Week 27 - My Team
Kolarov R.Johnson Olsson
Bentley Adam Fabregas Brunt
Carew Van Persie Odemwingie
I've really gone for it this week by dropping all my discount with the exception of Kolarov, leaving me with 10 potential double gamers for Week 27. Dropping VDV was the most difficult decision I've made this season, but I've clicked save now - there's no turning back!
Further changes were made last night as I switched from a 4-4-2 formation to bring Carew back in (held @ 1.97) in place of Koscielny, which meant I could upgrade Carr to Johnson. Having the Arsenal, Birmingham & West Brom clean sheet covered by one player each was enough & Carew only needs 2 shots on target in 2 games to return triple his cost.
After these moves I was left with enough money to move from Pennant to Brunt. West Brom have better fixtures than Stoke & Brunt is likely to be pushed further forward after becoming a defensive midfielder in Di Matteo's last few games, so I'm hoping for improved output.
So that's my team. I'll be grabbing Manchester United players on the barndoor, but as I wrote in my update post there is something to be aware of. If Chelsea beat Everton in their FA Cup replay next Saturday then their 5th round tie against Reading would take place on March 1 or 2, meaning Chelsea v Man United would be postponed, which would leave United with a single week.
Man City have the best single fixture at home to Fulham & Liverpool travel to West Ham. Birmingham, Arsenal & Spurs have a blank week (which is why I decided to dump VDV). Chelsea would also have a blank week if the above FA Cup scenario occurs, so keep that in mind.
Man City have the best single fixture at home to Fulham & Liverpool travel to West Ham. Birmingham, Arsenal & Spurs have a blank week (which is why I decided to dump VDV). Chelsea would also have a blank week if the above FA Cup scenario occurs, so keep that in mind.
I'll leave it there! Please let me know what you ended up with & of course, good luck!
Cheers,
AM
89 comments:
let the games begin...good luck all!
It was brave for you to sell VDV! i guess im gonna wait for another week
#
Alineación inicial
* E. van der Sar
* J. O'Shea
* C. Smalling
* N. Vidic
* P. Evra
* P. Scholes
* Anderson
* Nani
* D. Fletcher
* R. Giggs
* W. Rooney
Suplentes
* M. Owen
* M. Carrick
* W. Brown
* D. Berbatov
* Rafael
* A. Lindegaard
* J. Hernández
#
Alineación inicial
* J. Hart
* M. Richards
* V. Kompany
* J. Lescott
* P. Zabaleta
* G. Barry
* Y. Touré
* A. Kolarov
* J. Milner
* D. Silva
* C. Tévez
Suplentes
* P. Vieira
* S. Wright-Phillips
* S. Given
* J. Boateng
* E. Dzeko
* K. Touré
* Jô
VDV huh...i tot of sellin...but~ usually when harry said his off for two weeks, its one week...on the same principle (fingers cross), im hoping two games out = 1 game only ;D
Wow, Nik!!! I hope you have a MONSTER week =)
We share 9 players: your Olsson/Carew vs my Koscielny/Gardner...
Cheers
Foster, Bardsley, Jara, Clichy, Adam, Nani, Gardner, Brunt, Gyan, Odemwingie and Rooney.
Maybe its because I'm a United fan but I'd willingly load up on United players for next week for two reasons:
1. There's a chance of it being a double week
2. If it is a single week for United - Wigan away is easier than most. But of course you have the possibility of rotation.
My team:
Szczesny
Clichy Ridgewell Carney
Bentley Barton Walcott Brunt
Carew RvP Odemwingie
A bit Arsenal heavy but DGers all.
@AM: I "bit the bullet" and dropped VdV too. :( It's too late in the season to risk 3 zeroes. Fingers crossed it was the right decision. I let Kolarov go awhile back when he was out, and obviously that was a mistake.
I agree with Birty.
Wigan v Man Utd will be the stand out fixture, especially if Utd fall today!
However I've just been toying about and I'd only have one or two players left who would be playing next week!
It looks like a fresh start for me although my attempts to work a viable squad around a full price Nani, Rooney and Evra failed miserably!
And I think United could lose the double week next time by drawing with Crawley and having to have a replay just like they did with Exeter.
