Week 10 – Wednesday

I'd been looking forward to West Ham v Villa all week & the game was a cracker... 2 penalties, a sending off & a last minute winner for the Hammers from substitute Zavon Hines.

In the end, choosing double gamers was more-or-less the right choice for me. I wound up with 40 points from last night for 127 points in Week 10, moving up 1300 places in one night which is really 800 places from where I was sitting when the week began last Saturday lunchtime. I now sit just outside the Top 2000, but it could’ve been so much better.

15 points from Ashley Young could’ve been 30+ if he’d converted his penalty, with an additional 10 points instead of -6, but I can’t be too disappointed. Agbonlahor did a fine job with 2 SOTs & an assist, while Dunne chipped in with a useful 6 points & if West Ham hadn’t scored with the last kick of the game it would’ve been 7 points for Friedel instead of 1. Going with Friedel over Green seemed the sensible choice, but it didn’t work out as the latter returned 7 saves including one from a PK.

The real killer was my decision to go with Diamanti instead of Noble. Another sensible choice in theory, as in recent weeks we’ve seen Diamanti steal corners, free kicks & penalties away from Noble, but football is unpredictable & Zola’s decision to keep the Italian on the bench infuriated a number of fantasy managers. It’s the difference between -1 and 33 points for the week. If things had gone my way it could've been 150+ week (Milner not playing didn't help), but I can't get too caught up in "ifs, buts & maybes"...I should be happy to have moved up 800 places in Week 10.

My attentions can now fully return to Week 11, & you can find my Week 11 Player Picks post here. At the moment I’m trying to fit both RvP & Fabregas in my team, but it may have to be one or the other. I’ve even considered picking neither & spreading the wealth across my team but surely that would be crazy? I’d like to hear your opinions...

Finally, Blog League 6 is filling up quickly with only 18 spaces left, so if you don't have a space in one of the leagues yet then be quick as this is definitely the final one. Details below:

Group ID: 23246
Password: yahoo

Cheers,
AM

Week 11 - Player Picks

As I'm writing this all I can think about it tonight's West Ham v Villa match. So far the double week loading hasn't worked because so many single gamers performed, but a goal or clean sheet for any of my players tonight and suddenly it could be 110-120 point week - more than respectable.

Anyway, I'm having a really busy week so I haven't been able to go in depth on all my player picks this week. It can take me 2 or 3 hours to write my usual article & it's time I just don't have at the moment. However, here is my list of the 45 players I feel it's worth considering:

KEEPERS
Given - Pick of the week with a home fixture vs Burnley. Wish I'd had him last week but at least I barndoored him
Robinson - Bargain basement keeper with a home fixture, but Pompey could spoil the party as their form continues to improve.
Sorensen - An alternative to Given. Stoke face Hull who haven't scored a goal in over a month.
Kirkland - An alternative to Robinson. Wigan are far more consistent at home & Fulham don't always travel well.

DEFENDERS
Vermalen - A few quiet weeks so probably time he popped up with a goal.
Zabeleta - Home fixture to Burnley & has his place back from Richards
Gibbs - He'll replace Clichy for the next month & represents great value.
Givet - Good points scorer with a home fixture
Nelsen - Rubbish points scorer but a home fixture and cheap
Skrtel - Should be back to face Birmingham at home.
Alexander - Penalty taker. Nuff said.
Heitinga - Still returning decent points each week & playing further forward
Wilkinson - Always scores well, but beware the returning Robert Huth
Bridge - Nice home fixture to Burnley
Kyrgiakos - Will probably play with so many Liverpool defenders out & great value

