Tim Howard shows you how it's done:
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Showing posts with label Goalkeepers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goalkeepers. Show all posts
One Shot. One Goal. One Loss.
... or the "Sigil" (Shot. Goal. Loss), as it's known.
Tim Howard shows you how it's done:
A classic example. The platonic ideal, even.
Tim Howard shows you how it's done:
Petr Cech out for a month
After some good news on the injury front, here's some surprisingly bad news.
Petr Cech out for 3-4 weeks with medial knee ligament injury suffered in training. Courtois on loan, time for Hilario or Turnbull to step upless than a minute ago via web 
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ESPN Soccernet
ESPNSoccernet
We'll post more information as we have it, but for fantasy this is a blow with Chelsea having a good matchup, home to West Brom. I don't think I'll take a gamble on Turnbull or Hilario against Long (and maybe Odemwingie) who's already drawn blood against the top teams. It would also give me pause if I had the likes of Cole, Bosingwa or Terry in my fantasy team.
Shay Given to be fit for Blackburn Match
Shay Given set to be declared fit for Aston Villa's clash with Blackburn - Aston Villa FC news - Aston Villa - Sport - Birmingham Mail
Given will resume full training tomorrow after being advised to rest up following the slight groin problem he sustained in Saturday’s goalless draw at Fulham...A tip in the comments of my Barn Door Team post suggested that Given was struggling, but it looks like he'll be fine for this weekend's match against Blackburn Rovers. And if Collins has to take goal kicks again as a precaution, so be it. No fantasy points in that. ;-)
And Given is expected to be fit and raring to go for his and McLeish’s home debuts in Saturday afternoon’s Premier League clash against Blackburn at Villa Park.
“He’s on the mend,” confirmed McLeish. “He should be OK for the weekend.
Bolton Sign Darren Pratley and Sell Ali Al Habsi
Bolton Wanderers | News | Latest News | General | Wanderers Snap-Up Pratley
I missed this news over the holiday weekend, but Bolton bolster their central midfield options - in the wake of releasing Joey O'Brien and Tamir Cohen - by signing Swansea's Darren Pratley. Also, they have sold Ali Al Habsi to Wigan after his loan spell there last season.
Pratley has been improving his goal-scoring over the last two seasons and put in nine for the Swans last term. I won't pretend to know much more about him, or how he might be used at Bolton alongside the likes of Holden and
Al Habsi is a keeper we've liked for a while now, and I for one am happy to see he's found a home at Wigan. For fantasy purposes he may provide a good, cheap squad option who can rotate with David De Gea and the like.
Now we await the real news, which will be Bolton's signing (or taking on loan) a forward, be it Daniel Sturridge or someone else.
David De Gea says farewell to Atletico Madrid
David De Gea in tears as new Manchester United keeper says farewell to Atletico Madrid | Mail Online
David De Gea broke down in floods of tears last night as he bade farewell to Atletico Madrid, just hours after his first interview as a Manchester United player.
Uh oh.
The last player I remember having such a hard time leaving his Spanish club was Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes. He too was in tears upon leaving Sevilla, where he had played since the age of 15. And despite the occasional flash of brilliance, he never settled into what was very much Thierry Henry's Arsenal team.
Now I'm not saying that De Gea is another Reyes. But what would worry me is that the United keeper job is SO high pressure. It has chewed up and spit out the likes of Taibi, Carroll, Howard, and seemingly most recently Kuzszcak. I know that the reviews of De Gea praise his mental strength, and I'm not going to judge based on this moment.
But still, it does give one a little pause.
Sunderland sign Keiren Westwood
We've been banging on Liverpool for weeks now for signing players (good players, even) who don't fill a need. Now Sunderland seems to be making the same "mistake".
Sunderland sign goalkeeper Keiren Westwood - Chris Young column - Sunderland Echo
The 26-year-old Republic of Ireland keeper is the Black Cats’ first signing of the summer, having travelled up to Wearside at the start of the week to undergo a routine medical before putting pen to paper on a three-year contract yesterday...I guess this is less an issue of adding redundancy and more of an admission that the Gordon transfer was a terrible piece of business. Since he signed with Sunderland for £7 million (rising to 10) Brad Friedel, for example, has made two transfers - £2.5 million to Aston Villa and then free to Spurs.
