Thursday 25 February 2010

Week 24 - Player Picks

Week 24 is a single week & I'm very pleased about it. Despite having some decent double/triple weeks recently I much prefer it when sides are playing 1 game - it's more enjoyable to pick a team & probably more fair as it takes a lot of the "luck-factor" away (unexpected midweek injuries/suspensions/rests etc).

So we have 16 teams playing 1 game & 4 teams having a rest; Man Utd, Aston Villa, West Ham & Hull do not play. To start with, lets look at the fixtures...

WEEK 24 FIXTURES
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Birmingham v Wigan, 15:00
Bolton v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Burnley v Portsmouth, 15:00
Chelsea v Man City, 12:45
Stoke v Arsenal, 17:30

Sunday, 28 February 2010
Liverpool v Blackburn, 15:00
Sunderland v Fulham, 15:00
Tottenham v Everton, 13:00

Straight away you can see there are a lot of "tough to call" match-ups, with many of the bottom sides facing each other. I think the one stand-out fixture is Liverpool at home to Blackburn. The Scousers aren't playing well but Blackburn are TERRIBLE on the road. Also, given Man City's current inability to break sides down, I'd say Chelsea at home look pretty attractive.

Birmingham at home to Wigan is probably next in line, while I fancy Bolton & Burnley to edge Wolves & Pompey at home - these are game that you cannot afford to lose & in tight situations between clubs in trouble it's usually the home sides that find a way.

Stoke v Arsenal is very hard to predict; Stoke love roughing up the big sides at home & will be buzzing after knocking City out of the Cup last night. I also can't call Tottenham v Everton, although I'd like to think a slightly rejuvenated Spurs could snatch 3 points at home. As for Sunderland v Fulham, a side who can't win at all vs a side who can't win away...who knows what might happen, probably a 1-1 draw.

So with all that in mind (and remember we haven't yet seen the fall-out from tonight's Europa League games involving Fulham, Everton & Liverpool), here are my Week 24 Player Picks.

KEEPERS
Hilario
Jaaskalainen
Jensen
Reina
Hart

The injury to Petr Cech in last night's Champions League tie at Inter means we have the opportunity to own a Chelsea keeper at just a fraction over £6m, at home vs a side who are having real trouble scoring at the moment. It is extremely tempting, but annoyingly with my current team I'm 0.03 away from grabbing Hilario, so I might need to do some switching.

The next in line in terms of bargain keepers are Jaaskalainen & Jensen. Neither are playing for sides in good form, but both are at home & both cost under £5m. My personal preference is Jussi as he is stronger keeper & will tend to make more saves then Jensen, but then Wolves are a sterner test than Portsmouth, so it's tricky call. I think it has to come down personal preference (or whether you can use the extra £0.5m you'll have if you go with the Burnley man).

If you've got cash to burn then the premium choices are either Hart or Reina. Both should get a clean sheet, both cost roughly the same but I'd probably go with Reina - Liverpool are rock solid (as you should be with 7-8 defensive minded players on the field most the time) & Blackburn are very little threat away from home.

DEFENDERS
Vermaelen
R Johnson
Skrtel
Bale
Hutton
Cork
Knight
Dann
Carr
Foley
Finnan
Steinsson
Alexander
Shorey
Fox

A varied selection & a few new names in my defensive picks this week. I won't go in to detail on the regulars - you all know what you're getting if you go with Verm, R Johnson, Bale & Hutton. Skrtel was barndoored by a lot of people last weekend & he still represents a bargain with a very good chance of a clean sheet for Liverpool. I know Glen Johnson is close to fitness but I don't think he'll be rushed back after such a long spell out.

Dann & Carr are cheaper alternatives if you want a Birmingham defender but can't afford Johnson, while Zat Knight, Steinsson, Foley, Shorey (discount) & Finnan are all decent picks at reasonable prices for Week 24. Now the really interesting thing you'll notice is that I've included not one, not two but THREE Burnley defenders in my list. What's even stranger is only two of them actually play in defence.

Graham Alexander, penalty king & all round old bloke, is due to return from injury shortly & resume his place in defensive midfield, but keep an eye on reports before you go for him. Perhaps a safer choice is Jack Cork, on loan from Chelsea, lined up in midfield vs Villa & was probably Burnley's best player (grabbing an assist). Danny Fox is a new addition to the Burnley squad, but the fullback loves to get forward & will get the odd set piece. Both young men cost under £7m & could be picks that separate you from the rest.