MIDFIELDERS
Fabregas - The premium midfield choice at Wolves, but I don't feel you NEED to have him in away games, especially not at full price
Lampard - Back in form & will score goals no matter the opposition. I wouldn't get him in at £21m mind.
Etherington - Stoke's set piece taker & has had a couple of good games. Will cause Hull nightmares.
Rosicky - Should be back for the Wolves game
Nasri - Ditto
Benayoun - With Gerrard in trouble it'll be down to Yossi to create & he normally comes through in home games.
Hunt - No Geovanni & no Bullard means Hunt will be  back on set piece duty.
Kranjcar - Dropped at Arsenal in favour of packing the center of midfield but should be back vs Sunderland
O'Hara - Set piece taker I'm holding at £5.5m. I'll be hanging on to him for some time & he's not a bad choice, even at full price
Dunn - Home fixture & he'll get forward, but Blackburn aren't in great form
Aquilani - May be forced in to the team vs Birmingham, probably on set piece duty if Gerrard is absent & very cheap.
M Petrov - If it was guaranteed that he'd start for City he'd be the first name in my midfield this week. But he's not, so at £10m+ is a big gamble
Larsson - I expect his corners & freekicks to cause Liverpool all sorts of problems
Milner - If back to fitness he's a decent pick at home to Bolton
Rodwell - Filler returning his value.

STRIKERS
Van Persie - The obvious choice. He's in fantastic form & faces Wolves. If you have him at £17m then you're laughing but I find it hard to recommend spending almost £23m on him. Arsenal don't always dominate teams away from the Emirates & at his current price you pretty much need 2 goals for him to return his value.
Torres - Tends to destroy teams like Birmingham at Anfield but doubts over his fitness mean you're taking a gamble splashing £19m on him.
Drogba - Unplayable, undroppable.
Adebayor - Been in poor form or missing completely, but should be back this weekend & he'll be looking to bully a Burnley side who hate playing away.
Rodallega - Disappointed last week but he loves to shoot & he's at home. I expect him to score
Defoe - Back from his idiotic suspension & owes the fans one as we went on to lose both league games he missed. He also will have noticed a certain Michael Owen starting to score goals, so a timely reminder to Capello could be in order.
Tevez - An alternative to Adebayor & good value.
Dindane - Points chasing at it's finest, but if you have him at £7m he's not the worst choice.
Eduardo - Should get a start with Walcott & Bendtner out, very cheap
Bellamy - Another alternative to Adebayor
Cole - Home game vs a struggling Everton
Agbonlahor - Home game to Bolton
Bent - Would love to score at Spurs, and will come up against a pretty generous defence
Saha - Facing West Ham
Benitez - Will cause Liverpool's makeshift defence problems
Beattie - Playing Hull
Diamanti - If he starts!

The obvious choice this week is to get Van Persie & Fabregas in, banking on Arsenal to wreck Wolves, but they're going to take over a third of your budget so if either don't perform then you're going to be struggling to reach the 100 point threshold. For that reason, don't feel you have to break the bank to get them both in - there's nothing wrong with spreading the money about a bit & as you can see there are loads of good striker options to choose from.

How's your team shaping up? Anyone you feel I've missed?

Cheers,
AM

Torres Update

I'm sure there are many of us struggling to afford Van Persie for Week 11 & I'd been looking at Fernando Torres as an alternative until I saw the news splashed all over the papers this morning that he'll require hernia surgery.

However, Spanish "in the know" journalist Guillem Balague had this to say on his site this afternoon:

There is some mixed news for Liverpool fans who will be relieved to know that Fernando Torres beleives he will not need an operation for a hernia injury.

Torres is suffering from a muscle contracture, typically referred to as a muscle spasm, in the groin. The injury does not normally require surgery but is nevertheless painful and restrictive to a player`s mobility – and while it does mean that Torres will not need to face as long on the sidelines that an operation would have required, he will not be fully fit for Liverpool`s vital Champions League encounter this week will need to be rested over the international break.

Torres has struggled with the injury through Liverpool`s last two fixtures but it was agreed with the club`s medical and technical staff that he could play a role in the key clashes with United and Fulham as long as he did not play both games in their entirety. Consequently, while he has travelled to France for Liverpool’s crucial Champions League match against Lyon, Torres is unlikely to play for ninety minutes.

