Here at FFUK we are not a fan of international breaks. This is partly due to England, boring us to tears and then being predictably useless every time a major tournament comes around. But its mainly because we miss the Premier League. We can handle the summer off but these breaks just come at the wrong time, every time. We were just getting started!
I doubt Joe Hart is much of a fan of them either right now.
Don’t worry ladies and gentlemen! As always, here at FFUK we are ready to help, we can fill this empty space! So, we are providing you with an International Break Survival Kit. Below you will see that Peter has prepared some ‘ideas’ for you of things to do during this break but first up let’s have a look back at Transfer Deadline Day (TDD).
Apparently Sky Sports have written to the powers that be to request that TDD is made a national holiday. I must confess I watched Sky Sports News for about 4 hours on TDD, and in all reality I could have been doing something more productive. It all gets a bit much when you have seen the same loop about 8 times and they keep promising action without actually getting anywhere. Come to think of it this sounds like plenty of dates I have been on 😉
So rather than going through it all again, minute by minute, here are the highlights for you, with brand new shiny FPL prices alongside. Will any of these make their way into your squads?
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Marcos Alonso (6.0 DEF) signs and David Luiz (6.0 DEF) returns to Chelsea
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Markus Henriksen (5.5 MID), Dieumerci Mbokani (5.5 FWD) and James Weir (4.5 MID) move to Hull City
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AFC Bournemouth sign Jack Wilshere (5.9 MID) on loan
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Stoke sign three players: Bruno Martins Indi (5.0 DEF), Wilfried Bony (7.3 FWD) and Lee Grant (??)
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Islam Slimani (8.5 FWD) moves to Leicester
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Alvaro Arbeloa (5.0 DEF) joins West Ham
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Moussa Sissoko (7.0 MID) joins Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (7.0 MID) and Pau Lopez (5.0 GK) at Spurs
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Joe Hart leaves City for Torino on loan
Other than the unexpected return of Luiz to Chelsea, one of the most interesting deals has to be Jack Wilshere to Bournemouth. Wenger has clearly now realised he is unable to develop English players himself (see Walcott, Chamberlain etc.) so he is getting a proper coach to do this for him. Step up Eddie Howe. If Jack Wheelchair manages to string more than 3 games in a row for the Cherries without injury then more questions will have to be asked of Wengers regime. Enough of that, over to Pete, what have you got for us?
Thanks Chris. I thought I might just take a moment to share some of the things I do during an international break. It started out as a cry for help, so thanks for stepping in, and allowing me to feel useful.
Pete’s Top 10 Things to do on an International Break!
Ok guys and gals, sit back, and get ready for this, I am here to help! Some of these are football related, some are not, it’s just like life.
- Spreadsheets. If like me you have hours to kill during an international break you will find that making spreadsheets is really really cool. Here’s one I made pre-season, but didn’t end up following at all.
2. Do a B & Q/Maccy D combo. This is a classic ruse I often go back to. Simply explain to your wag that your going to B & Q to stock up on something, tungsten tip screws or whatever, then on the way back, grab yourself a cheeky Big Mac. Works every time.
3. Wildcard. It’s often viewed as wasteful to wildcard so early, but its also a way of countering early mistakes, and if you’re lucky, adding a bit of financial value to your team. Further, with injuries and suspensions occurring in both the PL and in those dreaded international games, it’s a way of setting up for the season in earnest. But using a wildcard is in fact the the ultimate way to spend an international break. Every night, for like two weeks, you can mess around with your team, without anything really happening in FPL. To be fair, it’s sort of meaningless for about 10 days, but it doesn’t feel like that. I am on my Wildcard right now!!!
4. Watch endless youtube videos. This is really good for finding stuff to impress your mates with too. I’ve got some great ones but I’ll start you off with a video of Paul Pogba and his twin brothers dancing. Without an international break, you would never see this.
5. Talk to someone who doesn’t like football. This is really effective as people who don’t like football have nothing to do all the time! I’ve already done this one today, I phoned my Nan earlier, she can’t hear very well but it’s the thought that counts???
6. Watch International Football. This is a really easy one to miss, especially when there isn’t actually much football on. If you really want to then there’s usually some U18s football on too, perfect for pretending to scout for stars of the future. This website is useful http://www.live-footballontv.com/
7. Cleaning. Wow, I can’t believe I’ve come up with seven things! What is this one? Oh, cleaning. Yeah you can get loads of cleaning done during an international break.
8. Go back to the classics. Here’s a video of Ashley Young getting bird poop in his mouth. I could watch this forever.
9. Have some Zlatan time. Ever watched a video of Zlatan all wet? Me too. You can do this any time really, but it’s particularly inspiring when there’s no real football happening. Later on I’m going to be sitting down with this beauty, it’s like horrifying and beautiful at the same time.
10. Get FFUKed. Actually the most important thing you can do on an international break is spend some time with us, right here. Why not have a look around the website? And how about this – a special FFUK video is coming your way very, very soon.
FFUK 