Premier league Summer transfers 2014-15 season

We have seen lots of transfer activity this summer in English premier league as all clubs tried hard to get their team in a good shape. Arsenal bought Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez from Manchester United and Barcelona respectively and released Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen to Manchester City and Barcelona. Aston Villa did one good deal by bringing in Tom Cleverley from Manchester United.

Chelsea brought back  Didier Drogba from Galatasaray and bought Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa from Spanish league. They Sold David Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain and Demba Ba to Besiktas. Fernando Torres also had to leave to AC Milan on loan. Everton signed on loan player Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea and also got Samuel Eto'o who was released from Chelsea.

Hull City bought Michael Dawson from Tottenham and Hatem Ben-Arfa from Newcastle United on loan. Liverpool signed Mario Balotelli from AC Milan and also bought 3 players from Southampton as they sold Luis Suarez to Barcelona and Pepe Raina to Bayern Munich. Manchester City signed Frank Lampard on loan from Newyork City and Bacary Sagna from Arsenal. They released Lescott and Gareth Barry.

Manchester United Signed Angel Di-Maria from Real Madrid and Ander Harerra from Athletic Bilbao. United released Rio Ferdinand and Nemenja Vidic. Also sold Patric Evra to Juventus, Shinji Kagawa to Dortmund and Danny Welbeck to Arsenal. Tottemham bought Federico Fazio from Sevilla and sold Gylfi Sigurdsson and Michael Dawson.

There are lots of changes in premier league club squad this year. We can see lots of different faces in each team and variable performances. We can hope this years transfer window will settle next 4-5 seasons of English Premier League and we will once again enjoy watching these clubs compete for a trophy.

In next post we will review first 6 match-days of English premier league and will see how only one club managed to put on a consistent performance.

Arsenal crushed at Anfield, Chelsea on top

Game-week 25 -

Arsenal suffered a dreadful defeat at Anfield on Saturday when Liverpool scored 5 goals, thanks to Skrtel and Sterling. This defeat puts Arsenal in the second spot behind Chelsea as they won comfortably against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. Manchester City had a chance to finish at the top spot after this game-week but they could only draw their encounter against Norwich and found themselves 2 points behind league leaders Chelsea. It was a relief for Liverpool when they won against Arsenal as this win might come handy to secure a place in top 4 at the end of the season. Skrtel and Sterling both scored 2 goals each to secure a emphatic win against gunners at Anfield. On the other hand, Chelsea grabbed a fantastic opportunity to overtake Arsenal when they crushed Newcastle 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Eden Hazard was Chelsea's Hero this game-week as he scored Hat-trick.

Manchester United once again had to settle for point against club which is trying to avoid relegation. They might have lost that match if Carrick and van Persie hadn't scored goals separating just 80 seconds. They lead 2-1 after those goals but Darren Bent scored a late goal to secure a massive point for Fulham at Old Trafford. This draw pushed Manchester United down with a 4 point difference to 6th positioned Everton. It might have bigger if Everton Won or drew against Tottenham this week, but they suffered a narrow defeat (1-0) at White Hart Lane as Adebayor scored only goal of the match.

Game-week 26 -

GW 26 is upon us very quickly, on Tuesday. There is nearly no time to think about Fantasy transfers this week. There is one more test for Arsenal and this time against Manchester United at Emirates stadium. Both teams are going through a very tough period of the season and desperately need to win this match. This match will be very interesting to watch. Chelsea will travel to West Brom this week and will hope to continue their fantastic performance to ensure top spot. Manchester City will entertain Sunderland at Etihad where as Everton will face Crystal Palace. Liverpool are right now safe in top 4 but they should stay alert as Tottenham and Everton are very capable of removing 3-5 points gap. Brendon Rodgers must be hoping for another win as they will take on Fulham away from home. Tottenham must be feeling confidant after a win over Everton. They will face Newcastle away from home.

Fantasy -

This GW was good for my fantasy team. When i wrote my last post i was not sure about armband choice. But before a hour to deadline i saw only one good choice and it was Hazard. And well it really paid off. He scored a hat-trick, earned 3 bonus points and a clean sheet too. Hazard single-handedly (more with his feet though!!) steered my team past 40 and other players contributed just 38 points.

Substitutes for Game-week 25

My team had Skrtel too, but i placed him in substitutes and brought Collins to starting 11. Skrtel scored 15 points this game-week. If i had Skrtel in starting 11, i could have got extra 8 points. But if and buts don't count in fantasy. Still, i am happy with my captain's performance. Suarez and Rooney might have disappointed many owners. Yaya and Ozil too couldn't get much points. My team saw nearly 100k rise in rank thanks to Captaincy decision.

