Saturday 29 August 2009

Week 3 - Saturday


An extraordinary day of Premiership football. Arsenal unlucky to lose to United (not impressed), Spurs lucky to win (but unlucky to lose Modric, King & Defoe to injury), Chelsea on fire, Liverpool still can't defend & Lucas is a bit of a cheat.

I've had a fairly good day, 91.5 points (from 8000th to 2000th position) but the problem is I have no players left and others still have lots of Man City players to go. I'm fully prepared to fall down the league again but I've scored well almost everywhere with the exception of Modric & Defoe this week so can't complain too much. I feel some of the risks I took paid off but unfortunately I may still end the weekend outside the Top 5000.

I must admit the comment of the weekend so far must go to ToffeeDave for his "I told you so" regarding Defoe; slightly improving on his dreadful "Get all Everton players in!" tip last weekend ;) ...Saying that, I still think they could hammer Wigan tomorrow.

Anyway, I'll be cheering on Pompey vs City...after seeing Burnley today i've loaded up on Liverpool players for Week 4/5. Who have you got in?

Cheers,
AM

P.s. Happy Birthday Kellz!!!

47 comments:

mehicoradio said...

i'm thinking of going

Given
Wilko, Givet, Verm
Milijas, Mokoena, Gerrard, Hunt
Drogba, Torres, Bent

My only problem is i have only 3 real players i trust to come good in that group. Not sold on Bent or Hunt but they were the best for what i could afford.

Torres>Defoe btw ;).

I'm at 79 points but still have 4 to play (Moko, Richards, Given, Robinho) and ranked 4,829. I had been in the 2000s before the Arsenal/Man U game

Mike B said...

I've swapped out Given for Robinson, and that's it for now. I fancy Arsenal to put a couple in against City and wanted to free up some cash in case Modric is out for a while. Shame really cos Modric is looking pretty good.

I wanna see Tevez in action tomorrow as i can't decide if i want to drop him and switch from a 3-4-3 to a 3-5-2 and squeeze Gerard in somehow for week 4/5.

We'll see eh...

bean said...

re: ToffeeDave comments - he was right on to call out the Defoe hype, but sounded like he was takin' a cheap shot with 'Tottenham for 5th'? where are Everton sittin' in the table? :)

@mehicoradio - i'm not sold on Bent either, but i'm pretty sold on Hunt, his avg. points are just shy of players like Anelka/Defoe/Nani and just ahead of players like RVP/Lampard/MTay/Robinho. Can't beat that for 9 bucks (or cheaper if you have him at a discount)

I've got 102 points this week with Jordi left to play. currently sitting 180th overall, which will certainly drop by a couple thousand tomorrow when all the managers with Citeh heavy squads do well(or poorly?)...go Pompey!

Max said...

only manage to get 57.50pts with robinho and mokoena left to play.. but i love my week3 lineup and has no regret.. my robbo hunch only got 3pts more than myhill.. quite sad defoe and modric didn't perform as expected.. overall this is a bad week for all good players.. :p

ps: hopefully robbi get a hattrick tonight :p..

Max..

Assistant Manager said...

Hi Bean - nah Dave wasn't taking a cheap shot (at least I don't think he was!), I like to think he genuinely sees Spurs a challenger for 5th. I think 6th myself, but we shall see.

ToffeeDave said...

hahaha bean and AM no way was I taking a cheap shot. I genuinly see Tottenham placing fifth this year. I agree after reading ym comment I thought I was being harsh but I really do fancy them finishing above city this year at 5th. Sadly, I see my blues finishing deeper as europa cup will drain alot from us as Moyes has made it a priority. I must admit I was quite happy defoe got 0 points so I could catch alot of my friends in private groups :D. Makes up for my "grab all the toffee you can" comment hehe. Cheers mates, all the best.

bean said...

yeah, I was just givin' him a hard time.

quite a difference a year makes. last year i would have thought 'spurs in 5th' would be a tremendous compliment for them. this year seems like a jab because they were sitting top of the table. insanity. from bottom last year, to top this year. way to go 'Arry.

now let's get the Toffees up where they belong. get the Yak back for some attack. maybe he'll start tomorrow?

Anonymous said...

I'm no way sold on Bent either.
I've loaded up with Chelsea & Pool players for week 5.
I'm still waiting to see how Saha performs but probably not agood pick for week 5 considering the match up.
Scored 95pts this week to crack back into the top 1000 but with nobody left for me to play i'll drop 1500 or more. GO POMPEY!!!

Robbo
Wilk, Bass, McCartney
Lamps, Ballack (BD), Hunt, Jiminez
Drog, Torres & Kuyt

Cheers,
Starky

Jamie said...

Did'nt have a great week, 57.5 points with just mokoena and adebayor to go. I too have loaded up on Liverpool players for week 4/5.

