopefully have a strikeforce of Aguero, Kane and Lukaku. I am rooting for you to answer your critics.
It certainly makes me determined to turn it around as well. But I think you mean “critic” most other people can identify that we’ve not had the best of starts, but that’s not to say that decisions haven’t been made on sound logic.
I think Fantasy football has evolved a lot in recent times. The SDT game when you had 3 or 4 transfer windows to do transfers , you were then really more reliant on luck as you could play with 9 players for months before you could change them. Now with the introduction of monthly transfers and price changes, luck has a smaller part to play as more skill is involved when to bring in players and take out them. Also a great level of judgement is required, how much would you pay for a player – whether you are buying a bargain or a big name that is overpriced. I believe the more effort you put in the game (well researched thoughts as DTT has demonstrated) then the luckier you will be and in the end successful. I find SDT difficult but I work hard at my game, watch a lot of football and keep a football diary (or similarly blog – great idea to improve your game).
Everyone makes mistakes. It’s not a total disaster at this stage of the season. Granted, the hardest part is to admit to them. I have made mistakes but the great thing now that I document them, learn from them and quickly correct them.
For example, I took out Salah for Mkhitaryan in game week 3. I thought Salah’s finishing was not very good. Salah then gets 15 points against Arsenal, Mkhitaryan gets 2 points the day before. Then when Mane got sent off, I felt he needed replacing. The most obvious replacement was Salah but my ego was getting in the way. Like many others, I hate to admit I am wrong so I sought other options mainly to justify getting rid of Salah. I looked at the similarly priced Mahrez and Sigurdsson but the more I thought about it, I realised I needed to take emotion out of my decision making process and deal with the facts. I jotted down that Salah will get lots of chances for Liverpool and his price is likely to increase. I do enjoy making these decision making processes.
Looking back, STD used to be a dull game, you made your team and then didn’t have to look at it for months, transfers done (leave it and forget). Now your team needs to be constantly looked at to take advantage of price changes. I didn’t read DTT’s blog last season but I would like to believe his hard work in doing this blog and decision making processes were the main reason for his success rather than luck.
The introduction of 3 monthly transfers & price changes makes this game far more interactive now. ( It’s nice to see someone admit their mistakes, rather than bad luck excuses. )
I’ve admitted several mistakes and suggested some have been bad luck. Firmino was a mistake. De Bruyne maybe a bit too hasty. Other likes Kompany – I think was bad luck considering the fact that he was a regular until he got injured. Eriksen being sick – couldn’t have seen that coming. Aguero missing a penalty. No matter how many times you point it out, I’m not going to change the way I analyse how I see things. I’d rather see a bit more positivity in your comments, I don’t mind taking a bit of stick around decisions but most of your comments are starting to look very negative towards anything that is written.
I hope my comments are not negative, I am just expressing a difference in opinion.
I don’t think your comments are negative. I like to discuss other people’s opinions. But comments such as “bordering on stupidity” and “It’s nice to see someone admit their mistakes, rather than bad luck excuses” are coming across negative. I love a debate and a bit of healthy competition and I really don’t mind taking stick for decisions I make but I’d rather we all looked to help each other rather than constantly making digs.
Yeah, some of the comments have been over the top and I don’t agree with them.
I mentioned a different approach that I took but not at all saying your approach was totally wrong. As mentioned, several ways to play this game. No dig at you was meant. You have played the game the right way giving sound reasons for your choices.
I don’t mind anyone mentioning a different approach or even giving me a bit of stick when I call something and it’s a complete disaster. I’m fairly thick skinned, nothing offends me. It’s just really annoying more than anything when it’s negativity all the time.
I think it’s definitely evolved to involve more skill. I’d like to see more transfers to allow people who want to be more hands on the make changes more often – say one transfer a week. Which can be accumulated. Or a system that allows you to activate an emergency transfer budget which you can only use once in a season. I still feel a little restricted, I don’t like being stuck with injured or suspended players as there is little you can do about it.
