Week 27 - Player Picks
With time in the season running out it's more important to take advantage of double weeks like this (when you can pick from more than 2 teams) & not get too hung up on discounts. In approximately 6 weeks those discounts will be completely worthless - the season will be over - so you have to move now!
For that reason, my player picks this week are almost entirely based on the double week. With 10 teams to choose from there is more than enough choice to fill your teams with 7 or 8 very good quality DGers, so unless you have a "golden" discount on a single gamer (Bale @ 2, Rooney @ 16, Bendtner @ 5 etc) I believe it's time to go for broke.
I still see people holding some crazy discounts; keeping Ryan Nelsen because you have him @ 4.5 is really not worth it...he's been out for 4 weeks already, he's not due back for another 2 games & only averages 6 points per game anyway. It's time for these players to go, time to take some risks!
Since I adopted this approach around 4 weeks ago I've gone from 1500th to 700th & I feel a lot of the reason is because I've ignored all but the most major discounts & picked based on match-ups only. If you look at the Top 20 they all started doing the same a couple of months ago & I know many readers have been doing the same recently & seeing the benefits.
Anyway - with that little rant out of the way, lets look at the fixtures
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Arsenal v West Ham, 17:30
Aston Villa v Wolverhampton, 12:45
Everton v Bolton, 15:00
Portsmouth v Hull, 15:00
Stoke v Tottenham, 15:00
Sunderland v Birmingham, 15:00
Wigan v Burnley, 15:00
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Blackburn v Chelsea, 16:00
Fulham v Man City, 15:00
Man Utd v Liverpool, 13:30
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
West Ham v Wolverhampton, 20:00
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Aston Villa v Sunderland, 19:45
Blackburn v Birmingham, 20:00
Man City v Everton, 19:45
Portsmouth v Chelsea, 19:45
Chelsea, Aston Villa, Man City, Everton, Birmingham, Sunderland, Blackburn, West Ham, Wolves & Portsmouth are the teams with 2 games. From those Villa have the best fixtures with 2 home games vs Sunderland & Wolves while Chelsea have 2 very winnable games away at Blackburn & Pompey.
Everton have a nice home game vs Bolton but then a tough game at Man City although I wouldn't put it past Everton to win both in current form. City themselves also have a difficult away trip to Fulham, West Ham have to go to Arsenal but then face Wolves at home, Birmingham have 2 tricky away games, Blackburn 2 tricky home games, Pompey a winnable home game vs Hull then a potential hammering vs Chelsea & Wolves 2 away games.
The only the single game that remotely stands out is Arsenal at home to West Ham - all the others are likely to be tight affairs which only reaffirms the advice to lump it all on the double gamers. Saying that, Wigan should keep out Burnley & United should beat Liverpool.
With all of the above taken on board, let us move on to the player picks.
KEEPERS
Friedel
Howard
Turnbull
Kirkland
If you have the money it has to be Friedel given Villa's fixtures & defensive record. Annoyingly I let him go @ 11 last weekend to do some barndoor trading & now can't afford the 13+ to get him back in. Oh well, there are other choices!
Next in line is Howard, as for me Everton have a chance of winning both games (yes, they can beat City at City in their current form) & he makes plenty of saves. He isn't gonna get much cheaper than 7.18. Almost as tempting is Turnbull if Cech & Hilario remain out, with his value now under 6.
Finally, if you really want to save your cash then Chris Kirkland is the only viable budget keeper + he's a single gamer. Burnley have been bobbins away from home so he has a decent chance of a clean sheet for a measly £2m.
If Agbonlahor is fit I'll go with Kirkland, otherwise I'll go with Carew which will just about leave me the funds for Turnbull.
DEFENDERS
Dunne
Warnock
Terry
Alex/Carvalho
Jagielka
Cueller
Baines
Heitinga
Zabaleta
Carr
Spector
Hutton
Hreidarsson
Craig Gardner
Finnan
Salgado
Bale
Massive choice here with lots of consistent defenders having 2 games, including the Villa trio of Dunne, Warnock & Cueller for the 2nd week in a row. If you have money to burn & fancy going in a slightly different direction then Baines has been in great form & should do well again.
Other Everton defenders to tempt you at a far more reasonable price are Heitinga & Jagielka, while Chelsea captain Terry is just about affordable. I still have Alex in my team at 7ish but Carvlaho was on the bench midweek & I wouldn't be surprised to see him return. It's certainly one to keep an eye on. Zabaleta & Carr are both consistent & should start both games.
At the lower end of the scale we have Hutton (I'm very annoyed I've mow lost my discount but £6m is still a decent price for an attacking fullback with 2 games), West Ham's Spector, big Herman & Finnan for Pompey. Craig Gardner seems to be trading game time with Seb Larsson at Birmingham but he's a middie listed as a defender & his goal last weekend could keep him ahead for now.
