Real Wrexhamcelery week 19 and looking forward to 20

Initially a score of 36 against an average of 42 might not look so bad, but when you consider that half the points came from captain Lukaku and a quarter from the interloper Evra, the rest of the squad look pretty awful.

Worse still is that players missing from the squad did score points. Out of the blue Anelka returned for WBA and scored twice, while Joe Cole scored for West Ham. That would have put the team above average. As it is they dropped from 2,227,800 to 2,253,783.

Looking forward, Joe Allen is injured and needs to be replace. The options are Moses, Joe Cole and Duff. As Moses is not really being picked for Liverpool and I don't want another Fulham player, it is Joe Cole who will come in. Anelka looks like he is going to be suspended so Borini, who is doubtful stays in. Lukaku stays as captain.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 19 and towards 20

55 points against an average of 42 is more like it. A leap from 701,580 to 627,174 was the result. This is the highest position since week 15. Main contributions were goals for Coleman, Hazard and Lukaku and a clean sheet for Szczesny. There was also an assist for Suarez who ended up as captain because Zabaleta did not play. In fact the squad only had  possible 11 players as in addition to Zabaleta's absence, Walker was suspended and Morrison and Vorm were both injured. The week could have been better but the replacement of Giroud with Remy backfired as Giroud scored and Remy didn't.

Looking forward to week 20, I'm making no changes except making Suarez captain again. Lukaku has reprieved himself. Ramsey is still injured so can't be recalled and although Baines is fit, Coleman is doing so well for Everton he will stay for the time being.

Real Wrexhamcelery week 18 points and 19 selection

36 points against a weekly average of 39. A further drop from 2,223,538 to 2,227,800. The points were provided mainly by Parker with a goal and an assist and Carlton Cole with a goal. Parker was originally on the bench, but Scott Sinclair did not play.

For Gameweek 19 I am making no changes. Despite his success, Parker stays on the bench. He is unlikely to repeat the feat. Choosing a captain is very difficult. I will stick with Lukaku.

Overall league position meant the team did not qualify for the cup which started this week.

The Winning Strategy looking back at Gameweek 18 and forward to 19

39 points was the weekly average and coincidently what the team scored. It didn't stop a drop from 697,186 to 701,580. The second lowest position of the season. The captain Suarez success came to an abrupt end as he picked up a booking and nothing else. The only positive scorers were Hazard with a goal and Shaw, Walker and Giroud with assists. Ramsey is now injured and Walker is suspended for one game. Ramsey looks like he will miss 2 or 3 games. And in attack, Giroud and Lukaku have stopped scoring and don't look like scoring. I have 2 transfers available.

I will accept that Walker will miss a game and leave him on the bench. I cannot afford to be missing Ramsey even for 2 games so he will have to be replaced.  I need to replace him with someone cheaper so that I can buy him back. He currently costs 7.6 to buy, but I only get 6.6 when I sell which will be a loss of £1 million. I have 0.7 in the bank so I am looking for someone at about £6 million. The highest qualifying points scorers are Whittingham of Cardiff and Henderson of Liverpool. With Cardiff in turmoil and Henderson looking reborn, there is no real decision to be made.

I want to replace Giroud because he looks out of sorts. The way my season is going he'll probably burst into life straight away. But Remy is going well for Newcastle and is a bit cheaper than Giroud. So I am going to gamble and sign him. It is the time for taking chances. Lukaku survives for now.

Both new signings go into the team. Walker is already on the bench. He is joined by Shaw and Morrison. Zabaleta is captain as City play Palace at home.

Qualified for the cup which started this week but was defeated in the first round 50-39 by Fudge. Vey disappointing.

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 17 not quite the worst week, but close

Only 24 points against a weekly average of 56 drops the team from 2,113,341 to 2,223,538.

Only the interloper Evra contributed anything more than 2 points with a clean sheet (ignoring captain Johnson's 4). It was made worse because on the bench was 6 points for Carlton Cole (who would of thought he would score against Man Utd) and 7 for John Ruddy (because Ben Foster actually played!)

But the only additional players that could come in are Moses, Duff and Anelka and they are not playing. Roll on January. Hopefully someone else will turn up.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 17 - a welcome upturn

80 points against a weekly average of 56 has meant a jump from 763,912 to 697,186. But there's still a long way to go.

Most of the success was due to the 32 points from new recruit captain Suarez. But there were also goals from Coleman, Barclay and Janusaj while Szczesny and the other new recruit Azpilicueta. Azpilicueta's contribution was very fortunate as he was third outfield player on the bench and only got some action because Shaw and Zabeleta were absent.

I am worried about Giroud and Lukaku who's goals seem to have dried up. I'm seriously thinking about how many games Adebayor can last for Spurs before it all goes pear shaped again. But Arsenal and Everton both have opposition at the foot of the table with West Ham and Sunderland so should I hang on for one more round of games?

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 16 No improvement

Actually there was an improvement as 10 of the squad managed to make a contribution. Unfortunately there were no goals with the only meaningful points coming from clean sheets for Johnson and the interloper Evra along with an assist for captain Lukaku.

This resulted in 35 points against an average of 55. The team has dropped from 2,057,371 to 2,113,341.

Transfer activity is again limited to the midfield. Moses, Duff and Walters are available. I think Joe Cole will be the one to make way as West Ham are at United. The other candidates are Sidwell or Parker as Fulham play Man City, but at least they will probably play and I only have one substitution available. And I'm in no position to waste points on additional subs. Duff is obviously not a good choice. Moses doesn't seem to be getting game time at Liverpool and so Walters it is.

Carlton Cole joins Baines (injured) and Evra (sure to play) on the bench. Johnson is captain.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 16 - the downward spiral continues

This week was a first. Two of the team, Szczesny and Walker actually managed negative points! My heart was pounding as Szczesny faced a penalty that, if he saved it, would reverse the whole sorry picture. But it wasn't to be.

So despite goals from Coleman and Aguero, and assists from captain Hazard and from Lukaku, Ramsey and Zabaleta, the team only managed 41 points against the average of 55. Annoyingly I missed out on an assist from Janusaj, but who actually thought United would win away. The team has now dropped from 527,744 to 763,912. It can't be long before they reach the bottom now.

With Aguero now injured, the obvious desperate move is Suarez and I've decided obvious is what I'll be. But there wasn't quite enough money in the kitty so I have also transferred out the disappointing Ivanovich and replaced him with his team mate Azpilicueta. He doesn't carry the same goal threat, but if they're not going in anyway, the cheaper player is better.

But he goes straight to the bench as Arsenal will probably score at home to Chelsea. Giroud stays on the bench and his time may be coming to an end. Morrison is also on the bench as West Ham are away at United.

Suarez is captain.

The Winning Strategy for Gameweek 16

Very difficult week for decisions this week, although surely things can only get better.

First decision is no transfers. These players ought to be OK. Major candidate was Ivanovic.need to keep a Chelsea defender as they are playing Palace and a clean sheet is likely. But should it be him. He is due a goal so he stays.

In defence I've gone for all 5. Doubts about Walker as Spurs are at home to Liverpool and Luis Suarez is in such good form. And doubts about Zabaleta with Man City being at home to high flying Arsenal. But I've decided that home advantage could be telling.

In attack I've decided to drop Giroud to the bench. Arsenal are away at Man City who have been very strong at home and their defence is tight. Aguero plays despite being up against Arsenal.

