Saturday 3 April 2010

Week 29 - My Team

Howard

Bale  Campbell  Garrido

Malouda  Nasri  Bullard  Etherington

Bendtner  Tevez  Saha

I've been in deep thought since my Player Picks post & I ended up making quite a few changes for Week 29.

Having seen West Ham a few times recently they have been wretched - I can see a comfortable Everton win so had no qualms over spending £9m on Tim Howard...I didn't fancy keeping Myhill, Given was away from home & I read Robinson was back in Brown's place, so I had few other options.

Bale stays always, Campbell has a decent chance of a clean sheet at home to Wolves & was a bargain at under 6, with the final spot going to Garrido for Man City at Burnley. I was all set to go with Jagielka but realised I had the Everton clean sheet covered with Howard, plus heard brief rumours that Moyes may give him a rest, so it made sense (I think he'll play tbh)

I toyed with the idea of dropping Malouda, but he's been in great form, he's going to be attacking Gary Neville today & I'd also like to keep him for Chelsea's game vs Bolton next week. I am slightly concerned that Nasri could be rested for the Barcelonda game so Walcott nearly came in, but I decided to stick & hope Wenger decides to play him in the Fabregas role. If he starts he'd be on set pieces so could be in a for a very good week. 

I've decided to keep Jimmy Bullard for the season - a free kick taker, penalty taker, playing for a team with so much to play for, he should put up good points over the next 6 weeks as everything goes through him. Matty Etherington completes my midfield, another set piece taker / penalty taker having a fine season.

The major decision I made yesterday was to drop Torres for Saha. Birmingham could prove tough opponents for Liverpool despite the Spaniards hot form & Saha could hammer West Ham. Its also a move that freed up £10m for me to field a stronger midfield/defence/keeper, so I think it was the correct decision (queue Torres hattrick).

Tevez stays after his hattrick last weekend, with Burnley sure to give him plenty of opportunites to add to his goal tally & the final spot goes to Bendtner. Home to Wolves, he needs to repay us all for the goose egg he laid last weekend.

That completes my Week 29 Team - I'm not completely happy with it, but then I hated my team last week & scored 150+, so you never know!

As for the barndoor, Week 30 is the Semi Finals of The AM Challenge & is at the moment it's a double week for 2 teams:

Saturday, 10 April 2010
Hull v Burnley, 15:00
West Ham v Sunderland, 15:00

Sunday, 11 April 2010
Blackburn v Man Utd, 13:30
Liverpool v Fulham, 15:00
Man City v Birmingham, 16:00
Wolverhampton v Stoke, 12:00

Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Chelsea v Bolton, 20:00

Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Aston Villa v Everton, 19:45
Fulham v Stoke, 20:00
Tottenham v Arsenal, 20:00
Wigan v Portsmouth, 19:45

Fulham & Stoke are scheduled to play twice, so you'll be looking to bring in a few of their players, and then we have Chelsea at home to Bolton as the stand out single game. Hull will fancy their chances at home to Burnley, as will Wigan at home to Portsmouth, but other than that there isn't too much to get excited about.

Sunderland could probably do West Ham but United (like Chelsea) are likely to find things tough at Blackburn. Liverpool should beat Fulham,Man City SHOULD beat Birmingham at home (but remember, this is City), Villa v Everton & Spurs v Arsenal are very tough to call.

That complete the post - please let me know your team & any barndoor ideas you might have. Good luck!

Cheers,
AM

36 comments:

Unknown said...

Woo hoo!! Drogba + Bench!!

Ian Sanderson said...

Given
Bale Baird Jagielka Vermaelen
Modric Bullard Nasri
Tuncay Torres Tévez

Surely this is my comeback week.

Staffer84 said...

Myhill,

Bale, Vermalen, Garrido
Walcott, Nasri, Rosicky, Maxi
Tevez, Torres, Berbatov

MU fan but I fancy 2 of my Arsenal midfielders to do pretty well. I really hope MU to beat Chelsea today with Berba scoring MWG and get me some good points. Really glad to see Drogba on the bench... Good luck to everybody and thank you AM for the wonderful blog! Keep it up! It is my first season in this game but I was out of top 30,000 by Boxing Day and today I stay on pretty solid inside top 2500.

Staffer84 said...

... I started reading your blog in December :)

Unknown said...

Myhill
Bale Hutton Vermaelen
Arteta Bilyetdinov Kranky Nasri
Nando Tevez Carew

Just couldnt get rid of the hot streaks of Arteta and Carew at big discounts on the basis of 50-50 injuries....

Fancy Everton big time this weekend.. and praying for a rubbish fantasy week by keeping Myhill and picking up Tevez...I'm a Burnley fan so chances for staying up are getting thin... but then again nobody gave us a second look last season either and up stepped Wade Elliott... please Easter Bunny forget chocolate give me 3 points......

