MyEGL BPL Fantasy – Intermission - The Ola Bola Edition

I finally watched Ola Bola and boy was I impressed. Relegation zone teams should definitely give it a watch, as well as teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton and Stoke, teams that should really be doing better than they are currently. Back home, FAM should watch it, again and again, and remember the importance of serving your country.

There’s naturally some controversy on how some of the story did not reflect history. Let’s be clear though, even though this movie was based on actual events, it’s still a fictionalised account! Hollywood does it all the time, but because we don’t take the trouble to learn the true story, we tend to take the Hollywood edition as gospel. Here we scream bloody murder when the filmmakers change a few things around. Of course we hold local stories dearer to our heart, but people need to relax and remember the overall message.

Ultimately, the objective was to inspire and I’d be lying if I said I was unmoved. Some scenes were a bit corny admittedly but overall it was a great movie, with some excellent cinematography. The scenes that brought tears to my eyes was not actually about the footballers themselves, but the radio announcer’s story. How his family helped him along the way, never giving up their belief that he would make it, and when her daughters heard his voice on radio. “Ayah?” That last one released the floodgates for me.

Anyway, here’s some quick thoughts ahead of Tuesday morning’s Stadium Astro free transfer deadline:

Here’s the next three fixtures for the first two batches of teams that are playing:

West Ham – Sunderland, Spurs, Everton

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Watford – Bournemouth, Man Utd, Leicester

Leicester – Norwich, West Brom, Watford

Stoke – Aston Villa, Newcastle, Chelsea

Southampton – Chelsea, Bournemouth, Sunderland

These are the teams you should be giving priority for your free transfers. Leicester and Stoke have the best next two matches. You can bank on your usual suspects for Leicester (Vardy, Mahrez) but it’s not so certain for Stoke, who have gone off the boil of late ( Check Arnautovic’s status, Shaqiri is a safe pick though.

Spurs, Manchester United have their Europa match on Thursday, but Manchester United also have their FA Cup match up tonight! Not that you should be seriously considering Manchester United players anyway….

Chelsea only play their CL match next midweek, so they’ll be ready for Southampton which should be a tough match. Chelsea just whacked Spurs in their FA Cup tie though, so they’re in the mood.

Speaking off the FA Cup, Spurs out, Manchester City out, West Brom out. If nothing else, it makes players from these teams a bit more safer to pick long-term. Everton, Watford, Chelsea, West Ham and Crystal Palace all made it through so their

Arsenal will have an FA Cup replay, which is very annoying and I’m not sure how Week 30 will work out with them. We’ll have to wait and see. Manchester United play later today.

Remember, after this weekend, the next batch of matches starts the following Tuesday, followed by another round on Saturday. Plan your free transfers carefully.

On another note, if you want to get involved in fantasy football based on local games, Stadium Astro has launched their Fantasi Liga Malaysia. I’ve never played it before, and from the community I’m aware of the many issues it has, but I’m sure the organisers are doing what they can to improve it.

Take care folks. And remember,

“GOOOOOOLLLLLL!!!! GOL GOL GOL GOL GOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!