David Yaffe-bellany

Playing Fantasy Premier League each week, you begin to look at the actual games in different ways. Here are some of my findings from this past weekend's action: 1. Nikita Jelavic- It's always risky to praise a player after just one game, but Jelavic's Goodison Park debut warrants immediate excitement. He scored the only goal in a slightly […]

1. Resurrection- Two games, two deficits, two wins. Suddenly Arsenal have fight, suddenly Arsenal have character. With Andrey Arshavin gone, the media must identify a new scapegoat. Thus far, the Gunners have denied them. Rosicky is approaching his Dortmund form, Walcott is scoring goals and Robin van Persie continues to avoid injury. Wenger is less gaunt, […]

1. Return Of The Pie – Steven Pienaar has returned to form, so it seems appropriate to mention his wonderfully appropriate name. It has got "pie" in it. And there is nothing more beautiful about football than its association with steaming meat-pies. Yum. More pertinent to fantasy football is Pienaar's creative talent. Now that he […]

1. The Fantasy Cup- For the first time ever, my fantasy football team is on a cup run, beating some poor, helpless bloke to reach the Fantasy Cup eighth round. Just to put that in perspective, I still have to win nine more "matches" before my results are featured for all to view on the […]

1. The game is flawed- It's a point I've been meaning to make for a while and one that arose in a comment on last week's post. In that article I, perhaps harshly, described Modric's goal against Wolves as the first sign of the Apocalypse. Given that Modric is probably the most talented creative player in […]

1. O Valencia- The Decemberists were on to something. Not only did Manchester United's speedy number 25 hit top form just as the Christmas countdown began, but his performance on Saturday gave new meaning to the words "and you ran like a fool at my side." Erm, Sam Ricketts. Dreamy musical allusions, however, have no place in […]

1. Wingers in Wales- As Wayne Routledge wheeled away in celebration after scoring Swansea's second goal, Brendan Rodgers probably popped an Aspirin. For newly promoted sides selection dilemmas are few and far between, making each individual one all the more dangerous. Sinclair, Dyer, Routledge. Routledge, Sinclair, Dyer. Because I was just working on a math assignment, I […]

1. Gareth Bale- It's easy to jump on the Gareth Bale bandwagon. We all did it after his fabulous hat trick at the San Siro. We all did it after his Player of the Year Award. I'm doing it again now. Bale scored twice to down a mediocre Norwich City side on Tuesday night, but it […]

1. Jordi Gomez- I told you so. 2. Norwich frontmen- Last week I made a passing reference to Norwich City's two in-form strikers – Grant Holt and Steve Morison (the paper shredder, if you haven't picked that up all ready...). The two have scored a combined thirteen goals this season including Holt's opener at Goodison Park (assisted […]

1. Newcastle is no longer a Northern Rock- There was always something distinctly strange about Newcastle's streak of defensive proficiency. Kevin Keegan must have been turning in his commentary booth. David Ginola was probably banging his head against a piece of expensive French furniture. Everything that Newcastle used to stand for they have rejected this season. […]

Whether you play Fantasy Premier League, or any other Premier League fantasy game — and there are plenty of them out there, here are six interesting observations from the first three weeks of the season: Chelsea’s stars fail to make fixtures count. One of the strongest assumptions heading into the start of the new season […]

According to a well researched article by The Telegraph's Rory Smith, Tom Cleverley is the heir apparent to Paul Scholes. Supposedly, the latest in the line of a number of English footballing messiahs has at last arrived, armed with wand and saber, ready to blow the opposition away with a combination of classic English spirit […]

Earlier this week, we reached a landmark day in the countdown to the start of the new Premier League season- the opening of the Premier League's new look fantasy site. In the wake of that monumental occurrence, it seems right to preview eleven Premier League players worth a look in 11/12 so you can get […]

To say that Jack Wilshere’s loan spell at Bolton two years ago changed the face of English football would be an extreme exaggeration. However, the youngster’s positive experience at the Reebok did open the door for a different type of loan, one involving a young player gaining experience at a high level Premier League club, […]

Perhaps this summer, more than any other, is the one where Manchester City comes good. After pipping Arsenal for automatic Champions League qualification last season, City are not in need of a major overhaul; some steady summer planning would do just fine. For fans expecting to see the Citizens splash large amounts of money on […]