Tuesday 22 September 2009

Drogba Update


Thanks to Fidan for posting up the article about Drogba in The Times:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/chelsea/article6843510.ece
Didier Drogba is facing a spell on the sidelines regardless of the results of a scan on the Chelsea striker’s right calf last night.

Carlo Ancelotti hopes that Drogba is merely suffering from severe cramp after being carried off on a stretcher during the second half of Sunday’s 3-0 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur, but the manager was planning on resting him for the next three matches in any case.

The Ivory Coast forward will take no part in tomorrow’s Carling Cup tie against Queens Park Rangers, is unlikely to be involved in Saturday’s Barclays Premier League match away to Wigan Athletic and is suspended from next week’s Champions League game against Apoel Nicosia. Ancelotti is focusing on getting him fit for Liverpool’s visit to Stamford Bridge in a fortnight instead, although Chelsea insist the scan was precautionary.
Interesting news indeed & it will present a huge dilema to all of us holding Drogba at discounts of around £6m. If he's only going to miss 1 game then I'll probably keep him, but I'm still not 100% certain he'll be rested for Wigan.

I think we all agree that once a stiker gets into the sort of form that Drogba is in then the last thing he needs is to miss 2 weeks of football before a huge game vs Liverpool. There is no doubt he'll miss the QPR game & of course he'll be suspended next week for the Champions League, but I feel there is a possibilty that if it is only cramp that he'll play vs Wigan. He'll still have 7 days of rest before the Liverpool game on Sunday 4th October & Anchelotti could always give him 60 minutes to get Chelsea in the driving seat at the JJB & then bring him off.

We'll have to wait for more news closer to the weekend, but whatever happens I expect Drogba to be in my team for Week 6.

What would you do if it's confirmed he'll miss Wigan? Would you consider dropping him?

UPDATE 3:30PM...looks like I was right with my hunch above & so was Mike B, who's comment I missed yesterday (sorry mate!)...
Didier Drogba has been given the all-clear to resume training on Thursday after being carried off against Tottenham on Sunday with a calf injury.

The Ivory Coast international is set to figure in the squad for the trip to Wigan on Saturday after a scan revealed there was no serious damage to his calf.

However, he will not be included for Wednesday night's game against Queens Park Rangers in the Carling Cup as Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti looks to blood some fringe and academy players.

"Didier had a scan and there's no problem with his calf," confirmed Chelsea's assistant boss Ray Wilkins. "It was just the most horrendous bout of cramp.

"We thought he couldn't release the muscle and it might be something more nasty but he'll be able to take part on Saturday. It is very good news for us."
 I hope nobody dropped him!

Cheers,
AM

77 comments:

Anonymous said...

The competition is severely tough this time. I started playing this game since 97 and till last yr, a weekly score of 100 was considered extremely good. Not anymore. The leader is almost 100 points +.

In view of the above, I dont know if one can have the luxury of keeping an empty slot for more than 1 week.

robmcm said...

It's not a sprint.

Can you replace Drogba with someone as good for the price you got him for? Any player could get a 0 point week, or get injured in the warm up, so if he is going to only miss one game it's a no brainer to keep him.

Anonymous said...

when the difference gets to more than 200 points...you will be doing only catching-up coz 6-7 players will be identical.

chris m said...

AM: Thanks for the post. I was about to google the situation, you saved me a lot of time. BTW you are very handy to have around.

I will absolutely hold Drogba. I have him at 10.66, his current value is 16.46. He is in once in a life time form, he looks like nearly a goal a game performer for the balance of the season. I will take the hit for one week.

I do disagree about Wigan. Even if mostly fit, they would never put him in unless behind, which I don't see happening.

@ anonymous-you are mostly right about the 100+ pts a week. But something freakish has been going on. The players all the leaders are holding, myself included, Verm, Drogba, Torres, Rooney, have all been consistenly putting up huge pts, 20+. That's been a fluke. It can't continue. There will be a meltdown week coming up, and it will probably be this week, where we only post 50-60 pts and alot of people catch up to us. leveling the field.

chrism
velvet underground allstars

Foot Steps said...

AM,

I think Drogba is fine.. According to the Chelsea's official website, Drogba just participated in a kid's charity football thingy..

This is the segment piece from the site:

"Didier Drogba, who helped kids practice their free-kicks, welcomed the partnership: 'I understand that just a smile can make a big difference to these kids, so it is important for us to lend a hand to the youngsters in the community.
'I have my own kids and I understand it so it is nice to be able to help. I have lived in London for five years now and my kids are London kids, which makes it closer for me."

