Rafael van der Vaart has suffered a setback with his calf injury and will miss Tottenham’s trip to Blackpool on Tuesday night.
The Dutch midfielder returned after a short absence to help Tottenham win 1-0 at San Siro against AC Milan last week.
However, he failed to finish the game and suffered a recurrence of the injury in training yesterday.
"Rafa did his calf again yesterday in training so he’s struggling," said Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp. "He missed a couple of games, played in Milan, got through 70 minutes and then yesterday morning didn’t feel good."
"It’s a blow; he a fantastic player and we need him, but we can’t get that run out of him."
It is indeed a big blow for Spurs & fantasy managers who held on to him - no game time across the double-week for VDV and of course Tottenham don't play in Week 28, so it's a frustrating triple zero for the Dutch star. My decision to drop him appears to have worked out ok for now, but it is a real shame that these injury problems continue to hamper him as they have done throughout his career.
Moving on, the double week is going well at the moment. Yesterday's West Brom v Wolves game brought some handy points for Olsson, Brunt & Odemwingie, moving me on to 146 points for the week & up to another season high of 78th overall, with Szczesny, Adam, Fabregas, Carew and RvP to go on Tuesday/Wednesday night.
We also have confirmation of the Manchester United double week after Everton knocked out Chelsea, so at the moment my Week 28 team looks like this:
Friedel, Kolarov, Smalling, Evra, Scholes, Silva, Giggs, Nani, RvP, Carew, Rooney
I still hold Adam behind the scenes, but I get the feeling he might pick up a booking vs Spurs (if not in the next few games), so that would mean a 2 game suspension on the horizon, making it easier to drop him for Giggs. As I said in a previous post I really hate picking a team when only one side has a double week, but needs must.
How are you getting on?
Cheers,
AM
should i drop RVP @14 to replace with Berba for DG?
ReplyDeleteI would sell VDV for 14, but not necessarily for Berbatov, as I think Man Utd might play 1 up front vs Chelsea. Vidic or VDS might make more sense (assuming you already have Rooney & Nani)
ReplyDeleteAM, why you choose Friedel ?
ReplyDeleteBecause I think Aston Villa will beat Blackburn, Friedel is quite cheap, I can't afford Van Der Sar & I don't trust Tim Howard.
ReplyDeletei will not sell RVP @14 after already losing disc on nani, vdv and maybe adam next.. and i dont have kolarov.. so RVP is the only player left with huge disc(7 is quite huge)..
ReplyDeletejust sold teves for nani and ya ya for carew
ReplyDeletetevez will score a hat trick now!
the best news ive heard this week! woop
ReplyDeleteSorry completely ignore my earlier post regarding selling Van Persie @ 14, I thought you were asking me about Van Der Vaart @14! I would not recommend selling Van Persie @ 14 given his current form.
ReplyDeleteSorry for any confusion!
A couple questions:
ReplyDelete(1) With Adam being such a concern, would it be a good move to drop him and pick up Van Der Sar at 11.66, much cheaper then Adam, plus the double week thing, and use the remaining funds to beef up somewhere else.
(2) Do think Bent is a good pick this week?
It is tempting to get DGs at this stage but I guess for some Man Utd players (eg. Giggs & Scholes), it is highly possible they are not playing twice a week. And thanks to Ferguson we will never guess the line up in his mind for a fixture like this.
ReplyDeletecan anyone confirm that demba ba is a beast?
ReplyDeleteabout manu v chelsea - doesnt fergie go with park and/or fletcher in games like this?
ReplyDeleteScholes will probably only get 1 game, but Giggs should get 2. Park is injured & Valencia isn't ready so Nani & Giggs are the only wing options really.
ReplyDeleteKen - your first question depends on how much you have Adam at? If it's full price then go with VDS instead. Bent's a decent option, he'll be in my player picks.
Thanks AM....
ReplyDeleteSorry, yes Adam is at full price to me. Still bouncing between Rooney & VDS. I hold Huth at a good discount and would have to drop him add smalling to make that happen.
Got to love it. Gut feeling is stay away from all Man U. Strikers this week and put funds into defense & Nani only.
Good luck & look forward as always, to this weeks picks, so I can start all over again...
Thank you
at this point, my team looks like this:
ReplyDeletehoward
kolarov, smalling, evra, luiz
nani, silva, j. jones
RVP, rooney, suarez
4 Man U double gamers, which is the absolute max I can tolerate since they are my least favorite team playing my favorite team (Chelsea).
jermaine jones is just a hunch, decent for a filler at 5ish, and i like his style. following him since he switched to the US national team.
Comments? Feedback greatly appreciated.
VDS, Jara, Smalling, Shawcross, Scholes, Fletcher, Nani, Carrick, Carew, Berb, Rooney
ReplyDeleteI know I am "pool" heavy but just think this will be a good scoring week for them despite being on the road. so..
ReplyDeleteVDS
Kelly (5.97)...Evra....Smalling
Nani (17.00)...Silva...Giggs....Meireles
Carew...Suarez...Bent
(unsaved)
No comments are necessary.. I know I have more studying to do.
Good luck all..
AM, like to say thanks for advices (lucky guess) to drop on VDV last weekend, as I'm the only who dropped him my private league.
ReplyDeleteSo this week will see RVP(9.33), Koscielny(5.03) and probably Adam(8.64) missing their game. Any advice who should I drop? Got Rooney and Nani on BD.
