Saturday, 14 August 2010

Week 1 - My Team + Blog Team


Kirkland

Kolorov  O'Shea  Bale

Valencia  Adam  Malouda  M.Petrov

       Boselli   Rooney   F.Campbell 

My first effort of the season, and I imagine it will have a similar look to a lot of the teams around on the first week of the season. The injury doubt over Lampard meant I had to dismiss him from my thoughts, and I decided to wait a week over Drogba to see how fit he is. I expect both to play some part today and they'll probably score well, but that nagging doubt that they may no start/be fully fit meant I couldn't risk spending over £20m on either one.  

Yes...I'm scared about a Drogba hat-trick.


Anyway, Kirkland will be in 95% of teams, as will Kolorov, while I'm confident that John O'Shea will continue at right-back after looking decent vs Chelsea in the Community Shield. My final defensive spot goes to Gareth Bale - yes £13m is a lot to spend, but he's a special player & I really wanted one Spurs representative in my first team of the season. Ferreira would've been in there, but the fact Alex returns means Ivanovic could be shifted out to right back - again, too much of a risk, I want 11 players starting.

Bolton's Martin Petrov should play in a really attacking role and we all know he's capable of great fantasy points and Valencia impressed me last Sunday so gets the nod over Nani. I decided to take a punt on set piece taker Charlie Adam as my 5.40 midfielder and I had to have a Chelsea player in there and that spot goes to Malouda, who was outstanding last year as a left sided forward.

My forward line is a touch risky, an out of form Wayne Rooney, an unknown Boselli making his debut and an unfashionable Frazier Campbell, but this game is about taking gambles so let see what happens. I'm admittedly really worried about having just 1 Chelsea player.

Now, on to the Blog Team which was picked by myself, Hans & MikeB using the Poll Results as our guide:

Kirkland

Figueroa  Kolorov  Bale

Adam  J.Cole  Petrov  Malouda

Boselli  Rooney  Chamakh

As you can see, it's very similar to my team (8 players) but this was the fairest side we could pick given the votes and the 100m available. We've realised we'll need to make some changes in future as we could not afford all the top voted players (Bale, Lampard, Drogba & Rooney) as it would've left us £27m for 7 players, which can't be done. Let's see how we get on!

Now, just a quick look at next week's fixtures to get you ready for the barndoor, and you have to be looking to cram your team will as many Arsenal players as possible as they face Blackpool at The Emirates. Also tempting is Everton at home to Wolves, Man Utd at Fulham and Chelsea at Wigan. Many of the other games will be close, but I'm really looking forward to Man City vs Liverpool next Monday night.

So that's it - please let me know the team you settled on, and who you plan to bring in on the barndoor. The Premier League is back, so I'm off to the pub to watch Spurs v City, good luck to all!

Cheers,
AM

70 comments:

Ban said...

Kirkland
Kolorov O'Shea Alcaraz
Valencia Adam Malouda M.Petrov
Boselli Drogba Berbatov

Anonymous said...

my lineup:

kirk
kolarov alcaraz o'shea
adam valencia malouda j.cole
rooney boselli anelka

my 1st barndoor player is arteta.

Anonymous said...

Enjoy the game AM. Good luck to you spurs.

-Saul

mudwalkerz said...

Kirk
Ivan/OShea/Kolarov
Adam/Watson/Petrov/Henderson ..hows that for a budget MF? :D
Rooney/Boselli/Drogba

Game on!

cfcboss said...

we all have so similar line-ups this week, funny though.
barndoored koscielny and my hunch for next week is brunt from wba, against sunderland in home, takes set pieces eg..

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much...you are very very active compared to other blogs.. because this is the most day you should be active... thank you again..

Anonymous said...

similar team with me AM except i'm holding kos/drogba instead of your o'shea/rooney..

SM

Crazylegs said...

Bale is playing midfield today so should have plenty of chances on goal!
Glad I stayed with him over his injury doubt..

donut said...