With a break for international football due in the next fortnight, Liverpool will urge the national coach, Vicente del Bosque, to excuse the Spanish striker from international duty. It is hoped that if Torres is given a full two weeks to recuperate, it is hoped that he may return from the international break close to full fitness.

So are the UK press just jumping to conclusions? Who knows, but it sounds like Torres will get some time vs Lyon & perhaps the break between then & Monday night will provide enough time for him to start vs Birmingham. We'll wait & see if he has any reaction tomorrow, but there is always a risk picking players who play in a Monday night fixture due to lack of team/injury news before the Saturday deadline.

Moving on, it seems Arsenal's Gael Clichy has suffered a stress fracture to his back & will be missing for at least a month. Bad new for the Gunners but perhaps good news for fantasy managers as it presents another good value defensive option in Kieron Gibbs.

I'll add any more injury news as we get it later today.

Cheers,
AM

Injury Update 02/11/09

From football365.com

Liverpool could be without 12 players for their crucial Champions League clash with Lyon on Wednesday night.

Steven Gerrard's continuing groin problems mean he is almost certainly out of the trip to France, while Fernando Torres is not fully fit and was withdrawn as a precaution after an hour against Fulham at the weekend.

Albert Riera's hamstring problems mean he will miss the game, while Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio and David Ngog all missed the defeat at Craven Cottage, and are big doubts for Wednesday night.

Alberto Aquilani was absent at the weekend with a virus, and even if he recovers from that Benitez will be reluctant to use him as the Italian has only just returned from the injury that saw him miss the first three months of the season.

Martin Kelly and Diego Cavalieri are also doubtful with an ankle injury and the flu respectively, while Philip Degen was not included in the Champions League squad.

Over at Manchester United, Wayne Rooney missed training on Monday - but that's more likely to be connected to the imminent birth of his first child than any injury.

Central defensive duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were also absent, although that was no surprise given the pair sat out Saturday's victory over Blackburn with calf problems.

Ryan Giggs has a knee injury while Dimitar Berbatov was also missing, though Park Ji-sung was able to train after a recent absence with fluid on his knee.

Darren Fletcher was on the bench for the Blackburn game and is expected to feature against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday night, with a view to starting against Chelsea next weekend after missing five games with an ankle injury.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger confirmed that Nicklas Bendtner will be out for around a month after picking up a groin injury against Tottenham.

Boss Arsene Wenger said: "He's got a groin problem, it's quite serious and he could be out four weeks at least."

Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong has revealed he is likely to be sidelined for four or five weeks after picking up a hamstring injury in the defeat to Arsenal.

Bassong's injury compounded a miserable afternoon for Spurs at the Emirates Stadium as they lost 3-0 to their fierce rivals.

Bassong admits it was the low point of his Spurs career to date and has now ruled himself out of action for around a month.

"It's not good news. It's a hamstring. I'll be out maybe four or five weeks. It just feels like my muscle is gone," he said in the Daily Mirror.

"It was really not a good day for me or the club or the fans. It was the worst day of the season."

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has ruled Damien Duff out of Thursday's Europa League trip to Roma, but he could yet receive good news about two more of his absentees.

"AJ had an intervention on Thursday to freeze a nerve on his groin," said the Fulham manager. "If we are lucky, it will have worked we will get him back in because he is as fit as a butcher's dog. We will know about Danny Murphy on Monday as well."

In a remarkable turnaround, it now seems like former injury kings Birmingham are now free of trouble - even if Roger Johnson gave a very different impression during the Manchester City game as he writhed around.

"The lads were having a right good laugh about it in there. We thought that the big fella was in a life-threatening situation but I think he got winded after getting smashed in the windpipe," said Big Eck.

Plenty more injury news will follow later this week after the Champions League games.

Cheers,
AM

Week 10 - Sunday

There's usually not much to talk about when there's only one game, but thanks to a Yahoo balls-up we have some controversy on our hands.

Mancheser City were lucky to escape with a point after a 0-0 draw with Birmingham at St Andrews. Shay Given was the hero, saving a James McFadden penalty and making a number of other saves as City continue to falter whenever they have a chance to cement their place in a the Top 4.