And this is the link:

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~1804007,00.html

So, dont drop him just yet.

Cheers, :)

kit said...

He's a season keeper for me.

Anonymous said...

@chris....any meltdown will affect all (barring a few lucky ones) which means the differences of points remains the same.

Assistant Manager said...

Good responses guys - we shall certainly see about Wigan. My hunch says he might get some time, but you're right Chris, he could just be on the bench in case of emergencies. He'll be a keeper for me till January when he sods of to Africa for 4 weeks!

Just to add to Chris' point...I 100% agree that at the start of every season you get a small number of teams who get extremely lucky with their early picks.

Make no mistakes about it, to be successful in fantasy football you need luck & we'll all get a bit at different stages throughout the season.

Last season at around Week 18-19 I was outside 4000th before I went on an unbelievably lucky run where I scored close to 150 points for 4 weeks in a row & then 230 points in a double week...EVERYONE I picked scored (Herman Hreiddarsson scored 3 in 2 games)& I shot up the league in to the Top 500 & I stayed there.

At the moment the teams at the top are having their good judgement combined with luck & they're deservedly flying out in front, but you have to keep trusting your own judgement & eventually you'll get your break & start clawing points back. It happens every year without fail.

There's a guy in the Top 50 I've seen who hasn't changed his team snce Week 1. There are probably plenty of others in the Top 1000 who have done the same & have just hammered the points by having Rooney, Torres, Drogba, Vermaelen, Given etc from the start...but it won't continue & when it comes to them having to make changes (due to injury/suspensions/African Nations etc) they will make the same mistakes everyone else does - it'll even itself out.

Cheers,
AM

markygoods said...

Hey,
I'm Currently in 2079th position mainly down to advice from AM and other posters on this Blog, Keep up the good work, My team is currently
Given
Warnock Verm Heti
Lennon Milner JoH Rosicky
Drogs Eduardo Nando

I got nando on the barn door this week but other than that I am a bit stuck on what changes to make from last week, I have 3.55 in the bank and the chairman wants to invest it in a traing complex, I think i have talked him round so can now use it for transfers, any suggestions plz,
Thanks

Anonymous said...

Did Heitinga & Billy will start against Portsmouth?

Rgds.
Ajani

Anonymous said...

Hey AM and the rest of you =)

I gotta little thing on my mind.

When Drogbas suspension in CL is over; how often do you guys think Ancelotti will take him off the pitch around lets say 60th-70th minute if Chelsea is at least two goals up? In a week with a CL-game midweek?

And even worse, how often will he start on the bench?


////Andy

Hinrik said...

Lennon would be a good replacement for Drogba this weekend, but this is a heavy dilemma.

Assistant Manager said...

UPDATE: Chelsea's Assistant Manager Ray Wilkins has announced that Drogba's injury was just cramp & BBC Sport are reporting that they expect him to be fit to face Wigan.

He also stated that Joe Cole & Zhirkov will start vs QPR tomorrow night.

Cheers,
AM

Bradley said...

A Drogba update from the Chelsea web page http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~1804666,00.html
I don't know that it adds much to our Drogba knowledge, but it does have one interesting bit of info at the end:

Assistant first team coach Ray Wilkins reports that cramp was the reason for Didier Drogba's substitution on Sunday versus Tottenham.

The striker was withdrawn in the second-half with a problem in his calf but medical examinations have revealed no lasting injury.

"He had the most horrendous bout of cramp," said Wilkins who has also announced that Joe Cole and Yury Zhirkov will start Wednesday night's Carling Cup match against Queens Park Rangers.

Mike B said...

Haha i think my previous post yesterday on this went un-noticed apart from the man Fidan himself.

Drogba will be back, and it'll be great to see Zhirkov in action. I think he may be able to cement himself a regular start on the left.

Awesome news!

Dare to Devil said...

I don't see many teams with Heiti in them. Will he be in the 1st team for Everton? If yes, then I wil keep him as Everton schedule looks quite favourable

Bradley said...

@Mike B: Oops, so you did. Well, now it's confirmed he'll be starting. :)

GTR 34 said...

@ Bradley @ AM I am 100% convinced that A Cole has cemented the LB position in the Chelsea squad.

Zhirkov is being used as it is only a CC match.

