Thursday 11 March 2010

Week 26 - Player Picks

Week 25 is over & I end it on 109.5 points, which I'll certainly take considering the zero from Bale & the disappointment of Torres, Nani & Berbatov. Fox grabbed me some handy points last night to keep me inside the top 950 overall.

We now move on to Week 26, another double week for 2 teams & the 4th Round of the AM Challenge Cup where the remaining 125 team will be cut down to 60! It's a big week, lots to get through, so lets start with a look at the fixtures...

Week 25 Fixtures
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Birmingham v Everton, 15:00
Bolton v Wigan, 15:00
Burnley v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Chelsea v West Ham, 15:00
Hull v Arsenal, 17:30
Stoke v Aston Villa, 15:00
Tottenham v Blackburn, 12:45

Sunday, 14 March 2010
Man Utd v Fulham, 13:30
Sunderland v Man City, 16:00

Monday, 15 March 2010
Liverpool v Portsmouth, 20:00

Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Wigan v Aston Villa, 19:45

Straight away we see that Aston Villa & Wigan have a double week & while the fixtures for these teams aren't ideal, they also aren't the worst in the world. I imagine both sides will fancy taking something from their first matches - Wigan @ Bolton & Villa @ Stoke. Tough grounds to go to, but certainly winnable if Wigan battle like they did vs Liverpool & Villa use their pace to hit Stoke on the break.

They then face each other at the DW Stadium in midweek, which you'd expect Villa to win with their quality, but you never know on a pitch that is still a bit sticky despite being re-laid. You may not agree, but I think Wigan are capable of an occasional spark that other sides near the bottom don't have - N'Zogbia, McCarthy & Rodallega can all do something special. I see lots of points flying around over these fixtures, defensively & offensively, so for that reason I think it's a decent week to load up on double gamers - far more so than Burnley & Bolton last week.

Unfortunately, you may have some problems affording Villa players after some crazy price swings during the week which has seen some key players (Milner, Young, Downing, Gabby) bounce from as high as £16m to as low as £12m & back again. I hope you took advantage to grab some bargains & most importantly saved your changes in time!

From the other fixtures you have to fancy Arsenal to beat Hull comfortably on the back of the thrashing they gave Porto on Tuesday. Liverpool will be looking to bounce back & usually do at Anfield, so if they score early it could be a long evening for Portsmouth. Chelsea face struggling West Ham at Stamford Bridge, Man Utd host terrible travellers Fulham & Spurs kick the weekend off at home to Blackburn on Saturday lunchtime.

Man City might fancy themselves at Sunderland, but it could be close with the Stadium Light bouncing after the 4-0 win over Bolton. Birmingham v Everton has 1-1 written all over it in big marker pen, while Burnley v Wolves is probably one to avoid picking from (and probably one to avoid watching). Stoke & Bolton face the double teams and are at home, but neither side excites me.

So those are the fixtures  - it could be 6 or 7 double gamers for me this week, so you'll notice my picks are very Wigan & Villa focused. Here we go...

KEEPERS
Friedel
Hilario
Kirkland
Reina
Jensen

I must be crazy, because (whisper this quietly...), I'm thinking of picking up Hilario again. Yes he hurt us all greatly 2 weeks ago with a -9 vs City, yes he's very rubbish, but this week Chelsea face a West Ham side who lost at home to Bolton last weekend. He's also dropped to under £4m, so he's a great way to free up money elsewhere. I am very very nervous about picking him though, so it could be that I don't have the guts in the end...surely it couldn't happen twice...could it?

Alternatively you have the option of splashing out over £12m on Friedel - Villa don't concede many goals & Brad makes lots of saves, so I'd expect a good return for your money (although I remember him hurting me in a double week earlier in the season). I personally don't think I can find the cash, so another alternative I was looking at (and currently hold for £4m) is the other DG keeper Chris Kirkland. However, as I write this I realise he leaves me feeling just as uneasy as Hilario, with the added fear of 2 bad games, so perhaps I should approach with caution.

Jose Reina is below £10m for the first time in a while after Liverpool's defeat at Wigan & I can't see Portsmouth troubling him too much & finally we have Jensen, affordable at home to low scoring Wolves. I'll be honest, for me it's probably going to be Hilario for me.

DEFENDERS
Dunne
Scharner
Warnock
Cueller
Caldwell
Figueroa
Vermaelen
Bale
Hutton
R Ferdinand
Fox
Carlisle 
Bassong

You just have to look at the the Villa defender's averages to know that they are all very good picks pretty much every week. I've never seen a team get get so many blocks in, meaning they score well even without clean sheets. Dunne is my preference but also the most expensive, with very little between Cueller & Warnock (Collins is too expensive).

