Good differentials.

Santi101

Well lads, unlike alot of the players on this forum who are doing brilliantly, this is my first season playing FF and the early weeks was a learning curve for me in terms of how to pick a side, how points were scored, bonuses etc. I lost ground in my league in that first month and although I've got to grips with the game now, I still find myself 80 behind the league leader and with a pts tally in the early 1200's which I know isnt great......:o.....I'm blaming that teething period early on where I took a few pts hits and a good few poor captaincy choices over the year.

Over recent weeks I've been looking at getting in certain players to make up that ground, as most have Mata, RVP, Michu etc.

Would be great if people could post players that they think might make up that difference, maybe because of favourable fixtures or whatever.
My latest change was Fletcher a few weeks back when I seen his run of games....West Ham home, Wigan away....now he has Swansea home, Reading away, Arsenal home and I intend to keep him in for this run. Last week he was the difference in my score and the next person and I hit 104(everyone captained Theo, had Mata, RvP).

So lads, who do ye think could help bridge that gap?

I see a few in my league have dumped Bale recently.
Lennon?
Gerrard?
Benteke?
Lukaku?

Please nobody say Berbatov......:pac:....I've avoided him all season and think he's overrated and in decline!

Iused2likebusts

good opening post Ill start it off with lampard. Its dependent on Chelsea signing nobody before the window. Most consistent goalscoring midfielder in the league over the last 10 years and 8 or 9 short of breaking chelseas all time scoring record.

OneColdHand

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

good opening post Ill start it off with lampard. Its dependent on Chelsea signing nobody before the window. Most consistent goalscoring midfielder in the league over the last 10 years and 8 or 9 short of breaking chelseas all time scoring record.

Yeah I'm wildcarding this week and I'm seriously considering Lamps instead of Mata. That probably sounds a bit crazy, but I htink Lamps could do well over the rest of the season, and he's 1.6 cheaper than Mata, allowing me improve significantly in other areas.

For example, instead of Demel + Mata, I can do Lamps + Clichy. Which I think could well be a better combo.

OneColdHand

Also, maybe not differential, but maybe in terms of strategy. I'm considering a 'big 5' in midfield, then instead of Pog (or similar) + RVP + Suarez combo up front, I'm thinking of going with RVP + Fletcher + Sturridge. So essentially each week I'd be picking one of Fletch and Sturridge.

Iused2likebusts

OneColdHand wrote: »

Yeah I'm wildcarding this week and I'm seriously considering Lamps instead of Mata. That probably sounds a bit crazy, but I htink Lamps could do well over the rest of the season, and he's 1.6 cheaper than Mata, allowing me improve significantly in other areas.

For example, instead of Demel + Mata, I can do Lamps + Clichy. Which I think could well be a better combo.

ye you would fancy option 2 to outscore 1 there. Im looking at fellani to Lamps in 2 weeks time. Will also have mata though.

El Horseboxo

Not sure of too many differentials. I don't really overly buy into it because you can fall behind quick. It's great having a differential and getting a big score one week. But they need to be consistent scorers. And when they become consistent scorers everyone jumps on them and they lose differential status. I think differentials are maybe only good as one week punts unless you catch someone just as they come into an explosive run.

While i have no player replacements in mind. I think the second half of the season might see a slow down in point returns from some of the players with big hauls in the first half. Would not be surprised if Michu doesn't do much, Fellaini goes back to Fellaini of past seasons, Sturridge really eats in to Suarez's points, United stop conceding as much and City become more explosive. I also feel someone is gonna explode for the second half of the season that hasn't done much so far or a new signing. Could be that Gourcuff chap or Giroud.

Santi101

Lampard might prove a good choice. He's on 78 pts but missed nearly 10 games, only played 867 minutes.

Right now he's firmly in Rafa's plans with Mikel gone to Africa and being rubbish anyway. I'd say he'll get plenty of minutes from now on. 5 goals in 7 games, brilliant pen taker. Might look at Fellaini's situation in a few weeks and make a change.