Cole and terry will be the regulars in the squad come PL weekends, with Zhirkov, Carvalho and Ivanovic being rotated during the season.

The only way A Cole will not be utilised all the time is if he has a significant drop in form, and Zhirkov performs admirably.

mudwalkerz said...

perhaps he wont get cemented, concerning Zhirkov, but wont he be contending mostly with Malouda for a spot.. and not A. Cole?

Assistant Manager said...

GTR, I agree Cole will be the Chelsea's leftback...as Mud has said, Zhirkov was bought to play on the left of Anchelotti's diamond midfield, although he's more than capable as a backup left back when Cole is injured/suspended/in need of a rest.

Mike Lowrey said...

From what I've seen in the Russian league and international games Zhirkov plays either at left back or left wing. Somebody in an earlier blog post said that Bosingwa, Carvalho and Zhirkov will be rotated, which is absurd since Cole is one of the surer starters. It'll be interesting to see where he plays today in the Carling, but I have doubts it'll be in defense, he's too good of a player to perform backup duties for Cashley. Chelseas midfield on the other hand is pure randomness, only Lamps gets a definite start and even Essien has been dropped in favor of Mikel, with Ballack, Malouda, JCole, Kalou and Deco competing with Zhirkov picking him will be a real gamble. Having said that I believe him to be the second most talented player from the Russian squad with Arshavin the best one and Bilyaledtinov or Pogrebnjak behind. Pavlyuchenko actually impressed me the most at the Euros but he hasn't settled in the EPL, is it language barrier, team gelling or wrong utilisation, I have no idea.

And to markygoods, Fulham away is a really tricky opponent for Arsenal, last season they lost the respective encounter 1-0 so I'd advise you to drop Rosicky. Due to injuries to others and whatnot he's played quite a bit more than I expected and he may as well be on the bench at the weekend.
A part of me thinks that with the relativley easy fixtures the Gunners are going to have, he'll be a really lucrative option. He has a good eye for the pass, likes to shoot from outside the box and doesn't mind the occasional tackle. On the other hand I'm afraid he could still spend a week here and there on the treatment table these coming months, remember how it was for Eduardo when he came back from his long layoff, or for any other long absentee.

Doctor Teeth said...

I'm interested in whether Drogba's impending absence will impact managers' decisions regarding Tuncay...if you are floating him in your front line and you also have Drogba, does Drogba's injury now mean that you will drop Tuncay? Or will you risk having two strikers return zero points this coming weekend?

Today's trivia question:

What current premier league player has scored ten or more goals in a season with a premier league team?

Raul said...

Given 6.44
Vermaelen 6.05 R.Johnson 7.65 G.Johnson 12.29
T.Rosicky 8.72 A.Reid 11.74 A.Lennon 11.50 J.Rodwell 4.19
D.Drogba 10.66 Tuncay 1.00 F.Torres 19.50

What do you think for week 6?

Anonymous said...

I think it was my all-time (second year on YFF) best score for a single one-match week - 117 points. And I'm disappointed. After the 15:00 matches on Saturday I've gone up from ~5100 to ~2500. And five matches later, including Given's shocking performance, I'm on 4339.
So I dropped Hunt (consistant, but only at 6-9 points) and Warnock (1.5 points above CS; he's supposed to be attacking; it was against Pompey; at home!; too expensive as a defender). And now I have Lennon and Bassong, and I've decided to keep Benayoun after all, and Drogba will probably fiture. But I have a problem, and I thought you all could help me.
My backline for now is: Vermaelen/Richards/Bassong.
I'll keep Vermaelen, and that's all I'm sure about. I BD Richards last week after his wonderfull performance especially for the Westham match, the who lost to Wigan. And now they almost got a draw from Liverpool, City's defence looked awful, and I no longer have a discount on Richards. But I thought - hey, I have 3.58 millions extra! And Bridge is more consistant! And Spurs' defence looks awful too, while Liverpool plays poor Hull!
So I wanted your opinion on the following transfer: Richards/Bassong to Bridge/Skrtel
And the real question is about Corluka, who will play right-back if Bassong is in the middle. Any one thinks he's a good aquisition?

SF

Kellz said...

@DoctorTeeth: It would have been a huge dilema for me to see Drogba out for more than a week and if he was I would have dropped Tuncay, its one thing to hold onto him as a filler as a striker, its another to hold 2 strikers for 0 pts. I flirted with dropping Gerrard/Tuncay for Defoe/TBD, whos knows, I have been giving a lot of thought to Tuncay and weighing my options. I may just yet change on Thursday.

