Friday 15 October 2010

Week 8 - Update

First thing which I forgot to mention in my player picks post - Week 8 is Round 2 of The Blog Cup...602 teams remain, check here to see who made it through the first round!

The big news from the past 24 hours is Wenger's comments that Fabregas "is very, very short and unlikely to be involved on Saturday. He has a little chance for Tuesday.". That's enough for me, he's gone from my team. I'm likely to bring in Nasri instead as we know he gets to be on Cesc duty while the captain's away - corners, free kicks, penalties etc. Wenger also revealed that Theo Walcott could feature, but I'll probably leave it a week before jumping back on that bandwagon.

The extra £8m from Fabs gives me two options - keep Bale & go with Carroll, or switch things up to Coleman & Berbatov. I haven't decided which direction to in yet but I think both pairings will do well so I'll sleep on the decision and choose in the morning.

In other news, all the reports suggest that Jerome Boateng has recovered from his midweek bout of flu and is expected to continue at right back for Manchester City. Still no news on whether it'll be Silva or AJ on the wing so I'll probably leave both of them alone.

I saw a few people post team's with Sunderland's Mignolet as their goalkeeper choice, so this is your warning that Craig Gordon could be set to return. Slightly harsh considering the stand-in has done well but Gordon is the club's number 1 so it's possible that Bruce gives him his place back now he's fully fit. Darren Bent still isn't training so he's unlikely to play.

Some good news for Liverpool - Fernando Torres has recovered from his abductor tear and will start the Merseyside derby. Paul Konchesky is also back but Dirk Kuyt is set for a long spell on the sidelines after a nasty injury while on international duty.

Chelsea are still unsure whether John Terry will be ready to face Aston Villa tomorrow, although he is training again. With Alex out they'll do everything they can to get him on the pitch to partner Ivanovic, but we have no news about the right-back battle. If Terry doesn't make it then it's possible Ferreria goes to centre back and Bosingwa comes in at right-back.  Lampard still isn't ready..

UPDATES @ 12:00

- DROGBA OUT OF VILLA MATCH! Ancelotti names team as: Cech, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Mikel, Kakuta, Malouda, Anelka

- Kosielny is out for Arsenal according to Wenger's press conference. Squillaci to be paired with Djourou or Song?

- Kevin Davies, Cameron Jerome and Peter Odemwingie are doubts for Bolton, Birmingham & West Brom respectively.

- Etuhu is missing for Fulham, but Dembele is back in the squad.

- Fellaini out for 6 weeks, Jagielka a major doubt, Saha still out.

- David Jones is likely to replace the suspended Wolves skipper Karl Henry.

This changes everything. Despite the fact I hold Drogba at a £4m discount I really don't want to take a zero for the man taking up 1/5th of my entire budget, plus it's Blog Cup Week, so he's probably going to have to go.

After some further tinkering, I may go with this team (3-5-2): Fabianski, Salcido, Boateng, Bale, Adam, Barton, Nasri, Nani, Van Der Vaart, Chamakh, Drogba

I'm going to have to completely re-think my approach now which is annoying as I really liked the team above...might keep Malouda, and I'll consider Berbatov or Tevez upfront. Maybe this:

Krul, Salcido, Bale, Boateng, Adam, Nasri, Malouda, Nani, Van Der Vaart, Chamakh, Berbtov

I find it mildly amusing that I started the week set on dropping Bale & Malouda while keeping Drogba!

I'll update this post as the day goes on, with the majority of useful news coming from the manager's press conferences at lunchtime. Keep checking back and please add any useful team/injury information in the comments section below to help your fellow readers :)

Poll closes at 4pm today: http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/504642

Please join the Facebook Group if you've not done so already!

Cheers,
AM

101 comments:

Kendo said...

Will Fabianski keep his place between the stick thes weekend? opting for Krul instead which let me get C Adam?

Kendo

Anonymous said...

what about malouda? i have a feeling ancelloti will drop him since he played twice during international week.

what do you think?

Anonymous said...

should nasri be considered? walcot could feature...

Anonymous said...

hmm i think walcott will come as a sub tho.
if he play and do something miracle i shall pick him at BD.

i thinking either arshavin or nasri.which one do u guys prefer?

Anonymous said...

Arshavin or Nasri?

nikhil said...

Will J. O'Shea play ?!

Anonymous said...

How Does My Team Look?

Kirkland
Salcido-Boateng-Jacobsen
VdV-Adam-Barton-Nani-Arshavin
Tevez-Berbatov

Should I Drop Arshavin, Jacobsen and Kirkland and get Krul, Koscielny and Nasri?