MIDFIELDERS
Gerrard
Lampard
Fabregas
Eagles
Duff
Bowyer
Larsson
M Taylor
Lee
Bentley
Huddlestone
Arteta
N'Zogbia
O'Hara
A Johnson
Walcott
Maxi
Richardson

Unlike the defence there are lots of very familiar face in my midfield picks, none more so then the top 3. It's actually not often this season that all have been recommended in the same week, but this week they all have a chance of very good points & I expect their class to show. Gerrard has the best fixture so is my preference &there's not much to choose between Lamps & Fabs; again it's personal preference but Cesc could be in for a tougher game at the Britannia.

After these 3 you have a huge list of mid-range midfielders to choose from. I like Eagles for this week, I think he could cause Pompey real problems, Larsson & Bowyer are tempting vs Wigan, Duff is expensive but is sure to do well vs Sunderland, while Lee & Taylor are options at home to Wolves.

Bentley will also continue on the right in Lennon's absence, Arteta is the cheapest he'll ever be, O'Hara will still get all set pieces, while Walcott, Huddlestone & N'Zogbia are more risky picks but could pay off.

If you're strapped for cash then there are few very cheap players who are better than just "fillers". Adam Johnson is my favourite as he's another taking corners, Maxi is (for some reason) getting a start on the left wing for Liverpool while Kieron Richardson has been spotted taking Sunderland set pieces in Reid's absence & is dirt cheap. Lots of choices, lots of selection headaches.

STRIKERS
Drogba
Torres
Kuyt
Bendtner
Fletcher
Jerome
Bellamy
Doyle
Defoe
Saha
Bent
Fuller
Klasnic
Pavlyuchenko

If you don't have him at a big discount, is Drogba still worth £22m-£24m...scarily enough he might just be, as he tends to pull out his best in big games. I genuinely see him scoring 2 goals vs City, which to be honest he'd need to do just to return his value!

I can't really comment on Torres until we get team news, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him start vs Blackburn if he comes through tonight's Europa Cup game (as a substitute) unscathed. If not then Dirk Kuyt comes in to the equation. Bendtner was reasonably impressive last weekend, grabbing a goal & I feel he suits his team's play far better than Eduardo when it comes to being a centre forward. It's tough to turn down Arsenal's main striker at just over £8m, never mind at his barndoor price under £6m.

Klasnic, Fletcher, Doyle & Jerome are likely to be more "unpopular" picks that could see you climb places if you take the risk, as all have a chance of a goal. Defoe is Defoe, he'll shoot loads & almost always score, Pavlyuchenko is points chasing slightly, but he has 4 goals in 2 game so with Crouch is injured he's well worth it if you grabbed him at £6m (don't pay full price). Saha & Bent will cause Spurs & Fulham problems, Fuller will do the same to the Arsenal defence & Bellamy is a problem in general.

That completes my Week 24 Player Picks post - I think there's a really good variety of options & I'm quite looking forward to finalising my team over the next 36 hours!

Remember it's the 5th Round of The Blog Cup for the remaining 40 Teams (The winner gets a Premier League Shirt of their choice)...also, please remember to join the Facebook Group if you haven't already.

As always, please let me know if you think anyone is missing from my recommendations & post up your current teams so myself or others can help you with any dilemmas you may be having...

Cheers,
AM

75 comments:

markygoods said...

great post AM,
haven't posted myself for a while but i can report that I sit in 755 place overall and climbed to a dizzy 504th at one stage.
i droped Drogs the week before the ACN despite my claims and arguments for keeping him. Refuse to pay more than 19 for any player so won't be adding him back unless his price drops. All in all I still top my Private league by over 100 points and am doing consistently o.k.
not going to post my current team as i think some members of the private league may be reading....... just because your paranoid don't mean they're not after you!

Anonymous said...

where's your god ?- modric ? 8'ish for a player who seems to be running into form with a home game albeit not an easy one, but i'd still expect you to outpossess them and win plenty corners- is he on set pieces now or have they all gone to bentley or jimmy kranjcar ? S.P.

Anonymous said...

My team for week 24:
Hart
Bale Skrtel Hutton
Fabregas Bentley Eagles Lee Gerrard
Kalinic McFadden

No James McFadden this week, AM? I'll BD Torres after this week's deadline as I don't have the units to have both Gerrard and Torres.

bengoh91

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't be surprised if Pav plays Sunday because Defoe came off with a tight hammy yesterday.
What about the Bale/BAE situation? If Corluka is back, will BAE be shifted to the left?

Bigwest

Will said...

