Week 16 concluded with a routine 3-0 win for Liverpool over an atrociously bad Aston Villa side at Anfield last night. When I saw the 'Pool line-up missing Carragher, Gerrard & Torres (understandably absent due to the imminent birth of his child) I thought Villa had a real chance, but they barely showed up as Gerard Houllier endured a horrible return to his former club.
Goals from N'gog, Babel & Maxi sealed the 3 points, but it was the impressive Raul Meireles' rather useful 10.5 points that helped push my Week 16 total up to 121.5 and this was enough to move me in to the Top 300 for the first time this season. I'm still 70 points off 50th so there's plenty of work to do if I want to secure a best ever finish (previously 79th overall), but things are going in the right direction at the moment.
An update on the AM Blog Team which is picked by myself, Hans & MikeB from the poll results we gather each week. We had a better week, with 109 points pushing us up towards the Top 3000. Seeing as we pick the team at full price every Friday night (no barn-door) I think that's a pretty solid showing thus far!
The match last night really put me off picking up any Villa players for Week 17, so I currently have this on my team page.
Robinson, Kolarov, Bale, Baines, VDV, Silva, Meireles, Brunt, Etherington, Elmander, Balotelli
Agbonlahor looked unfit & off the pace so at the moment I've dropped him from my plans and seeing as I now fancy a West Brom win I've brought Chris Brunt (still held @9.7) back in to a 3-5-2 formation. Meireles stays for now but I accept that a returning Gerrard at Newcastle would vastly devalue him due to loss of set pieces, so some more chopping & changing would be required.
Lot's to think about, but Week 17 Player Picks will be posted tomorrow afternoon and the 4th Round Blog Cup results will probably be up on Thursday or Friday (depending on when we see the midweek adjustment/s).
I'll leave it there...please let me know how you finished Week 16. How is your Week 17 team shaping up?
Cheers,
AM
p.s. We have Arsenal_Bergkamp [AM.Blog] proudly flying the blog flag in 1st position in the overall rankings with South City [AM.Blog], Boss FC [AM.Blog] & Lengkee Wanderers [AM.Blog] also doing fantastically well in 14th, 28th & 29th respectively. If you're a blog follower please feel free to add the [AM.Blog] tag to your team name - it would be great to see more members of our community high on the leaderboard! :)
congrats AM.
ReplyDeletemy team drops to 365 overall.
i unable to change nani and c.adam because i'm no way around computer at that time.damn
n owh i can put the [AM.Blog] tag as long as i'm following your blog right?nicee
Hi well done AM!
ReplyDeleteI am slowly moving up as well - started around 30000! but now up to 4000th 129.5 pts this week.
Currently
Robbo Komp Ridge Baines VDV Nasri Silva Yaya
Cham Roo Balotelli
but will change as week goes on as usual
I dropped Odemwingie for Agbonlahor, you should know how i feel after that performance, plus i don't fancy any striker within the same price range, i've got 9.20 left for a forward. I still think the Villa midfield will do well against westbrom.
ReplyDeleteJust added the [AM.Blog]. I'm in 18th place! :)
ReplyDeleteFor week 17 this is my current team.
(PRob cheap)
Kolarov Skrtel Konchesky
Brunt Etherington (Tchoyi cheap) (MGP cheap)
Torres Balotelli Odemwingie
...But I'm leaning to
(Howard)
(same def)
Brunt Etherington (Adam at 9) (Larsson)
(same forwards)
What do you guys think? I'm not sure about PRob, he might let in a few to Bolton. Tchoyi was very involved in WBA's attack last week. Is Adam worth $9 away to Stoke? I'm pretty sure Larsson will return his value @Wolves.
@ 1st post.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Funny that because I am at 365 overall, with a score of 157.5pts this week.
Team: Charlies dad needs a job...
I realise I'm in a minority here, but I do not think Torres should have missed the match because his wife was close to giving birth.
ReplyDeleteWill he be taking 3 months paternity leave, which he is legally entitled to?
A 'measly' 90.5 this week and a slip down the rankings of 345 places to 2,345th. Mostly due to picking foster instead of robbo, kosciellacci (both of them) who showed how weak arsenal's defence were again, a 0 from VDV and chamakh who once again failed to impress! anyone know if micah richards will play this week if kolarov is suspended?
