I walked away with 83.5 points but know it could've been so, so much better had I not switched Fabianski & Chamakh to Krul & Obinna.
Moving on, there's no time to rest - Week 13 is just 2 days away so we need to start picking another team right-away.
It's been pretty crazy with 3 deadlines in 8 days combined with calculation of the cup results, so once again you'll see a "budget" version of my player picks post. Apologies for this, but we have a gap before Week 14 so normal service will resume next week.
Fixtures...
Standouts
CHELSEA v Sunderland
MAN CITY v Birmingham
I honestly can't see anything but two comfortable home wins here.
Should Win
TOTTENHAM v Blackburn
MAN UTD @ Aston Villa
ARSENAL @ Everton
Spurs were decent against Sunderland but must win this one & I think (/pray!) they will, Aston Villa struggled against Blackpool's reserve side last night so I think United will win there & Arsenal have a great record at Goodison so I reckon they might sneak it.
Draws/Close to Call
Newcastle v Fulham
Stoke v Liverpool
Wigan v West Brom
West Ham v Blackpool
Wolves v Bolton
All likely to be closely fought battles and I can see all five ending in score draws or narrow wins either way.
With that in mind, here are my Player Picks for Week 13...
KEEPERS
Cech
Hart
Jaaskalainen
Krul
Green
DEFENDERS
Bale (final chance!)
Boateng
Zhirkov (set to continue with Essien suspended)
Bosingwa (watch for team news)
Kolarov (watch for team news, could be a bargain)
Kompany
Squillaci
Coleman (will be back after his rest)
Hutton
O'Shea (should replace injured Rafael)
Enrique/Simpson
Steinsson
A.Faye
Berra
Ibanez
Jacobsen
MIDFIELDERS
Malouda
Van Der Vaart
Gerrard
Silva/AJ (Silva could be rested, AJ a great alternative)
Barton (possible suspension, Guthrie, Routledge or RTaylor could come in)
Nani
Fabregas
M Taylor/M.Petrov (whoever starts is a great pick)
Adam
Nasri/Walcott (both should be back after rest)
Etherington
Nolan
N'Zogbia
Brunt
Pennant
Milijas
Holden
Gutierrez
STRIKERS
Tevez
Drogba
Torres
Carroll
Hernandez
Chamakh
Piquionne
Rodallega
Odemwingie
Elmander
Gyan (pre-update price only)
That's it! It's very unlikley I'll get time to write analysis for each position as it's already Thursday afternoon & I have the update post to write tomorrow as the team/injury news floods in.
Current team on my page: Green, Zhirkov, Coleman, Boateng, Adam, N'Zogia, Silva, Van Der Vaart, Gyan, Tevez, Drogba
Not sure about it yet, a lot will depend on team news tomorrow and I still hold Bale, Bosingwa, Barton & Rodallega at pre-update prices behind the scenes.
Please vote in the poll: http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/507928
If you choose "Other?" in the poll, please remember to type the name of the person you'd like to vote for...last week over 30 "Other" votes were left blank,
Anyone you think I've missed? Who's due a good week? Who will flop? How's your own Week 13 team shaping up?
Check back tomorrow for all the important info.
Cheers,
AM
p.s. We've passed 950 Facebook members - please join us as we look to pass 1000 before the end of the year! :)
WOW !
ReplyDeleteI'm the first
Great job AM.
Made it through the cup with plenty to spare hitting over 100 points for the first time in 3 weeks after several poor ones.
ReplyDeleteHope I can keep it going.
Nice job AM with the frenetic deadlines.
Jugsy
Djourou came in for the suspended Laurent Koscielny. Will Djourou continue?
ReplyDeleteHe jumped up in price too much to get him now.
Koscielny ARS 20/11/10 Serving a two-match ban having seen red in the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on 7/11. His one match ban will be extended following a dismissal earlier in the season. He will miss games against Wolves and Everton and return for the home clash with Spurs on 20/11
Thanks. Love the blog
What I have right now after dropping Barton (he's being charged by the FA) and also Gyan (Have him at 10+ and over Chelsea I'm not sure he'll cover his cost)
ReplyDeleteHart
Zhirkov, Bale, Kelly
Adam, VdV, Brunt, Walcott
Caroll, Torres, Chicharito
Last chance for Bale as far as I'm concerned. If he doesn't score well, I might pick up Kolarov or Boateng and use the rest of the cash to upgrade other positions.