Anonymous said...

hitler or bin laden?

Birty said...

@anon 11.15 - for fear of Godwin's Law being invoked - Hitler.

Predicting teams the weekend before Champs League and the week after internationals is tough so i'll be going for regulars.

oh and Sparky said Dembele is back in training and may play

Assistant Manager said...

NEWSFLASH - DROGBA OUT OF VILLA MATCH!
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2185300,00.html

This changes everything...

Freddie M said...

Drogs out!http://tinyurl.com/34yhm2o

Anonymous said...

Drogba Out!!
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2185300,00.html

Anonymous said...

Mancini thinks Silva is still adjusting to the premier league, with the Europa cup to come this wk, i fancy Aj starting ahead of Silva.

Ebi

Anonymous said...

I don't have Malouda and Bale, now Drogba is out! Oh my!

Anonymous said...

Shhh... sharing news is helping your opponents!

kwyjibo said...

Drogba out?!?!

This really complicates things as losing the 4mil discount may mean buying him back is not an option...actually, keeping him is almost tempting, if it weren't a Blog Cup week.

I had my team all set to go, and I was happy with it...oh well...back to the drawing board.

At the very least we can all be thankful that the news came BEFORE the deadline! Thanks, Ancelotti...

Assistant Manager said...

Wouldn't that defeat the whole point of writing a blog that offers advice to other players? :)

Anonymous said...

@Anon - 1:33PM - sharing news is what this blog is all about...

Assistant Manager said...

kwyjibo - yep thank god for Ancelotti!

Anonymous said...

KEEP DROGBA??????????

Anonymous said...

what about rooney??

kwyjibo said...

Well, dropping Drogba and Elmander allows me to fit in Tevez/Berbs. I'm still worried about ManU resting people, too, for the CL. Especially with Rooney denying he has an ankle injury.

Jussi
Jacobsen-Boateng-Mancienne
FloMa-Adam-VdV-Nani
Chamakh-Tevez-Berbs

The other option is to shore up my week defense and bring Bale back in...still haven't clicked save...

Anonymous said...

Back to Bale or A.Cole

my team
Krul
Boateng S.Coleman G.Bale
VdV Nani C.Adam Nasri
Berbatov Caroll Elmander

pls everyone should comment on my team except for keeper whom i'm not ready to chang.

Anonymous said...

Stay as far away from Rooney as possible.

Anonymous said...

Does Anelka become a great pick in light of the Chelsea news and also that most people will migrate to Tevez or Berbs?

Anonymous said...

Will Caroll play?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/15/squad-sheets-newcastle-united-wigan-athletic

spanners are flying!

Pauly

Anonymous said...

AM, how about moving the Blog Cup week to next week?! ;)

This way we can all keep Drogba.

-lfcinpa

Anonymous said...

Carrol, start or not???

Anonymous said...

Anelka does great whenever Drogba is not playing. Also, don't forget, he's rested after NOT playing for France. I'm taking him.

Another decent pick is Ramires for Chelsea. At that price I think he'll return his value with a couple of assists and who knows, he might even score one. He's long overdue in that powerful Blues attack.

J0J0

Anonymous said...

Caroll, start or not???

Anonymous said...

Krul

Boateng Rio A. Cole

Malouda Adam VDV Nasri Nani

Berb Carroll

Anonymous said...

the team i'm saving for this weekend:

- Hart
- Carr, Boateng, O'Shea (was thinking Ferreira but he's on the road)
- C. Adam, Malouda, VdV, Nasri, Ramires
- Tevez, Anelka

This week was the week I dropped Drogs and Bale. Big week for me. This guys better produce.

J0J0

Anonymous said...

which one do u think better chamakh or carol & berb or arshavin

-kotaro-

Nillo said...

To Fantasy Premier League Nani Captain or Berbatov Captain???

Anonymous said...

Aston Villa are not doing to well but they still have a good record at home to Chelsea, wonder why people are going crazy with chelsea picks when other blogs are recommending we stay away from chelsea players. Only lost once at home against chelsea in 11 seasons conceding just 7 goals.

Anonymous said...

Join F1 Racing Group. ID: 18175. PW: 1234

Join this group where we will have weekly competition in a format similar to F1 racing. Following are the rules:

* Competition will start as soon as we get a full group. If the group does not fill up, we will start after week 8 as been played.

