Sky Sports Fantasy Football

Sky Sports Fantasy Football

Harry Redknapp, the face of Sky Sports Fantasy Football for the start of the 2012/13 football season, has shared his thoughts on who will stay up, who will go down and who will win the Premier League.

 –       Harry on the promoted sides: “All the promoted teams will stay up, though I wouldn’t want to say which one will finish higher”

 

–       On the top four: “City will be favourites and then United, Chelsea and Tottenham. Arsenal will find it tough if they loose Van Persie.”

–       On his bravest buy: “My bravest buy was probably Paolo Di Canio. When he pushed Mr Alcock over everybody said I was mad. One newspaper said I was walking a tight rope with no safety net.”

–       On which club has the best fans: “Portsmouth fans are amazing. I had a great time there and loved every minute of it.”

***The use of any of the following comments from Harry Redknapp must be credited as: ‘Sky Sports Fantasy Football ambassador Harry Redknapp commented…’***

With the Premier League kicking off next weekend who do you think will be this season’s standout performers?

“I think players like Suarez will be up there, he’s a good goal scorer and makes goals, he’s a fantastic talent. I also think Torres will get his chance to play this year now that Drogba has gone, he could be a big goal scorer. These are just a couple of players that spring to mind.”

 Who’s going to be the strongest of the newly promoted sides and what do you think they have to offer?
“Someone actually asked me that the other day and it’s a difficult question. They’re all equally balanced and I think they could all stay up this year. I’ve got a feeling that with Sam [Allardyce] West Ham will be strong – there’s great support at Upton Park, it’s a difficult place to go.” “Southampton have done fantastic too, Nigel Atkinson has performed a miracle there to bring them up two divisions and again it’s a great stadium, full house every week. And Reading, they’ve got a new owner, a Russian who looks like he has plenty of money as well, which is good for them. I think all three will stay up, though I wouldn’t want to say which one will finish higher, I think it’s dead even.”
 Who do you think will be this season’s surprise package?
“I think QPR will do ok, they’ll do a lot better than last season. Mark has gone out there and bought some strong characters. He knows his players and he’ll get the best out of them. Ryan Nelson will be a fantastic defender for him, he’s a good pro and he’ll put himself on the line. Little [Andy] Johnson will probably play up front with Zamora, that’s a good little pairing and they’ll do well.”
 Who do you think we’ll see in the top four come the end of the season and do you think Man City will win back-to-back titles? 

“Well I suppose City will be favourites and then Man Utd, Chelsea and Tottenham again. Arsenal will be in for a tough season this year if they lose Van Persie, I think they’ve got it all to do and Tottenham could finish above them this year.”

“I think Liverpool will do better. People say there’s a long rebuilding process going on at the club, but they’ll be there. They’ve got fantastic players in my opinion – Suarez, Carroll, Gerrard, Carragher, Glen Johnson, a great goal keeper inPepe Reina and some good central defenders. They should be pushing for the top four.”

 Newcastle had a great season last year. Do you think they’ll be the team to watch this season?
“If Alan [Pardew] gets them into the top five again, top six even, it will be a miracle. He’ll do well if they finish seventh or eighth this year.”
 Last season Van Persie finished up with the Golden Boot. Who do you think will hit the back of the net on a regular basis this year and would you pick them in your fantasy football team? 

“You’ve got to look at the teams that are going to be up at the top, that’s where the goals are going to come from. Looking at Man City, players like Aguero should score more goals this year, as will Tevez if he stays. Suarez is also capable of getting more goals. As for VanPersie, who knows where he’s going to be playing his football this year? It’s a difficult one but I’m sure the top scorers will come out of the top teams this year.”

 Who’s going to be the manager to watch this season?

“I think there’s a young guy at Old Trafford that will do well called Alex Ferguson. I think he’s got half a chance. He could be dangerous this year.”

“I think Alex will be right up there again. Last season was the first, in I don’t know how long, that United didn’t win something. He’ll want to win a trophy this year and they’ll push Man City all the way.” You’ve had an eventful career, but who was your best buy?“My bravest buy was probably Paolo Di Canio.When he pushed Mr Alcock over, though he didn’t push him hard, everybody said I was mad. One newspaper said I was walking a tight rope with no safety net. But Paolo was an amazing signing for me at West Ham.”
“Paul Merson was also another great signing for me, I took him to Portsmouth, who were finishing in the bottom five or six in the Championship and he came in and really turned the club around. Even going back to my Bournemouth days I’ve signed players that people probably wouldn’t even know now. I took a lad called John Williams from Port Vale for £25K and he did a fantastic job. We lost one game in 28 when he arrived, and he didn’t play in the one we lost.”Of the clubs you managed who has the best supporters?“Portsmouth fans are amazing. I had a great time there and loved every minute of it. I had a great relationship with Kevin Bond, Jim Smith and Joe Jordan, there was never a dull moment. We won the FA Cup and had a great time getting promoted.”
“West Ham fans also get behind their team – they love it. And Tottenham fans werefantastic to me as well and I had a great time there.”
“I didn’t do great at Southampton but their fans were as good as gold to me and at my first club Bournemouth I had a great time. I’ve been lucky in that fans have been great to me wherever I’ve been.” So what are your plans for this season?“I’m going to take it easy. I won’t be diving into anything. If I’m going to take another job, it’s got to be the right job, something I really want to do. I won’t be diving into the first job that comes up.” So we all know about your career inprofessional football management, but we hear you’re going to be picking a Sky Sports Fantasy Football team this season. What are you going to call it?“I’m going to call it Burdett Boys.

Why?

“Well that’s where I grew up and that was the first football team I played for. I lived on a housing estate in the East-end of London and we had nowhere to play, so one of the guys that lived around there, an old man called Albert Chamberlain, ‘Old Docker’, he got us all together one day. We were fed up of being chased off the grass everyday by the porters and he started up the team called the Burdett Boys. We won everything for about five years – we had a fantastic team. In fact, eleven of the sixteen kids in that squad all went on to professional clubs. That was where I started at nine.”

We’ve heard that Paul Merson is also picking a team. How do you fancy your chances against him?

“No danger. No danger. I’m a certainty to beat him, having said that, you know Merse. I was lucky enough to manage him and he is fantastic, he was a great player and a great boy. He’s got good knowledge of the game but saying that I’ll still do him.“ Clint Dempsey and Gareth Bale were two of the top ten players of Sky Sports Fantasy Football last season. Do you think they’ll be repeating their performances this year or can we expect to see a completely different top ten?

“Well I’m sure Gareth Bale will be there again, he scores goals, he makes goals, he does everything. Gareth’s an amazing player. Clint Dempsey had a great season last year at Fulham but whether he can match that goal scoring form is another question. He’s a good player but I don’t quite see him getting as many points as last year.”Are real life managerial skills transferable to fantasy football?

“Well understanding how to pick a team and knowing who can do what is a skill. If you’re looking for defenders you know who are the best defenders. Who can score, who can create chances. Fantasy Football is a great way to test your skills as a manager.”

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