Doctor Teeth said...

Sorry for the typo - what current premier league player has scored ten or more goals in a season with FOUR different premier league teams?

Doctor Teeth said...

@Kellz: Agreed. Notwithstanding my previous soliloquies regarding the virtues of Tuncay, I would need to seriously reassess if Drogs will indeed be out for a few weeks (does not seem to be the case). Initial thought would be to swap out Tuncay/GJohnson for Christian Benitez/Distin.

The Toffees are one of the in form teams of the Prem at present but I wonder whether Pompey will strike back like a wounded, cornered animal this weekend and find the back of the net at least once and maybe even grab a point from the encounter. If so, it certainly won't be due to the efforts of Frederic Piquionne.

Anonymous said...

@DOCTOR = ANELKA

ToffeeDave said...

For everyone saying you have to drop Tuncay if Drogba is benched for one game or even 2, you guys must have week teams. If Drogba was to be benched and Tuncay got another 0, I would simply leave my team as is because it is so solid and could probably handle the loss of points. If Drogba was benched last week, I would finish at a more than respectable 119 points. I know some people think two 0's are too much but I could care less if another player picks up the slack. For example, if every one of my players gets 10 points I will hit 100 and if one player gets zero, then I just need 11 points from each to hit 100, 2 then 12-13 points. With the right player matchups you could easily hit these marks. The only risk is if you have a cheap GK or filler and they get you -11.5 points (thanks myhill)but all in all, I would sacrifice 2 zero point weeks to have Rooney at 13 mil (equivalent of Drogba) or Gerrard at 14 mil. That's how I personally feel because I just cant drop a 6 mil discount as it is WAY too high.

ToffeeDave said...

@Doctor Teeth what are you talking about? Piquonne was so dangerous last week and when Pompey took him off they looked like they had no outlet to hold the ball up and be dangerous. He is their main force forwards and I wouldn't be surprised to see him score soon.

Doctor Teeth said...

Piquionne is abysmal. New Caledonia is known for its vastnickel deposits, not it's strikers. And he's a moron, always playing offsides and picking up stupid fouls.

Correct on Anelka...add in his 10+ goals scored with Fenerbahce and that's 10+ goal seasons with five different top tier professional sides. I wonder if there has ever been another player to do that before (Andy Cole comes to mind, possibily).

Doctor Teeth said...

This just in from Tony Pulis....what say you Tuncay-holding managers?

http://www.whydelilah.co.uk/news/22_Sep_2009/Show+me_you%27re+ready+to+take+on+United+says+Pulis.html

Kellz said...

@DoctorTeeth: says I am not logging in and registered to read that page, and I am not in the mood to register for Stoke's homepage. Just tell us what it said. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Great thread everyone. FF is so much like the stock market it makes me laugh sometimes. Cut your losses (Tuncay, Lampard), and let your profits run (Drogba, Vermaelen).

Naning said...

Doctor Teeth - Ronaldo. Did so for Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, Inter, Real and now Corinthians. He even scored 20+ for each of those teams in one season, except for Corinthians. He has scored over 20 goals every season he has been injury free.

Naning said...

About this weeks fantasy, I once again find myself banging my head to find that extra 0.2 to buy players. Once again, that's the amount that is keeping me from the perfect line up. It will drive me crazy.

Assistant Manager said...

Naning - I'm 0.04 away from my dream line-up this week. I want to cry, but I'm praying Yahoo do some random midweek price adjustments which will allow me to squeeze my last choice in!

The Tuncay Story

Doctor Teeth said...

I'm certainly not registered for Stoke's homepage and had no problem accessing...but, in any event, in the article Pulis basically says that he is going to give his reserve players a chance to shine in the Carling Cup match against Blackpool and prove they should be included in the starting 11. Pulis hints that Tuncay might be given his starting debut for the Potters but also goes on to say that he is not as fit or sharp as he needs to be at this point ("...with just joining us and then going off for two weeks [for international duty], he's miles off in lots of respects. It will take him a bit more time maybe to settle than everybody expects, but we will look after him and make sure he gets the best opportunities he possibly can.").

Hmmmm...

Kellz said...

