Prospect: Deulofeu

The previous three signings of Roberto Martinez created a wave of discussion among the football fans as they were all on the Wigan squad last season. There were some jokes made on the signings and even the Everton supporters looked puzzled.

The signing of Robles has definitely created a slight concern on Tim Howard's mind. We could take this case as the "Friedel-Lloris" situation at Spurs last season. But the signing that lit up everyone's eyes was the fourth one!

Yes, Everton have made the fourth signing of the season and its none other than young gem Deulofeu! He was signed from Barcelona B on a season-long loan deal. Deulofeu is highly regarded as the future star and has some incredible footballing attributes at a very young age.

FTT Scout Player Report: From the scout's perspective, here is a brief description of him. He looks to have exceptional technique when hitting the ball and possesses a good amount of pace that he uses to get past the defenders. He has a good eye for goals and has the ability to squeeze goals from anywhere including the tight angles. Due to his abilities, he looks to handle the situation on his own at times and tends to look selfish.

A lot of people are talking about how Deulofeu could be a great asset for Everton this year. We totally agree on that but when it comes to FPL perspective, we have a slight concern!

Martinez is likely to opt for 3-5-3 or a 4-3-3 as the formations fit into his tactics. Either of these formations suggests us that there will be three forwards in the team. Two on the wing and one as a central striker. Deulofeu is naturally a winger and can play at both wings and his ability lets him play as a striker too when needed. This could lead him being listed as a forward in FPL. Martinez loves his team to get slightly offensive but with Jelavic and Kone in the team, it would not be wise to say that Deulofeu would be played as a central striker. The most likely position for him looks to be a left-winger as Mirallas is naturally a right winger. Also, he is young and learning, so we should see how well he can take on EPL defenders.

He could also be sharing his game-time with Steven Pienaar. And, last but not the least, we have to see how well he can adapt into the Premier League.

TIP: Let us be patient and see how he is deployed by Martinez. Keeping him on the first week would definitely be a gamble.

Author: The PDK

FTT Team of the Season 2012-13M

   Another exciting season of the English Premier League comes to an end. Many new signings made an instant impact and many old ones flourished as expected. But it all comes down to who was the best among all!

   Its time for us to give you the Fantasy Transfer Tips Dream Team XI for this season. The selections are not based on FPL performance but on the contribution of the players on the pitch. Hope you'll enjoy the article.

David de Gea: Yes! You read it right! De Gea might not have had the best start to the season but as the time went by, he improved his performance and made some outstanding saves that helped United win the title. Manchester United had a very sloppy defense this season and were the first to concede a lot of times due to that. Sir Alex looked to be experimenting different tactics to make it right by rotating his defenders and goalkeepers. But when called upon, DDG made some exceptional saves to the shots fired by the opposition, many of which looked a certain goal. At times it even looked funny as he used his long legs in the process. Hart might have won the golden glove again but apart from a few matches, I hardly saw him performing at the top level this season.

Leighton Baines: When it comes to performing at the top level, you can't deny Baines. He is regarded as one of the best left backs in the league and was targeted by many big clubs including Manchester United at the start of the season.
      No wonder he has amazing attacking skills that reflects in his killer crosses and powerful shots and is equally good at tracking back the opponents. He ended the season perfectly with 11 CS, 5 goals and 7 assists to his name.

Ivanovic: He is famous for a right-back role in the past but he performed equally strong as a centre-back this season. He made some crucial interceptions with his last ditch tackles to deny the opposition a lot of times and his aerial abilities on set-pieces is exceptional, regardless of whether he is defending or attacking.
     He has come to the rescue for Chelsea a number of times this season not only with his defending but with his attacking abilities as well.

Jamie Carragher: Some of you might suggest there are better CBs in the league, but I do not see anybody outperforming him this season. The top CBs like Vidic, Vermaelen, Kompany,Terry, etc. have all either underperformed or played very less this season.
      When Jamie started the season, he often looked like he lacked pace and judgement at times. But soon he replaced Skrtel and gave the messed up error-prone Liverpool defense an organization. He was very influential and was there to keep it tight at the back single handed when Liverpool's attack minded defense consisting of Johnson, Enrique and Agger went forward.

