Without Tevez, Spurs and Citeh are the same team. What do I mean? Both teams have too much invested in too many guys (Modric, VDV, Silva, AJohnson, Milner) who like to play at the periphery waiting to feed off the main action. Dzeko and Crouch just don't seem good enough against stout central defenders who can muscle them off their spots. Neither team had that central figure that just wanted to dominate the game. The problem with the lack of central forwards combined with the absence of a driving force is that it means that neither team has central action for all those other guys to play off of.
Maybe Bale is that guy longer term for Spurs and Tevez could be for Citeh if he stays but with both questionable (Bale has been injured a lot in a brief career) I will be curious to see what's next for both. In some ways Liverpool is ahead of both teams with Meireles, Gerrard, Suarez, and Carroll - they just need to figure out if Kuyt and Maxi are the right complimentary pieces.
As an aside, I enjoyed watching Yaya Toure much more than I thought I would. His game is definitely an acquired taste because he doesn't look the part and he spends a lot of time shuffling around like he's Kolo's much older brother and not his younger brother. That said, when it is time to take action, he's very good and very fast and very assertive. He's the player we Arsenal players keep hoping against any reasonable hope that Abu Diaby might become. He's probably not worth the money but now that they've paid it - he's a useful guy to have around.
Barn Door Team
There is still much football to be played this "week" as Liverpool travel to Fulham later today, and the big Spurs/ManCity clash on Tuesday. But the barn door (and time and tide) wait for no fantasy manager. Here's the state of my team after the weekend's action:
A few enablers in Heitinga, Zenden, and even Hitzlsperger allow for some big spending up top with Odemwingie and van Persie. Tevez comes into the mix depending on how he looks against Spurs. Of course he'll have the FA Cup match before the rematch against Stoke the following Tuesday so I may stay away. Same goes for David Silva, whom I'm holding, but in this team I've replaced him with Matty Taylor. Bolton are on the road against a motivated Blackpool, but I figure there will be goals on both sides of the pitch in that one. Hence my keeping Sturridge even after he broke my heart against Sunderland this weekend. When will I ever learn not to bet on Bolton? It should be a rule or something!
In net I've moved from Hart to Edwin Van Der Sar. I expect Manchester United to clinch the Premier League title this weekend at Ewood Park and to do it "to nil". However, that is a pool of money to draw from to upgrade elsewhere... I'm looking at your spots, Johnny Heit and B.Zenden!
Where have you netted out on the barn door?
A few enablers in Heitinga, Zenden, and even Hitzlsperger allow for some big spending up top with Odemwingie and van Persie. Tevez comes into the mix depending on how he looks against Spurs. Of course he'll have the FA Cup match before the rematch against Stoke the following Tuesday so I may stay away. Same goes for David Silva, whom I'm holding, but in this team I've replaced him with Matty Taylor. Bolton are on the road against a motivated Blackpool, but I figure there will be goals on both sides of the pitch in that one. Hence my keeping Sturridge even after he broke my heart against Sunderland this weekend. When will I ever learn not to bet on Bolton? It should be a rule or something!
In net I've moved from Hart to Edwin Van Der Sar. I expect Manchester United to clinch the Premier League title this weekend at Ewood Park and to do it "to nil". However, that is a pool of money to draw from to upgrade elsewhere... I'm looking at your spots, Johnny Heit and B.Zenden!
Where have you netted out on the barn door?
Van Persie Scores Again
But the way Y! reports it, well...
The Dutch striker finally made the breakthrough with a chance he created himself, forcing his way into the box before drilling a low shit under the keeper for his 20th goal of 2011.
He's a streaky scorer!
This goal was no stain on his record.
Arsenal really stepped in it today.
Shame that it was just a constipation goal.
(Okay, that last one needs work.)
h/t Sylvie's Pet (Project)
Injuries and Suspensions
Head-to-head this week.
So I started the week with a real bee in my bonnet for 2-gamers. As I posted on Monday I made room for ten of them in my team.
Now? Now I'm not so sure.
I think there's value in some of the one-gamers, notably Bolton hosting Sunderland, Rovers @ West Ham, and West Brom @ Wolves. And I can't get a good handle on whom will play (and perform) for the doubles.
So here's where I am going into what is sure to be wild Friday trading:
The Week Ahead - The Breaks of the Game Edition
Now in general I am a huge subscriber to the notion that "you are what your record says you are" (apologies to Bill Parcels). Ifs, ands, buts, and the like are generally for losers. That said, I came across this on The Twitter this morning and thought it would be interesting to share in light of the criticism that Arsene Wenger has received this season for sticking to his (ahem) guns when it comes to his policy of youth. Likewise, it sheds some interesting light on the "amazing" job that Sir Alex is doing.
 |
| Modified table in a world where all shots off the bar/post went in (Source: Opta) |
In any event, with summer coming and the inevitable call for Arsenal to spend a ton to refurbish the squad this hypothetical graphic gives some wings to the notion that they really aren't that far off in what they're doing.
By contrast everything has gone perfectly for Man United who would be project to have EXACTLY the same number of points had all of their shots hitting the target gone in. Call them brutally efficient if you'd like. Also realize that it means that with the squad as currently constituted they have almost zero room for error. If only a few of those shots that Chicharito nestled just inside the bar start hitting the bar and bouncing out instead they could be in for an ugly season unless they bolster their squad.
Before the comments start to roll in, this is in NO WAY an attempt to claim that Arsenal are the rightful winners of the title or that they are a better team than Manchester United this season. You are what your record says you are. United or Chelsea will win the title and if they do so they will do so deservedly. My only point is that things aren't quite as dire as you are likely to read at the Emirates as they head into the summer.
And with that we take you to your regularly scheduled fantasy analysis:
Injuries and Suspensions
Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet
- Sturridge and Steinsson are both doubtful for Bolton which is certainly a bummer for fantasy managers - Sturridge has been great (and still leads Torres 7 goals to one meaningless goal since the Transfer Window closed). Steinsson is a bummer because he's a cheap way to get in on Bolton's potential CS against Rovers who have been bad since their ownership/managerial change. [Thought: PRobbo switches to the right and Alonso gets in at (attacking) left-back. -jeremy]
- Eth is confirmed out for the match at Blackpool - Pennant becomes even more attractive as the percentage of kicks that come his way increases. [Thought: Whelan is a NICE enabler. Under 3 and likely to take some percentage of corners. -jeremy]
- Sunderland are missing all of their forwards which should push Sessegnon up as a great fill-in option - the bitch of it all is that he isn't listed in the game so while he WOULD be a great option, Yahoo! has shown their weakness in never adding him. [Thought: Malbranque likely to start behind the "forward" and may be your way in if you fancy Sunderland. And if you do, why? -jeremy]
- Zamora and AJ are both "pushing" for starts - no idea what that is going to translate to other than "I'd avoid the situation" [Thought: Shame as I'm liking Eidur "Iceman" Gudjohnsen as an enabler this week. Eidur and Steed... what is this, 2002 all over again?. -jeremy]
- Brunt, Thomas and Reid are out for WBA which will hurt their attack against Villa. [Thought: Jara and Vela become relevant, but Cox isn't listed. He's been sessegnoned. -jeremy]
- Old blog favorite fallen on hard times Mikel Arteta has a chance to come back into the squad - this one is worth watching but more for next week than this one. [Thought: Beckford or Osman in this one. -jeremy]
- THud is doubtful along with Corluka and Kranjcar with BAE definitely out of action.
- SEB appears unlikely to return joining Doyle on the sidelines as Wolves see it all slipping away. [Thought: As Neal suggested in The Week Ahead, load up on your BRM defenders. Maybe Larsson as well. -jeremy]
- Carroll seems likely but not definite to return for the NUFC match. [Thought: I'm thinking this is another SAF 'resting' Rooney @Everton. It works in Liverpool's favor if Carroll misses this one. I'm in on Suarez and Kuyt. Don't trust that Maxi was anything but a flash in the pan -jeremy]
- No useful news on the Citeh line-up other than confirming that Tevez will definitely NOT play.
