Week 23 - Player Picks
Adam - one of the outstanding performers in the Premier League this season - has been the subject of bids from Birmingham (£2.5m rejected), Aston Villa (£2.5m rejected, £3.5m on the table) & now Liverpool have expressed an interest, so it's possible he he may not play tonight to avoid injury affecting a potential transfer. Many of us have him in our team so it would be extremely frustrating if he were to miss out, especially after Gerrard's suspension, but I'm crossing my fingers that he makes it...even if it is the last time he appears in a tangerine shirt.
As a football fan rather than from a fantasy football stand-point, I simply cannot believe the amounts being offered for the Scot. Surely he's worth far more than £3m-£4m in the modern game, at 25 years old & having proved he can more-than cut it at the top level? I'd think £8m-£10m would be more like it, but to be honest I hope Blackpool stick to their guns & keep him for the season to ensure they remain in the top flight. Unfortunately money talks, especially for a club as small as the Seasiders, so it very possible they choose to cash-in before his contract winds down further (currently just 18 months left) - shame.
Week 22 Update: Adam played but I still finished on a reasonably rubbish 76.5 points after Blackpool's 2-1 victory last night. The unreported Shola Ameobi injury had already pissed me off when Leon Best replaced him & scored a hattrick, but it was rubbed in further with Gary Taylor-Fletcher's performance last night as it was between him & Ameobi for my last striker spot. 22 points lost... ouch!
Anyway, moving on to Week 23 we are back to a standard single game for all twenty teams, before another double in Week 24 (for Liverpool & Blackpool again, along with Man Utd, Aston Villa, Fulham & Wigan), so remember that when you're doing your barndoor work!
My view of the fixtures this weekend...
Stand-Outs
MAN CITY v Wolverhampton
CHELSEA v Blackburn
ARSENAL @ West Ham
The three fixtures that look most attractive this week involve 3 of the current Top 5. Wolves simply cannot string two wins together, so despite their victory over Chelsea I expect them to get a bit of a hiding from in-form City, with the Tevez & Dzeko partnership getting it's premier. I keep tipping Chelsea & they keep letting me down, but they'll be boosted by the seven goal hammering they dealt out to (albeit) Ipswich & for that reason I'm certain they'll roll-over Blackburn. West Ham are improving but Arsenal's tricky football will be too much for them to handle, and I can only see an away win for the Gunners.
Should Win
MAN UTD @ Tottenham
SUNDERLAND v Newcastle
LIVERPOOL v Everton
Spurs just don't play well against Manchester United. Last season we were flying in the league, took an early lead & Fergie's men were reduced to 10 men, but they still beat us 3-1 at White Hart Lane. I think it'll be closer this time around but I still can't see past a United win. I'm also tipping a Sunderland win in the Tyne-Wear derby (which is unlike me as I normally avoid derbies) because they'll be out for revenge after the 5-1 thrashing at St James' Park earlier in the season, they're very good at home, plus Newcastle just lost to Stevenage. I must be in strange mood, because I also think Liverpool - with the players & the crowd lifted by the return of Dalglish in his first game back in charge at Anfield - can edge past the Toffees in the Merseyside derby, despite their performance at Blackpool last night.
Close/Draws
Stoke v Bolton
West Brom v Blackpool
Wigan v Fulham
Birmingham v Aston Villa
I guarantee all eight of the teams listed in the above four fixtures will think they can win their match, and they probably can (all could go either way), but they are too close to call in one direction or another. I guess when in doubt you should always go for the home team, but four draws wouldn't surprise me that much.
With all that in mind, it's players time...
KEEPERS
Hart
Fabianski
Reina
Al-Habsi
Obviously when Paul Robinson got injured I had to get rid of him as my "season keeper", and I still regret not picking up Joe Hart in his place, who was priced around £9m at the time. He's almost £14m now but he is in terrific form and has the best fixture this week, so if you have the money he's the top pick. If you can't quite stretch to Hart then Fabianski should be on the winning team at Upton Park & makes quite a lot of saves so he's next in line and is priced at a reasonable 9.05.
You may be surprised to see Reina here after his -9 double-week, but as I wrote earlier I think 'Pool will win with the whole of Anfield behind the team & manager for the first time in months. If you don't trust him then Al-Habsi at home to goal-shy Fulham could be for you, and if you're really short on funds then Scott Carson is just 1.00 (actually now 1.17, but still...). He's that price for a reason, but he has a home fixture & it's possible he won't even play if some reports are to be believed - he could be dropped for Myhill after a series of clangers - which would mean he can't possibly go negative. We'll keep an eye on that team news
(Update: He has indeed been dropped!)
