No big intro today, other than to highlight the fact that Rooney and Chicharito being back probably has us all scrambling to figure out how to align our teams to get as many United players as possible into our line-ups against Norwich.
Showing posts with label K2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label K2. Show all posts
After the Window: Spurs
Spurs late summer looked a lot like the one experienced across North London at Arsenal. What the acquisitions lacked in romance and long term strategic benefit they more than made up for in being effective near-term band-aids. Spurs needed something new at forward and a deep-lying player to both win the ball and start the attack. It certainly would have been nice to find a reliable partner for Michael Dawson but presumably the combination of Ledley
King and William Gallas will be able to get the job done for 80% of the matches over the course of the upcoming season.
Swap Meet
Funny thing about this transfer window is that teams have seemingly stocked up on redundant players rather than addressing clearer needs. Also, we've seen a further concentration of players at the top as the biggest clubs fill out their 25-man rosters with full internationals while clubs below them are looking to academy and youth players to play a larger first-team role. How do we address this? Not being shy of an opinion, we offer our solution:
Based on the rumoured "Nasri for Tevez" swap, here are some ideas for player swaps that would help both sides.
Drogba for Modric
Chelsea want Modric, but Spurs are playing hardball and demanding an exorbitant fee. Spurs are desperate for a striker, any striker, to help keep them in the hunt for Champions League football. So, let's swap players!
Meireles for Shawcross
Stoke are desperate for some source of creativity in their central midfield and we're all well aware of Liverpool's glut of players in that department. Also, Liverpool are looking to shore up their central defence as Carragher continues to age and neither Skrtel or Agger can put together a consistent run of matches. So, let's swap players!
Adebayor for Aquilani
Back to Liverpool's bloated squad. This swap makes sense for both teams in terms of shoring up their squads where they lack depth. Adebayor would be an excellent "understudy" for Carroll as he would bring many of the same attributes to the team - good in the air, headcase, etc. In return, Manchester City get another creative player who could be cover for Silva or be an alternative to Milner in the middle of the park. So, let's swap players!
Cahill, Reo-Coker for Vela, Bendtner, and Oxlade-Chamberlain
Bolton are reasonably well represented in central midfield with Muamba, Holden, Pratley, M Davies, S Davis as "specialists" while Ricardo Gardner can also play there. They also have a ready-made replacement for Cahill in David Wheater. In return for sending their commanding center-back to Arsenal they would get the attacking tools that they desperately need. Bendtner could play though the middle with, or in place of, Davies while Vela can play across the front line. In Oxlade-Chamberlain, Owen Coyle would get another youngster to mould and would provide cover on the wings with Chyong-Lee out with his broken leg. So, let's swap players!
What swaps would you propose?
He is K2
We've always called Adebayor K2 because:
He is tall as a mountain, and reminiscent of former Arsenal striker Kanu in his stature and playing style. Hence K2 or K2.0, or K2.6.But now we learn that it was more appropriate than we ever knew.
Adebayor added: "I left frustrated. I loved Arsenal.
"When I was young, one of my dreams was to play for them because my idol, Kanu, played there.
"I thought I would stay there for the rest of my career."
Y!FF Rules Update
Festive Fantasy Football chat - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
From the Fantasist's live chat today:
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So there you have it... sort of.
Also I found this amusing:
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We feel partly - if not mostly - responsible for the nickname thing. Regardless of how true that is, things like "Who is K2?" have become such a big and fun part of the blog... and now the larger Y!FF universe.
A Nickname is Born
It's only one week into the season and I'm already tired of trying to remember if new Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh is spelled "kh" or "hk". I need a shortcut, so he needs a nickname.
In the spirit of "Who is K2" I am pleased to introduce, ChamWow!
The pitchman even has the same haircut!
In the spirit of "Who is K2" I am pleased to introduce, ChamWow!
The pitchman even has the same haircut!
Where is K2?
The Football365 World Cup Awards
Funniest Interruption Of The Tournament
Emmanuel Adebayor's mobile phone ringing live in the BBC studio as he settled in to talk up South Africa v Uruguay. Made even funnier by him instantly turning it off, despite it apparently being the news that he'd just become a father.
