SPAIN LOSES 2 - 1 TO FRANCE IN THE U19 EURO CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

France defeated Spain 2-1 in the Final of the U19 European Championships. Great game from the local team & hosts who managed to win with their physical strength over the Spanish “touch-ball” style.Spain was the winner in the first half putting in an exhausting 45 min of domination play that earned them a goal. However the second half was a complete different story with France taking advantage of

SAMI KHEDIRA WILL BE A REAL MADRID PLAYER | STUTTGART ANNOUNCE MOVE ON WEB

German Club STUTTGART has today announced officially on their web that 23 year old midfielder SAMI KHEDIRA will be transferred to REAL MADRID. The news has been picked up by all local media & the German International could be flying to Madrid in the next hours to pass the obligatory medical exam this Saturday before signing his new contract with Madrid sometime early next week.It has been written

SPANISH U19 NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM | PHOTO

SPANISH SPORTS, & especially SPANISH FOOTBALL , is passing through a sweet moment. The Spanish National Football Team are current European Champions & just recently conquered the FIFA World Cup. With this in mind Spanish Football has plenty of future as illustrated by the U 19 SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM ( pictured below ) who will play France tomorrow in the U 19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL.Many

REAL MADRID | RAUL SAYS GOODBYE | TRIBUTE VIDEO

REAL MADRID 2010 | KHEDIRA AGREES & IS CLOSE TO SIGNING

Spanish Sports daily “AS” is quite adamant, according to their online edition there is total agreement between REAL MADRID & German International midfielder SAMI KHEDIRA.Now REAL MADRID has to come to terms with an economic deal that satisfies the German Club STUTTGART. This should not be a problem because Khedira finishes contract with his German Club & the latter will work to get something out

EUROPEAN U19 CHAMPIONSHIPS | SPAIN 3 ENGLAND 1 | SPAIN GOES INTO THE FINAL

The U-19 SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM defeated ENGLAND 3 -1 in the semi final this afternoon to go into the Final of the U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS on Friday were they will play France.Spain deserved the victory as they dominated play with England having its moment in the late part of the 1º half with their only goal. Earlier Spain scored two excellent goals with the 3ºrd & definite goal in the

INTER MILAN REAL MADRID AGREE TRANSFER OF MAICON ?

This time around it is not the “scoop” hungry Spanish Sports daily “Marca”, this time the news that INTER MILAN & REAL MADRID have an agreement to transfer Brazilian International right-back MAICON comes directly from Italy & in particular from two sources like “La Gazzetta dello Sport” & the more generalist “Corriere della Sera”.The info is that the transfer price has been placed at around 28M€

REAL MADRID 2010 | RAUL GONZALEZ ANNOUNCES HIS FAREWELL

Big loss today for SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER.It had to come, like other greats before him, REAL MADRID now ex Captain & Legend RAUL GONZALEZ BLANCO said goodbye to his Club of 16 years. The Spanish player gave a press conference to a packed audience to announce his departure, his move to another country & Club to finish off his last remaining years as a professional Football player. All

Scanning the radar: Forwards

Having covered midfielders in an earlier post, I now turn my attention to forwards flying under the radar. Given that there are less to choose from (each team will only field one or two on a regular basis meaning that the pool of talent is only around 30 players) it is harder to find a player 'under the radar' so I will more focus on undervalued talent, even if the player is already well known to fantasy players.

I think the offerings are pretty thin and the best strategy might be to employ the big names up top again and search for the value elsewhere. Nevertheless there are a couple of names that have caught my eye:

Under the radar

Nikola Kalinic
Okay, 2 goals and 55 points aren't getting your pulse racing but he did manage 5 goals in 2010 in 18 games (all in competitions) and generally looked to be settling into the league quite well. Blackburn don't have too many other options up front - indeed they have reportedly even considered a desperation bid for Heskey - and so Kalinic is all but guaranteed plenty of minutes in front a decent midfield that features Dunn and Gamst Pedersen.

It's well documented that Slavan Bilic hailed Kalinic as the "future of Croatian football" which is looking a stretch at this point but he's only 22 and will cost you just 5.5m in the EPL game. That makes him a useful match up play, while also acting as a differentiator (0.4% owned which I believe is his Mum, Dad and favourite Aunt).