DEFENDERS
Bale
Coleman
Kolarov*
Bosingwa
Aurelio*
Koscielny/Djourou
Agger*
D.Murphy*
Jara
Collins
P.Robinson
G.Caldwell
Bale has constantly performed in the big games this season & they don't get much bigger than Man Utd, so I expect another strong showing from him. Catching Bale up fast in terms of fantasy value is Seamus Coleman, another fullback playing on the wing. He's adding goals to his performances & I so wish I'd kept him when I had him at under £6m earlier this season! Unfortunately Moyes kept benching him which put many of us off, but he's now one of the first names on the Everton teamsheet.
Manchester City left-back Aleksandar Kolarov is less clear-cut than he was a month ago, as we now don't know for certain whether he's first choice for Mancini. If he's a starter then he's worth his current value, and he's definitely worth hanging on to if you have him at 4ish, but we may need to reassess this in a few weeks time if he keeps finding himself benched every other game.
Jose Bosingwa represents the best value if you want a Chelsea defender this week - despite his hit & miss form he's still 5 times better than Paulo Ferreira & the Blues have the chance of a clean sheet. Fabio Aurelio was going to be one of the top defensive picks this week as he'd be on set-pieces in Gerrard's absence, but Kenny's thrown a curve-ball by not including him in the squad last night. Sky Sports are reporting he was rested after the Man United game on Sunday, but it's another piece of team news to check on tomorrow. No such worries for Koscielny, he'll definitely start with Vermaelen & Squillaci out, and he's cheap.
Another Liverpool defender I would recommend is Daniel Agger, as he seems to be back as a starter (well he's started Dalglish's first two games) and has had a good average in previous seasons. His value has gone up a bit after last night's decent showing, but I'd still prefer him over Skrtel provided he keeprs his place ahead of Kyriakos. Murphy will fill in for the injured Scott Dann and allows you to cover the Birmingham clean sheet for a nice price, while Jara remains cheap if you think West Brom can keep out Blackpool.
Finally, some less popular choices who will allow you to do something a bit different... Danny Collins for Stoke's home game vs Bolton, Paul Robinson in the same game but for the other side, and Wigan capatin Gary Caldwell, costing below £5m and facing (as I've already mentioned) goal-shy Fulham.
MIDFIELDERS
Lampard
Nani
Nasri
Bentley*
Brunt
Fabregas
Silva
A.Johnson*
Malouda
Van Der Vaart
Adam
Pennant
Watson
Eboue (filler)
A lot of the usual suspects in midfield this week, but there's nothing wrong with that - they're all proven performers. Frank Lampard is starting to get his match-fitness back & scored a couple of classic Lampard style goals in the Ipswich rout, so he remains a fine pick at his current price. Nani's value has been doing all sorts of strange things over the past week, flicking between 18 and 21 despite him not player. It's 21 after last night's point update which is too expensive for a an away game, but if you grabbed him earlier for anything around 18 then he's worth it.
Nasri is my pick of the Arsenal middies, nicely rested from the Carling Cup defeat he'll be a constant threat to the Hammers defence. David Bentley has completed his loan move to Birmingham and should be thrown straight in to the starting XI vs Aston Villa this weekend. He'll take all set pieces, his delivery is likely to be excellent, and he's an absolutle steal at under £8m. Brunt has been great all year & is a good pick at home to Blackpool as it's sure to be an open game, and you can never rule out Fabregas from a big score, especially against limited opposition.
Next come two Manchester City midfielders, one more certain to start than the other. David Silva, back in training after injury, has been improving week by week and although his fantasy scores don't always mirror this he's still a fine option in home games as a big score is just around the corner. Adam Johnson is constantly fighting for a place in the starting XI but there are signs he's winning Mancini around after a bit of a falling out, and he's very reasonably priced...it's another one to check team news for tomorrow. Malouda has started to hit some better fantasy scores recently and the fixture is good, while Van Der Vaart is...well, van Der Vaart!
If Charlie Adam is still at Blackpool then like Brunt he's likely to prosper in an open game, Jermaine Pennant remains affordable and should get enough set pieces in home games for Stoke to score his cost, same for Wigan's Ben Watson, while Eboue is a filler priced at £3m and should be in at right-back for the suspended Sagna.
