Barn Door Team

The international break has thrown me for a bit of a loop, especially on the heels of the FA Cup break we just had. So I'm having a tough time getting back into the swing of of EPL things. But we have to start somewhere, right? And what better place than with the team I assembled on the barn door last weekend (two weeks ago!).


Part of me says, stop right there.  Don't look again.  Don't, whatever the inclination, Friday trade!  But let's be honest... that's inevitable.  Stupid, but inevitable.  Looking at the team, what jumps out at me is:

  • Two Hammers facing Manchester United.  Yes, WHU are playing better and ManU struggle a bit on the road.  But do I really want both Ba and Hitzlsperger?  They're both at cost so they could be moved out for the weekend and brought back for the upcoming games against Bolton and Aston Villa without penalty.
  • Osman.  What to do with Osman?  He was a GREAT pickup over Everton's recent double-game week and was ok last game week against Fulham.  Everton have a good run of fixtures upcoming and it might be worth keeping him.  But it sure isn't a sexy pick.
  • There are injury doubts over van Persie (could be back), Walker (should be back), and Adam (expected to be back).  Obviously all signs are good at this point, but the uncertainty is starting to make me nervous.
Clearly there is much to discuss over the next two days, but that's where I am right now.  You?
posted by Jeremy Spitzberg on Thursday, March 31, 2011 in , , , ,

7 comments:

  1. Papa Bear11:54 AM

    this i must admit has been one of the toughest selection weeks for me... so totally out the loop...March Madness has taken over my life....anyway...as you pointed out West Ham guys are the only iffy selections u have there....i generally don't pick against United at this time of the season...

    this is my current side before the friday stupid trades kick in.

    Alumina -- Simpson, Luiz, Smalling -- Adam Johnson, Charlie Adam, Nasri, Vandervaart -- Suarez, Rooney, Zamora

    Adam Johnson and Zamora at cost and cud be cut on friday....

    What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
  2. rwlwhite1:08 PM

    I've gone for something 'balanced' this week:

    Almunia
    Luiz, Smalling, Kolarov, Distin
    VDV, Adam, Valencia
    Suarez, RVP, Torres

    i've balanced it with some solid points scorers, with some doubts who could score big, or go missing, or just not turn up at all (i'm looking at you 'nando!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tayo2:08 PM

    I'm considering the following team:

    Howard
    Luiz, Smalling, Walker
    Nani, Der Hammer, VDV, Adams, Osman
    Suarez, Ba

    Comments much appreciated...

    Jeremy,
    It's like I copied your team, 8 identical players... Something deep down my system tells me to keep my team for this week and I'll probably do. You might want to keep a very close watch on Mr. Fragile Knee RvP though. Can you PLEASE do an analysis on RvP as a topic. I mean things like: what percentage of the EPL playing period the dude has been healthy for Arsenal in the last 5 years, the relative position of Arsenal when he's fully fit (if that ever happens) and how many times he's returned from international assignments crocked.....
    Good luck to you this weekend!!! (I need it...)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Papa Bear2:08 PM

    boy i had nando for 3 weeks...and it was pathetic...i upgraded him to rooney for this week...atleast i sure he will do other stuff if he doesnt score..u kno like actually play football

    ReplyDelete
  5. greginho4:06 PM

    so jeremy i think ba is a "sexy" pick but hitzlsperger at cost is not. puncheon from blackpool is a great pick at that cost.

    i have ben foster
    luiz, ridgewell, smalling
    van der vaart, lampard, hitzsperger, adam
    suarez, van persie, ba
    with $5.16 to spend

    i on the other hand enjoy picking players hosting united. before rio was injured, united struggled to keep clean sheets and now without him they are not going to do it. i have hitz at discount so he will stay and ba is just too consistent. i want puncheon and may make a late trade out for him.
    i doubled up on birmingham with foster and ridgewell, but everytime i have done that this year, whether it was dann, murphy, jiranek, rojo i have done well.
    the players i want to pick are either dempsey or duff so if adam or van persie get ruled out i will not get them in. i guess i could go down from ridgewell to davies and go up from hitz to duff, what do you all think?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Papa Bear4:52 PM

    van persie has been pretty much automatic once he not injured...and he is fit and raring to go...with cesc and walcott back to feed him the ball...and nasri behind...i see alot of goals coming arsenals way this weekend...
    good point about man utd clean sheet....i might jus move from zamora to ba

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous3:00 AM

    harper
    luiz, kosc, heitinga,
    walco, reo, lamp, vdv,
    rvp, zamora, suarez

    at least 2 digits for rvp, walco, lamp and vdv

    NB

    ReplyDelete

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