Week 4 - Defenders
Glen Johnson (Home to Burnley) – What a start to the season this boy is having. I still doubt his defensive qualities & I’m convinced he’ll be found out against the best teams in the Champions League & at International level, but going forward he’s been a revelation. He’s essentially playing as a right winger with the added bonus that he gets clean sheet points, and with a lovely fixture at home to Burnley he is capable of scoring well again in Week 4. I initially barndoored him before realising he’d have to go to free up cash, but since Tuncay came along I’m thinking I might keep him. Even at full price, he’s not a bad choice.
Vermaelen (Away to Man City) – Anyone who still has Vermaelen from Week 1 should be keeping him at that bargain price, and anyone who has a few units left over should think about upgrading one of their cheaper defenders to him. I know he has a tough fixture but he has a knack of arriving in the box and creating chances for himself/others, and I really think Arsenal have a chance of beating City this weekend. If I have a bit of cash left over I may get him in myself.
Roger Johnson (Home to Villa)– The other Johnson is putting up great points in a Birmingham team who are proving really tough to break down. He has a nasty derby fixture at home to Villa but he seems to be racking up defensive points even in defeat, and at under £7millions he’s another candidate if you want to upgrade a cheap defender.
Kyriakos (Home to Burnley) – Only recommended if it’s confirmed he’ll start ahead of Skrtel. If he does then at his price and with a fixture at home to Burnely he represents one of the best values picks of Week 4. Keep an eye out.
Insua (Home to Burnley) – I’ve seen comment suggesting Aurelio could be back and could take his spot back from Insua, but I’d be surprised to see him walk straight back in. All the Liverpool fans I know are big fans of this young man and from what I’ve seen he’s playing well. If you can’t quite afford Johnson but want an attacking fullback with a nice fixture then he could be your man.
Givet (Home to Wolves) – Proving to be one of the bargains of the season so far. Last season he tended to return a regular 3 or 4 points and was a nice cheap filler but so far this year he’s exceeding expectations. He has a chance of another clean sheet at home to Wolves, so if you have him cheap it’s a no-brainer to hang on to him. Even if you don’t have him he’s a good choice at around £6 millions considering his points return so far.
Ricketts (Away to Pompey) – Attacking fullback playing well in a poor Bolton side & he has a decent fixture at Porstmouth. Not many people will be selecting Ricketts so if you fancy getting someone a bit different then he could be worth a risk at under £6million. – he’ll certainly have a chance of a clean sheet.
Parnaby (Home to Villa) – Another cheap option with a home fixture and a player not many people will pick up. Keep an eye on his starting status – he’s played the last few games due to injuries but isn’t always first choice.
Wilkinson (Home to Chelsea) – Many of us will have Andy Wilkinson on the cheap and he’s been doing very well in a vastly improved Stoke side. However, I’m confused – how are Stoke going to line-up now? They’ve signed Danny Collins & Robert Huth and they already have Shawcross, Faye, Higginbotham & Griffin as defensive options in addition to Wilkinson. Because of this uncertainty & the tough fixture Wilkinson could be the player upgraded to Vermaelen/Roger Johnson if I have left over £££.
Sonko – Cheap filler who’s likely to get some game time for Hull, so could be useful to free up a few extra units to spend elsewhere.
Who are your defensive choices? Anyone you feel I've left out?
Midielders to follow over the weekend...and just a reminder that you can find my original Week 4 Preview (a bit dated now) here...
Cheers,
AM
36 comments:
I've got 3 of the first 4 defenders you mentioned. Kyrgiakos, Vermaelen and Johnson. I think Kyrgiakos will get a starting place ahead of Skrtel seeing how easily he fit into the Liverpool team against Bolton. He even had a shot on target if i'm not mistaken. At 6.84m, he's a steal. Vermaelen and Johnson are very attacking-minded defenders so that's self explanatory. If you ask me, just pick players that have an eye for goal and that will get u maximum points.
Jeremy
I've made my feelings on GJohnson felt before...even for his recently inflated value, I still don't think that there is a MF out there for whom I'd rather pay in the mid 13s. If you have him for a discount in the 11s, forget about it - keep him, regardless of the match-up.
Micah Richards has been a good defensive pick for me through the first four games of the season...I have him at a slight discount in the low 6s. Not finding any information on the severity of his injury which he picked up v. Pompey (which robbed me of a clean sheet!).
One defender that AM did not mention above who I love is Christopher "Black" Samba...as I've posted before, let's not all forget that Big Sam regularly deployed him as a striker at the end of last season. The kid had FOUR SOTs last game! Very offensive-minded defender who always has his nose in the action on set pieces and corners. Downside is that he is not a bit expensive at nearly 10 and the Blackburn backline does not looks like it will routinely be returning clean sheets. But I think he's a stud and am seriously considering adding him to my side.
I echo AM's comments re: Wilkinson...I have him for 5 million which is very attractive but suspect that he will lose his stating place with the new arrivals to the Brittania.
Finally, I have Michael Turner on my side presently...same profile as GJohnson and Samba getting forward and is already double digits in blocked shots this season. Routinely had him on my side last season and he was a great, reliable points producer. His prospective value has only gotten better with his move to the Stadium of Light in my opinion.
