Fantasyopliktos

Premier League. The best league in the world ™. Where amazing happens. Where transfer deadline day becomes a national event and Leicester win the League before Liverpool. It goes without saying, it is only in the Premier League where you can see a goal of divine beauty such as this... Right before or after something like this... But, h ave you ever thought how would the Premier League be without foreign football players? Can you imagine Arsene Wenger's Arsenal without a French football player? Would be possible the emergence of new superpowers at the league like Chelsea and City with only heavy funding and limited restriction on foreign players? On the other hand, how do you think an all-spanish team would fare in the Premier League? Or an all-scandinavian one? And last, the most important question; how much more difficult (or fun) would it be to create your desired fantasy football team if you had only to choose among English football players? Enter ...

In the northern of Iceland, there is a picturesque quiet village (well, city by Icelandic standards) going by the name of Akureyri. Akureyri is peaceful and its economy -as in the whole of Iceland- is based on fishing. Once you're there, you will instantly feel the relaxed ambience among the chiming of the birds and the rare shout you'll sound by the locals. On Kaupvangsstræti, right next to the harbour, there is a typical Scandinavian pub, occupied mainly by locals and -few and far in between- travellers passing by. It is called Ölstofa Akureyrar and it serves magnificent local Ale. Ölstofa is the hangout of two fishermen. Olaf and Eidur. They are in their 70s today and spend their days between the Harbour and Ölstofa, until they are drunk (or broke) enough to go home to their wives, Asa and Hana. Olaf and Eidur grew up with two mantras. The first, a typical one, is " Af góðu upphafi vonast góður endir." which roughly translates to "What starts well, ends w...

"This is Football" screamed Jurgen Klopp to the Anfield Main Stand after Emre Can netted the third Liverpool goal of the night against a lost and overwhelmed Hoffenheim side. That was football indeed and the fluidity, pace and composure of his men screeched of class and determination. He was still reminded, however that his side's downfall will not be its potent attack. I will be his defense, when Uth scored minutes after entering the match as substitute. Liverpool's free-flowing football has been a signature since Rodgers took over, with last year's Liverpool taking it to the next level. The signs are even better so far this season, but having kept one clean sheet in 4 competitive matches will always remind Liverpool that they need to plug their defensive holes if they are to have a successful season. /r/punchablefaces Next up, Arsenal. It is always exciting to play Arsenal. They always play proper football. Almost too proper for their own good som...

"Don’t blame people for disappointing you, blame yourself for expecting too much from them." In our fantasy terms: "Don’t blame fantasy players for disappointing you, blame yourself for not reading our blog." After just 2 gameweeks we are struggling to understand why there was so much noise and hope for a few, specific fpl players. We of course understand that close relatives would support a family member that would play for a premier league team, but this is not always the case.  Just check the 'professional' blogs and their pre-season suggestions and compare them to the reality. Robert Elliot , selected by 1/4 of the managers. It makes sense only based on his price. Rafa has never built a team based on defense. Joe Hart , selected by 1/10 of the players. 7 goals in 2 matches. Angel Rangel , a Swansea player, costs just 4.0 but has played 0 minutes. 1/5 of fpl managers still believe him. Ben Mee  has been selected by almost everyone befor...

And what a first game week was that! It had a bit of everything. The champion's upset, the new United signing kicking off in style, the new exciting team to follow and Liverpool conceding in the last minute. Welcome to the Premier League ladies and gentlemen, it is on! Last week's Dos and Dont's were pretty much on target, so we will be giving you our predictions this Gameweek as well! Our suggestions this week will be targeted to key points as with only 1 transfer for each gameweek from now on, you have to be careful with your limited budget. Cheer up! Its only a red card! Swansea v Manchester United Swansea where lucky to get a draw at Southampton, having no shot on target for a full 90 minutes against a team in the process of being sold and with their captain and best defender in the sidelines. Also, they will be missing Gylfi as it looks like his transfer to Everton is being finalize d. On the other hand, there's Manchester United. If people are ...

So, that was expected. Liverpool fail to capitalize and letting in a late equalizer against a team they more or less should have won by landslide? Check. We were half-expecting that, to be honest. Liverpool's defense seems to be a ticking time-bomb every time the ball reaches its third. There is no confidence, no grit, no perseverance. They know they will concede. It is only a matter of how and when. Com'on Joel, don't look so surprised..!  Next league opponent: the formidable Crystal Palace . Let have a look at them. As we've noted in previous entries, de Boer seems to be the correct Manager for a proper club. The league is much better with him instead of Allardyce. But, Palace were the victims of a spanking from Huddersfield last Gameweek and oh, wasn't it beautiful?  De Boer was caught with his pants down by Wagner and it was again proven how unpredictable this league can be (are you reading Chelsea?). Zaha is out injured so it looks like Townse...