Here's my team's link. 2 free transfers are available to me but i will wait until tomorrow for a decision. I am thinking about replacing Ozil with Gerrard or Lallana and will save 1 transfer.
There are now 2 members competing for armband in my team. Hazard as Chelsea will play against West Brom and Suarez as Liverpool will play against Fulham. I will decide captain in last hour. I hop Rooney and Yata do well in this game-week and earn me good points.

Fantasy Advantage -

Suarez, Sturridge, Gerrard(vs Fulham),
Yaya, Silva, Hart (Vs Sunderland),
Hazard, Terry, Cech (vs West Brom),
Coleman, Mirallas, Howard (Vs C. Palace).

Chelsea level with Manchester City, Arsenal back on top

Game-week 24 -
                         Manchester City lost to Chelsea on Etihad Stadium on Moday without scoring a single goal. That was odd considering their recent form at home. But Arsenal managed to win over Crystal Palace and regained top spot with 2 point lead. There was a surprise for Stoke against Manchester United as they won 2-1 against former champions. Liverpool just managed to get a draw with West Brom away from home and still they are safe in 4th spot with 2 points difference. Everton came out victorious against Aston Villa and Spurs only managed to earn a single point with their visit to Hull City.

Game-week 25 - 
                         GW 25 will see league leaders Arsenal travel to Liverpool and Tottenham against Everton at White Hart Lane. With only 14 games to come, Arsenal will want to at-least get something out of these type of games. Manchester City will travel to Norwich this weekend whereas Chelsea will take on Newcastle at home. Manchester United will host Fulham on sunday. There is still chance for Manchester United to secure place in top 4 but they have to win most of these 14 matches and with Rooney, Robin van Persie and new signing Juan Mata United may surprise us. There is very tough competition for 4th spot this season as teams like Liverpool, Spurs, Everton, Manchester United are trying hard for that Champions League spot.

Fantasy - 
                 

GW 25 Defense

I am going to play with this defense for GW 25.All 4 players have matches against strong teams. I just hope they play well. Rooney, Rodriguez and Suarez as forward line. I didn't spend my free transfer for this game-week. But whom to give arm band this gw? Suarez will play against Arsenal but still he's a world class player and may do some serious damage, Rooney against Fulham but he doesn't look very promising for arm band. I am thinking about Hazard (Vs Newcastle) or Yaya Toure (Vs Norwich). But at this time i am not sure about captain. From last 3 game-weeks i dropped nearly 150k in ranking and that's not the good news. I hope team does well this game-week.

Fantasy Advantage -

Terry, Hazard, Cech (Vs Newcastle),
Silva, Toure, Dzeko (Vs Norwich),
Mata, van Persie, Rooney (Vs Fulham),
Suarez, Gerrard (Vs Arsenal).

Manchester City Leapfrogged Arsenal

Game-week 23 -
                         Arsenal narrowly escaped defeat against Southampton on Tuesday and invited Manchester City and Chelsea to overtake. But Chelsea couldn't managed to win against West Ham  and Manchester City crushed Tottenham to secure top spot with 1-point gap. Thanks to Carzola and Giroud, Arsenal managed to earn a point away at Southampton but that wasn't enough to keep them at top as Pellegrini's side won a very tough encounter easily though it was away from home. On the other hand, Liverpool also won their match against Everton to stay in top 4. Tottenham's defeat against City means Brendon Rodgers will take a sigh of relief after as Liverpool went 3 points clear at 4th position. Manchester United are still holding their 7th spot after a convincing win against Cardiff at Old Trafford. Juan Mata, their new signing, made his debut in that match making instant impact by providing a assist to Robin van Persie's goal who also made a comeback. At the bottom, Sunderland managed to come out of relegation zone with a narrow 1-0 win over Stoke City.

Game-week 24 - 
                         League leaders Manchester City will face Chelsea at Etihad stadium on 3 February. This encounter might play a crucial role at the end of the season. Arsenal will be against Crystal Palace, Manchester United will travel to Stoke. Liverpool will be against West Brom away from home whereas Everton will face Aston Villa at home.

Fantasy -  Suarez is once again provides a easy solution for armband. I will stick with the 3-4-3 formation with Hazard, Ozil and Yaya Toure in the mid-field along with Huddlestone. Rooney and Rodriguez will form forward line with Suarez. Krul will keep the goal post whereas Mertesacker, Skertel and Coleman will start for my team at defense. Coleman is likely to miss the match due to injury so i drafted Collins as substitution. I hope this team does well.

