#fml euros

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It's the final match for UEFA Euro Fantasy 2016 and we do our part to converse and figure out a strategy, only to then ignore it and fuck ourselves over... Shit... But yes France v Portugal will be amazing, and even more amazing is FPL (Fantasy Premier League) is coming very soon. We can hardly wait. This is a nice 'n' tidy episode with very little to talk about. We make the best of it :)

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Coming soon.............

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Semi-Finals Transfers

Alright so what we’re planning to do is the following, with a couple of conditionals:

OUT: Flappianski, Giaccherini, Manure, KDB, Hazard, Coman

NAILED IN FOR US: Patricio, Pogba, Gotze, Neil Taylor

CONDITIONAL 1:

If Pepe doesn’t start then: Gunter

If Pepe does start then: Guerreiro

CONDITIONAL 2:

If Joao Moutinho starts then: Joao Moutinho

If Moutinho doesn’t start then: Kroos

As mentioned on the latest Semi Finals “Semi Al Dente” pod we want to load up on Portuguese defenders as we think they’re just the better team. However if Pepe is out we consider that a MASSIVE downgrade to their backline, even without Ramsey attacking, so we’re going to go with a fun double-barreled shotgun approach of Naylor and Gunter if Pepe is indeed hurt.

Otherwise pretty run of the mill except for Joao Moutinho. He’s overpriced, has barely played, and Kroos is better and safer. But you know what Kroos doesn’t have? Differential flair. Fun. Crazy mad punt titfest potential. But who knows? Joao probably won’t even start and we’ll go with the deep holding mid safe boring German guy. He’ll probably get an assist on a set piece. La di da.

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As the player pool diminishes our enthusiasm kind of goes with it. The matches have been fantastic but Fantasy Euros just doesn't give us the same feels as a full season of Fantasy Premier League which is now around the corner. Hence only 'Semi Al Dente'... We make some picks for the semis and try and navigate the gridlock to find some potential differentials and clean sheets, if there are any at this point!

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Last Minute Tinkers & The Final FML FPL Squad For The Quarterfinals In UEFA Euro Fantasy 2016

The last minute tinker bug has hit us and we've made some 25th hour swaps.

Out: Rui Patricio / Buffon / Parolo / Sagna IN: Lloris / Courtois / Draxler / Umtiti

Spending 12m on keepers seems bad, but with the big budget and looking towards next round having both France and Belgium almost ensures that you won't have to spend a transfer to make sure you have two keepers next round as well as pretty good chances at cleans in both the QF and the Semis. It doesn't seem intuitive but we've talked ourselves into it.

Getting a clean at keeper is so huge in this game and this pair seems the best bet. Buffon or Neuer represents significant risk as you don't really know who will advance. If you pick the wrong one and they get eliminated you'll be sad. So too is the Portugal v Poland game hard to call. France and Belgium have the easiest games and are best bets to advance. We should be safe with a clean from the pair this round and 2 chances at a clean next round. We're into it.

Parolo was a punt to begin with, and upgrading him to Draxler gives us the feels. We like Italy in that tie, but again, it's tough to call. Having a German attacker in that game doesn't seem ideal but who knows - Germany is class - and Draxler had an unreal game against Slovakia. We like diversifying the portfolio and having Draxler does that with the lowest potential nightmare given his low price. Sagna to Umtiti is certainly bad for the longterm but it is certainly good for this round. 2m is serious savings, and with the news that Umtiti is set to get his first France cap and feature against a bus in Iceland he seems great. The savings are just absurd and even though we do LIKE Sagna...the chance at an attacking return is not enough to warrant paying an extra 2m for him over Umtiti.

We are also not too adverse to holding Umtiti next round as a 4.0 enabler if needs must and we get nipped with some upsets elsewhere that running 14 out instead of 15 in the semi round doesn't seem that bad. We'll give him a go.

Get in touch via E-Mail or Twitter!

Good luck. Live long and prosper.

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One Yellow Away From Suspension

In your final tinkers one thing that we did not bring up on the latest pod but can be important is that if a player who is currently on a yellow card picks up another yellow card in the quarterfinals then that player will be suspended for the semifinals.

