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Previous Fantasy Sports Newsletters (FSN) by FISO - subscribe here FSN 30 13 August 2001 With the kick-off to the EPL season looming large it is time
for you to make your minds up on the competitions you'll be entering this year
and to finalise your squads. Today we briefly summarise the major Online Fantasy
Football games and some recent additions to the FISO website. 1. Telegraph Fantasy Football Online - TFFO FISO will be inviting all FISO subscribers who've entered TFFO
to join our mini-league - more news later this week. Fantasy League's Classic game challenges you to pick a 15 man
squad from a budget of £70m and it is a challenge for quite a bit of thought
needs to go into this before you rush in, particularly with the ability to play
your team in various formations. You can only pick 2 players from each club. If
you want to prove your management ability then this is the game for you and is
well worth at least one entry costing £10. Not only do you get the chance to
win the first prize of £10,000 (which is after the 'Champions League' play-off)
but you get access to lots of football statistics and the promise of a FREE
email on Friday afternoons containing team news and injury information. Your entry is placed in a league of 10 teams (all who joined
the game at a similar time to you) and your position in this league at mid
November will determine whether you go into the Champions League, UEFA Cup or
Inter-Toto competition. The subsequent play offs mean that the ultimate winner
won't necessarily be the squad accruing the most points over the season as
you're playing off against other teams in each play-off competition (there's a
separate £1,000 prize to the manager with the most points over the season).
Your team changes can be made up to 15 minutes before kick off and you
have 20 transfers for the season. FISO are organising a 'League of Champions' Friends and
Enemies' mini-league so if you've got a major win under your belt or think you
deserve to join this league then let me know via the email at the end of this
newsletter. 3. BBC Fantasy
Football Monthly The BBC's game is run by Fantasy League so promises to be well
run. It is free to enter and after each one month game you can completely
restructure your 11 man team. There are 6 transfers available in each month (and
as indicated unlimited between the end of one month's game and the start of the
next month's game). There are prizes to Football matches for the winners of each
month's game (8 game months) and to the overall winner (World Cup match). There's a warm-up game from 18 August to 27 August to
familiarise yourself with the rules and then the main game kicks-off for real on
8 September. 4. Sky Sports Football Fantasia - more news when it is
re-launched, hopefully in mid September. If anyone thinks we've missed a major completely Online game
out then just let us know! Right on to recent submissions to FISO. Only a brief
description here as time is pressing. Each weekend predict the outcome to the EPL matches. Your
points score depends on the published bookmaker odds for the game (so do you go
for the odds on Man Utd home win for 0.4 points or for the Fulham away win with
7 points on offer!). Free entry with £40 of prize money available. Division 1, 2, 3 and Conference fun competitions with an
overall Champions League for the best team across the board. Free entry for an
11 man team with modest prizes. Choose a squad of 16 players in this EPL game with 5 transfers
per month. Prizes on offer. d) Conference
Prediction League Predict the outcome of weekend Conference matches. Free to
enter. Prediction Leagues for the top 5 English Divisions, Scottish
Premier f) myvteam.com This is a US based game where you build your team of football
players from the best there is to offer from the English, Italian or Spanish
leagues. Entry fee is $9.90 per team and first prize is $5,000. g) FootyMad.net Predict the result of each of your team's matches. A weekend
break for two on offer to the overall winner. DreamShares has produced a fantasy football game for the BBC
in Scotland based on football failures. Sendings-off, bookings, own goals, on
and off the pitch fights - that's what you want your players to get involved in! A review of the fantasy football simulation games
including the fabulous Soccer All Stars is coming soon. Don't forget to help you choose your squads we now have the
following facilities on our website: 1. Fantasy Sports Discussion Forum
- share your news and views with other fantasy sports fans. 2. Premiership Players Database
- search, list and sort English Premiership Players according to our own
rating for fantasy points scoring potential. This facility will be expanded and
improved upon as the season progresses. FSN 29 11 August 2001 A very brief newsletter today just to
highlight two important additions to the FISO.co.uk website: 1. Fantasy Sports Discussion Forum
- share your news and views with other fantasy sports fans. 2. Premiership Players Database
- search, list and sort English Premiership Players according to our own
rating for fantasy points scoring potential. This facility will be expanded and
improved upon as the season progresses. Don't forget there is also a chat
facility on the website and might I suggest that 2 p.m. on Saturday
afternoon's, 7 p.m. on Monday evening's and 1 p.m. on Friday afternoons may be
suitable times for fantasy sports fans to get together? All times GMT. If
there is not enough of a time 'spread' there for our Australian, New Zealand,
Hong Kong, Indonesia or USA etc fans then we'd welcome your suggestions for a
suitable time. If there is any problem with the software
then do tell us about it - email: contact@fiso.co.uk Coming up in FSN 30 will be a summary of the
20 or so recent fantasy football game submissions to FISO and will include a