Pedro said...

Fulop
bale, verm, jags, olsson
arteta, nasri, walcott
bendtner, tevez, saha

am i the only person who picked olsson this week?

AM, i decided the same thing about torres and saha,

Loving my team this week, just bit annoyed if arteta, jags and olsson dont play.

Anonymous said...

...and you sold Arteta. Probably a wise move.

joshtottenham said...

why have I kept drogba - hes gutting my whole team at ~22... terrible decision from me. Oh well he stays for next week now.

Anonymous said...

Drogba was rested for last weekend's thumping 7-1 win over Aston Villa and has since missed two days of training while nursing a knee problem.

But Drogba has now shrugged off the injury, sustained in a training ground accident with Yuri Zhirkov, and will be fit to start the game against United at Old Trafford.

Anonymous said...

Didier Drogba will lead the Chelsea attack in front of an experienced midfield containing Deco, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole.

is tat true??

http://www.chelseanews.net/Chelsea-News/team-news-manchester-united-v-chelsea/

Bojan said...

My team:
Given

Bale,Verm,Olsson,Baines

Eth,Malouda,Sicky

Bender,Tevez,Roberts

Anonymous said...

vermaelen has dropped to 8.67

Anonymous said...

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2010/03/27/midfield-injury-headache

'Moyes told evertonfc.com: "He's been carrying a bit of a groin strain for the last few weeks now..." '

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11668_6070020,00.html

'Chelsea striker Didier Drogba could be forced to undergo an operation to cure a hernia problem which has been troubling him for several months.'

i will stay clear of both even if they do possess a good potential of match-up since they a)could be playing lesser b) injuried in game.

~Newbie

Ban said...

Myhill
Bale Baines Jagielka
Malouda Arteta Bullard Nasri
Bendtner Tevez Saha

I love Myhill although he is going to pick negative points^^
Left so much in bank, so i changed Vermealen to Baines (Just like a little crazy move on it^^)
Arteta not going in the team this week?

Missing on Etherington (Hope Arteta is playing in the game this week)

Anonymous said...

Drogba scores against Man Utd!

G-man said...

Both Nasri and Bendtner on the bench for Arsenal... Guessing these guys are in 75% of line-ups this week.

Dave said...

So...anyone thinking of going heavy on Stoke & Fulham players next week?? There are some good mid-price options, but are they worth it, will they score better than good single gamers?

Dempsey, Duff, Etherington, Fuller, Zamora, etc...??? It will also depend on the Cottagers' result against Wolfsburg I guess...

Anonymous said...

i did suggest hahnemann might provide some stubborn resistance against the Ars. 1 goal for 8 saves (1/8= 0.125 ) , and almost got the clean sheet. looks like a decent wk for me so far.. goals for bfay & bendtner, clean sheets for sol & verm & friedel. plenty sots from rosicky. need torres to do the biz as he was a debateable pick/keep for the same reasons AM listed above.

S.P.

Zach said...

Hey AM,

use this picture for your next Bendtner post! From his Highbury days. http://www.statsgalore.com/players-images/bendtner.jpg

Saul said...

Jeeez 6-0 to Man City with goals from Tevez(1), Adebayor(2), now he scores hah!), Kompany(1), Bellamy(1), Vieira(1) and it's only the 65th minute!

Adebayor always disappoints me...when I have him he does squat, when I don't he score massive. What the hell!!!

My week's not looking good so far, only 35 points with 3 to play...Tevez is my only big possitive it seems, with Saha and Jagielka to play.

Team for this fixture was...

James(0)...good gamble as Myhill scored -5.5
Bale(7.5), Campbell(8), Jagielka(to play)
Bullard(5.5), Dunn(-1), O'Hara(3), Denilson(2)
Etherington(10)
Tevez(scores to be posted), Saha(to play)

There it is and I'm disappointed by the display of most. My BD team so far is...

James
Bale/Jagielka/Campbell
Bullard/Etherington/N'Zogbia/Johnson
Tevez/Diamanti/Fuller

Definitely need more Double gamers, specially from Fulham but have to wait and see what happens after the Europa game vs. Wolfsburg.

Good luck guys and hope your week is better.

Saul said...

Well I guess no CS for Man City. 6-1

Kellz said...

72pts with Tevez, Saha, Given, and Jags to go.

BD team:

Given
Bale, Jags, Verm (hunch hes gonna score in derby)
Ethrington, Malouda, Walcott, AJ
Bent, Tevez, Bendtner (also in a high scoring derby)

my lack of double gamers is basically the rotation of Fulham. They are only playing for the Europa League and with a return trip to Wolfsburg, the likes of Duff, Dempsey, and Zamora could/will be rested. Therefore strong single gamers seem the best bet. Stoke on the other hand will play to win, but both games are away from home, not getting to excited but Eth stays and probably will bring in a Stoke defender. Fuller subbed at half any one know?