Zabaleta: It was very close to call between him and Rafael as both are absolutely exceptional in their own ways going forward. But when it comes to tracking back and defending, Zabaleta edges him out.

Bale: With a number of awards including PFA player of the year and PFA young player of the year to his name, I don't think I need to describe his abilities to you. He has helped Spurs get all three points several times this season with his solo performance and many have even called Tottenham a "one man team" due to that. Let us hope we can see him in EPL next season despite of Spurs failing to get a CL place.

Cazorla: He is an absolute gem for the Arsenal team. He can foresee the situations and his beautiful through balls in the final third has helped the team get three points a number of times this season. He is not only good at passing but his long range shots and his ability on set-pieces has made him a fan-favorite.

Juan Mata: He has had an "AWESOME" season is all what I can say. He looks to be all over the defense when Chelsea go forward and no wonder he has scored 11 times and provided the assist 18 times this season. An exceptional stat that reflects how good he is.

Walcott: He has improved his finishing a lot as he got matured and now is the best right winger in England. Moreover, he has performed fantastic when called upon to play as a striker this season and his set-piece duty has offered him plenty of goals and assists. He completes our four man midfield.

Van Persie: He is the man that lead the attacking line of the current champions and helped them to the glory. His performance has helped SAF get his 13th EPL title. He has scored the highest number of goals in EPL this season and his set-pieces, esp. free-kicks, has helped United make a crucial comeback victory over a number of oppositions.

Suarez: The last man to complete our list. He might be hated by most for his actions on the pitch but if we look at his control on the football, there would be hardly anyone who would hate him for that. He is so tricky and unpredictable and he pisses off the opposition by adding a nutmeg at times. It would have been a joy to watch the race for the golden boot if the controversy and the eventual suspension had not happened.

So, there it goes! The Fantasy Transfer Tips Team of the Season!
Let us know what you think of it. We would love to hear your views through the comments.

Author: The PDK

Scouting What Remains: Pressure, Motive, GOAAAL!

At this late stage of the season, performance is mainly affected by some factors that make it break the rules sometimes. In this article I'm going to suggest some scouted nominations for the rest of the season, but with a quite different eye.

The three main factors we are going to focus on are the motive, pressure, and the club's objective and strategic goal, with players' form in mind.

Speaking of a team or a single player, what really affects their performance at this stage is "their motive", be it a personal achievement for a player looking to catch the eyes, or a club goal of staying in the middle of the table or reserving a European seat or even fighting relegation.

A club's goal varies, and the urge for achieving it differs from one club to another, and that's what generates pressure, one of the factors we will consider in our choices today which is a double-edged weapon that could drive a team to glory or stress them to huge loss.

Today I'm going to focus on teams and players that got the motive either pushed by their own self or by their goal as a team, being under positive pressure or having no pressure at all, yet still have the potential or recently in form.

Manchester United is now pressure-free as they're crowned champions, however, it's common from Sir Alex Ferguson that he does rotations at this stage specially after claiming the title. With Van Persie's unearthly performance at the title winning game and looking to claim a personal record as the league top scorer for the second consecutive year, he could be allowed a more fixed place in the starting squad for the next few weeks, but still not invulnerable to sitting on the bench sometimes. He's still the best but he could rest for a couple of games out of their remaining games or play less regularly, specially when facing his old teammates at the Emirates stadium.

Manchester City are now less pressured as well, as they officially have no hope in the league title, looking to secure their second place, and already reaching the FA cup final. With a DGW in hand and relatively easier fixtures left, their second top scorer and first assist leader, Tevez, could prove value in the next weeks, keeping in mind they usually play two strikers in their squad out of a total of three in stock, with Dzeko the least favored to start.

The three rivalry London leaders in the table are in a heck of war in search for UCL seats, with motive and positive pressure to achieve an automatic club goal beside personal achievements for some players, the likes of Bale, Mata, and Hazard could play such an important role, beside Defoe who could be differential as well if only given more time on the pitch.