Salgado is at a filler price, but he seems to have cemented his place at right back for Blackburn & Bale is there because he is awesome!
MIDFIELDERS
Malouda
Milner
Arteta
A Johnson
Lampard
A Young
Pederson
Downing
O'Hara
Malbranque
S Petrov
Jarvis
Dyer
Zhirkov
From looking at the comments section over the past couple days there are huge proportion of teams with the midfield quartet of: Malouda, Milner, Arteta, A Johnson. I am one of the teams who has this line-up & I can't see myself changing it.
Malouda is in the best form of his Chelsea career so far & will continue playing as almost a left sided forward, Milner has 2 winnable home games, Arteta is starting to get his best form back & appears to be back on set pieces, while Adam Johnson should starts after his goal, is cheap & will also take set pieces.
Outside of these 4 you could spend big on Lampard, or do something slightly different & go with Pederson or O'Hara. If you don't want to jump on the Milner bandwagon with everyone else then go with Downing, Young or Petrov instead as all 3 tend to perform well at home.
Finally, for the real risk takers among you there are players like Matt Jarvis of Wolves, the rejuvenated Steed Malbranque at Sunderland the seemingly recovered Kieron Dyer or Zhirkov, who is likely to continue at left back for Chelsea.
STRIKERS
Drogba
Carew
Tevez
Agbonlahor
Yakubu/Saha
Kalinic
Bellamy
Diamanti
Piquionne
Bent
Campbell
Benitez
Bendtner
If you didn't have him at discount already then you had to be very brave not to pick up Didier Drogba on the barndoor last weekend. Those of us who did this are paying a hefty 22 units for him which is the limit I'd pay for any player, but I just couldn't turn him down with one of his games vs Portsmouth. If you did miss him I don't despair - there are plenty of other choices.
As I mentioned earlier, one of Agbonlahor or Carew will almost certainly make my team depending on Gabby's injury status. As well as these 2 you could splash out on Tevez / Bellamy for City or Yakubu for Everton (assuming Saha doesn't make it back). All would expect to grab at least 1 goal over 2 matches given current form.
Aside from these guys, Kalinic has really impressed recently but is rarely rewarded when it comes to luck in front of goal (see his wrongly disallowed superb strike vs Spurs). At a bargain basement price he can act as a great filler & should secure some points with 2 home games.
Diamanti is always tempting when he has a home game vs Wolves, Bent is an outsider but should still feel confident after his hattrick 10 days ago & Piquionne has looked dangerous every time I've seen him. Fraizer Campbell & Benitez would be proper gambles.
That wraps up my Week 27 Player Picks. I'll be keeping Bale & Bendtner as my single gamers then loading up with 9 double gamers - I'm sure many of you will be doing a similar thing (with maybe a discounted Rooney & Verm thrown in as well).
I've pretty much settled on my XI barring injury/Chelsea goalkeeping news, which is rare for a Thursday! Let me know how your team is shaping up...anyone you feel I've missed from the lists above?
To be honest...I think we're gonna see A LOT of very similar teams this week.
Cheers,
AM
p.s. 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 passed 500 members last week!
107 comments:
AM
United is TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
and hopefully will stay there next week :))
Thanks AM. On point as usual.
I haven't been playing YFF long, but has anyone ever seen someone priced as high as Rooney is now at 27+?
I know C. Ronaldo was pricey last season but who in their right mind would use over a quarter of their budget on one player?
Thank you very much for your post AM!
Despite of the list, I will keep discounted Verm @ 6.01 as well!
Thanks AM. Great suggestions as always.
So I have 1 major question - the answer to which will determine the rest of my team.
I don't have the Drog at any kind of discount, but the nearest guy in my private league (160 points behind mind you!) does.
Do I suck up the 26m and play safe by buying him (in case he gets 4/5 goals across 2 games) or go all out elsewhere?
Hmm, despite your rant I currently have only 5 DGers...
S. Given at 5.63
Bale at 2.84 Baird at 6.37 Ferdinand at 6.85 Alex
Modric at 6.98 Downing Milner
Tuncay at 1.00 W. Rooney D. Drogba
The discounted SGers (apart from Rio & Rooney) have double games coming up and I wouldn't be able to buy them back.
It's a tough call but I think I may stick with this team for the week. Rio could go, but he will see a bit of action against L'pool.
@pjr
messi's price at la liga FF is 45 mil.,CR9 35+...
wicked
Anon - correct, but you get what I mean :)
PJR - Ronaldo was £33m last season & people still paid it!
Caleb - Quite rightly too, Verm is one of the "golden" discounts I mentioned.
Sauce - I wouldn't pay full whack for Drogba.
