Friday 20 November 2009

Week 12 Round Up & Week 13 Preview


This has been the most difficult week for me since I started writing the blog. I've had no laptop to write on & I've been away with work, meaning I've been unable to keep up with news & unable to write posts to my usual standard. The good news is things should be back to normal next week, with my new laptop due to arrive & I'm back in the office! Now, Week 12 - I've narrowed down my list of 60+ players to 25.

Schwarzer.
Robbo
I had been thinking about Myhill, but now he's been confirmed injured the only other cheap double gamer is Robbo. Everyone knows how I feel about Robbo (you probably feel the same!), so it's 99% likely to be Schwazer.

Paintsil
Konchesky
Zayatte
Samba
Givet
Nelsen
Heitinga
Verm
Alexander
I'm probably hanging on to Alexander, not sure about Vermaelen as he's gone off the boil a bit, so i'll probably add Konchesky, Heitinga or Samba. I'd like 2 DGers if possible, which means Verm will have to go.

Bullard
Dempsey
Duff
Dunn
Geovanni
J Cole
Fabregas
Arshavin
Bullard & Dempsey are definitely in, then I really want Joe Cole but can't find a way to fit him in at the moment. Dunn & Duff are both possibles. I had been considering Tim Cahill but it sounds like he's a doubt. I wish I could stretch to Fabs or Arshavin, but I can't quite find the cash.

Anelka
Zamora
Roberts
Saha
Eduardo
Kalou
Benitez
With the news that Drogba is going to be back in a few days it makes me think I'll keep him at £10m. He's been an outstanding performer & he'll still have 7 (possibly 8) more games before the African Nations so I think may ride out the zero this weekend. Zamora is great value so he could make it, then I may look at Eduardo or Kalou. I'm still holding Roberts, but he's likely to go.

I still have 4 or 5 big decision to make before deadline - I wanted to go 3-5-2 but if I'm hanging on to Drogba I may go 3-4-3. What are peoples thoughts?

Now a quick look at Week 13:

Saturday, 28 November 2009
Aston Villa v Tottenham, 17:30
Blackburn v Stoke, 15:00
Fulham v Bolton, 15:00
Man City v Hull, 15:00
Portsmouth v Man Utd, 15:00
West Ham v Burnley, 15:00
Wigan v Sunderland, 15:00

Sunday, 29 November 2009
Arsenal v Chelsea, 16:00
Everton v Liverpool, 13:30
Wolverhampton v Birmingham, 12:00

I don't have time to analyse players for the barndoor, but you'll want to be picking up up Man City, Fulham, Man Utd, West Ham players. Liverpool could also be worth a look at depleted Everton if they get all their players back (Torres included). Sadly, I may even recommend Villa players as Spurs struggle up there.

So that's it. How is your team looking?

Cheers,
AM

54 comments:

bean said...

AM, any time/analysis you give is much appreciated. this is a free blog, so no one should complain if you have a real life to deal with occasionally. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Where did you get confirmation that Myhill is injured?

Assistant Manager said...

BBC, Sky Sports & Official Hull City website all say he's extremely doubtful. That's good enough for me.

AM

Anonymous said...

Jason Roberts advertisement.I believ that roberts is going 2hava very gud harvest this wk. He isnt a big favorite of pple bt he kan easily get 20pts and over. He isnt playing agst the big four bt agnst mediocre teams who myt slit each athaz throats by scoring loads agnst each atha.Bald jason is playing twice...if he gets a game that is...and he is a striker that fears no team. He is energetic and whyl u chuz expensiv strikers who wil disapoint u with 3pts, u myt regret it if he scores 20x2pts. Fail 2 choose him at your own peril. Bt if he gets 2 pts for u plz 4giv my advert. Coments kaming from Wise Abdul

Doctor Teeth said...

AM - are yor sropping O'Hara in your MF? Surprised to not see him in your list. I am debating whether I hold on to him or bring in Joe Cole.

Patrick said...

is bily still suspended?