Emmanuel Adebayor

As with some of my midfield picks, Adebayor is not exactly a hidden gem given the fact he cost 25m just 12 months ago but he is still held by just 2.5% of managers. I know there are currently reports of him leaving for Italy and the probable arrival of Mario Balotelli, but if he stays I think he plays 30 games and cracks 16+ league goals. As he showed in glimpses last year, he is a natural goalscorer when on form, and with Silva and Toure bolstering the midfield I like Ade to excel and improve on last year's decent haul of 14 league goals.

He isn't cheap at 9.5m, so he is a risky pickup, but I would rank him 4th among strikers (Torres, Drogba, Rooney) and I think his value deserves to be closer to theirs at 11m than the 9m range along with Defoe, Bent and Berbatov.

Just off the radar

Robbie Keane

First things first, Keane has little or no value while still at Spurs, hence he is currently 'off radar'. However, a move to a team like Villa would make Keane an absolute steal at 5.5m and make him one of the better bargains in the whole game. We can all agree that Keane had a miserable last year right? Well, not if you look at his stats. His points per minute give him 5.24 PPG which at his current value would be an incredible 0.952 PPMS, and that is assuming he only does what he did last year in just 13 games worth of minutes. If at Villa or even Newcastle, Keane is right up there to make my opening day roster.

Nikola Zigic

The uncertainty around Zigic is different than with Keane, as he is almost certain to play at Birmingham given he is one of their main signings this off season. My concern is whether or not Zigic can hack it in the EPL. Labelled another 'skillful big man' my concern is that he may be a bit too brittle to play every week and might lack to pace and drive to score regularly in the EPL. There haven't been too many successful big men of late - Carew and to an extent Davies were the picks last season - and so I want to see how Zigic is deployed before I invest. That said at 6m he has potential and is definately worth monitoring in the opening couple of weeks.

Roque Santa Cruz

Much like Robbie Keane, Santa Cruz's value depends on him leaving his current club. Also like Keane, Santa Cruz has been rumoured to be a target of Martin O'Neil at Villa Park as well as possibly linking up with former manager Mark Hughes at Craven Cottage. Fulham looks like a useful fit to me as pairing him with Zamora would give them a pretty versatile and powerful front pair. At 7m he needs to not only get a move away from City but also secure a starting place in his new team, but anytime a player who scored 182 points just 2 seasons ago might be available for 7m, you need to at least monitor him.

I'm afraid that's it on the forward front, not too many sleepers in my eyes this year. I have a further post due shortly which should give further consdieration as to how best use your money and choose yours studs this season. Thanks for reading and please post your thoughts or comments below or @plfantasy.

SPANISH SPORT SUCCESS | CONTADOR IN TOUR E FRANCE ALONSO IN GERMAN F1

Spanish Sport continues with its string of success stories, this time in Cycling & in Formula 1 racing.Spanish cyclist ALBERTO CONTADOR won his 3rd TOUR DE FRANCE (2010) today ahead of Andy Schleck & Denis Melchov. The Spaniard was emotional as this edition was the most fought especially after nearly “losing” the leaders grip yesterday in the 52 km time-trial that although he won Contador later

Scanning the radar: Midfielders

Welcome back everyone. I hope the World Cup kept you all busy over the summer but not so much as to fatigue you for the grueling Premier League season, which is now just three weeks away. The off season has been pretty quiet, and the big money deals normally seen straight after a World Cup have not really materialised as yet. This could complicate matters as last minute transfers may cause you to rethink your team but I think history has shown that arrivals from other leagues often struggle to hit the ground running so unless an undisputed star like Ribery, Higuain etc makes there where to the EPL, you will probably want to hold off anyway.

Without further delay, I have prepared two list of 'sleepers': those who I think will perform above expectations for the upcoming season, and those who don't quite warrant consideration yet but might if one or two things go there way. I have tried to stick to my statistical basis for the predictions but some are also based on a bit of a 'feeling' and so carry a bit more risk.

Under the radar

Theo Walcott (7m)
I can't honestly believe I am typing these words as I have been a major downer on Walcott's career to date, going so far last season as to call him Wenger's second worst ever signing after the disastrous Francis Jeffers deal (who incidentally may be back to bite me too as he looks to secure a deal at newly promoted Blackpool). Anyway, if Walcott can stay fit and keep a spot in the team his fantasy production is useful given the pundits love for Englishmen and his pace allowing him to catch the eye. At last season's production levels he would notch 7 goals, 5 assists, 12 bonus points and 155 points if he were to play 30 games this year. That would have placed him 6th among midfielders in last year's final stats. He isn't a lock to produce and I would want a decent bench player to reduce the risk of rotation but he definitely deserves some attention.

