It's all change at the back for me as Kieran Gibbs seems to have lost his place to Andre Santos. Who knows what is going on at Arsenal but the Brazilian did but up good points against Rovers, and gets Bolton at home this week. Another flying (former) Arsenal fullback, Armand Traore, gets the nod too. I was hoping to get him last week but didn't like the way he limped out of the Newcastle match previously. My loss as he even got an assist. Queens Park Rangers host Aston Villa, which isn't a great matchup, but I do like the option.
Another QPR new boy, Shaun Wright-Phillips, remains a bright spot in my otherwise run-of-the-mill lineup. He continued his good form in an advanced midfield role, and at 4 and change is becoming an indispensable player.
Maybe not as indispensable as David SIlva, however. This was Silva's worst week to date, but he's still putting up points with the promise of continued returns. Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero round out the Manchester City contingent. Hosting Everton isn't an ideal matchup, but I dare anyone to start dropping these players.
That being said, I did move former Gunner Nasri out for current Gunner Mikel Arteta. "Who knows what is going on at Arsenal" but Arteta scored a goal and was taking corner kicks. His price jumped as a result and it was worth getting him in the team before that happened.
The final midfield spot is a bit of an enabler. Yohan Cabaye is becoming the almost man for Newcastle, striking the bar against Aston Villa on a lovely snap shot from range. However, I like that he's shooting and taking kicks. Newcastle also host Rovers on Sunday and that seems to pay off. I was origianlly looking at Gabriel Obertan as a true enabler, but picking Dedryck Boyata in defence allowed me to move off someone whom I'm taking to calling "The Invisible Man". I just never see him on the pitch. Sometimes I do see him, but I've yet to see him make an impactful play. Until then, I'll keep my distance.
Of course, all this movement is to afford Wayne Rooney. I didn't keep him against Chelsea and I almost paid a very heavy price. He ended the day with a respectable 9.5 points, but missed a penalty, hit the post on another shot, and had Dimitar Berbatov skew what would have been a assist off target. Manchester United are at Stoke this week, and as we know that's a tough place to play. In fact I originally had Javier Hernandez in the team, but with his potential injury layoff combined with Rooney's irresistible form at the moment, I don't want to take the chance of missing out.
Who's on your barn door team this morning?
no love of chelsea at home to swansea?
ReplyDeleteI don't hate Swansea's defence, and all of Chelsea's valuable pieces are forwards - Torres, Mata, Sturridge, Anelka. What do you do there?
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it's a nice tip.
Okay, Traore to Bosingwa?
ReplyDeleteI think I'm dropping Dzeko for Mata. The match up looks too good to ignore.
ReplyDeleteagree, JS, that selection is difficult as long as they persist with torres. i tend to think wantaway anelka will get limited time; but more importantly that mata has a different skill set for them playing from the wing that will keep him on the pitch.
ReplyDeleteA couple of questions:
ReplyDeleteWill Coates (with Agger out) or Santon start soon?
Is Boyata a good choice or just a super cheap filler?
How often will Gibbs play? At 3.12 I'd hold him if he plays even half the games.
Will Bale or VdV start earning real points? I know they're not (currently) worth their price but I have the money just sitting there with not a lot of options I'm interested in.
Torres at home to Swansea? At 13 units. I know you have disowned him but he will be SEETHING at the fact he missed opportunities. I see him taking it out on Swansea =)
ReplyDelete@b.a.c. we said the same thing three weeks ago about Chelsea home to Norwich. Two weeks ago repeated the mistake with Robin van Persie home to Swansea.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying you're wrong, just that we've heard this song before.
In the Arsenal - Swansea match, i had Van Persie, Mertesacker, Santos, Arteta and Walcott.
ReplyDeleteVan Persie, got 2, (Substitute Torres for Van Persie)
Arteta got -0.5
Walcott got 0.5
Santos did not play
The saving grace was mertesacker and his 8.5 points.
So, No, i am not going to play that route.
Stick to buying Aguero, Silva, Rooney and Dzeko, gut the rest of the team