Week 37 So Far
There were some points everyone agreed on - a better searching facility for players/stats is certainly a requirement, while a less aggressive pricing algorithm to allow player price rises to have more structure and for prices to fall if players perform badly/don't play for a long period of time were also popular suggestions.
Every comment posted contained useful points so it was definitely a worthwhile exercise - hopefully someone from Yahoo reads the blog! :)
I thought I'd write a few paragraphs on Week 37 so far; starting with big congratulations to Manchester United for sealing their 19th Premier League title with their draw at Blackburn. We're unlikely to see a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson again in our lifetimes, so while many of you probably hate the bloke and his club, never forget you are actually witnessing something pretty special.
Congratulations also to the blue side of Manchester! City made it a week to remember as they added the FA Cup - their first trophy for over 30 years - to their Top 4 finish and Champions League football. It wasn't a great game but City deserved the win and I think we all know this could be the start of a major power-shift in English football.
There were some surprise results - Chelsea held at home by Newcastle, Arsenal losing at home to Villa and Spurs beating Liverpool at Anfield for the first time in 19 years. I became aware before the game that if Spurs finish 6th then they would probably still get Europa League football (via the Fair Play League), but start in the qualifying rounds in late June! No thanks - if that's the alternative I'd actually be happy finishing 5th.
Down at the bottom there was unbelievable drama; West Ham are gone after blowing a 2-0 lead against Wigan, Wolves beat Sunderland and Blackpool won a 4-3 thriller vs Bolton. Those results drag Birmingham right back in to the mire as they lost 0-2 to Fulham, so the final day sees five teams (Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham, Blackpool & Wigan) on 39 or 40 points battling it out to avoid the final two relegation places - what a day it's going to be!
We still have the City v Stoke rematch to go tonight but I have no players involved so I know I've finished Week 37 on 110 points. Carson, Craddock, Hitz, Adam & RvP were my big scorers while Lampard, Valencia & Vermaelen were disappointments. I'm currently 70th overall but I'll drop down after tonight's points. I'm still going to be close to my highest ever finish (79th three seasons ago) and I hold a faint hope of Top 50, which is currently 14 points away from me.
On the barndoor I did this:
Cudicini, Craddock, Kaboul, Vermaelen, Hitzlsperger, R.Taylor, Modric, Adam, N'Zogbia, Suarez, RvP
I'm glad I got Cudicini but should've grabbed King instead of Kaboul. Craddock stays but I'm uncertain on Verm, and Kaboul may still go for Fabio. Hitz & Ryan Taylor will stay at 5ish (provided Taylor is set to continue for Newcastle) and I brought Modric in as soon as VDV went off injured as with Bale out too he'll take all set pieces and penalties. If VDV recovers I'll drop Luka for O'Hara.
Adam will definitely stay but I'm not certain about N'Zogbia just yet as I do have the spare funds to move to a 3-4-3 and bring Berbatov in instead. Suarez definitely stays @ 7 and to be honest I'll probably keep RvP too. He's costing me 20 but he keeps banging in the points and I'm happy enough with the rest of my team to take that hit.
I'll leave it there! Remember Week 38 is the final week of the season, so all the games are 4pm kick-off on Sunday. This means the deadline is midday (UK time) on Sunday, so I'll be doing the final player picks of the season later than usual, probably Thursday or Friday, with the Update post on Saturday after the manager's have their press conferences.
How did/is Week 37 going for you? Who did you grab in readiness for Week 38? What final ranking are you aiming for?
Cheers,
AM
46 comments:
First! hehe
lamps are phatetic.
that is all i want to say.
chikuera [AM.blog]
100 points for me so far with Kolarov playing today.
I feel that the best strategy this week would be to aim for players from the five teams who are fighting to stay up. The likes of Adam, O'Hara, Larsson and N'Zogbia will be on my radar this week.
I also finished on 110 points, but had a completely different team. Position 916, hoping to stay in the top 1000.
Upgraded Carson to Cech - what a great move, lol.
109 pts with Kolarov to go also.
Can't believe I picked Torres instead of sticking to my hunch on DJ Campbell. Argggh.
Should be a barnstorming finish to the season with the 5 teams scrapping it out on sunday...
