Here we go again. Enjoy your last few stress-free Friday evenings, fill your mind with philosophical musings about the meaning of life and soak up those precious sun rays while you still can (that one might not apply to readers in Manchester), for we all know those freedoms will end in just a mere matter of weeks.
The annual release of the pl.com player price list marks the start of the footballing season for me, and that landmark event is now in the rear view mirror for 2012 (By the way, how is this day still not a public holiday? Honestly, wouldn't you have preferred a day to tinker with your team than watch Tom Jones and Suggs sing to the Queen?). It's also the first time in a couple of months that I've faced the reality of a Bolton-less Premier League, though I'm sure most of you will get over that one quicker than me. Silver lining fans may well note that at least I will avoid the twinge of guilt when a small part of me is satisfied with a Van Persie goal, despite the dire consequences it may have in real life for the Wanderers.
As far as the game itself goes, there is little to note. Team structure, rules and scoring remain the same, though the ability to earn an assist for winning a free kick may be new (I honestly can't remember last year's rules). So it's as you were and time to delve into the player list, right? Well, no. The first games are still a month away and we would expect some transfer activity before then, not to mention the possibility of injuries at the upcoming Olympic games. There will be time for specifics in later posts, but in the next couple of weeks or so I'm going to focus on last year.
I considered writing a series of 'what we learned' pieces at the end of the season but, honestly, I figured by that point people are ready for a break and not really looking forward to 2013. There was also the slight prospect of rule changes etc rendering such efforts moot and thus I stayed away. Now the pitches have been laid and the goalposts set, it's time to start getting serious.
I'm on vacation for the next couple of weeks, with potentially spotty internet access (can one enter a fantasy team from the Galapagos Islands?) but I will be writing throughout, possibly adding a number of posts in a short time frame on my return. A few ideas to look forward to are:
The annual release of the pl.com player price list marks the start of the footballing season for me, and that landmark event is now in the rear view mirror for 2012 (By the way, how is this day still not a public holiday? Honestly, wouldn't you have preferred a day to tinker with your team than watch Tom Jones and Suggs sing to the Queen?). It's also the first time in a couple of months that I've faced the reality of a Bolton-less Premier League, though I'm sure most of you will get over that one quicker than me. Silver lining fans may well note that at least I will avoid the twinge of guilt when a small part of me is satisfied with a Van Persie goal, despite the dire consequences it may have in real life for the Wanderers.
As far as the game itself goes, there is little to note. Team structure, rules and scoring remain the same, though the ability to earn an assist for winning a free kick may be new (I honestly can't remember last year's rules). So it's as you were and time to delve into the player list, right? Well, no. The first games are still a month away and we would expect some transfer activity before then, not to mention the possibility of injuries at the upcoming Olympic games. There will be time for specifics in later posts, but in the next couple of weeks or so I'm going to focus on last year.
I considered writing a series of 'what we learned' pieces at the end of the season but, honestly, I figured by that point people are ready for a break and not really looking forward to 2013. There was also the slight prospect of rule changes etc rendering such efforts moot and thus I stayed away. Now the pitches have been laid and the goalposts set, it's time to start getting serious.
I'm on vacation for the next couple of weeks, with potentially spotty internet access (can one enter a fantasy team from the Galapagos Islands?) but I will be writing throughout, possibly adding a number of posts in a short time frame on my return. A few ideas to look forward to are:
- Where best to spend your money - relative value of each position
- How to structure an opening day squad - play the fixtures or aim for the best team?
- Trends in how and when points are scored - distribution of clean sheets, goals etc by gameweek
- Risk vs reward - an update to the FFS piece on points consistency and upside.
- Cracking the forecast code - what contributes most to a good weekly fixture? A player's score to date, form, or opponent?
- Potential regression targets for this season - players who converted chances at a particularly high or low rate could be expected to see some regression to the mean in the coming season.
- Cheap defensive links - cheap players who have a shot at playing time on more expensive defensive units.
Those last couple are more player focused and so will likely come in August with the big picture stuff popping up as soon as possible.
Hopefully you're as excited for the new season as I am, and thanks for coming back to the blog. As always, I'm very open to new ideas, particularly at the start of the season, for analysis that would be helpful on a weekly basis so feel free to post in the comments or @plfantasy with any thoughts.
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