City duo doubtful for Villa clash
Racing to join Petrov on the sidelines?
City duo doubtful for Villa clash
Big-money striker Emmanuel Adebayor is struggling to shake off a thigh problem, whilst former Villa midfielder Gareth Barry is doubtful for the encounter with his former club after picking up a hamstring injury.Time to scrape together the extra buck to move from K2 to Defoe. I gutted from Vanden Borre to Mancienne at the back to do just that.
Manager Roberto Mancini must also decide whether to draft Martin Fulop straight into his starting line-up following his arrival on an emergency loan from Sunderland.
As for Barry, I was just talking with Neal about him.
Worst. Decision. Ever.
So do I ditch Liverpool (@Burnley) and Sunderland (@Hull) and go for the likes of Tevez and K2 (@Arsenal)? They have a double game week next week, but I don't want to get too caught up in that and miss out on points this week. But maybe I won't.
I did, and I'm devestated.
I went from Gerrard/Maxi/Reina to Tevez/Adebayor/Green. And I'm devestated.
Song could return for Manchester City game
...or, The Song Remains the Same for Arsenal.
Alex Song may return for the visit of Manchester City on Saturday evening.
The midfielder, who has missed the last three games with an inflamed cartilage, faces a fitness test on Friday.
The inclusion of the Cameroon international is the only major change possible from the squad that lost at Wigan last Sunday. That is because Andrey Arshavin (calf), Manuel Almunia (wrist) and Denilson (groin) are still out.
“Maybe Song [could be off the injury list],” Wenger told TV Online on Thursday. “He has a test tomorrow and we’ll see. He is a question mark.
“Apart from that, nobody is back. Andrey Arshavin is out. Everyone else - Gallas, Almunia, Denilson - is still out too.”
I'm beginning to think that I took the wrong lesson from Burnley 0 - Manchester City 5. I thought Burnley were done and it was another "Who is playing Derby?" type situation where the bet was to pile in against them. But that really hasn't paid dividends for me. Granted, it hasn't been a bad play. But the better play would have been staying with Citeh. Neal had a bumper return from K2 and Onuoha in their 5-1 thrashing of Birmingham and I didn't do badly with AJ. Now those players are a little more affordable on the back of the 0-1 defeat to local rivals Manchester United. What can Citeh's front four of Tevez, K2, Bellamy and AJ do against the likes of Campbell, Silvestre and Fabianski? They scored four on Arsenal's first team at Eastlands earlier in the season, which gets lost when all we remember is K2 stamp on RvP. (Which reminds me, that should be added to the memorable images of the season, shouldn't it?)
So do I ditch Liverpool (@Burnley) and Sunderland (@Hull) and go for the likes of Tevez and K2 (@Arsenal)? They have a double game week next week, but I don't want to get too caught up in that and miss out on points this week. But maybe I won't.
Adebayor hit with two FA charges
We won't be seeing something like this again for a month
UPDATE:
Emmanuel Adebayor will miss the Manchester derby after not appealing the violent conduct charge lodged against him by the Football Association.
Adebayor had until 6pm Wednesday to respond to the charge and in accepting it, has effectively condemned himself to a three-match ban.
via Yahoo!UK/Eurosport:
Emphasis mine.The Football Association have hit Emmanuel Adebayor with two charges following his stormy performance in Manchester City's win over Arsenal on Saturday.
Adebayor is facing a three-match ban for violent conduct for the incident involving Robin van Persie, while the City striker is likely to face an additional punishment for the celebration that followed his goal in the 4-2 win...
"Under the fast-track disciplinary process, Adebayor has been charged with violent conduct following an incident with Robin van Persie, which resulted in the Arsenal player receiving facial injuries.
"Referee Mark Clattenburg has advised the FA that he did not see this incident, but has confirmed that had he done so, he would have sent Adebayor off for violent conduct. The player has until 6pm on Wednesday evening to respond to the charge...