ReplyDeletebeing at the birth of your first son is more important than playing a game of football
ReplyDelete@anonymous 11.53
ReplyDeletehmm i dunno but thats what it says at my fantasy home screen.strange.
my total points 1490.00
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI would like to say a big thank you to AM for this fantastic blog. Also many thanks to fellow AM bloggers for their update news and recommendations. Lastly, I Lengkee Wanderers [AM.BLog] is proud to be among the elites of AM blog to be in the top 50 & hopefully many more will be up in the leadership board. Thanks.
Beest regards,
Brock96
@Ian there are 38 matches in a season and Torres will play many more matches for Liverpool. It wasn't a decisive match, you're not just in the minority here, you're probably alone because i've not seen anyone anywhere complaining.
ReplyDeletePlus he's not the first player who's done it, i think Rooney just last season. Every team is supposed to have 25 players and 11 starting and they all deserve to play equally, he just wasn't in the 11 or the bench.
@rwlwhite, be careful there, i just dropped Boateng because you don't know who'll start, Zabaleta, Kompany and Lescot should start.
ReplyDelete@anon 12:15
ReplyDeleteSnap! 1490 too.
It appears we are joint 365.
Keep up the good work...
@rwlwhite - I'm right with you there at 92 points and 2,402 overall.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I'm leaning to for the coming week, barring injury news:
Hart
Kolarov(@4.43)-Baines-Kompany
VdV(@6.14)-Nasri-Meireles-Adam-Pennant
Balotelli(@5.70)-Odemwingie(BD)
Originally bought back Nani, but with the matchup against Arsenal, I may wait a week to add him back. Plus, losing his discount makes it less of a bargain, anyway.
The question for this week is whether to keep Nasri?
I dropped Odemwingie and Nasri, mistake maybe, so i'm forced to gamble again cos it paid last week
ReplyDeleteRobinson
Kolarov Baines Ridgewell
Nani VdV Gardner Eth A.Young
Balotelli Agbonlahor
do i change Baines/Agbonlahor to Rooney/Coleman?
West Brom playing against Villa looks pretty good right now. Villa are out of form.
ReplyDeleteJ0J0
Unless you have Adam on
ReplyDeletediscount i wouldn't be excited about getting at 9 even if its stokes, his scores for the last 7 weeks 5.5 9 7 1 2.5 4 6.5
Albrighton 60 mins 8 pts
ReplyDeletedowning 90 mins 8 pts
May not win the match but i expect Albrighton downing and young to return their value
we wish to see Arsenal_Bergkamp [AM.Blog], South City [AM.Blog], Boss FC [AM.Blog] & Lengkee Wanderers [AM.Blog] etc. commnets in your blog!
ReplyDelete126 points
ReplyDeleteArsenal Boy
37th overall.
SK Tan
Sorry 39th overall
ReplyDeleteSK Tan
one more thing.. how to change the team name? I need to tag [AM.Blog]
ReplyDeleteSK Tan
nice to be mentioned :)
ReplyDeleteeverybody join AM chatroom too, best information and thoughts of other fellow managers.
@ SK Tan
ReplyDeleteGo to 'edit my team settings'.
hi AM
ReplyDeleteconglratz for your rank :)
my BD team was
robbo
bale, robinson, coleman
nasri, meireles, barton, etherington, downing
balotelli, elmander
with 2, money left
robinson, coleman, barton, downing are still changeable..
and likely are changing
AM,well done..keep it up dude ;) here's the tip for you in which players should you pick;-
ReplyDeleteGK - Friedel, top goalie..but if you have Robinson,keep him :)
DF - Pantsil,cheap + CS?, Baines..everyone must him in this week and Bale..eventhough you get him in full-price, you will not regret picking up for him..i like him and he's my point machine..
MID - Adam,i got a feeling,he will score..he's a mastermind of Blackpool,Rodwell could use if you dont enough money..and Silva too. Etherington is a MUST..and Downing too..
ST - everyone picks Balotelli,i know that for sure..and I would like pick berbatov too..since his partner, Rooney has returned..
If you want cheap Striker,get Agbonlahor or beckford too..