Charlie Adam (5.0m)
Adam managed 16 league goals last season and impressed many pundits following his arrival from Rangers, where to be fair he had enjoyed some success back in 2007. Still only 24, it is not unreasonable to suggest that Adam is still maturing and might be one of the select few who manage to transfer lower league form into EPL success. For 5.0m Adam will give you penalties, free kicks and a guaranteed play every week which as fantasy veterans know, is not to be taken lightly at this point of a uncertain season.

Lee Chung-Yong (5.5m)
There isn't much I don't love about Lee and although I obviously want him to stay at the Reebok, a move to Liverpool would put his value through the roof. Lee had a great World Cup to follow up his fine first season in England and stretching his numbers over a 30 game season would see him add 4 goals, 7 assists and 118 points. Those numbers are conservative given that he has had a full year to settle in to England along with the arrival of the once prolific Martin Petrov (see below) to relieve some pressure in Owen Coyle's side. At 5.5m there is little downside here and if he can catch the eye of the pundits he could enjoy a real breakout season.

David Silva (9.0m)
Okay it's hard to class a £25m signing as under the radar but Silva is currently held but just 3% of managers, likely due to a combination of his recent arrival and manager's distrust of new arrivals. Indeed, I preached caution above when it comes to new arrivals. However, Silva fits into that category of players who will simply excel wherever they play. At 9m you are backing Silva to outscore the likes of Kuyt, Milner and Valencia but I don't see that being a problem for the World Cup winner. City should be one of the higher scoring team this year and they absolutely need to qualify for the Champions League so should be going all out for Mancini or he could face the boot by Christmas. When the season draws to a close I would not be surprised to see Silva up with Lampard and fellow Spaniard Fabregas among the season's top points scorers.

Jonas Gutierrez (5.0m)
Gutierrez caught my eye during his time in the Premier League with Newcastle and I was surprised he stuck around in the Championship with them last year. After a so-so World Cup playing at right back under Maradona's somewhat unorthodox system, Gutierrez should resume his place on the wings for the Magpies and at 5m I like his upside. He should be able to contribute in all categories though he managed just 4 goals last term and 0 in 30 games in the EPL last time so his upside is probably somewhere around Steve Pienaar last year.

Sanli Tuncay (5.5m)
I liked Tuncay after his move to Stoke last season and many would consider that trust to be misplaced after failing to impress last year. However, I feel those criticisms are misplaced and Tuncay actually produced when he was able to get on the field. Expanding his stats over a full season in which he played in just 30 games, he would have added 8 goals, 4 assists, 23 bonus points on his way to 161 total points (more points than Steve Gerrard). I know not much can be gained from pre-season games against Newcastle Town but Tuncay's hatttick can't have hurt his grasp on a first team place in Pulis's side. At 5.5m he is great value and I like his to contribute to a team all season in a mid-price midfielder rotation role.

Thomas Hitzelsperger (5.5m)
I've always been a fan of 'The Hammer' and it seems he is back to old tricks after rifling in a free kick for the Hammers on Friday. He should play every week, contribute goals and assists and may even threaten the bonus category in a West Ham team that lacks too many players to catch the eye. Carlton Cole - who also played with Hitzelsperger at Villa - is already impressed and sounds like his ready to pay the mere 5.5m to get him in his team this year. Expect to hear the words "trademark strike" several times this year.

Just off the radar

Yaya Youre (5.5m)
Toure's fantasy success really depends on the role Mancini has in mind for the former Barcelona man. If he plays him alongside De Jong he should be able to get forward sufficiently to give some fantasy value at 5.5m along the lines of a Bowyer or Diaby from last season. If however, he is the anchor man then much like other talented defensive midfielders like Mascherano and Palacious, he will struggle to make a fantasy impact. At £28m though, he is at least assured to play pretty much every week.

Martin Petrov (6.0m)
It wasn't long ago that Petrov was shining in a so-so City side, turning heads with his direct style and powerful shooting on his way to an impressive fantasy total of 153 points. The arrival of stars like David Silva has rendered him surplus to requirements and he has been wisely picked up by Owen Coyle (to my delight). At 6m he isn't an absolute steal and does carry some risk (his knees have been unreliable to say the least) but if he can prove his fitness in the off season and continue his good form then he deserves at least a thought to make your opening day squad.