Shrewsbury Town Vs Torquay Utd is the biggest game for me this weekend without doubt. We lost the first leg 2-0 down in the English Rivera as most, well actually all, of our players didn't turn up, plus we lost our captain and player of the season in the 20th minute with the game still goalless, and at our level you can't afford to lose this kind of player. It's going to take a monumental effort to get through to the final at Old Trafford.
On a YFF note, my current team only contains a handful of players the same as Nik, which is a worry, as I was informed yesterday that the I'm only reason I'm currently in the top 20 is because I do what Nik tells me to…...
I'm currently 70 points ahead of 50th place so a final position on the leaderboard is a distinct possibility. I'm also currently 2nd in Fans of Others (15,000 teams are in that) so if I finish in the top 3 of that I'll be delighted.
Tough choices this week:
Road teams of Birmingham City, Wigan,Sunderland all rate at near bottom with road goals scored while Tottenham, Stoke, and Man United all rate near the top with home defense.
I see the Wolves/Blackburn game as being the most wide open as Blackburn have given up 41 goals away from home (last) while Wolves are a fair team at home and playing well. The danger with this game is, instead of trying to win they both approach the game with a "try not to lose" attitude.
Also, West Ham & Sunderland could be a wide open affair, while Blackpool, Wigan and Birmingham City seem to have their work cut out for them as their opponents do not give up a lot of goals at home.
I think Birmingham City & Wigan will have the hardest day.
I will be going with Wolves,Blackpool (most likely just Adam),Tottenham,West Ham and Man United players, while avoiding Birmingham City,and Wigan.
I am only doing my "prediction" post as it is the final game of the season and if I crash & burn hopefully most will forget about it by next season.
If I do well I will make sure you remember it.
Good luck all
currently looking at:
carson
fabio-verm-kolarov
n'zog-hitz-adam-jarvis
suarez-berbatov-tevez
all very dependent on team news though...
I've got down:
Carson
Vermaelen/ Fabio/ Craddock
Hitzlsperger/ Adam/ N'Zogbia/ Young
Suarez/ Fletcher/ Campbell
http://sports.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Soccer-team-uses-bizarre-misdirection-play-to-sc?urn=highschool-wp2113
Not very good with a computer and hopefully this can be viewed by all.
This is how Americans play Football/Soccer....
Watch closely....
Nik,
I'm really interested in player picks this week. Is there a trend? A team like westham with nothing to play for, will they still be fired up? as i expect some of the players will be llok for new clubs at the close of this season.
team atm
krul
Elokobi Richards King
R.Talyor Adam Hitzlsperger N'zogbia
Suarez Fletcher Tevez.
I still hold cudicini and van der vaart.
128 with Richards to go.
Feel better about yourself Ken M.? Or are you just into random generalizations?
@Ken M
Wolves and Blachburn both need a draw to be safe. i wouldn't blame them if they just stand around for 90 minutes. I'm leaning towards avoiding players from that match.
Unless Wigan blakpool and birmingham all win away.
Ebi - If Wolves and Blackburn draw they'd move to 41 points each. If Birmingham, Blackpool & Wigan all win they'd all move to 42 points, leaving Wolves & Blackburn relegated along with West Ham.
Ah, you added your additional comment while I was writing mine :) An unlikely scenario for those 3 to win away, but a scenario nonetheless.
Wolves will have more at stake as they know a draw combined with 2 out of those 3 teams winning would send them down. I reckon Wolves will be going flat out for the win.
I dropped Silva for Hernandez! But in my own private league my close competitor is 1.5 points behind and has him tonight with Ya Ya whereas I have ya ya and Lescott to go. Are yaya and Silva doubtful??
90 with Kolarov to go. Lamps disappointed me for the last time!
Stuck between Doyle and Fletcher for this week. Any idea if Mick will start Doyle?
@Chris
Random generalizations are my life. Wasn't that obvious?
If your are looking for me to take the leap..o.k.
Tottenham...3 Birmingham City...1
Wolves....4 Blackburn...2
Stoke...2 Wigan...1
Man United..2 Blackpool...2
West Ham....4 Sunderland....2
Somehow, I felt better about myself with my last post, but thanks for your concern.
Let me know if you want me to list who scores and how many...Generally speaking that is.
