Out: Cahill (4.2m)
In: Van Dijk (3.2m)
This seems like a fairly obvious transfer. I can’t see much between Cahill and Van Dijk in terms of points before the end of the season and Van Dijk is 1m cheaper than Cahill. Liverpool also have an easier last 16 tie in the Champions League. At this stage in the season I could do with the extra 1m which will hopefully mean that we can bring back in Salah in February (for Sterling) should we want to. Without making this transfer this move certainly won’t be possible. I’m not sure if Van Dijk will start in the FA Cup later today but I don’t think this should get in the way of making this transfer. It’s the only obvious move I can see that’s worth making with this final transfer.
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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I know people probably get fed up of helping others out but could really do with the help the try and get nearer the top. Currently sitting 189th overall and winning all my mini leagues on 1751 points. Have 2 transfers left this month and 1.2m ITB. Team is
De Gea
Azpilicueta
Alonso
Otamendi
Cresswell
Sterling
Sane
Hazard
Pogba
Kane
Aguero
All feedback would be welcome
Do you really need any help, Callum ? Seeing as you’re 189th overall. Seems that you know what you’re doing !
I’d say on first glance to go 443. Can you get Sanchez in for Pogba ? ( & upgrade Cresswell ? )
Everybody needs a little help. Thanks for your feedback. I am torn wether to bring salah in and go for a cheaper defender for Cresswell or change pogba for Sanchez then downgrade otamendi for walker then have 5.3 for defender in feb.
You’re doing exceptionally well so I’d probably carry on whatever you’ve been doing. I’d personally agree with Anthony – Pogba for Sanchez could be a good move or Lukaku. I’d also look at upgrading Cresswell. As you’ve said yourself you could downgrade Otamendi for Walker to free up more funds. I’d also be tempted to try and get Salah in. I’m assuming you’ve had him at some point.
Yes I had him and swapped him for sterling same time as you. I think he needs to come back in some how.
You cut it fine with posting these! Made just in time 😊
Ok… Just realised Liverpool don’t kick off until 19:45 and Chelski tomorrow…. let you off.. .
Haha another crap transfer as it turns out.
There wasn’t really too many options, if you’re thinking ahead to get Salah back in, at least you have something in the bank. Surprised by the present Liverpool / WBA scoreline though !
A sickner for me, that Spurs conceded. At least there’s a replay !
Yeah it’s not been a great weekend for me really. Had a funny feelings the momentum wouldn’t keep up.
I do think VVD is a decent transfer as he is known to get 7+ ratings on a regular basis and pops up with the odd goal , so he is sure to rise in price. Having said that, he is surrounded by morons at the back for Liverpool so I don’t see many clean sheets in his future.
I need to transfer Vertonghen out of my team as Spurs have an awful month of fixtures in Feb. Best options available under 5 mil? I reckon Smalling at 4.5 looks good
Yeah he’s not ideal but helps to free up funds and will hopefully rise in value slowly. I think Smalling is a good option, I’d have gone for a Man Utd regular if I had a bigger budget.
RR’s strategy – Part 1
One of the strategies i use is defining players into 4 groups. This helps in selecting players if you are leading a mini league or are behind. This list is subjective but have included some stats.
The 4 groups are:
1) First class players – These are the heavy scorers. We are all familiar with them – the best goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards in the game. They are the players we all want but can struggle to afford as you have to pay the big bucks. If you are in the top 100, chances are that will have least 9 out of 11 of these first class players. They also form the best template (looking at top 50 teams): De Gea, Alonso, Apzilicueta, Otamendi, Walker, Sterling, Salah, Hazard, De Bruyne, Aguero and Kane. Not many teams can afford this template but I have seen many teams in top 100 come close to this. My best team ranked 401 has 8 of these template players but could it to 9 as Walker is now fairly cheap. The front 6 plus Alonso (can count as an attacking player) can also lead to a competitive team. Not only point scoring ability but ownership can be included in this category: Lukaku unluckily does not make the template team (find De Bruyne to be more consistent) but is 50% owned, Walker is only the 6th highest scoring defender in the game but is 1st in terms of ownership. Any players with an ownership above 17.5% would put in the first class category however i don’t see Alli (24%) and Pogba (18%) sitting comfortably in this group. Their ownership is probably high as they may be present in many ‘ghost’ teams as they were the two of the highest owned midfielders at the start of the game at around 30%.
Next time: Upper second class players
Great post RR, look forward to reading more on your strategy.
Definitely agree with your observations on the ‘top’ players in the game.
Just out of interest how would this current list compare to your preseason list?
And how important do you class ‘wheeling and dealing’ as in buying cheap and selling high especially in the early months in order to obtain the best players long term?
Thanks Baller for your feedback. Two very good questions.