Solomon Kalou (7.5m)
Kalou is not 'off radar' in the sense that we haven't heard off him, more that we aren't picking him: his current ownership is just 1.3%. If you extrapolate Kalou's numbers over a season (playing a modest 30 games) then he would contribute 14 goals, 11 assists and 209 points, despite failing to catch the eye of the bonus pundits. Obviously the arrival of Benayoun hurts his value a touch, but with Drogba's fitness uncertain, Anelka should shift into a forward position giving Kalou at least a few weeks to prove his worth. Kalou's second half displays were as good as anyone last year and at 7.5m his value has a long way to go if he starts off this season in similar form.

Stay tuned for further posts on the forwards and defenders I like for the upcoming season, though they may not be up until the 1st August as I head back to China from Hong Kong, where my Twitter and Blogger access is blocked. As always thanks for reading and please comment below or @plfantasy.

2010 U/19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS | SPAIN 3 ITALY 0

The U/19 SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM defeated ITALY 3-0 in the last match of their group to finish in Top place in the U/19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS being held in France. Spain went into this game without seven of their habitual starting players who were rested as they had before hand secured a semi-final place. But the “reserves” made it look like they were not missed at all with some great

REAL MADRID | RAUL TO ANNOUNCE MOVE TO SCHALKE 04 ON MONDAY

The current REAL MADRID Captain RAUL GONZALEZ BLANCO is expected back at the Club from holidays this Monday. However, everything points that RAUL will not be back to work but to announce the end of his many years at the Spanish Club & a move to end his career at German Club SCHALKE 04.The 33 year old Spanish Football “legend” believes he still has a lot of Football left in him, does not wish to

Status Update

I am currently in China on vacation and it seems that they are not too keen on Blogspot or Twitter hence the lack of updates over the past 10 days. Fear not though, I have prepared my list of favourite players for the season which I will post shortly, as well as a preview of the best schedules for the start of the new season.

Thanks for sticking with the blog those of you who were here last year, and I hope any new readers will like what they read and stick with us throughout the season. As always thanks for reading and check back soon for some season preview posts.

SPANISH FOOTBALL PLAYER & WORLD CUP HERO ANDRES INIESTA HAS A SONG ( VARIOUS...)

Spanish International Football Player ANDRES INIESTA has become a national hero after scoring the winning goal for Spain in the Final of the 2010 World Cup against Holland. Apart from being one – if not – one of the best players in the World his humble personality has won fans from all sides of life. So mucho so that songs are springing up about Iniesta from all sorts of local artists to pay

2010 U-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP | SPAIN 2 - PORTUGAL 1

The U- 19 SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM defeated PORTUGAL 2-1 this afternoon in their second group match of the 2010 U-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP being held in France. The victory assures the Spaniards a place in the semi-finals & gives them a direct ticket for the 2011 World Championships in Colombia.The man of the match was Spaniard & Liverpool FC player DANI PACHECO who scored both of the

REAL MADRID 2010 | "PROBLEMS" WITH THE SAMI KHEDIRA NEGOTIATIONS

It is not over until the fat lady sings; perhaps Spanish Sports daily “Marca” should take a leaf out of the book of popular sayings before publishing things like “Khedira signs for Real Madrid”. The latest news is that negotiations between REAL MADRID & STUTTGART midfielder SAMI KHEDIRA have complicated themselves with the news that the German player has a supoosed “pre-agreement” with BAYERN

SPANISH LEAGUE | LIGA | SEASON 2010 2011 SCHEDULE CALENDAR

The draw for the Spanish League – La Liga – season 2010 / 2011 schedule has been conducted this morning at the Spanish Football Federation. The full calendar with all 38 Liga rounds & their respective match ups are available via this link to Spanish daily “AS” : Season 2010-2011Meanwhile you can consult this table of the main games of interest given to us courtesy of Spanish daily “Marca”:

ATLETICO DE MADRID CLOSES DEAL WITH DEPORTIVO FOR FILIPE LUIS

Good news for ATLETICO DE MADRID fans with the news from Spanish daily "AS" on its online channel announcing that the Madrid Club has come to terms with DEPORTIVO A CORUÑA for the transfer of Brazilian International Left Back FILIPE LUIS. Both Clubs were in intense negotiations today in Madrid with the deal coming to good port after both teams agreed the 12M€ transfer price & a 4 year contract

SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM & 2010 WORLD CUP LINE UP PHOTOS

OK guys, got the message, my email is saturated with your requests. The SPAIN WORLD CUP TEAM & FIFA 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONS has created "fan fever" around the World especially for the Asian & USA readers. As requested I have gathered the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM PHOTOS - 4 versions - so you can collect & do with them as you wish, although many readers have already mentioned that they wish to

