Injuries and Suspensions: Week 3

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet:

There are a fair number of interesting line-up machinations related to injuries, suspensions, and transfers.  For all of the fantasy implications for this weekend, here is everything you need to know:

Season Preview - Fulham

Quick Reminder, Real Life

An odd season at Fulham saw them lose their very successful manager to Liverpool where he was a flop. His replacement managed them to a very solid 8th place finish in the standings with no reason to expect that it was either a fluke or that a huge regression was coming but then he left too. On the pitch, the season saw US International Clint Dempsey stake his claim as one of the top few players outside the top six clubs. He joined Brede Hangeland (also born in Texas) in that category as the big Norweigan had another strong season at the center of Fulham’s defense. The Hangeland-led defense was good enough to tie Arsenal for 4th in the “goals conceded” category. Of the teams below them in the table, only Stoke were even close to being as stingy and they conceded 5 more goals (about 12% more).

Quick Reminder, Fantasy

As noted above, Dempsey made the leap from occasionally spectacular fantasy player to consistently dangerous. Hangeland gave you exactly what you expected - albeit for a higher price as his price caught up to his output. Guys like Mark Schwarzer, Chris Baird, and Damien Duff were solid in stretches and very much viable options when Fulham were home to modest opposition. The interesting developments for Fulham in fantasy last season were at the forward position. When healthy, Bobby Zamora and Mousa Dembele were productive options. We’ve seen it before in stretches from Zamora. It was a little less clear as to whether Dembele was just hot for a stretch at the start of the season and then cooled down to what will become his normal level of production or if his early season form was the norm with the rest of the season derailed somewhat by injury.

Summer Changes

The New Season Begins Tonight

Former Liverpool frontman set for Fulham debut - Fulham FC - Sport - Fulham Chronicle

Yes, indeed... there is Premier League action! Well, of a sort. Fulham take on "Faroe Islands part-timers" NSI Runavik tonight in a Europa League qualifier. Let's hear it for the Fair Play rules!

This is Martin Jol's first match in charge of Fulham and he'll be missing Carlos Salcido and Clint Dempsey who just played in the Gold Cup final. Otherwise, it seems much the same as they were at the end of last season with Dembele injured and Zamora likely to be on the bench. Lauri Dalla Valle, a youngster signed from Liverpool, could get a start up top in their absence.

So there you go. Team news in June. The wonder of it all!

Sturridge a doubt

Sturridge a doubt for Trotters - Yahoo! Eurosport

Bolton manager Owen Coyle is hoping striker Daniel Sturridge will have recovered from an ankle knock in time for Tuesday's Barclays Premier League trip to Fulham.

The on-loan Chelsea man scored his seventh goal in nine games in Sunday's 2-1 win over Arsenal but was forced off with the problem late in the game.

That would be a real kick in the teeth for fantasy managers. His ownership percentage jumped from 4% to 9% for this double week so clearly a lot of us have gotten on the bandwagon. However, 90% of teams don't have him - and points is points - so we're hopeful he'll play.

Meanwhile Zamora should be back for Fulham. Stoke lose Fuller but could get Carew back. And of course, SEB is a doubt for Wolves.

Update from Owen Coyle via BWFC.co.uk:

"Daniel Sturridge limped off near the end and we will give him until the last minute to see if he is available, and hopefully he is.

"Fingers crossed we will have the same squad, with 21 players in contention given that Ricardo Gardner, Robbie Blake and Marcos Alonso narrowly missed out on Sunday.

"We will look to pick the best team available."

Bobby Zamora suffers broken leg

Premier League - Zamora suffers broken leg - Yahoo! Eurosport

Fulham striker Bobby Zamora suffered a broken leg in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, manager Mark Hughes confirmed.

The forward suffered the injury in a challenge with Wolves midfielder Karl Henry after 27 minutes and left the pitch on a stretcher after receiving oxygen.

"He has broken his leg just above the ankle," Hughes told the BBC.

"He will have an operation tomorrow. He's out for a minimum of four months but if it's worse it could be longer. It's a big loss."

Zamora is the fulcrum of what Fulham do, so this is a big loss. But perhaps it's tempered by the arrival of Neal's latest soccer crush, Mousa Dembele. Dembele has hit two goals and two assists in his first two Premier League games and seems the real deal. It will also provide a chance for Zoltan Gera or Clint Dempsey to claim a place as second striker. Gera has always looked better on paper than he does on the field, and Dempsey is still relatively expensive. So at the moment, Dembele is probably the way to go.

Just ask Neal.

Odd Moves?

Jeremy and I were IMing earlier today about some of the moves that seem likely to be completed in the next day or two. I'll spare you the transcript - Jeremy likes that gimmick more than I do [I sure do... and here it is] - but here are some thoughts:

1. Fulham striker Zamora joins Hull in £5m deal - Huh? I don't object to Hull picking up Zamora for depth, he's an adequate 3rd or 4th striker for a team with aspirations of being mid-table. On the other hand, paying £5M for him seems, well, insanely high. In my opinion this shows how lazy or unable to scout outside the obvious places - those being other people's leftovers, the Championship, the SPL, and maybe some of the other Continental leagues. Steve Bruce may get some flack for non-Argentine/non-Brazilian South and Central Americans but they're certainly better value for the money if you're willing to do the work to find that talent.