Only one difference AM - Nolan vs Adam...

Good luck, and loving the blog team idea, will be cheering them on too!!

Thanks for all your effort so far and lets hope it pays off...

Like you, I am very worried about Drogba, and also Anelka - lets hope they keep passing to Malouda!!

Vans_Guy said...

Kirk
Kolarov/Bale/Ivanovic
Malouda/Albrighton/JCole/MPetrov
Rooney/Boselli/Chamakh

GTR34 said...

I had Bale until the last minute. Somebody started a rumour that he was injured, and the rumour kept doing it's rounds. Sold him on that basis:(

I will never sell a player again on an initiated rumour.

Maxer said...

i drop bale and valencia 15mins before the deadline to fit in rooney and bardsley as filler.. and change my formation from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3.. now i might regret that decision.. but hey that's fantasy football.. :p

kirk
kolarov, koscielny, bardsley
adam, petrov, malouda, scholes
chamakh, drogba, rooney

Maxer

Anonymous said...

west ham looks TERRIBLE!

Anonymous said...

Kolarov Subbed after 45 mins. there goes my(our) clean sheet.
Cheers!!!
Keshari

SK said...

May I suggest next time to divide players into price piers and ask people to select 1 or 2 per each price tier? For example, 1 player 18+, 2 players 15+, 2/3 players 10+, the rest less than 10. People may not pick players that fit in formations, but the players selected will actually represent value instead of expected points earned.

Mignolet
Kolarov Alcaraz Ferreira
Malouda Valencia Silva M.Petrov Essien
Chamakh Drogba

SK said...

Can't believe Harewood is not in the game still...

Anonymous said...

0 - 3 blackpool at half time..we're all screwed

Anonymous said...

i had both bale and hart! should've gone with my hunches, opted to play safe with kirk and evans, and spent more on attack..;/

Anonymous said...

what is the barndoor

Anonymous said...

Ouch to ppl who had Capt Kirk in goal!!!

I wonder how many points Bale got with that CS?

My team this week was:
Jussi
Evans Kolarov Terry Bardsely(who didn't play at all)
MPet, Essien, Malouda, Gera
Boselli, Rooney

Next week good matchups at first glance:
ARS, SUN, AVL, CHE, EVE, MUN

-JJJOKBOB

Anonymous said...

oh..no.....mostly peapole was heart attack by kirkland

Anonymous said...

Condolences on your bad start

Anonymous said...

Your fears have come to pass AM. Drog-trick.

What a first day

Anonymous said...

I had the Drog and dropped him in favor of Rooney. Now he gets the trick and Rooney will just run around like a headless chicken. Boooo me

J0J0

Lee B said...

don't blame kirk the whole wigan team was shite; I had him too.
I also had Rooney but dropped him at the last minute for the Drog.... Hat-trick baby!!!!!

AM mate, you'll get it right more than wrong this season

Anonymous said...

malouda is my only shining light, but his efforts are still gonna be raped by good ol kirk.

Alex_Darlo said...

A_M's famous last words

"Yes...I'm scared about a Drogba hat-trick."

Anonymous said...

kirkland + no drogba = disaster

Anonymous said...

kolorov off after 45 mins(no clean sheet)
ivanovic no start(no clean sheet)
stam only on bench and kirkland in goal.what a defence i picked.

kwyjibo said...

The worse part about it is that I switched for Kirkland at the last minute...why didn't I keep Jussi?! Argh!

The best part is that I also switched to Drogba at the last minute! Drogba + Malouda more than made up for Kirkland.

Thank you AM! Your comment about how you are scared of a Drogba hat-trick is actually what made me pick him. I appreciate your prophetic words...

Anonymous said...

Barndoor is just cheating, I remember a time when you would go to make changes and selling was locked down to prevent it & thus reward those who picked a player who did well.

chrism said...