That means 2 midfield players left out. Very difficult to decide who. I have left out Morrison and Janusaj. I really wanted to play Morrison as West Ham are against Sunderland and he could do well, although Sunderland are improving under Poyet. Janusaj on the other hand may not feature for Man Utd against Villa. I was tempted to leave out Ramsey but his form is too good. Barclay is in because Everton play Fulham. And Hazard is captain with Chelsea playing Palace.

Real Wrexhamcelery for Gameweek 16

Walters is suspended and is replaced by Sidwell.

Lukaku is captain. Borini starts with Allen dropping to the bench as Liverpool are up against Spurs.

The big challenge is to see if more than 9 players contribute.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 15 Very Very Poor

A measley 32 points against a weekly average of 40 reflects the abysmal performance that resulted from 1 goal (Aguero) and 1 assist (Lukaku) amongst 11 grown footballers. Shocking!

Not surprisingly the team has dropped from 359,943 to it lowest position so far of 527,744.

Lost for words.

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 15 Better than expected

Once again 6 out of the 15 man squad did not feature. The only significant contributions were clean sheets from Ruddy and captain Johnson plus an assist from Lukaku. So to get to 39 points against an average for the week of 40 was a good result. It would have been better still if I had included Sidwell who scored for Fulham but it was not to be.

The team actually moved up the overall standings from 2,110,871 to 2,057,371. Progress of sorts.

There is a suspension for next week in Jon Walters so either Sidwell, Moses, or Duff will come in. Everything else will remain the same.

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 14 Panic Stations

It doesn't look good. Few of the eligible players are being selected for their clubs, and when they are, they don't score points.

The defenders are fixed and of the 5 I have, 2 are injured. They pick themselves.

Upfront, with Sturridge and Anelka out of action, the three remaining options pick themselves.

Midfield is the only area of choice. With Scott Sinclair apparently fit again for WBA, he comes in for Moses who seems out of favour at Liverpool.

The formation is 3-5-2. The bench is the two interlopers Baines and Evra (although Evra will play because Huth is injured) and Borini. Johnson is captain.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 14 A Little Surprising

62 points against w weekly average of 61 was a little disappointing and probably reflects the fact that 4 goal Luis Suarez is not in the squad. Even more surprising to find that despite the albeit marginally above average total, the team dropped in the overall standings quite a long way from 208,284 to 359,943.

This was with 3 goals (2 for Hazard who was a late replacement for the injured Oscar and one for captain Aguero), 5 assists (Hazard, Walker, Zabeleta, Lukaku, Ramsey) and a clean sheet (Szczesny). Unfortunately I missed out on another clean sheet because Coleman was on the bench in the expectation that Man U would score against Everton.

There will be no transfers for Gameweek 15 unless something spectacular happens. Morrison is suspended but there is not much you can buy for £5.1 million so it is better to hold on to the transfer. Coleman and Barkley will join him on the bench as Everton are playing high flying Arsenal who will probably score. I'll take a risk on Shaw because Southampton have been very tight at the back and Man City have been poor away from home. Ivanovic will captain as Chelsea play Stoke. 

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 14 plumbs new depths

When 6 out of your 15 strong squad do not play and the remaining 9 only manage 1 assist and no goals or clean sheets between them, it can only mean trouble. 20 points against an average for the week of 61 tells its own story. For the seventh week in a row the team has dropped down the overall table and is now at 2,110,871, an all time low.

Thinks look bleak. Hopefully there will be some January transfer moves that might provide some freshness. Having said that, I can't see any more ex-Wrexham players getting into the Premiership. Of the current Chelsea squad it is possible that Bertrand may move out on loan, but it is hard to see beyond that. Kalou may appear.

Gameweek 13 a week to forget for Real Wrexhamcelery. 14 can't be as bad.

An injury ravaged squad scored only 31 against an average of 50 and has plummeted from 1,618,017 to 1,831,327. Only vice-captain Lukaku, Joe Cole and Ruddy scored anything of note. The less said about the rest, the better.

I am unable to do anything about the defence for which Huth and the interloper Baines are long term injuries. Only Johnson, Taylor (who is not playing for Swansea) and the interloper Evra will play.

Sturridge needs to be replaced by either Anelka or Carlton Cole (who scored at the weekend).

In midfield, Allen who I brought in for Moses did not play, while Moses did!

I am going to replace Sturridge with Cole. And I am going to bring Moses in for Sidwell because I have lost a Liverpool player in Sturridge.

Borini drops to the bench as Sunderland are playing Chelsea. Johnson is captain.

Looking back at Gameweek 13 and forward to 14 for The Winning Strategy

Gameweek 13 - 72 points, well above the average of 50 has boosted the team from 308,267 to 208,284. The transfer of Coleman in for Baines proved a master stroke as he scored 13 points for a goal and a clean sheet. The same can't be said for bringing in Aguero as captain for Sturridge as all he did was get booked. Brilliant contribution from Ramsey, Szczesny, Zabeleta and Lukaku. And I was lucky with Walker you only got onto the pitch because Janusaj and Barclay did not play at all. Disappointing from Oscar, whose fitness is a worry, Ivanovic and Giroud. Morrison managed an assist.

For Gameweek 14, no transfers, but changes to the line-up. In a 4-3-3 formation, in come Walker and Shaw into a back 4 with Coleman dropping out. Barclay also drops out. Janusaj stays on the bench. Aguero stays as captain.

Real Wrexhamcelery - Gameweek 13 - Lack of choices

With Scott Sinclair still injured, and Anelka showing his age, and Carlton Cole showing nothing at all, there are no real decisions to make. Unless I swap Joe Allen for Victor Moses. Allen is certainly getting the nod at Liverpool at the moment while Moses is benched. But Brendan Rodgers does not pick consistently.

Meanwhile, the defence is in tatters. Huth and the interloper Baines are long term injuries. This means that the interloper Evra is sure to feature. Johnson will too but Taylor is not starting for Swansea.

So should I bring in Allen and drop Moses. And which midfielder will be on the bench. One of the Fulham ones. Sidwell seems to be on the bench now, so he will be on my bench.

And what the heck, I'll gamble on Allen. He will be keen to make amends for his big miss last week.

Sturridge stays as captain.

The Winning Strategy - Gameweek 13 - Decisions, decisions, decisions

The biggest decision of the season so far is whether or not to keep Leighton Baines whose return date from having his toe stamped on is unknown. I have decided that if he is missing until the new year then he has to go. I have enough cash to be able to buy him back then. I have replaced him with his Everton team mate Seamus Coleman who looks a bargain at £5.5m.

The next decision is who to leave on the bench. With Spurs and Southampton playing Man U and Chelsea respectively, I'm keeping 3 at the back and leaving Walker and Shaw out as they will probably concede. In midfield I have swapped out Janusaj as Man U are playing Spurs and put in Morrison as West Ham are playing Fulham.

The front three remain on the pitch after last weeks 5 goals between them.

Captain is Zabeleta as Man C are at home and playing Swansea.

Gameweek 12 is almost average for Real Wrexhamcelery

50 points against an average of 55 means a further drop from 1,561,190 to 1,618,017 overall. This despite 2 goals from Lukaku, 1 from captain Sturridge and a surprising 1 from Parker. Huth chipped in with a clean sheet but everyone else was disappointing.

Gameweek 12 was a much better week for The Winning Strategy

A much better week. 77 points against an average of 55. Moved up from 443980 to 308267 overall. Immense strides.