EUROPEAN U-19 CHAMPIONSHIPS 2010 | CROATIA 1 - SPAIN 2

The SPANISH U 19 NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM is participating in the EUROPEAN U19 CHAMPIONSHIPS in France & started off well in their first group game against CROATIA with a 2-1 victory.Spain dominated most of the match with possesion of the ball but Croatia scored first before half time via Andrijasevic who managed to "shake" the Spaniards out of their comfort zone. The young Spanish players reacted

MOTO GP | SPANISH RIDERS WIN ALL 3 CATAGORIES IN GERMANY

Just a brief post to congratulate the Spanish riders that have taken the winners spot in all 3 catagories of the German Moto Gp. Extraordinary motorbike riding from young 125 cc star MARC MARQUEZ, brilliant comeback from last places by TONI ELIAS in Moto2 & DANI PEDROSA who beat follow Spanish pilot Jorge Lorenzo in MotoGP.SPANISH SPORTS is experiencing a "sweet run" in lots of Sports & we should

REAL MADRID LOOKING FOR A CENTRAL DEFENDER FOR SEASON 2010-2011

The original idea of REAL MADRID Coach Jose Mourinho was to place Sergio Ramos as a Central Defender, but the extraordinary World Cup performance of the Spanish player has convinced Mourinho to leave him in the right back position. This decision makes the Spanish Club look for a Central Defender for next season & there are a few names on the list: David Luiz, Bruno Alves, Nemanja Vidic y Thiago

SPAIN WORLD CUP TEAM 2010 | VIDEO OF ALL THE GOALS

In case you were on the moon all last month & missed the performance of the SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM & the 2010 FIFA World Cup :o) Here is a video of all the eight goals scored by the SPAIN WORLD CUP TEAM & WORLD CHAMPIONS:

FC BARCELONA ON THE VERGE OF SIGNING SEVILLA FC BRAZILIAN ADRIANO

The “surprise” news from FC BARCELONA new Treasury Head was that the Club has only 50M€ for signings, apparently the last Presidential team of Laporta left some “smelly corpses” in the Barça balance sheet. If this is true CESC FABREGAS who is speculated to have a 50-55M€ price tag seems more distant than ever.But there are other options, like SEVILLA FC Brazilian player ADRIANO who is on the

REAL MADRID AGREES WITH GETAFE THE SIGNING OF PEDRO LEON

REAL MADRID started its pre-season today with new Coach José Mourinho hard at work & already exercising his influence with signing decisions. According to local daily “AS”, Spanish Liga team GETAFE President Angel Torres has come to an agreement with REAL MADRID to transfer 23 year old Spanish midfielder PEDRO LEON after Mourinho gave his Ok to the operation.Real Madrid will now pay Getafe 10M€

REAL MADRID SIGNS GERMAN INTERNATIONAL SAMI KHEDIRA ?

Spanish Sports daily “Marca” is in a constant battle with its rivals to appear to be the first paper in the "exclusive" department. So much are their efforts that at times their scoops are still within the realm of speculation however adamant they are that their exclusive has 100% backing in reality. Today, the Spanish paper announces – as an exclusive – that young German International &

SIX SPANISH PLAYERS & COACH DEL BOSQUE MAKE UP THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP DREAM TEAM - BEST XI

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog/FIFA has included up to six SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM players ( plus Coach Del Bosque) to make up its BEST XI Team for the 2010 WORLD CUP Tournament. What has grabbed everyone attention is the absence of the big names, which isn´t a big surprise as the likes of Cristaino Ronaldo, Messi, Kaka, ... etc have not shone in this World Cup & their respective teams were

SPANISH DEFENDER CARLES PUYOL TO STEP ASIDE FROM THE NATIONAL TEAM

Latest news: Puyol will play against Mexico in August before making a final decision. Spanish Coach Del Bosque is attempting to convince Puyol to reach at least 100 International Caps. I hope he decides to stay.FC BARCELONA player & Spanish International Central Defender CARLES PUYOL is set to leave, better said, retire from the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM. The 32 year old player wishes to

SPAIN | WORLD CUP HUMOUR

Some World Cup humour from Spanish Sports daily & Barcelona based paper "Mundo Deportivo". Its cartoon section called "Pelotazos" gives a funny look at how two different people from the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM reacted to winning the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA MONTHLY WORLD RANKING: SPAIN Nº1

FIFA has released its monthly ranking & there are naturally no surprises. SPAIN as new recently crowned 2010 FIFA WORLD CHAMPION leads the ranking followed by finalist Holland. Here is the list - with points - of the Top 25 Football nations:1. Spain 1883 pts2. Holland 16593. Brazil 15364. Germany 14645. Argentina 12896. Uruguay 11527. England 11258. Portugal 10629. Eygpt 105310. Chile 98811.

SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM PLANE CELEBRATION VIDEO

My email is saturated with requests from readers to see more Spanish Football Team post - FIFA World Cup Final celebration videos. Here is the airplane celebrations flying back to Madrid ...The individual members of the new FIFA World Champions have all gone back to their respective families & cities, but there "fiesta" will be sending "shock-waves" for weeks :o)

2010 FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONS | SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM WELCOMED BY MORE THAN 1.000.000 SPANIARDS

More the 1.000.000 Spaniards & visitors collapsed the city of Madrid celebrating & thanking the new 2010 FIFA World Champions. It was a ticket tape parade that overflowed with joy as the population welcomed back the SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM from South Africa. The parade finished with a mini-concert were the team thanked Spain for their unconditioned support.

SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM PLANE CELEBRATIONS | REINA RAMOS VILLA | FIFA 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONS

SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM | ANDRES INIESTA SHOWS HIS "WAR WOUNDS" FROM THE FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL

Spanish Football International player, man of the match & winning goalscorer for the Spanish Football Team against Holland in the 2010 World cup Final, ANDRES INIESTA, shows journalist on the plane back to Spain his "war wounds". The Dutch team handed out kicks, fouls & rough tactics instead of playing Football...ANDRES INIESTA has the proof of it all on his legs as this videos shows clearly:

Premier League 2010/11 game launches

After an unexpected hiatus from fantasy nonsense over the past couple of weeks, I am back today as the premier league launches the rules and player list for the new season. Before we get to the players later, a quick review of the rules changes and some thoughts on revised strategies are below:

1. Saved transfers carry over multiple Gameweeks
This isn't quite what it looks like as you can still only ever have two transfers in a non-wildcard week but it does allow you to save the 'double' for a week where you need it most due to injuries or to take advantage of a double gameweek.
I don't see this having a huge impact on who we buy each week as you are generally signing players for more than the odd week, but it does give better flexibility when it comes to taking advantage of double gameweeks which can only be a good thing.

2. An extra wildcard for the January transfer window
In the past couple of seasons I have been forced to use my wildcard within the first 6 weeks of the season due to picking too many high risk/reward players who ended up not getting sufficient minutes or started the season in a slump. I was all set to change my approach this season but this extra wildcard gives us a safety net and has presented a new strategy.
My current thinking (which will doubtless change either by choice or because my team sucks) is to split the season into approximately three, using the two wildcards around GWs 13 and 26. This should allow your team to keep up to date and avoid some of the mistakes I made last year that ultimately cost me my mini league on the last day of the season.

3. Lose 2 points for an own goal
No major impact here, except that when you lose your clean sheet bonus along with a 2 point slap in the face you will be even more depressed. Perhaps downgrade Richard Dunne a little due to him being somewhat partial to the odd knee or arsed clanger into his own net.

I'll be back shortly with some lessons of last season as well as the first look at the player list for the new season.

SPAIN FIFA 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONS PLUS GOLDEN BALL , GOLDEN BOOT, GOLDEN GLOVES...VIDEO

Here are some more final results from the FIFA 2010 WORLD CUPFIFA TOP 20 RANKING:1. Spain2. Holland3. Germany4. Uruguay5. Argentina6. Brazil7. Ghana8. Paraguay9. Japan10. Chile11. Portugal12. USA13. England14. Mexico15. South Korea16. Slovakia17. Ivory Coast18. Slovenia19. Switzerland20. South AfricaFair Play Trophy.1. España 889pts 7 games.2. Corea del Sur 881pts 4.3. Argentina 870pts 5.4.