Fantasy Advantage -

Suarez, Sturridge, Mignolet (Vs West Brom),
Rooney, Mata, Robin van Persie (Vs Stoke City),
Howard, Baines, Mirallas (Vs Aston Villa).

Manchester City, Chelsea still in pursuit

Game-week 22 -

                 Arsenal are still on the top of the league table after Carzola's brace helped them to beat Fulham 2-0 at Emirates stadium. Manchester city too won easily at Etihad where we saw 6 goals and 4 of them were city goals. But most anticipated encounter of this game-week was Chelsea vs Manchester United and Chelsea's Eto'o was in top notch form to score a hat-trick against former champions. There is very tough competition this season for top four as well as for avoiding relegation. First three team are separated by just a point whereas at the bottom all three teams have same points even after 22 game-weeks. But my favorite United looks in a very bad shape this season after the departure of Legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. Rooney is the only player who continued his heroic form this season. Hope he gets more goals in the upcoming fixtures.

       Liverpool are slowly getting carried away after the fantastic start to the season. Thanks to Gerrard's penalty they were able to draw against Aston Villa this game-week. Everton had a chance to enter in the top 4 but they couldn't win their encounter against West Brom away from home. Tottenham easily won their match against Swansea to hold their 5th position.

Game-week 23 -

                Arsenal will want to continue their fantastic run when they will meet Southampton on 28th Jan away from home. Chelsea will host West Ham and Manchester City will face Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Manchester City must win to keep their position as Chelsea are hot on their tail. There is one more exciting match this week, Liverpool against Everton. Both teams are desperately trying to get into top 4 and this is the best chance for them. Manchester United are facing Cardiff at home. I hope Rooney makes a comeback and scores.

Nike-store is a great way to shop online some soccer stuff.

Fantasy -

             This game-week was horrible for my FPL team. Injured Rooney, Huddlestone red card and once again Jaaskelainen failed to make into starting eleven. Thanks to Yaya, Suarez and Rodriguez i earned respectable points. Big names like Hazard, Ozil, Coleman failed to make impression this game-week and i dropped 100k postions in overall rankings. Now i have 2 free transfers but i couldn't decide what to do with them until now. Hope i will make a good purchase. I wanted to replace Rooney but he will be available against Cardiff so i wont replace him. Aguero is a good choice but i don't have enough funds to get him in. I might transfer in Howard for Jaaskelainen and save 1 transfer for next game-week.

Fantasy Advantage -

 Ozil, Wilshere, Cazorla, Hart (Vs Southampton),
 Hazard, Eto'o, Cech, Terry (Vs West Ham),
 Rooney, Evra, De Gea (Vs Cardiff),
 Suarez, Gerrard, Sturridge (Vs Everton),
 Yaya, Aguero, Negredo (Vs Tottenham).

Liverpool back in top 4

GW 21 - Arsenal still holding top spot after 21st game in the premier league, followed closely by Manchester City and Chelsea. Liverpool came back strong after 2 back to back defeats against top teams to win 2 in a row, thanks to Suarez's brace. Manchester United recovered from their loss against Tottenham to win 2-0 at Old Trafford. Everton stretched their unbeaten run to 3 games by winning 2-0 against Norwich. Spurs also continued their good form with a win over Crystal Palace.

Fantasy Premier League - Defense once again gave me a headache as i was kicked out of Fantasy cup this Game-week with 9 point difference.

My Defense - GW21

 I opted once again 4-3-3 for this game-week but due to Rooney's injury bench-player Chester came as substitute. I collected only 11 points from my defense as Jaaskelainen didnt start this game-week. All in all i had a horrible game-week just after playing my wildcard. But thanks to Suarez who once again proved fruitful to many FPL team and collected whopping 13 points with 2 goals and full bonus points. My decision of purchasing Hazard was good as he scored against Hull city and Chelsea won 2-0. Yaya Toure was subtituted after 60 minutes and Ozil also couldn't do well giving me just 5 points (combine). In defense, only Coleman claimed a clean sheet as newly added skrtel got just a point. I hope this team will do good in the next game-week. (May be i'll save free transfer this time.)

I visited soccer.com this week and found out some best football equipment to try. There are nearly 15-20 brands available providing t-shirts, coaching equipment, field equipment, shin guards, turf shoes, grass shoes, gloves, jerseys and many more stuff. This is also available category wise like, by county, by club, by player etc. If you want to purchase some soccer stuff soccer.com is best place. Nike store is also a good place to visit and shop.