review of the BBC's fantasy football game. FSN 28 9 August 2001 It's a 'stat attack' day! FSN 27 3 August 2001 Today's newsletter sees Andy Luckhurst, winner of Sky Sports' Football Fantasia for 3 of the last 4 years, putting his point of view to us on the forthcoming fantasy Premiership season. I will follow this up next week with a look at the Premiership players with better than normal goal to games averages - I'm a great believer in the statistical side of football and consider that the class players will invariably be the route to fantasy glory!Before we kick-off Andy's preview, just a word about a special offer from one of FISO's advertisers - e-magazineshop - who are giving a £5 discount on any magazine subscription costing £15 or more. As you know FISO is a FREE service so any contributions from our advertisers for sales resulting from FISO users would be gratefully received, however small (and believe me it is usually very small!). Emagazine shop supply virtually all of the top magazines and plenty more - you might be surprised with what football or sports magazines they can supply - all direct to your door. So for Football magazines click here or for Sports magazines generally click here and then follow these discount instructions: After entering your name and address details, you will be asked to choose a payment method. Enter this voucher code FPDV+DFAS+27856 and press the 'process voucher' button. You'll notice that the price of your magazine(s) has just been discounted by £5. You can then proceed with payment for the remainder by credit card or cheque. Such great savings and it's so simple! The voucher can only used once per household and expires on 20 August 2001. The instructions are simple : Okay - away with the advertising (it's hard to get away from it isn't it!) and on with the action: Andy Luckhurst :I have been invited by FISO to pass on my early thoughts on the Fantasy stars of the 2001/02 season. Rather than using precision and statistics as in the style of Chris King, I have gone for a more ad hoc style, and a 'gut feel'. ARSENAL I'd expect the defence to be tighter still than last season.
The cover provided in the engine room, with the addition of the under-rated (at
least by Vieira) van Bronckhurst should serve the defence well. I often think
that the importance of this cover is not fully appreciated. Who to pick though ? ASTON VILLA The defence has always been strong, annoyingly in Fantasy terms, when you least expect it. A friend of mine (who has won Fantasy prizes) asked me what I thought of Villas defensive prospects, whilst extolling Mellberg. Personally I think 4-4-2 will be deployed more often, and the loss of Southgate and Ehiogu may destabilise the defence, and a more attack minded midfield will rate them a sell. If I'm wrong though I'd expect Barry to do well. If you can work out which attacking midfielders will start I'm sure you'll score well. Hadji and Hendrie look interesting picks. Maybe they'll play 4-5-1 (particularly if Dublin leaves, without replacement), or play Hadji as a support striker. Angel will probably be a miss, but could be a real hit. BLACKBURN Always difficult to know how promoted sides will get on. OK then, who thought Ipswich would reach a UEFA cup place. More likely to struggle, although Dunn looks a possible selection, as do Jansen and Grabbi if you need a cheap striker. BOLTON Favourites to go down. If you must pick someone, Frandsen, or Bergsson if goals scored are more important than those conceded. CHARLTON Difficult to predict, but should survive. Not many Fantasy chances, Jensen maybe, or Euell if classified as a midfielder. CHELSEA Likely to play in various formations. The new players, Gallas, Lampard, and Zenden are all possible selections, as are Terry and Stanic if they get a run, and stay fit. It's difficult to guess, as they still look a bit old, and maybe more of a cup team, but Ranieri has to a certain extent challenged the problem of age, Hasselbaink is solid, but not cheap. Gudjonsson will reward his supporters if holding a regular place. DERBY Look even money for the drop, but Smith may produce some magic, with late transfers. Carbonari and Ravenelli, whilst sounding like something from an Italian menu, are both potential speculative picks, as are Riggott and Strupar. EVERTON Could do well, or go down. Alexanderson looks a fair pick in some games. Unsworth is a possible if he holds down a place, and it will be fascinating to see how Radzinski does. Anyone want 16/1 he scores more than he did at Anderlecht. Gazza looks fit Sven ! FULHAM My tip to do well. Where have all the new signings gone though
? One of the teams that could do well defensively, early on. Finnan could be a
good pick, if classified as a defender, with assists counting. Davis looks a
good player, but I'm not sure he'll get enough goals for Fantasy purposes. IPSWICH Good luck to them, they deserve it. I can't believe they'll do quite as well this year. Reuser looks the best selection, if he gets an extended run. Will Stewart do any where near as well, will Bramble flourish, can the defence keep it up, will gangly Hreidarsson continue to star at left back, can Armstrong keep it up for a season, will Counango hold down a first team place ? If you know the answer to these questions, please e-mail us. LEEDS The team I supported as a kid, and the team I think you should support as a Fantasy player. Without the Champions League campaign, and with players back from injury, if this team clicks, it can go close. As far as Fantasy tips go, Harte if you can afford him, Ferdinand should do well, and the defence should tighten up as Ferdinand's confidence grows. Kewell is a ridiculously cheap midfielder in one competition, but he will miss some games playing for Australia, as will Viduka. Bowyer and Viduka are obvious choices, but Keane or Bridges if getting a run could be cheap. LEICESTER The defence could do well again early season, and Taggart and Elliott would be the obvious choices (assuming Elliott doesn't become another McLeicester). Izzet is a fair pick, and Scowcroft could be a stand out if he plays upfront, classified as a midfielder. LIVERPOOL A difficult one, with the Champions League as a distraction. Westerveld should do well, along with Hyppia and Babbel in defence. The midfield may be revolved too much, although Berger could get goals, and a consistent run. Up front it is difficult, all four could be potential selections, and maybe if one or more is injured, the remainder could be picked. If pressed, I'd choose Owen, Fowler, Heskey, in that order, both in Fantasy, and in real terms. MAN UTD You need to get this one right, don't you ? If only Sir Alex