The Week Ahead - Matchweek 35
It took a while but good things finally happened for (most) fantasy managers who went with two-gamers over the stalwarts from places like Chelsea and Arsenal who were still on their roster from a week ago. There were certainly pitfalls with Zamora, SEB, and eventually Eth being limited by injury (I had all three). Despite those pitfalls some combination of the highly regarded two-gamers - Sturridge, Dempsey, KJones, Pennant, Schwarzer, Begovic, Hangeland, Shawcross, etc - won the day. Even with almost no contribution from the three injured players I ended the week over 100 which is pretty solid when compared with the the one-game alternatives (unless you knew Maxi was going to get a hat trick).
I guess my point is that if you play it smart and limit yourself to guys who at least have a chance to be solid fantasy contributors in any individual match, you're likely to be happy to have those guys for two matches over more talented players over one match. Occasionally it doesn't work out (see the Birmingham disaster of a month or so ago) but much more often than not it will.
Was it sweating bullets on Saturday evening when it was clear that the first round of matches was all but useless? Definitely. Do I feel a lot better now that the second set of matches has been played and it turned out much better? Even more so.
Just something to keep in mind as you look forward to next week when again, there will be a limited number of teams (this time two) who will play two matches. The good news is that the teams are better - Manchester City and Spurs. The bad news is that they play each other in what might be the most unpredictable pairing in the league right now. Still, my inclination is to start thinking about my two-game strategy now rather than thinking that I might want to ignore the two-game thing entirely.
History Repeating
In your history books
Check out this post from the blog's first month back in 2004:
Fantasy Premier League Blog: The Roman Empire
We love the Fantasy EPL mentality that Mr. Abromavich has brought to Chelsea, but we're not sure he's picking the right guys up front. To prove our point, we'll be tracking the fantasy totals of Roman/Jose's current strikers against the ones they've kindly loaned out to their rivals (specifically Carlton Cole and Mikael Forssell). Even with a 3 striker to 2 advantage the Banished lead those still around by the narrow margin of 21.60 to 20.40.
After Week 1:
The Most Favored:
D. Drogba - 5.30
E. Gudjohnsen - 10.20
M. Kezmen - 4.90
The Banished:
C. Cole - 16.70
M. Forssell - 4.90
And now compare today's situation where Neal is giving us weekly updates on the respective goal tallies of Torres (1) and Sturridge (7).
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même.
Messi!
Thanks to 101GreatGoals for the clips.
Update: The comparisons come easy. Watch the first goal in this collection and tell me who did it better?
Season over for Ireland
Not that it ever really got started.
BBC Sport - Season over for Newcastle United's Stephen Ireland
Newcastle United have confirmed midfielder Stephen Ireland will miss the remainder of the Premier League season with an ankle injury.
But there's another enabler taken off the board.
Sturridge a doubt
Sturridge a doubt for Trotters - Yahoo! Eurosport
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:
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."
Ebanks-Blake doubt for Wolves
Ebanks-Blake doubt for Wolves - Yahoo! Eurosport
Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is a major doubt for the Barclays Premier League derby with Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
Ebanks-Blake suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury after appearing as a substitute during the weekend home draw with Fulham, after initially suffering the injury in the previous game against Everton when he came off at half-time.
How many of you went with SEB? I'm too gun-shy when it comes to injury doubts so I stayed clear. Looks like it may work out for me this time. Maybe.
Barn Door Watch
We're back to one match per team next week and have some big clashes at the top as an added bonus. Arsenal host Manchester United and Chelsea host Spurs. I generally go a bit overboard in avoiding clashes at the top and given what I've seen from Arsenal at home and United on the road, I'm pretty inclined to continue that pattern with that match. Chelsea are more attractive hosting Spurs in my mind because Chelsea are scoring more and Spurs are wilting against strong attacks as the season winds down.
In other match-ups I'll be anticipating...
In other match-ups I'll be anticipating...
- The big opportunity is Citeh hosting West Ham - I don't know if Tevez has a chance to be back for this one but seems likely that Citeh will score some goals in this one. I'll definitely be looking at Johnson, Silva, Balotelli, etc. on the BD
- The second match-up that catches my eye is Liverpool hosting NUFC. I'm never quite sure what to make of NUFC but you have to like Carroll's chances of terrorizing his former side. The only bummer is that Suarez's retail price has (predictably) skyrocketed. I'll also be watching Liverpool's kids to see if any of them are likely to a) continue deputizing and b) produce decent points.
- Birmingham vs. Wolves feels like a defensive struggle (or maybe I'd be better off putting it as "a struggle to generate any offense"). In any event, I'm very likely to scout this one for defenders and keepers. Hennessey is of particular interest given his price.
- My final note will be for those who loaded up on Fulham (Schwarzer, Dempsey, Zamora, etc.) for the two-match week this week - I wouldn't drop those players too quickly. With a trip to the Stadium of Light coming up next, keeping some or all of them isn't the worst idea ever.
A Financial Win For Liverpool
Liverpool land Premier League record £25m-a-year kit deal - Goal.com
Signing with an unknown (at least in football) brand apparently has its benefits. Having gone to a lacrosse-mad college (Johns Hopkins) in a lacrosse-mad town (Baltimore) I've heard of Warrior Sports from their core lacrosse business. I wouldn't have guessed that they'd try to make the leap into football but it sounds like parent New Balance is looking to a relationship with John Henry and Fenway Sports Group to elevate themselves beyond their current niche in running and lacrosse via Warrior. It will be interesting to see what happens with Warrior Sports next.
From a Liverpool standpoint, this can be seen as nothing but a huge win. Nearly doubling the revenue that the shirt sponsorship brings in looks like it will mean the equivalent of a very nice player transfer per season for the duration of the deal. £12 to £13 million won't sign you a superstar player but it will certainly allow you to sign an extra Gary Cahill-type player at the back or perhaps an above average left back with some money left over for a wide player. And it means you have the financial flexibility to do that one additional time EACH YEAR compared to what they were looking at with a renewal of their deal with adidas - presumably at similar terms.
Interesting way to get the summer started.
Signing with an unknown (at least in football) brand apparently has its benefits. Having gone to a lacrosse-mad college (Johns Hopkins) in a lacrosse-mad town (Baltimore) I've heard of Warrior Sports from their core lacrosse business. I wouldn't have guessed that they'd try to make the leap into football but it sounds like parent New Balance is looking to a relationship with John Henry and Fenway Sports Group to elevate themselves beyond their current niche in running and lacrosse via Warrior. It will be interesting to see what happens with Warrior Sports next.
From a Liverpool standpoint, this can be seen as nothing but a huge win. Nearly doubling the revenue that the shirt sponsorship brings in looks like it will mean the equivalent of a very nice player transfer per season for the duration of the deal. £12 to £13 million won't sign you a superstar player but it will certainly allow you to sign an extra Gary Cahill-type player at the back or perhaps an above average left back with some money left over for a wide player. And it means you have the financial flexibility to do that one additional time EACH YEAR compared to what they were looking at with a renewal of their deal with adidas - presumably at similar terms.
Interesting way to get the summer started.
Injuries and Suspensions
Here are the important notes from the team news focused mostly on the two-match teams:
Look for "Barn Door Watch" a little later in the day and then a Live Chat as usual on Saturday.
- Bolton - Not sure how to feel about the supposition that the "weary trio" of MPet, Elmander, and Klasnic will make way for Sturridge, Mark Davies, and Matty Taylor. Sturridge will have a spot because he's been awesome and was only out due to being Cup tied. As for the others, I wouldn't worry too much about any of them.
- Fulham - They look to be at nearly full health minus I&S All Star Damien Duff who looks like he'll definitely miss the first match of Fulham's two and is probably unlikely at best for the second.
- Stoke - Not much injury news for Stoke other than the assertion that Begovic will return to the starting line-up after making way for Sorensen in the FA Cup Semi-Final last weekend.
- Wolves - The important news is that SEB was in training yesterday and presumably will be again today after leaving the Everton match two weeks ago with a hamstring complaint. With a general lack of alternatives up front and a desperate need for points you have to imagine he'll be starting.
- Chelsea - Alex and Ramires are definitely out with ACole a question. The BBC team report indicates that Ancelotti "hinted he will make changes" which could put Drogs and Kalou at risk of sitting in favor of Elk and Nando. Makes me VERY nervous.