PROFESSOR
Lord Nelson's Port Wine
ReplyDelete* Latest points: 67.00
* Total points: 1,449.50
* Overall rank: 880 +10
Next week's team:
Howard/ Bale Coleman Baines/ Nani Meireles VdV Adam/ Elmander Balotelli Beckford
would really appreciate feedback on this team:
ReplyDeletehart
kolarov(discount)/coleman/distin
cahill/silva/mierelles/etherington/holden (if healthy, otherwise kompany or pienaar or lee)
balotelli elmander
THANKS!
@ anon 1.51
ReplyDeletehaha thats the only answer i guess.
all the best to you.
Anyone can teach me on how to put the [AM BLOG] after the team's name?? tks
ReplyDelete@Komeng
ReplyDeleteOn the fantasy football homepage there is an "Edit my team settings" button just below where it tells you your total points and rank. Just press that and do it there.
My team :
ReplyDeleteRobinson
Robinson Baines Bale
Brunt Meireles Muamba Silva Etherington
Balotelli Elmander
Cheers
Milijas
AM, your blog is very useful.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like almost every one in this blog is doing well in Yahoo fantasy football.
If you notice, you will see the team in the 3rd place "Mtg Gerdu-1Malaysia FC" is the leader in AM Blog League 6.
if he's 3rd then hopefully he'll add [am.blog] to support nick :)
ReplyDeletekaa cingg..
ReplyDeleteanother points adjustment.
Early team;
ReplyDeleteRobo
Kolorov Carr Ferreira
Nasri VDV Gerrard Lampard
Balotelli Odem Rooney
BCB
Congrats Nik!
ReplyDeleteI see you're also 15th overall in Fans of Tottenham, good on you. I'm currently on 1374 pts in 3200th place.
Team Vuvuzela ID#:81809
That should be team id:81089.
ReplyDeleteMy current team
Robinson
Kolarov Coleman Ricketts
Nasri Etherington Tchoyi Cahill Larsson
Balotelli Elmander
Just waiting on friday team news for now
Cincilatori (Kosova) [AM.blog]
ReplyDelete* Latest points: 121.50
* Total points: 1,513.50
* Overall rank: 181 +3
Hey, Nik, congrats!!! I'm glad I had a good week too, after a rubbish one last week, and we're tied @ 121.5 for the week. NICE :)
My provisional team:
Howard
Kolarov, Ricketts, Huth
Adam, Nani, Etherington, Downing
Balotelli, Elmander, Kamara
I like my team, considering match-ups. But I still WANT Baines. So I'm contemplating a switch: Huth/Downing/Kamara out for Baines/Rodwell/KJones (not so sure about that)...!!!
Anyway, cheers and keep up the good work ;)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to convince myself to keep
ReplyDeleteNasri. I need some feedbacks from you guys and I hope I will not confuse all of you and please excuse my bad grammar.
Some of us have been talking about Nasri that he won't score any points without scoring a goal after he lost his corners' duty last few weeks.
I looked at Nasri's stats from week 9 to 16. I remove goal related points(Goal,GW,PKG) and included SOT.
Wk Points(excluded Goal,GW,PKG)
16 5.5
15 5.5
14 5
13 8
12 On 90th min
11 5
10 7
9 8.5
Nasri Scored an average of 6.7 Goal unrelated points from wk 9-14(exclude 12). In Wk 15&16, Nasri still managed to score an average of 5.5 pts when he lost Corners duties to Others. A drop of average 1.2 points isn't significant.
Nasri returned closed to 6 points(excluded his goals) and 50% of his value in the last few games.
The above analysis mostly reflects his point activity for the absence of his corner taking role. I did not include the factors of match-up, form, formation & team lineup.
I think many of you will point out his difficult match-up against ManU. However, he is an in-form player(4 goals in 3games) and he stepped up during big games in the past.
I guess it all depends on my lineup and budget. ATM I am out of budget for Etherington and I already have Cahill & Downings. Dropping nasri&Colemen for silva/pennant/dempesy still won't allow me to get Baines.
Nasri&Colemen vs. Brunt/Nzogbia/Dempsey & Panstil?
P.S. I hope all my calculations were correct. :p
@AB, I can see Nasri getting about 10 points this week, maybe an assist or goal if Arsenal get lucky, I think that score will be 1-1 in that great rivalry game.