Unless the Togo international can successfully argue his case, he is almost certain not to be available for City at least until their trip to Wigan on October 18.
Pending appeal, we'll be looking for a new striker in our fantasy teams forthwith.
Toure Off
So, Kolo is off to Citeh to
Citeh Analysis
If Citeh were just trying to improve over last season, then they'd definitely have accomplished their goal. Toure is certainly an upgrade for them.
If Citeh were looking for big name players who will give them the APPEARANCE of being a big club, then they accomplished that goal as well. Toure has been an integral part of an undefeated Premier League Champion, FA Cup winning team, and Champions League finalists. Excellent resume and not entirely past his prime.
On the down side, if you look at Citeh's goals for the season which you would have to assume include "finish in the Top 4" and "challenge for a league title and/or FA Cup" then I'm not sure this is going to help too much. Think of it as Chelsea adding Michael Ballack - not entirely useless pick up but looks much more impressive on paper than it ever has on the pitch.
Arsenal Analysis
So, it looks like Arsene is cashing in on a bunch of spare parts to build up his war chest. First K2 is sent packing on the theory that while he is talented, he's also a jackass and that the latter is more important than the former given the presence of RvP, Arshavin, EdS, and Bendtner. Then Toure - who a) will be out for a while at the African Cup of Nations; b) doesn't get along with Gallas; and c) has slipped a bit over the last two seasons from exceptional to merely better-than-average - is sent packing because there's no way they were ever going to get a better return for him than what they got from Citeh. Next appears to be Eboue who isn't a terrible squad player to have around but could probably do with a change of scenery after last year's implosion and vote of "no confidence" from the supporters. Assuming that they get roughly £5M for Eboue (not unreasonable) then the total will be close to £50M betwee the three sales.
If someone offered me that much money for those three guys given all of the circumstances, I'd say yes in a second with one condition and here's the rub. That condition is that I have a plan for what to do with that money to improve myself over where I was last season WITH those guys. That means that Wenger had better get off the mark and sign a holding midfielder and a larger central defender. If a replacement striker finds his way to the Emirates as well then that would be just dandy as well but I could live without that buy until January if it meant focusing on the other two now.
Certainly there have been rumors linking him just about every holding midfielder in Europe and a bunch of CBs as well (most notably Haageland and Bassong) but it seems like it should be time to get something done.
What's the impact for fantasy?
Vermaelen's value presumably goes up on the theory that he'll win the job over the returning Senderos and the yet-to-show-he's ready/able Djourou. (This is assuming that Song is the de facto holding midfielder right now rather than partnering Gallas)
At Citeh there really isn't much of an impact other than pushing down the value of Dunne (assuming he stays), Richards, and Onuoha. My guess is that, at least until Lescott joins, the starting defenders will be Bridge, Onuoha, Toure, and the winner of Richards/Zabaleta (should be Richards but who knows).
Here's hoping Arsene does something with the money to make this a more interesting article.
Around the Premier League
An all-encompassing round-up of the Premier League's weekend action -- on the pitch, in the boardroom and on the treatment table.
Friendlies
Jo at the double for Toffees
Posh slayed by slick Villa
Arsenal held on Rosicky's return
City plundered by Pirates
Owen nets winner on debut
Thomas nets on Tigers debut
Round-up: Spurs ease to win
Cherries suffer Spurs defeat
Grant strike sinks Latics
Round-up: Blackburn hold Roma
Round-up: Stoke embarrassed
Transfers
Adebayor completes City move
Wigan finalise Scotland deal
Manucho heads to Valladolid
Everton reject Man City bid for Lescott
Forest agree Gunter fee
Thomas handed Tigers chance
Villa sign Downing
Injuries
Arteta taking recovery slowly
Ferguson sets date for Hargreaves return
McShane concern for Bruce
Cole has new knee knock
Analysis: K2 to Citeh
Football365.com - The Morning Guvnor Gossip - Transfer Gossip - Football365 News
CHAMAKH NEXT FOR ARSENALI have to say I don't know too much about Chamakh but here's a few thoughts on the potential move of K2 to Citeh from both sides of the equation.