Sorry, meant Samba is NOW a bit expensive (not "not a bit expensive"). Cheers - over and out.
Doctor Teeth - I'll never forget picking Samba last season when he was playing upfront. He got me -3... :)
@ AM -
i feel u dude..
when u take someone cheap and you THINK he's gonna have the game-play of a pro... the points return in sore negatives..
and also i think there are two more defenders out there..
[1]Mr Que from B'gham is quit a sold defender with a middie-mindset...
[2]McCartney is also not that bad a pick given that his points return is more than his price..
BTW..
hows my team??
Myhill
GJohn/Verma/Sonko
StevieG/MTay/Moko/Brown
Drogs/Torres/Tuncay
(1) Should i lose GJ and upgarde my middies??
(2) Should i lose GJ/Mtay for Jensen/Given??
(3) Dont you think Myhill is a good bargain considering that even if he does leave goals he's bound to make some saves..
(4) Or should i lose Myhill for Gordo??
*OPEN TO ALL SUGGESTIONS*
Cheers,
~ Sam
***[1]Mr Que from B'gham is quite* a solid* defender with a middie-mindset...
My vote goes for Baines vis-a-vis G.Johnson. LB is taking all the kicks for Everton and moreover Everton will bounce back just like the last season and fulham is not the same team without AJ and DM.
Hi Sam...I purposely left Quedrue out because I'd already listed the much cheaper R.Johnson & Parnaby for Birmingham. McCartney is another good pick I'd forgotten about, provided he continues to start.
I'd drop Taylor, use a bit of the money to buy another midfielder around 8-10 million and then use the remaining to upgrade Mok or Brown. With Mok, Brown, Sonko & Myhill you've got 4 players who could easily score zero or even minus points.
Hi guys and @AM, do you think i should drop one of my three strikers(Torres 15.76, Rooney 16.37, Drog 12.44) for tuncay to strengthen my midf (currently consist of nani, lennon, fletcher, duff)?
Cheers :)
JY
Hi JY - it's tough to lose any of those strikers. I'd keep Torres for sure, but you probably do need to strengthen your midfield. If it was me I'd drop Rooney, but I did that a, so what do I know! :)
You nailed it again, AM. Thanks.
Queudrue (7.49) is in good form (#5 in points among defenders). But Johnson, being cheaper and less foul-prone, may be the better choice given the derby matchup.
I think Dunne (8.83) and J.Collins (10.39) are worth a look @B'ham.
I'm keeping an eye on Tyrone Mears (7.53), but most likely not for the fixture at Anfield.
If you believe Everton have turned a corner and you have a ton of cash laying around you could go for Baines, but at (14.51) I would wait for him to have a bad game and maybe his price goes down. I'm already invested in one premium defender though.
how come heitinga hasn't been added yet?
In regards to Givet/Samba, I wonder how the Rovers' backline will settle with the arrival of Chimbonda and Salgado? I guess Chimbonda has already fit into the LB slot with Givet/Samba in the center, Jacobsen on the right. Salgado is an old man, so maybe nothing to worry about, but sometimes big Sam likes to shuffle a bit. I think Givet has played as full back a few times with Samba/Nelsen in the middle.
It's pretty funny that Givet is Blackburn's leading scorer with 1 goal.
I want to throw out a darkhorse defender pick: Lars Jacobsen of Blackburn.
Many people are looking at Rovers for a win and clean sheet over Wolves, consequently picking Givet or maybe Samba. Well, for around 6 units, Jacobsen might surprise and bag some extra points. Check his stats - he has been firing in successful crosses, getting PIs, and other phantom stats, and hardly commits any fouls. He could win a corner or two or nab an assist. I don't think it is reasonable to expect Givet to score another goal anytime soon, and aside from that and the clean sheet, he really does not do much of anything. I like that Jacobsen seems to generate those miscellaneous points while Givet is all-or-nothing most weeks IMO. And last season Givet was prone to fouls and PKs and YCs - I expect him to regress back to the mean soon LOL.
Sure, if you ahve Givet on the cheap, keep him. But maybe Jacobsen is worth a punt if you want a BBurn defender.
AM - btw, it seems Yahoo is not going to do the empty week. the upcoming fixture schedule is listed as "WEEK 4 FIXTURES"
Thanks Bean, I'll change everything to Week 4 tomorrow...correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first time Yahoo have ever done this? They normally just leave the week blanks (eg. zero points for all) if there are no games?
Dave - Not a bad shout, but ensure Jacobson will start with all the new signings...
@AM - yeah, they have always screwed these things up, like last year when they combined like three weeks into one for some reason and then having empty weeks on international breaks.. they seem to be a little more on the ball this year, but you just never know.
Belhadj vs Bolton might be worth mentioning. He's avg. 7.5 solely on ghost points in a crappy Portsmouth. And he might get his first CS this weekend.