But he will be a Sunderland player next season and likely to start the opening game against Liverpool at Anfield with number one keeper Black Cats keeper Craig Gordon still sidelined by injury and impressive prospect Simon Mignolet deemed to need more experience before pushing his own claims as a number one keeper.
Meanwhile Gordon has been injured more than he hasn't, Martin Fulop was shipped off to Ipswich, and now Mignolet looks set for what... a loan deal? I don't know how else he'll get the needed experience, but that would again leave Sunderland short of cover.
Anyway, news is news. Westwood may be an interesting value play in some fantasy games, but in Yahoo! you're sitting on David De Gea all season, right?
Spurs Sign Goalkeeper Brad Friedel
Tottenham Hotspur Sign Goalkeeper Brad Friedel - SBNation.com
Spurs have started their attempt to consolidate Europa League football for the immediate future (sorry, is that too realistic?) with the signing of Big Bad Brad Friedel (BBBF). There were times this season when Villa couldn't defend to save their lives, but I think that was more to do with the defence in front of him than his own play. We'll see how it turns out. He should be an upgrade from Gomes and give Spurs a steady foundation for league success. But he isn't getting younger, and again there were times this season when it just didn't click.
This means that likely Villa will sign a new keeper as well as Guzan may not be ready for prime-time yet. Expect them to put in a bid for Ali Al-Habsi. I wouldn't expect them to get reunited with Thomas Sorenson, but stranger things have happened. Maybe even Almunia? We'll have to wait and see.
De Gea, plus 10
We're excited too.
And so, just as the curtain falls on one season, we can unveil the first +10 player of the next...
Fergie confirms De Gea deal: Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Manchester United will sign Atletico Madrid goalkee... http://bit.ly/kNtOinless than a minute ago via twitterfeed Favorite Retweet Reply
The Premier League
ThePrem
We've been looking forward to having a new Manchester United keeper for a while now. This is the first time that a top club has had a new number one since... since Reina came to the league? Szczesny (and yes, I spelled that correctly without having to look it up) is a bit of an odd case. He came in cheap, but got injured quickly and had to play behind a less than top-class defence.
But De Gea looks to be the new man for United, and the first one out of Atletico Madrid as they cash in on some assets like he and Aguero.
Van Der Saar denies injury worry
Warming up, just in case.
Van Der Saar denies injury worry - Yahoo! Eurosport
Edwin van der Sar has played down fears he suffered a recurrence of his groin injury during Manchester United's Champions League win at Chelsea...
However, the former Ajax man, United's shoot-out hero in the final against Chelsea three years ago, insists it is not a serious problem.
"When I dived to save a shot from Torres, I went 105% for my take-off," he revealed. "My calf gave way a little bit and I ended up with cramp.
"I didn't train a lot in the last couple of weeks, so maybe it was a bit of tiredness or something."
We probably won't have any good information one way or another before kick-off, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see Kuszczak play against Fulham this weekend. And at 4.97, it might be worth the gamble. The American options at that price range scare me. So maybe this is the way to go.
Your thoughts?
Enabling the Future
There's a long time until "next week's" matches with the Premier League deferring to the FA Cup this weekend. There are a lot of games to be played between now and then and there are a lot of players whose injury status is in flux - Nani, Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart come immediately to mind. Hell, this game week isn't even over as we have Chelsea/Blackpool and Everton/Birmingham still to be played.
But is any of that a reason, an excuse, not to be looking ahead? I think not! So here's an out-of-the-blue suggestion as you add, drop, and trade players, and configure and re-configure your lineup:
Thursday Thoughts
Is that the worst title for a post ever? Alliteration aside (Oops... I did it again), there's just no excuse for it. So let's forgo the usual long preamble (sorry, Neal) and just get into it, shall we?
