Friday 13 August 2010

Week 1 - Update

It's been 5 days since I wrote my first player picks post of the season and while there have been some transfer & injuries since then, not that much has changed when it come to my player recommendations.

We've had a very slow transfer window, with only a handful of new signings that bring any real excitement or fantasy value, but I guess with almost 3 weeks still to go there is plenty of time for some new arrivals (it appears Mario Balotelli is finally on his way to Man City).

Anyway, the current list player's I'm still considering has been whittled down a bit...

Kirkland
Hilario

Bale
Kolorov
Ferreira
Evans
Terry
Ivanovic
O'Shea
Koscielny
Boateng
Figueroa
Jacobson

Lampard
Petrov
Malouda
Valencia
Adam
Nani
Gerrard
Scholes
Silva
Joe Cole
N'Zogbia

Drogba
Rooney
Boselli
Chamkh
Anelka
Campbell
Rodallega
Hernandez

There have been some things worth noting however...
  • Charles N'Zogbia is reportedly on the verge of handing in a transfer request
  • Arsenal have an injury crisis ahead of their opener, with Koscielny certain to start in Djourou's absence
  • Thomas Hitzlsperger is a doubt for West Ham
  • Tim Cahill's knee injury means he could miss out for Everton
  • Aston Villa will be without both James Collins and Carlos Cuellar for the opener against West Ham
  • James Milner's transfer to Man City is being held up by Stephen Ireland's pay-off demand
  • Frank Lampard a doubt, Alex & Cech return to cast doubt over Ferreira & Hilario...Fantasy Football is well and truly back!  http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2121520,00.html
I'll look to add to this list as we get news, but I really recommend you check Fantasy Football Scout's Team News page as it'll be kept up to date throughout the day.

I currently have a decision to make on 3 positions, with the rest of my team more-or-less settled. I'm fighting between the following 2 combinations:

- Bale, Nani, Malouda
OR
- O'Shea, Valencia, Lampard

But it's possible even this will change as we receive further news from the manager's friday press conferences (hopefully Ancelotti will do his bit and reveal whether Drogba is set to start).

A reminder that you have until 4pm UK time today to vote in our player picks poll, at which point myself, Mike B & Hans India will put the results together to form our first ever AM Blog Team.

Until then, let me know how your team is shaping up with just over 24 hours to go till the first deadline!

Cheers,
AM

52 comments:

donut said...

Good list and tough choices.

Cheers AM for your help!!

I have a Lampard/Scholes v Malouda/MTaylor problem - I really want Lamps so going with option 1...

Kirk
Bale Kolarov Boateng
Scholes Lampard Petrov Nolan
Boselli Rooney Campbell

Happy-ish for my team apart from wanting to fit Lamps and Malouda in and having 2 City defenders, not sure if both will play...
Can't get Lamps and Malouda if I want Bale, and I want Bale!

mudwalkerz said...

Good to be back for another season. :)
Not too sure about Hillarious though..

"However, Ancelotti did have a bit of good news ahead of the first game of our Barclays Premier League season next weekend.

'[Petr] Cech will be fit for West Brom, and so will Alex, they will come back to training next week.

'It's only [Jose] Bosingwa who needs more time, maybe two or three weeks and [Didier] Drogba came back on 26th, he needs another two weeks to be fully fit, he can still play."

And how about N'Zogbia starting role after him handing in a transfer request?

Game on!

ps: found out starting 11 has a fantasy group as well.. maybe some of us AM.Blog tagged teams could join up and provide some competition. :)

Starting 11 group 2
ID: 5718
Password: 4621

Anonymous said...

my team is :
Kirkland
J.Boateng Kolarov A.Cole
Silva Scholes Malouda J.Cole
Kalou Rooney Anelka
Can someone pls tell me what they think about my team ? thx

Anonymous said...

Week 1
Kirk
Koscielny Kolarov J. O'Shea
J.Cole M.Petrov Valencia Nani
Drogba Chamakh Berbatov


Rgds.
Ajani

Anonymous said...

My Team for week 1

Kirkland
Kolarov Alcaraz Berra
Petrov Adam Nani Valencia
Anelka Rooney Boselli

SL

PS : joined the starting 11 group

Anonymous said...

Kirkland

Kolarov - Ferriera - O Shea

J. Cole - C. Adam - M. Petrov - Malouda

Rooney - Chamakh - Tevez

1.31 remaining, any suggestions ? I wouldn't mind taking adam off for a defender ( koscielny or boateng) but I don't know whether it's wise to have two defenders from two sides facing each other (liv vs ars ) or two defenders from the same team ( boateng, kolarov).

My first year in fantasy, a little help ?

StandartenfuhrerSS FC said...

Joined starting 11 too :) waiting for news on Kalou, if Drogba starts must get rid of him

mudwalkerz said...

for anyone considering a Sunderland defender for this weekend.. this could make your choice a little easier :
George McCartney and Anton Ferdinand have not been given squad numbers.