Q: How would this current list (the best players) compare to your preseason list?
Well, in pre season i didnt make a list of the best players that i wanted. These stars were a million miles away. It takes time to make a superstar team of 11 top class players but it can be done. I spent pre season making a list of the cheap defenders and midfielders in the game. Generally, you have a few of these players in your team at the start of the season but i tend to get rid of them and upgrade asap. Also, my starting team tends to look at the short term fixtures to get off to a good start. Out of 5 teams i entered in Dream Team, 2 of my best three teams (all are in different mini leagues) were in the top 10k within game week 6 and stayed above this mark and even progressing beyond. The third team took slightly longer to reach 10k (game week 12). So my first objective was to reach 10k and then the final goal will be to finish in the top 500. Anything higher (top 100) would he be a bonus.
I also think that Baller is asking how does my current team compare with my original starting 11. Well my best team ranked at 401 and started with De Gea, Jones, Darmian, Kolasinac, Stephens, Salah, De Bruyne, Ritchie, Kane, Aguero and Lukaku. It is currently as follows: De Gea, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Vertoghen, Van Dijk, Hazard, Sterling, Salah, Mane, Kane and Aguero. It’s a good team with all players from the top 6 clubs. How did i achieve it. Well that bring me to Baller,s second question.
Q: How important do you class ‘wheeling and dealing’ as in buying cheap and selling high especially in the early months in order to obtain the best players long term?
My best team above is worth 75.9m with 1.2m reserved in the bank, so net worth is 77.1m. This team would have been at 61m at the start of the season (the template team at 60m) but we all have 50m to spend. How did i achieve it? By buying cheap and selling high and making profit. So wheeling and dealing is very important for me.
Every team i manage i probably put more emphasis on this area of the game than point scoring particularly in the early months. Every player trade needs to lead to a profit. I look at a player's value and decide whether he is a bargain, can I sell him for a profit at a later date or is overpriced and should i wait for his price to go down. So wheeling and dealing is a skill, it requires good judgement. Less luck is involved than point scoring. You just need to know when a player’s value will rise or fall and plan accordingly. By November, my team had a value of 70m, at this point I had constructed my superstar team with no players i didnt really want. So then my focus changes in terms to point scoring. Now i can afford pretty much any player i want. I no longer need to look at players outside the top clubs and cost 2m or less. I have a big pool of players to pick from. My hard work in player stock market has paid off.
So therefore, gaining points and value is a difficult balancing act but if can master both you can be good at this game.
Have a gut feeling that Ali could come good soon. Look at Ericksen last year. Was fairly quiet for quite awhile, then he couldn’t stop picking up points.
Someone at this stage of the season, can have a burst of form & then you also have to consider new players, when the transfer window as shut.
There’s still a lot of twists & turns to come.
Good write up, RR.
Sane sterling walker sergio
Need a few of them to play today at least…..
Perfect oppurtunity to thrash out sane transfer debate before friday
Rather than my way or no way
Good pilot run for next season mi thinks
In terms of transfers for February, I’m thinking Sterling for Salah (if possible). Then save the other two transfers.
Oh he’s injured – didn’t realise. That’s going to be a tricky one.
Who is injured DTT?
Sane apparently?
DTT, looking like Sane out for a few weeks, according to guardiola, going to have to check lineups mid-week, but what’s ur views on these differentials for February, Mktharian, Martial, B. Silva.
It’s very difficult because none of them have scored well so far. I’ll have a think about it. I didn’t get far with my thinking earlier in today.
Sane out for a month.
That does me a massive favour, as the guy chasing me in 2nd has him!
Not so good for you guys though.
What are people’s thoughts on bringing in Bernardo Silva for Sane?
I am gonna have a look over the next few days but i think sane injurys means sterling crucial to city now…..and salah not an option now as way way too expensive
Maybe debruyne and downgrade kylie ?
Thoughts welcome i’ll have a think and give my final thoughts thurs morning
Bernard silva an option callum good call should get game time now free up some pieters cash ?
I was looking at the price difference between Salah and De Bruyne 1.6 million only 27 points difference and Man City have more fixtures long term FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Is it worth bringing De Bruyne to save funds?
My suggestion:
Out
Sane
Pickford
In
De bruyne
Butland
Views and debate very much welcomed
I’d like rr dean anthony to have a look what the best option is for DTT also……no excuse to bemoan or belittle if transfer goes wrong
Put the policy to the test i have given my suggestion for transfer feb with sane out welcome other suggestions please
I’d be interested in their opinion as well if they are willing to share. If it’s possible to make your own luck in this game I’m sure they will have some fantastic suggestions for us…
RR great forward thinking !!!
