2017/18 Soccer Thread

davet010 wrote:

Don't think you can bank transfers, from memory.

I'm pretty sure you can.

(to clarify since we're at the top of the page: this is fantasy football talk)

You can bank 1 transfer - so if you don't make a transfer 1 week you'll get 2 the following week. But that's it - you don't 3 the week after that if you still don't make a transfer.

The wildcard is still available though (wait until the end of the transfer window!) and they have replaced the 'all in' card with one that'll allow unlimited transfers that week only. So there are more options now

bigred wrote:

Just to clarify the transfer rules:

I can make one transfer for free for gameweek 2 before the deadline?

Any additional transfers will be at the cost of -4 points per transfer?

Any transfers after the deadline will not be reflected until the following gameweek?

If I don't use a transfer, I can bank that for later use? For example, if I don't transfer someone for gameweek 2 I can use 2 transfers for gameweek 3?

This is essentially correct. From the rules:

After your first deadline you will receive 1 free transfer each Gameweek. Each additional transfer you make in the same Gameweek will deduct 4 points from your total score (Classic scoring) and match score (Head-to-Head scoring) at the start of the next Gameweek.

If you do not use your free transfer, you are able to make an additional free transfer the following Gameweek. If you do not use this saved free transfer in the following Gameweek, it will be carried over until you do. You can never have more than 1 saved transfer.

You used to be able to bank a bunch of transfers. I'm assuming they locked it down to a max of two to make the Wildcard transfer usage more strategic. (You get one for each half of the season, though if you don't use the first one before the end of the year it does not carry over to the second half of the season).

The Free Hit chit that they've added to replace All-Out Attack (which I assume was not used much) is interesting. The rules state:

Make unlimited free transfers for a single Gameweek. At the next deadline your squad is returned to how it was at the start of the Gameweek.

So the way I read that is that you can change your lineup entirely, for no points penalty, but that it reverts to the previous lineup as soon as the game week ends (online the Wildcard transfer chits).

Heh - just realized I was the one in last place as yesterday ended.

Think today's results will see me climb the table a bit.

[edit to add: wasn't expecting to rocket all the way to first, but I'll take it, and enjoy this brief shining moment of glory before I crash onto the grim rocks of gameweek two]

Fantasy mistake #1: Not reading the transfer rules, stacking your bench with useless bench players who don't start because you figured you could trade them all next week, and then having to replace multiple starters for gameweek 2.

On the plus side, my captain Dele Alli and vice-captain Lukaku had good starts.

Talking of good starts - Barcelona didn't get one in the post-Neymar era, going down 3-1 at home in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup to Real Madrid.

They replaced Neymar with Delofeu. That went about as well as it reads, like 'Oh, I've lost my Rolls Royce wheel, never mind I've got this one from a Robin Reliant lying around the garage.'

Suarez is still a diving piece of sh*t.

Pique is still one of the most overrated defenders in Europe. Watch as all 3 goals come either from players he's supposed to be covering, or him scoring an own goal because he has no awareness of where he is. Sure has a lot to say for himself. In some fairness, both finishes were excellent.

Barcelona need some new players, ASAP. Isco and Marcelo had the right back (Vidal) on toast.

Oh, and Ronaldo got sent off. He got the red card that Bitey the Racist should have got.

Don't worry, they just managed to get Paulinho from China...

The first signs of Juve's dominance diminishing occurred last night as well, as they lost the super cup 3-2 to Lazio. They were 2-0 down, Dybala scored a great free kick and they, shockingly for Juve, got a penalty in the 91st minute to level it. Lazio scored in the 94th minute, I believe it's their first win against Juve in 11 attempts, and they did it without Balde Keita, who is another one to put on the list of players spitting their dummies out.

Was a good game to watch, and I'm looking forward to Serie A and La Liga returning (I know Serie A is next week, but I'm not sure if La Liga is.)

Even more so as it can take my mind off Newcastle's start to the season, I think we'll lose to Huddersfield next week as our defence already looks thin after getting two injuries, one who supposed to be our key centre back this season.

It looks like we're about to get Joselu in soon from Stoke, which can only be a good thing, it says a lot about Benitez's opinion of Mitrovic in that instead of subbing him on for Gayle, he put Merino on and moved Perez up front.

I'll not mention Jonjo and his conduct, but I am hoping that Merino will end up replacing him permenantly. Only has himself to blame.

Clusks wrote:

Don't worry, they just managed to get Paulinho from China...

We knew Barcelona's transfer strategy and targets was bad but i can't believe this wasn't an elaborate marketing strategy for the Chinese league. Paulinho, at his age and wages, on a free would not have been good. Paying a fee for him is ridiculous.

Five game ban for Ronaldo, for pushing the ref after his red card last night.