* Each week, the top 10 achievers per week will be awarded the following points:
1st - 25 pts
2nd - 18
3rd - 15
4th - 12
5th - 10
6th - 8
7th - 6
8th - 4
9th - 2
10th - 1


* Suggestions and invitations welcomed.

Please join today and good luck.

Anonymous said...

Great job with the updates AM. The Koscielny update changed my team today, looking like this now:

Hart
Salcido, Boateng, O'Shea
Malouda, Nani, VDV, Adam, MPetrov
Berbatov, Chamakh

At this point, barring an injury, my first four midfielders are set in stone. I've got 14 points of discounts on Malouda/Nani/VDV/Adam. I've gone back and forth on Petrov and Nasri. I just never know what to expect out of Wegner's lineup.

Good luck to everyone in the 2nd round this week.

Cech's Mates

Saul said...

To all interested in Koscielny...know that he's out and will not play...

http://fantasyepl.blogspot.com/2010/10/early-injury-news.html#comments

My team...

Krul
Bale/Rio/Boateng
Nani/Malouda/Adam/VDV/A.Johnson
Berbatov/Chamakh

Looks strong to me, just don't know if I should go with Malouda, Nasri, or Arshavin. Nasri will allow me to upgrade from Chamakh to Elmander...what do you think?

Anonymous said...

Fab
Bale Salcido Jacobsen
VDV Malouda Walcott Nolan Cole
Rooney Gyan

Any comments?

Anonymous said...

Any news on Yaya Toure? I am trying to fit him in on my lineup but have read in a few places that he might not play. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

init said...

Drogba is out due to a "fever" which is unlikely to mean more than 1 week...

We all know that even if he is out for a couple of weeks its a mistake (last year's African Cup) to drop him but I guess that was a much bigger discount...(20 instead of 10.66 last year!)

On one hand I am looking forward to redistributing the wealth, but on the other hand I can just see him smashing in 4 goals next week to teach us all a lesson for dropping him!!!

Rooney isn't playing well just now but he's bound to start playing SOME time isn't he?!!!

Anonymous said...

respond to this lineup,

krul
salcido, boateng, coleman
malouda, mikel, vdv, nani
berba, tevez, elmander

thanks,
-fres

Saul said...

@fres - I'd go with Scholes over Mikel. Scholes has a better chance to score, assist, or shoot. Looks good though.

Anonymous said...

Fab
Bale Salcido Jacobsen
VDV Malouda Walcott Nolan Cole
Rooney Gyan

Any comments anybody?

thanks
-MU

kwyjibo said...

I'm kind of leaning towards this lineup:

Jussi
Boateng-Salcido-Ferreira
FloMa-Adam-VdV-Nani-Nasri
Elmander-Berbs

Still haven't pressed save...but I kind of like it. Now, all those players BETTER play! It's always a bit unknown going into a CL week.

Anonymous said...

Liberating to have dropped Drogs

Jussi
Coleman Steinsson Boateng
VDV Adam Nasri FloMo
Berbs ChamWow Anelka

BCB

Anonymous said...

Its not liberating to have dropped Drogba cos i don't know what to do with the extra £

art said...

berba or tevez seems to be my biggest issue?

donut said...

BCB love it except no Bale, also don't like Chamakh but you prob have discount

kwyjibo that looks like a great team (again no Bale) and I think that will be a very popular midfield this week...

-MU - Rooney could come good but will he - bit of a risk if you ask me but Rooney for 17.x can easily win the points. Walcott for me is a risk at 12.x as although he was on fire before injury he might not get a game this week...

fres mikel is a minus point risk and berbs has been poor in FF land for 2 weeks in a row now, but I think manu will win this week even though west brom are solid.

init - not sure on drogba - i have team without him but not saved!! Can't decide and he might hammer us you never know...

saul - team looks good, get rid of AJ for Nasri and keep Malouda I would say... I'm not sure if AJ will play...

Gavin said...

Going for something a bit different and focusing less on the front line this week. It's a gamble, but I'm willing to take it. My team:

Hart
Squillaci, O'Shea, Ferreira
VDV, Nasri, Nani, FloMa, Adam
Carroll, Obinna

Thoughts? Thanks all, and good luck!

domoh said...

Krul
Bale Squillaci Boateng
Adam VdV Holden FloMal Nasri
Gyan Elmander

Still with 12.xx remaining ????