I agree that doing your research certainly gives a competitive advantage. This certainly helped me win the leagues I was involved in last year. But I don’t think my rivals spent as much time looking into it as I do – many of them are further ahead of me this year already. And I’m following the same principles as last season. I don’t think the overall winner will be the person who puts the most time into researching a team. I think it will be a person who is on the ball enough to do some research but also has a lot of lucky breaks along the way. I don’t think it’s a perfect art where time invested correlates directly to a higher position. For me a huge part of it comes down to luck still, the research and analysis can only take you so far.
I think that would be overkill. How easy do you want them to make it, DTT “Oh, i ballsed up again, can i have another transfer, please” ?
Having said that, when is this “extra transfer” going to be introduced ?? ( & how many will they do ?? )
I think one a week would be fine. And I don’t think I’ve ballsed up at all so that’s not why I’d like to see a weekly transfer.
Anybody care to rate my team?
Pickford
Stephens Davies Schindler Valencia
Eriksen Salah Mkhi
Aguero Kane Lukaku
No transfers left. 0.6 itb
Thanks
The only think i’d say, that it’s clearly been very easy ( at the begining. ) to choose a front 6. On that score, SDT made it far too easy this year.
Stephens, Schindler, stand out & look like the obvious changes, i.e. game time & likely to falter & concede more, especially when Huddersfield play the top teams.
The teams with the clean sheets will pull away from the pack. That’s already starting to show. I was 50 + off before last night, now 73 pts off the top 100 ( & that’s with a City clean sheet & Man U conceding. )
So that also shows at present how important it is to have Kane & Lukaku. ( Sadly, i only have that combo in one team – 482pts. ) Imagine how many teams above me have that combo ! ?
It can still all change quickly though. My team jumped from 100.000 to 687….it’s now, 16.000. ( Up & down, like a prostitute’s draws ! )
Kane Lukaku combo should be in all your teams tbh. Lukakau at 6m playing for utd was bargain of the season. Kane is deadly and even in Aug when he was blanking it was clear to see his stats were off the charts and was unlucky not to score – was a matter of time. They are the main strikers in both their teams, kane has pens and both nailed 90mins when they play. No brainer to have these two from the start and the fact you still have not got them is worrying. Thought you would have learnt from this mistake by now and drafted them in rather than taking bizarre punts like Llorente?
I would say around 90% of teams in the top20k have that combo hence why they are there.
Very true ! ( but considering the Llorente team has scored 483 pts & has no Kane or Lukaku, it hasn’t done too badly. )
Lukaku is in most of my 10 teams. I just decided to go with Aguero in all 10, rather than Kane. I have Kane in just the two teams.
If you can’t draft Kane in, then you have to go with another option, this is what i had to do with this team.
How are you doing with your teams, abby ? What’s your highest scoring team ?
I agree 483 with no Kane Lukaku is an impressive score. You probably would have been near the top had you got them in. the team i posted above is on 507
That was impossible to get both in….the team is posted somewhere on this thread / website.
It had Mane & Abraham in….you know my changes for them. My Kane, Aguero & Lukaku team is one point behind on 482pts….still some way off the leaderboard.
So what’s your plan, at this point ?
DT tips
What are your thoughts on transfers for October?
For my team I’ll be looking at:
Foster – keep
Valencia – keep
Kompany – transfer out for another City defender (unless he starts before October)
Ogbonna – keep (if he starts every game until October)
Pieters – transfer out for Everton defender (unless Ogbonna gets dropped)
Salah – keep (good option as a cheaper midfielder
Eriksen – transfer out for Hazard
Mkhitaryan – keep but considering a better option long term
Lukaku – keep
Kane – keep
Aguero – keep
DTT, there’s one game till October. re- Kompany & Ogbonna.
Have you thought of dumping Aguero for Morata, free up some more funds ! LOL
Thinking about it, didn’t you JUST BRING IN, Eriksen. There seems to be a pattern….bring in Morata, take him out, bring in Eriksen, consider taking him out for Hazard.
Sorry, but i can’t help it !
Eriksen was only bought in to replace Mane…. it wasnt a long term plan. Hazard was always the long term plan and DTT has made the right move for me… It has taken a few weeks for Hazard to get back to full fitness. Looked electric last night.
I think Hazard is a must. I put him in one team as soon as i had my transfer allocation, unfortunately this isn’t my best team at present.