For Wigan Caldwell is great value, as is Scharner given the fact he's playing in midfield at the moment & loves to make late runs in to the box. Figueroa is also an option if you want to do something slightly different, but I've left Boyce out just in case Melchiot returns.

So you can see there are lots of great double game defenders, but the problem I have is the my current defence of single gamers Bale, Hutton & Fox...I don't want to lose any of them as I have them all at big discounts & they keep performing way beyond their cost, so it's possible I go 4-3-3 to include a DG defender.

Other affordable single gamers with a good chance of a clean sheet are Rio at home to Fulham, Carlisle home to Wolves & Bassong at home to Blackburn.

MIDFIELDERS
Milner
Young
N'Zogbia
Downing
McCarthy
Lampard
Gerrard
Arshavin
Nasri
Walcott
Arteta
Nani
Modric
Kranjcar
Malouda
Maxi

I've already mentioned the issue with player values this week - I was lucky enough to grab Milner & Young at £12m so it's likely they both stay in my team as both are capable of huge weeks if things go their way. I decided against bringing Downing in too but I still expect him to have a decent week.

I definitely want a one Wigan midfielder & the more I see Charles N'Zogbia the better he gets, so i'll also be trying to bring him in. If I can't then find the funds then James McCarthy could be a good alternative.

If none of the doubles take you fancy then you're lucky you have loads of single game option. At the top of the budget it's set up for Frank Lampard to score against his old club & surely Steven Gerrard will surely sort things out vs Pompey (I have a feeling a penalty could come his way). It seems Fabregas will miss out again for Arsenal, which means things will go through Arshavin, Nasri & Walcott vs Hull - all three could be in for big weeks.

If he starts, Nani will be on set pieces at home to Fulham, as should Kranjcar for Spurs (with Hudd & Bentley still sidelined) & I have a feeling it could be a game for my man Luka Modric to pop up with a goal. Malouda's value has dropped so he could be a nice outside pick vs West Ham & Maxi is simply in there to fill a spot.

STRIKERS
Agbonlahor
Rodallega
Carew
Torres
Rooney
Drogba
Bendtner
Defoe
Pavlyuchenko
Bent
Tevez
Bellamy

You have 3 real options from the doubles. For Aston Villa, Carew is fresh from his FA Cup hattrick so should get the nod to continue ahead of Heskey & Agbonlahor is always a threat away from home so he should be in your thoughts if he recovers from his flu. I wouldn't pay full price, but many of you will have him at £12m.

For Wigan you have Rodallega, 3rd to only Drogba & Rooney in the SOT stats, but I don't blame you if you're put off by his abysmal performance in the recent triple week. I'm thinking the winner against Liverpool may give him the confidence he's been lacking & this could kick start his season - I'm considering giving him another chance.

Another who may get another chance from me is Fernando Torres at home to Portsmouth. His -1.5 hurt this week, but the guy is too good to let that bother him & with another 90 minutes under his belt I think he'll be back amongst the goals. I don't need to go in to any detail on Rooney or Drogba; I'd be shocked if either failed to score given the home fixture & opposition.

I was considering dropping Bendtner after last weekend, but I kept him in the end, his hattrick midweek will ensure he continues to spearhead the Arsenal attack & plenty of chances will come his way vs Hull. I expect Defoe & Pavlyuchenko to start vs Blackburn, both have a chance of a goal given Blackburn's away record. Tevez, Bellamy & Bent are all in good form.

So that completes my player picks for Week 26 & I feel there's a good variety of double / single gamers to choose from. Getting the balance right is always key in weeks like this & as I mentioned earlier I can see myself going with 6 double gamers + 5 single gamers (Hilario, Bale, Fox, Bendtner & Torres perhaps?).

I'm aware we're approaching the final stretch now, so I'm looking to pick players based purely on the fixtures right in front of them & not get too hung up on discounts (apart from the obvious Rooney @ 16, Drogba @ 10, Bale @ 2). It's easier said than done though!

Please remember to join the Facebook Group if you haven't already. You'll get notifications whenever I post something new on the blog & it's also nice for me to put some faces to names! We're coming up to 500 members now - it would be great if we could reach that milestone this weekend.

Let me know how your Week 26 team is shaping up...do you think I've missed anyone from my lists above? How many double gamers are you looking to bring in?

Thanks for reading, but more importantly thanks for all your excellent contributions in the comments sections & chat-room...it goes a long way to making this blog work!

Cheers,
AM

75 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hilario
Dunne Fox Hutton Bale
Milner Young N'Zogbia
Bendtner Agbonlahor Carew.

Really wanted to keep my Nasri, but I N'Zogbia was a better pick.