Well Nik, just think of how you'd be feeling if you had Drogba instead of Rooney to go along with Malouda. 80 pts from 2 players? I finally went with:

Kirk
Bale Kolarov Koiscieniy
Adam Cole Silva Scoles
Drogba Rooney Chamkh

Might be the cheapest midfield around. Silva and Adam both played 90 Silva looked lost but I think Adam got an assist so some points there.

Kirkland-won't beat a a dead horse. Now the search for a cheap GK becomes critical for next week. Dropped Kirk before his value could plunge to 0, might pick up Carson who will be about 0. Have Harper in there now but have to get him out before he gets pounded by ManU on Monday.

Bale-In the first half how did he not score. He was all over the field, has a clean sheet, maybe 15 pts or so. He hasn't fallen off at all and is a keeper for the season.

Drogba-barring injury, with no ANC he's obviously there for the season. Especially after today he will take all of Chelsea's free kicks too.

Silva/ Man City-trainwreck. Add to it total head case Balotelli and Milner. Who the hell plays. SWP starts, wtf? AJ plays less than 10 minutes. Silva is wondering all over the field seemingly without any fixed position. Kolarov gets hurt so no clean sheet. Richards starts, no Boateng anywhere. 'nuf said.

other observations from games not seen. Dunn off for Blackburn after 9 minutes with groin injury. He is now officially replaced M Owen as captain of my all sick list team.

Everton-no Heitinga, Bily or Rodwell in starting line up. Last years fantasy favs no longer.

So unless Rooney does a hat trick, the leader board will consist of people who have the trifecta of Drogba/Malouda/Bale (if Bale gets all the phantom pts I think he is going to get). And who didn't have Kirk. 2 of 4 will put me in the middle.

If anyone has read this far, any intelligence on the BD.

cheers

Anonymous said...

How long does a defender or goalkeeper have to stay on the pitch to get points for a clean sheet?

Birty said...

Kirkland is now not only on the dead to me list - he's on the "getting a slap IRL if I ever meet him" list, alongside Hilario.

Onward and upward.

I'm a bit worried about stacking up on arsenal on the barndoor. But walcott and that koscileny are just too tempting.

alper said...

75 minutes

Anonymous said...

barn door is wide open tonight 10.15pm UK time and still no scores in!

Lamin said...

"Yes...I'm scared about a Drogba hat-trick."

Sorry, AM.

Anonymous said...

Wow serious barndoor on Bale, Drogba, Malouda and Lampard!

My team this week was screwed of course by Failnut Kirk. And Ivanovic didn't play either :(

Kirkland
Kolarov OShea Ivanovic
MPetrov JCole Malouda Valencia
Boselli Chamakh Rooney

greginho said...

anonymous 9:21, i won't go in to my diatribe about the barn door, again, because it will lead to some fighting, but i agree with you 100% that barn door should not exist.

Mèo Ko Ăn Cá said...

wow, the last match yesterday so wonderful :)) i have Drogba, malouda, terry and ivanovic in my team :))

bean said...

@gregihho/anon9:21 - maybe the barn door "should not exist", but in reality it does and it's part of the yahoo system. everyone knows it, and you either use it or don't, it's that simple. I think in actuality there's not really much of an advantage to "barndooring" because the majority of the time you are just chasing the points. if you actually got that player's points for that week i would agree, it's cheating, but you don't get those points. anyway, I hate the fact that sometimes these discussions turn to bickering, but I really enjoy the debate/discussions that usaully take place. greginho, I haven't agreed with a few of your opinions lately, but i find more often than not the discussions that you initiate are valuable and interesting. i would hope that we can all discuss these things in a civil manner and that you wouldn't hold back on your opinion with the fear that people might get their panties in a bunch..

cheers to AM and all the regulars.. the discussion here is most valuable to everyone, regardless of whether you agree or not, these topics get you thinking..

the barndoor is still open for those intersed, but since i have malouda/drogba i'm not really intersted in much at first glance..would like harewood for cheap, but not in the system. want to get some arsenal in there for blackpool (though not sure they'll be so easy for the first few matches), but want to see who starts, plays well for the gunners beforehand..