We only have two guys in our current squad on yellows. One of them is Buffon who should be safe, he doesn’t get many cards as a GK, and the other is Meunier on Belgium who I assume a lot of you have too. Basically the way we’re treating it is that if Meunier picks up another one and Belgium go through then whatever, fuck us, we’ll just transfer him out next round or let him rot as a 4.5 budget enabler and roll with 14 men next week. Not too big a deal. But you wouldn’t want a squad full of these guys, that’s for sure:

Poland: Pazdan, Maczynski, Jedrzejczyk, Piszczek, Grosicki, Pesko

Portugal: William Carvalho, Pepe, Quaresma

Wales: Taylor, Ramsey, Davies, Vokes

Belgium: Meunier, Vertonghen, Fellaini, Witsel, Batshuayi

Germany: Hummels, Kimmich, Boateng, Ozil, Khedira

Italy: Buffon, Sirigu, Bonucci, Barzagli, Chiellini, De Sciglio, De Rossi, Insigne, Eder, Zaza, Pelle

France: Koscielny, Giroud

Iceland: Halldorsson, Arnasson, Gudmundsson, Skulason, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Sigthorsson, Saevarsson, Birkir Bjarnason, Gunnarsson

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Here's our latest draft since the pod with not too many changes and probably not too many more changes coming... Thoughts?

GK: Rui Patricio / Buffon

Having a GK from the Portugal v Poland game seems a no brainer. Pick your horse, but spending over 11m on keeper is mental so getting one of these 5m guys needs to happen. We like Portugal, so we've gone with Rui Patricio. Can't fault Flappy if that's what floats your boat, though. For the 6m guy we are on Buffon. Might not have to come to that, but we like him as a human and are into Italy possibly sneaking a 1-0. BBC in front and their Juventus defense looks such a tight unit we like Buffon here. Lloris is a close second since they play a parked bus but France defense has looked shit. Who knows.

DF: Hector / Giaccherini / Meunier / Sagna / Guerriero

Sprinkling in a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We're sort of hedging here and spreading the risk across five different teams. It's tough to call where the cleans may come this round and we like the idea of grabbing a mixed bag. Again, we are bullish on Portugal so for 4.0 and on some set pieces Guerriero is a name we haven't even considered removing. Sagna seems the best bet for attacking returns and should be getting forward a lot against a bus. Umtiti is intriguing at 4.0 but we'd rather plump the extra for someone who we know will not require a transfer next round. Meunier speaks for himself - another lopsided fixture and at 4.5 the value is immense. An attacking return isn't out of the question either. Giacc again is playing OOP and looked unbelievable against Spain. He's got a goal and an assist to his name in the tournament and looks tremendous even if he is up against Germany. Hector is a hedge - we like Italy but who knows...that game could easily go 1-0 to Germany. Hector is the cheapest nailed route in so we'll have some of that. If he can stop Navasing his crosses maybe he'll grab an assist.

MID: KDB / Hazard / Coman / Parolo / Payet

Double heavy Belgium seems great. Hazard is back to his old titting ways and KDB has been ridiculously good all tournament with stats off the page. Could be a huge explosion from KDB which we are backing hard. Coman is a cheeky punt who we like to start and seems to be way better value than Draxler given opposition. He was amazing when he came on last game and with Kante suspended we feel that Coman will come into the squad. Payet speaks for himself and is mostly just coverage at this point. Parolo is another mad punt....at 5.5 and with De Rossi sadly out injured we'll have a go. He gets forward some and although a likely long shot for a return we'll take the piss. He might turn into Renato Sanches when we get that team sheet, but we like a cheap 5th mid given how many expensive heavy hitters are on offer.

FWD: Ronaldo / Griezmann / Nani

Ronny speaks for himself - an absurd head over heels best cap choice on the first day he's worth the outlay. We're doubling on Portugal attack with Nani. It's risky, but we feel that Poland suck and could get done. Portugal have been creating loads in group and are unlucky to not have emerged with more points. The 2 days rest as mentioned on the pod makes us feel they were hard done by in general and this helps rationalize their poor showing against Croatia. But, with a full week of rest, we like Portugal a lot and are going big into their attack with Ron and Nani. Griezmann was our hero last round and given how he looked when they pushed him up to play off Giroud once Coman came on against Ireland - we expect more of the same. He's an auto pick and the best captaincy option on the final day if it comes to that.

How are your teams shaping up?

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Our buds a WhoScored put up their Euro 2016 Team of the Group Stages.

Surely some fantasy picks amongst these.. I know we have a bunch of them.. You?