The guys who tops our chart has a line up of
Pickford
Alonso asqpuetta gomes van dyke
Salah hazard sterling
Sergio kane lukaku
He buys players when at a low price….i think DTT who all said and done did remarkable last season didnt take this into account this season…my fault for picking his team for my works mini league i know but his ability to wheel and deal at right time and at right price
Not only blew me away but he has amased a larger budgeted team than me and finished me off
Has to be the format next season ?
I think stubborness and i dont think ive done much wrong counts anymore ..
Alonso v walker
Aspq v keane
Gomes v pieters
Salah v sane
Ive been smashed andoutwitted all over the park !!!!
You can only wheel and deal if you get the rub of the green. It’s virtually impossible to pick out low value players who then suddenly go on a run. It’s more luck than judgement in my opinion.
While you can’t predict what player is going to go on a run of points you can predict a player that is going to rise in price. When I only had limited funds early in the season and didn’t really fancy anyone to transfer in at a low price I looked for a player who had a high scored in the previous weekend or two and would therefore be guaranteed to rise for the next two or three weeks. Lascelles was a prime example of this for me, I transferred him in after his 18 points in weekend 4 at 2.5m as I knew he would continue to rise the next few weeks, and eventually sold him for 4m. This helped me build my team value over the first few months. Just something to bear in mind for the future especially when you can do pending transfers to effectively gain extra value by getting a player certain to rise for a player certain to drop in value. I’m currently 349th overall. Hope this helps for the future
That makes perfect sense and it’s probably something I’ve not considered enough. It’s just an odd system – you can almost work the system by being able to predict which players are going to rise and fall in price and for how long. As you say you can then grow the value of your team based on this and then get rid of the player – which doesn’t really have anything to do with football, more figuring out how a system works and playing it.
Exactly, its all part of the game and the same for everyone so you have to use it to your advantage. You can make .3m instantly (effectively .6 if you dump a player whose price is due to drop) using a pending transfer and its better to have a player whose price is going to increase but score no points as it will benefit you later in the season. My first 9 transfers were used to gain team value. My team value is nowhere near RRs (mine is 72.5) but growing it as quickly as possible has definitely given me more choice further into the season. For the record i’ve also made some bad decisions, which some may call bad luck and others will call poor judgement, such as taking hazard out over sterling just last week in order to get Valencia in for Cahill, neither was particularly in form and sterling had a goal disallowed and hit the post where hazard scored 2 and had 2 star man performances in the past week, since the transfers hazard has 35 points and sterling 13 I would call it bad luck, it happens to us all so definitely don’t give up on anything just yet, there is still plenty of time left this season
I agree with Nick. He used judgement not luck to increase his team value. He saw an opportunity and he took advantage of it. The team value allowed him to increase his options so that more choice. He probably has no pieters or keane in his side. As I said above, luck is not needed much to increase team value. When luck is mentioned, an idea is easily dismissed because we feel we can’t control it but actually can (wheeling and dealing). I made profit on 15 out of 18 transfers in one team and 16 out of 18 transfers in my best team. Surely that is the result of good judgement than lots of good luck as it’s a pattern that follows in all of my teams but especially the ones i spend all my focus on in my three different mini leagues. They all have over 1700 points, that cant be down to coincidence. With high team value comes better players, better players in turn lead to more points.
I think in DTTs defence it is probably something that happened naturally last season and has therefore been (self-admittedly by DTT) overlooked this season. I remember DTT stating he bought Ozil (or Eriksen or both) in and he then went on a run, which would in turn increase his team value but if you are getting, dare I say it, the luck of putting a player in and him instantly scoring you are not going to focus as much on the value side of the game as I have this season (which I have done as a consequence of getting burned repeatedly last season!!!)
There is a lot of talk about judgement vs luck on this site and the simple fact is you need both to get anywhere near the top. I’m still 200 points off the top, partly due to bad judgement and partly due to bad luck. I don’t have players like Pieters or Keane but I also don’t have Kane so I have never needed to go that cheap. I have never owned Kane, some will call this bad judgement, as I probably do at this point, but I didn’t have him from the start and every time I looked at getting him in it meant picking a poor player who I just did not think was worth it and I couldn’t find anyone who would rise significantly in value so I chose to spread the money into two players and on the whole it has worked for me this season. However when you look at the points I would have been better off having Kane and the worst defender in the game than having a combination like for example Cahill and Firmino, now does that mean I should immediately go and do those transfers? Not in my opinion, because there are so many other factors to consider like fixtures, form, other transfers etc. Does this mean that if I don’t have Kane and he has a bad February I have exercised good judgement in not getting him? and if it does then it must mean I have exercised bad judgement the rest of the season! The point I am trying to make is that we cannot call every bad move a bad judgement call or bad luck and every good move good judgement or lucky, the degree which we place on luck and judgement varies from person to person and from decision to decision. To go back to Lascelles I brought him in when I knew he was going to get at least 3 .3m rises, this was a considered move and good judgement, the fact that Lascelles went on to score more points is down to looking at the fixtures but also luck as Lascelles scored in the next game and that is lucky for me and he continued to rise for another 3 weeks. Anyway that’s enough from me, if anyone is even still reading at this point!!!