Anonymous said...

Yes barndoor`ing(lol) does not reward the team the week points of the player there getting in, but I think managers should be more rewarded for a good pick with not only the points, but knowing that others they are in direct competition will have to fork out more to get a player they failed to spot (or get lucky with).

In my opinion if a manager makes rubbish picks initially they should have to pay more to rectify it. Too many times has someone above me seen a player I have put in, who does well (I begin to catch them say) and then suddenly they have that player in the following week, barn-doored of course, and thus cancelling out that players points contribution in future easily, if they can afford him after his price goes up, fair enough but there's just an injustice about it when its the same price as before the performance.

Maxer said...

kirkland in the 'official game' is not that bad.. 2points for playing 90minutes, 1points for 3 saves and -2points for 4 goal conceded.. overall 1points for capt kirk.. 17 for drogba and 15 for malouda.. bale got 4points, terry and adam both got 6points.. and kolarov disapoints with only 1 points.. drogba is my captain and my overall is 70 points with chamakh, valencia and koscielny still to play.. very good start.. :)

Maxer

bean said...

@Maxer-I'm just 2 pts. short of you in the "official game" 68 points with Rooney,Evans to play

Kavedas said...

Hello Mr.Kirkland , you was the most wonderful guy in the planet yesterday Hahahaha (i think this what i would say if i didnt have him in my team)
i had 4 Wigan players , everywhere i read in the net suggest that Blackpool is the worst Premier League team ever , i should not believed then , Why did they forget Wigan , it was humiliation shouldve been 6-0 ..............
and 2nd annoying man was Mr.Anceloti , he gave us no clue with making half of his team doubt .. Cech Alex Lampard Drogba all doubtful !!!!!!
C'mon week 2 PLZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Alex_Darlo said...

OK have got my Team set for next week already, surely this is too simple and I will no doubt be tinkering on Saturday morning.

Jussi

Kolorov Koscielny Faubert

Nasri Cahill Walcott Malouda Petrov

Drogba Chamakh

Dann said...

HAve BP been put in charge of plugging up this Barndoor?

Assistant Manager said...

My worst fears were realised with that Drogba hattrick, a disaster for Kirkland and I've just heard on Sky that Rooney is a doubt for tomorrow with a hamstring injury, not the best start to the season :(

I'll write my first analysis once Yahoo update the points - how do you think you got on?

Maxer said...

rooney is a doubt?!.. man that's suck.. i drop bale and valencia for rooney and bardsley.. looks like 0 for the last minute transfer then since bardsley also didn't play.. :(..

Maxer

kwyjibo said...

I had a disaster in the 'official' game. Only 25 points with a couple players left to play, including Rooney who is now a doubt.

But, my YFF team should do well. I had Kirkland, but I also had Drogba + Malouda which should more than make up for him. I'm hoping Kirkland isn't too far into the red...

Anonymous said...

I had a pretty normal start for my weekend in fantasy terms. There were successes in the shapes of Malouda (I guess close to 30 points), Terry (should do well with a CS) and Jussi (best bet of the weekend as I skipped Kirkland who got -10 while Jussi got 15). There were disappointments like Campbell and probably Petrov and Etherington as well, unless something amazing happens with their phantom points count. I don't know what to expect from Kolarov as well, but my guess is that I have at least 70 points from these 7 players, which is an average start, but better than most of others' so I'm happy so far.
Still to go are JCole and Chamakh from whom I don't expect much, Evans that I hope gets at least CS points, and Rooney. Your news are terrible, Nik, and I just hope it turns out once more that Rooney shook off an injury right before the game, because I really counted on his points.