The difficulty is getting him in & that may involve getting rid of an Ericksen or two ! Even more difficult to have both !
Plus his price will go from his initial value, so a good move by DTT. You got make a move at the right time in this game. Can’t believe some in my mini league were paying 7m for Hazard. Looking forward to my Hazard-Morata combo, they did well together.
They looked unplayable at times last night… I know it is only one game, but I had the title down as a 2 horse race between the Manchester clubs…. I have changed my mind now, Chelsea are right in the mix
I never considered Chelsea to be out of the mix. Lets face it they’re champions.
The problem is, getting their pricey players in…..?
Agree with Dean – this was all documented in the blog previous as a long term plan. Not sure why we are still going over it again. It appears like you just want any excuse to make a negative comment to anything I post. If I’m being honest, it’s getting boring. Eriksen had good fixtures for September and replaced Mane. Hazard has good fixtures for October so will replace Eriksen (who has a very tricky run). As I say it’s been documented and explained before. So trying to suggest I keep making transfers then swapping players out because I’ve regretted it is simply incorrect. Every move has been planned within reason.
I’ve also not got any transfers left, I’m fully aware there’s another week of games.
if you disagree with his decisions then make your own, i’m assuming you’re an adult who is capable of making his own decisions? stop taking every decision so hard, its a guide and plenty of tips are provided. DTT provides reasonings behind each transfer, read back to find out why he made the transfers and stop moaning you sad sack
Hi their, with mendy injury looking longterm, can we consider danilo, only 3.8, still good fixtures in October, pep has indicated he can play right or left as a wing-back/defender, probably Chelsea’s strongest 11 last nite, Rudiger on bench, when Luiz back from ban needs consideration at 4.5.
He has to definitely be a serious contender for replacing Mendy, but you never know what Pep is going to do ??
Rudiger is a concern. He is certainly not guaranteed starting matches. Luiz is also a contender. My thoughts at the moment are veering towards Danilo, to keep my City block going.
If danilo plays at week-end, he goes in my team, cld do with them conceeding keep his price down.
I like Danilo as an option to replace Kompany. I’m still hoping Kompany makes a start before we are forced into this transfer but that looks unlikely.
@abby in answer to your hypocrisy comment. I’m not being so. I explained my reasoning, like DTT has.
We made those choices for different reasons. He is welcome to give his opinion on my decisions. I didn’t understand the logic of Morata – Aguero, because Morata is a good choice to keep.
I’ve clearly stated that Llorente was a “punt”, also influenced by the budget i had, having to get rid of Mane. Unfortunately, i couldn’t turn Abraham into Kane or Lukaku, no matter how hard i tried !
If DTT, feels i’m having a bit too much of a dig, it’s not meant to offend. I just find it a little annoying with the “bad luck” excuses, and claiming they have been good moves, still, even though he has lost points. ( Quite a few points. )
I’ve never claimed my Llorente decision wasn’t a bad move, or bad luck & at this point, i wouldn’t say i don’t regret it, because i do !
If you’ve ballsed up, hold your hand up, rather than say, or convey that you don’t regret the choices you make, which appears to have been said, largely.
I don’t regret them. When you look at the fixtures and make decisions based on that what else can I say. It doesn’t cause me offence either, it’s just really annoying if I’m honest, because I’ve explained probably 10 times now why I changed Morata to Aguero. Everyone else can see why I did it, and no one suggested it was the wrong move until after Morata did well this week. It could have easily gone the other way but granted it didn’t. I really don’t mind being given a bit of stick and having a laugh but when every comment is negative or a dig it does start to get a little boring. Especially when every move I’ve made has been documented already given the exact reasons for each move. If I think something has gone against me and it’s down to bad luck, I’m not going to stop saying it how I see it.
….and i’m not going to stop saying how i see it, with all due respect, DTT. The thing is, everything has been down to bad luck, that’s what you’ve said throughout your blog.
We’ve been through this various times. I’ve not put everything down to bad luck. I don’t mind you saying it as you see it, but there’s so much negativity and digging all the time, at everything I say. It’s not adding any value and it’s always after the event and I don’t see many people agreeing with you.