Ian - I think you're sensible to keep most of your discounts, with the exception of Modric, who just doesn't score well in FF (despite being my favourite player). I always love the fact you still have Tuncay :)
One thing I think people overlook sometimes is that if you sell a player there's nothing stopping you buying him back the following week. The chances are if they have a tough match they'll drop slightly anyway.
Last week I sold Arteta (as he didn't have a great match-up) to pick up N'Zogbia, and now I can pick Arteta back up for only 1.5 extra. It's a slight risk, but the benefit outweighs it at this point in the season.
Cheers,
AM
Ugh. Anything above 20 is too much, 25+ is insane.
The more I play I realize that unless you have insane discounts, forget holding people. Planning for 2-3 weeks down the road is fraught with peril. What if Rooney's knee swells again and he is rested in the DG week? He is a great player and you may have him at a semidiscount but he won't help you when hurt and in the meantime you have been not optimizing your matchups.
I am just saying you can run a million hypothetical situations through your head but you will make yourself crazy and your team will probably not be any better for it.
AM is wise. Take advantage of the DGers. The match ups always win out in the end.
will garrido def replace bridge ? he's at a very tempting 6.35 & averaging 5.42. S.P.
My team
Friedel
Bale, Hutton, Cuellar
Arteta, AJohn, Milner, Pedersen
Bendt, Kalinic, Tevez
My team
Friedel
Bale, Hutton, Cuellar
Arteta, AJohn, Milner, Pedersen
Bendt, Kalinic, Tevez
Great post! One question though. Looking at Pool's upcoming schedule after ManU (SUN, @BIR, FUL, WHU, @Burnley) would it be smart to hold Torres at a 6 point discount? He will no doubt drop a lot this week, but that is a pretty nice month of fixtures for him.
Thanks!
Sam
Nice post AM... garrido could be nice pick and some of B'Ham sure starting defenders... B'Ham has fallen a bit but they are still nice team with nice fixtures, escpecilly for defenders... they will have a lot of to do and they can get CS at Sunderland and BlackBurn... gardner covers it but he isn't sure too start like you said... and hart will have at least 10 saves this double week...
My team so far:
Kirk
Bale, Hutton, Alex
Arteta, Milner, Malouda, AJ
Rooney, Drogba, Bendtner
I have 5 mil in the bank though so can afford an upgrade somewhere if needed - I think Alex will become a Villa Defender.
Any other suggestions?
@ PJR, I hear your perspective on discounts but you do need to think it through if they are significant before letting go.
My team currently:
Capt Kirk
Bale@2.8, Verm @6, Hutton @3
Arteta, A johnson, Milner, Malouda
Roon @17, Bendt@7, Drogs@22
I like this team, only 6 DGers though. Any thoughts AM?
Phil
(I have WC tickets to Brazil v Portugal in late June in my home-town of Durban, SA) :-)
What about Cameron Jerome, two road games, but against sloppy teams, and he seems to be in the best form of the year.
@ L'Orange Noir, solid team you got there! That would've been my ideal team if only I could afford rooney.. However I strongly feel that you should get alex replaced with a villa defender as they have two quite probable chances of cleansheets.. Furthermore with carvalho back, Alex could be a doubt which I personally wouldn't take.
My team:
Kirk
Bale, Hutton, Dunne
Arteta, Milner, Malouda, AJ
Piquionne, Drogba, Bendtner
My only doubt is piquionne.. have 9.65 points left w/o him.. Any suggestions for any players??
guys rate my team pls
cech ( heard he is OK now )
bale hutton cuellar
milner AJ Malou Guerdiola
Drog Roo Carew
My hunch for this week is the Wolves's Player Guerdiola!!
Several notes:
-What do you mean in "Gabby's injury status"? I didn't hear about anything, he didn't start the first game last week only because of a virus.
-I can't see what everyone else sees in Arteta. Against Hull he got 2 goals, one of them match-winning, and an assist. 28 points, only 2 of them not related to the stats above. In every other game he scored between 4 to 7, and that's poor in a week with ManC away.
-The golden discounts I'm keeping are Bendtner, Bale and Vermaelen. The fourth single gamer I have is... Almunia. Well - Friedel is too pricey, Turnbull is too risky (also because he's not very good and has 2 away games), Howard faces ManC, and Kirkland is a single-gamer much like Almunia. Almunia has West-Ham, Brum and Wolves one after another and when he doesn't keep a clean-sheet he earns many saves. I just don't want to drop him for Kirkland just to find out that Wigan are bad enough to lose to Burnley at home. The only good option I see there is getting Kirkland and upgrading Zhirkov to SPetrov, and I'm not sure that's very good.