- Man United - Not much here with Berbs a slight doubt, Scholes out on suspension, and Rafael back.
- Arsenal - The only injuries of note (aside from the long term ones) are to Diaby and Rosicky and I hope you weren't looking to add them to your line-up.
- Citeh - Tevez and Micah Richards are still out but that's about it from the injury front. Not much indication on rotation policy and who is likely to play which is frustrating.
- Liverpool - No useful news on Carroll, Carra, or Aurellio who are all listed as "doubts" which pretty much kills the value of both those players and their potential replacements.
- Spurs - Bale is listed as a major doubt after coming off early against Arsenal. He looked pretty beat up so I'd be surprised to see him play.
Look for "Barn Door Watch" a little later in the day and then a Live Chat as usual on Saturday.
The Week Ahead - Matchweek 34
I wish I could say that anything that unfolded in the North London Derby yesterday surprised me but I honestly can't. As much as I and other Arsenal supporters might wish it to be otherwise, the current incarnation of the club just isn't ready to cope with high pressure situations. Until they sprinkle some seasoning in with the young talent, they will remain a group with unrealized potential. I won't say that they are underachievers because while there is talent there, they have ended up the season doing what pretty much everyone figured they would. They're near the top but not good enough to win the league. The agonizing that has gone on in the press about them stems mostly from the fact that the flaws are obvious and fixable given Arsenal's resources, reputation, and location. That the flaws have gone ignored and generally unacknowledged makes people a bit crazy.
On the other side of the field, Spurs are to borrow a phrase from Dennis Green, lately of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, "what we thought they were" as well. They have some standout talents to score in big matches but just aren't good enough at the back to ensure that they don't concede more than they score in such situations. The other big problem is that their standout talents are also seemingly very frail. We're talking Robin van Persie frail. van der Vaart has always been that way and Bale's brief career as a starter has been interrupted by significant injury layoffs at an alarming rate.
The upside is that when they get together these two sides put on a heck of a show. The downside is that both fan bases are going to continue to feel somewhat tortured unless more effective solutions can be found for the problems that have dogged both sides for at least the last few years.
We'll move on to suggesting some specific remedies once the fantasy season is over and the thoughts of all good Premier League writers move to transfer targets and squad transformation.
And with that we move from rant to your regularly scheduled fantasy analysis of the coming week:
On the other side of the field, Spurs are to borrow a phrase from Dennis Green, lately of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, "what we thought they were" as well. They have some standout talents to score in big matches but just aren't good enough at the back to ensure that they don't concede more than they score in such situations. The other big problem is that their standout talents are also seemingly very frail. We're talking Robin van Persie frail. van der Vaart has always been that way and Bale's brief career as a starter has been interrupted by significant injury layoffs at an alarming rate.
The upside is that when they get together these two sides put on a heck of a show. The downside is that both fan bases are going to continue to feel somewhat tortured unless more effective solutions can be found for the problems that have dogged both sides for at least the last few years.
We'll move on to suggesting some specific remedies once the fantasy season is over and the thoughts of all good Premier League writers move to transfer targets and squad transformation.
And with that we move from rant to your regularly scheduled fantasy analysis of the coming week:
Timing Is Everything
Just figured I'd post a quick note as we got ready for the midweek matches to get started. The weekend gave us pretty much what we expected. Points from Drogs, FloMal, and Lamps but not too much from Torres and Elk. Kalou was the surprise package and Cech was the early disappointment.
Birmingham, as we expected, handled Sunderland and have managers feeling pretty good about things. The question is whether they end up getting much out of those same players in midweek against Chelsea on the road. The big disappointment was SuperKev who barely even showed up on the score sheet.
Arsenal did what Arsenal has done recently. RvP was worth the money but there wasn't as much value as you might have hoped for.
Two odd things about the upcoming week - one, the teams with two matches didn't play last weekend at all. The second is that most of them did very well the weekend before last despite not being exceptional teams so the prices of their best players is a little over-inflated. This will make life pretty difficult come the end of the week when you're making your decisions.
Finally, to the title of this post. There were a lot of comments killing me for the perceived slight toward Michael Carrick. I felt the reaction was overly harsh and apparently Mr. Carrick agreed with me and decided to conspire with Mr. Berbatov to give away the FA Cup semi-final. Berbs should have rendered Carrick's blunder irrelevant by scoring on his two rock solid chances but Carrick showed the depths of his mediocrity by gifting Citeh their only goal and thus their place in the FA Cup Final. Sometimes life just works out when you've given an opinion that not everyone agrees with.
Birmingham, as we expected, handled Sunderland and have managers feeling pretty good about things. The question is whether they end up getting much out of those same players in midweek against Chelsea on the road. The big disappointment was SuperKev who barely even showed up on the score sheet.
Arsenal did what Arsenal has done recently. RvP was worth the money but there wasn't as much value as you might have hoped for.
Two odd things about the upcoming week - one, the teams with two matches didn't play last weekend at all. The second is that most of them did very well the weekend before last despite not being exceptional teams so the prices of their best players is a little over-inflated. This will make life pretty difficult come the end of the week when you're making your decisions.
Finally, to the title of this post. There were a lot of comments killing me for the perceived slight toward Michael Carrick. I felt the reaction was overly harsh and apparently Mr. Carrick agreed with me and decided to conspire with Mr. Berbatov to give away the FA Cup semi-final. Berbs should have rendered Carrick's blunder irrelevant by scoring on his two rock solid chances but Carrick showed the depths of his mediocrity by gifting Citeh their only goal and thus their place in the FA Cup Final. Sometimes life just works out when you've given an opinion that not everyone agrees with.
Barn Door Watch
I don't tend to do a lot of name dropping or anything like that related to my day job but I will today because it will help explain the lateness of this post. One of my clients was invited to demonstrate something we did for them at a Cyber Security event hosted by the White House (yes, THAT White House). My client invited me and one of my co-workers along as well which was kind of cool. I'm guessing most of you don't care but it was sort of fun for me to see one of the projects I've worked on get some high level recognition.
OK, enough with the excuses and on to the look ahead to the Barn Door that we'll all be contemplating over the weekend as the matches unfold and we look to optimize our teams for the next match week.
Once again, the schedule is an odd one with everyone playing once and four teams playing twice. Here's the thing, the teams that are playing twice are going to test the skills and abilities of fantasy managers everywhere because, how to say this nicely, none of them are exactly challenging for a spot in Europe. The other quirk is that NONE OF THEM ARE PLAYING THIS WEEKEND. So really, there isn't much need to spend a lot of mental effort on the BD (which is nice).
If you do want a little look ahead just to have something to read and to consider one-gamers you might want to keep amongst the two-gamers, here are some thoughts.
So, here are the two-gamers and a quick review of the value each team is likely to deliver:
OK, enough with the excuses and on to the look ahead to the Barn Door that we'll all be contemplating over the weekend as the matches unfold and we look to optimize our teams for the next match week.
Once again, the schedule is an odd one with everyone playing once and four teams playing twice. Here's the thing, the teams that are playing twice are going to test the skills and abilities of fantasy managers everywhere because, how to say this nicely, none of them are exactly challenging for a spot in Europe. The other quirk is that NONE OF THEM ARE PLAYING THIS WEEKEND. So really, there isn't much need to spend a lot of mental effort on the BD (which is nice).
If you do want a little look ahead just to have something to read and to consider one-gamers you might want to keep amongst the two-gamers, here are some thoughts.
So, here are the two-gamers and a quick review of the value each team is likely to deliver:
The Week Ahead - Matchweek 33
Interesting reaction to the post on Charlie Adam. I saw a lot of support for Michael Carrick from people who wanted to claim that because he has won titles and started lots of matches that he's an excellent player. The second most frequent source of criticism was that I was letting my pro-Arsenal bias show through in the type of midfielders I tend to prefer. I would like to dispute both notions. And clarify my comments about Carrick and Adam.