Anonymous said...

is Bale really injured?

Can't afford to take chances, so.....


Jussi

R.Johnson, Boateng, L.Baines,

J.Cole, M.Petrov, Larsson, Essien, Gerrard,

Boselli, C.Jerome


I really want Bale in my tean thou. And should go for Koralov instead of Boateng?


Any comment guys?


*Mizol*

Anonymous said...

silva will not start this week as mancini also not include him in europa league squad..myb he will play 20-30 minutes this week as he also only came from mexico..

Anonymous said...

@AM

Although I believe most will go for the first combination of Bale, Nani and Malouda, and maybe even because of that, I prefer the second one. Even if there's a risk that either Nani or Valencia will sit on the bench, it's not a big one - SAF should start with both. Even if there is a risk like that, I don't think Valencia will be the one who rests after his fantastic performance on Sunday, and he should get about the same amount of points as Nani.
Bale plays at home, but against a very strong opposition which means it will be difficult for to attack and also there's a bigger chance he won't get the 6 CS points. O'Shea, on the other hand, has a better chance of getting these points, but there's a risk he won't start. Needless to say, if you have a chance to get Lampard rather than Malouda, do it.

Now, I'll be gald if you helped me with a problem of my own:

Terry+JCole
or
Ferreira+N'Zogbia
?

SF

Anonymous said...

Hi AM

Good to be back for the new season

Thanks for the posts

My team:

Capt Kirk
Ferreira - Bale - Verm
Adam - Malouda - MPet - NZog
Chamakh - the Boss - Bent

Wishing you all good luck

Pauly

Waiting on confirmation of Bale's fitness

Pauly

donut said...

the fantasist on yahoo seems to think F Campbell is a doubt?
anyone know anything?
Also any insider knowledge on Bale? bruised leg slight doubt. What does that mean!!??

mb-bs said...

My team is almost perfect, the only thing I have to decide now is which duo to take:

Lampard/Anelka or
Malouda/Drogba

My opinion is that the second option is far more better, but I'm not sure if Drogba is going to play.

Suggestions plzz??????

Any suggestions??

KPM/MPFC said...

Any thoughts on Watson from Wigan? He delivered points late last year and with the potential N'Somnia snafu, could be a source of cheap points against Blackpool.

Anywhoo...here is where I stand at the moment. Still have 4.37 left for potential defensive upgrades.

Kirk
Koscienly Kolarov Bardsley
Lamps Valencia Watson Adam
Chamakh Shrek Boselli

Anonymous said...

lamps doubt for opener!!!

Bradley said...

The news from Chelsea on Lampard:

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2121520,00.html

Arrrgh! International friendlies are the bane of human existence.

kwyjibo said...

What is the deal with player prices going up before they have even played?! Are they taking pre-season form into account?

Anonymous said...

can i ask why Scholes is recommended?

Assistant Manager said...

Yes you can...because he was great vs Chelsea, he faces Newcastle at home and he costs under £5m.

Anonymous said...

Sad that lampsy may miss out, as this woul have been a great week for him to notch a brace. It also changed my team drastically. here it is
kirkland
kolarov a. cole ridgewell
d.dunn malouda essien valencia lee chung-yong
chamakh yayga


the only strange inclusion is lcy and essien
with lampard out I can see essien playing a more attacking role and he definitely has been full of attacking play in the preseason. lcy is a hunch after seeing his performance at the world cup I believe he could hae a great year; also I believe he could link up really well with petrov.
saitofall

Pop Thy Collar said...

After the disappointment of the World Cup, I was unsure whether I was going to return to the Yahoo Fantasy Football stable.

Having my head turned, I flirted with the Premier League.com game before deciding to stay true and stick with the game that matters.

Retention of Office League Championship and top 500 here we come.

Anonymous said...

AM - Are you, Jeremy and Neal working with the Fantasist this year? Looks like in their Yahoo! column many of your ideas are being used.

-Saul

mudwalkerz said...

Just on the evening news here.. my fellow countryman Moussa Dembele completes his move to Fulham. Nice catch for fulham! Not a typical goalscorer but holds the ball really well and creates a lot of space and chances.

Anonymous said...

Interested in joining a fantasy league on yahoo within few hours before the 2010 season begins

id:266

password: pass

Huuuuurrrrrrrryyyyyyy......

Anonymous said...

So I have no confidence what so ever in this team, but this is the best I could get with minimal doubts over fitness and/or squad statuses. I'm probably going early tomorrow to visit family so it's likely I won't have a chance of changing the team anymore after tonight, so please give any advice that you might have. The worst thing that could happen - it will be a horrible first week and I'll fix things for week 2.

Jussi
Terry Evans Kolarov
Petrov Malouda JCole Etherington
Chamakh Rooney Campbell

SF

Saul said...

