Gyan Leaves Sunderland on Loan

What, me worry?

I'm not sure how this works outside of the transfer window, but Asamoah Gyan has left Sunderland. From Sunderland's official website:

Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan is set to join United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain on loan.

Officials from Al-Ain made contact with Sunderland earlier in the week with a view to signing the player on a permanent deal. After further discussions overnight however, it was agreed that the striker would join the club on a season-long loan.

Sunderland AFC would like to thank the officials from Al-Ain for the professional manner in which they entered into negotiations and the club wishes all parties well.

Manager Steve Bruce said: "Anyone who has seen Asamoah play will know that he hasn't been himself in recent months. This option suits all parties at the present time and the club is well-protected in the deal.

"Asamoah has three years remaining on his contract and of course my wish would be that he finds his spark again and we see him in red and white stripes next season in the form that first attracted us to him."

Gyan never settled at Sunderland, although he certainly had some highlights. This leaves Nicklas Bendtner as their only "experienced" Premier League striker, with Connor Wickham and the Bishop, Ji Dong-Won the other forwards. After today's match against Chelsea, Sunderland host Stoke, travel to Norwich and host West Brom. Bendtner under 6 could be a useful option and his schedule compares favorably against Adebayor's, who is similarly priced.

Injuries and Suspensions

• Arsenal v Swansea
• Everton v Aston Villa
• Man City v Wigan
• Stoke v Liverpool
• Sunderland v Chelsea
• Wolves v Tottenham
• Bolton v Man Utd
• Norwich v West Brom
• Fulham v Blackburn

Here's a summary of the news that can be found behind the links above:

Javier Hernandez - The Forgotten Man

UPDATE:  I guess the secret is out.  Neal has included Chicharito in his Week Ahead Player Picks. Great minds, and all that.

 ###

Word on the street - and by street I mean Twitter - is that Danny Welbeck is going to return to training next week following his hamstring injury. In the meantime, Javier Hernandez is going to start against Bolton Wanderers, at Bolton, and to me looks a good fantasy bet. He's only 10 in the Yahoo! game, and I assume that he'll keep his starting place even if Welbeck recovers quickly. With a lot of good striking options like Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie costing a pretty penny, and uncertainty over some of the cheaper options like Juan Mata and Bryan Ruiz for example, Hernandez good be a value for money pick.

The Week Ahead, Part 2 - Player Picks

Unfortunately, my schedule and a general lack of a reliable internet connection prevented me from posting as much as I'd have liked about the transfer window.  In an effort to at least summarize some thoughts related to fantasy before the matches start up I'll do a quick version here before we get to this week's player picks.

Villa - As Spurs play revolving Right Backs with Villa Kyle Walker (and then Luke Young) head out and Alan Hutton makes his way in as the presumed starting right back.  For those hoping that Eric Lichaj (and his rock bottom price) would get a start you will have no such luck.  At 7.60, Hutton is his typical self.  Reasonably priced for now when he is at home against modest competition.  He'll occasionally have a solid attacking match but nothing you should get too excited about. 

Rovers - I really like the move for Scott Dann and there are other teams (Spurs, Arsenal, etc.) who would have done well to make that same move as cover for injury-plagued center back corps. From a fantasy standpoint, not much to see here as Dann won't likely be a definite starter. 

Bolton - Speaking of cut-priced defenders, Bolton got a nice one in Boyata who should get a long run of matches for a price of 2.05.  I wouldn't go in on him at home against United this coming weekend but the Barn Door holds some promise of a home match with Norwich the following week.  Other moves that deserve watching from a fantasy standpoint are the arrivals of Kakuta (we'll see how he fits in with Eagles and MPet) and N'gog (also likely to start out as a reserve).  I don't see either man going straight into the squad but there is at least SOME potential there. 

Everton - I have to admit that I haven't watched much Spanish soccer recently and even if I had, I'm not sure I'd have seen much of Royston Drenthe.  At one point he played well enough for Real to buy him but he's been mostly forgotten since then.  Whether he still has anything to offer remains to be seen.  I know even less of Denis Stracqualursi but you have to think he'll get a good run of playing time with Beckford and Yakubu sold off and Saha always a risk to be hurt (seriously, he could have been hurt while I was writing this paragraph).  The real winner here might be young Ross Barkley who will likely get a chance to play with Arteta gone from the Everton midfield.  That one really looks like he'll be worth watching. 

Fulham - I'm liking this Fulham team more and more with two solid acquisitions in Grygera and Ruiz.  Grygera will likely end up as an inexpensive starting right back option which is always nice to have around.  Ruiz could be anything from the next Alvarez, Mutu, Suarez to van Nistelrooy.  My guess is that he ends up injecting some pace into the Fulham attack to give them additional looks.  Hard to know whether he'll start regularly but I'll certainly be keeping tabs to find out on both.  There may be some downside here for Zamora/Dembele/Dempsey.  

