Barn Door Team - Week 8

It's international week, but that doesn't mean we're not already looking ahead to the next gameweek in ten days time. Here's my team, assembled over the course of last weekend.



There are injuries here, and some questions. Look for changes, and the (surely faulty) reasoning to come.

Injuries and Suspensions

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.

Week 4 Barn Door Team

Here's my mid-week attempt to assemble a squad for the upcoming weekend. The defence is largely unchanged, with David De Gea, the wonderfully mellifluous Angel Rangel, and Matthew Briggs (though John Arne Riise started and played an hour of Norway's 0-2 loss to Denmark yesterday). I have brought in Armand Traore after his move to QPR. Hopefully he's an attacking left-back or even a spot starter in midfield. We'll see.  Traore and Briggs are probably on the bubble.

In midfield I've added Samir Nasri to complement David Silva, who is playing like a season keeper.  Theo Walcott and Yossi Benayoun (cheap and probably starting in place of the still suspended Gervinho) host Swansea, and while the Swans aren't pushovers (see Rangel, Angel above) Arsenal will be looking to put a few past the newly promoted team.

That's why I've made room in my team for Robin van Persie.  He's more expensive, thanks to his consolation goal at Old Trattford but he is likely still value-for-money should things go Arsenal's way this weekend.  Edin Dzeko gets a barn door place after his amazing four goals against Spurs. The final spot was either Sergio Aguero or Juan Mata, but with doubts over Aguero's staring place (flying back from India) and Mata's role in the team I'm leaning towards Fulham's new boy, Bryan Ruiz.  They're playing Blackburn Rovers this weekend, which seems to be the recipe for fantasy success this season.  Well that or playing for a Manchester side.  

Theo Walcott Injured Again

Groundhog Day.

Theo Walcott has been forced to fly home with an ankle injury.

Walcott will now undergo further scans with the new Premier League season just two weeks away.

"Theo went home early and was due to have an MRI on Tuesday," Wenger said.

"It is an old ankle injury from the end of last season. It's one that comes and goes.

"We need some more investigation because sometimes he's completely free of it and sometimes it affects him.

"But we had to send him back because he couldn't practice anymore."

At least it is not a new injury, but this is not how he wanted to start the new season. Especially with Gervinho ready to play on the right of a front three.

What Makes a Good Squad Player

I had an interesting interaction with a reporter/writer that I was not familiar with until yesterday. His name is Tom Williams and he can be found on Twitter at @Tomwfootball. His original tweeted premise, on the occasion of Patrick Vieira's retirement as an active player, was spot on.

Measure of Vieira's impact: players like Abou Diaby mistakenly typecast as defensive midfielders just because they have a similar physique.less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyTom Williams
tomwfootball

There is an entire generation of lanky midfielders - mostly French or French-speaking West African - who have been labeled "next Vieira" while their managers, journalists and supporters attempt to push them into the "Vieira role", defined as box-to-box action with a heavy emphasis on the holding role. Not as holding-only as Makelele, but certainly far better and more focused on that role than someone like Pirlo or Alonso who is more deep-lying distributor.

As Mr. Williams indicates in his Tweet, it is a huge tribute to Vieira that the desire to find the next one of him caused managers to stop looking at a player's actual qualities and just assume that he should fit a certain mold. My response, which was perhaps a bit extreme but still valid at the core was that not only some players - most notably Yaya Toure - have been mis-categorized as holding midfielders by managers, the media, and supporters. There are also players, like Abou Diaby, who have been miscast as being better than they actually are because of the hope that they will eventually fulfill that "Next Vieira" promise.

@tomwfootball mistakenly typecast as DMs in the case of say Yaya Toure, miscast as top flight footballers period in the case of Diabyless than a minute ago via yoono Favorite Retweet ReplyNeal Thurman
nealjthurman

Mr. Williams didn't think very highly of my opinion of Diaby as being "miscast as a top flight player" which got me to thinking about what makes a good squad player.  I think we'd all agree (even Mr. Williams) that Diaby hasn't shown enough that even a bottom half team would buy him with the intention of him being a regular starter.  Between injury and lack of consistent production (either attacking or defending) he just isn't as good as midfielders currently starting in the Prem.  Higher up the table he wouldn't be rated as of high enough quality.  Farther down the table, his abilities might shine a bit more in comparison to current starters but his inability to stay on the field for more than a few matches at a time would make him a poor choice.

In an effort to re-examine my reply to Mr. Williams' Tweet, I started thinking about what makes a good squad player in an effort to determine whether I over-reacted in saying that Diaby has been miscast as a top flight player (at least in England).  Here's what I came up with as far as constructing reserves:

Barn Door Team

Here we go again.

My barn door team after the weekend looks like this:

Progressive changes (regressive possibly, I'll leave that to you) after the jump.

Arsenal Injured Again

Arsenal Football Club News | Football365 | Premier League | DOUBLE BLOW FOR GUNNERS

Arsenal have two more injury worries to contend with after Alex Song and Theo Walcott picked up knocks against Everton on Tuesday night.

Defensive midfielder Song is struggling with a leg problem having been inadvertently kicked by team-mate Laurent Koscielny during the Gunners' 2-1 win at Emirates Stadium and replaced by Abou Diaby.

Young winger Walcott, meanwhile, completed the full 90 minutes but was left nursing an ankle problem after the final whistle.

This comes on top of the other news that,

Samir Nasri picked up a hamstring problem in Sunday's FA Cup win over Huddersfield.