AdmiraLord Nelson said...

to keep Fabs @ 17.51 or not to keep Fabs @ 17.51, that is or is not the question now is it? if I drop him it wont be until 5 minutes before the deadline!!!! take that to the bank!

Anonymous said...

Hilario
Bale Figueroa Scharner
N'Zogbia Milner Young Downing
Rodallega Agbonlahor Moreno

Thought Moreno looked decent against Liverpool and likely to get at least 90 mins across Wigan's 2 games. May switch to McCarthy though and go 3-5-2.

Initially had CK/Caldwell in for Hilario/Scharner but this post convinced me to switch. May yet change my mind as I always like to back double-gamers, in spite of being burned by Jussi and Ricketts earlier in the week!

DC

AdmiraLord Nelson said...

nice team DC, very nice!

rwlwhite said...

Jussi
Fox, Bale, Hutton
Wilshere, Walcott, Belletti (Filler), J.McCarthy
Rooney, Drogba, Torres

I've negated the double gamers, and gone with a beast of a strike force in the hope that i get 6 goals at least from them (combined, not each!)

Risky, but it's that time of season

skippy11 said...

Hilario
bale/verm/hutton
Milner/nasri/downing/Mc Carthy
Drogs/Bendtner/Carew

I picked up Milner and Downing when the price dropped and saved about 7pts. My def is all on big discounts so no changes there. I still have 2.38 left over.

Any ideas or comments I would appreciate it. Thanks

Anonymous said...

I had Fabs at 17+ and he was replaced with Milner as soon as he ruled out of the champs lge game, just like AM said i think we are at the point in the season that people shouldnt be risking it with injured players due to discounts unless its players like Drogba or Rooney who not only have been scoring their price or above but are generally held at massive discounts. Fabs at 17+ is nice but he hasnt really been lighting it up lately and that money could be used to add double gamers.

Aside from the Fabs dlimena, I have 2 issues im currently dealing with, 1st i have Almunia at 8ish and he has a good match-up but always seems to leak a goal or 2, would you guys prefer the cheaper Hilario or Timmy Howard? Also i didnt see Ohara in the player picks but he always seems to score well, what do you guys think about him vs Liverpool.

CP

Bojan said...

@Admiral - DROP Fabs... I am telling you this every week!!!

Bojan said...

@Skippy - AM wrote everythinhg in his fantastic post... You just need to pick...

Only news: Gabby and McCarty(Wigan) are doubts...

Chi said...

Alumnia (8.xx)
Hutton(3.xx) Dunne Fox
AdamJ Arteta Milner Downing
Drog (10.75) Bendtner(5.xx) Torres (15.xx)

1.49 left...
I wanted to upgrade AdamJ to someone, but I kept him last week and took a 0, it will be a slap in my own face to drop him this week, and also there will be a double week for ManCity for W27
I had a horrible memory with Wigan's triple week, and my middies and frontlines look good enough and the wigan players just couldnt tempt me enough to drop any of them (perhaps sharner for fox?)
any suggestion guys?

Bojan said...

@ CP - O'Hara has constant back problem but if he plays he will return his value prob, but in DW i would rather pick Pettov or N'Zogbia...

I think that Howard is no pick for this week... B'Ham will have few SOT and one could go in...

And Hilario is really risky pick... If i would go for Chelsea CS i will pich Alex for 7,32 if Carvalho is still out...

Bojan said...

Chi, if you took 0 for AJ last week, you have to keep him, or you admiting you did wrong last week...

Bojan said...

FACT OF THE WEEK:

Martin O'Neill has never won a Premier League game as Aston Villa manager in the month of March.

Doctor Teeth said...

My provisional line-up:

Hilarious
Bale Dunne Hutton
Arteta Milner Lamps BFAY Wilshere
Torres Bendtner

I actually really like the way my team looks right now although I could possibly do with 1-2 extra DGers. My only move yesterday was to swap out Gabby and Cuellar for BFAY and Dunne. I had convinced myself on Tuesday that I would give Gabby another chance (check out his game by game stats this year - he has been remarkably consistent, returning a true average of around 16 points every two games) but in the end his illness scared me off a bit and I just had a hunch about BFAY. Plus, making the swap allowed me to upgrade to Dunne, the premium backline pick this week. I am still considering swapping Dunne/Wilshere for Warnock/McCarthy or Warnock/Carew.

I'm thrilled that I got Lamps into my side at under 19 with the upcoming DG for Chelsea...I really wanted some Blue firepower for the home match against woeful WHU. After a slow start/adjustment to Ancleotti's diamond formation, Lamps has really taken off and begun to regain his uber-fantasy status of past seasons. Check out his stats over the past 10 weeks.

