Premier League Fantasy Football 2016-17

[Neil Graham]

It all went down to the last 2 minutes last season! So time to join Premier Chess - the Fantasy Football League where you can actually beat an IM or spend £100 million on a team of unknowns (if Paul Pogba is unknown).

Those of you who played last year are automatically entered - if not the joining code for this season is 653430-183086. Only rule is no pseudonyms - real names only!

Website is, of course, https://fantasy.premierleague.com

[benedgell]

I'm going to attempt to score points this season.

[Neil Graham]

Week One

Well folks we're off! Every week (should I remember) there will be an update here. Last night was the Notts Chess Challenge where I met Barry Redburn, one of the long time frontrunners from last year. Barry has started with 24 points and is 59th and last position though with 26 points and in 57th position I'm in no position to boast!

Can I say that this year's website is IMHO awful compared with preceding years. Anyway here are the leading positions after Week 1.

Rank Team & Manager GW TOT
1 Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey 85 85
2 Check This Richard Pert 70 70
3 BattleGoals Peter Staneland 69 69
4 Olympique Mayonnaise Grant Bucher 66 66
5 Show me da Mané Sam Herring 65 65

[Neil Graham]

Week 2

Few changes from last week - four of the top five still in place! Those who picked Aguero and Ibrahimovic as a striking partnership already look to be in the frame for big scores. Meanwhile Joe Hart hasn't proved a good choice.

Rank Team & Manager GW TOT

1 Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey 74 159
2 Check This Richard Pert 69 139
3 Show me da Mané Sam Herring 67 132
4 Olympique Mayonnaise Grant Bucher 63 129
5 Brentford Mods Jonathan Tait 75 128

Team name of the week. We return to our popular puntastic feature this week featuring Manchester City! Delph & Safety; Dude Where's Micah we like - Pep Talk we don't.

[Neil Graham]

Week Three

Positions in brief as we catch up

1. Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey 212
2. Show me da Mane Sam Herring 178
3. Brentford Mods Jon Tait 175
4. Rash Rangers Robert Ashworth 174
5 Sisu Out Mark Page 173

[Neil Graham]

Week four follows!

[Neil Graham]

Week 4

Apologies to everyone who actually reads this thread. I've been away in Europe a week and didn't have time to update before I went. My credit card unfortunately went on holiday too - someone used a cloned version in the Far East whilst I was away. Congrats to the bank for texting me immediately!

Little change in the top - obviously two Tates are too many - out goes Jon Tait to be replaced by Alan Tate!

1. Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey 36 248
2 Show me da Mané Sam Herring 62 240
3 Conte's a Kant-eh? Alan Tate 65 226
4 Goals Peter Roberson 54 220
5 Harley Hotspurs Andrew Harley 53 218

Team name of the week For you West Ham fans there is of course Hammer Time though Ayew Serious isn't too good - he won't be back till Christmas!

[Neil Graham]

Week 5

For the first time some major changes at the top! In come Rhys Cummings & Richard Dineley with Paul Cooksey relegated from top spot down to number five. Good news for me as well - I'm out of the 3,000,000s with a jump of 500,000 places.

1. Show me da Mané Sam Herring 55 295
2 Knock em aert Rhys Cumming 78 285
3 Crimson Demons Richard Dineley 67 283
4 Conte's a Kant-eh? Alan Tate 57 283
5 Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey 32 280

With Rhys and Richard in the top five a distinctly Welsh look to the League so here are some Welsh team teams Llantysiliogogogoal though hen wlad fy nhadau needed a translation.

[Neil Graham]

Week 6

Almost a totally different look this week - Sam Herring remains on top whilst everyone else in the Week 5 top places have disappeared. Ominously Gareth Yeo, joint top scorer this week with 80 points, is back in the top five. Low score of the week was 17 points from Lawrence Cooper whose forward line of Ibrahimovic, Vardy and Costa scored 4 points!

1 Show me da Mané Sam Herring 63 350
2 Sisu Out Mark Page 77 336
3 Suicide Squad Gareth Yeo 80 331
4 Goals Peter Roberson 52 330
5 BoJan Horseman Matthew Lunn 59 327

Most repeated team names of the week for Arsenal were The Wizard of Ozil and Boom Xhakalaka - my estimations are there are well into three figures for each. Zero for originality I'm afraid.