First, on Carrick. Please check your facts - he hasn't started more than 24 matches in the league for United since 2006-07, his first year with the club. He has played 19 matches for them this season. He has been the definition of a squad player. He doesn't have any single outstanding skill. His passing is above average but not exceptional. He doesn't score. He doesn't tackle particularly well. He isn't fleet of foot. He isn't seen as the organizer of the defense. About once per season he takes an exceptional shot from long range. He is a squad player, no more. He is fortunate to be a squad player on an excellent team.
Now, lest we forget, he was purchased for £18 Million. If you bought Carrick for say £5 Million and got a squad player who can start 20-odd matches then that's some good business. If you pay £18 Million you're looking for someone you expect to start just about every match and make a noticeable contribution more than once in a blue moon.
This is the root of the comparison to Charlie Adam. I don't think Adam or Carrick would be bad players for any of the bigger teams that I listed. What I said was that I thought he'd be a disappointment for any of those teams given the amount of money that they would undoubtedly have to pay for him. The exceptional things that he does for Blackpool are already being done by other people at United, Liverpool, and Spurs.
Could Adam make the same contribution that Carrick has made to United? Sure. Is that worth £18 Million (or even the more likely fee of around £12 Million)? I wouldn't think so. I'd think any of the clubs I mentioned would be far better served going with other options - specifically options who price won't be artificially inflated by results that they are never going to see.
I appreciate that it is easy to make the connection between my support of Arsenal and any criticism I make of players who play for other teams - especially United or Spurs - but the mere fact of my support for Arsenal doesn't mean that it drives everything that I write. I'd bet that if you got an honest answer from Sir Alex that he'd be disappointed in the results of his purchase of Carrick. Not because Carrick doesn't have a role to play but because he paid WAY too much money to get him.
First, on Carrick. Please check your facts - he hasn't started more than 24 matches in the league for United since 2006-07, his first year with the club. He has played 19 matches for them this season. He has been the definition of a squad player. He doesn't have any single outstanding skill. His passing is above average but not exceptional. He doesn't score. He doesn't tackle particularly well. He isn't fleet of foot. He isn't seen as the organizer of the defense. About once per season he takes an exceptional shot from long range. He is a squad player, no more. He is fortunate to be a squad player on an excellent team.
Now, lest we forget, he was purchased for £18 Million. If you bought Carrick for say £5 Million and got a squad player who can start 20-odd matches then that's some good business. If you pay £18 Million you're looking for someone you expect to start just about every match and make a noticeable contribution more than once in a blue moon.
This is the root of the comparison to Charlie Adam. I don't think Adam or Carrick would be bad players for any of the bigger teams that I listed. What I said was that I thought he'd be a disappointment for any of those teams given the amount of money that they would undoubtedly have to pay for him. The exceptional things that he does for Blackpool are already being done by other people at United, Liverpool, and Spurs.
Could Adam make the same contribution that Carrick has made to United? Sure. Is that worth £18 Million (or even the more likely fee of around £12 Million)? I wouldn't think so. I'd think any of the clubs I mentioned would be far better served going with other options - specifically options who price won't be artificially inflated by results that they are never going to see.
I appreciate that it is easy to make the connection between my support of Arsenal and any criticism I make of players who play for other teams - especially United or Spurs - but the mere fact of my support for Arsenal doesn't mean that it drives everything that I write. I'd bet that if you got an honest answer from Sir Alex that he'd be disappointed in the results of his purchase of Carrick. Not because Carrick doesn't have a role to play but because he paid WAY too much money to get him.
Arsenal Get Four Back
Injured quartet may return to face Liverpool | News Archive | News | Arsenal.com:
Arsène Wenger hopes to have four players back for the visit of Liverpool this weekend.
Johan Djourou (shoulder) and Wojciech Szczesny (finger) were last seen departing major cup ties against Manchester United and Barcelona respectively and both face fitness tests ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash.
Alex Song (knee) and Denilson (toe) could return to bolster Arsenal's midfield but Bacary Sagna (knee) is a major doubt while goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (knee) is also doubtful.
So in addition to Szczesny and Djourou as possible 2-gamers, Eboue remains a viable option. Especially if you got him at last week's price.
The Forgotten Two-Gamers
Of course I mean Birmingham City. With Arsenal and Chelsea the marquee teams playing two this game week, it's easy to overlook the "other" Blues. But they have a good home match against Sunderland at the weekend before travelling to a less than rampart Chelsea. It's at least worth a closer look at their squad as there may be some bargains - and some pitfalls - from the Second City Players.
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.
My barn door team after the weekend looks like this:
Progressive changes (regressive possibly, I'll leave that to you) after the jump.
Adam Buyers Beware
As I sit watching David Silva come on for James Milner in the last 30 minutes of the Liverpool blowout of City today, I had a thought. We've seen Roy Hodgson rediscover both his mojo and his "proper depth" in the Premier League over the last two months. We've seen Milner (and Barry) struggle to justify their prices at a "big club" over the months since they came over from Villa. We've seen Scott Parker rediscover himself at West Ham. You get the idea.
What's my point? Some players (and managers) are meant to be big fish in little ponds while others are prepared to move on to bigger stages. The mere fact of being very good in the Premier League for a modest club is not enough to imply that you are likely to be ready for a step up.
This brings us to the case of Charlie Adam. First things first, I really like watching Adam play and I like it even more because he's been a rock for my fantasy team for most of the season at a very reasonable price. This isn't a diatribe against Charlie Adam. My worry for him is that he's not really big club material.
Why do I say that? His game will change if he moves up a few steps in the same sort of way that Uncle Woy's job changed when he moved from Fulham to Liverpool. Technically the job description is the same but that's only until you get to the fine print.
Say Adam moves to Liverpool, Spurs, or United (the three most frequently mentioned options), here's how his value will diminish:
What's my point? Some players (and managers) are meant to be big fish in little ponds while others are prepared to move on to bigger stages. The mere fact of being very good in the Premier League for a modest club is not enough to imply that you are likely to be ready for a step up.
This brings us to the case of Charlie Adam. First things first, I really like watching Adam play and I like it even more because he's been a rock for my fantasy team for most of the season at a very reasonable price. This isn't a diatribe against Charlie Adam. My worry for him is that he's not really big club material.
Why do I say that? His game will change if he moves up a few steps in the same sort of way that Uncle Woy's job changed when he moved from Fulham to Liverpool. Technically the job description is the same but that's only until you get to the fine print.
Say Adam moves to Liverpool, Spurs, or United (the three most frequently mentioned options), here's how his value will diminish:
- Free Kicks - much of Adam's value to Blackpool is on set pieces - he takes really good ones that lead to much needed goals. At the clubs mentioned above you can't really see him taking kicks over Bale, Modric, Nani, Giggs, Gerrard, Meireles, or Suarez can you?
- Possession/Creativity - Another major part of Adam's value is that he has a lot of the ball in the middle of the park for Blackpool and makes the incisive passes that often lead to the goals that have kept Blackpool at least alive and kicking for staying up. At the clubs above - specifically Liverpool and Spurs - there are midfielders in Modric and Meireles who already do an excellent job in that role. Again, Adam would be a nice back-up plan but would hardly be worth the money.
- Penalties - Adam gets a bunch of his goals for Blackpool from the spot so while the total of 9 goals from a midfielder looks nice the fact that six of them are from the spot means that his value is based in great part on the fact that he'd be the main taker. As above, it seems unlikely that Adam would be the choice at United/Spurs/Liverpool over the current cast of characters. 3 goals and 6 assists don't look quite as good as 9 goals and 6 assists, huh?
- Position - My sense is that Adam's best position is as a poor man's Alonso from the best days of Rafa's Liverpool. He isn't a "Scholes-type" tucked in behind the forwards and he isn't a Makelele/Keane-like holding destroyer. The best comparison might be Michael Carrick who was good for adequate Spurs teams but has similarly struggled with the move up in competition.
Arsenal Takeover Pending?
BBC Sport - Football - Stan Kroenke set for Arsenal takeover deal
From the sounds of this article on BBC.com Arsenal is about to be taken over by Stan Kroenke who also owns some or all of the Denver Nuggets (basketball), Colorado Avalanche (hockey), St. Louis Rams (American Football), and Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer). The Rapids are the reigning Major League Soccer champions.
