Observations on the Community Shield

Starting Line-ups

If this is any indicator of starting line-ups - minus injuries (Rafael/Chicharito) or late returnees from tournaments (Aguero) - then we might make the following assessments about both teams:

• Micah Richards started at RB and is priced very reasonably at 7.35 in the Yahoo game - not bad for a starting RB for a top 4 team.  Especially a team starting at home against a newly promoted team.  Just saying.
• Anderson looks like he'll finally get his chance to shine and prove Jeremy right (or horribly wrong) once and for all.  Jeremy has been holding out hope that the Brazilian will make the big step up for a few seasons now and with Scholes gone he seems to have his chance. 
• Welbeck has apparently earned a promotion up into consideration for serious playing time.  With Chicharito out, I have to admit I was surprised that he got the start over Berbs who doesn't appear on any injury reports.  With Chicharito likely out for a while longer, you'd think this would be SAF's chance to get the first team playing together - you don't think that means Welbeck has moved past Berbs, do you?
• Looks like all of the "DDG is not necessarily our #1" talk from Ferguson was just a motivational tactic to make sure that the kid kept playing and training hard.  I can't think of a single reason they'd start him in this match and then not do it again when the curtain raises for real.

Set Pieces

• United: They seemed to go mostly to Ashley Young with Nani taking the occasional attempt - particularly the direct kick from about 25 or 30 yards in the middle of the first half that deflected off Dzeko and ended up going just a shade wide.  
• City: Silva and Kolarov split duty with Silva taking most of the attempts from the right side of the field and Kolarov from the left. Silva's cross for Lescott's opener was very nice. 

Weekend Notes

Pre-season Grinds On

Its been a nice relaxing weekend around the Thurman Ranch after a lot of work and fun travel over the last month or two.  We're making great progress on the team-by-team season previews that have become a staple of the blog over the years.  It is my hope that we'll start posting them next week so that you'll have plenty of time to use that information for your fantasy teams.  We'd post them sooner but it feels like there are still a lot of pretty significant moves still to be made and we'd prefer not to post and then have to entirely re-do say Everton or Bolton or Arsenal's preview.  Fear not, they'll arrive soon enough along with a variety of other information to get you ready for the season to come. 

Before we get to the reason for the post, I'll also take a moment to bask in the excitement of the incredible weekend in Philadelphia sports.  The Phillies (baseball for those who aren't into the American sports) started the weekend with the best record in baseball.  The Eagles (American football) one-upped the Phillies by acquiring a ton of defensive talent as the season gets ready to start which firmly entrenches them as one of the top contenders for the Super Bowl title.  The Phillies, not to be outdone, also made a strong acquisition to fill one of the few gaps in their line-up as they prepare for their playoffs in October.  Oh, and on the field the Phillies have won both of their games thus far this weekend.  Good weekend to be a Philly sports fan.  

So, aside from writing and basking in the glow of being a Philly sports fan in 2011, I also got to watch a decent amount of pre-season action.  For those who had better things to do with their time, here are some observations from the Emirates Cup and a few Manchester United pre-season friendlies. 

Emirates Cup

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...

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.

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.

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?

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 ReplyThe 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.