I dropped Barton because of the FA charge but I might pick up after the suspension at a lower price.
Walcott better play or I'll start rumors about Wenger cheating on his wife...oh wait, that happened already. LOL
J0J0
Chamakh scored a brace after a millenium, so is he a good pick for wk13?
ReplyDeleteSo far I have:
ReplyDeleteKirkland
Zhirkov Bosingwa Boateng
Song Walcott Silva Brunt
Torres Chamakah Tevez
Comments would be great!!
Great job on the three player picks in a week AM.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a strange week and a half for my team. Lots of decisions to make on injury concerns with big discounts. After keeping Chamakh all season, I decided to finally drop him for Obinna this midweek. Chamakh scores big and Obinna starts on the bench. Adam and Coleman, two of my long-term keepers at this point, both were on the bench too. With three players on the bench, I thought it was going to be a rough week. Then suddenly I check back after the games and scored 110 points, moving into the Top 500 overall for the first time (in large part thanks to this blog).
For the weekend, I'm going with this lineup for now:
Hart
Coleman, Boateng, Hutton
VDV, Adam, Malouda, Nani
Torres, Gyan, Odemwingie
At this point, a lot of my lineup stays constant due to discounts. I dropped Nani last week (and lost a huge discount) due to the injury only to pick him back up today. I'd like to find a way to upgrade Odemwingie to Tevez or Gerrard, but I'm not sure that will be possible at this point.
As always, thanks for the posts AM. They are of great help.
Cech's Mates
Tevez or Drogz??
ReplyDeleteDrogba hasnt been great recently but I know as soon as i drop him he'll net a hat trick or something crazy. If i go tevez it frees up funds for nani again. I wish I held onto him at 13 i thought for sure he would miss more games than 1.
sorry AM, but looks like there was a points adjustment..i stayed the same but i dropped 100 spots within the last 30 mins..may have to recalculate your standings
ReplyDeleteCarefree FC
Yes AM, Nikhil is right. I lost half a point from 105 to 104.5...damn yahoo always getting it wrong.
ReplyDeleteSorry AM, I can only imagine what a nightmare it is to have to recalculate the results every single time.
thanks AM week 13 picks
ReplyDeletemy week 13:
begovic
zhirkov/boateng/jacobsen
vdv/milijas/holden/adam
tevez/odemwingie/piquionne
comments are most welcome!
nice line up but is begovic playing???
ReplyDeleteI have no trust in any of the goalies this year I have captain kirked most of the season to keep a couple big hitters. The only thing is you have to try to pick 10 actual starters if you kirk.
nasri and brunt, or A.J. and walcott, of course have to wait for news on city
ReplyDeleteBarton apologises but gets three-game suspension..
ReplyDeleteMilijas or Walcott? (Both at full price)
ReplyDeleteHere is the dream team : )
ReplyDeleteGreen
Zhirkov Coleman Bosingwa
Adam VDV Milijas Bentley
Drogba Anelka
i am pondering the same thing to replace barton. milijas, walcott, nasri, nani or milner. anyone have an opinion.
ReplyDeletefor anomyous:
between those two choices arsenal away is not a great thing neither is playing at everton whose defense has been pretty good at home. wolves are hosting bolton and milijas will have more space to create, shoot and maybe get a goal or assist.
Most likely going with
ReplyDeleteGreen
Boateng-Zhirkov-O*Shea
Adam-Da Silva-VDV-Etuhu
Drogba-Torres-Chamakh
My team is like Dolly Parton - very top heavy... Any comments anybody
who will be on setpieces for newcastle without barton in lineup?
ReplyDeleteAm, any chance that Bentley will start ???
ReplyDeleteHas anyone dropped as far in their blog league as fast as me? 29th to 69th in a month (yes i fielded a full team of 11 each time).
ReplyDeleteHave to stop the bleeding, and since I always pick the wrong GK at the wrong time I'm going back to Kirkland. The highest weekly scorers take a zero or worse so it seems like a good way to cut my risk of minus points.
Next, don't pick any players coming off a monster week. BD'ing big scorers simply hasn't worked for me.