I’d agree with that as well. Last season whichever player I touched pretty much turned to gold straight away. Before long I could pick and choose between whichever players I wanted with the freedom to have pretty much anyone within the budget for the team. It was easy to predict, I simply picked players with more or the easiest upcoming fixtures and everything else just fell into place nicely. I’ve attempted to apply the same principles this year – not focusing too much on player value but more going for players who I could see doing well over the next few games. If it had panned out this way the players value would naturally rise due to their good form. I think picking players whose values are certain to rise is a clever move but as I say, it’s like working the system rather than having anything to do with football. I haven’t got the answer but I don’t think it makes for enjoyable playing when if you fall behind early doors it almost impossible to catch up, with everyone above you being able to pick much better players.
It looks to me like the Sun Dream Team know that if you get off to a bad start there is virtually no way of catching up and this is why they have made it free this year and given everyone 10 teams so hopefully everyone has at least 1 team that stays relatively competitive in the early stages. Obviously this does not help with mini league teams that start badly!!! I see your point about it not being to do with football but unfortunately it is to do with Sun Dream Team so you have to be willing to put the work in and use it to your advantage and incorporate it into your strategy, which I’m sure you will do next season
Can someone just clarify something for me please?
I have 3 transfers left. Am I right in thinking that if I make transfers today before 1st February tomorrow those transfers will be pending? And I will be allocated 3 more transfers for February?
The cut off for your January transfers is 7am on Friday 2nd February, at this point any pending transfers you have lined up will be processed and you will then be given your next 3 transfers for February after 7am on Friday
Thankyou very much, so I can wait til after the midweek fixtures before making January transfers if need be?
Correct steve
Ha ha that means in my works team following your team
14 have had the rub of the green and we havent ?
I should think thats either poor decisions or the ultimate bad luck
Have you ever disagreed with a decision that’s been made?
I am actually very surprised that you are bottom of a league of 15 on 1418pts. It isn’t a great score, but others have also mentioned on here, that points tally is middling most leagues, and some are still in touch of the top teams.
I am currently 6th in a league of 34 with DTT Team. Admittedly, some near the bottom have probably given up – but at least 20 teams are actively making transfers etc.
We might as well give up when Salah gets a pointless penalty just before going off and Van Dijk misses out on a clean sheet. I’ve got no idea why their marquee signing in Jan is starting on the bench when Lovren has been so poor all season. It’s an absolute joke.
I dont think Lovren has been poor all season. Certainly at the start but was the 3rd highest defender in December after Otamendi and Alonso. Plus VvD has played 13 games this season and only kept only 1 clean sheet.
Maybe from a fantasy football point of view. However from a footballing point of view Van Dijk is a much better defender than Lovren.
1418 is an awful score dean
No other way to ‘sex’it up…
My work mates are serial fantasy football pundits..i always just fall short usually by 60 pts in gaining a top 4 mini league slot i followed DTT this season to be inspired turned out a disaster i really couldnt have imagined this!
Not moaning my own fault cheating in affect just annoyed i followed the excact team !
Its biten me on the bum big time !
You can ‘sex it up’ – statistically it’s probably in the top 10% of all teams with probably around over 800,000 teams doing worse. I’d agree it’s not where I’d want it to be but it’s not through a lack of trying and you’ve had the opportunity to help shape the team. We get very few comments around transfer suggestions before a move is made. You’ve called for suggestions around Sane and I’ve not seen much of a response.
DTT, you said your blog wasn’t for suggestions & advice, without checking your post….again a bit of a contradiction.
I’ll give a thought on who to replace Sane with, when you do your next write up….VvD, is how the cookie crumbles, i have him too. I don’t need to comeent on Salah, because i’ve made my views known.
That would be a good example of a comment that winds me up – “bit of a contradiction”. I’m not interested in if you think I’ve contradicted myself. It’s a pointless inflammatory comment. I’d rather just stick to the issue being discussed. Any thoughts on Sane would be appreciated.
Oh dear, you are sensitive today, DTT. ( A case of VvD or Salahtus ?? )
I think good options are Alli, Eriksen, or Mane….still leaves you with decent budget.
Enjoy tonight’s footie !!
What about B. Silva? I’ll be even more sensitive if Chelsea get another clean sheet for Cahill tonight.
I think B. Silva is a talented player but not convinced about his goal contribution, yet.
….and you will !
Neither am I, again proved tonight. Shame Everton couldn’t hold on for a clean sheet. Could have been a reasonably successful night if they had.