Here’s something positive, you have a very good front 6.
….and also look at your timing of transfering in Aguero. AFTER he scored the hat trick. That influenced your decison making. i.e. i need to get him in. Why not bring him in before ? Was it not possible ??
If you read the posts you will see an explanation. I was trying to give Kompany another week to see if he was fit to play. With only one transfer remaining I wasn’t sure which position to change. I went for Aguero as I wanted a City striker and Kompany was declared “fit to play” which has since changed. After the hat trick I didn’t want to risk not having Aguero against the team who had the poorest start in the league (at home) and a much easier Champions League game. It’s been explained several times and everyone else gets it.
I think getting Aguero BEFORE, was far more important than what was going to, or not going to happen with Kompany !
The fact is, Aguero thumped in a hat trick & an assist & you thought i better get him in….
I had Aguero from the begining, in every team…..i think everyone else gets it !
I’m not sure anyone else is even listening anymore if I’m being honest. Like I’ve said it’s easy to point these things out after the event. I’ve never seen a comment from you before a transfer has been made.
Just waiting for your changes, DTT, just waiting for your changes…..
Eriksen out – Hazard in
Right then boys/girls if DTT goes ahead with
Eriksen kompany pieters out
Providing pieters and kompany price stays same and eriksen up .3m thats a total of 13.5m to spend thats including the 1.3m we have tucked away……
Hazard will no doubt go up .3m this weeks to 6.7m
That gives us 6.8m for 2 defenders
If one is to be a city player danilo is not a regular stones the cheapest option once again keeping a clean sheet again wed his stock will probably rise additional .3m to 4.7m ..
That then gives us 2.1m
Everton defender ?
The only one in that price bracket is martino as i said before everon have still on my opinion oct some tough cookies ….and martino is going to have to be replaced lo g term for coleman and we run the risk oct he doesnt play for holgate or indeed his price value falls even more….1 player i looked at is simpson of leics at 1.9m (just hope he does not keep a clean sheet sat and goes up .3m or if he does pieters can price match him home to saints to make this work)
Leics have nice run of oct fixtures (on paper anyhow)
Wba home swansea away leeds home in league cup and everton home…..
Would DTT make all 3 at once tho?
May have to run the risk
Doing these transactions i still feel against the league leader we still are short 2 defenders in but not pts magnets
I would love some of you to have a play with trying a long term combo of
Eriksen hazard countinho
Lakaku kane aguero
And go all gung ho
Love to see your plots and annaylsis …..just looking at the top teams and there defenders goi g up in stock by .9m 1.2m already
Shoreing up our back 4 just wont be enough 3 pts machines in the centre of the park ?
Salah and mikth work sacrificing for even better ?
Love all your feedback
Hazard will not go up. He will fall .2
How did you find that out, Abby?
Price changes are based on the average of the last 5 games relative to the players price. That’s why aguero will keep rising .3 for at least another 2 weeks no matter what score he gets in the next two games.
So not all doom and gloom on the Aguero move.
It’s been an interesting week – lots of talking points. Some good, bad and the ugly. It’s been fun to discuss opinions with most people and appreciate the time taken by DTT to answer every question and comment. Good work.
Haha thanks but it’s becoming a big commitment with all the comments this post has had. But it’s a good point, this whole blog is a completely free tool. That should be kept in mind at times when going over the top with criticism.
Aren’t you sure you’re not Mystic Meg ??
Nope just some basic maths 🙂
I like all the thoughts. I’ll personally probably stick with a front six of Salah, Hazard, Mkhi, Kane, Lukaku, Aguero for now. I like the option of Danilo as City coverage. But at this stage I think there are too many questions to be answered. It’s worth waiting until prices change again in October before trying to plan the defence. We will have plenty of time to look into it as there’s an international break. But think we need to see where prices are at, if Kompany gets a game between now and then and how Pieters/Ogbonna perform as well.
Hope so abby….no transfers left so need him to have an average game sat vs man city all this plotting depends on sat games eriksen plays against huddersfield and scores he will go up again and maybe go up again….just need a thought process would love a middle pairing of
Eden eriksen and countinho
But would that freefall our back 4 and make matters worse ?