Arsenal are widely expected to pursue Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh if and when Emmanuel Adebayor completes his move to Manchester City.
Arsenal take... I guess it depends on which K2 you believe he is. The one from two seasons ago was a game-changer and someone you would think Gooners the world over would be crying over the loss of. More proof that Arsenal aren't a "big club" and will always lose their best players to clubs with deeper pockets and more ambition. The guy who "showed up" last season? You'd have to be THRILLED to get £25M for him because he was mediocre when he played and a gigantic pain in the ass the entire season. Seemed like he was already out the door so why not cash in at the earliest opportunity. Even better that it's to a club that is likely to be so dysfunctional that he won't make much of a difference in the overall scheme of things.
Overall, if you're an Arsenal supporter you just have to hope that the money will be split between a replacement striker (Chamakh or Huntelaar or someone) and that illusive holding midfielder. Heck, if there's another centre back on the way as well, that wouldn't be so bad. In fact, I'd prioritize the signings as holding mid first, centre back second, and replacement "target" striker third (despite being a bit of an arrogant ass, Bendtner isn't bad and still has plenty of room to improve at his age).
Citeh take... What's going on in Manchester these days? Have the managers there developed some sort of striker-related blinders where the only players they see on the market they could possibly buy are strikers? Between United and Citeh, there has been an incredible focus up front while ignoring each squad's real need (for United the midfield and Citeh the defence). Have they really just made RSC obsolete/second choice before he has even played his first pre-season match? How much did they spend on him again? Even at the height of their foolish spending earlier in the decade Chelsea didn't spend this poorly.
I know, I know they're going after John Terry too but in the wake of signing Barry, RSC and Tevez to go with Robinho, Bellamy, Caidedo, SWP, MPet, Ireland, and the rest you'd think that all focus would be on defenders - central and wide. But hey, that's just me.
More as the transfer market progresses.
In the News
AFP/Getty Images
- Rovers 'excited' by Ince - Perhaps this is continuity by any means necessary? Ince another branch of the SAF coaching tree and could bring a similar approach/tone to Rovers that Mark Hughes did.
- Milan confirm Adebayor focus - Don't know how much of this is bluster, but Arsenal really need to hold on to K2. He gave them something different than what they've had over the past few years in an aerial threat. It meant that teams had to respect crosses from the fullbacks which opened the middle of the pitch up for Cesc to work. It doesn't appear that Benchtner is ready to step up to being an every week player at this level, so Arsene may have to look to bring in someone new to partner RvP (while he's healthy). Any names come to mind? RSC, perhaps?
- Podolski hits out at Bayern - It would be nice to see Podolski in the Premier League. He's +10 for sure! Surely he'd only move for European football, so that means Spurs, Everton, or one of the big boys. Wouldn't he look nice in blue -- either in the capitol or the north west.
- Arshavin prefers Spain move Arshavin/Messi playing in behind Barca's new center forward? Reminiscent of what the Dutch were doing this summer, or Milan did with Kaka and Seedorf.
- Nihat heads home - Huge loss for the Turks to only compound their problems with injuries and suspensions.
Who is K2?
A handy guide to blog nicknames and shorthand
- AJAndrew Johnson
- ArbAlvaro Arbeloa
- The BeastJulio Baptista
- BenchtnerNiclas Bendtner. So named for his habit of being stuck on the bench when picked for one's fantasy team.
- BFARBig Fat Andy Reid
- BFAYBlog Favorite Ashley Young
- BFDBBlog Favorite David Bentley
- BFFLBig Fat Frank Lampard
- Captain Kirk(also The Capt. or Capt. Kirk) Chris Kirkland.
- CarlitoCarlos Tevez
- CescCesc Fabregas. See also, Fab
- CletusClint Dempsey, See also, The Duece
- CletusClint Mathis. The original Cletus.
- CRonCristiano Ronaldo
- DogboyDidier Drogba. See also, Drogs
- DrogsDidier Drogba. See also, Dogboy
- The DeuceClint Dempsey, See also, Cletus
- Duff Duff DuffDamien Duff. See also, Duffman
- DuffmanDamien Duff. See also, Duff Duff Duff
- EdSEduardo da Silva. Not to be confused with...