STRIKERS
Tevez
Van Persie
Dzeko
Drogba/Sturridge?
Bent
Rooney
Torres
Gyan
Agbonlahor
Tevez & Van Persie were by far & away the top striker picks given their fixtures, that was until Yahoo pulled their finger out and got Edin Dzeko added to the game overnight at the glorious price of just 6.23! He'll be going straight in to my team & I'm seriously considering fielding both him & Tevez as I feel it's a partnership that could compliment each player perfectly against a leaky Wolves. I'm also trying to fit RvP at West Ham as I have a feeling he'll score big points this weekend.
Elsewhere, Drogba will be well rested after missing the FA Cup game (Update: Rumours surfacing that he could remain on the bench to allow Daniel Sturridge, priced at just 3.08, to start after his brace vs Ipswich! More on that in tomorrow's update), Bent at home to Newcastle is tempting & Rooney is due back for Man United at Tottenham and he always plays well against us. Torres scored a cracking goal last night and should be well up for the derby. Gyan is decent should at a very good price and Agbonlahor has a cracking record against Birmingham and costs even less.
That's it! Please vote in the poll to help pick the blog team: http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/513500
UPDATED TEAM:
Carson, Aurelio, Kolarov, Bale, Bentley, Brunt, Lampard, Van Der Vaart, Dzeko, Van Persie, Tevez
This may well be the team I go with if I can get confirmation that Aurelio starts. I still have 1.6m in the back so I could shift him to Agger or Djourou if there's a doubt. It's still possible I move Tevez to Torres or Nasri to spread my eggs out over more baskets and leave extra money to upgrade Carson, but it's equally possible I keep things as they are.
Please check back on Friday so I can fill you in on all the important team & injury news! How did you get on in Week 22? How's your team coming along for Week 23?
Cheers,
AM
p.s. We've passed 1100 Facebook members, amazing! Please join us as we look to pass 1200....onwards & upwards! :)
79 comments:
currently looking at
carson
kolarov jara koscielny
vdv nani lampard silva
tevez rooney rvp
anyone else thinking that carson might just become a much better better now that he may well not play....
S. Carson
S. Coleman... A. Kolarov... L. Koscielny
Nani. S. Nasri. F. Lampard. C. Adam. C. Brunt
M. Balotelli. R. van Persie
with balotelli leaving i dont no who to bring in with only 0.83 funds left ^^
Any thoughts on Elmander at fwd and Boateng at def?
J0J0
What's the current situation on Van Der Sar? Does anyone know when/ if he is due to return between the sticks? Cheers.
its an impt game against spurs. i would expect VDS to play
Gerrard getting suspended really bites. And Adam might not play, too?! So much for reaching 100+ for the week...
Got Nani @17, a bit expensive, but better than his current price. And, with a double week coming up, will hold on to him for sure.
It's almost silly to post a team right now, as there are still A LOT of changes to be made, but, for what it's worth:
Hart
Kol*-Kos-Skrt*
VdV-Adam*-Nani-Bentley*
RvP-Bent*-Gyan*
All the *'s are possible changes.
Also, RvP. I missed the barn door on him. Is he still worth it @15.09? Thoughts?
Bentley has gone to Brum on loan for the rest of the season. Confirmed on spurs website.
i've taken longer-term view this year, trying to add value by taking players when cheap and holding. have got to
foster (@ 5.2)
kolarov (5.3) - bale (13.2) - coleman (8.9)
VdV (5.5) - nasri (8.2) - nani (15.2) - adam (8.6) - yaya toure (5.5)
rooney (14.4) - van persie (9.3)
hoping dzeko comes in <6.1 so i can swap him in for yaya. replacement value is up to 148.8.
any thoughts on this method of team management? have you tried it before?
OFFICIAL: Bently to Birmingham on loan for the rest of the season.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/864726/birmingham-land-tottenham's-david-bentley-on-loan-deal?cc=5901
@ gaius marius What is your current points total and position - that will tell you if it is a good method of team management.
In top 1000 - very good
In top 2000 - good
2 - 4000 - ok
4000 + - hmmmmmm
@ ian -- LOL good point. now 1723.50 and #3709. and i suppose the lack of runaway success is why i'm asking class managers such as you lot your opinion.
seems to me the method suffers early as you try to build up value (which i'd define as the difference between replacement price and holding cost) but improves as the year progresses -- PROVIDED, of course, injury doesn't wipe out big chunks of retained value. for example, my last two weeks have been the 3rd and 5th best of the season to date.
but it certainly might be better to play matchups with a larger bit of the lineup -- i suppose i'm trying to find out if that has in fact been the experience of others.