Almunia
Vermaelen Bale Cuellar
Milner Zhirkov Malouda AJohnson
Bendtner Agbonlahor Drogba
SF
So is everyone gonna have an arteta milner malouda aj midfield this week? :D
What will prolly happen is Milner will have one of those anonymous weeks and AJ will start just 1 game and everyone is screwed :s
I hate u Phil!! :))
Yeah I'm also considering holding Torres, they have a nice run in and something to play for. If I sold him it would be for Tevez and having recently seen Man City im not convinced in that direction... I suppose I could sell him to buy Friedel, but I really dont like selling decent outfield players to buy keepers...
Sorry guys - I had Zabaleta & Carr on my player picks list written last night but I missed them off (now added).
Regarding discounts again - it's really down to personal preference. I'm offering a point of view that with only 8 games to go it's time to start taking some risks.
We can pick 8-9 Dgers this week & then completely reshuffle our teams & still pick a different 8-9 Dgers next time there's a double week. You may pay slightly more for certain players or completely miss out on others, but already having the points in the bank is more important at this stage (in my opinion).
Not taking advantage & keeping a single game player at discount just in case you can't afford him next time you want him is sensible in Week 1-20, but when it gets to Week 28 you're running out of time.
As I've said, players like Verm, Bale, Rooney, Drogba are exceptions because they top score in their positions & consistently perform.
SF - Regarding Gabby, it's a groin injury: http://www.expressandstar.com/2010/03/17/gabbys-battle-to-face-wolves
Regarding Arteta, he's just getting back to fitness after almost a year out, but he's starting to look the part again.
In YFF seasons gone by he's been just behind people like Lampard/Gerrard in terms of points production (averaging 10-12 per match for a whole season), so now he's getting back on set pieces I feel he's well worth picking up in a double week.
Gabby is in a fitness race for the first game this weekends. I read it from somewhere.
And I have to disagree with Almunia. He didnt make much svs when he couldnt keep CS to be honest. It is because Arsenal playing possesion football and their lesser opponent rarely got chances to do anything toward their 2 sticks, and when they do Almunia has very high chance to flop. Most of the time we pick him because of his chance of getting CS< more than how many SV he could make.
But again I have Given so I dont have to worry about this.
Thanks for another great post AM.
I found your thinking about holding discounts really helpful. I have Bale @ 2.xx, Verm @ 6 and Tuncay @ 1, but have also been holding Almunia (at just over 7) since the Chelsea game becos of the Gunners run in. He is currently priced at just over 9, but you got me thinking that the relatively small discount is not worth holding on to at this stage of the season when there are other attractive keepers out there. So i brought in Howard, especially having seen that Everton don't have too bad a run-in either after they have played Citeh this game-week.
Of course, if it turns out that this was a terrible decision it will be YOUR fault, not mine, and i will expect a written apology!!
OK, pretty straightforward question here guys... Alex or Jagielka? I've got Alex on the BD so not much difference in terms of price. I'm leaning towards Jags.
PT
Awesome post AM!
My Current team is:
Friedel
Verm Bale Alex
A Johnson Milner Malouda Petrov
Bendtner Drogba Carew
I would love to swap out Petrov for Arteta even though i feel everyone else will have the same team because like AM said Arteta seems to be hitting form. My other option would be OHara but to make either swap id have to downgrade either Friedel or Drogba and after watching what an out of form Torres did to Portsmouth im not sure i can drop Drogba even at a ridiculous price. ALthough if it looks like Carvahlo will be back i can do swap Alex-->Hutton and Petrov-->Arteta. Decisions decisions.
C-Hawk
Go for broke is right. YFF is looking more and more like a game of Whack-a-Mole as I slide down the table in my blog league.
It's not like I'm making especially bad picks, they just haven't come through for me. And when you're behind and going with the conventional wisdom just to keep up the chances for improving your position are small.
Rant over. Here's what I've got for the weekend:
Kirkland
Bale / C. Gardner / Carr
Arteta / A. Johnson / A. Young / Dyer
Drogba / Diamanti / Carew
Bale and Arteta are the only "keepers" I'm keeping (I dropped Diamanti earlier and brought him back). Birmingham's games are looking like two goalless draws. And I hate to put Ashley Young on my side again after his vanishing act in last week's double, but he has to produce eventually and I can't afford Milner.
So there it is, wish me luck.
Go you Alzheimer Wanderers!
here we go
friedel
fox,salgado,muoyokolo
milner,malouda,nzogbia,babel,a.johnson
drogba,bendtner
thats my team so far thinking of taking friedel out n put in kirkland so i can use the money to upgrade a defender n a midfielder.thinking of taking nzogbia out too.am confused please help if u have any idea.
wish all the managers the best.
from supercoach
@ PT 4:07 pm
I would say go for Jags - Alex is not a certain starter for both games (Carvalho was on the bench for Inter game) and Everton's upcoming games might also make it worth holding on to him (after this game-week they are @Wolves, WHU in single-game weeks).