What about Benayoun for this weekend? I know he is a doubt but he could be a point-machine against Blackburn.

Jon said...

@ Will

I think you are right, but i guess it depends on if he plays tonight at all. With all the good value picks around (7.47) his price range it could be a real missed opportunity by going with someone who runs the risk of not playing enough minutes.

markygoods said...

had another though too AM, I have noticed that hkbff.net have alot of teams in the top 10 and tend to do well overall, have been to their website but unfortunatley i can't read chinese....anyways my suggestion to you and to fellow blog readers is would you consider setting up an elite group like hkbff.net ?
The group would consist of fellow managers picking very similar teams with slight changes so as to try and cover all scoring outcomes.
All teams could have a stamp e.g AM elite.com like the hkbff.net before team names, i suppose my reasonong for this suggestion is that I'm sick of looking at them guys at the top and reckon with all our resources we could challenge them next year!!

markygoods said...

Bigwest, i think Pav will start, Arry says so...
"He's in the team now, his confidence should be high and it is up to him to play well, he is bang in form and I wouldn't see myself leaving him out of the team at the weekend." http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_5978467,00.html

E said...

Great post AM thanks for the help.

The differences in my team and what you have there are pretty telling of how we both expect the games to go. I've got S.Davies, Baird and Zamora, and only Verm for Arsenal. I just don't see Sunderland winning it, Fulham might have a dodgy away record but they've been mincing teams lately and I thought I'd capitalise on that.

You've got a strong case for Bendtner there but, even as Arsenal's CF, against Sunderland he was out of position a few times and couldn't link with Walcott and Fabregas, or even keep up with them. That's not to mention when he missed a really good opportunity in the box that I don't think Stoke will allow him. I don't know... With all the hype I thought I'd just offer an alternative opinion. I don't think he'll even get 6 points against Stoke.

Bojan said...

I expect big game with lot of goals from Tottenham - Everton game, with Tott wining it 3:2, because of Europa League match that Everton has to play tonight in Portugal...

Anonymous said...

@markygoods i like that idea (:
Defoe is probably out, so Everton have an edge i'm sad to say. I'm a tottenham fan too XD

-Anorexic Pig

Assistant Manager said...

Marky - thanks for the comments mate, glad to read you're doing so well! As for hkbff.net, it's annoying that they always seem to top the rankings, but I have no real desire to create an elite group - the chatroom & comments are enough for me...I think the variation we have is great & I'd love it to stay that way.

But I do feel this this year was just the start for the blog - lots of contributors didn't join till much later in the season, next season I feel we could have some blog regulars with great chances of Top 50 finishes, given all the great advice/analysis people can give/receive...we can challenge them! ;)

S.P - Modric is no longer on Set Pieces, Bentley, Bale, Hudd or Kranjcar take them. He's still a God, but he isn't a great point scorer ...Everton will be tough so he misses out!

Bengoh - McFadden could be a great pick, certainly one I missed.

Bigwest - Bale has been outstanding, no way will he be dropped IMO...BAE may just have to ride this one out

Will - Jon gave the same reason I would've :)

E - No probs mate, footy is all about opinions! My thinking is Fulham have only won once away all season, Sunderland have only lost twice at home all season, so I think it'll be tight but wouldn't feel confident loading up on Fulham players.

I do agree Bendtner is generally rubbish, but he'll get chances playing for Arsenal, I'd take 6 points as he's only costs me £5.5m.

Bojan - 3-2 win for Spurs would do me just fine!

Cheers,
AM

Anonymous said...

whats wrong with c.benitez? he works so hard but the guy cant score with alot of chances coming his way.have risk alot of time to pick him up but he always let me down.

am even tempted to pick him up this week but i dont know.

will nuggent play this week?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info A.M. , i suspected as much. but your doubts over him have made me question him now. will see what the defoe inj situation throws up, as i have him too and might need to upgrade ( if i get pav or kuyt ) or even downgrade modric. if stu holden of bolton was guaranteed a start, i'd be tempted with him- bargain at 5.47. he was even taking them instead of Lee when he came on..and swirling them in almost beckham-like.
he impressed ( 2 shots on target) so might well get a start. S.P.

markygoods said...

thats fair enought AM, love the blog the way it is too and wouldn't want it to change,I owe you and all bloggers here for helping me do well this year, maybe any managers who want to be affiliated with the blog could carry a stamp if they so choosed so as we could see how well we're doing on the leaderboard.Hopefully we get a few into the top 10. Have offically changed my team name to YFFAM Hotspurs!

