The Five Stages of Fantasy Manager Grief

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With the news that Sergio Aguero has injured his hamstring playing for Argentina, we turn to Twitter, the internet's id, to demonstrate fantasy managers going through the classic five stages of grief.

1. Denial — The first reaction is denial. In this stage individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, and cling to a false, preferable reality.
   
   

   Won't believe anything people say about Aguero's injury until it's confirmed by him! I've heard knee, hamstring, quad

   — Jaßon〽️✌️ (@Jason1874__) October 9, 2015

   
   
   
2. Anger — When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, it becomes frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be: "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; '"Who is to blame?"; "Why would this happen?".
   
   

   Why is Aguero allowed to play in these pointless shit fucking games? It's a fucking JOKE

   — FPL Waffle (@fpl_waffle) October 9, 2015

   
   

   @mcfc after Aguero picking up his injury playing when he wasn't 100%. If Belgium start Kompany & he gets injured I'll hunt their boss down!👌

   — JσrdanBrσwn (@Browny_MCFC91) October 9, 2015

   
   
   
3. Bargaining — The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise.
   
   

   I'll donate my hamstring to Aguero. Lord knows I'm not using it. Don't think it'll help much though.

   — Mike L. Goodman (@TheM_L_G) October 9, 2015

   
   
   
4. Depression — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon so what's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"
   During the fourth stage, the individual becomes saddened by the mathematical probability of death. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time mournful and sullen.
   
   

   i'm not going to think about sergio aguero until he comes back from injury. my heart can't take it. 💔

   — Nabil Baracat (@nabilbaracat) October 9, 2015

   
   

   Anytime I hear bou aguero' injury, my mood changes 😭😭

   — Unknown Citizen (@addiswell) October 9, 2015

   
   
   
5. Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."; "Nothing is impossible."
   In this last stage, individuals embrace mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. People dying may precede the survivors in this state, which typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable condition of emotions.
   
   

   @BantersyFPL Knew injury will befall one or two of my FPL players. Costa in for Aguero seems logical

   — ifeanyi (@BlueFromNigeria) October 9, 2015

   
   

   Assuming he'll be out for a few weeks, Lukaku, Sturridge or Costa look like my potential Aguero replacements.

   — . (@James__1905) October 9, 2015

Barn Door Team - Week 8

It's international week, but that doesn't mean we're not already looking ahead to the next gameweek in ten days time. Here's my team, assembled over the course of last weekend.



There are injuries here, and some questions. Look for changes, and the (surely faulty) reasoning to come.

The Week Ahead, Part 2 - Player Picks

I have to admit that my first experiences watching a Roberto Mancini-coached team was a good one.  It was in a pre-scandal Italy (at least the recent one).  Inter Milan were still a plucky 3rd or 4th best team fighting to keep up with Milan and Juve.  The thing that I remember enjoying about them is that you could see just about anything from them on any given weekend.  They could play the typical Italian grinding style and win 1-0, they could go up 3-0 and find a way to give away that lead for a thrilling conclusion or they could go down 3-0 and come all the way back to win 4-3.  It was a win of the latter type that I recall as my first meaningful recollection of Mancini.  It wasn't enough to get me to follow Serie A religiously but it was enough for me to pull for Inter.

I mention this because the same sort of pattern seems to be unfolding at Manchester City.  The budget is bigger.  The upside of the talent at his disposal is higher.  Still, there appear to be two common characteristics that bond his Inter teams with his City teams.  The first is their variance in mental discipline.  No matter what has happened in the matches and even the minutes leading up to a specific instant in time appears to be entirely irrelevant to predicting what will happen next.  Their first choice players will be playing poorly (like last weekend) and someone deep in the doghouse (Balotelli) or in a deep slump (Milner) score goals. You just never seem to know what is going to happen next. The week before it was looking great for the first 60 or 70 minutes and then collapsing and giving up a 2-0 lead on the road in the last 20 minutes rather than creating a 2 goal lead in the last 20 minutes.