Lukaku looks strange in a United jersey. I have a feeling I'm not going to like it especially vs Arsenal considering we cant even keep a guy like Okazaki and Vardy from dominating us in the air.

I of course had Mounie on the bench. The 3rd spot of course also. #ihatefantasyfootball

Really agree with Pep though about the window. Its August 14th and my better senses refuse to get overly emotionally invested until I actually know what the final Arsenal setup is.

I could imagine the same is for Liverpool fans. Actually I cant imagine being a Liverpool fan ever but yea. They will cash in large on Countinho. I somewhat rate him but I think hes close to his ceiling + isn't the more durable player. No clue who they bring in last minute tho.

davet010 wrote:

Talking of good starts - Barcelona didn't get one in the post-Neymar era, going down 3-1 at home in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup to Real Madrid.

They replaced Neymar with Delofeu. That went about as well as it reads, like 'Oh, I've lost my Rolls Royce wheel, never mind I've got this one from a Robin Reliant lying around the garage.'

Suarez is still a diving piece of sh*t.

Pique is still one of the most overrated defenders in Europe. Watch as all 3 goals come either from players he's supposed to be covering, or him scoring an own goal because he has no awareness of where he is. Sure has a lot to say for himself. In some fairness, both finishes were excellent.

Barcelona need some new players, ASAP. Isco and Marcelo had the right back (Vidal) on toast.

Oh, and Ronaldo got sent off. He got the red card that Bitey the Racist should have got.

Pique definitely looked out of sorts and slow yesterday, but yeah, those two finishes were outstanding. Ascencio's was awesome.

I was watching with my kids, and we were joking that Coutinho's transfer fee was going up by about a million pounds every time Delofeu touched the ball. Denis Suarez fared better, but that might have only been because Delofeu was so horrible that anything Suarez did short of shooting the ball in his own net would have been better than Delofeu.

The other Suarez, though, damn. What a flop!

Did you think Ronaldo's was a dive? I didn't think it was, but I thought the back half of it could have looked like a dive if you missed the first half.

EDIT: I looked at the replay now and have change my mind. I do think Ronaldo flopped at the end. He was bumped, but added to the bump with a dive at the end.

Finishing aside, though, I thought Barcelona outplayed RM in the second half. They had the ball in Real Madrid's end of the pitch for much of the half, and had quite a few chances. Even before the red card, Real Madrid was back on their heels for a good part of that half. Their counter is so good, though, and although they only had two shots they nailed them. Hats of to them.

For what it's worth, I'd still have Deulofeu (probably ahead of Mirallas) just for depth, but think the slower pace of Serie A was his best chance to fulfill his potential.

Barca buying him back never felt like it was the best of plans, and if he's genuinely their replacement for Neymar, I think they will struggle this season.

If Barcelona don't get a top quality replacement for Neymar, then they can kiss any chance of the title goodbye. That squad is behind RM in almost every position, and as for depth...well.

Coutinho is an odd choice, though. It's not really like for like, and I can't really see him playing as part of a front 3.

So Southampton sold an 80% stake to a Chinese investor, effectively ending the Liebherr era. Not sure how I feel about that one yet.

On Coutinho: I hope he goes, just because I relish the wailing of the Scouse supporters. This is in no way related to the Van Dyke shenanigans. Nope!

LilCodger wrote:

On Coutinho: I hope he goes, just because I relish the wailing of the Scouse supporters. This is in no way related to the Van Dyke shenanigans. Nope! :)

You know what will make Liverpool fans wail even louder? If you guys take Barkley & McCarthy & ~20m for VVD.

Make the bindippers wail, eh ?

Right (rolls up sleeves)

"And a special thankyou to Steven Gerrard..."

IMAGE(https://talksport.com/sites/default/files/styles/just_scale/public/field/image/201701/mancity2014.jpg?itok=z06WY8U3)

Reads BBC sports headline.

City make 18m bid for WBA's Jonny Evans

IMAGE(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xKkDoNHeuzg/hqdefault.jpg)

El Clasico sin Ronaldo, here we go!

Well, that was a dominating first half for Real Madrid, even without Ronaldo.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

Well, that was a dominating first half for Real Madrid, even without Ronaldo.

Nor Bale, nor Isco. Real Madrid is going to run away with La Liga worse than they did last year.

No hay liga.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Godzilla Blitz wrote:

Well, that was a dominating first half for Real Madrid, even without Ronaldo.

Nor Bale, nor Isco. Real Madrid is going to run away with La Liga worse than they did last year.

No hay liga.

Zidane > Valverde. I realize it's very early in Valverde's tenure, but Barcelona looks like crap. Slow in transition, often confused in possession. They just look poorly coached in the past two games. Real Madrid's players seem to be developing by leaps and bounds. Tactically, Zidane is strong, but his true strength may turn out to be his ability to improve players.