I know that he is the second leading fantasy scorer for the Latics this season but I think N'Zogbia has far too many weeks where he returns under 5 points. Martinez also seems to have been playing him deeper in the MF recently. Quite frankly, I don't fancy any of the Wigan players too much for the DG but I would probably pick Scharner and McCarthy before CZ.

Really wish that I still had Modric at 6.98.

Bojan said...

Doc@ we play each other this week...

Bojan said...

My provisional line-up:

Friedel

Bale Cuellar Scharner

Walcott N'Zogbia Milner Petrov

Bender Torres Carew

Doctor Teeth said...

Bring it on, Bojan!

SLASH said...

I also grabbed Milner and Young at 12 but even so it was/is quite hard to get a clear view for its final outlook. I'm going a bit risky this week with a 3-5-2 but there are some people I just can't let go. Modric for example is the 1st one I picked in 12.01 AM on Saturday; Nasri is very hard to sell after the game against Porto, speaking of which, I also bought Arshavin today, BUT sold Bendtner (my only excuse is that he doubts me a little) and, of course, I could be sorry but the manager's gotta do what a manager's gotta do : ) My other two in the middle are, as a I mentioned, Milner and Young. Why not one? Cause I can have them both : )

My keeper is the same as yours, AM, Hilario. First of all, he's CHEAP. Secondly, he could make up for his Horrible game(s) with a CS and some saves.

My defense consists of:
->Fox(I sense another pretty good week)
->Warnock(cheapest Villa DF and as every Villa player, could score)
-Bassong(didn't buy Bale when I was supposed to)

And the forwards are:
->Carew(really encourages me with his hat-trick on Sunday @ 6.40)
->Pavlyuchenko(uh. . . home game vs. Blackburn)

Still wondering about Nasri <-> N'Zogbia but most probably won't change. I'll be happy to hear your advices.

Really sorry about you guys with Fabregas --> http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2010/03/11/fabregas-needs-a-hull-miracle/

Excellent post again, AM. Today I made a quick draft of my possible 20-30 picks and I have 90+ per cent match with yours. But once again, let's hope things go on by our scenarios.

Anonymous said...

Hilario
Bale/Dunne/Scharner
Arteta/Downing/Milner/Wilshere
Rodallega/Pavlyuchenko/Agbonlahor

Any comment?

Kellz said...

Another Liverpool loss, another Torres YC for dissent, another failed performance in which no body looked cohesive or fired up. I honestly don't know what is happening or what we can do to fix it, every time I see Liverpool play I want to throw something through the TV. The manager has a responsibility to motivate and turn the team around, something Rafa Benitez has failed to do this entire season.

My team:

Almunia, Bale, Warnock, Scharner,
N'Zogbia, Milner, Downing, Arteta,
Rooney, Bendtner, Carew

still unsaved changes dropping Fox, Gabby (sickness), and Walcott (4mil discount).

I feel that even if Gabby comes back from sickness, you are never 100%. anyone knows the drainage of energy that comes from being ill so I feel the better choice is Carew. Also, Walcott might have another great game against Hull, but with Bendtner/Almunia I feel I have the goals and CS covered so N'Zogbia with 2 games can step in. I have 10mil left for a defender, and with Scharner in the midfield likely to see 2 games it makes sense to give him a try, hoping Wigan can build of their destruction of Liverpool at Bolton (woeful).

Good luck getns, I really feel too depressed to type more, I need a pick me up, hello beer!

Anonymous said...

great post as usual. i'm definitely risking Hilario. too cheap to resist for a big 4 keeper.
i've took your advice and slotted another DG in. originally had 4, but i've gotta try and match/mark my opponents, so i've grabbed mccarthy as the 5th. i missed the villa players at 12, or else it could have been more. splitting of set pieces between milner, downing & bfay doesn't tempt me to break the bank for more than 1 of them. S.P.

Anonymous said...

Thanks AM. At the moment I have:

Hilarious
Verm, Bale, Hutton, Cuellar (currently have Fox at 6.5)
Arteta, Milner, Downing
Roo, Bendtner, Torres

Any thoughts. Fox has done really well the past few weeks so am hesitant to drop him, but Villa have DG this wek and next so a Villa defender makes sense?

Phil

Mrljo said...

hutton/gabi or carew/cuellar (maybe even scharner)
What do you guy think??

right now on:

hilario
fox, dunne, hutton (cuellar/scharner)
arteta, yound, milner, downing
bendtner, hrod, gabi(carew)

I don't want to lose my hutton disc. but then again, feel like he can get max 3 points vs.city

Oh and can someone please tell how do I open that stats menu in YFF where you can see most used players (not only top3) and similar stats.. I somehow opened it once but I can't find it again!