The other thing that binds these two Mancini teams is the presence of some, shall we say, unique personalities.  This season's edition features Tevez's increasingly bizarre and petulant behavior, de Jong's no-holds-barred challenges (and occasional dirty play), Dzeko's seemingly from out of nowhere personality, and of course Balotelli-being-Balotelli.  For me, since I really have little for or against City historically, the combination of these two factors and Mancini's ability to manage a team to just about any outcome has made them a really fun story to follow this season.  May it long continue rather than evolving the way Chelsea did under similar financial circumstances.  It would be a shame if City became more ruthless but at the same time less interesting to watch.

OK, on to the player picks:

The Week Ahead, Part Two - Player Picks

Sometimes we, and by we I mean the blog, pay the price for this not being a full time job.  There are times when the job that pays the bills takes precedence over the enjoyment of bringing you blog posts so long that your bosses, significant others, non-fantasy-playing friends, and children complain about the time spent on them on occasion.  I enjoy writing them as much as (I hope) you enjoy reading them.  Unfortunately, Wednesday and yesterday found me focused from dawn until dusk on my day job and with only enough energy to write part 1 of The Week Ahead.  Because I'm guessing you'd rather have the player picks as soon as I can get them to you versus waiting until I come up with a good-sized rant to open the column, I'll dispense with the usual prelude and get right to the picks.

The Week Ahead: Part 2 - Player Picks

"Fleet Street says you're shit!" is the new tea cups.

It was interesting reading the reaction to Manchester City's Champions League debut this morning.  My take after reading in a few places was that the media as a group were disappointed by City's results.  I was at work yesterday and didn't get a chance to watch the match live but after spending some time watching the replay, I was struck by the incongruity between the media reaction I'd read and the match I saw.

I saw a City team that played very well and could easily have scored 3 or 4 goals.  They were unlucky to hit the post (flush on one occasion and the inside on another) and not have the ball go in.  I will also say that they could easily have conceded more than the one that did go in - there was a crucial goalline clearance after Hart was beaten.  Still, if you total the chances that were THIS close to going in for each side, City had a decided advantage and if they had all gone in City would have won comfortably.  That this was achieved without the benefit of a true holding midfielder in Nigel de Jong's absence makes it a pretty reasonable Champions League debut against a pretty strong attacking team.

Perhaps the negative reaction in the press was due to the nature of City's impressive early season start in the league.  Perhaps the talent available - many with Champions League experience elsewhere - the expectation was dramatically different than say Spurs similar debut last season.  Maybe it was the fact that Napoli, regardless of the talent currently on their roster, isn't one of the glamour teams in Europe while people are penciling City into that category due to their assembled talent and the depth of their bank account.  Maybe it was concern over the overall quality of City's group.  Whatever the reason, I think City will progress to the knock-out stages and gain momentum as the group stage evolves and they become more and more familiar with their new players.

With that relatively brief rant off my chest, we'll move on to the player picks for this week:

Blog Roundtable

It's been a while since we've had a good blog roundtable around these parts. Here's us trying to help each other through the perils that is Friday trading:

Jeremy Spitzberg: maybe it's the hurricane...
Jeremy Spitzberg: but I'm considering dropping Kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: for Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: requires Obertan in midfield though
Jeremy Spitzberg: ddg brown rangel kelly (to be sold to upgrade...) obertan hoilett watson silva suarez torres rooney
Neal Thurman: very interesting
Jeremy Spitzberg: could go kelly to lichaj
Jeremy Spitzberg: and obertan to cabaye or rtay (love the kicks, hate the position)
Neal Thurman: not looking at Briggs?
Jeremy Spitzberg: briggs @nufc or lichaj home to wolves
Jeremy Spitzberg: still want hunt though :-(
Neal Thurman: if Lichaj plays - looked like there were two options
Jeremy Spitzberg: he played (and scored in the Cup)
Jeremy Spitzberg: he played (and scored) in the Cup
Jeremy Spitzberg: barkley?
Neal Thurman: I did like watching him last weekend
Jeremy Spitzberg: the league/game too stacked at fwd this year
Neal Thurman: agreed
Jeremy Spitzberg: ddg brown rangel lichaj rtay hoilett watson silva suarez torres rooney
Jeremy Spitzberg: hmmmm
Jeremy Spitzberg: friday trading ;-)
Neal Thurman: nice
Neal Thurman: do like the lichaj option
Jeremy Spitzberg: TUP
Neal Thurman: could use an upgrade from Moses who is 50/50
Jeremy Spitzberg: how much $ do you have to spend?
Neal Thurman: not sure yet - on a ConCall :-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: k
Jeremy Spitzberg: barkley, cabaye, rtay all in the same range ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: taarabt
Jeremy Spitzberg: one last chance for him?
Neal Thurman: meh
Neal Thurman: like all the others better
Jeremy Spitzberg: fair enough
Jeremy Spitzberg: never seen you come off a crush so quickly
Neal Thurman: even more so over time if Barton arrives to take kicks
Jeremy Spitzberg: right
Jeremy Spitzberg: but for this week...
Neal Thurman: Still very "meh" based on what I've seen - his kicks haven't been incisive and there hasn't been anyone who looked particularly dangerous on the other end of the ones that have been into the box rather than (theoretically) on net
Neal Thurman: at least with a guy like Adam you could see the quality even when it didn't go well on kicks
Neal Thurman: feels more like a Dorans situation than a Adam/Brunt situation to me
Neal Thurman: great Championship level player, not so much at the big time level
Jeremy Spitzberg: interesting comparison
Neal Thurman: different players (Dorans not nearly as athletic) but the stat lines were similarly impressive in the Championship with combinations of goals/assists
Jeremy Spitzberg: this year's gary macsheffrey
Neal Thurman: another solid analogy
Neal Thurman: nice to see Yahoo FINALLY getting on the bandwagon with ads to the right and left of the usable screen - perfect for fantasy game
Neal Thurman: ok, off my call - if I stick with Kun then I have a ton of money for a Moses replacement (12.5) - if I go Kun to Nando then I have 6.5 for the replacement in midfield
Jeremy Spitzberg: in what universe should one be ditching aguero?
Jeremy Spitzberg: just asking ;-)
Neal Thurman: lol - weren't you the one who just suggested it?
Jeremy Spitzberg: yeah, but I'm an idiot
Neal Thurman: Ha
Neal Thurman: well, that and the fact that Kun's price hasn't gone up THAT much
Jeremy Spitzberg: they 1.5 for the week "helped"
Neal Thurman: right
Neal Thurman: so the options are Barkley + Torres or Brunt/Hunt + Kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: if you go with Hunt and he goes off, i'm going to be super, doubly pissed
Jeremy Spitzberg: and will have to make changes to match you
Neal Thurman: and don't get me wrong - that could be a big part of the fun
Jeremy Spitzberg: hoilett/watson to barkely/hunt ;-)
Neal Thurman: just trying to figure out how I feel about Hunt on the road vs. a solid team (Villa) vs. Brunt at home vs. a solid team (Stoke)
Neal Thurman: hmm - bad mojo picking players who will be facing off against each other? (Hunt/Lichaj)
Jeremy Spitzberg: indeed
Jeremy Spitzberg: trying to remind myself that i can get hunt for next week
Neal Thurman: pulled the trigger on Hunt for now but am still very up in the air
Jeremy Spitzberg: home to spurs and qpr next for wolves
Jeremy Spitzberg: Chris Herd is favourite to replace Luke Young at right-back.
Neal Thurman: trying to decide if I want to keep MRichards at a discount for next match (home to Wigan)
Jeremy Spitzberg: accding to yahoo
Jeremy Spitzberg: grrr
Neal Thurman: so that means that Lichaj is almost a lock ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: who the hell is chris herd?
Neal Thurman: the one I mentioned in Injuries and Suspensions as the likely competition for Lichaj for the RB spot at Villa ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: both started in midweek
Neal Thurman: Warnock rested?
Jeremy Spitzberg: not even on the bench
Neal Thurman: or did one play further up the field (likely to be replaced by Gabby/Albrighton)
Jeremy Spitzberg: herd replaced by beye on 87
Jeremy Spitzberg: lichaj on the left, maybe?
Neal Thurman: perhaps
Jeremy Spitzberg: herd not in the system
Jeremy Spitzberg: damn
Neal Thurman: still, a solid enabler
Jeremy Spitzberg: do i go briggs even though i have rtay?
Neal Thurman: but might go to Briggs just to be sure
Jeremy Spitzberg: wilson for stoke?
Jeremy Spitzberg: but don't like @wba
Neal Thurman: I'm not going to
Neal Thurman: excited for Boyata to Bolton (not for this week but eventually)
Neal Thurman: Barton to QPR official
Jeremy Spitzberg: i guess briggs doesn't need the CS to return value
Neal Thurman: RSC to Real Betis likely
Jeremy Spitzberg: got both left backs in that match :-(
Neal Thurman: could be worse - that match could easily be a 0-0 draw
Jeremy Spitzberg: except rtay listed as a middie
Neal Thurman: NUFC ugly in attack and Fulham always that way on the road
Jeremy Spitzberg: so no joy there
Neal Thurman: well, except that you'd get value on Briggs
Jeremy Spitzberg: damn friday trading!
Neal Thurman: :-)
Neal Thurman: always fun
Neal Thurman: my biggest regret is that I'm not doing the obvious thing and going in on Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: b/c he was worse than agureo
Jeremy Spitzberg: kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: easier to type
Neal Thurman: Kun away to a good team; Torres home to a bad one - should be an easy choice but I just don't believe in Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: 'for good reason
Neal Thurman: true dat - just going to be embarrassing if/when he goes off
Jeremy Spitzberg: yeah...
Jeremy Spitzberg: but which one? ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: either or both
Neal Thurman: heh
Neal Thurman: which is why I'm sticking with the one I got
Neal Thurman: plus, he's home to someone bad next
Jeremy Spitzberg: can Mata pull an Aguero this week?
Neal Thurman: seems unlikely
Neal Thurman: don't think he's THAT good
Jeremy Spitzberg: and Sturridge comes into play next week
Jeremy Spitzberg: this would all make a good chat post ;-)
Neal Thurman: it would - haven't had one of those in a while
Jeremy Spitzberg: something for this afternoon
Neal Thurman: ok - headed out for a few - back in a bit
Jeremy Spitzberg: k. i'll be out till afternoon
Neal Thurman: enjoy
Jeremy Spitzberg: brewery tour, so yes
Neal Thurman: sweet