To add to Ian's comments, holding discounted players doesn't work well when you get into the top 500, that is to say, holding VDV @6mil, Bale @12mil and Nani @13-15mil are all expections. But notice that the top 10 teams and most of the top 250 teams pick new players every week to fit the best match up. Therefore I gotta say holding 3+ players at discount really only helps you if your out of the top 1000.
thanks kellz.
one of the big questions about how high you can hope to go in this by picking matchups has to do with selection bias -- that is, if you have 50,000 folks picking, some hundreds are by force of luck alone going to be really good, simply having blundered into points with no special talent and no superior opinion. those points are essentially low-probability, but for some lucky few they materialize while others who make higher-probability decisions lag them.
the success of such people is only meaningful information if one also acknowledges the opposite hundreds (or thousands) who destroy themselves picking matchups by the same methods but with no luck or very poor luck.
for myself, then, i'm trying to gravitate toward higher-probability points by accumulating value. but i fully acknowledge there will in every chance be a luck-driven cadre which i have no real hope of catching -- the top 500 or 1000, if you will, or some significant chunk of them.
let me be quick to say there's also clearly "alpha-generators" -- guys who pick matchups well consistently, including AM, and use the talent to outperform. that they end up gravitating around #500-700 or so year after year tells me that the luck-driven crowd is most of what's above that level.
so if i managed by season's end to get to that point, i'd consider the method i'm using this year a rousing, alpha-generating success.
does anyone, by the way, know of guys hitting top 100 year after year? would nullify my thesis, imo.
Cech for 10.45 seems quite appealing. Also I bought Benjani for about 50p (2.18) so as long as he stays on the pitch for 60 minutes he'll hopefully return the points. Also Bramble and Kelly seem interesting despite the derby issues. Other than that I'm going with your advice as usual AM, great picks. I'm risking Gyan.
Cech
Bramble / Kolarov / Kelly
Lampard / VDV / Adam / Brunt
Rooney / Gyan / Benjani
@Gaius: This is my third season with YFF:
1st Season: 9000th
2nd Season: 584th
This Season: 255th
You will climb if you focus on matchup, pick up players tacking kicks, and the odd lucky pick. Trust me.
My second year playing and i started by week 6 last season but i'll have to agree that picking on match-ups is the better strategy.
Nowhere Close:
D. Stockdale
V. Kompany
J. Terry
P. Zabaleta
G. Jara
S. Downing
C. Adam
J. Barton
J. Elmander
J. Hernández
Benjani
But I've been off for the last 3 weeks,... take with a grain of salt.
@gaius marius - The other thing to realize is how easy it is to move up/down. I've got only 13.5 pts more than you (1737.00), and yet I'm at 3,148 (before the pool v pool match).
So, it takes very few points to make a big difference. That's almost 600 places different. Knowing that is encouraging, since it means a couple of big weeks, and you can really move up.
It's not the case further up, as there is about 150 pts separating 1 from 50. But, for the rest of us, there is hope...
can anyone tell me why a.baptiste didnt play and still on the bench???? tq
Liverfool should play in championship ... i cant believe how shit they are. Reina clayed two matches got me -9. I hope they got relegated.
any update about loan transfer of wayne bridge to hammers??
@Gaius...
I know a guy who has finished in top 50 for the last 2 yrs in a row. He is trying hard to do it the 3rd time.
His secret to success is "LUCK"
Hans_India
@Hans_India
I just spilled my coffee reading ur post mate :(
Dzeko is in @6.23
Current team:
Carson
Bale/Kos/Coleman
VDV/Lamps/Adam/Nasri/Bentley
RVP/Dzeko
Only question I have is should I get rid of Nasri or Lampard to keep Torres @ 12.98 ???
what do you think about Bridge in West Ham? Worth looking at him?
a question i posed to AM on his facebook page (join it if you haven't yet!) is this: if you pick dzeko, do you pick him alongside or instead of tevez if they have a good match up like this week?
will they complement each other with dzeko being a target man and tevez being the workhorse, or will they steal each other's opportunities?
More importantly (not really) who will take penalties, still tevez or the new blood?