Looking at the teams listed above I really like DC's team with 9 DG-ers!!

Cheers!
Mrljo

gman26 said...

Haven't pulled the trigger on this team, but I can afford it.

Friedel
Verm, Bale, Dunne, Scharner
O'Hara, Arteta, N'Zogbia, Milner
Rooney, Thompson

I originally had Gomes in goal but then your AM's post and realized, duh, I can have two games of Friedel for a slightly cheaper price.

Anonymous said...

this is my team right now

jensen
hutton,fox,scharner
fabregas,nzogbia,a.johnson,milaner
carew.torres,bendtner.

i have 2.22 left in the bank and will wait till last minute on fabregas news coz i still regret on what happen to me on varmelen.if i sell fabregas will buy nasri n have 11 in the bank which i will use to replace hutton with dunne or jensen with fridel.

so what do you all think should i get friedel or dunne? i will appreciate any advice.

good luck to all managers
from supercoach.

Bojan said...

@supercoach - fabs will not play against Hull... AW said 0,5% chance

Anonymous said...

Good post A.M

My Team

Hilario
Bale, Hutton, Fox, Ferdinand
Nasri, Milner, Aquilani
Agbonlahor, Rodallega, Drogba

Liverpool lost again tonight against Lille.
Benitez may change a few things around vs Pompey, so a fresh Aquilani (3.98) may get a few minutes.

I normally fill up on double gamers when a week like this comes along, but I have always been disappointed, so only 3 top players will make it this time. (I will probably regret later!!)

Cheers and good luck.

Kitmyster

Ali l said...

Hilario
dunne, rio F, hutton
arteta, downing, milner, n'zogbia
rooney, torres, 5.64 mil

I've got 5.64 to buy someone,. S kalou is cheap, what do you guys think? I havn't bought charles yet, so I could play with that money too. the rest are bought.

Raul said...

Good post AM.
Really appreciate your work.

@Ali, kalou may not even play, he would just be filler then and not the cheapest.

@Kitmyster Aquilai haven't made an impact and hasn't really performed in real life and in fantasy football as well. He is cheap, but you might end up with 0.

My team right now:
Hilario
Bale, Hutton, Fox
Milner, Young, Downing, Arteta
Bendtner, Torres, Agbonlahor

I have some extra mills in bank as well and thinking about switching out arteta and lose the 3 million discount and go for R.Dunne in defence.

Any thoughts?

Anonymous said...

tough week guys!

Give us a hand here, will you?

Kirk/Dunne/Torres or Jensen/Carlisle/Rooney?

to fit with

?
Bale/Fox/?
Nasri/Arteta/Downing/Wilshere
Carew/Bendtner?

txs a million,

Nuno

Anonymous said...

Which do you guys like better?

Hilario and Dunne/Downing
Freidel and Maxi
ALmunia and Ohara/NZog

Thanks
CP

Anonymous said...

Pretty happy with my team right now:

Kirk
Bale Fox Hutton
McCarthy Milner Arteta Young
Rooney Drogba Carew

Thinking about switching to Hilario (looking forward to the double next week)..but Cech may be back

Kirk is worrying for the game against Villa, so I'm just hoping for a price return this week, and maybe a bit more..

B.

Anonymous said...

its very tough day to pick up players
but im quite happy with my team rite now,

this is my team,

almunia
Fox Hutton Bale
Milner Young Arteta Walcott
Rooney Bendtner Carew

but should i put any wigan player in my team?
what all of you guys think for change Bendtner
for Pavlyuchenko?

Anonymous said...

@Admiral: Good luck! I'm your opponent in the Europa League.

bengoh91

Mr D said...

I have strong feeling Torres might be rested against Portsmouth, or at least he won't play full 90mins. Liverpool plays Portsmouth on Monday and they have a crucial tie against Lille on Thursday. Their minds will be on the Europa game.

Anonymous said...

hello!!! sry to ask...
but can anyone help me in football manager 2009.. still new in f.m from championship manager..
i want to ask what is the best formation and tactics to play AWAY.. becoz i always lose and my defence are so damn stupid..
can anyone help me plz..

-acabee-

Anonymous said...

owh 1 more thing....
i don know y all of my squad are'nt fit to play everytime in every game...