Anonymous said...

Am - another great post thanks. not only is it informitive, but witty and a excellent read.

I am knew to YFF (my 1st year)I knew I would never be touting for a top place, but am currebntly about 4300th and 1st in my private league and its all thanks this great site AM, and all the other top posters too - so a BIG THANKS to you all.

Anyway my team so far;

Hillario
Hutton, Cork, Skrtel
Fabs, Gerrard, A Johnson, Mikel, Lee CY
Torres, Bendter

Torres will depend on team news, may switch him to fletcher

cheers everyone
dazconnor

STM said...

Even though I am tipping Birmingham to get one over Wigan, I don't like the midfield picks. Larsson and Bowyer's points production have dropped for some time now.

Larsson, especially, may only play +-70 minutes. In the past 5 matches, he started in 4, always substituted in around 70 minutes (mostly by Gardner) and was an unused sub in 1 (Gardner started instead). Just saying...

@E: Fulham has a Europa Cup tie to negotiate today. They travel to Shakhtar Donetsk. Not sure what team will be put out but I would be very wary about loading so many players.

@Anon 3:51 PM: Nugent is on-loan from Pompey, so he is not available against his parent club this week.

Anonymous said...

Week 24:
Hilario
Bale Skrtel Hutton
Gerrard Lampard/Fabregas Eagles Walcott Richardson/Maxi
Bendtner Torres

Rgds.
Ajani

Anonymous said...

How's this look?

Jensen
Bale / Vidic / A. Faye
Walcott / Ad. Johnson / Eagles / Arteta / Benayoun
Drogba / Torres

Willing to take a zero on Vidic this week, but not Diamanti (or Walcott OR Benayoun if it looks like they won't start).

E said...

@STM

Point taken. I noticed that they were playing but I usually don't worry much about fatigue when picking players. You're right though, the game at Sunderland is quite balanced and the extra game factor will probably make a difference. I'll probably make a change or two. Cheers.

Bradley said...

Unable to find a verifiable buyer in time, Pompey will be going into administration. The administrator will be detailing a restructuring plan tomorrow. As a result, the team will automatically have 9 points deducted, which will essentially guarantee relegation:

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5980481,00.html

Sad, but administration is obviously preferable to winding up/liquidation.

Anonymous said...

Below is my team this weeknd w/5mil on the bank:

Jensen
Bale~ Hutton~ Vidic~ Skrtel
Gerrard~ AJohnson~ Modric
Bendtner~ Drogba~ Donovan

I'm still conteplating the following:
Skrtel--> Fox
Modric-->Lee
Donovan-->McFadden

I'm willing to a zero on Vidic as I need him for the following week. I also feel like i need Burnley, Bham and Bolton playas in my team.

PLEASE ADVICE.

-Afrikan (from Rombo- Kilimanjaro, Tanzania)

Anonymous said...

AM & Friends,

Thanks to discounts on Drogba and Rooney - I am contemplating fielding this side:

Hilario
Verm - Bale - Hutton
Fabs - A. Johnson - Zhirkov - Whitehead
Drogba - Rooney - Torres

Obviously, if Nando is fit, this is a supreme strike force (I think Rafa's recent words indicate Nando starts). Plus, Fabs is in the midfield for me, as well.

But are the fillers worth it? I am not sure. AM and friends, some thoughts, please?

Note that I would lose nice discounts on Almunia (I have at 8.51), Shorey (7.50), and O'Hara (8.24) to do this.

Thank you. Quite a fine blog AM. And that's coming from a Gooner!

-Antonio

Anonymous said...

oh no - more confusion. babel starts tonight but scores. which possibly means he won't start at wk/end. kuyt doesn't start which possibly means he will. torres, who knows- but i'll probably keep him. S.P.

Anonymous said...

oh no again- skrtel strechered off. :( S.P.

init said...

AM

Thanks very much for this as usual a great selection.

I love the Danny Fox suggestion I had forgotten about him after watching him smash a left footed free kick into the top corner on his debut. With his CS chance he is a good choice I think...

Chucho should also be on your list. 7.17 is a good price for him, home to Wigan...

Personally I am deciding whether to take Fab or to gamble on Torres...

I need to muse on that for a day or so...

Thanks again!!

Ferdinand said...

My team so far is:

Hilario
Bale, Skrtel, Carragher.
Eagles, Larsson, Benayoun, A. Johnson
Torres, Drogba, Bendtner

Since there hasn't been any information about Carragher i'm wondering whether there is something i'm not aware of? Too expensive in your opinion or what is going on with him? Injured/suspended? Please let me know.