ReplyDeleteIn my case, I dont see any problems with putting all of my eggs in one basket when picking my team as Wigan are visiting a club of prestige like Everton. We always pick against Wigan when they visit big clubs. Yes, Everton are in poor form and nothing is seeming to go right with them. Remember this is the English Premier League! Everton are supposed to be 8th place or higher, they have so much quality. More on this later...
@Arsenal_Bergkamp - Thank you for the analysis.
ReplyDeleteIn my case, I have Nasri @12.21. But, if I drop him (and lose the discount), I will have enough to pick up Etherington.
So, that is the main question. Nasri (@12.21) or Etherington (Full Price)?
The other thing I noticed is that nearly 23% have Nasri, but only just over 2% have Eth. I suppose that means that the potential to move up is better with Eth...provided he delivers the points.
Still, Nasri's on a roll right now. Tough decision.
Current Team:
Hart
Kolarov(@4.43)-Baines-Kompany
VdV(@6.14)-Meireles-Adam-Silva-Nasri(Eth?)
Balotelli-Odemwingie
@BCB
ReplyDeleteBefore is injury Lampard was playing deep, in the holding midfield role with Mikel and Essien and wasn't going forward much. Even at his current very low price, i'll wait to see how he performs before picking him, besides he's not going to start.
I've dropped Nasri at 11.25, i'll drop Etherington on the BD to get him back.
ReplyDeleteHi Guys.
ReplyDeleteWell done AM for you highest position yet.
My team for this week is
Howard
Kolorov, Baines, Elokobi
Etherington, Gardner, Brunt, Rodwell, Downing
Balotelli, Elmander
I got a feeling Rodwell will perform better than his price.
I also have a feeling Elokobi will do well against Birmingham. (Maybe even a goal!)
All in all im fairly happy with this team.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
LC
Elkolobi scoring a goal is wishful thinking.
ReplyDeleteWill Albrighton start? Will Holden play? Will Lamps and Gerrard be a go? Will Barton and Nolan play with your testicles? Will North Korea use their nuclear weapons? Will Jerome Pennant have diarrhea?
ReplyDelete@Anon 9:11
ReplyDeleteElokobi scored past Man Utd in the cup. Why not against Birmingham. Big Game!
LC
@ admiraLord Nelson
ReplyDeletenice..haha
@Lc its because i've got Forster in goal.
ReplyDeleteWhy does everyone have kolarov in their team when he was sent off last week? Am I missing something?
ReplyDelete@ anon 11:38
ReplyDeleteYeah, you're missing the fact that they have Kol at such a big discount (@4.43) that they're too tight-fisted to sell him even though he won't play, coz he scores big points in his matches. They must be from North of the border ;-)
Pauly
GENIUS, what is your 100% prediction this week?
ReplyDeleteThe adjustment cut me 3.5 points and dropped me to 296th, a mere one point behind Nik (before the adjustment I was 1.5 point ahead), but I'm not complaining. Yet.
ReplyDeleteI hate me team so far:
Jussi
Kolarov Jagielka PRobinson
VDV Nasri Brunt Etherington Downing
Elmander Balotelli
I didn't notice that Tevez was suspended from next week's action, so I didn't BD Balotelli and got him at 8.5mil. In a week where almost every match is too close to call, I had to pick strikers in a team that has an obvious adventage over it's opponent, and Elmander and Balotelli seemed to me like the only reasonable choices (after Gabby's poor showing vs Liverpool).
It's almost certain I'll have 2 zeros in Kolarov and VDV, while Jussi, Etherington and Nasri are sure to stay (Fabregas is a big doubt for the ManU match). I also like Brunt against a leaky Villa, but I'm not agreeing with the predictions that West Brom are favourites to beat them. Villa aren't having a great season, and looked bad vs Liverpool, but at home they usually look solid or at least capable. Therefore I picked Downing - lots of phantom points no matter what happens, and this week with a chance to score or at least achieve an assist.
Jagielka and Robinson are the least likely to stay. Robinson was the budget pick, while Jagielka is the wild card while everyone else pick Baines - in the last 6 games he didn't get a clean sheet, and yet scored 8.5 four times. Wigan is the team which probably gives the best chance of a clean sheet in this league, so it's not a big bet, but still a risk. I might keep him, but it's by no means certain.
