Fantasy managers not only have the luxury of taking their pick of talent from all the Premier League’s squads, but can also do so with the assurance that they wont suffer the same fate as Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce.

Of course, it’s what happens on the pitch that counts in the PPP/CTN Fantasy League and interestingly, despite having to play under a hastily appointed Alan Pardew, the Newcastle clan still managed to boast two Dream team members.

Andy Carroll has been a popular feature in many fantasy teams, little wonder after his 10-point contribution this week saw him move to joint most valuable player with Man United’s Nani on 104 points for the season so far.

Both our weekly winners chose the Magpies’ goal machine as their captain to double to 20 points. Ryan Calvert’s DJ Oht Mein and Jackie San’s Sunshine FC registered tallies of 68 points to share the spoils, with each taking home a US$10 phone voucher and T-shirt from prize sponsors Cellcard.

Ryan moved into second place in the league table with his latest effort, with Newcastle badboy Joey Barton also included for 10 points and a fierce backline anchored by Everton’s Seamus Coleman (7 points). Meanwhile, Jackie’s lineup had the week’s top earner in Man City’s Yaya Touré for 13 points.

Man United’s game winning hero Park Ji-sung (11 points) was the only other player in the Dream team to amass over 10, although Bolton’s own midfielder messiah Stuart Holden took 10 points for his late winner.       

We’ve got another week of relative normality before the mad rush of the Christmas holiday fixturess. An early present is Sunday’s blockbuster of Chelsea v Man United, while the Midlands derby of West Brom against Wolves should also provide some fireworks.

Also note that Man City and Liverpool are involved in midweek European action before making those final transfer choices before the 6:30pm deadline on Saturday.