As for all the hype abput hilario, I'm wondering if Tevez (assuming he'll be back as reported) won't do any damage? Having watched the last few slip ups of chelsea, against Everton and Inter last night I think John Terry's current form must be questioned. If we are being harshly honest I think Milito's goal against them last night as well as both Everton's goals in their defeat was due to him. So you all still reckon Hilario is a good pick? There is so much instability at the moment i'm not sure he'll be the best pick. Am I the only one seeing a possible slip-up? Btw will K2 miss it because of his red card against Stoke and Tevez not play I agree City are looking stripped up front.
Excuse that ramble :)

As for my players:

Keepers:
JUSSI or HILARIO (questions raised above)

Defenders:
BALE - no brainer at 2.something
SKRTEL - due to Blackburn's terrible form on the road. and they (Pool) are slowly getting back on track
CARRAGHER - as I said, is there something I don't know. I'm really planning to capitalise on Liverpool's clean sheet. Please comment.

Midfielders:
EAGLES - expecting him to do well for Burnley
A.JOHNSON - impressed me in his first start. Getting a lot of crosses in and wins corners. Plus cheap at BD 4.something.
BENAYOUN - will be actively involved in Pool's victory.
LARSSON - going with the flow

Strikers:
DROGBA - stayig due to discount. Expecting an OFF week from him as said before, but can't take the risk of falling behing in case he fires home.
TORRES - time for him to re-enter the game with style.
BENDTNER - too cheap to resist although I agree he's not Arsenal standard by miles and too cocky to actually fit in my team but I got a feeling...

Anyway, as always, GREAT BLOG AM!

This week's action can't come soon enough!

Cheers,

Ferdinand

Anonymous said...

Afrikan mtoe modric mchukue eagles au larsson kwa vile wanatoa points nyingi kwenye kupiga free kicks na krosi.

Sulldaddy said...

I know in the past someone posted a list of teams with their respective SP takers and it may have been a weblink. Does anyone know of this website or have an up to date list?

My team now:

Jensen
bale/hutton/shorey(7.47)
Gerrard/Duff/A Johnson/Larrsson
Rooney(16)/Chucho/Klasnic


I am currently debating between
Klasnic/Jerome

Shorey/some Burnley Def

Chucho/ ???

if I put in Jerome Chucho has to go to avoid eggs in a basket.

Had Ohara but dumped, I dont think Pompey will be of good spirits this weekend. Actually wondering if more Bolton or a WOlves player may be a good addition. I think could be high scoring with both teams giving up multiple goals most weeks.

Any thoughts? Im not thrilled with my forwards, but like the MF.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:01

sema mazee. tuko gado.

tatizo la larsson hajaprodusi more than 5pts for the past 3 weeks na pia usisahau siku hizi ana-share time na gardner. eagles ni pick nzuri ila bei yake ni ghali sana. modric last weeknd alipiga gemu sana na pia the following 4 games ni rahisi kwao ndo maana namfikiria. pia nimemchukua for 7mil.

-Afrikan

Anonymous said...

anyone have any thoughts on Jagielka? He came on as a sub in the Europa match

Think he will get a start for the weekend?

Anonymous said...

if u had SKRTEL u might want to pick a different player "I think he maybe has a broken toe and I have to check with the doctor," the boss revealed after the game.

"We will have to check but I don't think it's good news for us."

thoose were rafa's words after the game

STM said...

@Sulldaddy: Think that would be me. Bookmark this website. Although they are playing a different fantasy game i.e. not YFF, the information and discussion can still be valuable.

http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk
Set piece takers are here: http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/premiership-set-piece-takers/

I did a quick check as someone previously mentioned that it was not updated, but it does seem to be up to date. I see Fox and Shorey's name in there, so they must be updating them.

@Anon 10:02 PM: I think the starting defense will be Neville, Yobo, Distin, Baines with Heitinga being pushed further up as the holding MF. So Jagielka will not start.

Saul said...

I'm playing with the idea of having the following...

James
Bale/Bassong/Hutton
Lampard/Gerrard/Fabregas/Eagles
Bendtner/Donovan/Klasnic

What do you guys think, looks good on paper but Lamps and Fab don't have great fixtures.

Or...

James
Bale/R.Johnson/Hutton
Lamps/Gerrard/Duff/Eagles
Klastin/Donovan/Bendtner.