Robinson
G.Johnson Givet Stearman
Cattermole Mokoena Gerrard Lucas
Drogba Torres Bent

A bit unsure of Cattermole or Lucas, Cattermole was recomended by the yff blog, and he has a good matchup. I was also wondering if I should swap Lucas for Mikel, Lucas is almost guarenteed his starting spot but I was thinking I need a Chelsea player other than Drogba. Do you think swapping Lampard for Gerrard was a good call?

Max said...

i feel u jamie.. :p.. i got 57.5 points too with mokoena and robinho left to play tonight..

anyway, my early week4/5 team..

robbo
verma, wilko, givet
mokoena, gerrard, lamp, m.brown
drogba, torres

*BD gerrard and torres..
*trying 3-5-2 formation since i cannot find cheaper forwards.. and i'm not dropping lampard..
*3 filler.. givet, moko & brown..
*budget is tight :p..

any advice?..

Max..

Mike D said...

Right now I'm working with...

Myhill
Wilk, Givet, McCartney
Gerrard, Hunt, Gomez, Moko
Drogs, Torres, Robinho/Kuyt

I was thinking of switching to 4-4-2 and picking up glen johnson ahead of an attractive pool fixture or just adding Kuyt to the front line...my decision will be partly based on robinho's performance today (in a few minutes actually)...although he does have a tough fixture against arsenal coming up. do you think arsenal will hold him to minimal shots like they did rooney?

ranked 108 yesterday but definitely expect to drop as I only have moko and robinho playing today.

any thoughts? suggestions?

cheers

Jamie said...

Max -
I would get rid of gerrard or lampard, your choice, its not worth it if you have to use 3 fillers. Personally I like to use a 4-4-3 formation as it is the forwards who get the most points.
If you dont want to do this then I would say it is a very good team, chelsea and liverpool have good match ups and you have the main attacking points for both teams: Torres+Gerrard, Lampard+Drogba. You could drop Verma because he faces Manchester City who have very talented forwards, if you drop him for maybe a sunderland defender you could upgrade mokoena or brown.
Also, I'm pretty sure that robinho is on the bench against portsmouth. Mokoena is also playing cb which is odd. Good luck

Anonymous said...

Yep, Robinho's on the bench. A dismal end to a dismal week unless Given manages to score a couple goals ;). The fantasy fans are chanting "you don't know what you're doing" in my head.

-Bradley

Mike D said...

Tell me why I swapped out K2 for Robinho...its killin me at the moment.

Mike B said...

I too picked the wrong Mac City striker, and now to rub salt into the wounds, Richards has gone off injured!

Mike D said...

K2, Kuyt, or Glen Johnson?

let me know...

Dave said...

Awful, awful Sunday in YFF terms, one I want to forget ASAP. RObinho benched, Richards gets a SOT and 2CW but gets subbed out injured before being eligible for the CS. Yellow card for Moko my filler. Sigh, what a horrible match for me LOL. To make it worse, Rodwell, the filler I dropped to Moko in order to afford Gerrard, just had an SOT and CW. Sigh.

Mike D said...

going with...

myhill
glen johnson, wilks, givet, mccartney
gerrard, deco, hunt, moko
drogs, torres

any thoughts on deco? too much of a risk with blues diamond rotation?

G said...

I feel better now after 0 performance by defoe

Defoe:0
Rodwell: starter
my original replacement of defoe
robinho:0
rooney:8
modric:0.5

78.5 with rodwell, Given

possibly 90-100 this week. Not a bad week with a bad pick.

Kellz said...

Shocking, just Shocking, Robinho benched, K2 STILL SCORES! 3 in a row but when will Citeh learn to score more than 1 goal in regulation? (Ireland scored in added time). Painful to see Richards with some great stuff before his injury, PAINFUL! Gonna end up with 77.5. Flippin pathetic. Now I have 2 weeks to moan about it...

Anonymous said...

why do people call adebayor K2?

Mike B said...

I think it stands for Kanu 2 or something? Being a newbie myself i'm still trying to work out who all of these shortened names that people talk about are!

Well this week i got 76.5 points, not great, but it could have been worse i suppose.

Still pretty unsure of who to go for for week 5, i think i'm gonna have to add a couple of fillers in order to get hold of Chelsea or Liverpool players. I have just barn-doored Rodwell at 3.95, i have an idea of what i'm gonna do but need to find a midfielder that isn't gonna lose me points for around 5 mill.

At the end of the day, as long as i do better than the 76.5 i got this week, i'm happy lol.

Mike D said...

This really hurts...

Had I left K2 in, I would be at 15 overall...instead I pick robinho and end up at 332...wow. Two weeks is a long time to think about this mistake.

Kellz said...

Robinho would have destroyed Pompey's defense. Seriously, Robinho would prob get 20+ points with no goal and 30+ with one. Pompey is in shambles.