B.Foster
Koscielny
Jiranek
Showcross
VDV (of course / i get him at 5.51)
nani
Bentley
Fabr4
RVP
Zigic
Odemwingie
I Hope VDV make hattrick againts BLACKPOOL,
-richo-
þ€T€R » Š.G.F.Ç - Week 27
Szczesny
Kelly G.Jara S.Carr
Bentley Adam Fabregas Cheik Tioté
Zigic Van Persie Odemwingie
my team
ben foster
koscielny, roger johnson, elokobi
van der vaart, walcott, adam, bentley, thomas
van persie, odemwingie
my weakest choice is elokobi, who will stay for the next round of games. since there are teams not playing, say goodbye to bentley, johnson, kosc, walcott etc
Nik,I wouldn't have expected you of all people to drop vdv@6.
I managed to drop RvP this gameweek. Exciting, dreadful
My Team for DGweek
Szczeseny
RJohnson Enrique Kos
Fab4 walcott Bent-lee pennant BarToon
Carew Ohdamnwingie
Expecting a disasterous week for week.
Cheers !!!
Keshari
Loads of changes for next week, but......
Szczesny
Koscielny Sagna Johnson
Adam Van der Vaart Fabregas Bentley
Van Persie Carew
Nani put ManU ahead..what a fantastic pass from Ryan Giggs
szczesny
koscielny coleman g.caldwell
wilshere fabregas walcott adam
odemwingie RVP carew
Just couldn't drop Nani or VdV.
Szczesny
Kolarov Sagna Carney
Nani VdV Brunt Walcott
VanPersie Odemwingie Martins
Den of Thieves
Szczesny
Carney / Koscielny / Jara
Adam / Brunt / Lennon / Bentley
Van Persie / Odemwingie / Zigic
Good luck to all!
kolarov ineffective this week, hope his value drops so I can get him again, he has been great in past four weeks. I kept VDV, as I would hope for one game from him.
the best goal ever...Wayne Rooney......
Yeah, nice strike but I think you mean, the best goal ever...Cheik Tiote...
yeah..it was an amazing and awesome strike by rooney..hope he keep it up..
is the chat roll working ?
nik, what do you think when i drop RvP(17.81) for rooney
Vela on the bench... I have one question for you people and you stand firm on Vela infallibly. I mean, if this was the NBA, MLB, NHL, or NFL I could tell you with almost 100% confidence when someone is going to start. Whats the deal Brits? Wipe your asses.
RVP isn't playing next week so unless you have him at 9-12 then drop him, and at 17 that's a no brainer...
Very similar team to everyone else
Chesney
Kolarov Rojo Baptiste
Adam Barton Bentley Cesc
Odemwingie Carew RVP
Was happy with my team except Bentley really, but lets see what happens and good luck everyone!
Donut
also, with all American sports you have squads of about 20 players and constant rotation!
We invented you anyway so watch how sport SHOULD be done
donut
what happen to chat???
My team for this week
Szczesny
Kolarov Carr Carney
VDV Adam Bentley Fabregas Walcott
RVP Odemwingie
Good luck everyone!
bengoh91
Wayne Hennessey is superb tonite..May consider him for week 28..
Who is everyone picking on DB tonight? I've grabbed Nani, but I couldn't afford both him and Rooney. I also got Silva and Suarez...
Hope everyone's teams are doing well!
My BD team look this way:
Friedal
Stearman Shawcross Carney
Nani Scholes Silva Hoilett
Carew Rooney Tevez
not a good week for me..only manage to get 102 points so far..hope my 10 DG players will give more points later..
119.50 for the week, up to 278th place...
114.5, 11 double gamers (1 of them is VDV) I reckon I'll hold of him for a while inc. next week and hope for some devine choices. Also got a zero for Tamas. So quite a good week so far. BD team for next week so far is
Carson (Hoping to replace him)
Elokobi
Smalling (Waiting on news re. Ferdinand)
Kolarov
VDV (Got to keep him!?)
Nani (He may stay dependant on double week)
Adam
Pennant (May change?)
Dzeko (Really want Tevez)
Rooney (When one comes,others usually follow)
Carew
Once again thanks Nik et al
Realronaldo
There's no limit for the number of subs a team is allowed in any American sport. Because of this, it's not too damaging to find out that your player starts on the bench because each game itself is not that important (baseball), or because a bench player can still get good returns (basketball). Also, playing 2 games a week is not sustainable for soccer players and since teams play in multiple different leagues and competitions, it's hard to predict when a player will be benched. All of these factors make fantasy soccer a much harder game to play than american fantasy sports IMO
105.5 points so far.
and did you see carlton cole's fat lip? i'm not being racist, he had an injury!
