October started off with GW7. Suarez is most sought after, and four different people move to bring him in. Andrew and Mike (at the expense of Soldado), Paul (for Negredo), and Ross (for Rooney.) This means Ross now has both Sturridge and Suarez, and that Suarez is now more popular in our league than Sturridge, by 4 teams to 3.
Everyone in our league (except James) captained their Liverpool striker. They both played the full game and scored, but Sturridge was awarded 3bpts while Suarez was awarded none. That's an extra six-points for Jon, Ross and myself over the Suarez teams. Amalfitano came good for me again with an assist; apart from him and Yaya Toure, there were no good point-scorers from midfield for anyone in our league!
James, with Ozil as captain, lost the week. Andrew and I both won the week with 44 points; Andrew becoming the first in our league to hit 400pts overall. It was a bad week for strikers, except for Lukaku who scored his fourth goal in three games. Soldado was dropped, having not scored since GW2. Giroud hasn't scored in three weeks. Benteke is still injured. RVP played 90mins for the first time since his injury, but failed to score or assist. All of a sudden, goals from strikers seem to be drying up.
With none of the big teams keeping clean sheets either, it was only the Liverpool strikers captaincy that inflated point scores the week. That explains why James lost out so heavily. For everyone else, GW7 was evenly paced, and left our league table mostly unchanged.
With a long international break ahead, the gap before GW8 gave lots of time to tinker. I brought in Adnan Janujaz, the Man Utd teenager scored two goals in GW7 and was priced at only £4.6m. He became something of a hot property. Also popular is Lukaku, James loses Lambert for him, and also buys Januzaj. Jon decides to be rid of Soldado, for Lukaku. Meanwhile, Paul brings in Januzaj and Mata for Ben Arfa and Kasami, and Ross drops Dzeko for Benteke, who's back from injury.
The RVP situation continued to define my team. Excluding penalties, RVP hadn't scored in 14 of his last 18 league games. Worse, he now seems blighted by regular minor injuries, David Moyes once again confirming he's doubtful the Friday before a game.
GW8 was a key week as, apart from Jon and Andrew both captaining Lukaku, everyone had a unique armband choice. The clear winner was Mike with 73pts and captain Giroud winning him the week. Mike's team contains three Arsenal players and three Liverpool players, a risky strategy which pays off when those two teams play well. I came second for the week with 66pts and rose to second in the league table! That was thanks largely to Mirallas and Silva, two players I'd kept faith in over a few doubtful week. (Jon lost the week with 44pts, a tally which would have won him GW7.)
RVP had scored a goal, which was great news, but then things took a turn for the worse again. His ongoing injury concerns continue with both groin and toe problems. He missed a midweek Champions League tie, and yet again was a doubt for the weekend.
In the mid-week transfers, I sold Jose Enrique for Vertonghen, and Jon gave up on waiting for Walcott to return from injury, upgrading to Ozil. Despite being the top point scoring midfielder in the game, Ramsey is still only owned by Paul and Mike Hackett, everyone else clearly thinking his form cannot possibly last.
GW9 and Andrew, with a team unchanged from GW7, earned 81pts. Paul also earned 81pts, and I totaled 74pts. It was another high scoring week, Mike with 55pts coming last, but a poor one for midfielders - not a single midfielder over 9.0 delivered returns beyond a clean sheet. Meanwhile, all of the popular strikers were in the goals. (Except for Benteke, who missed a penalty.) The real winner was Luis Suarez, who scored a hat-trick and 3bpts. Paul Hackett captained him, for a 34pts haul!
All said and done, October was a tremendous month for me. I won the month with 184pts, claiming second in the overall league. Andrew earned 173pts this month, and he stays top of the overall table, while James came last of the month with 127pts and stays last overall.
Everyone in our league (except James) captained their Liverpool striker. They both played the full game and scored, but Sturridge was awarded 3bpts while Suarez was awarded none. That's an extra six-points for Jon, Ross and myself over the Suarez teams. Amalfitano came good for me again with an assist; apart from him and Yaya Toure, there were no good point-scorers from midfield for anyone in our league!
James, with Ozil as captain, lost the week. Andrew and I both won the week with 44 points; Andrew becoming the first in our league to hit 400pts overall. It was a bad week for strikers, except for Lukaku who scored his fourth goal in three games. Soldado was dropped, having not scored since GW2. Giroud hasn't scored in three weeks. Benteke is still injured. RVP played 90mins for the first time since his injury, but failed to score or assist. All of a sudden, goals from strikers seem to be drying up.
With none of the big teams keeping clean sheets either, it was only the Liverpool strikers captaincy that inflated point scores the week. That explains why James lost out so heavily. For everyone else, GW7 was evenly paced, and left our league table mostly unchanged.
With a long international break ahead, the gap before GW8 gave lots of time to tinker. I brought in Adnan Janujaz, the Man Utd teenager scored two goals in GW7 and was priced at only £4.6m. He became something of a hot property. Also popular is Lukaku, James loses Lambert for him, and also buys Januzaj. Jon decides to be rid of Soldado, for Lukaku. Meanwhile, Paul brings in Januzaj and Mata for Ben Arfa and Kasami, and Ross drops Dzeko for Benteke, who's back from injury.
The RVP situation continued to define my team. Excluding penalties, RVP hadn't scored in 14 of his last 18 league games. Worse, he now seems blighted by regular minor injuries, David Moyes once again confirming he's doubtful the Friday before a game.
GW8 was a key week as, apart from Jon and Andrew both captaining Lukaku, everyone had a unique armband choice. The clear winner was Mike with 73pts and captain Giroud winning him the week. Mike's team contains three Arsenal players and three Liverpool players, a risky strategy which pays off when those two teams play well. I came second for the week with 66pts and rose to second in the league table! That was thanks largely to Mirallas and Silva, two players I'd kept faith in over a few doubtful week. (Jon lost the week with 44pts, a tally which would have won him GW7.)
The League Table after GW8
RVP had scored a goal, which was great news, but then things took a turn for the worse again. His ongoing injury concerns continue with both groin and toe problems. He missed a midweek Champions League tie, and yet again was a doubt for the weekend.
In the mid-week transfers, I sold Jose Enrique for Vertonghen, and Jon gave up on waiting for Walcott to return from injury, upgrading to Ozil. Despite being the top point scoring midfielder in the game, Ramsey is still only owned by Paul and Mike Hackett, everyone else clearly thinking his form cannot possibly last.
GW9 and Andrew, with a team unchanged from GW7, earned 81pts. Paul also earned 81pts, and I totaled 74pts. It was another high scoring week, Mike with 55pts coming last, but a poor one for midfielders - not a single midfielder over 9.0 delivered returns beyond a clean sheet. Meanwhile, all of the popular strikers were in the goals. (Except for Benteke, who missed a penalty.) The real winner was Luis Suarez, who scored a hat-trick and 3bpts. Paul Hackett captained him, for a 34pts haul!
All said and done, October was a tremendous month for me. I won the month with 184pts, claiming second in the overall league. Andrew earned 173pts this month, and he stays top of the overall table, while James came last of the month with 127pts and stays last overall.
The in-form players of the month. The Suarez vs Sturridge choice was a crucial one across our league, Suarez the clear winner this month.
The Table for October.
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