Then, limit my season keepers. At this point I still have Bale because I KNOW if I drop him he'll have a big game. The best season picks are value players like Charlie Adam. I grabbed Bosingwa early and hope I can keep him too.
Finally, stop helping my GF with her team so much. She's 96th after being 100th and if she passes me I'll have no choice but to take poison.
Kirkland
Bale / Bosingwa / Coleman
Adam / Malouda / Silva / Etuhu / Van der Vaart
Carroll / Tevez
At the moment, my team look like this:
ReplyDeleteGREEN
SQUALLACI BOATENG ZHIRKOV
VDV C.ADAM MILIJAS BRUNT GUTIERREZ
CARROLL DROGBA
I really wanted to have Tevez in the team..Will make final decision on Friday night. Good luck to all other managers. :-)
@greginho
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you go for either Milijas or Brunt in the centre half. Milijas gained more confident this year compared to last year. He is putting more shots to the goal and lets hope he will continue his good performance this weekend. Brunt is another option. At 9.61million, he is a bargain as well..good luck
@ SfSS, it all depends on who replaces him- if Guthrie or Ryan Taylor play then they'll be on kicks but if Routledge is selected then it will probably fall to Nolan. I doubt if Taylor will start as Hughton doesn't seem too keen on him and Guthrie was crap least season on the wing (prefers it in the centre) so it would be my guess Routledge will play.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if Shola is injured then Nolan may be moved further up in support of Carroll, like at the start of the season, meaning that both Guthrie and Routledge could play. You'll have to check team news but all things considered, I reckon Nolan would be the least risky pick.
@SfSS
ReplyDeleteUse the link below to get some ideas about set piece takers etc:
http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/premiership-set-piece-takers/
@barton's fist and No Name fc, thanks, i used the link, but there was not too much info on NUFC, i was considering getting nolan, if he takes at least some of set pieces i may just go with him with even less doubt, though there is a big selection of other good midfielders this week
ReplyDelete@Sfss
ReplyDeleteyes go for Nolan. He might player an important role with Barton absent. He will takes free kick, penalty etc. I wanted to have him in my team but don't have enough budget. At the moment i picked Gutierrez. :-) All the best
anyone know whether bentley will start again?? i need replacement for barton..
ReplyDeleteI would say Bentley is very much a squad player these days even though his performance in training/ injuries have provided more first team opportunities.
ReplyDeletehi Nik,
ReplyDeletei would suggest you to save the cup result until the week after it's done.
it will save you lots of time and you could get a little break from writing quality posts week in and week out
chi
d.silva will start?
ReplyDeletemy team...
ReplyDeletefabianski
coleman boateng zhirkov
silva walcott nolan adam vdv
chicharito teves
any comment?
If Lennon is still out with the hamstring injury, Bentley should be the favourite to start in his place.
ReplyDeleteThe caveat is that Bentley has just returned from a long term injury, so there could be question marks on his fitness, considering he played 2 games in 4 days.
My team is...
ReplyDeleteCarson
Boateng/Zhirkov/Ibanez
Adam/VDV/Brunt/Nolan
Drogba/Tevez/Odemwingie
And to be honest, I love it! I see about 6 possible penalty takers which increases my chances of getting goals :)
Other players I'm strongly considering are Carroll, Holden, Obinna, Malouda, Kalou(if he starts), Pennant, Gomez(Wigan), AJ, Dempsey, Bentley, Milijas. So many options, but have to be careful and choose the most likely to score big.
Good luck to me :)...and good luck to you all! Here's to once again getting back to the top 100. Overall rank atm is 329 so have a bit of a latter to climb :)
Can anyone comment? My Team:
ReplyDeleteKirkland
Boateng Zhirkov Bosingwa
Adam Song Walcott Brunt
Hernandez Tevez Torres
D.Silva should start unless injured or in poor form. I also expect Adebayo to start ahead of Milner and AJ after that very good not so good draw against United.
ReplyDeleteEbi
For what it's worth:
ReplyDeleteHart
Squillaci.....V. Kompany......Zhirkov
Malouda...V.D.V. C.Brunt...S. Holden....C.Adam
Chamakh........Odemwingie
Waiting on possible changes with Boateng or Bosingwa.
Anyone considering Song? Why/Why not
Stuck between two options: Malouda/Gerrard or Drogba/Adam?
ReplyDeleteAny help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!