125 with 7 to come.
Added Giggs, Evra, Anderson and O'Shea but the next game week is so far away that anything could happen between now and then - particularly with United's double game week and selection, I'm in no rush to click save
110.5 points so far with all 11 being DGers. Hopefully my midfield will perform better in the 2nd round.
Since my team was chock full of players inactive in the next gameweek, I could BD with fairly reckless abandon. My current squad, which will undoubtedly change over the next 2 weeks:
Friedel
Carney Smalling Walker
Barton Silva Nani Dorrans
RvP Carew Rooney
How come bentley's price goes up so much after such low scoring, makes no sense at all.
@SfSS It's Yahoo's wondeful "7 game rule" whereby a players value stays close to the price at which they were introduced up until they play their 7th game. Their average up to that point then creates a more realistic price based upon the points gained during that time, meaning you may get a significant jump.
The same thing happened with Leon Best today too- he only got 4.5pts but his price moved from 6 to 10. And if you notice, they've both just played their 7th game of this season.
thanks for explanation, will have to get suarez then, before this rule is applied to him
Curious....
At this point of the season what would be your "dream" team? Funding aside and you would have to field your team (TODAY) so if they are hurt they could not be included even if its just a couple days. Must play today!
Me, being a first year player don't possess the knowledge to include who would be effected by one too many set piece takers or the many other intangibles that would make a good team. In other words..one player nullifying the best assets of another.
My view:
Hart
Vidic/Saga/Huth
Nani/Adam/Downing/Fabregas/Dempsey
RVP/Tevez
Where am I going wrong? Just looking for more insight into this great game.
Any thoughts?
Interesting thoughts Ken, the people who do best at this game change their teams every week to make the most of taking advantage of the so called weaker teams and playing at home...
So what is a good team one week (eg Tevez at home to West Ham) is not great the next (eg Tevez playing away somewhere like Chelsea who don't tend to concede so much)..
That being said, if Yahoo changed the rules today, removed the 100 cap and said we couldn't make any changes for the rest of the season I would go for
Van der Sar
Bale Kolarov Huth
Nani Fabregas Adam Barton
Drogba Tevez RVP
Great point..I did leave out the match up scenario.
I am one who changes his team, most likely more then he should, and put a lot of weight into who is playing who..feel it's the best way to play.
I'm just looking for who most people feel are the best of the best (at their positions) while having to field a complete team, taking fantasy point totals and putting them aside.
Thanks for the feed back
Good luck to you in the coming weeks.
CHATROLL CRASHES EVERYDAY FOR 2-3 HOURS.
Nik, its time you stop paying for this useless service.
Hans_India
SK, without one or more substitutes, the Yahoo FF relies much more on LUCK than other fantasy sports games I play. No amount of "hard work" can help when you take a zero because of a warm up injury or a manager curveball. And it does not EVEN out, you will be unable to overcome a bad string of zeros. All the major team sports allow substitutes to reduce luck and reward skill.
This is why the FPL is a better fantasy game. Add Yahoo's indifference to players (the DGW fiasco), no wonder there is a the huge amount of people who are inactive- my guess is 80%.
Yahoo FF has good points in it's weekly selection of a new team and reward of stats other than just goals, assists and CS, but scores by the casual player depend more on fate than the games you mentioned.
Anon @ 5.20
Yahoo is superior to FPL in a number of ways. Firstly, FPL only rewards for a very small number of things that occur in a football match, and doesn't reward performance properly. True, Goals win games, and conceeding goals lose games, but we all know there's far more to football than that.
I think Yahoo produces a very different approach to Fantasy Football, as you need to look at the week ahead, rather than months ahead.
I agree that there is a small possibility of bad luck if a player gets injured in the warm-up.
I also agree that there are a large number of inactive people at the top, but i believe the top 5000 users are heavily involved in their team, especially as Yahoo requires a lot of time and thought due to wholesale changes being possible. I think the top 5000 Users invest a lot of time across sites like this, Jeremy & Neals & HKBFF, and at a guess far more than FPL.
To note, i play both, but derive far more satisfaction from Yahoo FF, as i believe it takes a lot more skill & decision making.
Sitting on
T. Howard
Koscielny/ P. Robinson/ Shawcross/ Aurelio
Nani/ Merieles/ Silva/
Rooney/ Suarez/ Dzeko (Agbonglahor?)
