Devotees of Jeff Stelling and his Gillette Soccer Saturday show (you know who you are) may notice something unusual about the programme next weekend. There is only one Barclays Premier League match kicking off at 3pm on Saturday, Aston Villa v West Ham United; a first for the top flight. While critics rage about the erosion of football’s tradition and how this threatens the very fabric of our society, PlayTheGame managers should appreciate the opportunities of scattered kick-offs.
Unlike many fantasy football games, PlayTheGame allows managers to make daily changes, so if a star player is an injury doubt for a game on Sunday, it is easy to replace him for the Saturday – ensuring one of your positions is filled that weekend – and reinstate him the next day in case he is fit.
There is a downside: PlayTheGame managers are limited to 38 scoring appearances per position. Therefore daily rotations early in the season will leave fewer appearances for later in the campaign. Player quality should dictate whether to take advantage of later kick-offs: you would want to squeeze as many appearances out of Cristiano Ronaldo as possible rather than using a substitute, so if Manchester United kick off later than other teams, replace the winger if he is an injury doubt before re-inserting him into your line-up before the league champions play. Or vice-versa if United are the first top-flight side to kick off, as they are against Wigan Athletic at 12.45pm next Saturday.