Given owners would've been looking forward to 25 points+ but it appears Yahoo have decided not to award the City stopper his 8 points for a penalty save. I'm sure it will be corrected but it's a worrying time for those who have him & shoddy work from Yahoo (UPDATE - he has now been awarded these points). It's typical of my season so far that when I pick Given up with a home fixture in Week 9 he scores a zero, when I drop him for his following away fixture he has a stormer. I have picked him up on the barndoor for next week with terrible travellers Burnley heading to City, so expect a 4-4 draw with Given getting -12.

Something to note was the instant removal of Micah Richards from the starting right back spot after Zabeletta's one week suspension. It appears Mark Hughes has lost faith in the ex-England right back so anyone who was looking to bring him in for Week 11 may want to think again.

I've now got a mental week at work so may only get time to post a few bits of injury news this week, but my player picks will obviously be up on Wednesday.

Speaking of Wednesday, rarely will I have more interest in a game for Fantasy Football purposes than I will for West Ham v Villa, with 7 possible players on show.

After putting so many eggs in to the double-game basket I really need a minimum of 25 points (taking my total to around 115 for the week) from these 7 to have made it worthwhile. With Milner possibly out & Diamanti possibly on the bench, & judging by the points return from my other DG players over the weekend, this certainly isn't guarenteed. My ideal result would be 2-0 win for Villa with goals from Young & Dunne, clean sheets for Friedel & Dunne & a few shots on target from Diamanti, all saved by Friedel. That would be a very nice end to a very tricky week. Won't happen though!

Who are you banking on points from on Wednesday? Or have all your players now played? And if so how did your week go? Who's in on the barndoor?

Cheers,
AM

Week 10 - Saturday

It was a funny old day. 29 goals, 8 red cards. I should be pleased with my 87 points with Friedel, Dunne, Sidwell, Young, Milner, Diamanti & Agbonlahor still to play (potentially) in the West Ham v Villa game on Wednesday. But I'm not really.

Milner is injured, Diamanti was on the bench & could be again vs Villa. Milner, Dunne, Sidwell & Friedel provided 3.5 points between them, with Young & Agbonlahor not much better. The only bright thing is Milner is probably out of Wednesday's match, meaning Ashley Young should be back on all set piece & penalty duties & with only 2% of manager owning him (opposed to 8% owning Milner) I really need him to put in a big performance. At least I didn't have Cueller! However, I did say that by picking so many double gamers

...I think I'm putting myself in a position to almost guarantee a 100 point week which is exactly what I need to get back on track.

That looks likely.

Anyway - the day started terribly with Spurs' 3-0 embarrassment at The Emirates. For 40 minutes we matched Arsenal, but there is no excuse for the pathetic collapse after the 1st goal went in. To add insult to injury, Fabregas scores but as I said in my post yesterday morning:

I think Fabregas could have a 20+ point week but I'll get no joy from him scoring those points vs Spurs. He was the first player I dropped and no matter what he does today I'll have no regrets over this decision.

What I do regret is jumping off the Van Persie wagon after backing him 3 times this season at all the wrong times. I've splashed the barndoor cash to get him in vs Wolves but it may be too late as typically he'll have a poor week when at £21m I need at least a goal and assist to repay my faith.

Of course we all (well at least 50% of us) have Drogba to thank again with another monster 28.5 point performance including a goal and SIX shots on target. He has now hit 30 shots on target, which is 11 more than any other player on the game. He's in the form of his life, simply unplayable.

But my big bonus this week was Graham Alexander. As I wrote yesterday:

Gary Alexander has a chance of a clean sheet at home to Hull & seeing as it's 100th game for Burnley wouldn't it be nice if he popped up with a penalty to celebrate!

He did exactly that, but even better was to come as he scored a 2nd to amass 31.5 points. Take those points out of my team this week and it is a very average week, especially with the points coming in for Fabregas, Van Persie, Lampard, Rooney etc - all players I didn't have.