GW22 -   Big match in the game-week 22 is Chelsea Vs Manchester United. Chelsea is just a point behind league leaders Arsenal and this might be a decisive encounter for them. Arsenal are hosting Fulham on Emirates, Manchester City will face Cardiff at home and Everton will travel to West Brom this weekend. Liverpool will face Aston Villa and Spurs will travel to Swansea this weekend. In the relegation battle, there is a very tough fight between Cardiff, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Fulham.

Fantasy Advantage -

Ozil, Mertesacker, Giroud (Vs Fulham),
Yaya Toure, Negredo, Silva(Vs Cardiff),
Suarez, Gerrard, Sturridge (Vs Aston Villa),
Coleman, Baines, Howard (Vs West  Brom).

Welcome 2014!!!

11th Jan - GW2 of this year. I used my January wildcard after 20th game-week. I made 5-6 transfers, bringing in Ozil, Hazard, Rodriguez, Huddlestone and Skrtel.

My team after using wildcard

You might have noticed that i selected 3 bench-warmers from which only Chester might start every game-week. But it gives me extra funds/money to spend on premium players. To get Hazard in i have to sacrifice one forward (i replaced Negredo with Rodriguez). There is no confirm news on Ageuro until now, but he might be available for 23rd game-week. Until then i will stick with Rooney and see how he does. I replaced Whittingham with Huddlestone, i hope he does well. Walcott injury news forced me to replace him with his team-mate.

In defense, i got rid of Debuchy after his horrendous display. But still I needed more money to get Hazard and Ozil in, so i transferred in Skrtel and 1 bench-warmer (McNaughton).

GW 20 - 1st game-week of this year haven't gone well for me. There was a tie for Cup with score 49-49. Actually my opponent took a hit and lost 4 points and i managed to tie the Cup game. According to rules if a cup game ends in tie, the winner will be decided based on number of goals your team players scored. My team scored 3 and his 2. So thanks to his hit i managed to qualify for the next round.

Top 4 teams managed to win there respective encounter. Everton drew with Stoke and found themselves in the 5th position (replaced by Liverpool who won 2-0 at Hull). Tottenham won a crucial battle against Manchester United at Old Trafford and overtook them to 6th position. I think we are in for a very dramatic end of the season.

Fantasy Advantage (GW 21) -

Hazard, Terry (Vs Hull City),
Coleman, Lukaku (Vs Norwich),
Walker, Lloris (Vs Crystal Palace),
Yaya Toure, Silva (Vs Newcastle),
Gerrard, Suarez (Vs Stoke City),
Mertesacker, Ozil (Vs Aston Villa). 

Good Bye, 2013!!!!

GW19 - last BPL game-week of year 2013. Arsenal claimed top spot with 43 points, Liverpool lost 2 in a row, City and Chelsea firm on 2nd and 3rd position but in FPL this game-week brought disappointment for many managers (including me of-coarse).

Rooney's injury gave a hard time to many managers as he was favorite candidate for cap. Yaya and Negredo both were benched by Pellegrini but i think Walcott saved the week for many managers.

I capped Negredo and Rooney was alternative, but thanks to Hull defense which saved me. Click to view my team. We may now see plenty of early January wildcards.

My Defense - GW19 

GW20 - first BPL game-week of the year 2014. Swansea will host Manchester City in the first match of BPL in 2014. Silva wont travel to Swansea because of a ban due to 5 yellows. Hopefully Yaya and Negredo both will return to starting XI. Manchester United will face Tottenham on their home turf. United claimed 6th spot thanks to the loss of Newcastle who might return to winning ways against West Brom after a close encounter with Arsenal. Everton's Left Back, Baines, made a comeback in the previous game-week, but Coleman looks in a fine touch and cheap option also. Lukaku owners will be relieved after the striker found net at-last, but still he's not a reliable option as Aguero might return from injury after GW 21.

In the Gunners squad, Mertesacker looks nice option as they have smooth fixtures coming up. But Walcott owners might be in danger because he picked up a minor shoulder injury. Giroud and Giibs are also injured and wont be part of team against Cardiff. Liverpool will face Hull at home, means Suarez will be favorite for armband. I am also giving him armband this game-week. I spent free transfer to replace Rosenior with Newcastle's Debuchy. As jagielka is injured, i will play with 3-4-3 formation with Chester as first substitute (Mertesacker, Coleman, Debuchy).

Fantasy advantage : Szczesny, Mertesacker, Ozil (Vs Cardiff),
                             Hazard, Eto'o (Vs Southampton),
                             Howard, Coleman, Mirallas, Lukaku (Vs Stoke City),
                             Suarez, Skertel (Vs Hull),
                             Yaya, Negredo, Nasri, Zabaleta (Vs Swansea).