Gerrard is a more obvious choice but still doesnt have huge ownership. IMO he's been the best midfielder in the country in the last 6-8 weeks, looks as fit and strong as I've seen him in 3 or 4 years. Tough games to come in the next two but after that I'll see.

Santi101

El Horseboxo wrote: »

Not sure of too many differentials. I don't really overly buy into it because you can fall behind quick. It's great having a differential and getting a big score one week. But they need to be consistent scorers. And when they become consistent scorers everyone jumps on them and they lose differential status. I think differentials are maybe only good as one week punts unless you catch someone just as they come into an explosive run.

While i have no player replacements in mind. I think the second half of the season might see a slow down in point returns from some of the players with big hauls in the first half. Would not be surprised if Michu doesn't do much, Fellaini goes back to Fellaini of past seasons, Sturridge really eats in to Suarez's points, United stop conceding as much and City become more explosive. I also feel someone is gonna explode for the second half of the season that hasn't done much so far or a new signing. Could be that Gourcuff chap or Giroud.

That's just it mate, barring injuries I'll be using my free transfer to make a difference every week, I guess that player plus captaincy choices is my best bet to gain ground back. I cant go steady til the end as I'm pretty far behind and I suspect others are too. I made +20 on my rivals last GW due to Fletcher and Ben Davies, Im keeping Fletch for a few more weeks.

On Giroud, I wouldnt touch him personally. He's more of a flat-track bully who gets a couple of goals when we murder a team or at least score a good few(Newcastle 7-3, Fulham 3-3, West Ham 5-1 thats the majority of his goals). Then he goes a month doing nothing. Possibly a decent short-term pick if the fixtures are lining up right.

8-10

Dempsey. Good fixtures, Adebayor away.

AdpRo

My main differential is that I'm getting Augero instead of Ba and sticking with 4 big midfielders instead of the 5 that most people are going with. I'd be reasonably confident that Augero will outscore Fellaini or Ba for the rest of the season if he stays fit.

Iused2likebusts

Weetabix wrote: »

My main differential is that I'm getting Augero instead of Ba and sticking with 4 big midfielders instead of the 5 that most people are going with. I'd be reasonably confident that Augero will outscore Fellaini or Ba for the rest of the season if he stays fit.

my thoughts exactly. For arguments sake what are we classing as a differential less than 5%?

Lemlin

To be honest I never look for differentials. Sticking to in form players is how I tend to play it.

I had points to make up on people last year and finished in the top 500 by using my budget to get the best available selection I could.

If you're seeking out differentials, you could miss out on a big score from a player that others will gain from.

jolim24601

all about form. but sometimes players that nobody has are in form, so there you go.

El Horseboxo

Santi101 wrote: »

On Giroud, I wouldnt touch him personally. He's more of a flat-track bully who gets a couple of goals when we murder a team or at least score a good few(Newcastle 7-3, Fulham 3-3, West Ham 5-1 thats the majority of his goals). Then he goes a month doing nothing. Possibly a decent short-term pick if the fixtures are lining up right.

Oh I wouldn't be bringing Giroud in. Considered it for a one week punt for the dgw but went wit Pod in the end. I'd only consider him if he began banging them in. But then everyone would had him.

I never try be different. Not purposely anyways. I stick to the tried and tested formula of form, fixture and bookie odds of clean sheets, assists, goal scorers and goals scored. The captain polls of various ff sites usually determine my captain choice.

I think actually watching the games and how players play is one of the most valuable assets too. Reckon there's a large amount of people that only make transfers based on others opinions on forums without consulting their own insight. Obviously forums are helpful but shouldn't be the sole contributor to team selection.

Santi101

But then players lose form as quick as it comes, there are opportunities to go against popular choice and score big pts. I dont envisage changing RVP, Suarez, Mata, Michu, also have been rotating Bale + Walcott in recent weeks.