5 goals from my 3 forwards Lukaku, Sturridge and Giroud, another from Oscar in midfield, and 3 clean sheets Zabaleta, Szczesny and captain Ivanovic.

Disappointing from Janusaj, Ramsey, Barclay and Baines, although how neither Barclay or Baines didn't get an assist for Mirallas' goal for Everton is beyond me.

Baines is a worry because he did not complete the game and is now showing as injured. Whether or not he is replaced depends on the extent of his injury. If it is short term there is no point in selling him because I'd probably want to buy him back when he is fit and that will lose me money. If it is long term then that is another decision.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 12

No transfers this week. Ivanovic given a reprieve and in fact, given the nature of the opposition for the entire squad, I've made him captain.

Shaw (versus Arsenal)and Walker (versus Man City) drop to the bench for a 3-4-3 formation.

The other sub is Morrison (versus Chelsea). So Janusaj and Barclay go into the XI.

No hopeful this week.

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 12

No changes to the squad. Anelka and Sinclair both flagged as injured.

Moses has not been starting for Liverpool so he is benched in favour of Parker. Sturridge is captain although I was tempted by Huth.

Gameweek 11 is a good week for Real Wrexhamcelery

39 points compared with the weekly average of 29.

Major contributions from Johnson, Walters and the interloper Baines, Little else.

The Winning Strategy somehow came out above average in Gameweek 11

Somehow the 33 points amassed this week was above the weekly average of 29. This was entirely due to my captain Leighton Baines who contributed 16. No one else got more than 2.

And I missed out on a decent score from Ravel Morrison who was on the bench.

Awful!

Real Wrexhamcelery for Gameweek 11

One transfer. Borini returns in place of the doubtful Anelka. But Sunderland are playing Man City so I don't have high hopes. Options to change the midfield are limited by Scott Sinclair's continuing injury so it remains the same. Parker is the odd man out and stays on the bench.

The Winning Strategy for Gameweek 11

This week the choices, apart from bringing back Szczesny for the suspended Vorm, have been the most difficult so far. No transfers as I am happy with my squad overall. Until Sunday evening that is.

Looking at who the defenders are playing against, I decided to leave all 5 in. I thought long and hard about dropping Shaw to the bench (Southampton are playing Hull who are playing very well) but decided in the end that the meanest defence in the league would stay mean. Baines is captain as Everton are playing Palace.

In attack I seriously thought about dropping Giroud as Arsenal are playing Man U, but Man U are not as tough as they used to be and so I have kept all 3 strikers on the pitch.

That means only 2 midfield slots which go to Oscar (although he is fading a bit) and Ramsey. The bench is therefore Barclay, Morrison and Janusaj in that order.

Things can only get better.

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 10 Squad limitations starting to show

Just 19 points against an average of 52, and that only through a clean sheet for Baines who came in because of Johnson's illness. No one else scored more than 2 points. I was lucky to get away with just zero for Ruddy, seeing as how he conceded 7.

Dropped from 850,033 to 1,460,967 overall. The only bright spot is that it is still better than Gameweek 1.

I can only pray for some better players to become available in January. Demba Ba will surely leave Chelsea, but will he stay in the Premiership? Will Ryan Bertrand be loaned out?

I must wait and see.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 10 What a Nightmare

Everything went wrong. But mostly my decision to drop Szczesny, who got a clean sheet and bonus points, because I thought Liverpool would score, and replace him with Vorm, who got sent off, because I didn't think Cardiff would score against Swansea. A loss of 7 points.

My 3 strikers got only 5 points between them.

My newly signed Southampton defender, Shaw, failed to get a clean sheet because of the freak Stoke goal.

High points were clean sheets for captain Zabeleta, Walker and Baines, and a goal from Ramsey.

Overall just 41 points against an average of 52. It's not going well. Dropped from 131, 941 to 268,662 overall. Easily the worst position of the year so far.

The only way is up. Surely!

Real Wrexhamcelery for Gameweek 10

Resisted the temptation to bring in Borini for Anelka purely because WBA are playing Palace and Anelka might finally score. His days may be numbered however if Sunderland and Borini pick up some form.

Scott Sinclair is still not fit otherwise he would have come in for Parker.

Parker drops to the bench as Fulham are playing Man U. He is replaced by Walters.

As captain I have Neil Taylor (Swansea are playing Cardiff) which reveals a lack of faith in my attacking options. Huth is vice captain (Stoke v Southampton).

The Winning Strategy for Gameweek 10

Some radical choices this week. Out goes Vidic even though Man U are playing at Fulham. In comes Shaw of Southampton. He goes straight into a back 5 where Zabaleta is captain as Man C play Norwich.

The 3 strikers, Lukaku, Sturridge and Giroud all play despite their tough opposition (Everton play Spurs while Liverpool and Arsenal play eachother).

Ramsey and Oscar are the only 2 midfielders. Morrison, Barclay and Janusaj are on the bench.

The other big decision is to move Szczesny to the bench fearing that Arsenal will concede to Liverpool. Vorm comes in. Swansea are playing Cardiff.

Real Wrexhamcelery in Gameweek 9 a bit below average

Pleased with 53 points even if it is just below the average for the week of 57. Overall position has dropped to 850033 but that is still considerably better than the 2059634 of week 1. The season high is 319506.

Cleansheets for Ruddy, Taylor (first start this season) and Johnson (he went off before WBA scored). Goals for captain Sturridge and Lukaku. But Huth, Walters, Parker, Sidwell, Joe Cole, and Anelka got just 7 points between them. Moses didn't play.

Sadly I stuck with Anelka instead of going for the goal scoring Borini. Have Borini and Sunderland turned a corner? Should I ditch Anelka?

The other question is whether Scott Sinclair is fit and if so, who should he replace? If anyone.

The Winning Strategy in Gameweek 9 slightly above average

60 points is only slightly above the average for the week of 57. Really need to be doing better than that. In the overall standings it is a drop to 131941, a season low and a far cry from 9213 in Gameweek 5. The wildcard does not seem to have had the desired effect.

The main scorers were clean sheets for Baines, Walker and Szczesny together with goals for Lukaku, Sturridge and Captain Giroud and an assist for Ramsey. But Ivanovic, Oscar, Barclay and Januzaj only scored 7 points between them. Ivanovic was substituted in for the absent Vidic. Vidic is on borrowed time. He is not playing regularly and United are shipping goals with or without him. Looking at the Premiership table, Southampton have a surprisingly impervious defence. I may go for one of their defenders and possibly save a bit of money too.

Realwrexhamcelery for Gameweek 9

Two transfers after last weeks abysmal showing. Scott Sinclair is still injured and is replaced by Joe Cole. Damien Duff is not starting for Fulham and so Jon Walters is getting another chance although as Stoke are playing Man Utd he is the odd one out on the bench.

Carlton Cole's return to West Ham means I have two strikers to ignore now while Borini continues his unimpressive run for Sunderland who look doomed.

Sturridge is once again captain.

Tactical Change for The Winning Strategy in Gameweek 9

With Chelsea and Man City playing each other, I am anticipating that nether side will keep a clean sheet and so I have relegated Ivanovic and Zabeleta to the bench thus adopting a 3-4-3 formation.

Also, having mistakenly missed out on Januzaj last week, I have brought him in at the expense of Brady who was flagged as doubtful anyway. The odd one out of the midfield is Morrison who is moved up to first sub. Ivanovic is second sub as Chelsea are the home team for the City game.