@PJR
Back in 2004 (when Yahoo were using the old layout), I remember Thierry Henry being priced more than 40.
He scored a hattrick against Liverpool, and another 4 goals against Leeds the following week. Crazy times indeed.
any chance that s.parnaby of birmingham will play coz he is named fit? with double games at 5.71 i think he can give back good points.
from supercoach
@supercoach
N'Zogbia was a great points provider for the last double week, but if I remember right he came off injured and only plays one game this wk, so he's an injury doubt that you should check on, but he's really on form at the moment...
Go with your hunches!
Pauly
Pauly
@supercoach - If I had nzogbia at a discount I'd take a gamble on him as he is at home against Burnley...I'm predicting a Wigan win, the way Burnley play away.
As far as your team goes, I'd make a few changes. Downgrade Friedel to Kirk, who should bring back at least his value, and upgrade Salgado to a Villa defender to cover Friedel's CS's...then with enough cash upgrade Mouyokolo to Jagielka. The rest of your team looks good, I'm jealous of all of you that have Drogba...unfortunately I can't afford him without having an unsatisfying team so I'll just have to live with the team below...
Kirkland
Bale/J.Terry/Cuellar
Milner/Belletti/Malouda/Ballack
Diamanti/Bendtner/Tevez
Hope the advice helps and good luck.
thats pauly,i saw him living injured will wait for team news tommorow but am sure he will produce good points against burnley too.
from supercoach
i meant to say thanks pauly instead of "thats".
thanks saul,sounds a good idea to me.let me try to work on that n see.i have nzogbia at 9.51.
supercoach
thanks saul.let me try to fix that way n see.
supercoach
I feel like chelsea are going to get two clean sheets. Which defenders do you guys recommend? I have Alex on the cheap, but maybe he's going to be replaced by carv. It's a shame Khirkov is a mid fielder.
Any ideas?
saul, what do u think if i let nzogbia go n get kalinic and use the remaining 6.51 to upgrade mouyokolo and salgado with jagielka and someone else so i can still keep friedel.
supercoach
nzogbia is listed as 50-50 i will suggest u all want to keep him to wait till tommorow team news.
Seems to me that Chelski will be motivated to be ahead at the end of the week so I am looking for 2 wins even away. Whay aren't folks on Fat frank this week?
Bit of advice needed.
Rooney (16) & Verm (7), or sod the 15 mill discount on rooney n Verm and get Milner & Cuellar?
OK!! Change of plans for me!! ^_^
Im going to risk it all!! =D
GK:Kirk
DF: Verma - Bale - Hutton - Jagielka
MF: Milner - BFAY - S.Petrov - Arteta
FW: Doggy - Bender
AM - I have a few questions about your selection.
1) Do you think it's too early to try Dunn? He might be playing Chelsea but Blackburn has a very solid home record.
2) How about Pienaar? I know Arteta is a lot cheaper, but maybe as an outside shot?
- SK
Friedel
Verm, Bale, Alex
O'Hara, Malouda, Arteta, Kovac
Rooney, Thompson, Drogba
I might drop Alex but it won't free up a lot of money, so it might not change much. Thinking of freeing up Friedel's 11 million to upgrade Thompson or Kovac. Although the last time I had Kovac during a double week, he did a great job. I have him at 4.81
After being burned for -10 by Kirkland last week - why have i picked him again?
and i'm sure my stubborn-ness about not picking Drogba because I don't like him will cost me this week.
As for recommending Malbranque, he was my hidden sleeper this week and now everyone knows about him :(
just wanted to say:
F U L H A M ! ! ! ! !
my team is pretty much more of the same, mixing it up between the double gamers, hoping anelka remembers how to score and that diamanti shoots on sight from any distance and gets some pts in both games.. only single gamers are verm, bale and bendtner
@Supercoach - I think that's a good idea since Nzogbia seems doubtfull and Kalinic at his current price could turn out to be a big bargain, even a better gamble than Kirk as he has 2 games. That extra 6.51 you get can upgrade Mouyokolo to Jagielka and Salgado to a defender worth 8.81...that is if you had Salgado/Mouyokolo at their current price.
You current line-up could look like this for example(if I did the math correctly that is)...
Friedel
Fox/Jagielka/S.Dann or Ridgewell or Someone for 8.81
Milner/Malouda/Babel/A.Johnson
Kalinic/Drogba/Bendtner
It looks good to me as long as you find a good defender for 8.81. You're right though, Friedel is a must have I just missed him on the BD and don't want to spend 13 something for him...ahhh, I'm just gonna have to gamble with cheap-oh-Kirk. You have enough to fit in 8 double gamers. Good luck!!!