@AM: Thanks for the story. Guess I can find out tonight if Tuncay should stay on my team for the weekend. If he scores or does well against Blackpool i'll hold my ground, but if he flops might be time to consider another option. I am thinking since I have Torres and Gerrard, I will possibly drop Gerrard for Defoe/(middie @ 9.07). It will be really interesting to see how J.Cole does getting a possible start in the CC. But doubtful he would play this weekend.

Anonymous said...

Hi

This is my first post on AM but have been using all of your advices since the beginning of the season. Can anyone give let me know the current situation concerning Givet´s injury? I just noticed it on the Left but there is no information on the seriousness.

Kellz said...

Out for a couple weeks atleast from what I have read

Anonymous said...

humm Thanks kellz

Anonymous said...

Jensen

(hoping for another 12 save, 4 goal match v. Spurs -- having an inexpensive GK who's not likely to go negative numbers is a relief)

Vermaelen / G. Johnson / Heitinga

(Heitinga still a question mark, GJ needs to produce or he's out)

O'Hara / Bily / Piennar / J. Gomez

(MF looks weak with loss of two set piece takers in MTAY and Fabs, could end up "doing the Mokoena" to beef it up)

Torres / Drogba / Diamante

(if I can score 145 with a "zero" in the lineup (Tuncay) I can afford to hold Drogs for a week. Also have Nugent on the BD)

Mike B said...

@ Billy - "Doing the Mokoena" love it haha.

I'm also liking Diamante, i think he's gonna score darn well, the new Paulo Di Canio!

He takes all the free kicks, and just looks a class act.

I've actually considered doing the unthinkable/Brave/just plain stooopid, and dropping Torres for him so i can beef up my Midfield.

Anonymous said...

Oooooooh - Jensen out with an injury for Burnley in their game against Barnsley. Billthegrunt - how you feelin'?

Mike B said...

Just heard Tuncay is on.

However, he went for a shot, and the ball actually went backwards!

He's getting game time though for you Tuncay owners, tis a good thing.

Anonymous said...

Jensen hurt? If I have to go back to picking GKs again I'm doomed.

Anonymous said...

Good ol' Toonch ... every which way but in the net. :-)

Anonymous said...

gordon,

johnson, vermaelen, hutton

ballack, fellaini, reid, lennon

rooney drogba, tevez

my week 6 so far.
reckon tevez might enjoy coming up against west ham :) hasn't scored yet but i'm sure he will. he hit the post against united as well and his work rate second to none.

i really hope you are right about it starting to even out. these people who've got nando, fletch and vermaelen last week really got some points.

any comments on my team?
cheers!

Mike B said...

Tuncay did just win a penalty though, so we'll give some credit.

I hope the Chelsea game is on TV or something tomorrow, i hate listening to little bits of commentary on the radio grrr.

chris m said...

@anon above:

Just my two cents on your team but:

Fellaini-not a sure thing he starts. The Blini/Billy situation makes it more confusing. I wouldn't pick him

Ballack-I wouldn't pick any Chelsea midfielder, Lampard is the only sure starter and I dropped him 3 weeks ago.

Out of all the teams Everton, Chelsea and ManU have the most confusing midfield set-ups. Way too many choices.

chris m
velvet underground allstars

Mike B said...

Tuncay sounds like he's having a great game!! He just made a goal apparently.

I think he's gonna be starting sooner rather than later.

I wish i had him.

Anonymous said...

Who's in goal for Arsenal this weekend? Mannone sounds like a good replacement for Jensen (if The Beast is hurt). Just a bit more expensive and Fulham v. Arsenal tend to be low scoring.

mudwalkerz said...

dont see Tuncay on the scorelist (so far)
Stoke 4 - 3 Blackpool
Higginbotham 75
Etherington 78
Fuller 80
Griffin 90

Im going for

Gordon
Verm/warnock/G.Johnson
ohara/lennon/hunch/open still since i finally dropped lamps.. for the first in 2 years heh.. ofcourse he'll score at least a brace this weekend ;)
Roonz and Drogz/ Mr. 'I want my own hairdryer when we play elsewhere'.

Bradley said...

From the description Tuncay drew a penalty and got assists on the Etherington and Fuller goals. Contributing to 3 out of 4 goals isn't bad. Then again, I'm obliged to look on the sunny side.

Bradley said...

Oops sorry the penalty shot taken by Lawrence was saved. So 2 out of 4...

Anonymous said...

If Tuncay continues to sit in deference to Dave Kitson I will vomit.