[LawrenceCooper]

Low score of the week was 17 points from Lawrence Cooper whose forward line of Ibrahimovic, Vardy and Costa scored 4 points!

I've been waiting patiently all week for my naming and shaming

[Neil Graham]

Week 7

Back to League action tomorrow after the international break. A disastrous time for League topper Sam Herring whose 27 points was joint low score of the week and drops the leader down to third place. Paul Cooksey is back in whilst Peter Roberson takes over first place. Marcus Joseph is in 62nd and last place - but he only joined in Game Week Three!

As for selections - Rooney has been selected by just 3.1% of managers overall compared with 48% who have selected Ibrahimovic.

1 Goals Peter Roberson 50 380
2 Sisu Out Mark Page 42 378
3 Show me da Mané Sam Herring 27 377
4 Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey 49 373
5 Suicide Squad Gareth Yeo 40 371

Liverpool Team namesKlopps n Robbers or maybe Klopptimists.

[Neil Graham]

Week 8

The top five teams shuffled themselves around with Sam Herring resuming top spot. Top score was 66 from Neil Milson - his team me-myself and I was a 2015 hit for G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha (you learn something new every week don't you)! Akmal Lathif the week's low scorer.

1 Show me da Mané Sam Herring 53 430
2 Goals Peter Roberson 45 425
3 Sisu Out Mark Page 39 417
4 Suicide Squad Gareth Yeo 43 414
5 Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey 39 412

Bad decision of the week With original team names in short supply (Lallanas in Pyjamas & Who ate all Depays ) here's a new feature inspired by everyone who thought Aguero (-2) was a good choice for captain. Last week I had the choice of Bravo or Stekelenburg for goalkeeper. Obvious really - Bravo (2 pts) was the man for the job - not the Everton goalkeeper (17 pts) who saved two penalties and gained three bonus points.

[Neil Graham]

Week 9

Joining the top five for the first time is Sabrina Chevannes although her score of 59 points was beaten by Daniel Lambourne's Pebworth Linos with 64 - his defence scoring a magnificent 42 points. Another new arrival is Nick London - however his opening total of 19 points for GameWeek 9 doesn't look like an encouraging start.

1. Goals Peter Roberson 58 483
2. Show me da Mané Sam Herring 42 468
3. The Losers Sabrina Chevannes 59 464
4. Sisu Out Mark Page 43 460
5 Suicide Squad Gareth Yeo 46 460

Bad decision of the week I must be well in line for transferring out Philip Countinho (10 pts) and replacing him with Alexis Sanchez (3). Another mention for the many who close Aguero as captain. However as Nick London is here for the first time his continued selection of Marc Wilson (Bournemouth) should qualify - to date the Bournemouth full back/utility player has played 0 minutes in nine weeks - maybe time for a transfer??

[Neil Graham]

Week 10

For the first time this season we hit the hot hundred - congratulations to Andrew Harley for a three figure points tally that moves him up to fifth place in the League. Commiserations to Phil Makepeace with the low score of 29 points.

1 Goals Peter Roberson 70 553
2 Suicide Squad Gareth Yeo 87 547
3 Sisu Out Mark Page 78 538
4 Show me da Mané Sam Herring 72 532
5 Harley Hotspurs Andrew Harley 100 531

Bad decision of the week Aguero has been out of form but Richard Beach's decision to transfer out Aguero and Defoe (23 pts) and replace them with Costa & Austin (9 points) wasn't done at quite the right time. Apart from Marc Wilson (mentioned last week) I'll take a look for players who to date have scored "null" points next time round.

[Neil Graham]

First Quarter Report Weeks 1-10

Using our usual method of giving 5 points for a 1st position down to 1 point for 5th position there has been a positive plethora of teams featuring this quarter with 16 separate captains/squads scoring.

Sam Herring is the only captain to feature in each of the first ten weeks - however our usual front runners of Paul Cooksey, Mark Page and Gareth Yeo look set to mount a challenge as we enter Quarter Two with Paul Roberson currently leading the League in Week 10. Figures in brackets indicate the number of weeks a team has scored top five points.

1. Show me da Mané Sam Herring (10) 36 points
2 Spartak Cox Green Paul Cooksey (7) 24 points
3 Goals Peter Roberson (6) 23 points
4. Sisu Out Mark Page (6) 14 points
5 Suicide Squad Gareth Yeo (5) 11 points

All other teams are in single figures and have featured for two weeks or less.