I just saw on the Yahoo injury list that Fox is a doubt???
thanks alot saul, u got my team right coz i have salgado and mouyokolo at there actual price not on discount.now if d.fox is a doubt i can take him out n keep salgado n use the 2 different to add on 8.81 and end up with another aston villa defender.
i will wait till tommorow to hear the team news on fox.
thanks again for ur help saul.
from supercoach.
i realy doubt about birmingham having a clean sheet ,they been shaky lately.
any chance of parnaby starting?
vds/pav or kirk/diamanti?
SM
Guys, which Villa DF would you pick, if money wasn't an issue (I have 12.65 for a DF). The rest of the team looks like this:
Fried
Verm,Bale,12.65
Arteta,Malouda,Milner,AJo
Rooney,Bender,Carew
I'm still holdin MGP and Alex on dc, and I wonder if I should go MGP/Alex(or Jag) or AJo/12.65 defender
Btw, am I just crazy, or why I'm thinking about dropping Verm. Yeah, you read it right, DROP the best value DF all season long. But here are my arguments:
- He's single-gamer, and in a local derby so it's a game that promises some goals (ok, even though they play WestHam) and while there are some other DW, Arsenal doesn't figure in any of them. Anyway, having said that, I'm sure he'll pop up with a goal (or two) on Saturday.
A non-Verm team:
Fried
Bale,Jags,Dunne,Berra
Arteta,Malouda,Milner,AJo
Rooney,Bender
0.05m left (enough only to swap AJo for Carew...and NO, I don't have enough for both :()
I really like this team, so it's gonna be a tough decision (as they always are)...!!!
I REALLY need suggestions about this one...!!!
What do YOU think...!!!
Dunne/Jags or Terry/Cuelar???
my current line-up:
kirk
hutton, jagielka, gardner
arteta, a.johnson, malouda, s.petrov
bendtner, drogba, torres
appreciate some help here...shld i keep torres or not??.. thx
torres -> carew (vs MU but having great fixtures next, carew @ home + DWG)
s.petrov -> milner
kirk -> hilario (if he's healthy)
cheers,
The Kop
@Charles:i also got Kovac and really hope he will perform well especially at home vs Wolv.
My team rite now:
Turnbull
Dunne Hutton Gardner
AJ Arteta Milner Kovac
Bendtner Chucho Drogba
Still thinking about Turnbull and Chucho.Guys,any idea/advice?
TJ
james(1.63)
hutton jagielka garrido
young cole larsson mikel
rooney carew tevez
Dunne/Gardner/Kalinic or Jags/Cuellar/Belletti
bengoh91
surely Fab4 is worth a mention against WestHam ?
@bengoh91: Dune, Gardener, Kalinic
@Madguy: yes BUT for his price why not plug in another double gamer? If hes at discount for you then keep him, however theres a lot to choose from else where that will pay you back double., If price is no discount, go for Lampard over Fabs.
Just saying it here: Liverpool 2 - Utd 1
-------> Torres 16' 90' Rooney 45'
Baines hasnt done anything for fantasy in his last 3 starts!
i have fabs and drogs at discounts. but yahoo wont let me login! so I am forced to play my B C and D teams
Kellz - I hope you're wrong brotha. Here's my prediction, 2 goals from Rooney and a 2-0 win for United lol.
I am looking forward.... who has doubles for week 28 (not this week.... but NEXT week)
*Turnbull is a risk and may only play one match... as Hilario or Czech might be back.
*Gabby.... hard to pick with the knee issue especially as Villa have eyes on bigger prizes and A LOT of games coming up.
*Young.... got to return points some day doesn't he?
*Villa and Chelsea defense = MUST HAVE
*The big point getters this week will be the people who successfully get it right with the likes of Tevez, Kalanic, Carew, Jarvis, Bent, Diamanti, etc.... the less than popular picks. A bit of a dare to not go with the AM midfield... (the exact one I had before the post, so I guess I will keep it.... :)
MY QUESTION FOR MY TEAM IS:
ANY Villa defender/Carew (current prices)
or
Hutton (3.76)/Tevez (current price)
I am leaning towards the first, but not sure I want to lose slight discount on Hutton....
Thoughts appreciated.
Cheers,
Dark
Can someone tell me about Craig Gardner... AM, I see him on your list... must admit, did not notice he slipped into the Birm line up after all those weeks of an unchanged unit. I see that Football Scout has him starting.
1) does he truly play defense? he is listed as a defender.... I love the thought of RoJo doing all the work and Gardner getting clean sheet points.
2) will he start both games?
Ole'
Tigers
@Tigers: If you hadn't known yet, Gardner have been at Aston Villa for a few years before moving to Birmingham in the January transfer window. He has also played for England-U21 before.
His primary position is RB, but he is versatile enough to play in MF, either on the RW or CM. He has been used by McLeish in MF to give some competition to Seb Larsson.