SPAIN 2010 WORLD CHAMPION TEAM PHOTO

SPAIN WORLD CUP TEAM | FIFA 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONS | SPAIN | PHOTO

SPAIN WINS THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP | HOLLAND 0 - SPAIN 1 | SPAIN 2010 FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONS

Source: Spanish Football Sports Blog/For once justice has been done, Football has won this time with the victory of SPAIN over HOLLAND 0-1 in the Final of the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP. It was rough , tough & at times beyond the rules of the game, with possibly one of the "worst" referees in the tournament. However, with the joy radiating from the body one cannot now begin to point out all the negative

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL | SPAIN STARTING LINEUP AGAINST HOLLAND

The Spanish Football Team starting 11 line up against Holland in the 2010 World Cup Final has been confirmed. It is the same starting 11 as against Germany in the semi-final:Casillas, Ramos, Pique, Puyol, Capdevila, Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernandez, Iniesta, Pedro & David Villa.One will expect Fernando Torres to get a run in the latter part of the 2º half when the Dutch defence is a bit more

ATLETICO DE MADRID SHUTS WITH RENNES THE ROD FANNI TRANSFER

According to Spanish Sports Daily “AS”, ATLETICO DE MADRID & French team RENNES has come to an agreement to have defender ROD FANNI play at the Spanish club as of next season. The operation is around 4,5M€ & the Spanish Club has offered the player a 3 year contract. The idea is to present Fanni to the media late next week after the habitual medical exams.

SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM LINE UP 11 AGAINST HOLLAND, MAYBE!

Source: Sp Football Sprts Blog /With less than 24 hours away from the biggest game in Spanish Football History – the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final against Holland – the media observers following the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM have began their habitual round of speculation & rumour in an attempt to predict the SPAIN WORLD CUP TEAM starting 11 line up for tomorrow.The very, very latest news – or

INIESTA VILLA XAVI CANDIDATES FOR FIFA 2010 GOLDEN BALL AWARD

Source: Spanish Football Sprts /FIFA has given a short list of candidates for the “FIFA World Cup Golden Ball”, otherwise known as the prize for the “Best Player of The World Cup Tournament”, with three SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM FOOTBALL players as candidates. The current list of players to choose from are:• Robben & Sneijder (Holland)• Ozil y Schweinsteiger (Germany)• Diego Forlán (Uruguay)• Lionel

REAL MADRID HAS GERMAN INTERNATIONAL SAMI KHEDIRA IN MIND?

The news coming out of Spanish paper “AS” is that REAL MADRID & its new Coach José Mourinho have put their eyes on 23 year German International & STUTTGART midfielder SAMI KHEDIRA. Apparently, negotiations with Liverpool for Steven Gerrard or AC Roma for Di Rossi have come to a “dead-end” as they squabble over their inflated prices, apart from the fact that their Clubs are not “co-operating”.

SPAIN WORLD CUP 2010 TEAM PHOTO vs. GERMANY

There is SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM fever as indicated by the emails that I am receiving from World-wide SFS readers. The solicitation is for Spanish Football Team Player photos & especially the Spain World Cup Team photo. The blog is full of images but it seems they are not enough for all the thirsty "Football fans". No need to worry, here is the SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM starting 11 Line-up that

SPAIN DEFEATS 1 - 0 GERMANY TO REACH THE FINAL OF THE 2010 WORLD CUP

Source: Spanish Football Sports /Amazing & historical. The SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM put in its most impressive match in the correct moment. SPAIN defeated GERMANY 0-1 in the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP semi-final to take another step closer to the biggest dream & prize in World Football. Spain has won a place to play Holland in next Sundays World Cup FINAL. Before I continue, great opponent the

SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM STARTING LINE UP 11 AGAINST GERMANY

The latest news from Spanish media following the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM is that Coach Del Bosque has finally decided to leave things as they are & repeat the same Spanish team as against PARAGUAY. This means that FERNANDO TORRES starts from the beginning of the game.I am a bit surprised by the decision, persoanlly, as I would have preferred a midfielder like Silva or Cesc in for Torres,

FIFA WORLD CUP SEMI FINAL 2010 | POSSIBLE SPAIN LINE UP AGAINST GERMANY

It’s the big unknown, will the Spanish National Football Team Coach Vicente Del Bosque put on the field in tomorrows World Cup semi-final against Germany the same starting 11 line up as in the last three games. The very latest news is that Cesc Fabregas sees his chances fall in starting as he has an annoying ankle & shoulder “injury” that he picked up against Paraguay in the foul-penalty that

FC BARCELOLA TRANSFERS CHYGRNSKIY BACK TO SHAKHTAR WITH A 10M€ LOSS

A complete failure; one cannot cosmetically hide the fact that FC BARCELONA signed defender DMYTRO CHYGRNSKIY for 25M€ & has today made official that they have sold back to SHAKHTAR DONETSK the defender for 15M€, that is, a 10M€ loss.The player signed back for his old Club for 5 years. The new FC Barcelona administration under new President Sandro Rosell justified the operation under economic

