Soccerlens.com

SquadGod Week 1: Our Heroes let us down

Fantasy Football can teach you the harshest lesson in life – that the people you idolise are not as good (or in this case, not as reliable) as you think.

Ok, so maybe that’s not the harshest lesson you’ll ever get in life (that would be something along the lines of ‘you can’t trust anyone, even your mother’ or ‘you will be cheated on, regardless of who you are’ – life is a bitch at times), but in the world of football, it’s a cruel one to have coming your way.

If you’re signed up for the Soccerlens SquadGod group, then you’ll be happy to know that it’s just the 1st Week and in the long run, the thoroughbreds you’ve picked are bound to perform well. But if you just went around picking your star players, you’re probably not going to win (sorry, maybe I should have said this earlier?).

Top 10 (so far)

Usernames only – guys, would be great if you could come up and gloat in the comments, and let the rest of us shoot you down / learn from you.

1. DDG, 224
2. jimmyriddler, 197
3. ATIHY, 188
4. bobdigi, 183
5. Taron, 182
6. PJimmy, 180
7. Optimis Prime, 176
8. skippytrip, 173
9. llango, 170
10. billium, 170

My own team is languishing in 57th spot, with Red Ranter, Spiral Architect some way ahead of me and Kyle just behind me.

However, after looking at the whole thing in detail, I thought I’d share some thoughts on how to ‘improve’ your squad and make the best out of a bad start.

Suggestions, Tactics and Picks

For starters, if you have Rooney in your squad, make him your first free transfer out.

I wouldn’t recommend taking the 20 points penalty hit per player to change your team around, although this is the first week so you’re not losing too much. I’d say that you should wait and see the weekend’s games before making up your mind about who to ditch and who to keep.

The 4-3-3 formation works better than the 4-4-2 formation, if simply because strikers will score more goals (and therefore more points) than midfielders. Duh!

Players to pick – if you can:

Keeper: Kasper Schmiechel – although you might want to wait after the Manchester derby to pick him.
Defender: Lescott is the popular pick, but I’d go with Steven Taylor.
Midfielder: Leon Osman is the popular pick here, but I still say that Gareth Barry or Arteta will do better over the course of the season.
Striker: Van Persie, Chopra or Martins. Have one of these guys in there, at least.

So what did I do? Used the free transfer to take Rooney out, and then took the 20-point penalty hit to change formations and take Ronaldo out for another striker. I have money left over to bring Ronaldo back in if he turns good when he returns, and next I have to swap keepers.

Keep a lookout for suspensions and injuries, you don’t want to be like me and add a player who doesn’t play the first 2-3 games of the season

Soccerlens Contest Details

When the Soccerlens SquadGod group was announced, I promised to put up $1,000 as prize money for the winner of the Soccerlens SquadGod group winner provided the group crossed 200 members. We have 187 members at present, and as a result I’m reducing the prize offering to $500. It’s still a good prize, so no quibbles please

We still have our friends and sponsors Subside Sports giving away 5 free shirts in the contest and as the season goes on I’ll be trying to bring in more sponsors.

Now it’s over to you guys – how have you guys done so far?

Topics: Fantasy Football