@SF - I like it alot, very solid all over. Etherington is a good hunch, not many people are going with him. Good luck, my team is...

Kirk
Bale-Kolarov-Fabio
Adam-Valencia-Malouda-Petrov
Campbell-Drogba-Chicharito

Anonymous said...

here is my latest installment... I can honestly say I have no idea which direction I want to go. I have changed my team 100 times, after a 721 finish last year.. I'm worried about getting off to a good start.

Kirkland
Kolarev, Ferreira, Ivanovic
Malouda, Essien, Adam, Scholes
Boselli, Rooney, Anelka

Any thoughts?
hancoach13

Anonymous said...

but is drogba going to play?

Coops

Anonymous said...

Why use Adam, MPet and Bardsley? I cant find any good reason to choose them?? Please help :)

Anonymous said...

Eurosport reporting Ramirez signed for Chelsea. Not sure when fantasy will add him. Let's see.

J0J0

Anonymous said...

Do u think Chamakh and Hernandez will play?

Anonymous said...

@hancoach13 - I wouldn't bet on Ferreira because Alex is back from injury and should start ahead of him. You already have Ivanovic to cover the case of a Chelsea CS, so you might want to go for a defender from another team, such as O'Shea if he's in your price range.

SF

Anonymous said...

Here we go again:

Kirkland
Bale / Alcaraz / Koscielny
Adam / Malouda / Valencia / Lee C.Y.
Chamakh / Boselli / Drogba or Rooney

And I get no help whatsoever this season from my GF (the "General Manager"). Disgusted with my poor performance last year she's started her own team, and she's in my blog league.

Go you Alzheimer Wanderers!

alper said...

bale nani and malouda looks better...in the absence of Lampard Malouda will score good enough for his value...

Anonymous said...

I don't hear Cesc being discussed. Why? Am I missing any news here?

J0J0

cfcboss said...

team for week 1:
kirkland
kolarov evans terry
malouda valencia adam m.petrov
drog chamakh boselli

i found it really hard to pick players for first week, pretty basic and popular picks, but should be effective.

Anonymous said...

apart of all that list,

my hunches for this week:
Fletcher, Bily, Zigic

MBasil - Arghh!! [AM.Blog]

join the S11 group 2, thus Blog group six full?

Staffer84 said...

Hello guys!

You are welcome to my group

ID:11929
Password: pass

Saul said...

Can anyone please guide me to the correct decision...

Rooney-Nani-

or

Drogba-Valencia?

This decision has been killing me, I guess the question I've been asking myself is...do I want Valencia or Nani? I'm just not sure Nani will start considering the form that Park has shown lately and I know Valencia will for sure so I'm leaning more on the Drogba-Valencia pick...or I could go with Rooney-Valencia depending on tonights news. Comments and Thoughtfull suggestions are gladly welcomed.

cfcboss said...

@saul

this is a very close call, but i would go with drog/valencia, because rooney seems out of form, newcastle is mid-table team, in my opinion and united always starts slowly season.

valencia will start along with rooney, but drog is recovering, but against wba half-fit drog is a good choice. hope it's helpful, either way they're good picks.

Cescy said...

hi everyone, back again and looking forward to the season ahead!

saved team:
kirk
oshea terry bale
valencia greening scholes young
drogba chamakh boselli

input/advice would be appreciated, dont think any major adjustments are needed, just any injury news i have missed or if someone thinks i have made a massive mistake (apart from greening-lack of funds, but an adequate choice i think).

thanks and good luck to all

Cescy

Louie B said...

Who would you consider more likely to play - Drogba or Lampard? I can afford either one...

Cescy said...

louie b...chck chelsea website, says drogba should play and lampard is doubtful!

Cescy.

Alex_Darlo said...

Unintended XI

Kirkland

Stam Jacobsen Kolorov

Adam Scholes Benayoun N'Zogbia

Drogba Rooney Rodallega

Alex_Darlo said...

Dead Star

Kirkland

Alcaraz Jacobsen Kolarov

Nani Adam Malouda Petrov

Rooney Anelka Boselli

Alex_Darlo said...

Thoughts on the above?

Anonymous said...

no one is mentioning arshavin? i think he will have a good game at anfield as always .

Anonymous said...

Kirkland
Koscielny Kolarov Evans Bale
Petrov Malouda Adam JoeCole
Drogba Hernandez


probably settling for this team.

Anonymous said...

is Adam = Adam Johnson or Blackpool's Adam ?

DeviLxDeviL said...

@Anon

Blackpool's Adam

Anonymous said...

after afew hundred times of selling and buying.. here is my final week1 team

kirk
kolarov, evans, ivanovic
adam, petrov, cole, malouda, valencia
rooney, boselli

hope they will return over 100 points for me tis week

cheers,
MRA

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