Dzeko (Home to Fulham, probably won't play 90 minutes at 6.34) or Agbonglahor (Home to Blackburn, near-guaranteed starter and held at 7.11?)
For the price Tim Howard is going to be after this game he is looking to be a great keeper for a long while. Look at his run of matches
v Sunderland, @ Newcastle, v Birmingham, v Fulham, v Aston Villa, @ Wolves, v Blackburn
And then he faces Man U so thats when he ditch him :P
Raconteur-- very good points. I agree about the 5000 players, the different approach and value in scoring more categories.
My point was SK saying, "these factors make fantasy soccer a much harder game to play than american fantasy sports IMO" and his reference to "unlimited subs " in American fantasy games. First, subs are limited in the ESPN and Yahoo games I have played. Second, if "harder game to play" includes the "luck" factor of picking 11 starters every week for 38 weeks then I agree it is harder.
I guess I am a little raw from having 3 no shows a couple weeks ago, despite good research. Before that, I have had 13 "no shows" and an additional 6 missing from the snow cancellation day. So 22 missing players in 27 weeks, (I never had Carson or a "zero goalie". ). I can assure SK that does not happen in American Fantasy sports, unless you are inactive. That's TWO full teams MIA, many of the players were fillers, who were expected to play, but half the time, Drogba, VDV or Nani caliber players wouldn't play.
So I think Yahoo could improve the game with one or two subs, which would increase skill and reduce luck.
I am ranked around 4000 and this is my first year. I guessed the 80% inactive percentage because I am 360 of 28400 Fans of Chelsea, which means either something bad about Chelsea fans or that a huge number have quit, probably when they realized it takes at least an hour a week to do modestly well for a long season.
How many missing players have you had?
How many missing players have others had?
If I might suggest, don't include intentional no shows like Carson, and separate the snow day.
Aside from the snow day (6 missing), I have had 16-- maybe I need to work on that, but I almost always select from Nik's great lists and then double check on each player's status the night before the game or even check a lineup if it's the early game. I'd guess much more than half my no shows were last minute injuries or manager change of mind. Only a couple were my gambles that a player was fit.
Will Barton miss next match against birmingham? He took his 6th card yesterday
I checked two of the top ten players thru GW26:
Player 1:
12 missing (but three were Kolarov-- intentional) plus an additional 4 missing on the snow day. So 13 in all, (not counting Kolarov and goalies like Carson/Kirkland)
Player 2: 16 missing (but three were Kolarov) plus an additional 5 on the snow day. So 18 in all not counting goalies with a zero.
Also, these numbers should be reduced by one or two to account for players who played but scored a zero. (too much research needed)
So these two top 10 players were missing about 6 fewer players than I was, ........at a generous average of 10 points a player- that's 60 points, but I am 400 points behind them-- their skill (and some measure of luck) accounts for the other 340 points.
Bottom line- I should work on reducing missing players. (BTW, if it wasn't for Nik's great player lists, I hate to think how bad I'd be using the Guardian Squad sheets!)
Am I right in saying that it is the opinion of our American friends that if something is harder, it is therefore worse? This brings a quote from a Mr Bart Simpson to mind: "work was hard so I quit"
Yes there is luck involved but isn't there luck in any sport, fantasy or not. And yes, if one of your players is injured in the warm up, it'd be great to be able to sub someone in but we all play by the same rules. I for one much prefer yff to fpl as it rewards those with a real knowledge of the fantasy game and punishes the casual player. I realise that playing a game in a different time zone makes this awkward for some but if you've chosen to play then live with it.
For the price Tim Howard is going to be after this game he is looking to be a great keeper for a long while. Look at his run of matches
v Sunderland, @ Newcastle, v Birmingham, v Fulham, v Aston Villa, @ Wolves, v Blackburn
And then he faces Man U so thats when he ditch him :P
---------------------
Just a follow up to this, Tim Howard is 3.6 now :O
Currently have this team for the next round of fixtures:
Howard
Kelly, Kolarov, Walker, Luiz
Nani, Silva, Anderson
Carew, Tevez, Rooney
Any thoughts or suggestions?
@Anon 8:13 - exactly. I don't like some of the things Yahoo does (or does not) but the game truly tests if you know the league enough. The variability in each player's output week in week out makes the game much more challenging because there's no bench to hold onto players with a bad week.