made it clear what he meant, and we felt able to believe every word! MIDDLESBOROUGH Defensively they look good, with Southgate and Ehiogu reunited, and strength on the subs bench.The lack of depth in the midfield is a real worry, and McLaren needs to buy here to add strength and bite. Cover in midfield would make the defence a buy, particularly Ehiogu and Southgate. Marinelli could be a star (then he might have been last year). It is hard to believe Boksic will be as fit as he was last year, but what a great player to watch. If the support is there from midfield, Ricard could have a good season. NEWCASTLE I can't see the defence doing a lot, but Dabizas will get a few goals. Solano may improve on last season, but Robert, if classified as a midfielder will be a star (even at Newcastle). I think Shearer is finished in Fantasy terms, but what a great servant he has been to England. I believe Newcastle will finish 6th to 14th. SOUTHAMPTON A moderate team, but capable. Where will Delap play, he is their most interesting Fantasy player. Will Matt be saint or fat. You know the odds, but if you play them, wouldn't it be annoying, fantastic, and remarkable if he defied them. SUNDERLAND Defensively they should be strong, particularly in the first two thirds of the season. The defence is solid, and well bedded down, and the midfield provides cover. It will be interesting to see if Varga and Medina get a place. In Fantasy terms I expect the defence to do well, and Phillips to bounce back to his best. Laslandes could be a cheap striker at some stage. TOTTENHAM An interesting season for them, again a 6th to 14th side. If the defence does gel, then Ziege and Carr could be very good selections. Ziege may play left midfield. Poyet should keep the Fantasy points rolling in. WEST HAM The earthquakes seem to have ceased, can they survive ? Cole
and Sinclair seem their best source of Fantasy points, although Kanoute could do
well. I like the Hammers, they have given the Premiership some colour, although
the dour parsimony of the directors has certainly dimmed the colour, and popped
some bubbles. I've got some good friends who support the 'Ammers, and I both
fear and feel sorry for them. In Fantasy terms, most games suggest buying cheap midfielders, you may find some in the promoted teams. Carefully consider how squad rotation in the top teams effects your strategy. Consider the implications of the rules of the game you are playing, and try to find a game that suits you. Most importantly have fun and enjoy the season. Above all else if the tips herein help you to win, all donations are gratefully received, particularly if I am second ! Many thanks Andy for your time in putting your thoughts on the 2001/02 EPL season to us. Finally some quick useful links from FISO for those hungry for EPL info: - Soccerbase player stats (will cover some of these next week) - BBC EPL season fixture list (not 100% accurate though last time I looked) - Sky Sports' Summer Transfers summary - Planet Football Transfer summary FSN 26 1 p.m. 27 July 2001 FSN 26 consists of a round-up of new or updated fantasy football game reviews on FISO. We hope that you will find at least one game that interests you! This is a slightly unusual English Premiership fantasy football game. The scoring system is similar to all other games, with players being awarded points for clean sheets, scoring goals, etc. However, the leagues are split in 1 Jackpot League (which covers the entire season) and 3 further Mini Leagues, each covering part of the season. Entry to the Jackpot League automatically gets your team a free entry in Mini League 1. Entry to the Jackpot League is £10 and entry to the subsequent Mini Leagues is £5 per league. You must pick a 15 man squad. There are no monetary values involved, however the organisers have picked a number of 'Star Players', of which you can only pick 1 in your team and you can only have 2 players from each club. This, therefore, limits how many 'quality' players you can have in your team. These 'Star Players' are the organisers' choice and do not include some of the quality players in the Premiership, so there is still scope to pick an awesome squad. You have a choice of squad formations for the first 11, and you must pick 1 reserve for each position (goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, striker). Reserves only score points when one of your first 11 takes no part in a Premiership match. Due to their new sponsor a first prize of £1,000 is offered. A nice-looking site which kicked-off its English Premiership campaign last year. It is a squad based competition with unlimited substitutions and 10 transfers allowed. The site has useful features, check out the dynamically generated league and player performance profiles - see game guide for a snapshot of the League Report. The site enables participants to visualise their team progress throughout the season. Changing team formation throughout the season is easy, simply select the formation from the list of available and your players will automatically assume the new formation. Formation Football aims to minimise the complexities of managing a team by providing a simple user interface. There are 2 formats in which you can play Formation Football: PFFL (Premier League Fantasy Football) is a PBM (Play By Mail) game that ISMFA is a free, Play by email Fantasy Soccer game based on the Championship Manager game. UCFL (Ultimate Challenge Football League) is a free PBEM league established |
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