NUFC - Davide Santon doesn't sound terribly Italian but at one point he was supposed to be the next big thing in Italian defenders.  If regular playing time can help him capture even some of that back then this is a great move for NUFC.  The question is whether RTay moves up to play left midfield (which would be good for him) or whether he goes to the bench in favor of Gutierrez.  If RTay goes to the bench then there may be some upside for Cabaye who will likely get more kicks.  Definitely worth watching to see how this works out.

QPR - Welcome to the club the poor man's version of the Premier League starter kit.  Joey Barton, SWP, Anton Ferdinand, and Luke Young all bring solid campaigners who are likely paid much more than they are worth.  Club finances aside though, they should be upgrades over what QPR had.  Barton, SWP and Taarabt could combine to make a very solid attacking midfield trio.  The question that we'll all need to be watching is who will be taking kicks between Taarabt and Barton and how much SWP has left in the tank.  SWP, due to his low price, 4.39, could be particularly interesting if he finds some of his old form.

Stoke - For me, Crouch is the only marginally interesting signing here and I'm still not sure he starts.  I assume Kenwyne Jones has the starting role as a target forward and regardless of Tony Pulis' love for fielding a basketball team rather than a soccer team, the idea of a Jones/Crouch partnership just feels awkward.

Sunderland - As bad an idea as Crouch to Stoke seems, I'm very optimistic about Bendtner to Sunderland.  He's exactly the kind of foil they need for Gyan up top.  I also think he'll be very good despite the fact he seems like a bit of a d!ck of a person.  That he comes in at a price of 5.55 doesn't hurt either.

OK, that was a long build-up so now we'll get to the player recommendations:

The Week Ahead: Part 1 - The Schedule

The first international break of the season.  It always comes too quickly and seems like it goes on forever.  I'm sure there are all sorts of reasons not to do this but why wouldn't the nice people at the Premier League suggest (read: Force) FIFA to have their international date in late August so that:

1. People could get back from their vacations;
2. There wasn't an unseemly break just after the start of the season; and 
3. The transfer window could be completed (or all-but) before the matches start up.

The benefits would be as follows:

1. The presence of families back from their vacations might increase attendance in places where that is an issue.
2. Clubs would have their actual squad for more matches that count.  The velocity of change between the first Premier League match of the season and the end of the window is pretty stupid and doesn't exist to my knowledge in any other sport in the world.
3. There would be more continuity to the story lines as they develop rather than getting the club narrative started only to have it interrupted almost immediately.  It doesn't take a genius storyteller to notice this. 

I'd assume that there are logical arguments about fixture congestion that mean that the changes would have to be more sweeping than just one switch out of international fixtures with Premier League matches but I'm sure some grouping of internationals in late August with the elimination of corresponding breaks in the Autumn months could be figured out pretty easily to allow a post-August 31 start to the season without the type of interruptions that we are now experiencing just when we were getting into the season.

If I thought really hard about it I could argue that a solid two week block of international matches in August would be great for both clubs and countries.  It would give the national teams a rare solid block of time together.  It would give clubs some pre-season time to play and train with some younger (and squad) players.  It would give teams without a ton of internationals a slight advantage early in the season.  Can anyone think of a reason that this might be a bad thing?

OK, enough ranting and on to the schedule breakdown for the week ahead:

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.  

Van der Vaart out for Six Weeks

Things just go from bad to worse for Spurs.

Via Yahoo!/Eurosport:

Dutch international midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will be out for up to six weeks after tearing a hamstring in last weekend's 5-1 defeat against Manchester City, his club Tottenham Hotspur said on Saturday.... 

He will miss at least the next four Premier League matches for Spurs as well as their opening Europa League fixtures against PAOK Salonica and Shamrock Rovers.

My money would be on Spurs pairing K2 (Emmanuel Adebayor) and Defoe in a classically 'arry "little/large" partnership. However, we could see Niko Kranjcar - who has started both of Spurs' matches so far - move into an advanced role with Tom Huddlestone (THud) coming into the midfield.

[In fact, THud should start regardless!]

For fantasy, this could see Gareth Bale reclaiming set-pieces and increasing his value.  Luka Modric could also see more of the ball as (if) he gets integrated back into the team.

However it plays out, Van Der Vaart has been Spurs' stand-out player since his arrival at the Lane, and he will be missed. Spurs aren't likely to be as good of a team without him, and sitting at the bottom of the table having scored one goal and shipped seven... that's a scary prospect.