The big 3 strikers, Lukaku, Sturridge and Giroud keep their places. Giroud is captain as Arsenal are playing Palace. It was a choice between the 3 Arsenal players given Palace's problems but Giroud is due a goal.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 8

A disappointing week. 49 points is just less than the average of 53. And a strange week too.

All 5 defenders were selected in a week when there were not that many clean sheets. But two of them, Vidic and Zabeleta did not play and of those that did, only Walker gained extra points. The absence of defenders meant 4 in midfield where Ramsey and Oscar delivered goals. Unfortunately the one left on the bench, Morrison, did get an assist.

In attack Captain Lukaku did not deliver against Hull, but Sturridge and Giroud got a goal and two assists respectively.

Stupidly, when I played the wild card, I forgot about Januzaj. At £4.9m he is too good and is going to play too often to ignore. If I bring him in he has to replace Brady, or Barclay. (Too expensive to replace Morrison). It might be Barclay as Pienaar is returning for Everton and may edge him out.

Realwrexhamcelery Gameweek 8

A poor week. 34 points is well below the average of 53. Only Huth, Sidwell and Sturridge managed any extra points. Captain Lukaku delivered just 4 points.

The game did see the return of Glen Johnson and a first appearance for Neil Taylor which meant that for the first time the interlopers Baines and Evra were not required.

The return of Carlton Cole at West Ham means another option up front, but Anelka is still ahead of him and Borini in the pecking order.

In midfield there are the same candidates of Joe Cole, Joe Allen, and Jon Walters in contention. A lot may depend on who Fulham are playing.

The Winning Strategy for Gameweek 8

It's time for the wildcard. Some players are just not delivering and their names are Walters, Nolan, Paulinho, Lucas and Lambert. Four in midfield and one striker. I am comfortable with my keepers (Szczesny and Vorm), my defenders (Walker, Vidic, Baines, Ivanovic, Zabeleta), one of my midfield (Ramsey) and two strikers (Sturridge and Giroud).

My approach to the wildcard is to pack the midfield with youthful, cheap talent and to bring in a lively striker and one big hitting midfielder.

The striker coming in is Lukaku who is on fire at Everton.

The cheap midfielders are Barclay (Everton), Morrison (West Ham), Brady (Hull).

The expensive midfielder is Oscar who is playing regularly at Chelsea and is scoring.

This is a big gamble. The young players may misfire. Oscar might fall out of favour. The players being replaced may suddenly spark into life. But it has to be done.

Barclay, Brady and Morrison are on the bench in a 5-2-3 formation. Lukaku is captain as Everton play Hull.

Real Wrexhamcelery for Gameweek 8

This week the decisions are all about midfield.

Scott Parker for Fulham is showing as injured but expected to return this week.

Joe Cole is now fit for West Ham.

Do I bring in either or both?

Of the current squad, Jon Walters of Stoke is showing a 75% probability of playing and Scott Sinclair for WBA is showing as injured but is expected to return. Moses (Liverpool) and Duff and Sidwell (both Fulham) are fit. Joe Allen (Liverpool) is fit but not playing and also is a 4th Liverpool player and therefore above quota. I need to choose 5 out of these 8 players or rather, 3 have to be left out. Allen is one of those 3. Fulham are playing Palace and that leans me to choose Parker ahead of Walters, especially as Stoke, who don't look like scoring ever, are playing a revitalised WBA. Walters out and Parker in. Moses stays. Duff and Sidwell stay because of the Palace factor. That gives me a choice between Cole and Sinclair. Are either likely to play as they are both returning from injury? West Ham are playing Man City and WBA are playing Stoke. I'll go with Sinclair.

Elsewhere Glen Johnson may return for Liverpool.

Real Wreaxhamcelery Gameweek 7 Holding Their Own

48 points is above average and the team has moved to its highest overall position of 319,506. This is in spite of having very limited choices available. Points came from captain Sturridge, Lukaku, interloper Evra and solid midfield scoring from Duff, Sidwell and Moses.

For Gameweek 8 there are decisions to be made about Joe Cole, Scott Parker and Scott Sinclair depending on who is fit.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 7 Nightmare

Awful week. With the notable exception of captain Sturridge, all the players scored only 1, 2 or 3 points. Leaving Nolan on the bench proved to be a mistake as he at least got an assist, not that it did the team any good.

Now dropped to 50,575 in the overall standings.

I feel a Wild Card coming on. Radical surgery for the midfield. Paulinho, Nolan, Walters, and Lucas could all be ditched. And Lambert. The defensive 6 will probably survive along with Ramsey, Giroud and Sturridge. Maybe.

Real Wrexhamcelery for Gameweek 7

When your own self imposed rules give you a restricted pool of players from which to choose in the first place, the last thing you need is injuries.

Already out with no prospect of replacement are Ben Foster and Glen Johnson. Foster gets replaced by the bench keeper Ruddy. Johnson by the interloping non-Chelsea/Wrexham Baines.

But now I have lost Sinclair and Parker from Midfield and Walters is only rated at 50%.

And in attack Anelka is only at 50%.

The only attacking option is to bring in Borini. (Although Carlton Cole has apparently rejoined West Ham he is not in the available players list). But he is by no means guaranteed a start and is unlikely to score anyway. Should I just take a chance on Anelka?

In midfield the potential replacements are Duff (fit), Joe Cole (50%) and Joe Allen (unavailable because it would mean a 4th Liverpool player and he is not playing for them anyway).

So my choices look very limited. Duff must come in for, let's say Parker. Joe Cole is a gamble. Is it worth using a wildcard to bring in Borini as well? Are there any other conceivable circumstances in which I would use the wildcard? If I use the wildcard, I will only be able to bring in either Anelka of Joe Cole the following week and the week after that Parker and Sinclair.

This is harder than it should be. But Sunderland are playing Man U and so it is not worth bringing Borini in. So a single transfer, Duff in for Parker. Duff on the bench with Sidwell starting. Sturrideg as captain.

The Winning Strategy for Gameweek 7

I had every intention of swapping Jon Walters of Stoke out and replacing him with the slightly cheaper but higher scoring Robbie Brady of Hull. Especially as Walters is rated 50% for this week. But Brady has a hernia and is out until early November. Looking at the remaining midfield players in that price bracket there is only Barkley who catches my eye, but Everton are up against a wounded Man City this week and will struggle to pick up points. So I will keep Walters on the bench for now and save the transfer for Gameweek 8 when I will have 2 transfers to play with and trade more flexibly.

Also dropping to the bench is Nolan as I don't expect West Ham to get much change out of Spurs. This means that Baines is included in spite of the fact that Everton play City. That is because Baines is always likely to score or create.

Sturridge is captain as Liverpool take on Palace.

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 6 A Massive Week

A massive 61 points lifted the team to a majestic 440807 in the overall standings. It is the highest position so far.

Those points came from 3 players in reality; captain Sturridge, the awesome Lukaku and the lucky Ruddy. Everyone else failed. Taylor was fit and on the bench but did not play. His normal replacement Evra was not selected although I bet Moyes wishes he had been. Anelka was injured. And neither of the two Scotts, Sinclair and Parker made it into the second half.

For next week there are some decisions to make. Will Anelka be fit or should Borini come in? Will Parker and/or Sinclair be fit? Will Joe Cole return for West Ham? Will I have to play my wildcard to get 11 players on the pitch? I'll wait until Friday to decide.