127.5 with Kolorav to go, which sent me into the top 1000 overall and i reclaimed 1st in my private league. On friday i was debating on Larsson or Nzogbia and ended up actually making the correct decision for the 1st time in what seems like forever.
As far as the relegation battle goes im really hoping Blackpool stay up. Ive liked watching them go out and attack teams looking for the win instead of sitting back and trying not to lose. Plus Holloways interviews are generally pretty entertaining.
Also big thanks to AM for all the hard work on the blog, it has definitely been a huge help all season long.
@Ken M
I'd love those scores, you just need to add the scorers so i can pick my team correctly.
I really hope blackpool survives although Holloway learnt nothing from Di Matteo's sack.
Wow...Just finished reading the last thread. I did like the one from (enourouz). The one that starts, "I apologize if I offended anyone" and is soon followed up by calling me an idiot.
This is very sincere....
I am sorry if I offended YOU. I was just having fun, goofing off, trying to make light of the situation.I will refrain from commenting further, as my attempts at "seeing the lighter side" have fallen way short, and I am positive others sure don't want to read two people attacking each other.
I have reread my post and can see if taken in it's truest sense, overlooking or misunderstanding it's intent as being quite "stupid". I am sorry.
I did have somewhat of a final post that I was holding until the end of the week where I was going to thank everyone for their kindness in welcoming me to the sport. Maybe this is the best time to say my goodbyes. I will say this and then I think it best to just let the season play out and hopefully I will see you all next year...
THANK YOU.
A special one to Nik for his patience and help.
To "Dave" who also gave me a "leg up" in getting started.
Take care..and good luck to all in your final week. I had a great time.
Ken m don't go we need all the ken's we can here! :)
Kendo
Ken, the Internet is full of keyboard warriors, just ignore them if you can.
Woo Hoo Kolarov on the bench, delighted.
Tevez has scored, I imagine he will be Barn Doored tonight by quite a few....
Thanks guys..No worries. My skin is thick and my jaw is tough and BOTH have been tested by those with far more to offer then your so-called "keyboard warriors". I only felt that with so little time left I just did not want to see the last weeks post of what was a fantastic year, end on a sour note. Think of it as stepping aside..not leaving. This week should belong to Nik and not to name calling, drive by posters.
You guys/Gals are great. Not sure it would be that easy to get rid of me.
A pint to you Nik..
and one for the group.
Thanks again!
I wonder if it would be a good idea to create a league with the usual posters on the blog. I think that could be real fun.
damn.... was going to barndoor Tevez.... but read he was not going to play. Flippin' scores a brace and his price goes through the roof!
So I watched the whole Citeh-Stoke game and forgot to BD Tevez for Ba- yuck. Means I'll have to stretch thin to get both Berbs and Tevez.
Well Silva got 2 bonus points in the FPL game which amazed everyone for 55 minutes work and a slight injury- maybe he got the points for courage (honestly). In Yahoo, he got one point and so did Yaya, which is fairer.
I like Tevez over most FWDs this week, he moved around and was agile with the ball. Berbs is an enigma to me- but maybe he will crank it up to get the Boot, and the money, buffets, and historical record that goes with it. I imagine both teams will give every opp to both.
Ken stick around and post your ideas, you have been a great poster.
Ken, Kendo, Ken M. . . . lots of us Kens to keep you all thinking.
I am going all in on Wolves and Wigan this week.
I really would be interested if anyone has any historical data regarding the last game of the season.
i.e. does Wenger usually play his studs? will Ancelotti rest Lampard for the final away game? will Everton play a youth squad? Do teams that lose the FA Cup final fade in final two games? Do relegated teams play well once relegated trying to get noticed for next season? Can Joey Barton make it a whole season without maiming someone? Can Rodalega save my season???? Will Craddock score again?
138.5 points to move up to 471.
Just realised this morning that it was Ba i dropped to get Tevez. Still no news on
Van der Vaart
Cudicini
Richards Elokobi King
vdv RTaylor Hitz Nzogbia Adam
Suarez Tevez
6.45 left
Nik,
I don't comment often but read your blog all the time. I just wanted to say thank you and reiterate your SAF comment. Its good that you appreciate him even though you probably hate him too. I am a united fan but still he is something I don't think we football fans will ever experience again, especially with the current climate of instant wins needed to keep managerial jobs. People are going to talk about him for decades and decades!! We are going to tell our grand kids who will tell theirs and on his legacy goes..... amazing.