-acabee-

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the caps but here goes;

I CANNOT BELIEVE THE LACK OF OUTRAGE OVER THE VILLA PLAYERS POINTS ADJUSTMENT. A_M GOT THEM ON DISCOUNT (GOOD FOR YOU). HOWEVER I SMELL A RAT. SOMEONE IS LOOKING TO MAKE A MAJOR MOVE HERE IN THE FINAL WEEKS AND WHOMEVER RUNS YFF IS IN ON THE FIX. I'M ONLY INSIDE THE TOP 8,000 OVERALL SO I'M NOT GOING TO WIN BUT TO ME THIS BRINGS THE WHOLE INTEGRITY OF THE SITE/LEAGUE INTO QUESTION. I ENJOY PLAYING AND AM IN MY OWN LITTLE LEAGUE. I'M ALSO RIVETED BY THE COMPETITION BETWEEN GLORY GLORY AND UGLY AMERICAN BUT YAHOO THIS STINKS :(

BCB

Anonymous said...

Great post A.M

My team lineup rite now:

Jensen
Fox, Dunne, Hutton
N'Zogbia, Arteta, Milner, McCarthy
Bendtner, Agbonlahor, HRod

Still thinking about to swap Jensen for Hilario cuz it seem like everybody pick him.Guys,what do you think?

TJ

Anonymous said...

Team is pretty much set, only thing I can't decide on is Walcott, Nasri, or Diaby. Any suggestions, though this will probably be a gut pick.

Anonymous said...

STLRam, id go with Walcott,Nasri will probably be the more popular pick thanks to his nasty goal vs Porto but a healthy Walcott should terrorize Hull. I thought about barndooring him last week but was worried about him being rotated but after being rested mid week i think Walcott is the way to go. Normally I wouldnt help a Rams fan since I am a Seahawk but we have both had a tough few years so what the hell. LOL

CP

Golova said...

Great post as usual AM!

@Nuno: Kirk/Dunne/Torres. Although Kirk is a risk, chances are that Dunne may return his value (at least) for the DG and will set you up well for Villa's next DG the week after. Just too good to pass up I think. Torres is Torres. But keep in mind MR D's comment about him possibly not playing the full 90.

@BCB: I feel for you. I too don't completely understand how Yahoo fluctuate the prices of key Villa players for just a day prior to an important double week DG (this weekend and next). Looks like a fair few managers out there will unfortunately suffer because of this. Good luck!

@TJ: Nice solid team. Lets hope the DGers will come through! I'd pick Hilario over Jensen. Lighting can't strike twice I reckon.

This is my team for the week, only 5 DGers:

Friedel
Vermaelen Bale Hutton
N'Zog Arteta Milner Young
Rooney Bendtner Carew

Last minute freak injuries aside, I think this is the team I'm settling for and am generally happy with. Its been awhile since I haven't panic-bought on saturday haha. What do you guys think? Suggestions?

Good luck for the week everyone. Come on Villa!!!

Anonymous said...

I have finalised my first eleven. I dont want to change it again becoz more changer would impact the negative ideas except there are some of them injured.


KEEPER

1. JENSEN(BURNLEY)

DEFENDERS

1. ALAN HUTTON(SUNDERLAND)
2. GARETH BALE(SPURS)
3. RIO FERDINAND(MAN)

MIDFIELDERS

1. ARTETA(EVE)
2. GERRARAD(LIV)
3. ARSHAVIN(ARS)
4. MILNER(AST)

STRIKERS

1. FERNANDO TORRES(LIV)
2. JOHN CAREW(AST)
3. BENDTNER(ARS)



DEAD MAN WALKING(DMW)

Anonymous said...

Ive gone with Gabby so far since Heskey and Carew seem to rotate but if Carew is a lock for the 2 games i think he is better value. Do you guys think he will get to start both games after his FA cup perfomance combined with Gabbys illness?

CP

Kellz said...

@Mr. D: Just to clear up your point, in no way is Torres gong to be rested for Pompey. Europa league means absolutely nothing compared to the 4th league spot for the Champions League. If Rafa doesn't get Liverpool to 4th hes done, not even a second rate Europa Cup will save him. Liverpool is 100% going for the league not the cup.

Anonymous said...

Is Peter Crouch injured or wat?

M

Anonymous said...

hilario

hutton verm scarner dunne

arteta walcott milner zogbia

torres carew

stil have 4 to spent

any comment?

gkinz

Anonymous said...

@Bojan: Read your analysis on this week's games in AM's last post. I must say they are very helpful. Thank you for taking time to do the analysis.

After reading it, I'm leaning towards getting Jussi instead of Jensen. The GK position has been my dilemma for this week.

bengoh91

Anonymous said...

my team

hilario
varmaelan/hutton/bale
arteta/wallcot/milner/nzog
rooney/bendtner/torres

should i pick drogba?...

Mr D said...

Point taken Kellz.

I need an opinion on Torres and Rooney.

If I choose Torres, that will allow me to upgrade Carlisle to Caldwell and McCarthy to Nzogbia.

But who knows Rooney might get a hat trick against fulham.

Any advice?

hipflask said...