SPANISH FOOTBALL PLAYER DAVID VILLA HAS HIS OWN SONG | A SUMMER HIT

Spain has “DAVID VILLA FEVER”. So much so that a local music group from Northern Spain – exactly from the region of Asturias & region where David Villa was born – has made a song that is catching on. To understand the track, David Villa comes from a coal mining village called Tuilla (Langreo, Asturias) from humble & working class family associated with the mines.The song is sung with a typical

DAVID SILVA COULD REPLACE TORRES IN SPAIN WORLD CUP TEAM STARTING 11 AGAINST GERMANY

The very latest from the SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM is that there may be changes in the starting 11 line up against Germany in Wednesday’s semi-final World Cup game. Everyone can see that forward FERNANDO TORRES hasn’t yet regained his rhythm & form after recovering from his knee operation. Many observers feel that, although his talent is unquestioned, his position should be given to another player

TENNIS | RAFAEL NADAL WINS WIMBLEDON 2010

World Tennis Nº1 & Spaniard RAFAEL NADAL has won his second WIMBLEDON Championship title after defeating in straight sets 3-6, 5-7, 4-6 Thomas Berdych. The Spaniard played a serious & very disciplined match grinding down his opponent with his solid play. The player has been in exceptional form all year winning all the clay court titles & now the prestigious green surface tournament.It´s the 8ºth

SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS | DAVID VILLA CURRENTLY TOP GOAL SCORER OF THE 2010 WORLD CUP

Spanish Football Player & International DAVID VILLA not only is steering the Spanish World Cup Team along, but he is making a place for himself on the World stage as one of the Best - if not Best - forwards currently in Football. David Villa has placed himself in 1ºst position on the current Top Goal Scorers table of the World Cup & he still has the semi-final to play were one of his pursuing "

SPAIN WORLD CUP 2010 TEAM PHOTO AGAINST PARAGUAY

For all the fans. This is the historical SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM PHOTO of the starting 11 Spanish players against Paraguay...

SPAIN DEFEATS 0 - 1 PARAGUAY | MAKES HISTORY TO QUALIFY FOR THE FIFA SEMI FINAL

Source: Spanish Football Sports No one said the road would be easy, but although the final objective of playing in the Final of a World Cup has yet to be achieved, the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM made history tonight defeating PARAGUAY 0-1 & going into the semi-final. The historic "curse" of the World Cup "quarter-finals wall" has been overcome & for now the nation is cheerful before

REAL MADRID | GETAFE PLAYER PEDRO LEON NEXT 2010-2011 SIGNING?

He was one of the revelation players of the SPANISH LEAGUE last season. The Spanish & GETAFE player PEDRO LEON of 23 years of age (below) has been followed by REAL MADRID for the last 6 months. The rumours have been ripe ever since that Pedro Leon was destined to play at Real Madrid next season, but the negotiations were halted with the arrival of new Coach José Mourinho. The latest news from

FC BARCELONA | YAYA TOURE GOES TO MANCHESTER CITY

Its official. MANCHESTER CITY has made the announcement on its website that FC BARCELONA midfielder YAYA TOURE will be their new player as of next season. The Ivory Coast player has to pass his oligatory medical exam before signing for the Club & the next 5 years.FC Barcelona has yet to make an announcement on the economic conditions but will do so in the next hours. Yaya Toure joins his brother

SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM STARTING 11 AGAINST PARAGUAY

Source : Spanish Football Sports Most observers following the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM in South Africa, along with the National Sporting press, seem to have it clear after witnessing the training sessions & hearing the coments of the National Coach Vicente Del Bosque. The SPANISH FOOTBALL PLAYERS that will make up the starting 11 against Paraguay will be the same as thoses who started

SPAIN WORLD CUP TEAM PLAYER DAVID VILLA BEST FORWARD IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO IFFHS

Source: Spanish Football Sprts According to the FIFA backed "IFFHS" organization – International Federation of Football History & Statistics – Spanish International & FC BARCELONA player DAVID VILLA is the “Best Goal scorer/Forward currently in World Football”. They base this with mathematical formulas & coefficients that simply described goes something like the following. Since the 1st of

SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM STARTING LINE UP 11 AGAINST PARAGUAY | TORRES vs LLORENTE NO DEBATE

Source: Spanish Football Sprts /Latest news from South Africa on the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM is that Coach Vicente Del Bosque will most likely repeating the starting 11 that played Portugal last Tuesday against Paraguay in the Saturday Quarter – Final. A debate has be opened on whether FERNANDO TORRES is up to his best level & tall FERNANDO LLORENTE has been suggested by media observers as