I could make an attempt to give a rundown of Kroenke's history as a team owner but whatever I come up with would never hold a candle to the treatment The Swiss Ramble gave it last year so here's the link to that post.
Great information. The thing that sticks out the most for me?
From the sounds of this article on BBC.com Arsenal is about to be taken over by Stan Kroenke who also owns some or all of the Denver Nuggets (basketball), Colorado Avalanche (hockey), St. Louis Rams (American Football), and Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer). The Rapids are the reigning Major League Soccer champions.
I could make an attempt to give a rundown of Kroenke's history as a team owner but whatever I come up with would never hold a candle to the treatment The Swiss Ramble gave it last year so here's the link to that post.
Great information. The thing that sticks out the most for me?
- Looks like Wenger is good with it - that's a solid start.
- He doesn't seem likely to be a bull in a China shop.
- He isn't likely to finance the acquisition with debt.
- He does seem capable of bringing his knowledge of globalizing revenue streams to the table which seems like something Arsenal has lagged on compared to United, Chelsea, Barca, and Real and DEFINITELY compared to the major American sports which are much less popular globally in general but pull in a pretty solid amount of revenue.
- Finally, and most importantly, I like the idea that he might push Arsenal toward an American Tour over a summer in the not too distant future. I like seeing United, Barca, Milan, et al when they come but I'd much rather spend that time and money on Arsenal than any of those.
Friday Trading
In my infinite capacity to mess with a good thing, and in clear violation of the fantasy rules, I've made the following trades today:
- Howard to Carson. I don't trust any of the cheaper keepers, but West Brom is coming off a six-match unbeaten streak. They are on the road against a Sunderland team in dire form and may see this match as their last chance for points for a while with Chelsea and @Spurs next on the schedule.
- Walker to Heitinga. I may regret selling Walker as he is such a good attacking fullback. But he hasn't been bringing in the fantasy points recently and I don't trust the Villa defence to keep it clean against anyone. Heitinga should play in Everton's midfield against a limited, but dangerous Wolves side. In the end, this one came down to price.
- Valencia to Hitzlsperger. Like the above trade I can argue for the rules here. Hitz was playing well and taking kicks for West Ham before the poor showing against Manchester United. Valencia has been rumoured to be getting some sort of a rest against Fulham, which is enough to make me nervous. But in the end, this move also came down to price as I needed the money for...
- Osman to Fabregas. Osman has been playing well for me but the siren song of Arsenal @Blackpool, coupled with their double match week next week was enough to lure me over to Fabregas. Wenger says he will start against the Tangerines, and hopefully he can put on a show on the seaside.
Barn Door Watch
The two-gamers return next match week and as such, so does the need to be particularly vigilant on the Barn Door so you don't get shut out of some inexpensive two-match goodness. Here's what you need to know:
Two Gamers
Players to Watch
Two Gamers
- Chelsea - and neither of their matches (@WBA and BRM) are exceptionally difficult. Time to find a way to get some of their expensive players on board.
- Arsenal - but their matches (LIV and @TOT) are much tougher so I wouldn't get TOO excited.
- Birmingham - and they have a mixed bag of SUN (who are playing really badly) and @CHE which is going to be a lot tougher.
- Stoke
- Wolves
- Bolton
- Citeh
- Fulham
Players to Watch
- Drogba/Lamps/Cech/Luiz/Torres
- RvP
- Gardner
- Adam - he's only a one-gamer but he's home to Wigan
- Others if they're healthy - Zigic, Walcott, Martins, whomever from Everton turns up healthy in the attack (they're only 1 gamers but they're home to Rovers)
Injuries and Suspensions
Here is the list of important players who are either "Out," "Doubtful," or back from either suspension or injury.
Out
Out
- Song, Sagna, and the usual suspects - Arsenal continues to be weakened severely at the back with Clichy the only first choice option in the back six (GK, four defenders, and holding midfielder). Even second choice HM Denilson is out. Hard to keep out the goals that way.
- Nolan/Tiote/Perch - Why am I high on Villa's chances? That's a lot of suspended talent for NUFC. Especially Tiote who has been integral to their defensive efforts when they have played well.
- Bentley - Not a terribly promising weekend for him if he were healthy but he isn't
- Jiranek - Not sure why you'd be thinking about him but if you were, don't.
- Doyle - SEB likely to continue to deputize
- Rooney - I'm pretty sure we're all aware of this one.
- Evans - Also suspended meaning that Smalling is really the only option if Rio is rested between Champions League matches.
- Rafael - Started off the season the more advanced of the twins but Fabio seems to have rocketed ahead more recently.
- Bramble - Amazing that this is even relevant but testament to how far he's come.
- Campbell - Frazier that is and just making sure you know since SUN have a solid match-up.
- Walcott - I'd LOVE to pick him against Blackpool's speed-challenged defense but there isn't enough chance of him playing to warrant the spend.
- Zigic/Oba - Lots of questions around the Birmingham attack with Bentley definitely out and these two question marks.
- Rodwell/Coleman/Cahill - More reasons to like Wolves' chances at home.
- Duff - I'm sure you weren't high on him on the road at Old Trafford but he's up to his old tricks again and uncertain to play.
- Lennon - Fill in your own joke here related to his mid-week issues.
- Clark/Albrighton - Not definitely starting but more likely than they were last weekend. I'd still watch myself in both cases but at least worth thinking about.
- MGP - With Birmingham in disarray his return could mean good things for Rovers who need the three points.
- Kightly - I've been waiting for him to stay healthy since Wolves came back up to the Premier League - will this be the time he starts and shows his fantasy potential?
- Scholes - Just so you know, no reason to take an action here.
- Carew/Pennant - Stoke's attack is much more interesting with an additional battering ram up top and a second strong crosser of the ball.
- KRich - I'm not endorsing him as a pick but he should be back and available if you think he'll recapture his form of a month or so ago.
- Bardsley/Onuoha - More reason to think Sunderland will be more solid this weekend than they were in being undressed by Citeh last weekend.
The Week Ahead - Slacker Edition
I have to admit it, I'm having a lot of trouble getting motivated to focus on fantasy over the last couple of weeks. Maybe it is the fact that we've been doing this for 8 months. Maybe it is the hangover from Arsenal crashing out of contention on all four fronts. Maybe it is related to the warmer weather combined with baseball and MLS starting up and still holding so much promise. I'm guessing its mostly the Arsenal thing with a small sprinkle of the other factors as well.
Like most of the managers around the league, the end of this season has me thinking about next season and what can be done to improve what we do and how we enjoy the fantasy games available to us.
The BEST option would be to create our own fantasy game that improves on the experiences currently offered by the "big two" (PremierLeague.com and Yahoo! UK). Unfortunately, that best option is expensive and time consuming so unless there's someone out there with money to spend that believes that there is a market for a better fantasy Premier League experience, we'll have to move on to the next best thing.
The problem is that I'm not sure what the "next best thing" might be. The first thing that springs to my mind is a competition more like American-style fantasy football where those who are interested join a league, pay an entry fee with the winners (maybe the "top four") winning some percentage of the pot.
My intuition tells me that there is a need for both long term prizes like the one suggested above and short term prizes that will keep people motivated as the season wears on. As an example, in our private league, I already know I'm not going to finish above third unless one or both of the top two leave a player out of the line-up for the next four weeks. There is some pride on the line since I'm currently in fourth and would like to beat Jeremy out for third but with no tangible outcome associated with that other than a few boasting IMs over the summer that really isn't enough motivation.
Here is my thought. Since I clearly don't have the answer here, I'd like to hear from our readers. Is there interest in some sort of a premium league that would take your performance from the Yahoo game and translate it into another competition? If so, what ideas do you have for the sort of competition that would keep the fun going throughout the entire season?
I have one idea that I'll throw out there that might provide a different experience. Rather than having a "Cup" competition (AM, PremierLeague.com, and others already do that) or a private group where we exactly follow the scoring system of the overall game (EPLTalk.com and others do that). Maybe we could put teams in to "leagues" and play schedules within those individual leagues. The first few teams in each league would win prize money. It wouldn't entirely eliminate the problem of teams being out of the running for prizes toward the end of the season but it would likely increase the probability of more teams staying in the race longer.