Advices?
SF
@SF , I agree with you on Villa, i believe they'll score 2 or 3, Albrighton Young and Downing even if Agbonlahor is off colour again.
ReplyDelete@SF , I agree with you on Villa, i believe they'll score 2 or 3, Albrighton Young and Downing even if Agbonlahor is off colour again.
ReplyDelete@SF , I agree with you on Villa, i believe they'll score 2 or 3, Albrighton Young and Downing even if Agbonlahor is off colour again.
ReplyDelete1 -
ReplyDeleteP. Robinson*
A. Kolarov* - M. Skrtel - G. Tamas
M. Etherington - S. Nasri - C. Brunt - D. Silva
M. Balotelli* - W. Rooney - J. Elmander
2 -
P. Robinson*
A. Kolarov* - M. Skrtel - L. Baines
M. Etherington - R. Meireles - C. Brunt - D. Silva - Sebastian Larsson
M. Balotelli* - J. Elmander
any advice about my squad probability? Thanks for your advices...
Zapatistan
I am sure, Torres will score next week for Leo Torres... :)
ReplyDeleteGENIUS..we miss your 100% prediction!!!!
ReplyDeletemy team
ReplyDelete-----------robbo------------
coleman---c.clark--shawcross
nasri-demsey-cahill-meireles
---baloteli-jones-elmander--
really need help/advice on nasri, coleman, clark and k.jones...should i replace them since i dont have any player that give lot of point
( nani, bale, baines )....
/eddy.
Clark is suspended for a game after picking up his 5th yellow card against Liverpool.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thefa.com/TheFA/~/link.aspx?_id=D6CA03B6740C4E78A1E74E2493E9199B&_z=z
Hi guys, I wonder if you can help? As part of my deliberations for my ff team I try and work out where the away wins are coming from. There's 2.5 on average every week but this week i'm struggling. Obviously they could have none as does happen but it's part of my "preperation" - I can only see Liverpool (If they continue in the same vein as the AV game) and Man City but I'm not even sure of that as Tevez has scored in eight of the nine games they've won.....
ReplyDeleteWhat games does everyone think the away team will win??
GENIUS, what is your 100% prediction this week?
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 1:09PM
GENIUS..we miss your 100% prediction!!!!
Anon @ 3:17 PM
ROFL of the day. Right in d face guys. Haha..nice one.
my team so far..
ReplyDeleterobbo (@ 3.8 )
baines,kompany,shawcross
nolan(@ 5.5),meireles,etherinton,cahill
carroll(@ 5.7) welbeck (@7),baloteli
had to swap a few to get baines
any suggestions
i still have berba(11.64)
ReplyDeleteshould i keep him?
Any thoughts
ReplyDeleteRobinson
Coleman/Elokobi/shawcross
Nani/nasri/rodwell/cahill
balotelli/rooney/elmander
If I drop Elmander for Abonglahor I free up points to drop nasri for either ashley young or ethrington. What to do hmmmmm.
I would be weary of Berba he played a full 90 in CL and Fergie is always changing his line up. Rooney should def play he is starting to find his feet more and more every week
Its a must win, Berbs will start.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting a really strong vibe about Rooney. Not only will he probably go on to start scoring goals again, his supportive play allows for a lot more points to keep him up even without scoring or even shooting. I think he's a steal at 15 mil. Especially after his performance against Valencia. If Berbatov had finished some of those Rooney would be in for assists.
ReplyDeletefew links.
ReplyDeleteholden should be back.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/wanderersnews/8724514.Holden_derby_fitness_boost/
&
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8725152.Realistic_Dunn_fit_for_Blackburn_Rovers_trip_to_Bolton/
still sounds quite fragile though admitting he'll never play 38 games again & prone to picking up niggles.
&
advance warning of one here too. CY Lee to miss virtually all of Jan 2011 due to Asian cup. not sure if this will affect JS Park
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/8724513.Chung_Yong_facing_lengthy_absence/?ref=mr
S.P.
update- it will affect JS Park. as he's named in a prelim 47 man squad ( gulp ..47 !! )
ReplyDeletehttp://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2010/12/136_77606.html
S.P.