Assistant Manager said...

Hi Teeth - Yeah I think O'Hara is going

Patrick - Yes, for 2 more games I think.

rwlwhite said...

Arshavin will not play

confirmed on arsenal website

Anonymous said...

i have hesselink as cheap forward, should i switch to j.cole or kalou?

Anonymous said...

T.Hibbert or Heitinga( eve )?
which 1 would be better?

Mike B said...

I can't find the Arshavin news rwlwhite, any chance of a link or something?

That's pretty important to me as he was a cert for my lineup.

I'm just glad i havent saved my changes yet!

Anonymous said...

how about the 4 teams with two games this week shold i pick most of those players

Mathew said...

my team

Given
Verm / heitinga / konchesky
dunn / dempsey / geovanni / brown(POR)
zamora / defoe / anelka

what do u think guys? i finally managed to click the save button and replace drogba with anelka n end up i need to buy brown(por)..

what do u think? should i change defoe to saha?

rwlwhite said...

Mike B - here you go

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/walcott-back-in-squad-to-face-sunderland

"Andrey Arshavin may also be left out of the starting XI after playing in a Play-Off match against Slovenia for Russia"

Mike B said...

Cheers dude, i had him and Fabs, was just about to drop Fabs when i read your comment haha. Panic stations indeed.

Now what to do with Drogs i wonder...

saitofall said...

I know this may not be the most popular lineup but I have to play my hunches after the 70pt suckfest last week. Also bullard=jan getting better chances to put the ball in the back of the net.

Robbo
Alexander/Konchesky/Baines
O'hara/Dunn/Dempsey/Cole/Bullard/
Anelka/ Jan Ven

chris m said...

Well here we are, on the eve of the most problematic week of the season aside from week 1. A few thoughts for anyone sober enough to find interesting.

Drogba. Drogba is the leading scorer in YFF, even with the crap week last time, @ 17.96 per game and 215 overall. For those of us who have him at the original price of 10.66 versus today's, 17.08, a discount of 6.42, you would be a fool to dump him. I am keeping him. ESPN said he had resumed training but is out. If he is training, hmmmm? If Chelsea is behind tomorrow, maybe a late appearance?

DG-those of us who didn't successfully gothe DG route the last time got hammered. I dropped from the top 100 to almost 1000. Note the word successfully, alot of people went the DG route with the wrong players and it didn't help at all. So including a DG laden line up with the wrong guys could backfire.

And there are perils in the DG situation. I had Duff, who played the full game for Ireland. He will probably not go full time in both games. There are reports of Cahill being slightly dinged. The DG forwards completely suck. What to do?

So I have:

Schwartzer
Verm Paintsal Heiti
Dunn O'Hara Bullard Rodwell
Zamora Drogs Rooney

That's 7 DG'ers. The iffy decision was sick list Bullard vs Duff, Cahill or Dempsey. I hope this pays off. And expensive Schwartzer gets 2 clean sheets and 20 saves.

The BD action should be fast and furious during the weekend as most of my line up will go. Will probably put Given back in, near definite Eduardo for Zamora, Gibbs for Paintsal, I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Thierry Henry-Hand of God 2-the sequel

cheers
chris m
velvet underground allstars

J. Dunn said...

I'm on Given, Verms, Alexander, Heiti, O'Hara, Fabs, Dunn, Dempsey, Bullard, Drogs, Roberts

I would be very reluctant to drop any of Verms, O'Hara, or Drogs for short-term 2 gamer benefit or over a short injury layoff. Even with his dropoff of late, you're still never going to find a top-4 defender who is sure to start and has a good chance at the occasional SOT or goal for 6.02. There's not even anyone mildly attractive in that price range in the long run. Same with O'Hara in the MF... the pickings below 6.00 are really slim now. Drogs I may even be keeping through ACN, depending on his form until then. Again, try to find a way to match his production week-in, week out for 10.00, when every other player on his level is up around 18-22. And you'll have to to keep up with the people who hold. Up until now Drogs and Verms scores have been meaningless because everyone has them. It looks like they won't be anymore fairly soon here.