- EvdSEdwin van der Sar
- FabCesc Fabregas. Now confused by the emergence of reserve keeper Lukas Fabianski.
- FaddyJames McFadden
- FASDAFuture Arsenal Striker (in Neal's fondest wishes) Dean Ashton
- GabbyGabriel Agbonlahor
- The GoatShaun Goater
- The ElkNicolas "Le Sulk" Anelka
- JARJohn Arne Riise
- JRobJason Roberts
- JummyJimmy Bullard
- K2Emmanuel Adebayor. He is tall as a mountain, and reminiscent of former Arsenal striker Kanu in his stature and playing style. Hence K2 or K2.0, or K2.6.
- KaboomYounes Kaboul
- KJKenwyne Jones. See also KWyne and Wyn-e the Pooh
- KWyne(pronounced K-Win) Kenwyne Jones. See also KJ and Wyn-e the Pooh
- LMO(Little Mikey Owen) Michael Owen
- LRobLaurent Robert, formerly of Newcastle United and Derby County; now with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.
- MPetMartin Petrov
- MTayMatthew Taylor
- MGPMorten Gamst Pedersen
- NandoFernando Torres
- NRCNigel Reo-Coker
- paR-TayRyan Taylor. See also, RTay
- PRobboPaul Robinson. See also, Robbo
- RobboPaul Robinson. See also, PRobbo
- RSCRoque Santa Cruz
- RTayRyan Taylor. See also, paR-Tay
- RVNRuud van Nistlerooy
- RVPor RvP, Robin van Persie
- SAFSir Alex Ferguson
- SGESven Goran Eriksson
- SickyTomas Rosicky
- SPetStyllian Petrov
- StevieGSteven Gerrard
- SWPShaun Wright-Phillips
- THThierry Henry, the man so good he needed a nickname, and began this whole thing
- TheoTheo Walcott
- THoTim Howard
- THudTom Huddlestone
- Wyn-e the PoohKenwyne Jones. See also KJ and KWyne
- The YakAgbyeni Yakubu
Liverpool - Arsenal goals
Each of the six goals from the Champions League quarterfinal, second leg - bar the penalty kick - are worth watching again.
Aliadiere joins Middlesbrough
"'Who are two players who won't be at Arsenal next season?' Alex."
Jeremie Aliadiere has joined Middlesbrough from Arsenal on a three-year deal for £1.5 million, according to his agent.This was only a matter of time. Arsenal needed to unload Aliadiere who hasn't proved that he can score with any regularity at any level -- be it the top level of English or Scottish football, or the lower competion of the Championship and the Carling Cup. Assuming everyone else gets healthy and stays at Arsenal, you have a selection of Henry, van Persie, K2, and Bendtner. The last more successful at Birmingham than Aliadiere ever was at Wolves.The 24-year old former France Under-21 striker had been linked with a move to the Riverside since the January transfer window of 2007, with a proposed move vetoed by Arsene Wenger due to injuries suffered by fellow Arsenal strikers Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie.
But, following Mark Viduka's departure to Newcastle and the release of squad players Massimo Maccarone and Malcolm Christie, Boro boss Gareth Southgate has moved to reinforce the striking ranks in Teesside with the player,who will partner Yakubu Aiyegbeni and, if the transfer is completed as proposed, Turkey star Tuncay.
On the other end of the deal, it's not quite clear what Boro are doing. Should the rumours pan out, they're looking at a choice amongst Beattie (big, lumbering, and 2-years removed from any semblance of form), Smith (small, lumbering, and 2-years removed from any semblance of form), Tuncay (an unknown, untried in the Premiership), and Aliadiere who has yet to impress at any level.
No Yak. No BFMV. No creativity in midfield. Another year-long series of poor deliveries from the left flank as their only plan. I would expect to see Boro, along with Fulham, Wigan, Bolton, and Derby mired at the bottom of the table next season.
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