Have a nice game-week and Happy New Year. Cheers.

Title race got intense - Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool just a Point apart

What a week that was! Arsenal claiming top spot, City's trimph, United's fortune, Lambert's surprise, Chelsea's narrow win and Everton's first home defeat.

18th game week was entertaining, but from FPL point of view once again i gave armband to wrong candidate. I thought suarez could be a difference between Liverpool and Manchester City, But i was wrong and Pellegrini was well prepared. Negredo and Rooney both scored, unfortunately. Still i qualified for the next round of FPL cup. The star of the game week was Southampton's Jay Rodriguez, scoring 2 goals, providing an assist and he also got full bonus points. Just over 5% of FPL teams selected him and he provided the differential in this GW.

Talking about differential, Walcott too got pair of goals in the match against West ham. But Ramsey had to leave field due to injury in the second half. I immediately took action and got Walcott for a hit(-4 points for 2 transfers). Check my FPL team here.

City fans must be happy seeing their team's fabulous performance against Liverpool. They are now just a point behind League leaders Arsenal. Liverpool found themselves in the 4th spot after Chelsea won their encounter against Swansea. Everton are still holding the 5th spot despite their defeat against Sunderland. That was their 1st Home loss in this season. Newcastle are safe in the 6th place after crushing Stoke City with 5 goals, thanks to the Remy's double and once again Cabaye appeared on the score-sheet which will increase his appeal to FPL managers who are looking for differential.

United were fortunate enough to get an own goal from Chester who gave lead to Hull City in the first half. Rooney and Smalling also scored to finish the match 2-3 which secured their 7th place in the table. Southampton's Lambert was a surprise package for his nearly 7% FPL owners this GW as Southampton won their difficult away fixture against Cardiff. So overall this GW was full of surprises(at least for the FPL managers).

GW 19 :

Now for the Saturday matches i capped Negredo in my FPL, hope he gets double figures against Crystal Palace. Arsenal are facing Newcastle, so i think we are in for a goal festival in this match. Everton are up against the strong Southampton at home, united are visiting Norwich and spurs will want to end their poor run, they are facing Stoke at home. So there are quite a few exciting encounters in this week. Hope they produce plenty of points in the FPL.

FPL advantage : Rooney, Welbeck (away at Norwich), Yaya Toure, Silva, Negredo(Crystal Palace at Home), Walcoot, Mertesacker, Ozil (away at Newcastle).

Boxing day premier league - FPL Cup race to start

26th Dec -Boxing Day. 10 exciting Christmas encounters in the premier league. What a day!

Also Fantasy Premier League(FPL) Cup will start today. Our first managerial encounter of this season. I was expecting a tough opponent but unfortunately i have got an inactive FPL manager(what a waste of cup qualification!). As usual i gave an armband to Luis Suarez. Most people are saying that it wont be easy for him to score against strong opponent (Man City in this case). But i have done that mistake before when he scored 2 and assisted 3 against Tottenham.
Click here to view my FPL team.

Liverpool Vs Manchester City - I think this match will have a significant impact on the Title race. Both teams are in sublime form, scored lot of goals and are in top 4. Becuase of injury to Ageuro, Negredo and Dzeko will start, backed by Silva, Toure and Nasri. And Sturridge still recovering from injury so Suarez will take the lone forward position for Liverpool.
Liverpool will try at least to draw this match because they will face Chelsea in the next game and they cant afford to lose these crucial matches.

Arsenal who are 2nd(on goal difference to Liverpool) in the league table will face West Ham. West Ham defended quite well this season. This is tough one to call but arsenal might win with small margin. And my favourite Manchester United are facing Hull City. I hope Rooney plays an important role in their win away from home. United are certainly struggling without Sir Alex Ferguson, but still they are capable enough to overcome their current situation and move into the top 4.

4th placed Chelsea are facing Swansea. They started this season as favorites for title but the unexpected performances from Arsenal and Liverpool made this title race wide open. Swansea might give them a little headache, but still i'm rooting for Chelsea win. I predict small margin wins for Everton and Tottenham but they are playing tricky opponents this week. So if they win there will be chaos in the top 5.

FPL Advantage -  
               
Rooney, Evra, Welbeck (away-Hull), Walcott, Ozil, Mertesacker, Ramsey (away-West Ham), Howard, Lukaku, Coleman (Sunderland on Home). Lallana (away-Cardiff), Terry, Hazard (Swansea at Home).

So, lets hope for a fantastic Festive week in the premier league. Cheers!!!