The Winning Strategy in Gameweek 6 - Not the best

There were very few clean sheets around this week, and who would have thought they would belong to Hull, Southampton and Norwich. I don't have any of their defenders or midfield players. I have Leighton Baines as captain and he scored precisely no points and so wasted that responsibility.

Fortunately my strikers, Lambert, Sturridge and Giroud conjured up 2 goals and 3 assists between them and Ramsey pitched in with a goal too. There were very slim pickings amongst the others which meant  barely above average 48 points. The team now stands at 27120 overall having plummeted from a towering 9213 the week before. In fact this is the lowest position since week 1.

For now I will resist the temptation to play a wildcard, but heads will roll. Walters is not delivering and heaven help him if Stoke get another penalty. I can't see Stoke scoring more than another 3 goals this season and so unless any big injuries occur before next week he will be gone. I'm seriously thinking about Robbie Brady of Hull. He is in form and cheap. This means I will be able to upgrade from Paulinho who is proving that adding "-inho" to the end of your name does not guarantee goals.

The Winning Strategy Gaeweek 6

What are the chances of Spurs and Chelsea being 0-0? What are the chances of either of them not scoring? Not that good I think and so I'm putting both Ivanovic and Walker on the bench and bringing Walters (he's due a goal and he's up against Norwich) back in to the XI.

The dilemma is Benteke. I can't have £9m sitting on the bench for 3 weeks. From the top of the point scorers I can afford Sturridge, Negredo, the ultra cheap Fraizer Campbell, Soldado and many others. And then there is Lukaku. Looking at the forthcoming fixtures I think Liverpool have the easiest next 3 games. So I'm bringing in Sturridge.

I'm going with Baines as captain. Everton are against Newcastle. I don't see them scoring.

Real Wrexhamcelery for Gameweek 6

Annoyingly Anelka is doubtful with a 50% chance of playing but I can't bring in Borini because he can't play against his parent club, Liverpool. There are no alternatives.

In midfield Joe Cole is still not fit. So the choice is once again between Duff and Sidwell. Sidwell is the highest scorer of the two and seems to be playing more minutes. I'm going to swap them over and probably regret it. He will be on the bench.

Neil Taylor is now fit but whether he can displace Ben Davies, Swansea's highest scoring defender is debatable.

Sturridge stays as captain against managerless Sunderland.

Real Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 5

44 points. Not brilliant.

The bulk of the points come from 16 of the interloper Baines. And there is the goal from Lukaku and the assist from Sinclair. But after that the points are just standard. Captain Sturridge among them.

Next week Joe Cole may be available. Do I replace Duff? Or do I replace Duff with Sidwell?

And up front, is Borini worth a try in place of Anelka. I think not.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 5

61 points. Decent score.

The key contribution this week was from midfield. Ramsey, Nolan and Paulinho managed 2 goals and an assist between them. The decision to leave Walters on the bench paid off. His days may be numbered. It's hard to see Stoke scoring many goals this season. Paulinho has earned a reprieve.

The defence also played a big part with clean sheets for Ivanovic and Walker and the stupendous 2 goal contribution from Baines. Zabaleta and Szczesny solid, but the less said about Vidic the better.

Strikers were disappointing. Giroud chose this week not to score but the real problem was captain Benteke. He only lasted long enough to score 1 point. How fit is he? Will he play next week? I can't afford to have that much money tied up in a non player. This is the unpredictable uncertainty that injuries bring.

Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 4

55 points is a good above average total and better than I hoped for. The points really all came from 3 clean sheets from the interlopers Baines and Evra plus Huth, and the goal scoring of captain Sturridge and of Moses.

I did miss out on a goal from Sidwell who is not currently in the squad. I have preferred Duff, who was on the bench anyway, but it is Sidwell who is being preferred by Fulham at the moment. I will reconsider the position for gameweek 6 by which time Joe Cole may be available again after injury. Only one of them will be in the squad unless there are injuries to Moses, Walters, Parker or Sinclair. It is hard to understand why Sinclair is not starting for WBA considering the fact that their first league goal of the season only came in injury time of their fourth game.

Which brings me to Lukaku, or rather who he will replace. Sturridge stays obviously although there is an injury worry, but when isn't there for the poor, fragile lad. That means that either Borini or Anelka must drop out. I thought it would help me make a decision to know who Sunderland and WBA were playing, but it turns out that they are playing each other. So it is how likely they are to play. Borini seems to have a lot of competition at Sunderland (Fletcher, Altidore, Whickham, Ji) and the fact that Di Canio played two big lads up front last week suggests that his opportunities will be limited. At WBA Anelka has less competition (Long, Anichebe) so I think he is likely to play more. So Borini is out and in comes Lukaku.

The Winning Strategy Gameweek 4

Even before the last game has been played I have taken decisive action.

A score of 57 points will probably end up being above average, but once again it is built on the foundations of 4 clean sheets in the back 6, including captain Vidic. Only Benteke and Paulinho (jury is still out on him) scored any additional points. The midfield and strikers are under performing. My decision not to sign Giroud ahead of gameweek 3 has cost me dearly with 2 goals and an assist since then. As a result I have already brought him in to replace the misfiring Berbatov. And looking at Arsenal's start to the season, despite the opening game defeat which coloured my thinking, it looks like Ramsey is a steal at under £6 million and so he is in also at the expense of Snodgrass.

Now I just need to think about which pieces I put on the board in gameweek 5.

The Winning Strategy changes for Gameweek 4

To transfer or not to transfer. The temptation is to beef up the misfiring midfield and attack because they are not delivering. However, this week they all look to be playing against "weaker" opposition so I have decided to save the transfer so that I have 2 next week. It is easier to get the players you want if you can make two changes.

On the pitch I have decided to play all 5 defenders because it is the defenders who have been picking up points. I was tempted to leave out Baines as Everton are playing Chelsea and may find a clean sheet difficult, but he is so strong going forward and his dead ball threat is so great that he has to stay. Vidic, up against Palace, is captain.

I have also decided to play all 3 strikers, Benteke, Lambert and Berbatov as they are playing Newcastle, West Brom and West Ham and the prospect of goals is good.

This means only 2 in midfield, Nolan and Paulinho (who is on borrowed time). On the bench then are Walters (up against Man City), Snodgrass (v Spurs) and Lucas who doesn't score highly anyway.

Wrexhamcelery changes for Gameweek 4

No new eligible defenders have appeared although Boularhouz and Gallas are still out there, so no change to the defence. Johnson and Taylor are both injured so Baines and Evra will feature again.

No new keeper either so Ruddy and the injured Foster stay too. Ruddy will play obviously but I am lazily keeping Foster in the team as he is my first choice and that way I don't have to remember to swap him back in as the substitution by Ruddy will take place anyway.

With Lukaku not able to play against his parent club, Chelsea, this week there is no point in transferring him in yet. That means that the only post window activity this week is bringing Moses in for the injured Joe Cole. In midfield Sinclair, Walters and Moses and Parker pretty much pick themselves. That leaves me with a decision about whether to play Duff and have five in midfield with either Borini or Anelka on the bench, or to play both of those alongside Sturridge. Borini has just moved to Sunderland and will be keen to impress. Anelka is a wise old player who WBA have surrounded with some younger talent in Anichebe and Sessegnon. Who knows if Duff will play at all. I am going for 3 up front with Duff on the bench. Sturridge stays captain with Moses as vice captain as he too will be keen to impress.