So, what do you think? Do you like that idea? Would you participate? Would you contribute an entry fee to be involved? If not that specific idea, what else would be of interest. I'm very much open to ideas to increase our collective enjoyment of what we're spending our leisure time on.
Like most of the managers around the league, the end of this season has me thinking about next season and what can be done to improve what we do and how we enjoy the fantasy games available to us.
The BEST option would be to create our own fantasy game that improves on the experiences currently offered by the "big two" (PremierLeague.com and Yahoo! UK). Unfortunately, that best option is expensive and time consuming so unless there's someone out there with money to spend that believes that there is a market for a better fantasy Premier League experience, we'll have to move on to the next best thing.
The problem is that I'm not sure what the "next best thing" might be. The first thing that springs to my mind is a competition more like American-style fantasy football where those who are interested join a league, pay an entry fee with the winners (maybe the "top four") winning some percentage of the pot.
My intuition tells me that there is a need for both long term prizes like the one suggested above and short term prizes that will keep people motivated as the season wears on. As an example, in our private league, I already know I'm not going to finish above third unless one or both of the top two leave a player out of the line-up for the next four weeks. There is some pride on the line since I'm currently in fourth and would like to beat Jeremy out for third but with no tangible outcome associated with that other than a few boasting IMs over the summer that really isn't enough motivation.
Here is my thought. Since I clearly don't have the answer here, I'd like to hear from our readers. Is there interest in some sort of a premium league that would take your performance from the Yahoo game and translate it into another competition? If so, what ideas do you have for the sort of competition that would keep the fun going throughout the entire season?
I have one idea that I'll throw out there that might provide a different experience. Rather than having a "Cup" competition (AM, PremierLeague.com, and others already do that) or a private group where we exactly follow the scoring system of the overall game (EPLTalk.com and others do that). Maybe we could put teams in to "leagues" and play schedules within those individual leagues. The first few teams in each league would win prize money. It wouldn't entirely eliminate the problem of teams being out of the running for prizes toward the end of the season but it would likely increase the probability of more teams staying in the race longer.
So, what do you think? Do you like that idea? Would you participate? Would you contribute an entry fee to be involved? If not that specific idea, what else would be of interest. I'm very much open to ideas to increase our collective enjoyment of what we're spending our leisure time on.
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?
Jeremy's Dream Getting Closer
LeBron James to take part ownership of Liverpool FC · The Score
A while back, Jeremy wrote about American sports stars and how they might line up in soccer if they chose the beautiful game rather than whichever game they currently play to make their millions (and millions). I can't say I remember where he had LeBron James in the line-up [outside mid. -J] or if he even did at all but I'm pretty sure the answer wasn't "The Owner's Box" but in fact, that's how it is going to work out in the real world.
James is taking a small stake in Fenway Sports Group (which also owns the Boston Red Sox and a NASCAR team) in return for FSG becoming his worldwide marketing representation (or something like that).
Could we see LeBron showing up in the Director's Box at Anfield one of these days? Possible although it would presumably be early in the season as the NBA and Premier League schedules overlap for the most part with few breaks in the NBA schedule after October that would allow for time to fly to the UK and back between matches without missing practice time. Still, it can't hurt to have LeBron as part of Team Liverpool as they continue to break into new markets and gain brand awareness in places like China and India.
I just saw a Tweet urging those of us who write about soccer to "cool it" related to this topic but at the top of the major domestic leagues marketing ploys like this, if successful, can help boost a team's ancillary revenues in foreign markets which in turn would help with additional money for transfers and wages.
JayZ (who owns a similarly minor percentage) helps recruit players and do PR for the New Jersey Nets and I'm sure there are other similar examples.
Is this a huge story? Not really. Is it worthy of mentioning? Sure.
A while back, Jeremy wrote about American sports stars and how they might line up in soccer if they chose the beautiful game rather than whichever game they currently play to make their millions (and millions). I can't say I remember where he had LeBron James in the line-up [outside mid. -J] or if he even did at all but I'm pretty sure the answer wasn't "The Owner's Box" but in fact, that's how it is going to work out in the real world.
James is taking a small stake in Fenway Sports Group (which also owns the Boston Red Sox and a NASCAR team) in return for FSG becoming his worldwide marketing representation (or something like that).
Could we see LeBron showing up in the Director's Box at Anfield one of these days? Possible although it would presumably be early in the season as the NBA and Premier League schedules overlap for the most part with few breaks in the NBA schedule after October that would allow for time to fly to the UK and back between matches without missing practice time. Still, it can't hurt to have LeBron as part of Team Liverpool as they continue to break into new markets and gain brand awareness in places like China and India.
I just saw a Tweet urging those of us who write about soccer to "cool it" related to this topic but at the top of the major domestic leagues marketing ploys like this, if successful, can help boost a team's ancillary revenues in foreign markets which in turn would help with additional money for transfers and wages.
JayZ (who owns a similarly minor percentage) helps recruit players and do PR for the New Jersey Nets and I'm sure there are other similar examples.
Is this a huge story? Not really. Is it worthy of mentioning? Sure.
Dejan Stankovic wonder goal
You can't be late to an Inter Milan match these days without missing something incredible. This past weekend it was an early scrambled goal from Pato and AC Milan and yesterday... well, yesterday there was this:
h/t Off the Post
h/t Off the Post
Barn Door Team
Not that sticking with my Barn Door team last week was very successful -- or successful at all! -- but here's this week's version:
Concerns:
Concerns:
- Howard. What's the opposite of what you are looking for in a fantasy keeper? That would be THo this season. Everton haven't been consisten winners, which hurts your keeper's value. But even when they win, Howard has a knack for letting in the soft goal. Or more than one. He's been in the red (minus points) more weeks than he's earned points. Of course, that's why he's cheap. And cheap is very attractive in a keeper. And he's playing at Wolves, who have lost their leading scorer and just got hammered by Newcastle United. So hope springs eternal, but I'm really not sure that this is a good pick
- Valencia and Hernandez. Am I buying a false view of these players based on West Ham's ineptitude? I'm probably only owning them for a week as they have an FA Cup semifinal the following week instead of a league match, but they are home to Fulham. They are also in Champions League action against Chelsea on either side of this match, which could easily become a trap game. Valencia's barn door price makes him an attractive midfield option, and the other best opition at Hernandez's price range is Sturridge who also misses the following week for an FA Cup semi.
- Lampard. See above re: the Champions League.
- van Persie. Have Arsenal just collapsed? Is it redeemable? If so, it's going to be against Blackpool who are increasingly vulnerable. At 9, returning 7 per week would be acceptable. At 18 it really isn't. He's probably staying in the team because the matchup is just too good, but also because I can't quite get to Nani without making other sacrifices. But I will admit to have looked at what to do with the $10 that RvP to Sturridge would net. For instance, maybe a real goalkeeper.
First Impressions, Second Thoughts
Straight from the sources today.
Liverpool fear that Gerrard and Agger could miss the rest of season. Johnson is likely to be out for up to a month. http://xrl.in/8pk1
FFScout
Pablo Zabaleta was expected to return to Manchester on Monday, after extending his stay at Argentina over the weekend.
http://xrl.in/8pk9
FFScout
Harry Redknapp confirms Gareth Bale will play, provided no problem after training. Pienaar out, Kranjcar (foot) doubtful
OliverKayTimes
Hi, u have probably heard that i had a car accident this morning. I'm absolutely fine, nothing to worry about. THese things happen.
cesc4official
If Rooney does get the mind-boggling two-game ban, he'll miss the home game with Fulham and the FA Cup semi-final against City at Wembley.
dalejohnsonESPN
Thanks for all the get well messages! Hopefully won't be too long but a torn hammy, isn't good news!!!
glen_johnson
Interesting Speculation To Kick Off The Week
Soccer: Is Drogba headed to MLS? - ESPN
Even more interesting in this article where "well-placed sources" indicate that Drogba's representatives have feelers out about joining MLS is the fact that MLS's "major market teams" were listed as New York Red Bulls, LA Galaxy, and Seattle Sounders. Huh? I know Seattle is a reasonable-sized city and the fan support is exceptional but calling Seattle a major market on par with New York and LA seems pretty silly. Even more so for a writer who is apparently out of NYC.
