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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

When I saw the byline on this, I thought Barry was writing under a Canadian pseudonym and was excited to dig into his past articles. Alas

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Szoboszlai starting in midfield but potentially dropping back to RB late in the game to vacuum up some defensive contributions when the team are winning would be a useful situation for his FPL value. I did toy with the idea of dropping him on WC but this is why he's hard to look past.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Is it possible to view these match cards on the site? I just saw them featured on the latest video and they look amazing, and a nice way to summarize a game and help us tweak any assumptions in the model. Keep up the amazing work.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

What's the Venn diagram of people who play FPL and people who know semi-obscure Blackadder Quotes? Just me and @fpljoe.bsky.social?

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Edmund: I then leapt on the opportunity to test you. I asked if you were a fan of one of PL challengers: Arsenal, Man City, or Hull… Mary: Well? Edmund: You failed to spot that only two of those are PL challengers Mary: You swine! Melchett: That’s right — City have no chance under Maresca!

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Bruno's ownership dropping quite quickly after scoring a hattrick and looking incredible in the second half shows how hard it is to get ahead in FPL these days. 5 years ago he might go up 0.2m this week even as the sharps move over to Haaland.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Highlight of the "welcome back to FPL" was owning Thiago as he took a penalty against Kinsky, who I am also playing on the BB. If he scores I get +4 for Thiago (plus possible bonus), although -1 for Kinsky. If it's saved I get +5 for Kinsky and -2 for Thiago. So 3 points either way, right. RIGHT?

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I am typically someone who tries to hold on to chips, perhaps too much so, but this season I think there is a really compelling case to not only considering an early wildcard, but actively picking your team on the assumption you will WC as early as GW3.

Draft FPL lineup for gameweek one: Verbruggen, Kinsky, White, Calafiori, Maguire, O'Reilly, Williams, Fernandes, Mbeumo, Tzolis, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Isak, Joao Pedro, Calvert-Lewin

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I think the GW3 wildcard is really exciting this year and with a few hours to go until deadline I think I am all in on it. Relatedly, that means likely going without Haaland which is certainly less exciting!

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

There's a risk then that waiting until GW6 or beyond just means that you aren't able to hit on those key fixtures highlighted above, by perhaps only having Joao Pedro vs Coventry, or only having one ARS defender to open the season, but still end up WCing into a very similar lineup in GW6 anyway.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

@pras-fpl.bsky.social talked about on his team selection video how a GW3 and GW6 wildcard are both likely to target similar teams namely CHE, TOT, AVL, and CRY along with ARS and MCI whose assets are often fixture proof.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I think all these players have the potential to be very good fantasy assets this season but other than maybe O'Reilly and Semenyo, I don't think they are options in GW1. We won't have enough info by GW3 to be certain about *all* these assets, but *some* of them are likely to emerge with more clarity

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

CHE: Rogers (mins), Palestra (role and mins), Palmer (role) EVE: Ndiaye (transfer) LEE: Justin (mins) LIV: Gakpo (transfer), Jacquet (mins), Frimpong (role and playing time) MCI: Semenyo (role), O'Reilly (mins), Anderson (role), Foden (mins) NEW: Wissa (mins) TOT: Solanke (mins)

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

3. Several teams have assets who aren't really viable in GW1 - whether because of playing time, fitness, or fixtures - but could become really interesting in just a couple of weeks' time. ARS: Saka (fitness), Rice (fitness), Konsa (new transfer, mins) BHA: Impact of European fixtures on mins

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It's impossible to build a GW1 which includes multiple assets from each of these teams to attack these fixtures, and even if you could afford it, it isn't always clear which assets you might want. This is particularly true of CHE outside of Joao Pedro, MCI outside of Haaland, and ARS's attack.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

2. The league's top five teams (arguably) - Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man Utd - play the promoted sides 9 times in the first 15 GWs. 6 of these fixtures come in the first 4 GWs: ARS v COV (1) MCI v COV (3) MUN v HUL (1) and IPS (2), LIV v IPS (3) CHE v HUL (4)

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

1. With so many teams having new managers - including three of the league's best teams in Man City, Liverpool, and Chelsea - there is a lot of general uncertainty around playing time, formations, and rotation risk, undermining a large pool of players to start the season.

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Michael Caley @michaelcaley.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

well that was a fittingly embarrassing end for that man's international career

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Andrew Martin @andrewmartin.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Political ideology is the strongest predictor of Messi-Ronaldo preference. Authoritarians who like short-form video are more likely to think Ronaldo is the GOAT.

plot predicting messi-ronaldo preference

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

We'll wait on official word from @michaelcaley.bsky.social but at half time, this looks like it might well be a paddlin'

Canada v Qatar half time stats showing Canada dominating with 67% possession, 2.42 expected goals and 14 shots

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

This is just astonishingly great content from @michaelcaley.bsky.social. I cannot fathom the hours that have gone into this. www.expectinggoals.com/p/world-cup-...

expectinggoals.com

World Cup 2026 PADDLIN' Projections

This newsletter's job is tables.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

People now scoff because of his later career, but what Allardyce achieved at Bolton in those peak four seasons (8th, 6th, 8th, 7th) on a pretty small budget and when there was way less league parity from TV deals was really remarkable.