Prices in general go up and up and up in this game, and you have to hold on to a core of cheap consistent producers, or else pray for an influx of cheap new talent in the January window. And with the economy and the tax law situation in the UK, I wouldn't bet on a lot of big names coming in in January either.

mikl-em said...

well, here it is the eve of the gameweek and I am tinkering. Sometimes this turns out well. Other times...

I don't trust Everton. So I've tossed out Cahill & Rodwell (btw Guardian squad-sheets are confident in a Cahill start, but list Rodwell as "contender").

I looked at Etherington and I live his recent numbers a lot, he's quietly having a really nice run of form with goals in the last two. So he's in and so is Darren Fletcher (who Guardian is confident will start). If a potential DGer is not a definite DGer, I don't want to take the risk. Diamanti burned me on my last DG binge, and let's face it these are not top 4 teams playing 2 games, all 4 of them have choked or are having bad years so far.

I decided that I'd rather bet on a Chelsea clean sheet, so I added Alex to my backline--Ivanovic was already there. Out goes Toure, who I had a couple million discount. But I weighed a Chelsea shutout against Toure's likelyhood of getting physical with 'Pool and getting fouls and cards, and I followed my instincts. And I'm keeping Drogs, I have him at 13+, and hope to see him back next week.

And fwiw, I still have Paintsil, Schwarzer, and Bullard--3 DGs. Hopefully moderation serves me well.

good luck all!

mikl-em said...

@J. Dunn, I am president of the Drop Verms Today fan-club. I did and it feels really good. He has been brilliant, and I know he could be again in theory. But he hasn't done anything for a while. I suddenly realized that a few weeks back, so I dropped him to give me cash for the BD last week.

I looked at the opportunity I was missing for choosing based on particular matchups (which I think is key for the back line) and decided I'll come back when he seems to be on a hot streak again. I kept Glen Johnson on potential for a while, too. And just got tired of not getting the returns.

Drogs and O'Hara don't have the negatives that a defender has and are further to the front (where the ghost points live), so agreed there.

fantasymixx.com said...

my problem with the DVT fan club is that what kind of value can you get back at that price. I have him at 6.02 which is tough to beat over the length of the season. It's not as cheap as Pantsil last year, but the value is similar.

Bethchapman said...

Ok difficult week


Duke (Replaces MyHill
Alexander Baird Paintsil
Duff Geo O'Hara Dunn Cesc
Drogs Roberts

Hate going 352 and keeping Drogs but I think Cesc is as good as a striker given what's happening at Arsenal.
Will Duke replace Myhill? (Schwarz is too expensive)

Maybe Rooney instead of Cesc? I am 0.19 short of letting Cesc go and being able to pick up Torres. I would prefer 343 if I'm keeping Drogs

Anonymous said...

j.dunn spends too much time thinking about fantasy football

Brian said...

I have a feeling Arsenal will come up short at Sunderland, so...

Fulop
Hughes/Shawcross/Zayatte
Bullard/JCole/Geovanni/Malouda/Greening
Zamora/Bent

At this point I really hate having Zamora, but can't seem to let him go. Not even for a cheaper sub in Kalou.

Anonymous said...

Brian, that team is terrible. Sort yourself out son.

Nicky said...

I dont know if I should drop O'Hara, but I already plan to have Billy as a SK so having 2 SK in midfield may not be good. I'll be keeping Drogba though, I think he has a chance of being on the bench, and even if he doesnt make it, he should be back next week.

Another problem is Duff. He just played 120min for Ireland, and with Murphy returning, will he play the first game?


Schwarzer
Vermaelen/Heitinga/Paintsil
Bilyaletdinov/O'Hara/Bullard/Dunn/Duff
Drogba/Zamora

This is my current team with 5.78 units to spare. I can swop Duff for Dempsey straight, or Paintsil to Baird and upgrade O'Hara to Dempsey.