VDS
ReplyDeleteLuiz Smalling Spector
Nani Giggs Scholes Anderson Fletcher
Barbie Shrek
Milijas
It is my fear that Giggs will only get one. Let's no forget Utd have Obertan to play wide along with Nani. If I were to bet, Giggs only sees 1 game and that's away to Chelsea. Plus Giggs has hardly had a good YFF scoring season. @Wigan and @Chelsea the only players I think should be considered are Nani Rooney Berbatov Evra Vidic and possibly Smalling. The rest of Utd just don't hold fantasy value. But hey I am not Fergie.
ReplyDeleteafter Crawley Town game i wouldn't worry about Obertan playing ;]
ReplyDeleteYeah, I second that Simon. Obertan was awful against Crawley. It says in the BBC gossip column today that Ferguson is considering getting rid of him and Bebe in the summer. Yes, this story came from the daily star but it's not hard to agree with.
ReplyDeleteHi All.
ReplyDeleteThe last few weeks of football have been an incredible, shame there weren't more cupsets, but the Champions League results for Spurs & Arsenal were good & great games to watch.
I'd appreciate a recommendation between two potential trio of picks, if anyone is willing to lend their advice:
Friedel - Scholes - Dzeko
Or
Howard - Yaya - Carew
I'm leaning towards the 1st, although I do wonder if Dzeko will start with Balotelli back and Mancini generally preferring 2 up front at the most. Balotelli looked like he may have got slightly injured, and with his recent problems, he might be rested for a precaution?
While I agree Obertan and much of Utd's 2nd string team were particularly awful against Crawley Town, I think more of the credit is deserved to Crawleys effort than Utds failings. Obertan and Bebe have yet to register an continual start/sub rotation for Utd, and thus would obviously be shaky or unfit since they are not first team regulars. Unless Utd are spending in the summer, I highly doubt they can afford to left go players on the wing.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, Bebe is particularly bad and they should sell him, wasted money right there, but Obertan has ability he just needs games.
AM what do you think to having Begovic in goal? Stoke at home to West Brom, Begovic currently costs 8.11 but his value coud drop if Stoke concede a few goals away at Arsenal on wednesday. Any thoughts? And thanks for all the info, love this blog! Please keep it going next season!
ReplyDeleteI would have prefered it if Man Utd didnt have a double game, makes it harder to pick a good team in my opinion. Rooney has let me down repeatedly this season, but I get a feeling he is due some points across these two games. Nani is a must-have, keeping him at 17 and dropping VDV worked out well. Not too sure about any other Man Utd players, maybe Smalling if Rio is still out.
ReplyDeleteA goal and an assist for Thomas Hitzelsperger in the cup tonight. Maybe this week is too soon for him but could be a tempter at 5.56. He sure can kick a ball hard.
ReplyDeleteMy current team:
ReplyDeleteHoward
Kolarov Evra Luiz
Nani Silva Young Scholes(Pennant)
RvP Carew Rooney(Bent)
I am also very hesitant to be gambling on Rooney, especially because I have to use Scholes as a filler. I have a feeling if I balance my team out with Pennant and Bent I may get more points overall. Nani and Evra are definite keepers (maybe VDS) but I can't think of any other Manu players worth gambling on.
As for Hitzelsperger, I think he'll be a great addition considering he'll also be taking a lot of the set pieces. I may grab him on BD along with Everton/Birmingham players who are on DG next week.
It's too early in the week to make any decisions, but this two week long YFF week feels too long!
I dropped RvP at 14.
ReplyDeleteMy reason is that there will be more double games in weeks to come (4 I think.... though I am not real good at understanding when games are "replayed" and/or rescheduled)
i.e. I would rather have Vidic for 2 games than RvP for zero in the coming week. Vidic averages 8.56 a week; so figure him to get at least 16 points. How long does it take RvP to make up those "lost" 16 points? Especially when there will be more double gamers in the future?...
My Team:
Howard (I have been burned, but not again..... right?)
Shawcross,Smalling,Evra,Carney
Nani,Giggs,Fletcher (Pennant)
Carew,Rooney,Berbs
I may change Carney/Berbs for Vidic/Scholes and I also hold Pennant at discount.
Cheers,
Dark
TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ TEVEZ
ReplyDeleteHoward/ Evra Smalling Rafael/ Hoilett Nani Scholes Giggs/ RVP Tevez Vela
ReplyDeleteCan you risk not having Berbatov.... especially when others will?
ReplyDeleteBerbatov has played in 20 games with 266 points.
SUBTRACT his two colossal weeks (59 + 53 = 112pts)
so, 154 points in 17 games = 9.05 when he plays
he has 10 sub 5 point games when he has played.
How about this with NO DISCOUNTS?
ReplyDeleteHoward
Smalling, Vidic, Evra
Nani, Carrick, Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher
Berbatov, Ranger
this team averages 51.02 a week.
Assume that Vidic, Evra, Nani, and one other player gets 2 games and it totals 85.75
This also does not take into account that many of the players mentioned have their averages reduced greatly when they did not start (i.e. Giggs coming off the bench or Smalling's situation)
I am pretty sure this team will score 100 points.
Ole'
Tigers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/9404265.stm
ReplyDeleteSee link for Man U injury situation...