Cazorla also could be a firm choice in Arsenal's bid for a UCL place, driven by his own hard working character and outstanding stats for his first ever Premier League season, but the previous London choices are more likely as both Chelsea and Tottenham have a DGW in hand.

As Southampton and Norwich City are having a constant performance level during the whole season and relatively in a much safer place, the likes of Sunderland, Newcastle, and Wigan will look to bid for better fortunes in their fight against third relegation place. Some of their players seem to shine recently, with Wigan known for being a strong relegation denier from previous seasons, supported by their managing skills of Roberto Martinez, beside their recent confident mentality after reaching the FA cup final in style for the first time in their history, they will look to be a stubborn side in the next weeks, as their performance against Man City has proven lately. The likes of Maloney and Kone will be under the spot from the Latics side; Figueroa also could be a good choice from their defensive line for his price and regular contribution. They still got a bonus of a DGW too.

The other two relegation neighbors have lots of quality players that refuse to surrender and by all means disobey relegation calls. Newcastle United, previously trolled for becoming France national team, who were placed fifth in the last season, has suffered a lot this term, coming back from relegation a couple of seasons ago, they will refuse to return down there again. Hatem Ben Arfa's return from longtime injury could suit some who look to spot a differential, if only he's back to playing the full 90 minutes.

On the other side comes the red and white stripes. After his controversial reception at the Stadium of Light, Paolo Di Canio led his side to a great form with the full mark six out of six, two clean sheets, and four scored goals. Sessegnon, Mignolet, in addition to Adam Johnson are their best assets to rely on. With midrange prices, ranking pretty high in stats, and a proven recent form, they could be your Fantasy heroes when the curtain falls and everybody goes home.

Although Aston Villa and Stoke City don't look like strong nominees in the relegation fight, both Benteke and Begovic are players who could single-handedly make a difference.. at least a personal difference in their squads.

So, bottom line, beside your statistics analysis, make sure to pick those who have additional reasons to do their best.

As numbers could fool.. Beware of those without a motive or a GOAAAL!

I hope you enjoy my first article for Fantasy Transfer Tips, and Good Luck FPL managers!!

Author: Alterno

Suarez certain to get a lengthy ban, when to transfer him out?

         

        The FA have released a statement regarding Luis Suarez's controversial incident on the pitch last night. They have clearly stated that a three match ban would not be enough for such behavior. Many have transferred out Luis Suarez already from their team but here is something for those who have not!

       Suarez has already gone down by 0.2 this week. He will only go down once now until next deadline on Saturday. If you still have a free transfer and will use it to transfer him out then its good for you but if you have used the free transfer or maybe went for a -4 hit already and now you do not want to lose an extra -4 points, I don't think you should worry at all.

*If you have bought him for an even price (i.e. 10.6 , 10.8 or so),  his next price-fall will not affect on your value at all! So why worry?!!

*If you have bought him for an odd price, you will lose 0.1 though.

Tip: You can keep him on the bench this week and wait until the next deadline comes up and do the transfer immediately on Saturday (27th April ) after Gameweek 35 begins since he will have a high chance of dropping again that night!

Since we are nearing the end of the season, we don't have many Gameweeks to gamble and get negative points through extra transfers. So, be careful on what you do next!

Good Luck!

Author: The PDK

English Premier League Yellow Card Suspension Rules

If a player accumulates five cautions between the opening day of the playing season and 31 December in the same season, he will be suspended automatically for one match.

If a player accumulates ten cautions between the opening day of the playing season and the second Sunday of April in the same season, he will be suspended automatically for two matches.

If a player accumulates fifteen cautions between the opening day of the playing season and the last day of the same season, he will be suspended automatically for three matches.

If a player then accumulates a further five cautions then he will be hauled before the regulatory commission, within seven days of the date of the last caution. The members of a regulatory commission will have the power to deal with the player in such manner as they deem fit. The same procedure will apply for every further five cautions received by that player.