Kellz said...

Comments from the Stoke/Blackpool game praise Tuncay having a great game, had this been an EPL match the assist for the penalty would not have counted but 2 assists = 8pts + what ever else he did would be a great pickup for a player at 1mil. Makes this decision to keep him easier yet hard at the same time. Threes no way hes going to start against United and I feel 20mil for Gerrard is too expensive. I am seriously considering downgrading Gerrard to a mid price middie and selling Tuncay for Defoe. I just can't see Defoe not ripping Burnley wide open. This is going to be a very hard decision. If I drop Tuncay I will not pick him back up the rest of the season, but at 1mil hes very likeable.

Fidan said...

I'm really stuck with options in this particular week...Sooo many options in every part of the field and kinda cheap ones (Given,Gordon: Richards,Bass,Hutton,Heiti,RJohnson,Sonko: Hudd,o'H,Billy,Jordi,Rodwell: Benitez,Bent,Saha,Defoe), it simply makes my head spin... I'm done with most of my team, and I'm extremely pleased with how it looks, but usually this is the point when blow it up and end up with 70pts...I still have to decide bw: Saha/Richards vs Defoe/Bass or Benitez/BAE (Benoit Assou Ekotto). I'm really leaning towards the last one, it really looks exciting!!!

Cheers!!!

Anonymous said...

Agreed Kellz, Burnley w/o The Beast will leak like a sieve. Defoe and/or Lennon must score.

Any word on how long Jensen will be out?

greginho said...

i just wish we could not mention tuncay for at least one week. i have been doing more than fine without him. all of this discussion for someone who has not got a point yet. never thought about picking him up. those that did are in a tough place, with one less forward.

one week my midfield scored 14 points total and each of my three forwards drogba, rooney and abebayor bailed me out, by outscoring my midfielders by themselves.

if you have him, hoooraaahhh for you?
if you don't, hooooraaahhhh for you?

Anonymous said...

anyone knows what happened to stearman? i picked him up last week but he didn't play.. i still got 147 points though with him and tuncay getting 0. and what do u guys think of m.taylor for this week? birmingham are missing so many players and bolton have just won their carling cup game. should i drop him for arshavin?

jeremy

Kellz said...

@anonymous: Stearmen injured before the Fulham match and thus did not play. MTAY has been producing very close to his value so its a good pick. However Bolton have struggled to score and B'Ham have been strong defensively even with multiple defensive injuries.

@greginho: Its not up to you to put a stop to an ongoing debate, if myself or others have something to say on the Tuncay subject we will say it. If you don't like it stop reading those posts and move on. Sorry you picked a midfield that only got you 14pts.

ToffeeDave said...

Completely agree with Kellz. Your a bad manager if your midfield got 17 points and like you said, you got bailed out. I fear this blog is going to get so big that we won't know who will post things and it will not continue to be as friendly as it was before.

Anonymous said...

thanks @ kellz. m.taylor still takes the free kicks and corners for bolton right? if so, that's a gamble i'm willing to take. who else would u choose to replace m.taylor? i also have gomez which is due for a goal!

Jeremy

Doctor Teeth said...

Jeremy - big fan of Gomez (highest point scorer for all MFs priced at 8 million and under and still in the top ten of all MFs priced at 16 million and under...that production from a guy priced in the mid 6s), but this weekend he has another tough fixture against the class of the Prem thus far this season, Chelsea, so you could probably drop him this week and pick him up next week for a lower valuation. In his place, think about picking up:

Michael Kightly
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov
Jamie O'Hara
Nenad Milijas
Jack Rodwell
Junior Stanislas

Some of those players are more likely than others to play significant minutes this weekend so do your research.

As for MTay, I have him at a discount and he has returned over 30 points for me the last two weeks. He has been lucky to score two goals on PKs but, still, he is involved in everything with the Trotters (set pieces, corners, PKs, etc.) and was an absolute stud last year (finished in the top five point scorers overall). I plan to hold on to him this weekend but then may drop him as Bolton has a stretch of 3-4 really tough match-ups coming up after the Birmingham City game.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dr. Teeth..
Guess u're quite right about dropping Gomez against Chelsea. Just thought he's due for a goal anytime now and worried he might get a free kick or a screamer in against chelsea. Who knows uh? I'm not gonna get back on the Milijas bandwagon but will try O'Hara. I already have Bilya on my team. Thanks for the feedback on M.Taylor as well, will probably follow ur lead on that one.