I'll keep changing the other options to make some ground up. That 3rd striker option and Fellaini are two areas I'm pinpointing in a few weeks time, going to hang on Fletch for another 2/3 weeks at least since he's delivered for me thus far and has good games + nobody in my league has him.

Iused2likebusts

i would take a slightly riskier approach to the game with regard to who i think will hit form. Two examples 1 walcott he had dropped to 8.5 played upfront against reading but was overshadowed by carzolas hat trick by pursuing the form player strategy the masses either stuck with or got in carzola i switched to walcott and got rewarded 2 Oscar he had at the end of Nov 4 goals in 11 games for chelsea they had all come in the cl though. I felt it was only a matter of time before he started scoring in the pl he didn't. For me i think as someone else mentioned if ur watching games and aware of changing circumstances there is merits in picking the odd differential. I currently have two aguero and sturridge .

culline

Anyone taking a punt on Jonny Walters!?:o

grohlisagod

I always like a good differential. It's a risk but it's part of the fun. Walcott proved to be a brilliant one back when I got him 10 or 11 weeks ago.

Baines is differential of sorts at the moment.

Yes he has a high ownership but the majority of people still playing the game are going without. Everton have great fixtures and are starting to tighten up. Plus he is always an attacking threat.

Adam Jonhson at Sunderland would be another. Fletcher is probably the better option but Johnson has been scoring consistently for a while now and they have nice fixtures. Only 2.5% ownership.

km79

grohlisagod wrote: »

I always like a good differential. It's a risk but it's part of the fun. Walcott proved to be a brilliant one back when I got him 10 or 11 weeks ago.

Baines is differential of sorts at the moment.

Yes he has a high ownership but the majority of people still playing the game are going without. Everton have great fixtures and are starting to tighten up. Plus he is always an attacking threat.

Adam Jonhson at Sunderland would be another. Fletcher is probably the better option but Johnson has been scoring consistently for a while now and they have nice fixtures. Only 2.5% ownership.

Johnson is certainly being considered by me .....giving pienaar another week first but Sunderland have hit form

manual_man

Differentials can definitely give you an advantage. I considered both Johnson and Fletcher while wildcarding, but ended up playing it safer and going with Pienaar and Ba. It cost me. Like someone said it definitely pays to watch as much football as possible, doing that can give you more than just stats alone, how a team - and particular players within a team - is performing can help you make a relatively informed decision and beat the band so to say when it comes to getting in players that go on to score well. There's risk involved, but sure isn't that the whole nature of the game anyway? I'm in no way saying avoid players that have been consistently scoring well - that would be stupid - but there's definitely leeway to get in 1/2 players ahead of the posse and reap the rewards. Finding this balance, and a little bit of lady luck, is the key

Santi101

Johnson's an interesting one, it's taken him a while to settle in but he's looking better in recent months. Good price at 6.7m and low ownership.

Whereas someone like Nolan still has decent ownership (~12%) yet he hasnt scored more than 2 points since mid-November when he scored vs Newcastle. No goals or assists since then which isnt good considering he usually plays as an attacking mid close to the striker with two mids behind him. I had him for the first few months but shipped him in December. West Ham look pretty bad these days.

Santi101

Taarabt is also looking like a key player under Harry. Been impressed with him, might be a decent option as the fifth midfielder if I go cheaper as the 3rd striker to make some cash. They've basically given him a free role to make things happen, frustrating player but talented.

Steven81

manual_man wrote: »

Differentials can definitely give you an advantage. I considered both Johnson and Fletcher while wildcarding, but ended up playing it safer and going with Pienaar and Ba. It cost me. Like someone said it definitely pays to watch as much football as possible, doing that can give you more than just stats alone, how a team - and particular players within a team - is performing can help you make a relatively informed decision and beat the band so to say when it comes to getting in players that go on to score well. There's risk involved, but sure isn't that the whole nature of the game anyway? I'm in no way saying avoid players that have been consistently scoring well - that would be stupid - but there's definitely leeway to get in 1/2 players ahead of the posse and reap the rewards. Finding this balance, and a little bit of lady luck, is the key

Agree 100% watched WBA and Lukaku over the christmas and was impressed by him, got him in and he scored 2 against Reading and then an assist against Villa, time up now and out for Fletcher to come in.