Moving on, my initial reaction when I saw Billy in Everton's starting line-up was one of horror & that was only increased when he scored right on half time. To add insult to injury, it was against my keeper, Brad Friedel. However, when dropping Billy at 4.71, I bought O'Hara at 5.7. That meant I couldn't afford O'Shea, so instead went with Alexander. Billy returned 9.5, O'Shea 10. O'Hara returned 11.50, Alexander 31.50. Funny how these things work out, but it was exactly the luck I needed this week.

That was pretty much my week, although I'll mention how terrible Liverpool were as they lost their discipline  & crashed to Fulham with Benitez making some extraordinary decisions. Anybody who knows anything about football wasn't fooled by their victory over United last weekend and they looks like a side on their knees at the moment. If they go out of the Champions League this week then they are in serious trouble. It makes their decision to field a weakend side in the Carling Cup even stranger seeing as was likely to be the only competition they could've won this season.

Also a special mention to Portsmouth who have really deserved that win. They've been playing well and this result was on the cards. I f you had Dindane then you are a very lucky person. 47 points! How inconsistent are Wigan!?

On the barndoor I brought in Van Persie but couldn't afford Fabregas. I'm going Robbo in goal, O'Hara, Drogba & Vermaelen will stay & I like Torres but him & RvP eat up too many units. Nelsen will be in defence along with a Liverpool defender (possibly Kyrgiakos), I wouldn't mind David Dunn in, but I also quite fancy Man City to hammer Burnley so it's possible Torres or RvP go for Adebayor or Tevez. That'll free up points for players like Etherington, Petrov or Benayoun.

Finally, Blog League 6 is filling up quickly with only 30 spaces left, so if you don't have a space in one of the leagues yet then be quick as this is definitely the final one. Details below:

Group ID: 23246
Password: yahoo
 
How did you do this week? Who have you got left to go? Barndoor?

Cheers,
AM

Week 10 - My Team

You can probably tell from the picture above what my team looks like today...I've gone double game crazy after finding myself unable to settle on any of the bigger money single gamers. My team looks like this:-

Friedel

Vermaelen   Dunne   Alexander

Milner   O'Hara   Sidwell   Young

Diamanti   Agbonlahor   Drogba

I make that 7 double gamers.

In goal I opted for Brad Friedel. I didn't want Gordon when I had Diamanti attacking against him, I couldn't get definitive news on Jensen or Penny & Myhill was injured. Friedel averages 9 points a game so with 2 games I decided to spend the money & get him in.

In defence obviously I have Vermaelen & decided on Dunne again due to his 2 games & great average. I think he'll cause both Everton & West Ham defensive problems at set pieces. Finally, Gary Alexander has a chance of a clean sheet at home to Hull & seeing as it's 100th game for Burnley wouldn't it be nice if he popped up with a penalty to celebrate!

In midfield I've gone for Milner & Young. Milner is a no brainer, Young is a risk because of his lack of return so far but it's a hunch that he'll pop up with a goal in one of the games. O'Hara is back in as a cheap set piece taker at home, and finally I had 3.8 units left to spend so Sidwell comes in. He's really just a filler who happens to have 2 games. He'll probably only start 1 of them mind you and I don't expect anything from him.

Finally, I have Drogba (duh), Diamanti as he seems to always rack up points from either corners, free kicks or penalties (and with 2 games), and Agbonlahor who finds himself in form (and with 2 games).

So that's it. It's of course a risk to go with that many 2 gamers, but if they all play it means I have 18 players with a total weekly average of 148 points (if that makes sense?). Not that I expect them all to get their average in all their games, but I think I'm putting myself in a position to almost guarantee a 100 point week which is exactly what I need to get back on track.

The only players I've lost at a big discount are Billy & Fabregas. Billy's injury meant he had to go unfortunately. I think Fabregas could have a 20+ point week but I'll get no joy from him scoring those points vs Spurs. He was the first player I dropped and no matter what he does today I'll have no regrets over this decision. Other single gamers I wanted were Rooney, Nani & O'Shea but I couldn't fit them in my team - I expect them all to do well.