RR’s strategy – Part 2
2) Upper second class players – Now this is a group where i feel Pogba and Alli actually belong. Not saying they are not world class players – they are but they just haven’t made to the top class due to injuries or poor form but have the potential to do so. Glancing at the top 50, this class of players appear less frequently compared to the first batch but can potentially match or outscore their more expensive elite counterparts over a significant period of time making them good differentials. These upper class group of players tend to belong to the top 6 teams, can be fairly well owned and expensive: Eriksen (15.9% owned at value of 5.5m): Alexis Sanchez (7.9%, 6.7m), Firmino (13.8%, 6.5m), Mane (11.1%, 6.3m) Willian (7.2%, 4.7m) and Sane (14.6%, 5.3m). Mahrez at 6.3m with ownership of 4.2% is the notable exception of a player performing well outside a top 6 side. With a nice set of fixtures, these players can offer a good number of points but they don’t represent high risk. With form, they will sought after by higher ranked teams and so in time fall into the elite category. If are behind in a mini league and team value is low, the next category of players might be worth looking at but carries a higher degree of risk.
Next time: Lower second class players
My Lower second class player, has just scored, Benteke. He just happens to be in my best team, presently. Hope he can get another tonight !
Well I did put him on my next list when i wrote all this on Saturday. I am just releasing this list one day at a time. Benteke could be a good differential, has proven goal scoring history but no longer on pens and think Palace got tough run of fixtures coming up.
Love this i depth look at things
More thought process in this and long term strategic ..no lazy 3 picks per month
How about next season those who think they would do a better job step up to the plate. Pick one team and do a weekly blog as I do on here. Submit it to me and I’ll post it up. I’ll split the blog down into sections for different “experts” and we will see how we’ll that goes when it’s all completely public facing with just one team?
Hi all.
Can I ask advise on what to do with my final Feb transfer. My team is:
Pickford
Christiensen
Tarkowski
Walker
Pieters
Sane
Sterling
Hazard
Mane
Aguero
Kane
I have 0.3 in the bank and am thinking Christensen to VVD as my transfer to allow enough funds for Sane to Lukaku.
Alternatively I could do Pickford to Butland which would allow Sane to Sanchez.
I would welcome suggestions.
Thanks
Worth cashing in on Tarkowski? For someone like Van Dijk. This may free up even more funds for upgrading Sane.
Is DTT still bringing in Salah? Liverpool got good run of fixtures in feb. Difficult to replace Sterling now with Sane injured. Sane to Salah doesn’t go.
I didn’t understand anyone taking Salah out, especially when there was nothing to suggest he had a long term injury. ( Even the 3 top teams took him out. )
No idea what to do yet. Any thoughts?
Remind me of your budget now, DTT. please ?
It’s 2.3m
I posted on 29th jan
Out
Sane
Pickford
In
De bryne
Butland
As my suggestion once again with no comments back to share
I can only do so much
I.e kept suggesting bin kompany baines…..but we kept and kept and kept……
What I’m saying is you asked others for there opinion and you’ve had nothing back… Until it goes wrong.
Who is that a reference to, DTT ?
Nothing in particular but if I’ve made so many obvious mistakes in the past, they’ve rarely been pointed out before it goes wrong. The comments of criticism often come after and that’s not just aimed at you.
Interested in who else?
Darren, with respect, don’t you have a mind of your own ? You’ve clearly indicated your thoughts & yes, you’ve had no response, probably because people can’t be bothered & are concentrating on their own teams. Have you posted your full team, or are you just copying, DTT ??
Well transfers all going on. Could go really left field and get in Aubameyang, Giroud, Sanchez? I mean it’s probably not worth me taking out Kane, Aguero etc but for people considering a gamble to get points over others.
In my league I’m 100+ ahead so waiting on my rival to make his move. Also contributors on here need to chill, get off ddts back. If people want to make transfers then make them don’t go arguing on here because it didn’t work out.
Appreciate the comment and support – people do need to stop being so critical. At the end of the day this is a completely free resource. It’s a good way to go about making sure it won’t be here next season because it’s getting pretty boring listening to all the moaning and criticism. The comments should be used to offer constructive criticism, share insights, ask other people for comments on your own teams rather than constant negativity.
I was much happier when I was 100+ ahead at the top last season so I envy your position. If Giroud goes to Chelsea I think he could do well, he always seems to score when he plays.
This is first year I have followed your blog and I find it very enjoyable.
Although for the life of me, I cannot understand why people would want to copy your team like for like, every step of the way??
I get that you did well last year and maybe they wanted to emulate your moves in order to win their own respective leagues, but where is the fun in that? That sheep-like mentality has always confused me!
Only a moron, would copy someone elses team, sorry to be so blunt !