Drogba/Adam without a doubt
ReplyDelete@Gavin - Drogba/Adam for sure.
ReplyDeleteis delfouneso gonna play or is it agbonlahor????plzz answer
ReplyDeleteSo... Conventional wisdom would say that we should drop Barton even at a discount?? (I had bought him week 1) I'm leading my private league by about 40points, and wondering whether taking the 0 for him for three weeks might be worth it... I mean, I have the guy at 5 and change!!!! Arghhhhh
ReplyDeleteKen,
ReplyDeleteI'm considering Song too!! Good option...replacement for Barton.. :)
Damn You Barton,
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem too... wondering if i should drop him...
My 13 Week Team
ReplyDeleteCech
Bale - Kompany - Hutton/Kolarov
Adam - Barton - VdV - Milijas - Walcot/Nani
Gyan - Torres
Barton may be will miss the game, but I decided to keep him in my team, learning from seasons before.
Goes to Nani as the 1st priority.
I'm still waiting the Arsenal & ManCity starting 11.
Cause if Kolarov play for the team, I will pick him into my team
Laperpool
Is Lee of Bolton a good option? He been playing rather well lately.
ReplyDeleteMizol
Lalerpool - Barton will now definitely miss 3 games after the FA charged him...I would drop him if I was you.
ReplyDeleteUpdate post will be on the blog later today.
Cheers
I don't hate Barton but if i had him at 5 i'll take the hit, its just 5 units, people scored big with 2-3 players not playing.
ReplyDeleteI don't hate Barton but if i had him at 5 i'll take the hit, its just 5 units, people scored big with 2-3 players not playing.
ReplyDeleteMalouda or Tevez? Help!
ReplyDeletestc3
3 games is almost 10% of an entire season and barton doesn't score well enough to justify 3 zeros in a row imho
ReplyDelete@5 average of 9.5 for Barton that's way ahead of Drogba's return for value.
ReplyDeleteBarton at 5 is worth keeping IF he continues to be as productive when he returns from suspension.
ReplyDeleteGoalkeeper
ReplyDeleteA.Begovic
Defenders
Kolo Toure
A.Alcaraz
F.Coloccini
Midfielders
Ashley Young
S.Parker
M.Jarvis
R.Van Der Vaart
Strikers
R.Fuller
S.Kalou
Yakubu
stc3 - I'd go Tevez all the way as FloMo hasn't been at his best recently.
ReplyDeleteOn the Barton debate, I would toss a coin! i agree with the 10% of games comment but £5ml is not a lot. I suppose it depends on how much you need the cash elsewhere.
Nik - I've got to confess that I look at the team that you're thinking of putting out each week and if we have the same keeper, I change mine! So far it's been great and I've reached the top 150 so Green's out and Kirk, Carson or Al-Habsi are in. Sorry mate but I had to own up!!
brunt or nasri?
ReplyDeleteKieron Dyer maybe a bargain. Played relaly well in the week and is less than 6m
ReplyDeleteguys please comnt my team
ReplyDeletefoster
zhikov,boateng,sqillaci
nani,vdv,nasri,albrington n gerard
tevez n klinic
this is great i already had a pretty similar team
ReplyDeletethanks AM!
but i do have van persie figured he may get a start vs a strong side?
@SfSS
ReplyDeleteBase on the stats, Brunt looks more consistence while Nasri like a gamble
Boateng injured?
ReplyDeletefoster
ReplyDeletezhikov,boateng,sqillaci
nani,vdv,nasri,albrington n gerard
tevez n klinic
please comnt guy
my team seems different but I fell better than I have for the pst couple of weeks about it's composition
ReplyDeletefoster (discount)
zhirkov bosingwa(team news for both)kolorav
silva brunt VDV LAMPSY
gyan torres rodaellga
saitogenetic
guys should i change nasri to odemwingie?
ReplyDeletewill Robin v Persie playing tmrw ?
ReplyDeletewho will start ? silva or a.johnson ? this is my only dilemma this weekend...whoever starts it's a great pick...
ReplyDeletewith lampard out......it makes ramires the candidite to start the match??
ReplyDeleteTorres With J Boteng, Coleman and a 6 unit Defender...
ReplyDeleteOR
Mijitas With Boateng, Zirkov and Def 11 Units)..