Anonymous said...

thanks @saul and @donut

i'll consider dropping mikel, but he has provided me with + points week in and week out for 3.78. he's also a fair pick for me as he has one of the highest passing percentages in the league, which keeps his mentality balanced. no room for silly fouls, bookings, etc.

also, i am a big berba fan. i believe he'll always notch a goal!

cheers,
-fres

bean said...

hello all. good luck in the cup this weekeend!

trying a 1-6-3 formation:
Krul
O'Shea
Coleman, Jones/VDV,Nani,Nasri,MPet
Berbs, Elmander, Carroll (or Chamak)

other players considered:
Kirk, Fabianski
Enrique, Ferreira, Williamson, Squillaci, J.Boat
Malouda, Arshavin, Adam, Arteta, Brunt, Barton, Nolan, Holden, Song, Lee, Scholes
Tevez, Chamak, Davies, Yak, Kakuta

Saul said...

@donut - Thanks mate, would love to trade AJ for Nasri...just not enough funds. I love the rest of my team and don't want to destroy it, I already made the mistake last week by dropping AJ and missed out on 16 pts. won't be doing it again.

I'm gambling on AJ(@7.58), I'll be happy with a sub appearance...

Krul
Bale-Rio-Boateng
Nani-Malouda-Adam-VDV-AJ
Berbatov-Chamakh

Good luck to all!

Anonymous said...

@Saul lovely lovely team

Saul said...

@Anon 9:00 - Thanks, hope the players performs as well as I expect them to.

Auto-f said...

Dropped Drogba. Hopefully I can pick him up for next week. Let me know what you think about my current line up...

Krul
Bale- Boateng- Williamson
Nani- FloMal- VDV- Nasri- Mikel
Berbs- Chamakh

Still not set with Nasri and Mikel. Any suggestions?

FLScott said...

I'm set on this line-up (any comments?):

T. Krul
C. Salcido V. Kompany R. Ferdinand
C. Adam R. Van der Vaart Nani A. Arshavin
D. Berbatov M. Chamakh F. Piquionne

Anonymous said...

Here's my team so far:

Krul
Squillaci / Boateng / O'Shea
Adam / Malouda / Van der Vaart / Nani
Tevez / Berbatov / Carroll

Was planning to use the Kirkland Gambit again this week but had enough cash left over to buy a GK who actually plays. Hope I don't regret that decision -- the cash I saved with Kirkland has helped me the last few weeks.

Couldn't justify keeping Bale in his new supporting role. Thought about Samba or Vidic but they're way overpriced so went cheap in back.

Would like to get Bale back at a much lower price but unless he scores a few own goals I don't see that happening any time soon.

Anonymous said...

hi guys current team is:

krul
oshea squillaci boateng
vdv nasri nolan nani
tevez berba obinna

got 1.19 left over...

not sure whether to have chamakh or obinna?

also currently got nasri and berba-but can swap them for arshavin and elmander...what do my fellow AMer's think...

Cheers, Cescy!

Anonymous said...

is arteta a waste of 16 dollars? Liverpool hasnt exactly been great and I am looking for something a little different. Is he healthy?

Anonymous said...

Never thought I could drop Drogba...
Well, it happened after all...
So here`s my Saved Team for week 8 :

Krul
Boateng ,Bale ,P Jones
Scholes , Nani, Malouda, Adam, VDV
Cham, Berbatov

What do you think AM ?

donut said...

lol bean 1-6-3
I am trying 1-7-2

Krul
Boateng
Bale Coleman / AJ Malouda VdV Adam Nasri
Anelka K Davies

anon team looks good to me

anon i think arteta is good but not 16

cescy nice team I would stick with that. obinna before chamakh imo

billthegrunt - looks good, i think everyone is going with krul this week...but i would stick with bale

flscott - again looks good piquionne could be good pick

auto-f - mikel is negative points waiting to happen but otherwise looks good...

Lots of berbs this week - feel wrong not having him!!!

donut said...

shit just seen on physioroom davies is out...

Anonymous said...

thanks @donut.

u r right. SAF may don play rooney too.... ship him to real madrid.
Walcott is indeed risky too.
Walcott -> Ashley young,
Rooney - > Another home team striker...

thanks
-MU

Anonymous said...

@donut...thanks for the advice. good luck this week.

Cescy.

Anonymous said...

No one is picking Ameobi? I had a dream last night that he'll score massively against Wigan...

Anonymous said...

Who has the best chance of scoring well this week- Bale or Anelka

Anonymous said...

Anelka

J0J0

Anonymous said...

krul
bale/salcido/coleman/boeteng
c.adam/vdv/nani
chamakh/anelka/berba

4-3-3 formation for week 8. welcome comment! thanks.

Anonymous said...