Needing help! I am struggling within my mini league and want peoples advice on who i can change to help me boost my position. Thinking of going back to 4-3-3 switching sterling for aubameyang and changing C.Scindler to someone but i have no idea who. Thoughts??
De Gea
Van dijk
A.Christensen
D.Sanchez
C.Scindler
Sterling
Salah
Hazard
de bruyne
Kane
Aguero
All feedback would be welcome
I’m staying clear of any Arsenal players for the time being, especially after last night. Will Aubameyang be able to play in the Europa League?
I’d agree on that, DTT. Will Aubergine, get the service he needs ?? Lacazette hasn’t, so not so sure Aub will ??
aubameyang will be playing in the europa league but with a different shirt number. I personally think with arsenal having mik and aubameyang and ozil, they will play great together and aubameyang will score more than what lacazette will…
Is he not illegible because Dortmund are in the Europe League?
Hi guys,
I have one transfer left which I must do tonight any advice?
Ive got £0.6m in the bank. Ive also put in brackets if i think their price will go down or up.
Ederson 3.9m (down)
Walker 3.5 (down)
VVD 3.2 (down)
Christensen 3.7 (down
Davies 4.7 (maybe up)
Salah 9.4 (up)
silva – 5.9 (down)
Hazard 7.5 (up)
Kane 11.3 (up)
Aguero 8.2 (up)
Morata 4.3 (stay the same)
The obvious transfer out is morata. Injured, out of form and giroud potentially on rotation.
Walker is an interesting one, he just doesnt contribute directly enough. No clean sheets assists or goals.
Silva had personal problems and is not on par with KDB and Sterling who are killing me!
Davies and Christensen have bad fixtures coming up.
Its tricky cause with 0.6m in the bank you cant really significantly improve the squad. Therefore I am thinking of just doing a transfer to take advantage of price rises.
Morata OUT -> ihenacho IN (he got a hattrick so price will increase by 0.3m) allowing me a little more budget for transfers in February. Thoughts?
For February I am thinking of perhaps downgrading Davies to in turn upgrade Silva to one of the big hitters (KDB/Sterling)?
I am second in my mini league but the guy above has sterling, KDB, salah – then firmino, kane and aguero up top and has been blocking all my moves.
For feb i am thinking of gambling and swapping aguero for sanchez, freeing up a few more funds to strengthen defence. (top guys defence is de gea, rojo, evans, walker and cahill). My defence is better than his already but to upgrade someone even further could mean my defensive big hitters can help close the gap. He is 80 points ahead.
long winded i know, but appreciate anyones thoughts.
Cheers,
Steve
I have to agree on what has been said regarding building the value of your team.
I have done it all season. An example is with Coutinho after he scored 42 points in a single game week. I immediately put him in knowing that his price would rise by 0.9 or 1.2 over the coming 3/4 weeks.
Some of my closets rivals in my league thought I was losing the plot, what with all the Barca rumours that were floating about, but I was fully aware that he wouldn’t be in my team long. His appointment had a purpose and that purpose was to raise value.
As luck had it, he continued his good form and got me about 40 odd points in 6 games, but the points were not the primary objective.
Yes DTT, it’s playing the system but our hands are tied by the strange ways that this price fluctuation, player locking system works, so we do what we must to gain an advantage.
I think you need a combination of players who will build value AND have great fixtures. The price fluctuations sometimes are not in sync with the points gained.
eg. some players get value increases if they don’t impact a game (no goal or assist) due to the average of the previous 5 games. Others I have seen gain points but decrease in value, cause they went on a run of zero goals 5 games prior.
I think value rises should be part of the decision making process which may have been overlooked as a collective by a lot of people especially when money is tight you shouldnt just transfer someone in because they are the best within your budget. Scouring the players to see who will drop in price £0.3m and who will rise in your team by 0.3m and knowing when to transfer in gives you a 0.6m swing!
Unfortunately for me I have learnt these lesssons late on this season, but hoping to make the most of this for the remaining months.
I think there’s probably a lot of players that can’t be arsed to think about increasing budget & just think i’ll replace so & so, with so & so.
The fact is, it’s an important part of the game now, that could be beneficial.
What wld be the better option,
A
Smalling
Martial
Mktharian
B
Soares
Mktharian / B. Silva
Sanchez.
Option B
I’d also go for option B.
can’t plan for firmino missing a penalty and salah snatching penalty duties from james milner
Nope not unless anyone has that crystal ball handy.
RR’s strategy – Part 3
3) Lower second class players
Now these are the dark horses – players who are cheap but could rise in value and most importantly bring in some points. They tend to play outside the top 6 teams but there are some notable exceptions such as Rashford (3.2m), Mkhitaryan (2.6m), Lacazette (3.7m), Mata (3.5m), Oxlade-Chamberlain (3.6m) and Batshuayi (3.5m). These are however with the exception of the Arsenal pair, the rest are squad players so their point scoring potential is limited. However, they can get promoted to upper second class given the opportunity. For example, i considered Lingard in this group but his performances for Utd has seen him upgraded and his value has more than doubled from 2.5m (starting price) to now 5.6m.