So what did you settle on? Who are you looking at on the barndoor?

Cheers,
AM

Week 10 Injuries

An snapshot of the suspensions, injuries & doubts for this weekend's games, taken from BBCSport.co.uk

ARSENAL v TOTTENHAM
Arsenal
Suspended: None  
Doubtful: None
Injured: Denilson (back), Djourou, Rosicky and Walcott (all knee), Fabianski (thigh), Wilshere (ankle)
Tottenham
Suspended: Defoe (1 game)
Doubtful: Lennon (ankle); Woodgate (concussion)
Injured: Giovani (ankle), Modric (broken leg)

BOLTON v CHELSEA
Bolton
Suspended: None  
Doubtful: None
Injured: Davis (knee), J O'Brien (knee)
Chelsea
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Kalou, Ivanovic
Injured: Hilario (concussion), Mikel (ankle), A Cole, Bosingwa, Zhirkov

BURNLEY v HULL
Burnley
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Jensen (ankle)
Injured: Paterson, McCann & McDonald (all knee), Rodriguez (ankle)
Hull
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Bullard (shin)
Injured: Ashebee & Myhill (both knee)

EVERTON v ASTON VILLA
Everton
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Bilyaletdinov (groin), Pienaar (knee), Saha (calf), Yobo (head)
Injured: Anichebe, Arteta, Jagielka, Neville & Vaughan (all knee), Osman (foot)
Aston Villa
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Warnock (ankle)
Injured: Davies (shoulder), Downing (foot)

FULHAM v LIVERPOOL
Fulham
Suspended: Dikgacoi (one match)  
Doubtful: Davies (foot), Konchesky & Murphy (knee)
Injured: Etuhu (knee), Kallio (Achilles), Stockdale (knee)
Liverpool
Suspended: None  
Doubtful: Torres (groin) 
Injured: Kelly (ankle), Riera (hamstring), Gerrard (groin), Aquilani (virus), Johnson (calf)

MAN UTD v BLACKBURN
Man Utd
Suspended: Gary Neville (three matches)
Doubtful: Ferdinand (calf), Giggs (unspecified), Vidic (calf)
Injured: Fletcher (ankle), Hargreaves (knee), Park (knee), Wellbeck (knee)
Blackburn
Doubtful: Chimbonda (calf), Grella (thigh), Samba (virus)
Unavailable: Roberts (virus)

PORTSMOUTH v WIGAN
Portsmouth
Doubtful: Diop (hamstring), Utaka (groin), Ward (groin)
Injured: Hreidarsson (foot), Primus (ankle)
Wigan
Doubtful: Kirkland (finger), Scharner (hamstring)
Injured: Figueroa (knee)

STOKE v WOLVES
Stoke
Suspended: Huth (two matches)  
Injured: Amdy Faye (back)
Wolves
Suspended: None  
Injured: Foley, Jones, Ward (all knee)

SUNDERLAND v WEST HAM
Sunderland
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Bardsley (shoulder), Bent (knee), Campbell (muscle problem), McCartney (hip)
Injured: Cattermole (knee), Mensah (calf), Zenden (hamstring)
West Ham
Suspended: Parker (one match)
Doubtful: Dyer (hamstring), Gabbidon (calf)
Injured: Ashton (ankle), Boa Morte (knee), Davenport (leg)

BIRMINGHAM v MAN CITY
Birmingham City
Suspended: None
Doubtful: Fahey (ankle)
Injured: Bent (hamstring), Espinoza (ankle), Hart (ineligible), Murphy (knee), Martin Taylor (ankle)
Manchester City
Suspended: None
Doubtful: None
Injured: Onuoha (thigh), Robinho (stress fracture)

You can get this information elsewhere but I felt it might be useful to see it all in one post. I'll update the missing games later.

Cheers,
AM