I do not have enough for Torres so my other option lies with Kyut for the price of Robinho. However, even against Arsenal, I think Robinho can score more points than Kyut. Since I missed out on much of the BD and I am not looking at Vill, Everton, Wigan I am unconcerned with the coming BD today. Question is, do I sacrifice to get Torres? Or gamble on Kyut or Robinho?

BTW: Given stays for me. Citeh will have its first true test of the upper teams. Even with a loss, I expect Given to make enough saves to stay positive, its worth it to have him at 6.10mil. Don't want to bet on Myhill or PRobbo

Anonymous said...

after back 2 back ducks from bent
robinho not played
bos robbed cs

finally something to smile :)
jordi gives me 11....bad omen is over....isn't it

raz

Mike D said...

any thoughts on Deco vs Vermaelen?

G said...

Ending the week with 99.5. I am satisfied.
BDed Deco, Saha

Given
Bassong, verm, wilkinson
Miljas, Rodwell(3.62), deco, Gerrard(21.08)
Drogba, Torres, Saha(7.1)

with 6.6 fund left
Will have a lot to think about this 2 weeks.

Unknown said...

Damn... got hit by the Robinho benching as well. I was so excited to see what he would do too. Really unfortunate for Spurs too. Modric really was looking great.

Anonymous said...

which is better??

(1)Givet/Vermaelen/Wilko
(2)Givet/McCartney/Wilko
(3)McCartney/Verma/Wilko
(4)Givet/McCartney/Verma

am leaning towards the 3rd one... wat do u think?
which of the four is really good??

~ Keith

Mike B said...

Hi there, i would love a little advice from someone here, you all seem to be very knowledgable!

I currently have a front 3 of..

Drogs, Rooney, Eduardo

Now i would like to buy both gerard and lampard for week 5 due to their matchups, in order to do this i would have to sell Rooney and lose my 2 million discount.

Do you think it's worth it?

Also if i had to do that, can anyone recommend an alternative to Eduardo at the 7.5 mill mark, i love the guy but dont think he's gonna start consistently. I was thinking maybe Altidore?

Your thoughts are mucho appreciated :)

Kellz said...

2mil discount isn't that huge right now and if it means you bring in somebody who can score just as big (although he hasn't) do it. I wouldn't see why you couldn't drop Rooney for Gerrard/Lamps and pick Rooney back up again, albiet slightly more expensive, there might be a chance he doesn't do well against spurs. I'd go for Gerrard first however

J. Dunn said...

I somehow managed 90.5 with only one goal in the team. I'll take it, but that's two weeks in a row I've had to rely almost entirely on phantom points. I've got lots of solid cheap contributors like Hunt, Gomez, Milijas, Verm, Given, etc, but I really need to start picking the right elite players. I'm picking around the points when it comes to Rooney, Torres, Gerrard, Lamps, Robinho, K2, etc.

So far for next gameweek I've got:

Given, Verm, Wilk, Givet, Milijas, Hunt, Gerrard, Jordi, Rodwell(BD), Drogs, Rooney

With 4.54 left. I may go away from Rooney for Torres or Taylor, and/or upgrade Wilk, though I hate to give up a defender for under 5 who produces at all. I likely won't stay on Rodwell either, but I wanted to lock in his really low price as he impressed quite a bit today.

Mike B said...

Cheers Kellz, sound advice for a ditherer like myself =]

Just out of interest, does anyone know how many people have entered the overall league?

I would feel alot better knowing i'm 9,580th out of 1,000,000 haha.

Lol before joining this i used to look forward to international weeks, now i just can't wait for the next premiership games!

Kellz said...

One way to tell the overall number of YFF users is to create a new account and check your starting place at 0pts. I would assume its over 120,000, however last season was much higher. I am sitting around 8500 place after no points from Robinho and Richards out with injury, could have easily gotten back into the top 3000 with good points from those guys.

Mike D said...

Kellz:

I would definitely sacrifice for Torres. He has done nothing but impress me thus far. The ONLY thing I might consider is that hes scored quite a lot and he MAY go quiet...but home against Burnley?!? I think hes primed to go off on them.

Do you have Stevie G? If you do, Kuyt may be an option because of the potential assist/gol combo...I like the gerrard/torres combo just because torres proved he can not only score but also assist last game.

I have a biased against robinho now...you really dont wanna get stuck in the boat with those of us who watched him on the bench today...it was painful, believe me...who knows what citeh was thinking.

You have any thoughts on Deco/Vermaelen? Im running a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 this week and am trying to decide between the two. I feel the gunners may give up a goal at citeh and I never know what to expect from chelsea with their diamond rotation [from hell]...although deco seems to be getting the playing time. any thoughts? thanks.

Mike D said...