The rest of the dark horses are the star players from teams outside the top 6. Apart from Mahrez and Tarkowski, they are 5m and below. Players of interest are Leicester’s Vardy (4.6m), Palace’s Zaha (4m) and Benteke (2.6m), Everton’s Sigurdsson (3.5m) and Rooney (3.6m), Stoke’s Shaqiri (2.8), Swansea’s Bony (2.6m) and Watford’s Richarlison (3.6m). Some of these players are in poor form but their clubs will put all in faith in them in a battle to avoid relegation. Two of the best in form differentials belong to West Ham: Lanzini and Arnautovic but unfortunately they are injured at this present moment.
New arrivals to these shores during the January transfer window also belong to this category. They could be hits or flops with no proven dream team history and so represent high risks. Everton’s Tosun (3.7m) could be one to look out for along while Arsenal’s new record signing Aubameyang is now added to the game at 5m. There will be plenty of interest on transfer deadline day.
Part 4 – Third class players
These are the players that really no one wants – players who are mostly defensive midfielders for their clubs eg Matic, Dier and Kante, players from promoted sides or those that are fighting relegation struggling to find any form. Unfortunately these players tend to be very cheap (0.5 to 2.0m) and difficult to upgrade. They spend months getting 0 points and can even be taking them away from the team’s total. It can be a relief when they pick up 3 or more points but these tend to a rare occurance. This class of players will struggle to reach 50 points by the season’s end and the bad news is that there is a big pool of them in the game.
Ideally, you shouldn’t any of this group of players in your team if you have played the player market right. Sure, you will one or two of these players at the start of the season (50m only goes so far) but as your team value goes up, you should be looking to rid of them and upgrading. I started the season with Southampton’s Stephens (although after months in the wilderness is playing very well now), Brighton’s Knockaet, Newcastle’s Ritchie in my teams but these were quickly upgraded when the profit from player sales started rolling in.
However, a change in circumstances e.g. the appointment of a new manager may change an instant change to fortunes as seen at West Brom, West Ham and Swansea but it is known whether this is long term.
Injury prone players also fall in this category. The likes of Man City’s Vincent Kompany, Tottenham’s Lamela and West Ham’s Andy Carroll even though they are good players fall in this category as when fit, their next injury seems be around the corner and they struggle to play 20 games in a season. Always important in selecting players to look at their injury record.
So that concedes my thoughts on the game. Hopefully you may find it useful.
So you’ve divided players into 4 categories. Are you suggesting a minimum number of first class players? No 3rd class players at all? I see the logic in the classifications but don’t see where it takes you in terms of strategy
PIETERS
Top scoring defender by the end of the season – mark my words.
It’s something i do on a monthly basis. The list of players available in the game is very long so i cross out the junk. My team values generally tend to be quite high so I don’t the third class players. No one really wants players from promoted teams or teams at the bottom end of the table unless we are a fan. I am of a fan of Newcastle United but i wouldnt will be doing well if i picked their players. Ideally you wouldnt want very cheap players in your team but they have to considered because of budget constraints. Like Pieters is doing well under new management but it doesn’t mean i want to select him for my team. I rather have defenders from a top 6 club but the budget has to looked at. With lower budget the pool of players to choose from gets smaller.
My grouping is all very subjective but i look at value, past performances, ownership and other stats to place players in these groups. From this, i pick my players and then leaving just two where i do a comparison analysis. In all honestly, I don’t really enjoy the player selection side of the game, i do like to reflect on my player selections and come up with ways to improve my methods. I never seek advice for player selection advice on this blog or anywhere else. I like to live or die by my decisions, like to learn from my bad judgement and not blame others. I am more into the tactical and transfer dealing side of things, I get a bigger buzz from buying the likes of Kolasinac at 3.5m and then selling for 5.5m. So i spend most of time looking at price changes and bargain hunting particularly in the early stages of the season.
The minimal number of first class players i would say is about 8. If leading a mini league, nothing wrong in having more. If behind, i will leave it at 8 and then bring in 3 differentials. If miles away, i would just go radical and pick a team of 11 second class players but then that be considered as waving a white flag. Although, at this stage your risk taking has to be high.
i would agree that when you are behind you need to take risks. i have a feeling Sanchez is a sleeping giant and should be within the ‘first class’ bracket. top scorer last season yet a differential this season (due to relatively poor form and minor injuries.
i also wonder whether DTT should work in KDB over Salah. Cheaper, more fixtures, and when he scores he wins star man. when he doesnt he gets rated. whereas Salah doesnt often get star man and when he scores i’ve noticed. also, KdB will get rated if he doesnt score whereas Salah is less likely to – he wasnt due to be rated before he nicked Milner’s penalty.
going without Salah could be the risky move that prospers in Feb
I’ve just done an analysis of all the teams above me in the mini league I’d like to win. I must admit I’m leaning towards De Bruyne slightly.