Barcelona = old. This was mentioned earlier in the thread, but part of Barcelona's weakening may just be that many of their core players aren't getting any younger.

Real Madrid transfers > Barcelona transfers. As you mention, Real Madrid is deep. Barcelona is wafer thin, and by all appearances they look to be getting overcharged for whoever they pick up with the Neymar money.

Unless things turn around quickly, I don't see Valverde's tenure lasting that long, nor Barcelona returning to Real Madrid's level at any point this season.

I'm not sure Zidane's a great manager - I think the biggest impact he's had on Real Madrid is his status allowed him to be pragmatic and play Casemiro while Rafa Benitez couldn't get away with that. But he's definitely done a great job there and he seems to do an excellent job managing the egos, which is no small part. Convincing Ronaldo to play fewer minutes last year to preserve his legs was another really smart move.

Definitely agree with Godzilla Blitz about age and terrible transfer business really hampering Barcelona. I don't think they've nailed a transfer in terms of adequate ability and the right player age since Neymar was brought in. Their decline's going to be really fun to watch the next few years, I wonder if we'll see Messi hand in a transfer request when things get really bad.

Real Madrid has that Galactico flashiness around a lot of their transfer dealings but they don't seem to get credit for the smart way they manage to age of the squad through buying and selling big names. They generally buy fairly young with guys entering or in them middle of their primes (James, Isco, and Bale were all guys) and in the past have moved guys on as they get into their late 20s. But They haven't really done the move on part in recent years but I can't help but think Benzema's legal issues may have got a bit in the way for him. It will be interesting to see what they do with Bale over the next two summers.

I'm not sure why I haven't seen Sanchez to Barca as a credible rumour or even rumour at all from what I've looked at.

He doesn't solve the age problem but considering everyone else after Sanchez is lowballing the hell out of Arsenal you would figure they would bite Barca's hand off for 80m or so and also ensure he f*cks off back so Spain and not to City next year on a free.

For how 'intelligent' Wenger has supposedly been in the past which is a dubious claim in the 2nd half of his tenure its going to look ridiculously bad if:
1. Arsenal don't re-sign Sanchez.
2. Don't finish in the top 4.
3 Sanchez goes to any other Prem club.

Just like that the supposed stature Wenger build up about the club gets pretty much 5 steps back. Not sure how you then even pretend to be financially competitive in the market and even worse a marque club for players when you're not in the CL and your best players walk. f*ck!

edit:
Also I feel strangely very old. Transfer prices never really make me question whats going on but now? 50m for Gylfi? who is 28 in 1 month? I know the TV deal went up and all but the Super Clubs and Neymar deal are exceptions to the rule. What on f*cking planet is Everton currently doing spending 50m? Its as if everyone has actually lost their minds. There are other leagues where people kick balls around that the price inflation hasn't gone insane. Everton should easily be able to find a similar player 3-4 years younger for 1/3-1/2 the cost where the only * is he hasn't played a minute in the Prem.

I agree that even 45m is overpaying for him by quite a bit, but how can I be sad about something which gives a friend so much joy?

Relatedly, here's a preview of Psych's Fantasy Football squad for the rest of the season.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/ZCTfca6.jpg)

Spoiler:

Yes, not the first time I've made this joke. Still funny though, dammit.

I think Sanchez would be a good get for Barca, but today they needed to be better in their own half. From the very beginning Real Madrid was attacking nonstop and Barca were holding on for their lives.

Also just want to mention what a hell of a thunderstrike by Asensio today. The game was a bit of a downer for not being that competitive (even if you forgot about the aggregate score and just looked at today), but that was worth watching all by itself.

Zidane is a great manager, he's just won back-to-back Champions Leagues.

Also, I don't agree Barca are "old" and even if they were, I don't think it would have much to do with performance anyway. I'd agree their transfers have been a bit dire, but to blame 2 losses on the fact they have a few guys who are about 29 is bizarre, that's not even old, most of their players have years left still at the top with a load of experience, which is invaluable. I guess they should get rid of Messi now because he's 30 and past it they actually only have 2 players who are 33 (Iniesta and Macherano, who are both still very useful) and the rest are 30 or younger (won't count Vermaelen, who is 31, as he's hardly even featured for them), which is hardly a bunch of crocked oldies. Countless teams have won titles with squads similar if not a lot older than their squad. I just looked up their average age and it is about 28. Chelsea won the league last season with an average age of 27.5...

Get rid of Messi?! You're out of your mind, pal.

I will agree that the price for Gylfi was higher than I would have liked Everton to spend. But given how some transfers have gone during this window, it is hardly the most outrageous.

And my favorite team just signed my favorite player. I just ordered my first kit with a name on it. I am pretty thrilled.

@Dimmerswitch

That's not the full picture. Who's on his bench?

bigred wrote:

That's not the full picture. Who's on his bench?

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/31u0eAB.jpg)