Wenger has confirmed the French star will be out for three weeks after undergoing a scan on the injury, meaning he will miss the Gunners' crucial UEFA Champions League tie against Barcelona at the Emirates on February 16th.

... and,

Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is set to be sidelined for the rest of the season.

The Poland international damaged his shoulder earlier this term and he aggravated the problem during a warm-up ahead of their match with Manchester City.

Now Fabianski is having surgery which is set to sideline him for the remainder of the season.

So Szczesny it is, for the long-term. And Arshavin, Diaby and 'Sicky will have roles to play too. But Arsenal will be without their most (more) defensively-minded midfielder, perhaps forcing Wilshere and maybe Fabregas a little further away from goal.

Theo Walcott Out for Four to Six Weeks

Photo courtesy SkySports

Walcott sidelined for ‘four to six weeks’ | News Archive | News | Arsenal.com

Theo Walcott is likely to be out for “four to six weeks”, according to Arsène Wenger.

Speaking to TV Online on Thursday, the Arsenal manager confirmed the extent of the ankle injury picked up by the 21-year-old playing for England on Tuesday night.

It was announced earlier this week that Wenger will be without Robin van Persie for a similar length of time but, on the upside, Samir Nasri has recovered quicker than expected after knee surgery and could even be involved this weekend against Bolton. He’ll definitely be back for SC Braga on Wednesday.

In addition, Johan Djourou and Denilson are available after injury while Sebastien Squillaci could be involved for the first time after his move from Sevilla. All three came through a Reserve team run-out in midweek.

As I wrote on Twitter when his two-week injury was being evaluated by the club,

Is there a scarier phrase in football than "Arsenal's medical team will assess"?

Jermain Defoe KO for Six Weeks

Harry Redknapp confirms Jermain Defoe KO | The Sun | Sport | Football

TOTTENHAM boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed the news that Jermain Defoe has been ruled out for six weeks with an ankle injury.

Defoe was taken off on a stretcher during England's 3-1 victory in Switzerland but had hoped to be fit to face West Brom this weekend.

But the Spurs striker was on crutches and wearing a protective boot on his right foot at Spurs' training ground today

Boss Redknapp said: "Even if it's a bad sprain, you're still talking about six weeks or so, because it's a nasty one."

But Theo hopes to be back midweek.

Premier League Roundup

Maybe Kuyt should just leave this kind of thing to the experts.

International break always brings with it injuries, real or imagined, that fantasy managers have to take into consideration for the next game week.  Some are big news, others are a bit more obscure.  This time, there is the added fun of the transfer window having just closed so there's also news about new players and their potential to start (and shine) for their new teams.  Here's what I've been tracking over the last few days:

Walcott Out for Two Weeks

Photo courtesy SkySports

Premier League - Walcott set for spell on sidelines - Yahoo! Eurosport

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott's ankle injury sustained during England's 3-1 win over Switzerland in Basel is not as bad as first feared, but he still faces up to two weeks on the sidelines...

After finding Glen Johnson out wide, Walcott continued his run into the Swiss box, only to trip over Steve von Bergen's outstretched leg just before Wayne Rooney tapped home Johnson's cross from close range.

The 21-year-old was taken to hospital for a precautionary X-ray on his ankle, but the scan revealed he had merely sprained rather than broken it.

England manager Fabio Capello said after the match: "It's a little problem, but not a big problem. We will have to wait to see how it is.

"I spoke with Theo and he told me it is not a big problem. I said 'two weeks?'. He said less."

I'm tipping Eboue to take the right-side of the front three spot, and for 5.55 looks a good bet at home against an admittedly tough-looking Bolton.

TW14

Okay, the title may be a bit blasphemous, but I have to give a little love to hat-trick hero Theo Walcott. I picked him for my team and am honestly surprised that he wasn't more of a popular selection. Of course I don't know how many fantasy Premier League teams did pick him up because Yahoo! hasn't updated the game yet. But that's a story for another day... or post.


 by Guardian Chalkboards

It's a bit amazing that after two weekends, we'll already had three players score hat-tricks - Didier Drogba, Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott. Another player, Florent Malouda, has three goals and Drogba even added a hat-trick of assists against Wigan.  With Spurs hosting Wigan, Manchester United hosting West Ham United and Chelsea hosting Stoke City would anyone bet on the trend NOT continuing?

Strikers - Some Stricken, Some Stout

• Walcott and Eduardo back for Arsenal
• New blow for crocked Viduka
• Anichebe out for season

Liverpool - Arsenal goals

Each of the six goals from the Champions League quarterfinal, second leg - bar the penalty kick - are worth watching again.

Baptista Heading Back To Real

Julio Baptista is set to return to Spain following his season with Arsenal.

The 25-year-old Brazil international was on loan from Real Madrid, with Jose Antonio Reyes going the other way, and had his advisors in London towards the end of the season to discuss his future with the Gunners.

"Arsenal have told me they are not able to buy me and so all I can do is return to Real Madrid," he said in Spanish newspaper Marca.

...

He got into double figures for Arsenal but six of those goals came in the Carling Cup, and he did not make the same impact in the Premiership. He also revealed recently that he struggled with the English weather.

Baptista's return would improve the chances of Theo Walcott establishing himself in Arsene Wenger's starting XI, with the 18-year-old back in training following his shoulder operation.

This is spectacularly unsurprising news. But it is nice to be reminded of Walcott, whose return to health will give the Gunners another option on the right side of midfield.