Tbh I’ve not paid too much attention to price changes to often, it can make you rush decisions based solely on value. I’ve just played the game the way I would and picked players based on own knowledge and fortune. That’s the unexpected of the game. You can be as tactical as you want but that’s not necessarily going to go all your way. It’s football.
Obviously there are some players who are pretty consistent and I’m lucky to of put in De Bruyne when my opponent switched to Sterling a while ago etc.
Bit stuck on defence though, with Christensen getting injured I have a low budget to get a reasonable replacement?
Which ironically will shorten in term of options because I have a feeling Christensens price will decrease come Friday. Have you got any money in the bank Marc?
The biggest mistake I’ve made this season is taking De Bruyne out. I tried to play the system and grow the value of my team when De Bruyne got off to a slow start and Mkhitaryan was certain to rise in value. It quickly backfired.
In terms of defenders the only two the spring to mind who are cheaper are Sanchez and Van Dijk.
DTT – I am in Italy for 10 days and wont be following the blog as closely as I usually do…. what are the chances of you dropping me a quick text if you are making any transfers? As an avid devotee I think it is the least you can do 😛
You have my email address 🙂
Haha no problem Dean. If I remember I’ll drop you an email. Enjoy your trip.
Current team- Pickford Walker Martina Valencia Rojo Salah Sterling Sane Kane Lukaku Aguero.
Thinking of Martina 1.5 and Sane 5.5 out Laporte 4.2 and B.Silva 3.5 in Leaving me 0.5 million in the bank, edging towards City players as they have 6 games this period compared to Liverpool 4 and Everton 3. Any other suggestions would be welcome
Current Team- Pickford Walker Martina Valenica Rojo Salah Sterling Sane Aguero Kane Lukaku.
Was thinking of Sane and Martina out (7.0m) Laporte and B.Silva in (7.7m) will leave me 0.5 in the bank, edging towards City players as they have 6 games this period compared to Liverpool 4 and Everton 3, any thoughts or other suggestions?
Is Laporte going to be ahead of stones in the pecking order we need to find this out first. If so Laporte will rise in price quickly so could be a good shout.
What do you think of B.Silva? Should start most games with Sane, Jesus and D Silva injured although he doesn’t consistently get goals and assists. Also KDB for Salah after this game week providing no injuries.
Yes he should and he’s price should rise too. What about Sane and Lukaku out for B.Silva and De Bruyne if you have funds. I’m trying to get salah in and just can’t manage it so might have to go with firmino or Sanchez.
Think Sanchez will come good and Man Utd with a favourable draw in the CL should progress. Don’t quite have enough funds because Martina’s value is so low and he has to go, seeing as they are only in 1 competition and not even guaranteed game time! What is your team currently?
My team is
De Gea
Walker
Cresswell
Alonso
Otamendi
Sterling
De Bruyne
Hazard
Pogba
Kane
Aguero
I had two transfers at end of January left got rid of Azpilicueta and Sane for Walker and De Bruyne and have 0.6ITB.
Decent side that, potential to downgrade Otamendi and sell Pogba to get Salah in? Would have 3.3 to bring in VVD if you really wanted to get Salah in.
Don’t want to get rid of him that’s the only thing think I’d rather get rid of Alonso but not sure then as no Chelsea coverage in defence. That’s why I was thinking Firmino Liverpool coverage and nearly 3 million cheaper still getting decent points. But what you said is an option. Thinking of getting rid of pogba and Cresswell for Laporte and B.silva but maybe too much Man City coverage then.
City still in all 4 comps, have a feeling Chelsea will be knocked out of the CL by Barca so think Otamendi is a better option the Alonso personally, always gets high ratings too! I find having players in the most competitions is what helps me to gain on other teams in my mini league towards the end of the season.
I’ll have to see what the team line up is tomorrow and see I think. Or not sure whether to hold on to my transfers for a while
Mr DTT ! Hope your well.. are you going to do a post before midday tomorrow for potential Transfer ideas and teams with the next fixtures for Feb ? Sane is a must to go I presume….
I’ll probably post this up tonight. At the moment I’m leaning towards:
Sane out, Eriksen in today. Eriksen has potentially 4 fixtures over the next two game weeks. Man Utd and Chelsea only have two games.
I’ll then look at bringing in Salah (might not be able to afford) or De Bruyne before prices change at the end of this game week.