The Winning Strategy looking back at Gameweek 3

Underachieving is the word that springs to mind. Although 57 points was above average and lifts the team to a position of 17,510 overall, (up from 93,722 in Gameweek 1), it was achieved on the back of 3 players, captain Zabaleta with a massive 24 points, Baines 8 and Szczesny 8. The rest were mediocre. My decision to bring in Lambert when I could have had Giroud backfired.

In Gameweek 4 Benteke and Ivanovic will be available. I'm having serious doubts about Paulinho and Berbatov. They are going to have to show something.

Wrexhamcelery looking back at Gameweek 3

Another satisfying week for the ex-Chelsea and Wrexham squad and some changes to look forward to after the transfer window. A wildcard may be needed.

52 points was above average. According to the standing that puts the team at 749,147 overall. Considerably better than the position of 2,059,634 after Gameweek 1. The future is bright.

Good performances from captain Sturridge (again), debutant Ruddy, Johnson, Huth (about time) and the interloper Baines.

The Transfer Window has opened up opportunities with the movements of Moses, Lukaku and Borini.

The choices of goalkeeper remain the same, Ruddy or the injured Foster.

The defence remains the same with Johnson, Huth and the injured Taylor being the only valid options with the addition of Evra and Baines. There is talk of the free agent Bhoularuz coming to the Premiership and Gallas is also available f someone picks them up. Sadly no one went for Mancienne who is apparently surplus to requirements at Hamburg.

In midfield there are now 8 players for 5 places. Moses, Sinclair, Walters and Parker pick themselves I think. Joe Cole would too if he was not injured. Joe Allen is ruled out because of the limit of 3 Liverpool players (Sturridge, Johnson and Moses being ahead of him) and that leaves Duff and Sidwell. It's a tough one but I think Duff will get the nod.

In attack there are now 4 players for 3 slots. There might have been 5 but apparently Carlton Cole, having only left West Ham 2 months ago, has not been able to prove his fitness to rejoin them. Sturridge and Lukaku pick themselves which leaves a choice between Anelka and Borini. Again it is a tough one. While Borini was going to struggle for games at Liverpool, he may get more chances at Sunderland. Anelka on the other hand may drop down the pecking order at West Brom with their additions. I may well gamble on Borini.

The Winning Strategy changes for Gameweek 3

The plan had been to transfer Lukaku, who has no game this week out, and bring Sturridge in. But Sturridge's value has gone up to £9.1m which puts him £01.m out of reach. Very frustrating. So instead I have gone for Lambert as Southampton are playing Norwich and therefore hopefully there is a chance of a few goals. Others considered were Dzecko, but who knows with Man City, Giroud, but will his form continue against Spurs, Welbeck and Agbonlahor.

On the bench, because they are not playing are Bentecke and Ivanovic. They are joined by Lucas as Liverpool are playing Man U and he is the least likely midfielder to score.

As Arsenal are playing Sours I considered replacing Szczesny with Vorm, but as Cardiff are away at West Brom who will be boosted by the return of Anelka and the signing of Scott Sinclair, I decided against.

Zabaleta is captain with Man City playing Hull. Baines is vice-captain.

Wrexhamcelery changes for Gameweek 3

Despite talk of Ba and Torres moving within the Premiership, there remained only one possible transfer which was to include Scott Parker. Steve Sidwell is the man to go.

Borini is dropped to the bench with little prospect of playing. Foster is now a long term injury and so Ruddy will be the keeper for the foreseeable future. Neil Taylor is also out until October which means that either Baines or Evra will play every week. This week I have put Baines as the earlier sub as Everton are playing Cardiff while Man U play Liverpool.

Sturridge is captain again.

Gameweek 2 The Winning Strategy

At 59 points I felt a bit disappointed if only because this squad was outperformed by my ex-Wrexham and Chelsea squad for whom only 10 players contributed. Having said that, now up to a heady 26,631 overall.

My decision to put Vidic and Ivanovic on the bench for the Man U vs Chelsea match backfired because although Vidic got promoted to the first XI due to Lukaku's failure to play, I missed out on 6 points for Ivanovic. And Lucas, rooted to the bench, did better than Snodgrass and that would have been another 2 points. Nevermind, it can't be changed and lessons must be learnt.

The high performers were captain Baines, Walker and Vidic. All defenders and this is not surprising in a low scoring week with 3 0-0 draws. The midfield and strikers didn't do much at all.

With Chelsea not playing next week, and Lukaku not looking like he is in favour, he is facing the axe. I will probably replace him with the in-form Sturridge. Bentecke and Ivanovic will be on the bench obviously as they are not playing. They will not be replaced as I hate giving up cheap points through extra transfers and they will be valuable in the future. The question that remains is who else sits on the bench. It could be Walker or Vidic given the opposition of Arsenal and Livepool respectively.

Gameweek 2 Wrexhamcelery

Excellent score of 64, especially as only 10 players contributed. Well above average and in the top 75000. Current position overall now up to 1,007,634.

Especially good performances from Foster, who is sadly now injured for an undetermined period of time, captain Sturridge and shamefully the two outsiders Baines and Evra. Huth, Johnson and Walters also added extra points.

Going forward, Scott Parker looked good for Fulham on Saturday and in the absence of any other options he will return to the squad in place of Steve Sidwell for Gameweek 3. Hopefully Scott Sinclair will actually play this week and who knows what is happening with Anelka. Borini and Taylor look as if their opportunities will be few and far between this season.

Gameweek 2 Last Minute Tinkering

For the Wrexhamcelery team choices are limited. With Anelka making himself unavailable, the outfield bench of Anelka, Baines and Evra picks itself. The only decision to make was whether to bring Scott Parker back into the squad in place of Steve Sidwell. They are both Fulham players now and both in central midfield. I have opted to stick with Sidwell for now but I suspect Parker to play more once he beds in.

With The Winning Strategy, I was frustrated to find that I had waited too long and Essien's sale value had dropped from £5.5m to £5.4m thus restricting my purchasing power to £8.4m. My first instinct was to go for Lampard, but then I remembered that in Gameweek 3 Chelsea will not be playing. So I opted fro the slightly cheaper Paulinho from Spurs. He looks like a player who has got more points in him than his price suggests. He always seems to be scoring. A decision about trying to squeeze Lampard in (he's already proving a favourite with Mourinho again, and he will score goals) will wait until after Gameweek 3.

I have changed the starting line-up on the basis that I don't think either Chelsea or Man U will keep clean sheets and so I have relegated both Vidic and Ivanovic to the bench, gambling that they won't score. That means Snodgrass and Berbatov start. Lucas stays on the bench.

The Winning Strategy Game Week 1

91 points is well above the average and enough to get me to a position of 93,722 overall.

Excellent performance from my captain Benteke with 36 points. Very good double digit contributions from Ivanovic, Zabeletta, Nolan. A solid clean sheet from Walker and Szczesny delivered 7 points despite letting 3 goals. That is what saving a penalty does for you. Those are the positives.

The negatives start with the failed Essien experiment. No minutes played in two games tells me that he will not be as high up The Special One's favourites as I had hoped and he will be the first casualty. I am basically in the market for a midfield player who will play regularly and will score highly. I have £8.5 million to spend.

Of the others, Walters may be on borrowed time after missing another penalty and suffering from playing for Stoke in 2013. He may be next for the chop.

Vidic and Baines disappointed with 3 points between them, but I am confident that they will come good.