It would be very interesting to see Drogba come to MLS although I have a hard time believing that he will venture State-side only two seasons removed from being the run-away leading scorer in the Premier League. I'd expect one more contract - maybe two years in length - somewhere in Europe before he heads this way. Maybe I'm wrong but if Real Madrid is willing to pay to have K2 on their roster then I can't imagine they wouldn't much rather have Drogba as a replacement once the K2 loan runs out.
I will say that I do enjoy the mere fact that this article wasn't laughed out of the building immediately. Certainly a sign of something good for MLS even if I don't believe it will come true.
Even more interesting in this article where "well-placed sources" indicate that Drogba's representatives have feelers out about joining MLS is the fact that MLS's "major market teams" were listed as New York Red Bulls, LA Galaxy, and Seattle Sounders. Huh? I know Seattle is a reasonable-sized city and the fan support is exceptional but calling Seattle a major market on par with New York and LA seems pretty silly. Even more so for a writer who is apparently out of NYC.
It would be very interesting to see Drogba come to MLS although I have a hard time believing that he will venture State-side only two seasons removed from being the run-away leading scorer in the Premier League. I'd expect one more contract - maybe two years in length - somewhere in Europe before he heads this way. Maybe I'm wrong but if Real Madrid is willing to pay to have K2 on their roster then I can't imagine they wouldn't much rather have Drogba as a replacement once the K2 loan runs out.
I will say that I do enjoy the mere fact that this article wasn't laughed out of the building immediately. Certainly a sign of something good for MLS even if I don't believe it will come true.
Barn Door Watch
As we look past this week to next week the schedule has some tantalizing options for fantasy managers. The only downside is that the players who are likely the most interesting are already pretty expensive. The main attraction will be Chelsea hosting Wigan. There will certainly be doubts about who Chelsea will start at forward so that's a potential issue but you at least want to give yourself options, especially if Nando breaks out of his rut this weekend. You also want to be tracking guys like Luiz on the relative bargain side and midfielders Lampard and FloMal who are expensive but potentially worth it at home against Wigan.
With Spurs and United also at home against moderate opposition there will be no shortage of expensive options that might get more expensive that you should be tracking. Potentially more interesting from a value standpoint will be Sunderland's attackers and specifically Gyan. They face WBA at the Stadium of Light which means that you have the worst defense in the league playing on the road. With Gyan under 9, you want to make room for him right away if there's any chance his prices goes up. Henderson is also reasonably priced and might be worth a look on the Barn Door.
That's about as much as I can say I'm really looking forward to on the BD but I'm sure a number of other alternatives will present themselves as the matches unfold.
With Spurs and United also at home against moderate opposition there will be no shortage of expensive options that might get more expensive that you should be tracking. Potentially more interesting from a value standpoint will be Sunderland's attackers and specifically Gyan. They face WBA at the Stadium of Light which means that you have the worst defense in the league playing on the road. With Gyan under 9, you want to make room for him right away if there's any chance his prices goes up. Henderson is also reasonably priced and might be worth a look on the Barn Door.
That's about as much as I can say I'm really looking forward to on the BD but I'm sure a number of other alternatives will present themselves as the matches unfold.
The Week Ahead - Finally We're Back Edition
As Jeremy mentioned, this month has been a bit of a challenge when it comes to getting our heads back into the Premier League. I appreciate the fact that internationals need to happen and cup competitions need to be wrapped up (although as an Arsenal fan, I could have done without those this season - yup, still bitter). Still, do they need to disrupt the Premier League season at such a critical time in the calendar?
Why not now? Spring is springing and there are at least some times when we might want to be outdoors. In the States, Major League Baseball is starting (today in fact), college basketball is all-encompassing for a few weeks, and for those of us inclined toward soccer MLS is starting up. Elsewhere in the world the Cricket World Cup is also going on which certainly has potential Premier League fans in places like India, South Africa, and Australia pretty engrossed (good luck to India in the finals on Saturday).
The bottom line is that there is so much going on that distracts us from the season. I have to admit that if you'd asked me yesterday I couldn't have told you with any fidelity who I had on my roster for either the Yahoo! or Premier League games. With a season so long I have to think that letting the audience, especially those outside the UK, turn their focus elsewhere for almost an entire month has to be a bad idea. Especially if the month is March. The Premier League would do well to lobby to have the same sort of break happen in February instead because there's nothing else going on then to distract the audience. Just a thought before diving into the recommendations.
Why not now? Spring is springing and there are at least some times when we might want to be outdoors. In the States, Major League Baseball is starting (today in fact), college basketball is all-encompassing for a few weeks, and for those of us inclined toward soccer MLS is starting up. Elsewhere in the world the Cricket World Cup is also going on which certainly has potential Premier League fans in places like India, South Africa, and Australia pretty engrossed (good luck to India in the finals on Saturday).
The bottom line is that there is so much going on that distracts us from the season. I have to admit that if you'd asked me yesterday I couldn't have told you with any fidelity who I had on my roster for either the Yahoo! or Premier League games. With a season so long I have to think that letting the audience, especially those outside the UK, turn their focus elsewhere for almost an entire month has to be a bad idea. Especially if the month is March. The Premier League would do well to lobby to have the same sort of break happen in February instead because there's nothing else going on then to distract the audience. Just a thought before diving into the recommendations.
Barn Door Team
The international break has thrown me for a bit of a loop, especially on the heels of the FA Cup break we just had. So I'm having a tough time getting back into the swing of of EPL things. But we have to start somewhere, right? And what better place than with the team I assembled on the barn door last weekend (two weeks ago!).
Part of me says, stop right there. Don't look again. Don't, whatever the inclination, Friday trade! But let's be honest... that's inevitable. Stupid, but inevitable. Looking at the team, what jumps out at me is:
Part of me says, stop right there. Don't look again. Don't, whatever the inclination, Friday trade! But let's be honest... that's inevitable. Stupid, but inevitable. Looking at the team, what jumps out at me is:
- Two Hammers facing Manchester United. Yes, WHU are playing better and ManU struggle a bit on the road. But do I really want both Ba and Hitzlsperger? They're both at cost so they could be moved out for the weekend and brought back for the upcoming games against Bolton and Aston Villa without penalty.
- Osman. What to do with Osman? He was a GREAT pickup over Everton's recent double-game week and was ok last game week against Fulham. Everton have a good run of fixtures upcoming and it might be worth keeping him. But it sure isn't a sexy pick.
- There are injury doubts over van Persie (could be back), Walker (should be back), and Adam (expected to be back). Obviously all signs are good at this point, but the uncertainty is starting to make me nervous.
Clearly there is much to discuss over the next two days, but that's where I am right now. You?
In which I pay too much attention to Kyle Walker's Groin
Groin is a lot better aswell tweeps hopefully running 2moro so I have a chance for sat touch and go at the minute so fingers crossed!
KyleWalker28
Balotelli 'threw darts from window'
Premier League - Balotelli 'threw darts from window' - Yahoo! Eurosport
This is just incredible.
Manchester City are set to discuss Mario Balotelli's disciplinary issues after the striker was reportedly caught throwing darts from a first floor window.
The People claims that Balotelli lobbed the missiles in the direction of youth team players because he was "bored".
The incident occurred at City's Carrington training complex, and the club said nobody was injured.
However, the volatile striker could still face a fine for his actions, and a club spokesman said: "The matter will be dealt with internally."
God help the greater Manchester area if Bellamy ever returns from his loan spell at Cardiff and hooks up with this nut. At least Barton isn't there any longer. Those three together could initiate a singularity of teh stupid.
Player Pick of the Week
Jerome Boateng injured his knee training with Germany this week.
Micah Richards did his hamstring earlier and is hoping to be fit by mid-April.
That leaves Dedryck Boyata. He's priced at 5.88 and sure to be at right back this weekend, at home against Sunderland, and again against Liverpool the next.
Jerome Boateng to undergo knee surgery.
http://xrl.in/8mvu
FFScout
Micah Richards did his hamstring earlier and is hoping to be fit by mid-April.