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 26/05/2026

Today’s free newsletter is about how LLMs are the perfect grift to exploit an economy dominated by do-nothing managers and executives disconnected from any real work, and how the facade is crumbling as companies pay the true cost of AI. www.wheresyoured.at/the-revenge-of-the-business-idiot/

wheresyoured.at

Revenge of The Business Idiot

If you liked this piece, you should subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 5,000 to 18,000 words, in...

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Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

OK, this is wild. In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them. It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*. What the HELL? 1/

Unsplash image of the Earth, mostly the nightside with a tracery of city lights on every continent.

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Reposted by PLFantasy

Mike Goodman @themlg.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

This is great from Becky Sauerbrunn. (Also very beside the point but I spy Mistborn and something from N.K. Jemison on that bookshelf) www.instagram.com/reel/DTdNkvw...

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

In my longer term plan, Timber would be the first to be sold (for Gabriel) but he seems the most likely of the four to play 😂

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Four defender injuries but longer term I don't particularly want to get rid of any of them.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Yeh that's very true. Those points are in the bag so even if you did get a bit "lucky" in some cases, we wouldn't necessarily expect that luck will equal out. If Watkins can start firing again and maybe Elliott or Sancho can make a contribution then you're right there's defo some upside there.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

There definitely is some improvement over the season but even over this 11 game streak the xG is both 1.2 for and 1.2 against. I can believe that Emery can get better results than the data might suggest but Villa just don't seem to have any "comfortable" wins and that might catch up with them?

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

I really like Unai Emery but "are Villa in the title race" seems like the kind of question that will age very poorly.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

The games in BC are comparatively cheap at "only" $370 for the cheapest tier, though as others have pointed out, the number of these value tickets is so limited that you'll likely need to have also paid out for a premium membership from the Canadian FA to even have a chance at "winning" them.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

A "value" ticket for Canada's first game - which could be against Wales, Northern Ireland, Bosnia or Italy - is more expensive than a ticket for the semi final. BMO isn't a big stadium and Toronto has a ton of Italian fans so they will get away with the pricing but its still eye watering.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Despite living a quick ferry ride away from two host cities, I already had minimal interest in going to the World Cup given the absolute state of FIFA, but even I was shocked by the ticket prices. Not only outrageously high but also idiotically tiered.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

With 5 FTs in hand, a relatively small gain from moving to Szoboszlai from someone like Minteh or perhaps Enzo (who will lose some value with Palmer returning) seems more viable than in past years and we perhaps need to adjust our valuation of rolling transfers to be more aggressive with such moves

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

The downside is the possible suspension (he's on 4 YC) and the remaining possibility that he could yet spend some time at right back again: I don't think Slot has really figured out how to advance the ball with or without his full backs yet. Injuries suggest he may be needed more up field though.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Szoboszlai seems like his baseline is already a solid FPL asset and you can then layer on upside in terms of more minutes in attacking positions, Liverpool as a whole improving and pulling everyone's numbers up, and even getting the odd penalty.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

The level to which people conflate bad team results with bad FPL players means that managers can overcorrect against a team like LIV, who are still a plus attacking team (1.6 xG90, 6th in PL), and have some very good fixtures coming up (BHA, tot, WOL, LEE, ful, ars, BUR)

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

It seems to me that he is already a very solid pick and even with some time at right back, his numbers still track well against other midfielders who cost more and are receiving transfer attention right now:

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

A bit like Bruno F, one also likes the different routes to points here, as when Szoboszlai has played in a deeper role in midfield, he has been GREAT for defcons thanks to excellent recovery rate. Those tick down when playing on the right, but then we presumably get the higher attacking threat.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

With Salah out of favour and Isak not always on the pitch, we also have the possibility of Szoboszlai taking penalties, as he did in the CL this week. I believe he is 15/16 from the spot in his career - with his sole miss coming as a 20 year old for RB Leipzig, and even then he hit the post.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

That time spent at right back really suppressed his goal threat, which should tick up when deployed in central midfield (and potentially even higher if he gets minutes on the right wing). Small sample of course, but 2x shots and 4x xG suggests there is *something* there.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

However, his positional flexibility (a) will help him stay on the pitch for the longer, even during the busy holiday period, and (b) has caused some noise in his data which might mean he is being somewhat undervalued. Let's split his mins between those at right back and in midfield:

Table showing Szoboszlai's data when playing at right back or in midfield. The table shows that his goal threat is much higher when in midfield, although his assist threat is lower. The difference is exaggerated when we include his Champions League data alongside that from the Premier League

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

In normal circumstances I don't think I would be in a rush to bring in a player like Szoboszlai as he doesn't have a very high ceiling, his team aren't playing great (albeit still 6th in xG), and his position in the team isn't locked down.

Liverpool player Dominic Szoboszlai makes a "phone call" gesture after scoring a goal.

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

And given the current discourse, and while we're sorting tables, who on this list is considered to be having a good season and who is considered to be an absolute disaster is interesting (recognizing that there is more to a good player than this one narrow stat)

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

We're still probably in small sample territory but the list of top-10 npxG+xA players looks . . . weird?

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PLFantasy @plfantasy.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

I really need to know the stories behind Vardy's popularity in Alberta, Yildiz in the Northwest Territories, and Kiwior in PEI!

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Zito @zeets.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Will Arnett was on Conan and told a story about how Conan dealt with the death of his parents by accusing Jason Bateman of killing them. It’s so funny.

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