I'll decide tomorrow as I'm also trying to fit in Torres but only if he is a sure starter.

jd said...

cant beleive i actualy read some swahili here...sema afrikan..ey, timu yako ni nzuri lakini eagles ni bora..
any1 have any sort of confirmation on skrtels injury??and is torres goin to play??

Anonymous said...

Glad I BD Pav.

Hilario
Cork Alex Bale
Ballack S. Davies(a cheap Duff)Benayoun Bentley
Drogba Pav Torres

I really think chelsea are going to decimate Man City. Hilario is a much better keeper, when it comes to set pieces, Alex will replace carvalho from what I have been reading. Davies is really a great pick if you can't afford Duff. Pav will start. Really gald to be part of a single week again
saitofall

Anonymous said...

James
Shorey Cork Foley (Playing as a winger and a real possibility of a CS)
Gerrard Duff A Johnson Walcott
Drogs McFadden Kalinic

Anonymous said...

@jd ..... skrtel amevunjika mguu and he'll be out for sometime. mgiriki atachukua namba yake wikiendi. on torres since leo alikua benchi lazima benitez atamchezesha.

-Afrikan

Cescy said...

my team is now:
hart
hutton cork shorey
larsson eagles gerrard arteta
juyt bendtner klasnic

brought in hart for jussi-for obvious reasons.
cork for skrtel-as its looks like he will miss pool's game through injury in the europa league game.
kuyt for torres-unsure if torres wil start, will keep an eye on this up until last minute.
klasnic for fletcher-i think klasnic is the better option at home and he has done well for me in the past, plus i already have two other burnley players.

any comments/opinions/suggestions?

Cescy

Anonymous said...

My team for the week all at current prices

Hart
Carra Hutton Cork
Gerrard K Rich Eagles Song
Bendtner Torres Klasnic

V

Anonymous said...

I think for this week, Reina is the best Goalie around.

I agree AM, defensively pool are great. So I am choosing Reina for goal

For Defense, R Johnson and Insua come in to add to season defender Verm (@7.4) so i am hanging on to him

Forwards are going to be Mcfadden (penalty taker and Wigan are likely to concede one), fletcher (same with portsmouth) and Kuyt.

With all the attention on Torres and Stevie G, Kuyt is the one likely to score . The Pool Blackburn encounter was 0-0 last time, this time i expect a nervy one with a last minute winner from Kuyt.

Again, solid folks in the middle, Bowyer, Nzogbia, O hara and Etuhu as the filler.

Kellz said...

This team week is actually really hard to predict with the possible combinations, the if and or buts of Torres, but here we go.

Cescy: According to fantasyfootballscout Cork is at risk for midfield rotation with Bikey/Alexander, you may want to go for Fox instead who should keep his spot. I'd also wait 1 more week on Arteta, his price is great, but his position is now forcing him into a more defensive role and not taking FK's. But for 8mil theres not a lot of better options, possible switches include Walcott, Yossi, and Adam Johnson who takes corners. Remember you don't have to use all of your funds, having 1-2mil in the bank is completly fine if your playing the matchups/form of the player.

@JD: looks as if Skertl will be out for next match. As for Torres, he did not get a run out against Unirea, therefore it leaves me inclidned to believe he is not starting against BBurn. Rafa made it clear he will not rush Torres and Liverpool have enough attacking talent to atleast handle BBurn. I'd expect a run of 20-25min for Torres on Sun.

@Saul: I do believe that Fabregas will have an off night versus Stoke, but if you hold him at 17mil for for option 1, as Arsenals next 4 game stretch is very nice. However, Lampard has the easier matchup (not by a lot) with Citeh lacking goals at the moment and Tevez seemingly not matchfit after 10 days away in Argentina. The moral at Pompey is terrible, and I can't see a good return from James even as low as his price is. Don't take Bassong, EVE vs Spurs is a match that could go either way.

Hope that helps, I still have a headache as well

Anonymous said...

my team for this week selection:

Robinson
Vermaelen,R,dunne,R.Johnson
Duff,A.jonhson,C.Eagles,Lee
Rooney,Bentdner,Pavly

keep 3 player because bought at low price
Please advice....

Unknown said...

ok ok ok...I think I have a team to compete with Steve Bob FC! here goes...

JAAS

HUTTON BALE SHOREY

ARTETA RODRIGUEZ
GERRARD
FABREGAS EAGLES
KALINIC DROGBA

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

THANKS,

ALN

Sulldaddy said...

Thanks STM. That is the link. great info.