Nobody come back to me on these thoughts yet
Confirmed, Mendy is out for 9 months.
Any chance vincent to make an appearance the weekend then ?
I’d say Van Gogh, has got more chance, Darren !
Shut up Anthony you stupid prick
Haha
Think you pretty much said what’s on everyones mind.
Yeah…..will Kompany be fit for the weekend ??
Hello Fred, how are you ?
keeping a watch firmly on Everton defenders and their prices.
Hopefully they keep plummeting – surely over the course of a season the likes of Baines, Williams, Keane will all score over 100 points. Well if last season is anything to go by anyway. I might even double up on them.
Is that good or bad ? I’ve got Pickford & Baines in one team & they’re just going to drop in value.
Hoping I can do straight swap of Stephens to Williams for 2.2m. Baines will do and more likely to come in my side but Williams is the one I want. I am thinking of doubling up but concerned when they concede two goals to a team I never heard of. Confidence in the team is at an all time low. Might play it safe with just one.
Yeah agreed, I’m just thinking of what I can fit in within budget but time will tell.
Got to time it right – obtain the players at their lowest price value before they go up. Pickford for me I can wait longer for.
Hello DTT, your site is gathering pace with many more comments than last season – good work! Do you know if I can still use my last Sept transfer on Sat? Thanks
I believe so. If you’ve still got one in the bank, the game week starts today so you should be able to make the transfer and it become effective for the weekend.
How many points has your team got now, DTT ?
412 – not an overly good week all in all.
Well the last 2 weeks has shown that things can change quickly….just peed off with international breaks….hate them !
Yeah I do as well. They just get in the way.
Looking forward to DTT review of game week 6.
Me too, RR.
Good job this ain’t Craig Revel Horwood’s blog.
“It was a disaster, darling” !
Reading reports about Aguero involved in car crash – awaiting news how serious it is.
I really hope this isn’t correct but it looks like it’s everywhere. What were you saying about that curse? If he’s out for a long time surely you couldn’t possibly suggest that’s anything other than bad luck? I’ve had him for one game week.
Have to admit DTT, now that IS bad luck ! You tend to have players for a week. What’s the plan, Eriksen > Hazard
Aguero > Morata
At least for those that have him ( & i have 10 Aguero’s ) it’s one less headache & free’s up some money possibly.
All the fun of the fair !
That leaves no city attacker which is not ideal with their good fixtures and form. Aguero needs replacing no doubt but taking out a (near) fit Eriksen seems unnecessary to me given other fires need to put out in order to boost defence. Eriksen is a quality player – I would think twice before removing him.
Yeah it’s a very tricky one. The only thing that puts me off is Spurs have difficult fixtures during October and I really wanted Hazard. Going to have to leave it a week or so and see what the situation is with injuries.
It’s going to be a difficult choice now I think. Hazard for Eriksen still makes sense based on difficult fixtures for Spurs. Morata longs a stronger option than Jesus and Chelsea have good fixtures but it would leave me with no city attacking players. Food for thought, but at least there’s time to consider it.
well looks like i’m getting Morata don’t think Aguero will be playing for a long time now with broken ribs hope Aguero will be ok.
I think if out for such a long peroid
Jesus in for me as he will be main striker free up some badly needed cash as well …..
Could be tempted with
Out
Sergio
Miktyh
Pieters
In
Jesus
Hazard
City or chelsea def
As ive said previous would love both hazard and eriksen in the middle of the park…..sergio injury could be a blessing in diguise
Although i wish the guy the very best and speedy recovery
If he’s out for a long time it’s going to cause more problems but as you say, could free up funds. It’s going to be a case of waiting to see what comes of it as we’ve not got any transfers in the bank for September. I’ll put up some thoughts about October and we can collectively decide where to go with the team next.
Three transfers in one go is always a high risk strategy unless you select the right players. Not one that I usually play, I am too conservative. I always have a plan B in mind in case plan A fails.
DTT now probably has two transfers in mind. One now essential , the other maybe less so. Could leave defence as it is, bonus if everyone is fit and playing (well enough is a different matter) and could leave remaining transfer for unseen circumstances in the front six (injury or suspension). Question is can the defence hold on for longer or could it be worthwhile to improve it with better defender or two?