BD team:

Howard
Kolarov Koscielny Bale
Malouda Nasri Albrighton LeeCY
Chamakh Kalinic Drogba

Malouda and Drogba are obvious in light of the Wigan match-up, while Albrighton and Kalinic impressed and came in very cheap so I would like to keep them both. I don't think the big win at Wigan really meant anything serious and Blackpool are still a very weak team in my book, so I'm on the Arsenal bandwagon for this weekend, especially with the cheap Chamakh, Koscielny and average-priced Nasri.
Howard is in for his home match-up, though Everton never start their seasons well, so still a doubt over him. Bale is fantastic and Stoke aren't a strong team, but if I'll need the cash he's the first to go. Kolarov is a bit of a mystery after he came off in half-time which was unexpected, so I hope he's starting spot isn't at risk. Lee is just a filler with the right price so far, so I'll get rid of him the first chance I get.

Good luck!

SF

Alex_Darlo said...

Not good for me A_M, am disappointed, moreso that I went heavy on Wigan and lets be clear, Blackpool will be beaten most weeks, bot so will Wigan, N'Zog and Yaygo to be gone this week means they have to sign players quick, but who would go?

kwyjibo said...

The only BD work I did so far was to QUICKLY get rid of Kirkland for Jussi, and change Boselli, who did nothing, for Chamakh, since Blackpool should not (hopefully) beat Arsenal!

As other's have said, Drogba + Malouda are obvious BDs if you don't have them.

Sulldaddy said...

well we can all agree on the Wigan letdown...is WBA the worst of the newcomers or is Chelsea just picking up where they left off last season?

Kirk and the rest of those guys are gone. I cant believe the barndoor is still open as I type this. I think Bale is the season keeper again even at 13. remember drogba at 10.xx at start of last season. I think bale is similar this year. free kicks and corners for a "defender" who plays wing? no-brainer, just use a filler somewhere else I say. I may flip rooney for drogba, but cant decide and with the BD swinging in the wind, it isnt a rush job. I also added chamakh for same reason as kwyjibo above.

not a great start for me so far, glad it is a long season!

Anonymous said...

Hi, new to this game.

Will the values change once a week or could they change every day once we get going? How much can a players value change over a week--10%? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

@anon

the value is changing after the games, depending on the efficiency of the yahoo staff. player value changes depends on their performances or points they get. let say drogba with a hat-trick the point will exceed his value, he will probably rise about 2-3. in the other hand, if kalou get a hat-trick his value will rise maybe 7 or more because the point he get exceed far more than his value.

SM

Anonymous said...

joe cole red card..um..is there any way i can like just delete my team and make a new one altogether ?

Skip said...

OUCH!! Joe Cole RED!!

Anonymous said...

RED CARD COLE!

Anonymous said...

wonderful..koscielny yellow card, spanish la liga anyone ?

Anonymous said...

....cut that...koscielny red card.. the gods of fantasy football piss upon me

thank u kirk, j cole and kosc

Anonymous said...

Does Chamakh get an assist for Reina OG?

Anonymous said...

kirk + 2 red cards = just ruined my Drogba + Malouda.

100 pts may be out of reach now...oh well.

David said...

Who to pick to replace Koscielny at a similar price?

Anonymous said...

BANG ! shuts the barn door

Saul said...

91.50 points so far, not a bad week at all considering I still have Valencia and Evans to play tomorrow. 7th place in the 'AM Blog League 1' and hoping to climb a few more places by the end of tomorrow's game. Good start to the game but I know the season's long and I have a lot of work to do.

Anonymous said...

How come Paulo Ferreira doesnt get any clean sheat points? he was subbed at the 60th minute so he must get them right?

Dave said...

@ 8:23 - no, he won't get CS point - defenders need to be on the pitch for 75 minuted to earn a clean sheet bonus.

Anonymous said...

hope manchester will give incredible point


GABAN FC

Anonymous said...

My team is

E. Van der Sar
Defenders
A. Alcaraz
T. Vermaelen
C. Clark
G. GivetBlackburn

Midfielders
C. Adam
L. Modric
Jordi Gómez

Forwards
N. Anelka
D. Bent
N. Zigic

Hope this works in week 2.

Week 1 was a wpe-out

Kirkland and no drogba

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