Good luck :D

Saul said...

Good job Kellz, looks like an excellent week for you unlike myself there's only one word to describe...Terrible!!!

35.5 with only Tevez, Jags and Saha to go

Kellz said...

@Saul: Ouch sorry to here that mate, my picks of Olsson and Walcott really performed. I figure with Tevez having 1 Goal 2 Assists he should be 18pts + Phantoms and Given will get what I paid 7pts. Should reach 100pts before tomorrow.

Saha and Jags could both flop (knock on wood), there was a slight hint at Jags being rested and Saha can go anonymous sometimes, but the chances are slim. Everton will want to continue to push up the ranks and to rest Jags when hes fit makes no sense because Eve have nothing else to play for.

I should have figured AW would have thought Wolves game would be in the bag and rest Nasri for the CL tie. Give credit to Wolves their performances have been fantastic of late, harsh not to get the draw.

Best of luck

Mike B said...

Elokobi, Bale, Walcott, O'Hara, Etherington and Bendtner combined to give me 53.5 points so far.

I should get around 75 when Given and Tevez get added tomorrow.

Not bad, but not very good either! O'Hara was a disappointment, but i brought him in for Nasri anyway, so i should look at his 3 points as a success!

With Jagielka, Gera and Torres still to play, i'm hoping to reach 100 by the last game.

For next week i have this so far...

Given
Ferreira, Elokobi, Bale
Etherington, Gera, Jones, Malouda
Tevez, Bendtner, Torres

Given will certainly go for a cheaper keeper so i can do something about Jones. I cannot do this untill the prices are updated though, Yahoo back to their best i see!

I quite like the rest :)

Anonymous said...

Narsi was a real big disappointment for us this week.

for Next week, what do you guys think about the Man U Match up? Rio and Valencia?

AdmiraLord Nelson said...

guys....I made it expilcitly clear how important Rosicky would be this week!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Darren Bent could've had 51 points had he not missed the two penalties.

greginho said...

i musta missed your mantra admiralordneslon. i went on the nasri bus, thinking that he would certainly play in a must win game.

Hinrik said...

My team for this weekend was:
Given
Bale Verm Jagielka Salgado
Nasri Walcott A.Young
Adebayor Tevez Bendtner

Gambled on Young and Adebayor. It paid off this time.

Saul said...

Bad week for me this was, I'm thinking of going all in on Double gamers just to take a chance...hell I have nothing to gain or loose anymore so what the hell!!! It's then end of the season and gotta make the best of it. Perhaps I'll go with...

Sorensen
Bale/Huth/Hangeland
Bullard/Dempsey/Etherington/Malouda/Lawrence
Altidore/Fuller

8 double gamers and 3 single gamers, 2 with great match-ups and 1 that produces no matter who the opposition is(King Bale that is)!!!

Taking risks...and...I'm clicking the save button as I write!!!

Saul said...

DONE!!! The above team is what I'm sticking with.

Saul said...

Unless there are injuries of course...then I'd go for another double gamer.

Cescy said...

i think double gamers for me too, although my week this week has been alright:
Schwarzer(3)
jags(5) verm(7.5) smalling(0)
rosicky(20) cahill(5) nasri(1) Etherington(10)
tevez(to be updated) Bendtner(15) fuller(14)

schwarzer was disappointing, as was jags, cahill and nasri-smalling not too bad as i only paid about 3ish. also hoped for a bit more from verm but still a decent enuff score-considering tevez is gonna get about 20 with one goal, 2 assists and phantoms.

for next week i have currently saved my team at:
sorensen
faye smalling verm
duff dempsey etuhu etherington
tevez bendtner fuller

Any comments?

as with your team Saul i will have 8 double gamers, and 3 singles...barring injury and natural friday night changes!

Cheers, Cescy.

Kellz said...

78.5pts with Tevez and Given to be updated. Given will give 7pts while Tevez should be at 18pts + phantoms, so I expect around 110pts. Have to say a very fantastic week.

As I stated before, Saha has those matches where he just goes anonymous, and again he puts up a very disappointing score, however many had him so we all absorb that blow. Otherwise Nasri was my only other disappointment.

Really undecided about next week, Fulham are sure to rotate if they advance past Wolfsburg, making Duff/Dempsey/Gera/Zamora tough choices. Schwartzer will start both matches, but one is away to Liverpool so don't get excited there. So far I have both Dempsey and Duff on the BD but will probably drop 1 or the other.

Cescy said...

kellz: gera is a good shout, also looking at tuncay, zamora and gera. plus not sure on stoke defence, with huth, faye, shawcross, wilkinson, collins, etc. ther are too many choices!! so far i have faye...

Cescy.

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