I think Larsson is still the first choice though, and Gardner has not been able to dislodge him... yet. He has started in the last two matches, but used as a substitute in most matches.
I am sure Gardner will start 1 game after his goal against Everton and may get time in the other as a substitute (more so if Birmingham are chasing the game).
McLeish has told Gardner to remain "cool". :-D
http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2010/03/16/birmingham-city-craig-gardner-told-he-has-to-remain-cool-by-alex-mcleish-97319-26038874/
My current line up:
Kirkland
Bale Hutton Jagielka
Malouda Arteta Johnson Malbranque
Drogba Bendtner Tevez
I'm keeping Bendtner and Bale on SG as I have them on discount.
I originally had Agbon/Milner but I have a feeling Tevez is going to have a good week so I dropped them and brought in Tevez/Malbranque.
A bit of a risk dropping Milner though. Not convinced on Malbranque but I can't find an alternative DG for the 7.81 I have left. Any suggestions?
@steven75
You'll find a comprehensive list of fillers in the bargain basement post by Pauly under AM's last post "the AM challenge" - Ballack, Neville etc....
Any news of Agbonlahor's fitness?
Pauly
The Times reports that Portsmouth boss Avram Grant is promising to field weakened teams in the Premier League after his side's nine-point deduction was imposed for the club entering administration.
Grant is so furious with the decision to deduct Pompey points that he is prepared to throw the Premier League into chaos by fielding entire reserve teams in many games for the remainder of the season, according to the Daily Star.
@Pauly: “Gabby wasn’t feeling too bad on Wednesday, he felt better, and we’ll have to monitor that,” said O’Neill.
“At this moment we’ve decided not to run with a scan and that’s encouraging.
“If he’s still feeling discomfort then we would certainly scan it.
“He has scored against Wolves and Birmingham and, if I’m not mistaken, against West Bromwich Albion last season.
“I’m hoping that will still be a lucky omen for us coming to Saturday afternoon.”
http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2010/03/19/aston-villa-striker-gabby-agbonlahor-tipped-to-continue-his-derby-day-heroics-against-wolves-97319-26063716/
Thanx @STM
Pauly
Everton have won their last six league home games in a row, but have never won seven on the trot in the Premier League era.
Bolton scored as many goals in their last league game (against Wigan) as they had mustered in the previous nine.
36 per cent of the goals Portsmouth have scored have been netted in the final 15 minutes of matches, the highest percentage in the Premier League.
59 per cent of the goals Hull have scored have come in the first half, the highest proportion in the top flight.
The Tigers have won none of their last 20 Premier League away games, scoring only 10 goals and keeping just one clean sheet in that run.
Pompey have the worst conversion rate in the top flight scoring with just 8 per cent of their shots.
Tottenham have won each of the last 15 Premier League matches that they have led at half-time.
Stoke have dropped 19 points from winning positions this season, more than any other side.
Spurs last won back to back away games in August.
65 per cent of Stoke's shots have come from inside the penalty area this season, the highest proportion in the top-flight.
Stoke are the most successful corner takers in the Premier League with 40 per cent of them reaching a team-mate.
@camper
Lol; and imagine what fillers they'd be for us YFF players - cheaper even than Mokoena!
Pauly
Waz up AM..i totally agree with u..discounted players is overrated at this point..it's all about getting the players for the right result..i had vermaelen,heitinga,given,almunia,tevez at discount b4 but u should not hesitate to drop them when it matters..
My team for this week:-
Turnbull
Hutton,Bale,Dunne
Arteta,Milner,AJ,Malouda
Drogba,Bendtner,Carew
i feel good abt my team and unless there is some freak injury happens to anybody or Hilario surpisingly came out fr injuries, i'll stick with my team :p
I'm currently at 1st place in both of my private league, ranked 480 overall leaders..not too shabby..keep up the good work AM!! ur research is much appreciated fr me :p
In doubt of Milner and AsYoung.struggle to make decision.pick them both or either one?despite two
winnable home game.who will perform better n return in value?I need advise guys. From: ABC
what about anelka?
@ abc
Milner rightly has the better avg. & is dead ball & pen. taker
Both could do well though
@ Meerkat - anelka plays second fiddle to Drogs, but if you have a good feeling for him, why not?
Eveyone seems to have similar teams this week so having someone like Anelka may rocket you up the league if he does well...
but it's your shout
Pauly
Need some opinion from you guys, OK, first, I've already have Carew in my front line and it won't change, so the question will be:
1. Diamanti + Salgado
2. Gabby + Spector
3. Gabby + Craig Gardner
But this is based on the fact that I will have Turnbull in goal. If I downgrade him to Kirkland (which I had -10 points last week, lol), it will be:
4. Diamanti + Carr
5. Diamanti + Zab
Which option do you guys think is better?