@ bcb
yeah i'll agree with you there is something funny going on with av players prices, last sat i bought milner @12.68 plus various other players, saved changes and left my team untill later,on weds took out n'zogbia which gave me 12 something to upgrade him, changed my mind (like you do)(several times)and replaced him without moving any other players or saving changes, when i put n'zogbia back milners price jumped up to his market price of 15.45 allthough he was'nt removed.
i know i havent made a mistake as i showed my son by hitting the back button, have e-mailed yahoo and still waiting for a response other than "have you tried our faqs" anybody else come across this in the past?
in a nutshell I WANT MY 3 MILL DISCOUNT BACK !

Gasper said...

My team for the week:

Friedel
Bale, Carlisle, Dunne
Arteta, Walcott, Milner, Downing
Torres, Bendt, Carew

I have decied against buying Wigan players. Still remember that triple week with so many points from Hugo and N'Zog. I've never paid so much for a GK but 2x DG is just toooooo tempting. Otherwise I love having Dunne in my team. Milner is also nice, and Downing is a cheaper less effective Young.

@gkinz
I like your team. Maybe I'd go for another striker, but it depends on your discounts on Scharner and Hutton.

@anonymous
I'd stick with Roo. No question about that!

Mr D said...

@Anon

Nice team there.

If you're getting Verm at full price, i suggest you downgrade him to a Villa or Wigan defender.

Too few double gamers in my opinion, I'll probably try to fit in Ashley Young or Carew in there.

Anonymous said...

chelsea vs west ham...i worried if this is the game that nicolas anelka will produce 2 goals. Otherwise..anelka didnt score for 2 or 3 games. i know many of the manager would like to add drogba but...i think anelka will be surprise us


DMW

Anonymous said...

Hi ,

I just thought i will alert you to one additional reason to stock up on the Villa players this week.

The Week after this looks like it is going to be a double week for Villa.

And both are going to be at home vs Wolves and vs Sunderland.

Both teams are not exactly known for their scoring away from home. (Though not as bad as Burnley)

Other Double Games in the next week are

Everton - Bolton at home and @ Man City.

Man City - @ Fulham and home to Everton

Portsmouth - Home to Hull and Chelsea.

Sunderland - Home to Birmingham and @ Villa

Birmingham - @ Sunderland and @ Blackburn

Blackburn - Home to Chelsea and Birmingham

West ham - @ Arsenal, Home to Wolves

Wolves - @ Villa, @ West Ham

Chelsea - @ Blackburn , @ Portsmouth

Looking at those match ups, Villa have the best chance for racking up points from those teams.

If you miss the Villa players this week, they are unlikely to be affordable next week.

Cheers

SL

Ido said...

Which option is better?

Option 1:
Jensen
Figueroa, Bale, Warnock, Cuellar
Downing, Milner, N'Zogbia
Heskey, Rodallega, Carew
@99.77

Option 2:
Kirkland
Figueroa, Caldwell, Bramble, Dunne
Young, Petrov, Milner
Carew, Rodallega, Scotland
@99.83

Many thanks in advance for your comments!!!

Hinrik said...

Hmmm, Babel/Torres or Rodallega/D.Fox???

Anonymous said...

rod/fox sure the best

Anonymous said...

Another helpful post AM, thanks for your continued insight.

Going with this team barring any definitive news regarding Agbonlahor

Hilario

Bale Fox Cuellar

Arteta Nasri Milner Downing

Bendtner Torres Agbonlahor

In response to Mr.D's comment about Torres not playing the full 90, I have to agree with Kellz.

4th spot must surely take precedence over the Europa League, after all Benitez won't want to break a promise! Hope im not proven wrong though

SGF

Anonymous said...

Any particular reason why people are avoiding Downing?

Also would Dunne be a safer bet rather than HRod? I have HRod now at a discount but am considering dropping him...

Mike B said...

First off, another great player picks AM, this is the post i look forward to most in the week, always throws up a few players i hadn't considered :)

@ Anon above -

Downing at his current price of 14, is probably being avoided due to his terrible average of around 6 points per game. If you take out that game where he got those 2 goals, his average would be even lower!

However, i have picked Downing, mainly as i have him at the lower price of 10. I chose him over Milner, as i believe Villa will be playing a more counter attacking style which is suited to the speedy wingers, and not so much Milner who's playing deeper than both Downing and Young. Alot of people say Milner is a consitent points scorer, but every time i've picked him, he's disappointed!

My team at the moment is...

Hilario
Fox, Warnock, Bale
Young, Lampard, Arteta, Downing
Bendtner, Pavlyuchenko, Gabby

I still have to fine tune as i'm worried about Fox and Pav's starting status, with Jordan fit, and Crouch scoring 2 for England.

