So it would seem that all is right in the world. Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry have finally had their respective cups of coffee and started playing like the pre-season was over. Arsenal was back to marauding through midfield and forcing the opposition keeper to have a fantastic match just to avoid being embarrassed and Chelsea ran rough-shod through in their 4-0 win. Now, for all you Henry owners out there, the big decision comes. Do you keep him this weekend, bit the bullet and get no points? or do you keep him for whatever below-market price you have him for and assume you'll make it up later? As Jeremy said over IM this morning "...but selling Henry...that's bad juju..." - so beware. Looking at the standings, you have to think he knows his juju. So, with Arsenal and Liverpool players out of the frame, here are my thoughts for the week... (and no, I'll try not to recommend any injured players this week - I paid for that last week by having to sit behind both Jon and Kris/Emer in the standings for at least one more weekend).
Chelsea - Robben...out; Carvalho...out; coincidence that both of the guys who have complained about the rotation system coming up with minor knocks? who knows? but it does make things a bit easier for Fantasy Managers. SWP and Duffman are almost certain to start on the wings - of course, the negative of knowing that is that they're both expensive and have little to show for their playing time so far this season. Lampard is still Lampard and likely to do great things if you can afford him. The other factor is that Chelsea are playing Tottenham which has the makings of another 1-0 match as opposed to being a recreation of the midweek goal-fest. Given the high prices and quality of the opposition, this is probably a week to stay away from the Chelsea guys.
The Former "Big Two" - With Arsenal at home resting this weekend, this is all about ManYoo and the thrashing they're about to give to the miserable group out there "representing" NUFC. If I were guessing a scoreline, I'd go with 3-0. Even Bolton scored 2 against them and they'd been pretty anemic so far. ManYoo on the other hand, seems to have been re-introduced to the notion of scoring goals. By dropping Rooney back behind Ruud, they have more answers when it comes to creativity coming into the attacking end. Ruud's return to form has also provided more room for the wingers to roam and cause problems. As much as it might be "bad juju" for an Arsenal fan to load up on ManYoo players, I'm in. Ruud and Rooney are excellent bets. The biggest question is around Park/Ronaldo - which ever one starts is probably a good bet for some points but which one gets the start seems to be a bit up in the air. Ditto, the choice between Heinze and O'Shea who is fit again. Finally, with the lone remaining Neville Brother on the bench, Wes Brown is likely to be a good value as the right back. One final Arsenal note, should Henry owners ask for a price discount if Henry is going to voluntarily give up points by refusing to take PKs? And should Arsenal fans ask for a discount if Wenger continues to let Lauren sub for Henry from the spot?
Playing Against the New Guys - Should be an interesting weekend as two of the newly promoted teams square off as Wigan travels to pointless Sunderland (and, yes, that wording was intentional). Sadly, Camara is on the shelf for this match otherwise he'd be a great value as a midfielder. Anthony Le Tallec had a nice start to his Sunderland career and might represent a nice bargain for those looking to get some fantasy points on the cheap while Henry's $$ and roster spot sit fallow. Bolton return from their first ever European adventure and head to London to face the Hammers in the other battle involving a newly promoted squad. The rub here is that West Ham has clearly been the more interesting fantasy team so far (and probably more interesting in general as well). Spitzberg favorite Nigel Reo-Coker is a great bet in defense as are Youssi Benayoon up front and Matt Etherington in midfield. For the Wanders, Stelios has been on a nice run of form and might be a worthwhile mid-market pick-up for your midfield at 9.22.
Other Random Musings - My other Five Star Lock of the Week is that Man Citeh will do well at the City of Manchester Stadium against what is a terrible Pompey squad. Robert has been his typical great fantasy self for Pompey but they have NOTHING ELSE. Andy Cole and Trevor Sinclair are both reasonable bets for this weekend and Reyna might be worthwhile as well although his price has risen a little bit. Feels like a 3-1 scoreline to me - so ignore the defenders in this one. I will give you a Joey Barton warning - he's had a great fantasy season so far out of no where but one of these weeks he's going to do something incredibly stupid and earn a -8 for his fantasy managers. This may not be the week but he is who he is and it'll happen sooner or later. MGP is proving that last year wasn't a fluke - I'm pretty sure he's in my line-up to stay. Both of the Jensen boys at Fulham are worth giving a look to if you need a bargain for either midfield or defense as is Alexi Smertin from Charlton in midfield. Speaking of Charlton, this will be an interesting weekend for the surprise team in the Prem so far. Traveling to Boro will be a much better test of their progress than either of their first two matches have been. Here's hoping that Darren Bent continues doing his best impersonation of Jermaine Defoe.
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