Think the Aguero injury could be a blessing in disguise and a big turning point. It certainly makes the picture clearer.
It looks like it could be a blessing, but who knows what “bad luck” is around the corner in this game ! ?
I’ve got Aguero & Mendy in all teams. I might have to consider holding Mendy till November, although i wouldn’t really want to do that.
DTT, might have to keep Eriksen now & concentrate on his defence, with funds from Aguero.
Yeah I was considering that, Spurs fixtures for October don’t look very appealing though. I’m just glad there’s a little bit of time to think and plan the best approach. On a side note – bad luck doesn’t need “” – I don’t think anyone can put Aguero being injured in a car crash down to anything other than bad luck.
Aguero out for 9 weeks
Anthony….if you look at my previous comments i called the morata to sergio transfer ‘a car crash’ transfer….maybe it is me thats mystic meg
Yeah, looks like it ! At least deciding who to take out, isn’t a problem anymore !
aguero broken rib in a car crash, can anyone deny the bad luck factor now?! madness. and to think i was beginning to regret opting for Jesus!
You won the lottery there mate. Transfer saved and good times ahead.
but now you should get Morata because Thierry Henry (one of the best strikers of all time) said he looks world class
My one Jesus team, has Aguero.
Best Strikers In The Premier League Domestic & European Fixtures
1. Sergio Aguero – Broken Ribs
2. Harry Kane – Champions League Fixtures
3. Romelu Lukaku – Champions League Fixtures (Benfica look awful)
4. Alvaro Morata – Champions League Fixtures
5. Alexandre Lacazette – Not In Europa League Team
This leads me to the conclusion that the best 3 strikers in dream team are
1.Harry Kane
2. Romelu Lukaku
3.Alvaro Morata
I got that trio in all my teams except 1. Put in down to good planning myself.
My lowest team on 442 points has Aguero-Lukaku-Kane, might put in Jesus just to keep it different. My top team is on 512 points. The one I mention the most on this blog is my second lowest on 488.
Doing well, RR. So you only went with one Aguero, that’s worked out fortunate for you, with October transfers.
Yeah, most of my teams have KDB, ones that don’t have Silva, one has both Sane and Sterling, no Jesus at all and one Aguero.
Lack of Jesus and Aguero in my teams is because I can’t choose between both and I don’t like strikers that share game time. I rather both or none. I thought it was a good strategy to have at least one city midfielder in my team instead as my city coverage. A different approach to DTT.
Plus I always had the hazard-Morata combo in mind. That’s why I didn’t get rid of Morata in my teams, wanted to see how he performs with Hazard.
Hazard & Morata could be key to this season. If they both avoid injury, it could be a lethal partnership.
Morata reminds me of when Torres took the Premier League by storm….only i think he is better.
Could really do with that “extra transfer”, that SDT have said will / can happen. Which is making me think, can i hold onto Mendy ??? ( Or even, Llorente ! ?? LOL )
Long term injured players have to be replaced at all costs.
Llorente could still pick up points as Spurs still in EPL cup.
Yeah, Mendy has got to go. Looks like i’ve got to keep Llorente or Knockaert for the whole of October.
It was the approach I started with so it’s a solid way of thinking. I was hoping De Bruyne would be enough City representation for me based on the same thought process as you – being unable to decide between Jesus/Aguero. However when it looked like Aguero was getting plenty of game time I thought he was worth a punt. Didn’t feel like De Bruyne was going to be a top point scorer this season but he’s had a better September.
Morata or jesus ?
Big big debate till october now
I like the move for eden dependant on price values after this weekends games opting for jesus could free up some extra cash…jesus will be now citys main goal threat….
This years dreamtean giving me some much of an headache
Just continue copying DTT transfers as you have been doing. No reason for a headache, let DTT have all the stress.
The problem with Jesus is that Pep has only been giving him 60 minutes and he is a rotation risk and if you have Kane and Lukaku in your team you only have 1 more slot available and Morata is only 0.4M more expensive.
