An Abbreviated Schedule...

Here we are - after a week of rumor an inuendo here's what we know...

1) There doesn't seem to be any truth to the rumor that Yahoo is closing down the game in mid-season;

2) They haven't done anything to correct the double counting that went on for ManYoo and Pompey (and don't you love the fact that no one has mentioned a single Pompey player when they've been complaining about the scoring errors - does this tell you something 'arry); and

3) There are only two games this week and they feature four teams that have only modestly interesting fantasy players.

What does all of this mean? It means that managers are going to have to make some difficult decisions between keeping players they have on the cheap vs. going after players who are going to play this week. Here's how I'm thinking about it...

First and foremost, there are a couple players that I have for a lot less than current market value that I think are going to stay at their elevated price (Ronaldo, Downing, Ashton, and Del Horno). I'm keeping them and would advise any of you to do the same because these are the players that will get you points while allowing you to buy other premium players for the rest of the season. I'd recommend keeping between 4 and 6 of these players on your roster if you're happy with them and are likely to keep them for the rest of the year. Otherwise, time to say good bye to your current roster and hello to...

(Recommendations in order of my preference by position)

Striker - Mido (should play now that he's back from Africa), Darren Bent (should be fun to watch against a sluggish central defense at St. James' Park), Marcus Bent (ditto), Shola Ameobi (Charlton's defense doesn't get too many people excited either).

Midfielder - Carrick (still the engine for Spurs), Camara (assuming there's no news that he's out of favor after his walkabout), N'Zogbia (nothing wrong with a winger playing at home against a mediocre-at-best defense), Murphy (still not sure how he fits with Spurs but if you have a good feeling, he could move up the list)

Defense - Chimbonda (if you can afford him), Dawson (he's been good to me this year), whichever of Charlton's outside defenders looks likely to play (they've all been better than you'd expect)

Keeper - Given (probably no clean sheet, but he should make a lot of saves), Myhre (has been piling up the fantasy points despite mediocre results at the Cottage), Robinson (not having the greatest fantasy year and Wigan don't seem likely to be shut out), Pollitt (I'm worried that Spurs might score a few now that they have their preferred "big-little" grouping up top and Murphy in midfield).

So, there you have it. A bit of an unconventional entry but it's a strange week.

Happy shopping...

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:39 PM

    N'Zogbia ahead of Emre? And Solano...

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  2. N'Zog has been scoring... 2 in 2.

    Solano is cheap!

    Emre is a great pick. He takes kicks and is a good player. But hasn't been pulling in the points recently. Maybe he's still recovering from his injury. And he's relatively expensive, which is the kiss of death for me.

    j

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  3. Anonymous6:33 PM

    I read on SkySports that N'Zog might drop back to cover for Babayaro, which would make him useless for pts.

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  4. Anonymous8:24 PM

    How many matches is Babayaro suspended for? Just the FA Cup tie against Soton?

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  5. 2 matches. His ban was doubled b/c he was already charged with violent conduct earlier in the season. So FA cup and the charlton game.

    i'm guessing that robbie elliot gets the start at fullback... but thanks for the 411.

    j

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  6. Anonymous6:19 PM

    i can't believe your advising to keep 4 players in your team that aren't going to score.

    i love this site, but i don't think that that's good advise. you're throwing away a possible 30 or so points this week because of that.

    i definitely think you should field a full 11.

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  7. glad you like the site, anonymous, and sorry you don't agree with Neal's advice. but he has CRonaldo at $11. At 2 goals a game (or 4!), he'll make up what he mised this week pretty quickly. And at $11 instead of $19 he can afford CRonaldo and still have money for say Kewell, rather than David Thompson. Etc.

    yes, if you field a full 11 you'll make up some ground this week. but the idea is that in the long run - and there are several months left in the season - he'll be better off.

    ReplyDelete