Jeremy

Kellz said...

@Jeremy: DoctorTeeth makes good points. I would choose MTAY as a good pick up for most weeks minus top 4 opposition. However my only hangup on MTAY was last week (I had him) if he didn't score a last minute penalty he would have had only 4pts, therefore his phantom production was really low, however he takes kicks and can have 16pt weeks with no goals/assists.

If not MTAY, Lennon is a good choice and if you believe Ashley Young can turn it around, Villa away to B'Burn isn't bad either. O'hara is a good choice for cheap and D.Dunn/THudd aren't bad choices, you could do worse. If you can afford, Piennar should have a great week (should lol)

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Can someone please tell me whats " Fagassister "
I've seen it in da Fantasist Blog's Comments Section.
Ans also, The Fantasist is paying a tribute to the "Toffees Team" in its latest post.
Shows how jobless the Fantasist really is.
Anywayz,Toffees Team was a HUGE gamble of a team imo..

Cheers,
~ N00B

GTR 34 said...

@Anonymous - Stearman was injured in the training session the day before his last match. I also had him in my team as a surprise pick.

He cost 6.40 at the time, but was averaging 6.20 over 4 matches - had a goal and 4 SOT's.

At 6'3", he's well worth watching.

Two more players that people are not paying much attention too at the moment are Nugent and Hines.

Nugent got a brace in the short time he came on agin Sunderland, and Hines caused no end of probs agin L'pool.

As you may have seen on Yahoo, Toffee's Team got 192.5 pts last week to set this seasons record - Unless anyone can prove otherwise? His team was:

Howard
Givet - Bos - Ver
Fletcher - Rodwell - Fab - Fellaini
Drog - Torres - Saha

What I mean to say is that if this line up was posted on the blog, some would say change this, and change that. Not a sight of SG or BFFL, but 192.5 pts nonetheless.

Anyway, Drogs is fine for this weekend, so that issue has at least been put to bed.

Cheers

GTR 34 said...

Just an update for everyone to bear in mind about SeaBass.

Harry has stated that the head injury he received in the 2nd half against Chelsea is now OK.

HOWEVER, he also stated that he also damaged his knee in the same incident, and that is currently being assessed.

Dare to Devil said...

With the injury concern over SeaBass & the little $$$ I had left over, I decided to upgrade him to Micah Richards.

My other Def consist of Verm & Heiti. Anybody (particularly ToffeeDave) knew about Heiti's starting status in Everton?

Ash in Oz said...

Just something to consider...

With Everton performing so well last week and having such a good result, what do you think the chances are of Moyes changing the line up for their trip to pompey? For those of us who are interested in fielding Billy, this is a cause for concern. As the saying goes "There is no need to fix something that isn't broken". I can't see Moyes making changes barring injuries or suspensions, which would mean no Billy this coming Saturday. Unless of course Moyes is sold on the fact that Billy will only improve things for his side?

What are your thoughts on this situation? ToffeDave, can you shed any light on the subject?

Cheers,

Ash

P.s I'm currently sitting in 1,653 position overall. I'm really enjoying this blog and am sure being involved in it and reading it is helping me out! So thanks to AM for the hard work and everyone else involved in the comments section!

chris m said...

@GTR 34 re: weekly points. You're right, I think, about Toffee Dave's 192.5 if you don't include week one which had some double games. I had 228 pts and at least 6 of us here were over 200

chris m
velvet underground allstars

Bojan said...

to Ash
Overall rank: 1,653 -308
592 points

We have the same rank, LOL

greginho said...

to all of you, that wasn't me saying i am a bad manager for getting 14 points by my midfield in one game. it was a statement that 3 strong forwards are great every week. i am 20th in our league and higher than most of you guys who are panning me. i like this blog better than jeremy's, but we can't get more than one or two posts without tuncay coming up. don't you think there are 1000's more players that need to be covered.

greginho said...

toffeedave and kellz,
i did some research, i looked up that week where i only got 14 points from my midfield and you and kellz said i must be a bad manager for picking a team that got so few points in the midfield, you only got 13.5 points, as well. you had 90 total with 2 forwards getting you 22.5 and 16. i had 125 points with 3 strong forwards getting me 22.5, 16.5 and 28.5.

i was starting to get worried that i was the only bad manager in our league, but now i found out our numbers have doubled to 2 of us!

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