Anonymous said...

Nicky, sort yourself out son. Bily, O'Hara, Duff and Zamora need improving on. Get a drip man!

Anonymous said...

And a grip! Jesus wept, next!

Anonymous said...

Empty space, sort it out son. You will get nowhere with no players selected. Lord Almighty. Next!

Bethchapman said...

Anonymous with the comments at Brian and Nicky and empty space. Great stuff! Get yourself a screen name and entertain the masses.

Anyone notice the "Blog" link is gone from the new look FF yahoo site. Looks like the fantasist got the boot.

bethchapman said...

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/fantasy-football-blog/article/24187/

Phew, glad I found that

Mathew said...

it's a difficult week.. i keep on changing my team and now:

Given
Verm / heitinga / Baird
Dempsey / dunn / Bullard / j.Cole
Anelka / zamora / eduardo

i have to drop konchesky and geovanni to get jcole, bullard and eduardo.. previously my team was

Given
Verm / heitinga / konchesky
Dempsey / dunn / geovanni / mokoena
anelka / zamora / defoe

what do u guys think? shud i hit the save button? or proceed with geo+defoe+moko+konchesky in my team? really need help!!! appreciate all the opinions..!

Anonymous said...

"Boaz Myhill came back into the first team squad on Wednesday and Thursday this week, so if he comes through training unscathed again today he will stake his claim for Saturday."
Phil Brown (Hull's official site)

I'm glad I kept him, and didn't buy overpriced Schwarzer. Plus, with Duke ready for a call, I believe Hull won't take the risk of not playing with Myhill.

Myhill
Vermaelen Hughes Givet
Fabregas O'Hara Etherington Geovanni
Drogba Zamora Anelka

Vermaelen, Fabregas, Drogba and O'Hara were the obvious keepers. Although many doubt Vermaelen and O'Hara, I believe they can perform well in each and every game, and with dicounts of about 3mil, I can't drop them.
Many fancy Konchesky, Samba and Heitinga in defence. I don't. Konchesky isn't stable; Samba had bad weeks lately, and I'm not sure Rovers will get even a point from this week's matches; while Heitinga has lost his pace, is not asure starter, and has a very bad match-up. Givet and Hughes, on the other hand, get their fair share of points almost each and every game, never mind the result. A CS for even one of them will make very good points.
Etherington with BD discount and a home game against Pompey is a very simple choice to make. With Bullard and Hunt healthy, Geovanni could get the forward part, espacially with home games, so I've dropped Hunt to get him. He's also unstable, but if Hull perform, he'll get many points.
Zamora was my first pick two weeks ago, and it can't make me happy. Nevertheless - DG, and in great form is good enough for me. Eduardo and Yakubu are good replacements, but I really want to see them play before I pick them. I really hope Eduardo will get along by himself at the top of Arsenal's formation, but I just couldn't bet on it. Good luck, though. Anelka, with 120min on midweek, was a tough call to make, with Rooney in reach. But I have a feeling about it, and I just can't see Carlo starting a league match without either Drogba or Anelka. Kalou only striker upfront? Sounds bad to me...

SF

bean said...

SF_ it's funny, i ended up on the other end of a lot of your decisions. I picked up Rooney, got Eduardo and Yak, dropped Givet, picked up Ivanovic, went with PRob since I thought MyHill was out.. But I did keep Fab, O'Hara and Hunt. So far looking like:

PRoblem
Verm,G.Alex,Ivan
Fab,Hunt,O'Hara,JC
Roon,EdS,Yak

still tinkering though.

Anonymous said...

I Gona try this line-up

Schawarzer
Alexander,Zayatte,R.Johnson
Dunn, Dempsey, Geovanni, Etherington, Bullard
Zamora, Campbell

Strange forward lineup?haha

Ian Sanderson said...