Lukaku and Berbatov also delivered 3 points between them. those are expensive points but they have a good track record and will get another chance.

Snodgrass and Lucas stayed on the bench, but Snodgrass was injured. Lucas had a solid 3.

So once the dust has settled on transfers this week, Essien will be replaced. Candidates are Lampard, Oscar, Toure, Paulinho, and Pienaar.

Wrexhamcelery Gameweek 1

At 48 points the performance was less than average and probably as good as could be expected. Three players, Taylor, Borini and Sinclair did not feature at all which means that Evra and Baines came off the bench but only scored a disappointing 3 points between them.

Foster did as well as Ruddy would have.

Glen Johnson, Joe Cole, Damien Duff, and Daniel Sturridge scored good points.

Steve Sidwell, Nicolas Anelka and Robert Huth were steady.

The big disappointment was Jon Walters who missed another penalty and scored zero as opposed to the 7 he could have had.

The next decision is whether to bring back Scott Parker. That will depend on what happens to Scott Sinclair. If he goes to a club who will play him, then he stays and the choice is any two from Duff and Sidwell, and Parker. I am assuming that Cole and Walters will stay, although I'm starting to have doubts about Walters.

Week 1 Line Up for The Winning Strategy

With Chelsea and Aston Villa playing 2 games in week 1, the players for those clubs are automatic starters (Ivanovic, Essien, Lukaku and Benteke).

Szczesny starts in goal.

Looking at who the other defenders are playing against, I am playing all of them because there is a good chance of clean sheets, which means Zabeleta, Vidic, Baines and Walker all start.

The remaining starters are Nolan and Walters, again chosen by looking at who they are playing.

That means that my subs are Vorm, Snodgrass, Lucas and Berbatov.

Tomorrow the folly of my decisions will be revealed.

Last Minute Change to Wrexhamcelery

With Scott Parker's imminent, but not yet confirmed, move to the Championship, I've decided to jump the gun, and jettison him. The only player I can replace him with is Scott Sinclair who hopefully is going to move to a club where he will get some game time. That said, it is Sinclair who will sit on the bench until he does move, meaning Joe Cole gets a starting place.

The all important Strikers

The problem is simple. I have £27.5m to spend on 3 strikers. Or it sounds simple. It is complicated by the fact that the top most expensive strikers don't score that highly in the points to pounds ratio. But they do score highly in the overall points total. Or so you'd think, but only Van Persie and Suarez do in reality. Best value for money by far are Lambert and Berbatov.

I favour Berbatov over Lambert because I think he will play more and has played in the top flight for longer than Lambert who may get found out this year as he becomes more familiar.

At £7.5m Berbatov is in.

If I were now to go for Van Persie at £14m I would only have £6m left and that would not buy much quality. I would have to be lucky to get a combined points total of around 400, although Weimann of Aston Villa is a tempting wild card. But Van Persie's fitness in the past has been an issue and under Moyes, will he get the right service? I see Van Persie as a gamble and so I'm going to overlook him for now at least. The other factor in my thinking is that Chelsea and Villa have two games in the first week and therefore there is a chance to double up on points. Benteke is the star striker for Villa. I think he is expensive at £9m because of the lack of quality players around him, but for the first week he looks like the right choice and so he is in.

The problem comes with who will be playing up front for Chelsea. Will Mourinho go for the erratic Torres, the youthful but still raw Lukaku, the disappointing Ba, or something different like Mata or Schurle. Who knows? Probably a combination of all these with Moses thrown in as well. Realistically the choice comes down to Torres or Lukaku. Both will play some part in both games. The opponents are Hull and Villa. It's a coin toss at this stage. I'll go Lukaku because he is more Drogba-like and will link play up better than Torres. Lukaku is in.

All this may change after week 1!

And I still have £3m in the bank for a bit of flexible wheeling and dealing in the next few weeks. 

Midfield is tricky

The big secret about midfield players is that they don't score that highly relative to their price. Even the big ticket players like Gareth Bale. They may look an attractive prospect, but you have to be wary.

If you look carefully enough amongst the cheaper players you can find overachievers like Robert Snodgrass of Norwich whose points to pounds ratio is higher than Bale's.

And then there are the surprise packages like Michu of Swansea who appeared out of nowhere, played as a striker and scored loads of goals. Is there a hidden gem amongst the promoted teams or among the newly imported players or a young player who is about to make a big breakthrough.

My instinct is to avoid expensive players who play for the big clubs. Big clubs tend to rotate their midfield players. Trying to find someone who will play every game in midfield is becoming increasingly difficult. Mourinho will rotate the midfield at Chelsea. Wenger will be more stable at Arsenal. Moyes at Man Utd, Pellegrini at Man City are unknown quantities and may take time to find their best eleven. Rodgers and Villas-Boas are also still looking for their magic formula at Liverpool and Spurs.

So I will be looking at the next tier for players who are big fish in small ponds, who will play regularly and who have a record of scoring and a good points to pounds ratio. But at the same time looking for the surprise package amongst the newbies. And taking into account the fact that Chelsea and Aston Villa have 2 games in the first week.

And I want to sick to the £33m budget that comes from midfield being one third of the squad.

First up Snodgrass. He may not be as successful as last season, but he's not to expensive at £6.5 and he's worth a place.

Also at £6.5m is Jonathan Walters of Stoke. If he had not score 2 own goals and missed a penalty against Chelsea he would have rivalled Snodgrass. He's in.

In a similar vein, Kevin Nolan at West Ham will always score goals and Allardyce will play him. At £7m, he's in.

I want a Chelsea player and Michael Essien is attractively priced and is a Mourinho favourite. I think he will play and at £5.5m he is a snip.

I wanted a Villa player because of the two games, but I have no idea who Lambert is likely to play. At Liverpool however, Lucas is a bargain and is likely to play a lot of games if he can avoid injury. At £4.5m, he's in.

That makes a midfield of Snodgrass, Walters, Nolan, Essien and Lucas. Not the most exotic quintet, but at a cost of £30m it allows me an extra £3m to spend on strikers and should give a reasonable points return. It is a gamble not having a big name like Bale or Mata or Hazard, but that is the gamble I'm taking. The midfield is tricky and doesn't give value for money.

The Defence

When picking defenders it is hard to look beyond Leighton Baines of Everton. His points to pounds ratio means that he is more valuable than all the midfield player and most of the strikers, especially the top ones. Basically he is too good to overlook with his goals from free kicks and penalties and his assists. The one word of caution is what impact will the change of manager from Moyes to Martinez have on his performance. It's worth a gamble though, so Baines is in.

You need 5 defenders. That is one third of the squad. If you were to spend one third of the budget, that would be approximately £33m. That is an average of £6.6m per player. Baines is £7.5 which reduces the average for the remaining 4 to £6.3, which in defender terms is pretty good, especially as defenders on the whole give a better return on investment than Midfield players. In general it is the defenders from the top teams that give the best value. I don't want more than one defender from any ones team because I don't want to use up a whole team's allocation of 3 on defence, and when a team does have a bad day the impact will be multiplied. As I already have an Arsenal goalkeeper I am excluding any Arsenal defenders. That leaves Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, and Spurs.

For Chelsea, Ivanovic stands out as the best value. There is a question mark as to whether Mourinho will allow him the same freedom to get forward, but that more cautious approach may mean fewer goals conceded. He's in.

The same goes for Zabaleta at Man City. He's in.