I'm not trying to say that this game is better than others. I usually play yahoo or espn baseball annually, but my experience is that once you learn the basics, your outcome in your leagues is all a matter to paying attention and reacting appropriately to known information. Here, there is a greater necessary to take action before things occur.
115 pts for me in GW27 with 8 players to go and currently sitting on 423 overall (Top 500!!). A million thanks to Nik and fellow blog readers for their advices & comments!
BDed GW28 team:
howard
kol-kelly-walker-luiz
adam-nani-silva
rvp-rooney-suarez
with 0.44 available fund left.
cheers,
MRA
h
"Am I right in saying that it is the opinion of our American friends that if something is harder, it is therefore worse?"
What the hell kind of bigoted comment is that? Care to substantiate?
Backcountry Dave
Anonymous said...
Am I right in saying that it is the opinion of our American friends that if something is harder, it is therefore worse?
___________
Wow ....have you missed the entire point. I want this game to be closer to 100% skill and hard work, with a minimum of luck. My point was having no subs, makes the game more dependent on luck in selecting 11 who start each week than picking an additional sub.
If you don't agree --- fine, but don't disparage all Americans with a silly nonsequitur.
man city will be playing with 2 forwards in their next match and it could be any of tevez dzeko balotelli , so thread carefully
1st!
A little off point?
After my first few weeks of my current rookie season I managed to put my foot in my mouth on a particular post aimed at our manager AM. At the time I really saw no real harm in it and no real harm was intended. But....After AM's response as well as countless others (none of which were in MY favor) I took a moment to sit back and reflect on my comment.
My error was a common one. Knowing or understanding a (game) can be mastered by a child..but, knowing and understanding people can take a life time.
In just a very short time from my "rocky" start I have learned so much about this sport but I am mostly drawn to the people & culture that support it and frankly..I love it. I have added to my list of "things to do" is to travel across the pond an attend an actual game. (Have not picked the two teams I would most likely want to see..yet)
This long winded response is dedicated to those who (may not) understand Americans.
Take some time..take a look...you just might like what you see.
In response to Ken:
I went to my one-and-only EPL game about 6 years ago (it was the year Bush visited London in the face of citywide protests), just to see what it was like.
It was Aston Villa at Tottenham, and it was quite a trip. For one thing, tickets are surprisingly easy to get at the last minute over the internet and not costly. $25?
The kicker was, the website repeated over and over that you weren't allowed to wear the visiting team's colors. That was a big catch for me because it was raining like England and the only rain garb I had was burgundy -- very close to the Villains' color, of course.
When I got to the game, I found my seat was right beside the Villain fans in the corner and even though I got some shocked looks from the security people, I strengthened my southern accent (I'm from North Carolina), and the guards broke into smiles and were very accommodating.
My seat was litterally on the edge, with a buffer of maybe six seats from the Villains with its row of security people stretching upward in the stands.
That's where the people observing was at its best because the Villains did nothing the whole game except sing old southern spirituals with football-related lyrics and leer at the Spur fans, just trying to start fights the whole time. And the Spurs responded.
Villa scored first (Juan Angel), and the fans really went at it but had no chance getting at each other. And the jeers were deafening. Then Robbie Keane scored before halftime, and fan revenge was sweet. Hardly anybody in my area was watching the match then, they were just jeering back at each other. Fortunately, Spurs scored a winner in the second half and so the fans were in a raucus mood. But there was no way anybody could get at each other, because the Villa fans were cordoned off and taken straight to their cordoned off busses.
You never see anything like that in America. Totally crazy. The Red Sox - Yankee games are the only ones where I've seen people who wanted to fight first and watch the game second.
Rivalries like Duke - North Carolina have fans who are too polite. Words are their only battle weapons.
So, yeah! You gotta go and catch a match across the pond!
To the guy who's complaining about rotation:
If Vela is the example you're bellyaching about, maybe you should have considered the facts that a) he is a fairly recent addition to the squad and b) West Brom were playing their first game under a new caretaker manager. I too considered Vela, but the uncertainty led me to drop him. Of course, all YFF players will get zeroes and it is frustrating when it happens unexpectedly. The goal is to utilize the available information to minimize the no-shows. Your example does make you look like a whiny fool, however.
And before you get your panties in a wad over the comments towards Americans, check your first post where for some unexplained reason you directed Brits to wipe their asses.
(I'm American, BTW).
@Ken and @TARHEELS - I applaud people like you two (and others on here), because, while I've discovered a few exceptions, for the most part, as a fan of REAL football, living in the US has been a complete nightmare.