This is a real tough week with so many poor teams playing each other. Doyle (wolves) anyone? so many not thrilling options could make this a week to make or break climbs in the standings.

Mohd said...

isnt arsenal,burnley,city and spurs have double games?

Merv said...

Hilário
Bale Hutton Shorey
Taylor AJohnson Duff Eagles Davies
Rooney Doyle

Very confident with my team this week. Will be disappointed if I don't score more than 100 this week even though I have Rooney without a game. Good luck guys!

Anonymous said...

Got Carra in for Skrtel after seeing him go off injured in the Europa League match.

bengoh91

Cescy said...

@ kellz, thanx for the advice, you always seem to reply to all my posts and it is much appreciated, you are like AM's little helper lol...along with the few other advisories...

have brought in fox instead as per your sound advice, thanx and also arteta just made my midfield look good, but i also felt in the back of my mind that he would go for either adam.johnson or keiran richardson...another friday of more chopping and changing to come, only to eventually regret not going with my original feelings, what they were i cannot remember now anyway as my team has had a number of changes already this week.

Cescy

E said...

Damn!!!

Just when I had the team sussed Skrtel goes out and I can't find a decent replacement. Anyone have any ideas for 7.61? I'm thinking Steinsson as per AM's post, but I'm not too comfortable with Bolton defenders. I don't mind making other changes in my team to accommodate. My team:

Jensen
Verm / Fox / Skrtel (must change)
AJ / Eagles / Duff / Maxi
Fletch / Torres / McFadden

Three Scottish players in there which can only be a bad thing haha. (I'm Scottish FWIW)

Gasper said...

My team
Jussi
Bale, Shorey, Dann
Fabs, AJohn, KRich, Gerard, Eagles
Bendtner, Kuyt

I had Torres in for quite a long time, but decided it's better to swap him for Kuyt and get extra money to buy Gerard.

Mr D said...

@Merv

Maybe you would consider swapping Taylor to another middie or even a forward? He isn't playing very well at the moment and he's getting subbed out very often around the 60th recently.

Yuen said...

I was quite set with my team until I read about the Burnley defenders Cork and Fox.

Dunno who to swap out, but would anyone choose either of them over Eagles?

rwlwhite said...

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/eduardo-could-return-for-trip-to-stoke

eduardo may be back v stoke. puts bendtner's position in doubt

madness said...

^I don't think playing Eduardo over Bendtner against Stoke would be wise.

Assistant Manager said...

Agree madguy, no way would Wenger start Eduardo over Bendtner vs Stoke, they need Bendtner's height in attack & to defend set pieces/throw ins.

yang said...

@E 7.13

well, you can always swap Skrtel for J.Cork, the Burnley defender-playing-in-midfield :)

Anonymous said...

Eduardo is not a first-team player.
Bendtner is.

Anonymous said...

my almost final team:

jensen
fox/cork/hutton
eagles/lee/a.johnson/o'hara
drog/bendtner/torres

still looking at midfielders below 8
walcott @ 7.19
arteta @ 7.56
davies @ 7.78
benayoun @ 7.74

meaning o'hara has to go and upgrade hutton to foley @ 7.60

pls comment...

LED Signs said...

I observed that they were playing but I usually don't worry much about fatigue when picking players. You're right though, the game at Sunderland is quite balanced and the extra game factor will probably make a difference.

Jon said...

For those considering Spurs players (apart from Bale!!) the BBC website reports that 18 players and staff have been struck by a sickness bug.

Anonymous said...

The news of the virus at spurs is worrying. Besides Bale, I have Bentley in my team (at a +5 discount). As far as I know only 2 players were named to be affected, corluka and palacios.

I was hoping that to finlaise my team before Friday, but now I can't. First the skrtel injury, now this. I'll probably wait for further news before making any changes.

Hope the spurs players recover in time. Not just for YFF but because I'll be putting my money on them winning their game vs Everton. All the best to your Spurs, AM!

bengoh91

Anonymous said...

Hi AM
Thanks for the great post again

3 B's = 3 MF bargains this week :
can't remember them being so cheap! -

Ballack 7.87
Benayoun 7.47
Bowyer 9.21

All 3 should play
Hope that helps!

Pauly

Anonymous said...

In fact, Ive noticed that Ive got a serious B team this wk:

B Jensen

Bale / Best defender vermaelen /BD Shorey

Bentley / Benayoun / Bowyer / & Burnley's Eagles

Bendtner / BD Best attacker Drogs / Born-again Kuyt

So B there & B lucky this w-end

Pauly

jd said...

this blog is bein realy helpful..thnx afrikan n kellz for the advice..
just a note..was going through skysports liverpool vs blackburn match preview, and according to them, torres should start..dunno how true their predictions can be...any1 sticking with torres?? if not, who to replace him with??