Discuss
(i'm picking them both FYI)
rwlwhite
carson
bale cole koscielny
vdv lampard walcott eboue d silva
adimwingie bent
No way Dzeko will take penalties
d silva is injured, no?
Ended the week with 95 points. Considering I only had four DGers, I think it's a decent score.
Luckily for me I grabbed Joe Hart at 9.71. He's done well for me (3 clean sheets in a row since I got him!). Could be a SK if City continue their solid defensive form.
Currently,I am on this team:
Hart
Kolarov Caldwell Bale
VDV Adam Lampard Barton Bentley
RVP Dzeko
Looks solid to me with many set piece takers. This is not set in stone as I may get Murphy in for Caldwell as I believe that Birmingham will keep it clean against Villa.
Looking ahead to next week...
I have Hart, Kolarov, Bale, VDV, Lampard and Barton all at significant discounts. None of them have a double game next week. Which means I'll have to lose many of them for DGers next week, which I really hate.
Some really big decisions to be made next week that could make or break my season. Currently at a career high ranking of 529 overall and my aim is to break into the top 100 this season.
bengoh91
That is one epic post Nik, thanks once again for all your work! God knows how long that took you to write all that but it's fantastic info and it's real good to have you back in the full swing of things. Good luck!
Peace, Daz
BTW my team is v.similar to yours, we share 9 players but I can't risk both Dzeko and Tevez, makes me nervous having two strikers from one team (o:
Daz
I'm expecting goals from Birmingham aston villa, so i'm going with bentley albrighton
dropped lampard as
i'm only expecting 1 goal from that match
Al habsi
Kolarov Agger Huth
Nani VdV Albrighton N'zogbia Bentley
Van Persie Dzeko
i see a lot of u have dzeko, but will he start the match so soon after ariving?
Finally! 112 pts! My first 100+ week since week 7! Came close a few times, but finally got it. Moved up 1000+ places overall to 2785.
Yes, Dzeko's in for cheaper than I thought @6.23. If he's got the skills WITHOUT the Balotelli attitude and can avoid senseless cards, hopefully he'll be a season keeper. I've lost too many discounts already...
@Anon - With Balotelli out, Dzeko will most likely play, if not start. Besides, at such a cheap price, it's better to get him now than wait.
The Nani price jumps have been crazy, especially without him playing, but, luckily I nabbed him @17.
I'm only 0.63 away from being able to upgrade Skrtel to Coleman. I'm not sure where to shave the points away from, though, as I'm pretty happy with the rest of my team:
Hart
Kol-Kos-Skrtel
VdV-Adam-Nani-Bentley
RvP-Bent-Dzeko
WEEK 23 * FAB FILLERS *
Bargain basement picks:
(some prices have changed slightly since yesterday)
GK
Carson WBrom - 1.00 h ** ?
Friedel AVilla - 4.67 a **
Kuszczak ManU - 5.74 a * ?
Bunn Bbn - 5.44 a *
DF
Wilson Stoke - 5.37 h **
Jara WBrom - 5.00 h **
Caldwell Wig - 4.72 * h
Heitinga Evert - 4.14 * a
Koscielny Ars - 5.95 a **
Murphy Bham - 5.84 h *
MF
Hleb Bham - 5.91 h *
Reo-Coker AVilla - 2.91 a **
Mulumbu WBrom - 5.90 h **
Ramires Chels - 4.94 h ** ?
Y Touré MCity - 5.46 h **
Eboué Ars - 3.06 a ** (no CS bonus though)
Diamé Wigan - 5.35 h *
FW
Fuller Stoke - 5.74 ** h
Benjani Bbn - 5.26 ** a ?
Heskey AVilla - 4.88 * a
(Dzeko MCity - 6.23 *** h !)
Good luck to all you bargain hunters for the w-end!
Pauly
Carson
Bale Aurelio Caldwell
VDV Bentley Adam Fabs
RVP Dzeko Tevez
Prelim and unsaved - I've dropped Kolorov. Unless I'm 100% he's starting he's gone.
BCB
silva over bentley?
should i rid of Elmander?
I'm running with:
Stockdale
Bardsley (7.29)
Alcaraz (6.66)
Richards
Barton (9.58)
Van der Vaart (12.19)
Lampard (12.03)
Bentley
Nasri
van Persie (9.08)
Dzeko
I'm pretty happy with the team. Just mad that I had to drop Adam at 8.xx when I know I want to pick him right back up next week. Thanks as always, Nik.