It's not just the fact that it's called by the wrong name (the 's' word is a bad word to me, I can't even bring myself to say it anymore). It's the whole attitude. The majority have no clue that it's even supposed to be called football, and actually think that the name 'football' was thought up for the American sport ... that doesn't even use the feet! That little conflict of logic never even crosses their mind.
The silliest thing is that whenever I say 'football' instead of the 's' word, almost 100% of the time you hear, 'Ah, yes, Fuuutbol', as if it's a Spanish word, and only Latin Americans call it that.
I get constant crap from people all the time, the same nonsense over and over again. Finding someone who understands is a rarity, and I spent the whole last World Cup just watching matches by myself.
2006 was different, because I was at a University with a large percentage of foreign students, and the bars were packed for games with dozens of languages being spoken all around me ... but once again, a real lack of any Americans.
As I said, there are some exceptions. I don't really count because my family is from Argentina, and football is in my blood. (Vamos Boca!) There is even a joke: Argentina is 90% Roman Catholic, but 100% Football!
And that's really what it comes down to. It's more than just a game to much of the world. And the constant offensive remarks I get from people are really frustrating, and angering to the point where I get happy when I see the USA lose in the World Cup.
The almost complete lack of any TV coverage for anything outside of the World Cup is also frustrating, so I'm forced to watch low-quality streams on the internet in whatever language I can find.
So, really, I applaud people from the USA who at least make an attempt to understand the game, and be a part of what really is a world sport ... and even more than just a sport in much of the world.
Vela is a bad choice today, tomorrow and maybe forever.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/14022011/58/champions-league-bale-van-der-vaart-fit.html
Could be good news.
GGMU
@Kwyjibo: I think your assessment of support for "Soccer" in America is quite far off. Sure we don't rank it as one of the top supported sports in our country, but it has a much larger fan base then you give us credit for. Just in the last 2-3 years the MLS have added the Seattle Sounders, San Jose Earthquakes, now the Portland Timbers (my home city team) and the Vancouver Whitecaps. You wouldn't add more teams to a league if there wasn't an increased support for the game. The fan base for soccer in America is growing every year and is only boosted in our good form in the Confederations Cup, World Cup, etc.
I wonder if you are familiar with the New York Cosmos? Probably the most well known and most popular soccer team of the modern era in the United States? They were part of the old NASL in the United States that lasted from 1971-1984 in which they were able to sign such super star international players as the brazilian phenom Pele and German defender Fraz Beckenbauer. Historically there has been huge support for soccer in America, and with the decline of the NASL, was the birth of the MLS. Attendance started low in 1971 with an average of 5,000 supporters, but grew to a peak in 1977 when the Cosmos recorded an attendance of over 77,000 fans for a playoff match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Sounds like the same as the biggest teams in Europe doesn't it?
I'd also like to point out my most memorable game, at that was in Seattle Washington, USA watching Real Madrid play DC United in which more than 90,000 AMERICANS came out to support the friendly. Seeing Beckham and Ruud Van Nistleroy so close was to send shivers down my spine. When 90,000 fans sang "RUUUUUUUUUUUD" was truely a sight to see. The game ended a quite deserved and memorable 1-1.
Secondly, I'd like to point out one misconception that the entire world seems to attribute with the United States. That is the fact that the word "Soccer" originated in ENGLAND! Please review the link below:
http://www.soccer-fans-info.com/origin-of-the-word-soccer.html
Also, I agree, I don't know why we call American Football "Football" however, your statement that the logic of the name doesn't register with us because "American Football" don't use the foot, is just wrong. The start of the game is always a kick-off to the opposition. To score an extra point requires great accuracy with a kick, to score a field goal attempt requires a kicker hit the ball anywhere from 20-50+ yards, quite a feet. In fact punting the ball can be a crucial game changing event, that can give your side a huge advantage. In fact, many punters/kickers in the NFL started out as Soccer players and attribute their current success to the fact they learned from Soccer. So you can see, kicking and using the foot is quite important in American Football.
And why does it bother you so much that Americans have other interest in other sports? I think its fantastic that at any given point I can watch Basketball, Soccer, Football, Baseball, Hockey, Lacross. Each professional league in America has a huge following and adds any excitment to the game. Why would you hate that? Just because its not your "sport" why do you feel its okay to look down on Americans for enjoying our sports?