I really like Glen Johnson for this next week. But at +13mil might be a touch too expensive and the money could be better used if he does not score. I think he is justifying his price tag to Rafa, he might aswell be listed as a midfielder because he is out performing many of them. I want to jump some people this week, possibly going to make some really stupid selections but if they can pay off it'll be huge.
Good luck!
@ Naning
I too really like Belhadj. I think he's very consistent point scorer esp since he's playing as a middie and putting a lot of successful crosses. He may be worth a try. If he gets an Assist or even a SOT...not to mention a GOAL...!!! And he's playing against Bolton who don't defend good themselves and who'll be out and trying to get a result. I wish I could squeeze him. Now...if I drop...GERRARD...!!!
We'll see...!!! Damn, so much time left to make changes/errors!!!
Good luck and Hasta la Vista
Right now I have Verm/Bassong/Richards which has worked ok thus far.
I will be dumping Bassong for either Heitanga when he gets posted or Kyriakos if I can figure out whether he's a sure start.
I absolutely love Glen Johnson (is he going to figure for England?), same with Baines. But they are way too pricey. To get either I would have to dump one of my front three Torres/Drogba/Rooney and take Tuncay. As I have said before I am not going to do that. My figuring is that all 3 strikers are going to score 20+ goals, be good for 300-350 pts, if they don't get injured, by the end of the year. I have them at their initial prices and don't see selling them and buying them back.
AM-run a piece like this on midfielders. Outside of the usual-Lamps, Gerrard, as I said before, I remain clueless as to who in the hell is going to put up any points. There are great defensive midfielders in the EPL-Essien, Mashcerano but none of them score pts. Where's the offense?
chris m
velvet underground allstars
I just realized I am getting locked in here with few options. The makings of a static team.
Yea, right now I'm choosing between the combo of Young/G.Johnson and Gerrard/Belhadj. It's really keeping me awake at night :/
Right now I'm leaning towards Young/G.Johnson simply because I fell behind last week(Robinho, Defoe up front) and need to get back by not choosing the same players as everyone else in the game(Gerrard), but I might go back to gerrard.
Why not MTay instead of AYoung, if you don't have him already, of course...!!!
I do ;)
Then I'd go for Gerrard/Belhadj. Young will be playing a local derby (away) and B'ham have been real tight so far, esp at home. I think Gerrard will overscore him big time. And Belhadj maybe won't score as much as Glen but you got Glen pts covered with Gerrard (and I'm sure Torres too ;))...But hey...that's just my opionion...!!!
Good Luck
@ Everyone interested in Dini (Bilyaletdinov)
So finally Moyes gave us a nickname for the new boy (yeah, you guessed it - DINI)
Here is the latest on Dini's waiting-fans...!!!
(From SKY SPORTS)
Moyes has no worries about his physical condition as the Russian season is already in full flow, but he admits fans will have to be patient and not expect too much too soon.
"We have been out to Russia quite a few times to watch him," he continued.
"With this being the middle of their season, fitness shouldn't be an issue.
"What we have to appreciate, however, is that this is a completely different environment for him.
"I thought he looked really excited at the weekend when he came on against Wigan, but also a little overawed and apprehensive.
"We need to give him every opportunity to settle in.
One i'm trying to find is decent sunderland defender on the cheap that should start. They'll get 3 easy fixtures coming up and seem worth a shot
Will definately be keeping an eye on Kyrgiakos, Bilyaletdinov and Zhirkov, but here's my team so far.
Gordon
Vermaelen, McCartney, G.Johnson
Milijas, Hunt, M.Taylor, Pederson
Drogba, Torres, Tuncay
Right now, I'm not entirely sold on Hunt for this week, but I am also not entirely framiliar with his game. Am also considering replacing Milijas... but he stays for now I think.
How's she look? Any alternatives?
@AM and others..
still having trouble bout wilko's status in the coming week.. dropping him will leave me only $5.5.. and from your recommended list, parnaby is the only player fit to replace him @5.1..(i already have sonko btw).. any suggestion?.. should i keep him or switch to parnaby?..
Max..
I've now corrected everything on the site from Week 5 to Week 4...damn you Yahoo!
@ AM
i hv got 15 $$ spare.. whom should i take??
Lennon (or) MTay (or) Hunt and upgrade elsewhere (or) tell me whom..
-Keith
can anyone tell me what position do m kightly play in wolves?and when he in the first eleven who will not play?jarvis?milijas?plz help me
Coming from Greece, i do know Kyrgiakos very well. He goes forward in every corner kick and has scored several goals with his former teams (Panathinaikos, AEK Athens, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt and the national team) not to mention the SOT he gets.
He is also very good in tackling.
Negative thing for him, commiting fouls and taking YC.
And something else. I think Drogba is leaving for the African Cup in January so he is not a season keeper.
The Greek
Just got in from a weekend of camping and catch up with everyone. Here's my defensive line.
Vermaelen Wilkinson Baines
Wilkinson will probably be dropped as I don't see him playing games anymore and Heitinga taking his place.
Baines I got at 10.58 so he is probably a season keeper so long as he doesn't get injured.
Verm also a season keeper. Not investing too big in defence even though I really want G.Johnson
did i missed something?.. Heitinga still not pickable rite..
Max..
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