DB
why never consider bardsley as choice?he has consistent points since i grab him for the past 5 weeks.
Carson has been dropped. Do we keep him for the zero?
http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/west-bromwich-albion-fc/2011/01/13/west-brom-captain-scott-carson-dropped-by-roberto-di-matteo/
To Ossington Mental Youth - I think it's Bentley over Silva for this week. Between coming back from injury, a potential new Man City formation, and just a general lack of big points on the year, I'd avoid Silva if I have the money to spend elsewhere for this week.
I ended up with 144 points last week, now sitting at 257th overall. With a lot of players on big discounts, I've got some points to spend and not entirely sure how I want to move around at this point. Maybe won't at all for this week.
Currently on:
Hart
Coleman, Kolarov, Koscielny
Nani, VDV, Lampard, Adam, Brunt
Van Persie, Dzeko
With 6.44 left over, I can still make some major changes. I like this group though. Maybe upgrade Koscielny to A. Cole or G. Johnson, but it will just go right back to Koscielny (or another cheap option) after this week. I like both Adam and Brunt for this weekend, with Adam being a possibility to go out just in case he sits due to the amount of recent games.
Cech's Mates
MYHILL??
What is everyone's thoughts on picking up Myhill at 4.93? He had a decent run last year with Hull. Pauly any thoughts on adding Myhill to your Fab Fillers? What does everyone think?
A1
Any chance Hernandez partners Rooney from the get go?
Thoughts on the Zero for Carson...
Taylor-Fletcher of Bpool and Reina in goal?
or
Bent and Carson in goal with a zero?
Thoughts!
@ AM -- i think yes, unless you are holding a keeper who regularly outscores his holding cost. e.g. foster @ 5.2, averaging 8.3 over 22 weeks. a regular zero for the cost of 1 is rather better than 9 points at a cost of 10, imo. that's assuming, of course, you can use the points elsewhere.
dzeko came in just a hair too high for me -- dropping yaya and adam for dzeko and bentley?
what is the general opinion on david silva, post-dzeko? i tend to think dzeko likely positively impacts him more than anyone else on city. silva's (and milner's) crosses finally have a meaningful aerial target, and dzeko's likely to create space for silva to exploit.
I thought the reason for picking carson was because of the possibility he doesn't play, otherwise picking carson is a bad move because he's proven beyond reasonable doubt that he's a very bad goalkeeper.
Silva and milner are not wingers imo, they don't know how to cross the ball, a johnson also doesn't cross the ball well
i'd agree, anon, city lack width -- but the job has kind of fallen to them. maybe kolarov actually is helped best.
i only mention this because AM put him down as a keeper pick, but for those of you who were thinking of fabianski...
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/fabianski-rated-50-50-for-west-ham-clash
he is only rated 50:50 to play. this might make szczczesny an option.
just a thought
my team is looking pretty good
hart
kolarov-coleman-ridgewell(looking to change)
VdV-lampard-bentley-fabregas
torres-van persie-dzeko
any suggestions for ridgewell?
will bentley and dzeko play this week?
-zaQ-
anon@12:15 it would be better if u drop fabregas to nasri and upgrade torress to tevez
Hey guys.. need some help here if you don't mind.. what do you think? adam with no discounts or dempsey or barton?
nod32 key
nod32 serial
thankss
Which one is better:C.Adam or Brunt?....Comments please..
TJ
anon@1:50 think adam may do better..
Guys, should i changed bent-torres-tevez with dzeko? Please advise..
-Cuy
Btw, I have C.Adam@8.64.
TJ
Stockdale
G. Caldwell / Koscielny / D. Murphy (Birm.)
Van der Vaart / Adam / Bentley / Fabregas
Dzeko / Campbell / van Persie
@TJ: Keep Adam @8.64 for DGW24 (I've read someone already regretted selling off Adam).
@Cuy: Bent-Torres-Tevez for Dzeko? which one of the trio you would drop? I would say keep your current lineup unless you want to upgrade somewhere. I'm worried Dzeko might start from the bench plus you alredy have Tevez.
@Anom 12:46: Anom 12:15 might want to keep torres for DGW24 plus he already has Tevez.
My current team atm:
Carson
Kolarov, Toure, Koscielny/Bosingwa
Nasri, VDV, Lampard, Adam
Torres, RVP, Dzeko
Not sure about the defence, difficult to predict which of citeh defence will start. Any tips? Currently on Koscielny, have enough fund to upgrade to Bosingwa - thoughts?