Thirdly I'd like to address your accusation that we have "shit" coverage of Soccer in America, its simply not true. What i will say is you need to pay for it. I pay an extra 12.99$ per month to get a sports package that allows me to have Fox Soccer Channel, which plays 4 EPL games a week, along with Italian, Austrailian, and Champion's League football. Fox Soccer Plus plays other games like NPower Championship and the lower matches of the EPL. ESPN2 has bought the rights to show the early kick off game from the EPL as well as the monday night games (As I type this I am watching the Chelsea-Fulham match) How can you say there isn't any coverage? In fact, Americans love sports so much, we probably have the best coverage across the board.
I think if we can all stop letting misconceptions and stero-types govern how we see others and other countries, we would be a better world.
Good luck
I had David Luiz in my team for this week as I couldnt even afford Koscielny, looks like one to keep hold of, would have had 13 points tonight if the ref hadnt given that soft penalty.
A quick note about television coverage of the English Premier League (EPL) abroad. A lot of nations actually show MORE games from the EPL than we see here in the UK, as we don't show any of the 3pm saturday games here.
@anon
I gave Luiz a lot of thought, but I think he has to be a doubt to start against Mandivers United. Luiz could easily have conceded another penalty earlier in the game. When the Fullham subs came on his positioning defending in the box wasn't the best.
You also have to consider that he has to fight for his place with Terry, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, Ferreira, and soon with Alex. He is an exciting prospect, but not a sure starter yet.
I'm looking at Aurelio as a cheap filler. He is likely to start again in midfield for Liverpool.
@Motty
Jesus people. Let's quit all the Brit vs. American bickering. Please keep it to football (or soccer, or whatever you happen to call it where you live). All this other childish nonsense just drags the blog down.
Too many anon. I never made the tactless British comment, but I did post about lack of any subs, which imo adds to the luck factor in this game.
I did not have Vela, it was Caldwell, Collins and Cahill that were zeros a couple weeks ago in one gw-- that made me write about subs and is the kind of unlucky selection that I think one sub would cure. (Cahill was especially my risky choice, but the other two didn't play despite homework.)
I live in Virginia, we love soccer ( it's american slang- same as every country has a different name for umbrellas or bets or whatever)-- when in Europe and on this site I always use the word football, but in the states I say SOCCER. I can watch five games a weekend of EPL and all the CL, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, Argentina, German leagues for a very small fee as part of a huge sports package.
Another comment, to the guy who has not seen passionate american fans-- try the Eagles in Philly. For starters, there is an onsite magistrate and jail in the stadium, not that I have ever been in it.
@anon
I'm not convinced that a lack of subs reduces the skill in the game. Who starts is not a matter of luck, it is a matter of good judgement. On rare occassions there is an injury during warm up, but that could also happen in the first ten minutes of a game.
What subs would do is to reduce the number of changes to your regular team slightly as you could leave in one player who you new was not going to start.
As for the Soccer v Football question. I have to point out that in England, "Soccer" was common slang for football everywhere in Britain in the 1970's. It is only fairly recently that xenophobic people have started having a problem with the word being used.
Motty.
These arguments will turn to insults sometimes but i've learnt a couple things from this and some others. The blog will be boring without them, but we should try to counter arguments or get our points across without the insults.
Ebi
@Ebi: Great point, I hope that we keep it to a point counter point discussion. I hope nobody feels I am insulting them because thats not my intention at all. I think its great we all have so much passion for this great sport.
Very interesting to learn that some of our regular posters are from USA.
Should we not all post our location so that we can see how widespread our blog community is?
malaysian rules
We love soccer up here
im from zimbabwe..and we love soccer
I believe there could be several ways to "drag a blog down". Personally I believe the #1 reason would be not to post. Will be looking forward to Dave's future insight.
Stato...What a nice idea. I will start.
Michigan (USA) Team name...CRUSHER
I currently hold Huth at 9.55. I think this weeks home game will favor him but I sure could use the funds elsewhere. My question is keep/sell and if sell replace with....
Current defense: Howard/Kelly/Huth/Evra
Kelly at great discount. Evra & Howard list price.
@ken--
I agree that posting is important to keep a blog healthy. In fact, I was one of the first to try to calm the waters and welcome you to the blog after your misunderstood comment early in the season.
Then I have much to be grateful to you for. Maybe without your support things may have not gone as well for me.
I would like to take this time to thank you again.
I hope you have no regrets?
Good luck to you this week..
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