Szczesny to continue
Szczesny to continue after Fabianski setback | News Archive | News | Arsenal.com
Wojciech Szczesny will continue in goal on Wednesday night after Lukasz Fabianski suffered a minor setback in his recovery from a shoulder injury.
The younger Pole will make his fourth consecutive first-team appearance in the FA Cup replay at Leeds and looks set to keep goal for the home games against Wigan and Ipswich too.
Arsène Wenger expects Fabianski and Abou Diaby (calf) to be fit after that but Sebastien Squillaci (hamstring) could take a little longer to return.
I hope you didn't sell him to get... say Reina on the barn door. Like I did. Oy!
Carson Dropped
Scott Carson has been dropped for Saturday’s clash with Blackpool http://bit.ly/e1Arov
fantasyfootballscout
FFScout
Does this make you feel better or worse about spending 1.17 on him?
Fab21 only 50/50
Lukasz Fabianski is rated as “50:50” for the trip to West Ham on Saturday http://bit.ly/f2nyWJ
Arsenal.com
ArsenalDotCom
Szczesny would be a great deal at 5.84, even with Arsenal's frequent defensive frailties. However, I doubt Wenger will come out with a definitive announcement before we have to set our teams. So it's Carson for a buck, Friedel around 5, or Stockdale at 8 for me. Your mileage may vary.
Kirkland to Play
When last we saw the Captain...
Hat tip to Y!FF reader Alex who notes that:
Captain Kirkland will not be a zero next week (probably minus) as Wigan play Bolton and Al Habsi will not be allowed to play against his 'parent' club.Kirkland was on my provisional team as I'm trying to squeeze in both Drogba and Tevez at forward. Now I have to decide if I'm happy with this news or not. At first blush, Wigan have been much better defensively recently, but that could entirely be down to Al-Habsi's form.
There are no dull weeks in fantasy English Premier League play, are there?
Green escapes punishment
And then, all at once, profile photos were changed across the world. Photo courtesy of Guardian.co.uk
Robert Green will be contacted by the Football Association following the West Ham United goalkeeper's abusive gesture towards the press box at the close of his team's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
There will be no formal action from the governing body but it will remind him of his responsibilities after he reacted to criticism of his recent performances with an "up yours" gesture to the media as he left the pitch.
Green produced a fine display at Upton Park following a clumsy start to the season that drew speculation that his torrid World Cup – he was at fault for the USA equaliser in England's opening group game – was continuing to trouble him.
After a Frédéric Piquionne goal gave Avram Grant's team a first Premier League win of the season, Green walked off the pitch and offered a provocative motion of his arms to the press box that was his apparent response to the criticism.
Hey, Robert... bold gestures are nice, but it's possibly a little late for them. Why don't you put a string of good matches together and then, and only then, maybe we'll agree to stop talking about this:
Ben Foster withdraws from England squad with injury
Ben Foster withdraws from England squad with injury - Goal.com
The headline pretty much says it all. Certainly a nervous wait for Birmingham and another tick in the column for picking Jordan Henderson or Frazier Campbell... or Darren Bent, providing you think his own back problem won't keep him from the match.
Given set for City return
Sky Sports | Given set for City return
This would be big news before the start of the Premier League season. For fantasy managers it would raise all the "wither Joe Hart" questions again. Surely he wouldn't sit on the bench all season. That would be a disaster for his career and potential England hopes. But it is just as certain that Citeh can't afford to let him go. #loggerheads
Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given could make his return from injury in Thursday's friendly against Club America.
The 34-year-old has been absent from Roberto Mancini's side since dislocating his shoulder towards the end of last season.
But the shot-stopper is now hoping to resume his role as No.1 for the Blues - either in Atlanta or in Saturday's clash with Inter Milan.
This would be big news before the start of the Premier League season. For fantasy managers it would raise all the "wither Joe Hart" questions again. Surely he wouldn't sit on the bench all season. That would be a disaster for his career and potential England hopes. But it is just as certain that Citeh can't afford to let him go. #loggerheads
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