MRA
Correction:
@Anom 12:46: Anom 12:15 might want to keep torres for DGW24 plus he already has Dzeko.
MRA
Guys, A Cole or Terry cus Im feeling like splurging on a chelsea defender this week. Unless anyone knows a better defender at that price because defense is the only position i need to upgrade
@ gaius marius
Just to add my two cents to the two topics you've brought up...
Getting hung up on player discounts is the wrong way to play this game in my opinion. I've been playing for 5 seasons now. In my 1st season,my team was baised on having players at good discounts,it got me into the top 3%,which wasn't much to brag about. Every season since,I've selected the majority of my players based on match up alone. And for the last four seasons I've finished in the top 1%. So I believe this is the best way to approach the game.
The 2nd topic,about selecting Carson if he's not playing,so as to take a zero, is madness in my eyes.
I look at my team each week,as having 11 positions that can score you points. Why would you only give yourself 10?
I know picking goalkeepers has been a minefield this season. But there's options out there,why deny yourself the chance of scoring points with a goalkeeper?
For example,say you're picking Carson to buy in tevez:
Carson+Tevez= 19.37
Hart+Sturridge=16.87
Cheh+Bentley=18.72
Fabianski+Odemwingie/Welbeck=19.21/19.31
Obviously there's every chance the 3 goalkeeping optiond I've used,could all post negative points. But at least you've two players playing,you're doubling your odds of getting points.
Like I said,it's just my two cents on things.
Oh by the way AM,this is my 1st time posting,but I have to say you're running an excellent blog. Your post during this snow hit weekend,had my sides aching with laughter! Keep up the exceptional work.
JC
@JC , Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's good for those of us who're still inexperienced in the game. I took a lot of zeros on VdV and Nani especially and on a couple of other players, then Van Persie and Lampard and other players started coming back from injury and players like Dzeko coming in, making my decision to keep those discounts while taking zeros look really dumb.
@JC , Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's good for those of us who're still inexperienced in the game. I took a lot of zeros on VdV and Nani especially and on a couple of other players, then Van Persie and Lampard and other players started coming back from injury and players like Dzeko coming in, making my decision to keep those discounts while taking zeros look really dumb.
@ anon 6:49,
VdV is the exception to the rule this season..having him at 6 when his value had gone up to 16+,and taking three zeros wasn't dumb,especially with the points he's earning for that 6 million.
But yeah,I did sell him rather than take those 3 zeros,just like I sold Barton at 5.56 when he got suspended.
JC
@MRA:Thanks for your suggestion.I really appreciate that.Your team look solid btw.
Here is my lineup for Week 23:
Al Habsi
Carr@4.6 Kolarov G.Caldwell
vDv Lampard Adam@8.64 Bentley
Rooney@14.4 vPersie Dzeko
Any comments are much appreciated.
TJ
JC - very sensible words - I was just about to take my 0 for Carson but now will change Carson/Koscielny to Friedel/Heitinga. Minor changes but absolutely right, better to take the option of points than to accept zero. All I need now is for Brad to come good with the faith I have placed in him...
Its Brad or Howard, by the way! Any views on which anyone?
this is my lineup:
hart
boateng toure kompany kolarov
milner barry silva de_jong
tevez dzeko
^.^
AH I need HELP:
Bent, Nasri and Heitinga or...
Sturidge, fabs and kolorov
Please any suggestions?
Ali
Hart
Bale Agger Wilson
Nasri Silva Lampard Vdv
Torres Dzeko Gyan
all of them playing? any suggestions?
thanks
-Ricky
@Ali
the first choice feels better to me.
Sturridge may not start, Fabs is not 100% IMO and Kolorov has not played 90 mins for the last 3 MC prem matches, so is not certain to start.
You just need to check if Bent is 100% fit...
Pauly
Stockdale
Kolarov...Djourou...Bosingwa
Nani...Bentley...Adam...Lamps...VDV
RVP...Dzeko
I am surprised at how quick I assemble my squad this wee. I am actually extremely happy with my current lineup. However, pls comment if you think there is still room for improvements.
Thanks....
D2D
Thanks Pauly for your comments, much appreciated
Ali
RVP is back with a bang...
Dzeko is dirt cheap...and he will surely start...
Bentley another no brainer
Who is ur team forming up this wk?
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