El Horseboxo

manual_man wrote: »

Differentials can definitely give you an advantage. I considered both Johnson and Fletcher while wildcarding, but ended up playing it safer and going with Pienaar and Ba. It cost me. Like someone said it definitely pays to watch as much football as possible, doing that can give you more than just stats alone, how a team - and particular players within a team - is performing can help you make a relatively informed decision and beat the band so to say when it comes to getting in players that go on to score well. There's risk involved, but sure isn't that the whole nature of the game anyway? I'm in no way saying avoid players that have been consistently scoring well - that would be stupid - but there's definitely leeway to get in 1/2 players ahead of the posse and reap the rewards. Finding this balance, and a little bit of lady luck, is the key

It would be brilliant if you had the ability to sense when the usual big hitters were gonna hit a lull so you could transfer them out. Like when Michu went on a run of games in October or November without scoring. Would be great to feel that a player is going to go quiet for a few games and replace them while most hold onto them as "season keepers". It's decisions like that which can really net you true value from differentials. But it obviously comes with great risks as a player could do nothing for 2 games and then he bangs in a brace. But the other side of the coin could be he continues to do nothing for 3 more games. Just depends whether a manager thinks the risk is worth it.

Joeyjoejoe43

Hmmm, reading this thread, has made me wonder bout getting Lampard in.. 8.4 is savage value if he keep his place in the team... Tempted now, this stupid wildcard has my head melted!

irish son

Joeyjoejoe43 wrote: »

Hmmm, reading this thread, has made me wonder bout getting Lampard in.. 8.4 is savage value if he keep his place in the team... Tempted now, this stupid wildcard has my head melted!

Lamps is great value at the moment with Hazard, Luiz, Mikel and Moses missing the next few matches.

Swiper the fox

Having (seemingly mistakenly) brought Kevin Nolan in for the dgw I'm hopeful that he can be a differential for me over the next 3 gameweeks against Fulham, Swansea and Villa. He's been rubbish FF wise for months but a couple of goals in the next 3 isn't too much to expect.
Berbatov will have ye eating ye're words as well,
,

Joeyjoejoe43

Ive had Nolan for ages, was going to sell him a few weeks ago, but I held back until the doublegameweek, and he didnt deliver. I think he is due a burst of goals, but I have lost patience with him, so he's been shipped. The same with Berbatov actually, recently got rid of him also, too many 2's on his card..

Swiper the fox

Berbatov is a partly sentimental choice on my behalf but it's one I fully expect to pay off, brilliant player but Jol needs to get him playing closer to goal, I would suspect that Fulham's current transfer activity will be an attempt to do just that,
Kinda stuck with Nolan for a couple of weeks but like I said he has good fixtures and he's always been a goalscorer, barren spells always end and hopefully for him and me his will end in style, it'd be amazing if he can outscore Fellaini for the next few gameweeks.

Santi101

People have been expecting Berbatov to pay off since Arsenal away, that was months ago and he's done very little. 2 goals in what, 12 or 13 games.

Ruiz is back so that excuse is out the window. He's slow, petulant, egotistical. There's a long list of strikers I'd pick over Berbaflop right now.

Swiper the fox

Santi101 wrote: »

People have been expecting Berbatov to pay off since Arsenal away, that was months ago and he's done very little. 2 goals in what, 12 or 13 games.

Ruiz is back so that excuse is out the window. He's slow, petulant, egotistical. There's a long list of strikers I'd pick over Berbaflop right now.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread, you've made your opinion on Berbatov quite clear from the beginning, we'll have to agree to disagree on him, not many players can divide opinion as much as he can, there is a very good article on Berbatov in todays Guardian actually, well worth reading.