First XI - What We Learned in Week 5

In theory when you're a journalist you don't root for teams and therefore all you're looking for is an angle, something interesting to write about that will get people to buy your newspaper, click on your link, or head to the Facebook page to make some pithy comments about your genius idiocy.  As much as we'd all like to believe that our journalists stick to this standard (because they tell us over and over that they do), people don't get into sports journalism because it is incredibly lucrative or because it is likely to get you a lot of acclaim with the opposite sex.  No, they get into it because they are huge sports fans who aren't athletic enough to play sports for a living and this is the most feasible way to earn a living being involved with a kids game while still being able to afford to eat.

One of the best things about the blogging revolution is that it has removed the necessity to keep up the illusion that those of us that write about the game don't also have personal feelings about the teams and players.  I try to remain as objective as I can when doing analysis for fantasy purposes because fantasy is a game of numbers and you'll only read what I have to write if my advice is helpful.  Favoring the teams and players I LIKE versus the ones who are likely to be productive will lead to people thinking my analysis sucks and turning to one or more of the other options available for their fantasy league preparation.  That said, in the spaces around the objective fantasy analysis, I am not shy about letting you know who I like and dislike, respect and don't respect, root for and root against, etc.

The reason I give you this preamble is that it has taken me a while to arrive at something I'm happy about writing this week because this weekend was a pretty depressing one for me as a fan.  It was the moment that I finally decided that Arsene Wenger is done.  I'll propose a potential remedy for their current ailments below but I have no sense that it will happen.  To heap general misery on top of the state of Arsenal and its impact on me is the fact that almost all of the meaningful storylines this past weekend were negative.  Here's the run down from I to XI...

Manchester City Team News

UPDATE: Never mind. Full strength ahead for City, and that doesn't include Kolarov or Dzeko.

Team: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Zaba, de Jong, Toure, Milner, A Johnson, D Silva, Tevezless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyManchester City FC
MCFC

---

Word is breaking on the Twitter machine.

#mcfc team news for tomorrow. balotelli out with knee, tevez bench. Silva big doubt, knee.less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPad Favorite Retweet ReplyIan Ladyman
Ian_Ladyman_DM

So seemingly we'll get a start for Dzeko with AJohnson and possibly Kolarov in support. What's interesting for "next" week is the further suggestion that Tevez is being rested for the trip to Bolton.

@gideonmradivan yes. Saved for bolton after his shift at wembley.less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPad Favorite Retweet ReplyIan Ladyman
Ian_Ladyman_DM

Bolton... the club that has shipped four to Blackpool, two to Sunderland (of no strikers fame), one to Rovers (might as well not have any strikers), and three to Fulham in their last four matches. Tevez still commands top-tier money north of 17, but maybe it's worth an investment. He'd certainly be a differential if you're looking to stand-out from the crowd.

FA Cup Causes League Postponements

Bolton Wanderers | News | Latest News | General | New Date Set For Fulham

Bolton Wanderers can confirm that due to the club's participation in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, the trip to play Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Barclays Premier League will now take place on Wednesday 27 April.

The game had originally been set to take place on Saturday 16 April but following Wanderers' progress in the FA Cup the league game against Fulham has now been put back to Wednesday 27 April.

So Bolton, Fulham, Stoke City, Wolves, and Manchester City will all be idle the weekend of 16 April. I think it's possible that Newcastle and Manchester Uniteds could still play their match on that following Tuesday. I think the NUFC/MUFC match was rescheduled to that Tuesday from Saturday. But definitely a fluid situation.

Oh, and two-gamers!

UPDATE:

Stoke vs Wolves has been rescheduled for Tuesday 26 April.
http://xrl.in/8cw0less than a minute ago via webfantasyfootballscout
FFScout

Match Day Open Thread

Chelsea vs. Bolton - I have Drogba and FloMal playing in this one (or at least I hope they'll be playing). If you'd like to connect with your fellow blog followers, please feel free to do so in the comments section below.

I'll be back with TWA and Injuries and Suspensions later in the week and we'll both be posting as things come up during the week. The big thing to watch on the BD comes tomorrow with RvP possibly returning for Arsenal. The price is high now but will how might an appearance vs. Spurs change that?

Enjoy the match.

Neal

New two-gamers confirmed; old ones dropped

I'll turn this over to the Y!Assistant Manager:

Manchester United's double week IS NO MORE.

Yahoo have changed the deadline for Week 19, so United's 2nd fixture vs Hull will now be placed in Week 20.

Only Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool & Bolton have double weeks.

McCann Completes Bolton Move

Bolton have announced the signing of Gavin McCann on a three-year deal from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee.

The 29-year-old midfielder was undergoing a medical at the Reebok Stadium and is thought to have cost Wanderers around £1million plus add-ons.

He becomes manager Sammy Lee's second summer signing since taking over from Sam Allardyce.

McCann began the O'Neill regime as a first-team regular and was one of Villa's best players during the first half of the campaign.

But his form dipped in the New Year and he eventually made way for academy product Gardner.

With the promise of Gardner plus the expected arrival of Nigel Reo-Coker from West Ham, it was obvious McCann would be down the pecking order next season.

Second domino.

Samuel signs on with the Trotters

Jlloyd Samuel has become Sammy Lee's first signing as Bolton manager after the left-back agreed a free transfer from Aston Villa.The 26-year-old defender will join the club on July 1 on a four-year deal.

Is this the end of the Ricardo Gardner era? Or another situation where Jloyd finds himself struggling to get a place in the side? Before his injury problems, Jlloyd was a very productive fantasy defender. The blog is hoping that he can regain that sort of form, though we're surprised that Bolton was his destination.



I guess this makes Baines to Newcastle ever more likely. Unless Bolton were resigned to losing the Jamaican international to the Barcodes. Hmmmm.... This is how transfer rumours get started, you know?