One thing that no-one has mentioned regarding the Drogba situation is that this is Round 2 of the Blog Cup, so 1 week out could end your cup run.
He's still in my team, but a straight swap with eduardo is a possibility.

bean said...

ended up with:

PRoblem
Verm,G.Alex,Givet
Fab,Dunn,O'Hara,Rodwell
Drog,Rooney,Eduardo

good luck!

Guy said...

@Ian - you're right. I'm still inclined to hope that the other 10 players do enough. It will be annoying if I miss the cut by the difference Eduardo would have made though.

Alex said...

Bullard and Geo in the same team, please can someone talk me out of it!!!

Duff maybe knackered after the week so am nervous on that score, also, Vermalen...whats a guy to do?

Conswaila said...

Robinson
Vermalen/Alexandra/Nelson
Fabs/Dunn/Dempsey/Bullard
Drogs/Roberts/Eduardo

Now i need help
Do i drop roberts (at discount ) for J.Cole
Cole has a potential V Wolves, but if roberts starts two games , can he out score ??

Happy enough with the rest of my team

Help, Help, Help

Anonymous said...

COnswaila -- I do not think Cole will do well without Lampard and Ballack service as well as Drogba's holding capability.... I would keep Roberts.

Anonymous said...

anyone fancy kalou to start?

Anonymous said...

Schawarzer
Heitinga,Paintsil,Konchesky
Dunn, Dempsey, Mokoena, Duff, Bullard
Zamora, Saha

gonna take the risk this week !!!

Anonymous said...

Saha or Yakubu?
Robinson or Myhill?


Rgds.
Ajani

Anonymous said...

very tricky week. To get a fair chance of staying in the cup i should be loading up on DGers, but i have such great discounts on the core of my team i just cant do it. So i may well go out of the cup this week, but im not messing with whats working well, shame it ended up being on a DG week. so i need a big arsenal performance with fab, arshavin (please start!) eduardo, vermaelen!

Mike B said...

Anon, we have similat theories and teams by the looks of it, i don't want to change a formula that's been working well, and then not be able to afford my players back.

Anonymous said...

da Beast(jensen)
Paintsil, Iva, R.Johnson
Geo, Dunn, J.Cole, O'Hara, Demp
Zamora, Diamanti

HAHAHA..may luck be with me!

MBasil

mikl-em said...

MBasil, fyi, while Guardian lists Diamanti as starting, ESPN says he's out (look at the Hull/West Ham preview on their site, updated yesterday). I don't know what to trust, but just so you know.

rwlwhite said...

"With Robin Van Persie (ankle) joining Nicklas Bendtner (groin) on the injured list, the Frenchman could utilise a duo who have started only one game in tandem - Eduardo and Carlos Vela."

http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/0910/pre/first-team/sunderland-v-arsenal?tab=preview

Alex said...

Been away all week then came back and just went crazy, which I think will see Unintended XI start to fall down soon...here goes!!

Myhill
Paintsil, Samba, Zayate
Fabregas, Dunn, Duff, Bullard, Etherington
Drogba, Tuncay

Girlfriends Team
Swartza (spell!)
Zayate, Konchesky, Vermalaen
Bullard, Geo, Dunn, Dempsey
Drogba, Roberts, Zamora

Alex said...

I like to think I have a little bit of influence in it, well if it does well ;-)

Just want to keep both teams very different.

Right now it's BD time, 7 or 8 trades to make!!

Alex said...

Oh and one of them will be Adebeybastardyor, never ever done anything for me, last chance saloon.

mehicoradio said...

Ended up going with the same team i had coming off the BD 2 weeks ago

Given (season keeper atm)
Verm (keeper), Heiti, Paintsil (DG)
O'Hara, Cesc, Etherington, D. Dunn, Dempsey
Drogs, Saha

Plan to hold onto O'Hara til january, Cesc at the moment for awhile. Ether has a great match-up, and then Dunn, Dempsey and Saha for the DG

Brian said...

Glad I didn't sort myself out... 86 points with 7 more to play. Thanks for your keen insight, anonymous.

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