Not a big fan of the international break? You are not alone.
For many football punters the most tension they will feel over this fortnight is deciding whether or not to ditch an expensive out-of-form star striker for a wily in-form veteran hitman. Wildcarding your side. Triple captaining a ‘sure thing’. Ditching a valuable, but injured, player. There is a lot to decide. And because the hiatus can feel like an eternity for club football enthusiasts, it can be tempting to tinker with your teams, fiddle with formations and – sometimes even make season-ruining decisions.
The last thing a fantasy football diehard wants is to subject themselves to ridicule from their league rivals. But fear not,whether you manage in the Fantasy Premier League, Premiership Fantasy League or both, Record Sport is here to lend a hand and help you avoid some big key mistakes ahead of club football’s return.
Avoid early transfers
We’ve all done it at one time or another. We see a player score a brace before an international break, or like the look of a club’s upcoming fixtures, we wobble and kneejerk a transfer before the international break has even begun. Then we watch on as out new signing gets picked for his national team, steps out onto the pitch and pulls his hamstring after minute one. And that is £8m right done the drain. A double danger is to then sell your stricken player for another – only for them to pick up an ACL injury. Many panic to get in early for the price changes. But the cost of doing business early can maybe savea few pennies but only at the expense of vital points. The best bet is to wait until the dust settles, the games are done and training is dispanded before making your move as deadline looms.
Ignore player withdrawals – for now
England players are in the spotlight for this at the moment, with Harry Kane not best pleased. Players withdrawing with minor injuries having been fighting fit all season. Most of the time, they are met with raised eyebrows.
Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer have genuine injuries, sure, but stars like Bryan Mbeumo and Antoine Semenyo have pulled out of their national teams either with knocks. But it is best to take these duck outs with a large pinch of salt. Quite often a more serious knock is not, in fact, that serious. And if it is an illness or dead leg, or is not described at all, then the best bet is that they will be well up and ready for this clubs.
Managers will also be giving press conferences before the next Premier League and Premiership matches, and when they do you will get the best idea of how fit a player really is.
Don’t think about your rivals
Remember, you’re the one reading this article – not your mate you see down the pub every Friday night. So if he sidles up to you, pint in hand, and says: “I’ve brought Haaland back in, he scored and assisted against XYZ,” just nod and tell him that’s a fair move. Don’t then go home and try to shoehorn old Erling back into your team. You probably have to move mountains and shed a lot of points to make that happen. Then he draws a blank against Bournemouth at home.
Do you own research, look at Youtube channels, Pick you favourites, go with your gut – there is nothing worse than following the crowd and it coming back to haunt you. Plus, differentials are an art in themselves for fantasy football and separate the best from the rest. A £5m midfield gem might make more of an impact than having a striker everyone else has.
Stick to your game, your transfer plan and don’t get caught up in their schemes.
Forgetting about your wildcard
Many players (myself included) have already used their first wildcard of the season – and Santa will have come and gone by the time we get our second one until gameweek 20. (Maybe he could give me an extra one for Christmas?) Anyway, I digress. If you haven’t used it already, the end of an international break could be the time to act.
You will be able to create a brand new team for the winter fixture run in. The midweek games and the necessary juggling of line-ups means you can better map out your march up the table. Plus it is quite common for Fantasy manager to forget about club football’s return and therefore their team selection. You end up captaining an injured full-back. And with the next international break not until Spring 2025 you’ll have no reason to blame national teams for your players’ injury woes.
If you still have your wildcard, consider that this could be the perfect time to play it, bring in some differentials and really climb the ranks.