SkySports: Richards targets swift return: Micah Richards has admitted he is desperate to recover from a hamstrin... http://bit.ly/f5730L
ManCityFCNews
That leaves Dedryck Boyata. He's priced at 5.88 and sure to be at right back this weekend, at home against Sunderland, and again against Liverpool the next.
Scary Headlines Hall of Fame
Blackpool hit by Charlie Adam injury scare
Fortunately the article, even though it starts dire, paints a rosier picture:
Charlie Adam hopes to be fit for Blackpool's crunch clash at Fulham on Sunday after an injury scare in Scotland’s 2-0 defeat by Brazil yesterday.
National team boss Craig Levein suggested though Adam was suffering more mentally than physically after failing to carry his Blackpool form into the high-profile friendly at Arsenal.
The Seasiders skipper conceded the penalty for the Brazilians’ second and hurt his knee making a challenge but he insisted it was nothing serious.
Adam said: "I just got a whack on it. We clashed knees but I’ll be all right and hopefully I’ll be ready for the weekend."
I still fear the dreaded "late fitness test". But with the match on Sunday I expect he'll be fit. He's come through these knocks before this season.
FA Cup Causes League Postponements
Bolton Wanderers | News | Latest News | General | New Date Set For Fulham
Bolton Wanderers can confirm that due to the club's participation in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, the trip to play Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Barclays Premier League will now take place on Wednesday 27 April.
The game had originally been set to take place on Saturday 16 April but following Wanderers' progress in the FA Cup the league game against Fulham has now been put back to Wednesday 27 April.
So Bolton, Fulham, Stoke City, Wolves, and Manchester City will all be idle the weekend of 16 April.
Oh, and two-gamers!
UPDATE:
Stoke vs Wolves has been rescheduled for Tuesday 26 April.
http://xrl.in/8cw0
FFScout
Richards could be out for a month
Richards fears derby woe - Yahoo! Eurosport
That would rule him out of Sunderland and @Liverpool and open the right-back spot for Jerome Boateng. Unless Zabaleta were to return from compassionate leave sooner than expected.
Manchester City defender Micah Richards feels a hamstring injury may rule him out of the FA Cup semi-final clash with rivals Manchester United.
Richards was stretchered off three minutes into England Under-21s 4-0 victory over Denmark on Thursday night, and head coach Stuart Pearce revealed the full-back fears the worst.
"He's got a hamstring problem and he's diagnosed himself as being out for four weeks - that's Dr Richards for you," said Pearce.
That would rule him out of Sunderland and @Liverpool and open the right-back spot for Jerome Boateng. Unless Zabaleta were to return from compassionate leave sooner than expected.
First Impressions and Second Thoughts (Mostly as a test)
Teams tend to experiment with new players as the season winds down and Fantasy Blogs are no different. I'm less interested in what you think of the content in this one - I'm sure you've already read everything you want to about last weekend - but I am interested in your comments on the slide show as an alternative to writing long text-driven pieces. Comments more than welcome.
Bale ruled out of England clash
Blow for Wales as Gareth Bale ruled out of England clash - ESPN Soccernet
Tottenham winger Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales' Euro 2012 qualifier against England on Saturday with a hamstring injury.
Bale did not train on Wednesday, despite reports that he was injured during a session, and he has only recently returned from a back injury that kept him out for six weeks from the end of January until early March.
Crucially for fantasy managers:
The Tottenham winger will now return to London for treatment on Thursday morning, but it is not yet clear whether he will be fit in time for Tottenham's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid on April 5.
Of course that match is after Spurs' April 2 match at Wigan. #latefitnesstest
Dzeko Mocks Balotelli
Edin Dzeko mocks Balotelli's struggles to put on a bib from the previous week.
So he has a sense of humour. That's good. Maybe he can tease me for writing that Manchester City was going to come good with him in the line-up and that he was going to be a fantasy must-have for the second half of the season.
That was some poor, poor prognostication on my part.
So he has a sense of humour. That's good. Maybe he can tease me for writing that Manchester City was going to come good with him in the line-up and that he was going to be a fantasy must-have for the second half of the season.
That was some poor, poor prognostication on my part.
Holden out for Six Months
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Stuart Holden will be sidelined for six months with a knee injury meaning the U.S. international will miss June's CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Premier League club said on Monday.
Holden, 25, sustained a deep cut in Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Manchester United after a tackle that defender Jonny Evans was shown a red card for.
This season, six months might mean two weeks. Here's hoping as Holden has been a real joy to watch in Bolton's midfield. Expectations of what he could do for the USA at the international level were also rising and this is just another set-back on his way to real prominence. Get well soon!
Just had a sincere phone call from Jonny Evans wishing me the best in my recovery, def wasn't intentional, just unfortunate part of the game
stuholden
Barn Door Watch
One match for everyone on the schedule right now during the next match week. Most importantly there are a lot of good teams playing away to not so good teams. Here's the quick list of the important ones:
- ManYoo @ WHU - ManYoo aren't great on the road but they should be healthier - I'd be especially interested in value picks Smalling and Valencia and maybe Chicharito depending on how the rotation is looking.
- Liverpool @ WBA - Good match-up for the Reds meaning Reina, Suarez, Meireles, and Carroll should be on your watch list this weekend as well as a check of the defenders.
- Chelsea @ Stoke - Finally a weekend where you KNOW you want Luiz and maybe some others as well but Luiz is definitely the bargain to watch.
- Spurs @ Wigan - Spurs good fantasy players tend to be pretty expensive these days but watching Bale, VDV, Defoe, and maybe Gomes given Wigan's deficiency in the scoring category.
- Arsenal vs. Rovers - Finally a good team with a home match against a bad team. If Arsenal were healthier this would be the pick of the litter. As it is, the most important thing here will be deciding if you want to roll the dice with any of Arsenal's less expensive defenders - especially if they happen to do well this weekend against WBA.
Injuries and Suspensions
Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet
Here are the big news items hot (or at least semi-warm) off the presses:
Here are the big news items hot (or at least semi-warm) off the presses:
- Bale back with what looks like a great match-up for attackers
- Piquionne/Ba are "doubts" with no explanation really given.
- Villa defense injury-riddled with Dunne, Collins, Young Luke, and Clark either injured or suspended.
- David Dunn is facing a late fitness test which, I'm pretty sure, will be the title of his autobiography if he ever writes one (and he should have a lot of time to write).
- Adam is back from suspension but DJ Campbell is still in the middle of his.
- Evans and Park back for ManYoo but Rio, Vidic, Fletch, O'Shea, and Rafael are all out - oh dear.
- Carew is likely out meaning Kenwyne Jones should get more of a chance to shine.
- Barton has returned to training but may or may not make the starting line-up so proceed with caution.
- Brunt questionable with an illness (although they might be better off without the second half of the season version of Brunt). Dorrans is definitely out and Vela won't be able to face Arsenal.
- Arsenal's injuries are pretty well documented but here they are: Szczesny, Fabianski, Djourou, Verm, Song, Theo, and Cesc. Looks like it might be a high-scoring affair.
- Zigic, Bowyer, Bentley, and Fahey are all at least doubtful.
- Cahill may be fit for Everton but Arteta and Fellaini are still out.
- The Suarez/Carroll partnership looks like it will get its first chance to start together in the league while Gerrard, Kelly, Aurelio, and Shelvey are all out.
The (Quick) Week Ahead
No real time for a big rant this weekend. I know you're all disappointed to have 10 to 15 minutes of your Friday back but it can't be helped. Between a lot going on at work and yesterday being one of the great days of the year in American sports (St. Patrick's Day/First Day of College Basketball Tournament/One of the first warm days of the year) there was no excuse but to be out enjoying it. With that, I'll take you directly to what you need to know for the weekend ahead.
Rio Ferdinand Out for the Season?
Rio Ferdinand Potentially Out for the Season | Never Captain Nicky Butt
Never Captain Nicky Butt does the yoeman's work of rounding up the defensive injury crisis at Manchester United that we highlighted yesterday.
The news is that Rio may be done for the year, which would be a big blow to United as they continue to compete on three fronts. More immediately, it looks like we'll have a back four of Evra, Smalling, Brown and Fabio
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