Keith

I like the 4th option actually. If you have Wilks at discount you may want to leave him, but if funds arent an issue you might want to consider his match against the visiting blues...granted stoke can hold their own at home, but the blues are in top form right now. You can either see it as them sending a lot of work in his direction or a lost clean sheet...

Im actually struggling with the same thing. Vermaelen prolly wont get the clean sheet either, but I think he has a better chance than Wilks...plus he usually turns in a good performance...

just my thoughts

Anonymous said...

I barndoored Brian Jensen after the Chelsea match. I thought he was outstanding, and if he can rack up 11 points in a 3-0 defeat he's definitely worth a hard look, even against Liverpool.

Mike D said...

bill:

you're right, but hes not worth 8 mil when you can get myhill at less than 4 and he can do the same thing...any goalie can give up 3 and save 8-12 and come up with some positive points...jensen was fortunate to see 15 sot from chelsea...normally that might be 7-10 from a team that shoots less...looking for better opportunities (take a look at chelsea's shot chart)...not saying its a bad pick, but if he doesnt give you you return, you might be at a loss (I bd'd myhill at 1.3 and am quite pleased when he posts 6+)

just my thoughts...

Mike D said...

bill:

I mean given is 9.17 and actually has a solid back line in front of him...averaging similar pts to jensen, just less goals allowed...minimizes your risk...Id go for go for lower value (myhill) or higher quality (given if you're willing to spend that kind of cash

Anonymous said...

Thanks Mike D, for your comments. I know it sounds crazy but I think Jensen could face as many shots vs. Liverpool as he did vs. Chelsea, and give up fewer goals. And Burnley's back line haven't been bad, Mears and Carlisle are both averaging more points per match than their market value. That's thanks in large part to Jensen's clean sheets, I know, but Toure, Richards and Lescott don't pass that test. I think Jensen needs to be taken seriously as a fantasy point getter, especially as Burnley's fixtures get easier.

Kellz said...

@MikeD: Yea I have Gerrard, dropped Lampard, and looking to fill in Kyut. For Torres price I could get back Lampard but both would weaken my team too much, I am now going to try and make up ground with some other picks. Looking at it, I don't think Sunderland vs Hull is as exciting as AM proposes, leaving many of you to pick Myhill and me to keep Hunt at discount. I don't know if I would want to get Bent even at cheap price.

Currently at:

Given, Verm, Stearmen, Kyrialkos, Gerrard, Nani, Hunt, Gomez, Milijas, Drogba (Kyut/Robinho).

Possibly dropping Gomez/Stearmen to fit in Deco but we'll see.

Kellz said...

@MikeD: I usually don't like a 4-4-2 unless you have really good defenders at discounted prices, example: Johnson, A. Cole, Baines, Verm. Thats a 4 defender backline I would like, however that leaves you thin for mid/for. I like to pick cheap defnders that have high probability for CS.

As for Deco/Verm, I can see using both in the next match. Deco however is subject to rotation and Verm is staying in my team for the season, seriously at 6.02 mil he has yet to get a CS but has been able to pull in nothing less than 6pts. As far as I am concerned he does enough without the CS to justify his place. For the most part I look to get about 100 pts a week, meaning I get all the points back for what I paid for. but 77.5 doesn't cut it for me.. lol.

Mike B said...

I'm currently at ...

Robinson (dodgy but i don't see wigan scoring many)
Verm, Bassong, Givet (went for bargains)
Arshavin, Rodwell, Gerard, Deco
Drogba, Eduardo, Berbatov.

I may lose Arsh and Berb to either get in Frank or Torres, but i think utd need Berb in the starting 11 from what i've seen and he may come good against his old club. I really don't know why i've held on to Arsh for so long when he's not scoring points.

I'm keeping an eye on at that new Hammers guy Diamante, maybe with Jiminez. Jiminez has looked good without scoring well so far, and Diamante is supposedly "the new DiCanio" haha!

Anonymous said...

I've heard a rumor about Defoe being injured. Is it true?
And another question - do you think, AM, I should keep Bent in spite of his performances in the past couple of weeks?

nuwa said...

fro week 5 i will get

r.green
wilkinson, givet, vermaelen
ballack, milijas, cattermole, m.brown
drogba, anelka, torres

what do you think AM??

any suggestion??

Max said...

missed the game, but can somebody fill me in, why the hell robinho didn't play last night?..

Max..

Kellz said...

My absolute guess is that he was rested. Read AM's latest post and it says probably a slight knock in training or the most unlikely bid from Barca for Robinho. However I think it was because Hughes thought he had enough fire power on his team to beat Pompey so this would be a game to let Bellamy start, leaving Robinho absolutely 100% for Arsenal which is a much bigger game where I don't think Bellamy will feature more than the latter half. Robinho would have torn them up though, Citeh need to pound these weaker teams. Just my thoughts though.

Post a Comment