I actually do have a preference already, but just want to hear some more opinion before I decide. Still 23 hours to the deadline indeed.
Hi AM and fellow YFF
So many interesting players to pick, and I see a player that everybody almost have him, Drogs.
Too bad I couldn't get it at the cheaper price =(
But here we go, my team for this week is:
Fried
Bale/Hutton/Carr
Arteta/Petrov/Melbranque/Fahey
Bellamy/Anelka/Carew
Honestly, I do think I took a lot of gamble this week. No Drogs, No AJ, no Malouda.
Any comments? would really appreciate any of y'all help on my team.
Thanks!!
Cheers,
DarkZero
Well, just found few more options:
6. Howard + Terry + Yakubu
7. Howard + Terry + Piquionne
8. Howard + Terry + Benitez
Seems confusing, ha? Me too!
@Caleb: 3,4 and 6
bengoh91
More chopping and changing as the deadline approaches:
Turnbull
Bale / C. Gardner / Hreidarsson / Cuellar
Arteta / A. Young / A. Johnson
Drogba / Diamanti / Kalinic
Squeezing Milner in there sted Young would mean downgrading my GK so in BFAY stays.
Except for Bale and maybe A. Johnson all look like two game starters (provided Zola comes to his senses).
R.Turnbull
S.Mouyokolo J.Terry M.Mancienne
Ashley Young M.Arteta M.Ballack L.Bowyer
D.Drogba W.Rooney G.Agbonlahor
anybody plis help me...shud i drop rooney??
bojan-i have pavlyuchenko at discount. should i keep him?
gkinz
Comments?
Kirkland
Richards.Hutton.Ivanovic
Arteta.A Johnson.Zhirkov.Noble
Tevez.Carew.Drogba
Am/kell,
what do you all think?
are all my players playing?
Tim
what about ballack as a filler guys? will he play in both games? Do u have better suggestion for 7.7, as am not sure a.johnson and zhirkov will have double gamers..
-Cuy
Anelka ? Why do not pick ?
Bellamy or Saha?
Come on guys, 100 posts must be posted...
@7:57 No one, either Bellamy or Saha...
@-Cuy Ballack could be good... for that price he is nice pick
@gkinz - you have Pav @6M or? now with defoe injured he is sure starter...
@5:24 - keep Rooney
What is wrong with picking Joe Cole this week?
Is he hurt? or just plain useless?
-Andrew
Im stuck here:
which grouping should I go with?
A: Lampard, Joe Cole, Cameron Jerome
B: Malouda, Ballack, Tevez
thanks,
Miles
hi guys!
baines or warnock?
@Miles - B
@9:59 - nice dilema... many people will have warnock... so baines will be risker pick but with some nice chance to outscore Warnock... and if there will be any rotation in Villa Luke Young will replace Warnock...
99TH
100th
@bojan- i have pavlyunchenko at 9+
gkinz
why not pick bellamy??huhu
please comment on my team:-
Kirk
hutton, salgado, ridgewell
molouda, millner, AJ, richardson
rooney, drogba, carew
i have a major problem to choose my last defender, please guide me:-
heitinga/jagielka/ridgewell
who is best ?
Thanks bojan! I'll keep ballack then.. Even though in the line-up prediction i dont see his name...
@ miles: i'll choose B
@ roonaldo: nice team. not really sure with AJ. And I think jagielka is the best amongst your defenders.
-Cuy
Malouda and Carew? or Diamanti and Downing
Definitely malouda and carew, those're mine :)
-Cuy
lampard or fab?
This week will be a blast. For me, literally a blast downwards.
Being self employed, and living in Bulgaria means
A) I work 7 days a week, and
B) I have no idea what day it is. No English news, newspapers etc.
I just went to change my team which I had decided upon, and thinking it was a Friday at 1.45pm, made a coffee, relaxed and came to the computer at 2.05pm to input the winning formula:)
SHOCK, HORROR, BANG, WALLOP - match day, and the drink spills. OMG!"
So, I have the identical team that netted me a stunning 163 last week, with a slight change on the BD.
I have NO Villa players at all, and only 5DG's.
Because of this error in my time keeping abilities, my whole season could be ruined - Are you listening Nescafe.
Turnbull
Bale, Hutton, Fox
Arteta, N'zogbia, Malouda, Arshavin
Bendtner, Pavlyuchenko, Drogba
I know Fox is injured and a SG, I know Zog is an SG, Arsh an SG and all the other mistakes, but I FORGOT!!!!!
I wish you all a great double week, and hope that the general rule of double weeks being rubbish, that they're rubbish again.
Fortune favours the brave and all that tosh. Oh, and I hate these US spell checkers. I want it to recognize the 'U' in favour, labour etc.
Good work AM.
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