2. Sunderland confirm Crouch talks - I don't really have anything to say about Crouch one way or the other with the exception of the fact that he's definitely not a replacement for Cisse as Kenwyne Jones' partner. I assume this move would imply that KJ is on his way elsewhere - seems like a little bit of a downgrade to me but only marginally. Seems like the Black Cats would be better served letting Crouchy head to Fulham and focusing on that Darren Bent rumor.


3. Villa try to clinch Downing deal
   Villa working on Downing capture - I actually like this one a lot more than Jeremy does. One of Villa's biggest problems last season was that the squad was too small. They now have Ashley Young, James Milner, Gabby Agbonlahor, and Downing to rotate between two wing spots and one "small" striker to partner Heskey/Carew. If Petrov fills in Barry's spot as a holding midfielder which he was doing reasonably well when asked last season then they're in pretty good shape outside of the defence. Maybe a little expensive for someone who might not be a first choice starter every week but still a good deal if they can afford it.

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As threatened, here's the 'blog roundtable' we had over instant message today.

[08:49] JSpitzberg: EJ doing well for FUL in their pre-season
[08:49] JSpitzberg: set up 2 for nevland yesterday
[08:49] Neal J Thurman: wow
[08:49] Neal J Thurman: could be a nice thing for him if he can get some PT
[08:50] JSpitzberg: welcome back
[08:51] JSpitzberg: odd xfer rumours...
[08:51] JSpitzberg: zamora to hull for 5mil
[08:52] JSpitzberg: not odd, but surely overpriced
[08:52] JSpitzberg: crouch to sunderland? thought he was going to ful to replace zamora
[08:52] JSpitzberg: and downing to villa...
[08:52] JSpitzberg: who have the left wing covered, thank you very much
[09:12] Neal J Thurman: the only one that makes much sense to me is Downing - Villa's big problem is squad depth so having a mix and match of Downing, Gabby, BFAY, and Milner (plus maybe Bentley?) for two wings and the "small" striker seems reasonable
[09:13] Neal J Thurman: assuming that Kenwyne heads somewhere (maybe FUL?) if Crouchy goes to SUN
[09:13] Neal J Thurman: Zamora is too expensive at that price

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[12:33] Neal J Thurman: Any chance that Downing to Villa signals that BFAY will be moving along?
[12:35] JSpitzberg: that was my first thought
[12:35] JSpitzberg: but i just don't see that
[12:35] JSpitzberg: who knows
[12:35] JSpitzberg: downing also played through the middle a little
[12:35] JSpitzberg: off a striker
[12:35] JSpitzberg: so maybe they can convert him like barry to a left-sided, central player
[12:36] Neal J Thurman: would fit his pace (err, lack of) a little better
[12:36] JSpitzberg: and if petrov has really found a role holding in mid...
[12:36] JSpitzberg: could work
[12:37] JSpitzberg: but who takes kicks? ;-)
[12:37] JSpitzberg: sure hope it's BFAY
[12:37] JSpitzberg: downing hasn't met a cross he couldn't over- or under- hit
[12:37] Neal J Thurman: lol - excellent question with the worst possible likely answer is that they get split up between Downing/BFAY/Milner/Petrov
[12:38] Neal J Thurman: but agreed on Downing not being an upgrade in that regard
[12:40] JSpitzberg: they also played downing on the right at times
[12:40] JSpitzberg: so he can cover milner
[12:40] JSpitzberg: but not sure i agree with that
[12:40] Neal J Thurman: would work in a pinch
[12:40] JSpitzberg: not sure you can look at anything boro did last season and say "hey, we should really try that"
[12:41] Neal J Thurman: they definitely need some additional cover
[12:41] JSpitzberg: 12million worth of cover
[12:41] JSpitzberg: and someone who needs to play to have a shot at 2010
[12:41] Neal J Thurman: seems to be the price of admission for a decent player these days - see Zamora for 5M
[12:41] JSpitzberg: ugh... that's unconscionable
[12:41] Neal J Thurman: it really is
[12:42] JSpitzberg: and fulham bought him for the same price
[12:42] Neal J Thurman: but in fairness, Hull paid much more than that for someone who only has one leg last January
[12:42] JSpitzberg: 4 goals later and they don't lose money on the deal?
[12:42] JSpitzberg: hull are getting desperate, me thinks
[12:42] Neal J Thurman: agreed
[12:42] JSpitzberg: we'll hear about zamora's work rate and how he helps the team
[12:43] Neal J Thurman: OR Zamora recaptures that WHU form of two seasons ago and Jummy is healthy and they're a much better team
[12:43] JSpitzberg: but i don't remember AJ or duece terrorizing anyone off zamora's work rate either
[12:43] Neal J Thurman: but probably the former
[12:43] JSpitzberg: did that form last more than a month?
[12:43] JSpitzberg: anomaly
[12:44] Neal J Thurman: probably
[13:03] JSpitzberg: melo to juve
[13:03] JSpitzberg: back to the drawing board
[13:43] Neal J Thurman: yup :-(
[13:44] Neal J Thurman: although I had a hard time getting TOO excited about him after Brazil gave up two early goals to the US :-)
[13:44] JSpitzberg: maybe they can get lucio instead
[13:44] JSpitzberg: LUCIO SMASH!
[13:44] Neal J Thurman: :-)
[14:11] Neal J Thurman: I still want them to go after Marco Senna
[14:16] JSpitzberg: old and injured
[14:16] JSpitzberg: jeremy toulalan!
[14:16] JSpitzberg: or if you want an injured player, how about poaching mammadou (sp?) diarra from real madrid?