Anonymous said...

185 wk 21
196 wk 22
163 wk 23

After a disastrous start to the season

Managed to have rooney last week but can afford to get him back

dilemma over Torres Or Tevez?

Think Tevez has a record of scoring @ the bridge?

I'll get the Spurs bug if it hits my Bentley ;)

Jassi

Verm Bale Baird

OHara Malouda Bowyer Bentley

Drogba Kalinic Tevez

Kendo

Anonymous said...

what about whelan? or kevin davies in attack? oh, the pain of it all...

Nuno

Anonymous said...

AM & Friends,

Thanks to discounts on Drogba and Rooney (who I will keep this week, despite no ManU) - I am contemplating fielding this side:

Hilario
Verm - Bale - Hutton
Fabs - A. Johnson - Zhirkov - Whitehead
Drogba - Rooney - Torres

Obviously, if Nando is fit, this is a supreme strike force (I think Rafa's recent words indicate Nando starts). Plus, Fabs is in the midfield for me, as well.

But are the fillers worth it? I am not sure. AM and friends, some thoughts, please?

Note that I would lose nice discounts on Almunia (I have at 8.51), Shorey (7.50), and O'Hara (8.24) to do this.

Thank you. Quite a fine blog AM. And that's coming from a Gooner!

-Antonio

Anonymous said...

@Antonio

why not swap whitehead with k.richardson.. heard he's taking kicks for black cats..

~kraken~

Anonymous said...

my team this week.who ever mentioned benayoun made me have a realy had time lit bit on puting my team together.i still dont trust liverpool.

jensen
fox,hutton,mancienne
fabregas,larsson,eagles,a.johnson,duff
drogba,kitson.

am left with 0 in my bank.i think thats the best team i can come up wih this week.any thoughts?

LED Signs said...

For every great scene that I really enjoyed, there's two more that fall flat on their faces that were painful to watch. To compare it to my personal pony in the Oscar race, The Hurt Locker also has a sort of episodic structure and every single scene is perfectly executed and riveting to watch.

TwoFace said...

My team:-

Jensen
Hutton,Bale,Carlisle
Larsson,Lee,Gerrard,Eagles
Bendtner,Drog,Fletcher

The only player i dislike is Carlisle but no money to invest otherwise..only in mind is Kelly(Liv) and Bassong but with Degen might be playing and Everton is not a bad opponent..i'm sticking with Carl

Hope another good outing after 172.5 points last week..keep up the good work AM :)

ppboy said...

This week must be a tricky one. We may end up with lower point because all the expected players does not perform. There will be a bundle of so called '2nd class' players will gain some high points this week. Just my personal opinion. I've completed my team as follows:

Hilario : just take a gamble. Maybe city will get a goal and im confidence Hilario will have some important save as well.

Bale : should i explain why? :-)

Hutton : just as a filler but i guess this week he may get a high valuable point. Maybe with a shot on target and clean sheet.

Carragher : Just hoping that Liverpool will get a clean sheet. Goal from Carragher? No way mate..

Eagles : This former Utd player is showing a very great performance with Burnley this year. There is no reason why i should not include him in my team. he is doing really well so far.

Gerrard : he is back on his form now. Im not very sure how it gonna his performance today but when Liv meet Blackburn Rovers, he always put his name on a score sheet.

Lampard : Back from injury and hopefully he might help Drogba and Anelka to get some goals today.

A.Johnson : He made a good impact in the team so far.Taking corners and a few assists. For under 6, no other good players than him.

Maxi : So far he played every games since moved to Liverpool. Im hoping that he will get a start tonight as well. He is not at his best yet but a lot more to come from him. Maybe today? Who knows..

Bentner : He is the only striker Arsenal have in the squad. I think i should keep him (5.81)

Kuyt : He is not a prolific goal scorer but he always get a goal in important games. Maybe he will get one goal tonight and a few shots on target.

All the best to all managers.

Anonymous said...

my team:

Almunia
vaermalen,bale,shorey
walcot,gerard,eagles,lee
bentner,klasnic,torres

quite balance and hope all will play ;)

kellz,where are u?many managers are waiting your comments...cheers

led signs said...

Sure, you can do external antennas etc and fix wireless problems. But compared to having a nice CAT6 cable drop, I know which one I'll take any day.

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