Saturday Screamers: RVP Strikes!

Robin Van Persie grabbed his first goal for the Red Devils.

Another great Saturday night with comprehensive victory by Swansea, Everton and Manchester United! Here are some highlights:

• Robin Van Persie (£13.0m) scored his first goal for Manchester United in his first shot for the team through a wonderful volley. Class.
• His teammate Shinji Kagawa (£8.5m) also scored his first goal for United with an unmarked rebound. Two men to monitor.
• Wayne Rooney (£12.0m) only featured as a sub disappointingly and ended the game on a stretcher. The striker is expected to out for 4 weeks. A good news for Van Persie and Kagawa's owners and prospective owners though as it will remove rotation fears.
• David de Gea (£6.0m) continued to show good form between the post, but porous defence continues to hinder him from reaping good points.
• Damien Duff (£6.0m) made it 2 goals in 2 games for Fulham, which tallied his record last season. The winger is showing some form lately - a good short-term choice, perhaps.
• As for Swansea, Michu (£6.8m) did it again and leads the Golden Boot race with 3 goals. His price has already hiked by £0.3m in just one week, and I expect at least another £0.2m increase before gameweek 3's deadline. Grab him fast if you plan to get the highest goalscoring midfielder of La Liga last season.
• Danny Graham (£6.0m) opened his account for Swansea too as predicted. Most of the Swans' goals will share between Michu and him - a decent third forward pick in my opinion.
• A surprisingly flying start for Everton, scoring 6 league points out of possible 6. Maruoane Fellaini (£6.6m) scored again, which surprised me. Also on the scoresheet are Nikica Jelavic (£8.5m) and Steven Pienaar (£6.5m) - the usual suspects.
• Meanwhile, goals from Franco Di Santo (£5.5m) and Arouna Kone (£6.5m) helped to secure victory for Wigan over newcomers Southampton. Victor Moses (£7.0m) is leaving Wigan for Chelsea, so one would expect the duo to take over the offensive burden of the club.
• Tottenham failed to hold on their lead by Benoit Assou-Ekkoto (£6.5m) at White Hart Lane. Gylfi Sigurdsson (£9.0m) made an assist, but the rest of the attacking pack just didn't look sharp.
• Norwich and QPR, who both lost by 5 goals last week, shared one goal apiece at Carrow Road.
• And finally, Reading will have another double gameweek soon as the game between Sunderland and them was postponed because of waterlogged pitch.

Can't wait to get more? Like FPLZ official Facebook page to get the latest updates regularly!

FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR F.C.

Spurs with their new home and away kit for 2012/13 season.

You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

Password: http://p-fplz.blogspot.com/

Last Season: Unlucky
They got the fourth place, but without the qualification for Champions League. Tottenham Hotspur can consider themselves unlucky as Chelsea won UEFA Champions League for the first time, which effectively blocked their way to the top-flight European tournament this season. It was still a good season anyway, as they had gone very close to the leading duo at one point, showing great competitiveness and potential as title contenders.

This Summer: Massive Changes
Harry Redknapp was sacked for some unknown reason and replaced by Andre Villas-Boas, who failed a big time at Chelsea. A very questionable move by Daniel Levy seriously.

Swansea's successful loanee Gylfi Sigurdsson and former Ajax captain Jan Vertonghen are the ones who have joined the club currently, with players such as Vedran Corluka, Niko Kranjcar, Louis Saha, Ryan Nelsen and Steven Pienaar all heading the opposite direction.

Upcoming Season: Insecure
With such a big change in the management, it is hard to predict Tottenham's new season. The change in manager will certainly bring in a lot of uncertainty, especially when Redknapp had brought so much of stability and achievement at White Hart Lane. The first month will surely give us an indication whether Villas-Boas will succeed or flop for the second time in Premier League.

Bale's stats last
season.

Speedy Speed Boy: Bale (FI: 0.699)
Aged 23, Gareth Bale (£9.5m) is definitely one of the best talent across the European continent right now, thanks to his excellent speed and explosiveness, precise ball delivery, and his decent aerial threat.

Having played 3216 minutes last season, Bale managed to record his best fantasy record so far with 195 points. Don't be surprised if he breaks the 200 point milestone this season - he still has plenty of room to grow.

The bad news unfortunately for Bale is that he limped off during the pre-season game with Liverpool, after a dangerous tackle from Charlie Adam, who is renowned for his sloppy defence.

Van der Vaart's historical P90.

Super Poacher: Van der Vaart (FI: 0.547)
Rafael Van der Vaart (£9.0m) actually has the ability to achive a 200-point season easily, but his injuries were limiting his potential to do so.

The Dutch has P90 of 6.50 last season which ranked first among his teammates, but playing minutes of only 2314 meant that he only ranked third in terms of aggregate scores. During the season before the last one he played 2222 minutes, which was even lesser.

I have no doubts about Van der Vaart's flair and goal poaching ability, so let's hope that he can be less injury-plagued this season and score more fantasy points. His price tag of £9.0m resembles a good bargain when compared to his scoring ability.