Season Preview - Manchester City

Quick Reminder, Real Life

This was the season when all of the money invested started to pay off in a big way. Lots of shiny new objects came into the squad with the corresponding spare parts mostly going out on loan. Some of them fit - Yaya Toure, David Silva - while some of them didn’t - Jerome Boateng - and the jury is still out on others - Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, and Aleksander Kolarov. Still, at the end of the day, the money produced results in the form of an FA Cup trophy and an invitation to Europe’s biggest dance, the Champions League, for the upcoming season. Can’t really argue with that... unless you are turned off by teams just buying big names like the real world were just a big game of fantasy football.

Quick Reminder, Fantasy

Given their results on the pitch, you’d think that there would be more fantasy success around this group but that’s just not the way it turned out. The size of the squad and the frequent rotation between very good and pretty good players kept fantasy output low. The unquestioned fantasy studs were Joe Hart and Carlos Tevez with Kompany and Kolarov putting up solid numbers as well. Beyond that, players like YToure and Silva were much more productive on the real pitch than the virtual one.

Summer Changes

Kun You Believe It?

One of the longest running transfer sagas of the last few years is finally over.  Sergio "Kun" Aguero is officially a Manchester City player as of today.  How does "son-in-law-of-Maradona" fit into the Citeh squad and more importantly your fantasy team? Here's the rundown:

Inequality

Screen grab rom http://totalfpl.com/

I can't speak to the veracity of these rumours, but for me, this juxtaposition highlights the inequality in the Premier League. And in truth, in world football in general. When one team is getting Kun Aguero and the other is hoping to land Leroy Lita... well, it's just not fair. I'm not saying it has to be fair, I'm just saying it's not.