Ali
Here's what i'm looking at for my final week team:
Krul
Verm Craddock Enrique
Hitz MTaylor Nzogbia O'Hara
Fletcher RVP Berbatov
0.59 spare. I still hold Carson, Young and Suarez behind the scenes, although i think i prefer the Krul/O'Hara/Berbatov combo.
I don't mind selling Suarez as it's the last game of the season, away to Villa i don't expect many goals. Berbs must surely start, and he'll be going for the golden boot.
Taylor will start for Bolton right? I'm hoping he rolls back the years..
Better post what looks to be the final line up before I have to copy Nik's..
Krul
Craddock/Kaboul/Wilson
Hitz/Adam/N'Zogbia/O'Hara
Tevez/Berbatov/Fletcher
Only holding Ba/Cudicini and did let Suarez go..
Starting to regret it. Had him at 7.2
Krul is in there for price but after reading that WB are going to give some of the younger players a chance to play and he is at home is making that pick look more interesting.
Wait to see on Berbatov & Tevez on starting possibilities and I am not quite sold on Fletcher but may run with it as that striker line up looks good to me. Pending any last minute news I believe this is it.
Not to worried on my defenders as I see very few clean sheets this week for any team...
Tried to pick cheeper defenders but ones that may get forward some as I see most teams letting it all hang out this week.
Good luck everyone
Ken, you have copied 7 of my players! This is an outrage...
I know..what took you so long to post your team???
I've missed work, I'm hungry, and my wife is going to leave me because I have not moved from my computer.
Guess I can always get another wife. Afterall, it's not a real commitment like getting a dog or something!!
hey guys, i am looking at some surprise picks to see if i can go up 1000 spots to break 1000. is mulumbu and m taylor a better choice than larsson and stephen ward
Could decide on barn door who to go for so changed around a bit today dropped Hernandez and Rodriguez kept Suarez :) noddin off Here zzzzzzz ;)
Line up
Cudicini
Lescott Vermaelen kaboul
Adam hitzl Ryan Taylor modric
Suarez rvp ba
The suggestion of leagues for people who post here am does set them up at the start of the season think there are 6 am blog leagues ?
Adam hitzl
kind of don't care about this weekend's fantasy football. haven't got much to play for, currently 1905th so not gonna win.
might just keep the same team as last week and take what i get. that way i can enjoy the relegation, 5th place and 3rd place battles on sunday without having to worry if mulumbu fluffs his lines or gomes decides to play keepy uppy with a water bottle while nikola zigic fires in a header from 60 yards!
good luck those who have something to play for.
thanks Nik (AM) for this season. awesome blog as usual. might be back next year, might not. depends if they make any changes. if I am back, i'll be sure to give my insights to the comments section and preen match day info from the rest of you in return
(Nik: can I also make a suggestion for your blog. any tube that writes 'first' or 'second' or whatever just cos they are the first to post should be blocked from commenting for 2 weeks. it's pathetic!)
@Ken M
After the "no anons" move, which I endorse, I am now posting as "David" and not "Dave" due to the configuration of my Google Account. Anyway, your gratitude is appreciated but unnecessary. You've paid me back in full and then some by becoming such an active contributor to the blog.
Good luck this weekend!
Alright, what do you guys think:
Tevez, Van Persie, Berba
Tevez, Berba, Suarez
Tevez, Van Persie, Suarez
i am sad to see the last week already :(
I have always enjoyed the uefa/europa cup finals but yesterdays match was a bore. I fell asleep after the goal and from reports i'm reading the match didn't improve.
Guys, to be honest do you really think west ham players will play that good anymore?..they have nothing to play for or they will give some outstanding performance for their fans, for the last game in premiership?
I fancy West Ham to put an effort in Batang
Well said Kendo, I've got
Green in goal! Fabio/Verm/Craddock/; Hitz/O'Hara/Barton/Taylor; RVP/Suarez/Ba
Should have time for the last fab filler post this week as it's Sunday
matches!
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