At Man Utd, Vidic did not score well last season because of injury. If he stays fit this season he will score more highly than Evra and Rafael. He's in.

For Spurs, Vertongen and Walker give similar returns but there is a doubt over Vertongen at the start of the season, so Walker is in.

So my 5 defenders are Baines, Ivanovic, Zabaleta, Vidic and Walker. The total cost is £32m thus saving £1m to use elsewhere.

But if money gets tight, one of them may have to be sacrificed for a cheaper model. One option that I considered, and may return to, is to start with an Aston Villa defender because they have two games in the first week and that could mean extra points. But as those games are against Arsenal and Chelsea I decided against it.

Picking the goalkeeper

There are lots of theories about how to choose you goalkeeper. Goalkeepers score points by playing, keeping clean sheets, and making saves (especially penalties) with the odd assist and even odder goal. But they lose points for conceding goals (as well as yellow and red cards).

There is one school of thought that suggests that having a keeper who doesn't play is a good idea. But I don't hold with that. I can't see how having a player on the pitch who is not going to contribute anything is in anyway sensible.  I my view therefore, you want a keeper who is going to play every game. But do you want a keeper who has a tight defence in front of them and therefore doesn't get the opportunity to make that many saves but might get more clean sheets, or one that has a more porous defence and will be called upon more frequently. Concede 1 goal and you lose the 4 points for the clean sheet. Concede 2 and it's an additional point lost. 4 will mean another 1 lost. 4 is unlikely. 3 counts the same as 2. But 1 point is won for every 3 saves. There is a fine balance.

If you look at points you could just decide to go for the top scoring keeper for last season, Joe Hart of Man City. He is also the most expensive keeper along with Petr Cech of Chelsea. But if you look at points per million pounds, Asmir Begovic of Stoke is better value along with Juski Jaaskaleinen of West Ham. And let's not forget the surprise package of the previous season, Michel Vorm of Swansea whose relatively low points total last year was affected by injuries.

For my first choice keeper I am going to save a few pennies (£1 million actually) and go for the £5.5 million pound Wojciech Szczesney of Arsenal. His points total was also impacted by injury. Assuming he plays more games this season I think his total will challenge those of the £6.5 million Cech and Hart and the £6 million Lloris and de Gea (Spurs and Man U).

For second choice, the temptation is always to save money again by choosing the Crystal Palace reserve keeper who will be cheap as chips but will never trouble the scorers unless there is a horribly unlucky set of circumstances. Sure enough Lewis Price is only £4m. Mind you Julian Speroni, the Palace number 1 is only £4.5m. And he will play regularly. But he is also likely to concede a lot. I want someone who will play, in case I need him, who will play behind a reasonable, possibly improving defence and who has a track record. I am going for Vorm at £5m. I may revisit that decision if I find myself scrabbling for the odd £0.5m but that will only buy me newly promoted keepers or second string ones.

So Szczesney and Vorm it is.

Of course there is a downside to choosing the Arsenal goalkeeper. It means I can only have another two Arsenal players in my squad.

Real Wrexhamcelery

I have set up my Real Wrexhamcelery team. The intent is to only use players who have played for either Chelsea (which is where the celery part of the name comes from - an obscure word association with Chelsea that is lost in the mists of time despite the risqué song that is sung by the faithful) or Wrexham. However I am still two defenders short. So for the time being I have substituted the two highest scoring defenders from last year, Leighton Baines of Everton and Patrice Evra of Manchester United, but my rule is that they will always be on the bench behind the other players.

My goalkeepers are Ben Foster (WBA) and John Ruddy (Norwich) both of whom have been on loan at Wrexham. I thought there may have been some competition when Ross Turnbull left Chelsea, but he has gone outside the Premiership to Doncaster. Foster is my number one because I see WBA conceding fewer goals this year.

The only three defenders I can actually select are Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Robert Huth (Stoke) and Neil Taylor (Swansea). Taylor was a Wrexham regular.

I had to make choices in Midfield as there were seven players available. So I decided to go for the five highest point scorers from last year. Initially this gave me Jon Walters (Stoke), Damien Duff (Fulham), Steve Sidwell (Fulham), Joe Allen (Liverpool) and Joe Cole (West Ham). Excluded were Scott Parker (Spurs) and Scott Sinclair (Man City). However, the 3 players from one team rule scuppered Allen who I had to replace with Parker.

There are only 3 strikers available and they are Sturridge (Liverpool), Borini (Liverpool), Anelka (WBA).

As I am limited to 3 defenders I have to play either 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. The player least likely to play is Borini, therefore he will sit on the bench with Ruddy, Baines and Evra.

Sturridge will be captain as he is the probable highest scorer. Walters as VC.

I have £11.5 million to spare.

Bring it on.

Wrexham and Chelsea

For a bit more of a challenge, last year I set up a second team consisting of only ex-Chelsea and Wrexham players.

I found that I had a limited choice of goalkeepers, just two in fact, Foster and Ruddy.

There was a wide if not especially high scoring selection of midfield players including Parker, Duff, Sinclair, Wright-Phillips, Walters, Joe Cole.

Strikers included Lukaku (loan players count), Sturridge (after January), Carlton Cole, Borini

But defenders were a struggle. Initially there were only 5. Gallas, Huth, Glen Johnson, Bosingwa and Neil Taylor. When Taylor was injured early in the season, it restricted selection even further, a situation that was barely improved when Ben Haim turned up at QPR.

Ad this year is even worse for defenders. Currently there is only Johnson, Huth and Taylor. There is a possibility that Boulahrouz will sign for West Ham, but that will still leave me one short. I will have to improvise. Last year I nearly went with Anton Ferdinand for a laugh. This year it could be Rio.

And so it begins

I have some form with Fantasy Football.

Several years ago I won a competition run by Corinthian, the people who used to make the small plastic statuettes of Premiership and International players. My prize was to be immortalised as a small plastic statuette in a Chelsea kit.

Three years ago I won a work based league and won a few bob.

Two years ago I won a league run by a group on LinkedIn.

Last year I was rubbish. I tried to use my previously successful tactics, and it all went horribly wrong. I have no idea why. So this year I thought I would record my thinking week by week in an attempt to bring some additional focus to my thought processes. If I attempt to record my decisions and justify them in a blog, then it will make me think about them in more depth in order to avoid looking a complete idiot.

I have created a team but I am not yet happy with it. There are many factors to consider. Players who last year were good value are significantly more expensive this year. Last years's  bargain buy was Michu. This year he is more expensive. The search is on for the new Michu. But of course that is very difficult because you need to know about the form of the large number of imports coming in to the Premiership and in addition to that, you have to work out who will be successful in English football. What a nightmare.

In the past my approach has been to load my back 5 with players from the top 5 clubs, Man U, Man C, Chelsea, Arsenal, and either Spurs or Liverpool. This is to minimise point loss and if you can pick the player who will pick up a few goals like Ivanovic then happy days. Anyone with Patrice Evra last year got a pleasant surprise as he scored an unlikely number of goals as well as playing in the champion defence. He's unlikely to do that again.

In midfield I look for a combination of goals and assists. I also try to be mindful of yellow cards especially as suspensions are a real pain to have to select around. Two years ago Bale was a revelation and last year was probably still worth the extra money. Will that be the case this year? If he stays.

In attack I look for an expensive proven scorer, a lesser second striker and a bargain buy who will play fewer games.

It is not easy.

But it is fun.