On Fire: Sigurdsson (FI: 1.240)
It was just half a good season, and Glyfi Sigurdsson (£9.0m) has become freaking expensive at the price of £9.0m, on par with his new teammate Rafael Van der Vaart.

However, the Icelandic is on sublime form during Tottenham's pre-season tour, scoring 2 goals and 3 assists in his first 4 games for the North London club. His set piece ability is a marvelous addition to Andre Villas-Boas's squad, and that really justifies his high price tag.

Defoe's FPL historical data.

Affordable: Defoe (FI: 0.340)
Jermaine Defoe (£7.5m) spent more time on the bench than on the pitch last season, but with Villas-Boas struggling to find a new forward for the team, he should become the team's first choice forward this season.

His best fantasy season record is 150 points - not too great, but good enough for his price, as long as he doesn't injure that often. Tottenham's offensive approach will definitely help him to rack up a good amount of points.

Super Budget Prospect: Kane (FI: N/A)
Tottenham manager is struggling to find a new striker for the team, but that may become a great fortune to fantasy managers as he will need to deploy Harry Kane (£4.5m) more often than not in this coming season.

The 19-year-old English scored 8 goals for Milwall last season, and can be a hit this season with his ludicrous price of £4.5m.

Can't wait to get more? Like FPLZ official Facebook page to get the latest updates regularly!

FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Swansea A.F.C.

SWANSEA A.F.C.

The Swans on fire with their new away kit.

You can download the full analyzed squad data here.
Password: http://p-fplz.blogspot.com/

Last Season: Fantastic Debut
Swansea are the first Welsh team to play in the Premier League, and they did not disappoint. Superb tiki-taka play, wonderfully acrobatic Michel Vorm and great loanee Glyfi Sigurdsson have all made the season at Liberty Stadium a happening one. An 11th placed finish have certainly far beaten out fans' expectations.

This Summer: Few Additions
Michael Laudrup has marked his takeover with three new players currently - former Genoa defender Jose Manuel Flores, youngster Jonathan de Guzman from Villareal (loan) and attacking midfielder Michu from Roya Vallecano. Decent players.

Joe Allen meanwhile has gone to Liverpool recently, bringing £15m to the Swans. Great, great business.

Upcoming Season: Continuation of Tiki-Taka?
Clearly the club owners do not hope to disrupt much of the current system inherited from Brendan Rodgers, and the appointment of Michael Laudrup proves that. Laudrup has gained a lot of Spanish football experience during his time at Getafe and Mallorca, and is a big admirer of one-two passing. But can he maintain or even escalate the Swans' tiki-taka to the next level? Time will tell.

Sinclair's FPL stats
last season.

Good Value: Sinclair (FI: 0.548) 
Scott Sinclair (£7.0m) resembles a good value to fantasy managers last season, thanks to outstanding offensive ability, and most importantly, his role in taking set pieces.

The lad played over 3000 minutes last season - no issue of rotation - and was the primary penalty taker of the team. Unless these change, I see Sinclair as a value buy who can deliver consistency to your team.

Flying Man: Vorm (FI: 0.674)
I think Michel Vorm (£5.5m) is the first ever fantasy goalkeeper who tops the team's scoring table, and he deserves it thoroughly after recording a whopping 143 saves last season.

The Dutch was one of the excitement of Premier League last season, thanks to his wonderful reflexes and exhilarating flying saves (click here to watch some of his best saves last season). He is one of the greatest goalkeeper in the making.

Nonetheless, spending £5.5m on him when Swansea have just changed their manager is a risky move, so I suggest to wait at least 2-3 gameweeks and see Swansea's defensive performance before you decide whether to get the superman.

Budget Pick: Dyer (FI: 0.611)
Nathan Dyer (£5.5m) was one of the hit at Liberty Stadium last season, as he hit his career high with 5 goals and 4 assists.

Given his price of £5.5m, you can hardly find any better fantasy midfielder than him. Definitely a good pick for your fourth or fifth midfielder.

Next Sigurdsson?: Michu (FI: N/A)
Michu (£6.5m) went through a successful season last term with Rayo Vallecano, scoring 15 La Liga goals in the process and got Laudrup's attention to sign him.

He is yet to prove himself in the Premier League, but given his stats, don't be surprised if he becomes the next Sigurdsson of the team.

Can't wait to get more? Like FPLZ official Facebook page to get the latest updates regularly!

FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Individual Data Summary

Papiss Cisse is the scorer of goal of the season for last season.
What can FPLZ indices possibly tell you about his performance last season?

After going through with the team data, it's now the time to look at the overall individual data. Before we start, you are welcomed to download the Microsoft Excel sheet (password: "http://p-fplz.blogspot.com/", without the quotation marks) which I have compiled in these few days which contained both the team and individual data summary for your reference. You are advised to read my previous post titled "FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Introduction" to learn about the glossaries that I will mention below to avoid confusion.

For your information, only players from unrelegated clubs with at least 15 points and players from relegated clubs with at least 70 points in Fantasy Premier League last season are classified in the list. Also, bear in mind that these indices take last season's price as the basis of calculations, so adjustments would need to be made to determine players' value this season.