Firstly FA would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. As has become custom over the years, here are a few FA points to consider in the new year - some tips for Christmas:

Names
Names are important but are a common mistake that I change most weeks on the transfer section. It's Atletico Madrid and Sevilla for instance, not Athletico Madrid and Seville.

Positions
Don't assume that because you have two wingers, that you'll be good down the wings. Look at players stats - is your winger really an out an out winger? eg:
- is he like Rommedahl has been throughout his career where he will stand out on the sideline giving his team maximum width across the pitch
- or is he like Joe Cole in real life, someone who comes in off the wing and is more of a centre midfielder just playing on the left.
There are different types of players in the same position. I've used wingers as an example but it applies to all positions except maybe goalkeepers.

Corrected team sheets
I'll always take your last team you email in as the one to use for that weeks fixture, so if you agree a late deal or change your mind on formation you can make the changes to your team sheet. Just try not to make umpteen changes in one week. If I end up with 5+ emails per team each week, thats a lot of emails to sort through on a Friday!!

Fitness
Keep an eye on it. Towards the end of the season if you need to call on your experienced players to win you trophies or save you from relegation, you'll be thankful you rested older players throughout the first half of the season. The lower the fitness gets the more likely a longer term injury will happen and this could drag over into a new season as injuries don't get cancelled come the end of the season.

Good luck to everyone in 2008.

Richard.

-- Edited by Football Academy at 17:01, 2007-12-24