Since i'm not going with many DGers, i think it's more sensible to go for a couple of sure starters.

Any opinions on my team?

init said...

@mike - don't worry about fox he will start at left back, he has been playing very well (not just FF playing well, but actually playing well!)
I would be more worried about Pav but surely even Redknapp would know that dropping him after his good run would be more damaging than taking the beanpole straight back in...
Hilarious is also a risk in my view although can't see Chelsea slipping up? Get Carew in I think...

@hipflask - I would be surprised if Yahoo gave you your discount back!!

Those with NZogbia who watched Wigan v Liverpool will notice that he played very well but very deep allowing Scharner to get forward more... just something to consider...

Bradley said...

@hipflask: Exactly the same thing happened to me. I was trying to decided whom to replace Fabregas with, so I clicked his "Sell" link. After not making up my mind, I clicked "Undo All Changes", and Milner's price jumped to 15.45 even though I hadn't touched him.

Anonymous said...

Well, I had a poor week in the end as I went down more than 150 places, and out of the top 1000. Only 79 Annoying points. I really need a good week now, the only problem is I don't have much time to work on my team. This is the team I have at the moment, after dropping Arteta (I love his discount, but I can't believe he'll score that high away at Brum) and Fox (only 0.13mil from affording him after getting N'Zogbia):

Almunia
Vermaelen Bale Kyrgiakos
Nasri Milner AYoung N'Zogbia
Bendtner Torres Agbonlahor

Advices?

SF

Ian Sanderson said...

Hilario is out, out out.

Ross Turnbull will be between the Sticks for Chelsea!!!

Anonymous said...

It seems Agbonlahor will start:

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2010/03/12/aston-villa-boss-martin-o-neill-ready-to-unleash-john-carew-and-gabby-agbonlahor-against-stoke-97319-26015906/

Good luck this w-end !

Pauly

Anonymous said...

@ IanSanderson

Please quote your source Ian

Thanks, Pauly

J. Dunn said...

I'm at my high-water mark for the year, up to 1169 in the rankings. I want to push on to the top 1000, so I took some risks and dumped some guys I had at discount to get in more double gamers.

Hilario
Verm, Bale, Warnock
Arteta, Nasri, BFAY, Milner, N'Zog
Rooney, Bendtner

Freddie M said...

Henrique Hilario and Ricardo Carvalho out of Saturday's game. Ross Turnbull to start. [Source: Carlo Ancelotti Press Conference]

Anonymous said...

my team at the moment
friedel
dunne,fox,scharner
milner,bullard,belleti,nzogbia
torres,carew,bendtner.

thats my team please if any suggestion i will appreciate it.

AM by the way why u dont have bullard on the list of midfielders?
i just choose to have bullard trying to be different from everyone n i think he will be takeing all setpieces plus is shots on goal he can catch almunia sleeping.
all the best everyone.

mike b,kellz, doctor teeth n others any advice on my team?
from supercoach.

gman26 said...

It's so weird how Ashley Young would have been a no-brainer this week, but it seems like Milner is the safe play.

Hilario's percentage owned is surely to spike. Since I have the money, I'm going with Friedel.

I let go of Hutton with the 3+ discount. He had 7 points with a CS last week. To me, he's not delivering that much. Or at least in a fairly good DG week, you could get more potential for points.

btw, who was the person who suggested Bent last week. He was very adamant ahead of time that Bent would go crazy. Kudos to him.

Anonymous said...

This will be my final selection :

Jensen
Bale, Hutton, Caldwell, Cuellar
A. Young, Milner, Downing
Bentner, Agbonlahor, Carew

Will gamble with 6 Villa players..

Anonymous said...

Hi AM and kellz, and other YFF fellas!

This week is quite a challenging week, as I try to fit in different kind of players but all are just to exp.

My current team:

Friedel
Bale/Hutton/Fox/Dunne
Nzog/Milner/Wilshere
Bellamy/Agbon/Carew

Honestly speaking I dont really fancy Carew, trying to fit in Bendt, but not sure how to fit it in. =(

Villa players on my team are just too many, and I somehow dont like it. Any suggestion? I'm on dilemma now..><
Need help from all of you

Thanks!

DarkZero

Anonymous said...

shud i pick rooney or what?? huhuhu
give me idea guys

Anonymous said...

Hey supercoach, i had Bullard last week and he scored a measely 2 points :(

anyway my team is:
Kirk
Bale / Fox / Dunne
Arteta / Modric / Milner / Young / N'Zogbia
Bender / Carew

i'm not happy with Carew upfront, unfortunately i didnt manage to get the aston villa players at 12 so he's my only choice. any comments?

-anorexic pig

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