We are discussing Jesus as aguerro has reportedly suffered a broken rib making Jesus about as nailed on as they come
I’m not 100% convinced about Jesus, but if he is really going to show what a good player he is, now is the time. He’s never really had a continual run in the side & who does Pep now rotate with ?? A major headache for City !
I’m completely torn between the two at the moment. Luckily we’ve got time to think about it. For me Eriksen has to go and Hazard has to come in. That leaves a choice between Jesus or Morata as you say. Morata looks stronger but then no City attacking representation.
Nice surprise Haz fell by 0.3, thought was only going to be 0.2
🙂
Not quite so Mystic there, Meg !
( These calculations are a joke though ! They’re not consistant across the board. )
Nope they arent.
That was a very good shout, I was expecting him to rise if I’m being honest.
Who else is annoyed, that just as things are spicing up, we have an international break!! All Transfers done for September… so nothing to play with this weekend… then no games until 14th October!!!
Someone mentioned it the other day… I cant believe that we used to only have 2 transfer windows in a season! The game is much better now!!
Really don’t like international breaks, especially when I feel like I need a big week to be back in contention.
Just sent an e : mail to the powers that be, regarding the “extra transfer” & asking if there’s any indication when it might happen ?
I expect a response, but i’ll be surprised if the give anything away.
Do we think its best to get Hazard in straight away when October comes around seeing as he is 0.9m down at the moment. Or is it a possibility he could go down again if he doesn’t score or get star man this weekend?
Thanks.
I think he could well continue to go down in price if he didn’t pick up points at the weekend. However I think it’s a good time to get him in. He looked good in the Champions League so I can only see his form improving quite quickly.
Just had a prompt reply from the powers that be…..they will not be introducing the bonus transfer this season, because they can’t implement it this season, will think about it for next season.
So wtf, have they written it in their t’s & c’s as a possibility ??
SDT, are constantly moving the goalposts.
Bonus transfer requires “development work”, so wtf mention it has a possibility for this season ?? They haven’t got a bloody clue !!!
I know a lot can change in terms of players value etc. but…. If I had unlimited transfers, this is the team I would be looking at, with 0.4m left in the bank:
Foster, Valencia, Danilo, Baines, Williams, Hazard, Salah, De Bruyne, Kane, Lukaku, Morata
Problem is we need 6 transfers to achieve this team. Question is, how do we play it?
Need to replace Aguero, and need to get Hazard in before his price starts to rise. That means 2 transfers before anybody kicks a ball in October…
Hopefully Kompany is back in, and we can rest a little easy with the defence…. But keen to get Baines/Williams in whilst their prices are low.
It is a gamble making all the transfers at the beginning of the month! But I think we need too! (or am I panicking?)
Foster, Valencia, Kompany, Baines, Ogbonna, Hazard, Salah, Eriksen/Mkhi, Kane, Lukaku, Morata…
Decent enough, but big risk for injury and suspensions!
Thoughts?
Is this your team, Dean, or DTT’s ??
This is DTT’s I tend to only really comment on his team here…
Thanks, for clarifying, Dean.
Foster, Valencia, Danilo, Baines, Williams, Hazard, Salah, De Bruyne, Kane, Lukaku, Morata
4 transfers away from your suggestions
Not sure I want Danilo and right now I want one of Williams or Baines not both.
You’re thinking along the exact same lines as I am. It’s a massive pain that Aguero looks likely to be out for a while. I also agree about using up all the transfer, it’s not something I want to do at the start of the month but at the same time we need points on the board. I can see a few options but it’s going to come down to time. We need to wait and see what prices change after this coming game week and we also need to see who is likely to recover from injury. In an ideal world Kompany returns and saves us a transfer but I’m not holding much hope for that. I like Baines as a replacement for Pieters and I agree we need Hazard but can we afford that transfer if we’ve got three fit midfielders? At the moment there’s too many unanswered questions to make a decision but it’s given us plenty to think about.
I’ll be honest, holding off on Hazard never crossed my mind. I think he is a must, and if we wait until November, he is going to potentially cost us another £1.2m!
I do see where you are coming from though
I think we are going to have so many options. I’ve just listed a few in the comments on the game week 6 blog.
When do the players prices change?
They change every Friday at 7am as far as I know
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