My team so far:

Krul
Coleman - Salgado - Rio
Adam - VdV - Nani - Pennant - Nasri
Brbs - ELmander

0.48 pts left

I think it looks good to me. All comment welcome!

RD,

Anonymous said...

what's better

jussi j/salcido/barton on discounts or
krul/squil/nasri

need some help guys, should i keep the discounts or step it up?

thx, canuck.

Anonymous said...

would you keep Tevez or sell to pick up Chamak and Carrol????

Anonymous said...

arshavin or bale?

bale is on discount.

Ganja said...

Okay...I have Tevez and Chamakh....What do you think of these picks?

Krul
Squillaci/Boateng/Jacobsen
Malouda/VDV/Barton/Nani
Tevez/Berbs/Chamakh

Anonymous said...

Arshavin+Nolan+Jacobson

or

Nasri+Ferdinand+Caroll

which 1 more better guys?

YK

Anonymous said...

is gardner gonna play or is still match ban?

SK said...

@YK - the second one

Going with Fabianski. I don't really trust Krul considering his S/GA ratio.

Fabianski
Bale Coleman Boateng
Adam VdV Nasri Nani M.Petrov
Carroll Berbatov

Anonymous said...

Gardner is still banned, for 2 more games, wk 8 and 9.

Anonymous said...

Vidic/Boateng/Nolan

or

Ferdinand/Enrique/Nasri


any suggestion?

Anonymous said...

guys would you pick Nasri or MPet?

FreezeGoldz

Anonymous said...

Rate my team please =)

Flappy-anski

Boateng Salgado@6.19 Boateng

Nani Barton@5.49 C.Adam@5.43 Nasri@8.19 Malouda@13.35

Tevez@15.92 Berba

Anonymous said...

Its the anon above
yep, i didn't have two Boatengs.
The other Def is Squillaci.. =)

Anonymous said...

According to FantasyPL blog, Tevez can be OUT.

"Carlos Tevez will be rested either tomorrow or in the Europa League on Thursday after he complained of being exhausted."

Be careful guys

RD,

Staffer84 said...

Good Morning all,

I'm pretty happy with my team and already hit the save button:

Krul
Salcido,Coleman,Boateng
Nani,VdV,Arsh,MPet
Berb,Gyan,Anelka

Team name: DIMITAR BERBATOV FC[AM.Blog]

Currently 707th!

Good luck to all!

ricardo said...

Hi guys,
Krul
bale boateng squilaci
vdv nani malouda nasri
chamakh berb carroll

0,66 left, any ideas?

Anonymous said...

krul
jacobson.williamson.boateng
VDV.nani.milner.nolan
berba.tevez.obinna.

rate my team please.

-russian roullette-

Anonymous said...

@-russian roullette-:

Tevez can be OUT.

"Carlos Tevez will be rested either tomorrow or in the Europa League on Thursday after he complained of being exhausted."

http://fantasyepl.blogspot.com/

RD,

Anonymous said...

I don't have Tevez but he'll play, the league is more important for all teams at this stage so i expect them to play their strongest team and make the changes in Europe.

Ebi

Anonymous said...

tevez is out for sure

Anonymous said...

Seems like a risk to pick carlos tevez... since he seems to be exhausted after the internationals.

Anonymous said...

bale -> arshavin
malouda -> nani
drogba -> anelka

good move?

Anonymous said...

If there's any player who's sure to start anywhere in the premier league, its Carlos Tevez.
Ebi

Anonymous said...

If there's any player who's sure to start anywhere in the premier league, its Carlos Tevez.
Ebi

Anonymous said...

boateng now back fit? :S

Anonymous said...

boateng is doubtful... down with flu... richards will be playing

Anonymous said...

Lotsa people picking tim krul this week...

I've got a hunch that tim krul is gonna get smashed !

Anonymous said...

Krul get smashed by who? Tame shots from Rodalega will only result to saves, may not keep a clean sheet but will sure return positive points. Wigan just the 1 goal on the road, they're not going to bang in 3 all of a sudden.

Anonymous said...

@ anon 10:11
Please do not post this kind of unfounded info without giving a link or some foundation of where the info comes from
I have read nowhere that Boat will not play, so how come your'e so sure that Richards will be playing?
Pauly

Anonymous said...

think this is my final team for this week

Krul
Salcido, Kompany, Bale
Adam, Van der Vaart, Nani, Malouda
Berbatov, Chamakh, Carroll

any suggestions please guys??

Anonymous said...

who to go for BARTON OR CHAMAKH

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