Mixed Injury News for Liverpool

Liverpool got mixed news on two of their star midfielders over the weekend. First it was announced that Steven Gerrard is training again and expecting to make his Premier League return against Spurs on 18 Sep. However, this was tempered by the more immediate news that Charlie Adam has suffered a hip injury and is now a doubt for their trip to Stoke City.

I guess this is why Liverpool went on a shopping spree and ended up with a glut of central midfielders. Adam has a history of niggles, and Gerrard... well, Gerrard hasn't been available in what seems like forever. Now with Meireles gone to Chelsea, are Liverpool short of players for the weekend? Maybe it's not quite bare bones just yet. My best guess would be that we'll see Andy Carroll back in the line-up with Suarez in a free, attacking role. Dirk Kuyt and Downing would be the wingers with Henderson and Lucas Leiva in the center. That still leaves Jay Spearing and Jonjo Shelvey on the bench, if need be.

Everton Further Depleted by Baines Injury

Everton were only able to register a first-team squad of 18 (out of a possible 25) players. Their financial crisis has seen them sell their best midfielder, Mikel Arteta; their starting striker, Jermaine Beckford; and sell or loan bit-part (but experienced Premier League campaigners) Yakubu and Yobo.  Now comes the news that Leighton Baines is out of the England squad with a hamstring injury and Victor Anichebe (who would stand to inherit Beckford's place) doubtful with a groin injury.

This could put immediate pressure on new arrivals Royston Drenthe at left back (rather than his expected left midfield), and Denis Stracqualarsi at striker.  As I mentioned below, Aston Villa @ Everton is probably a stay-away fantasy match. However, it might be worth an investment in the respective club's defences as a drab stalemate seems a likely option.

Darren Bent and Micah Richards out of England Squad

Darren Bent and Micah Richards have been ruled out of England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales on Tuesday and have returned to their clubs.

Aston Villa striker Bent had not been able to train in the build-up to Friday's win over Bulgaria after picking up a groin problem and could not take part in training on Saturday.

Manchester City defender Richards, who didn't play a part in the 3-0 win over Bulgaria on Friday night, is though to have suffered a hamstring injury in training.

Aston Villa have not been a fluid attacking team at all this season. Now you might argue that that is a hallmark of an Alex McLeish team. They did beat Rovers 3-0, but haven't scored otherwise. Agbonlahor looks dangerous, but N'Zogbia is not on song yet. If Bent isn't available for Villa's match against Everton (and McLeish is hopeful) I would expect Albrighton to come into the side and Heskey and Gabby to be the front pairing of a 4-4-2.  Truth be told, @Everton is probably a stay-away match for fantasy owners.

As for Manchester City, they have Richards doubtful with a hamstring injury and Pablo Zabaleta, who played right-back against Spurs, has been in India with the Argentinian national team.  That could hand Stefan Savic the starting berth, and see Sergio Aguero on the bench as well.

Granted this is all speculation at this point, but with fantasy managers going all-in on Manchester City players it's nerve-wracking stuff.

Vermaelen out for six weeks | News

Vermaelen out for six weeks | News:

Or is this year's Vermaelen last year's Vermaelen for Arsenal? It just doesn't look good for the Gunners right about now does it?

A few strong players come in but two of the better holdovers in Wilshere and Verm are sidelined for a while. It would be interesting to see what this team could do if they were actually healthy.

I'll mention again that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get the "Next Vermaelen" (Vertonghen of Ajax and Belgium) at the next opportunity. He'd certainly be better value than Cahill and has been compared favorably to the man he replaced at Ajax.

'via Blog this'

Wilshere injury blow for Gunners | News

Wilshere injury blow for Gunners | News:

Well, I guess we know how Arteta's playing time is going to look for at least the next three months. Looks like the big question is how Ramsey and Benayoun divide the time next to the Spaniard. It is definitely going to be an interesting few months until January for Arsenal.

And to those people who worried for the last few weeks that Wilshere might become this year's Vermaelen, it is looking like your worries are about halfway to coming true.

*Gulp*

*Fingers Crossed*

'via Blog this'

After the Window: Spurs

Spurs late summer looked a lot like the one experienced across North London at Arsenal. What the acquisitions lacked in romance and long term strategic benefit they more than made up for in being effective near-term band-aids. Spurs needed something new at forward and a deep-lying player to both win the ball and start the attack. It certainly would have been nice to find a reliable partner for Michael Dawson but presumably the combination of Ledley King and William Gallas will be able to get the job done for 80% of the matches over the course of the upcoming season.

After the Window: Chelsea

I apologize for the delay in getting past the first team transfer summary.  We are using the international break for a nice rustic vacation in Maine.  I’ve been trying to generally stay away from the internet, email, and the other things that I tend to use for both my day job as well as staying up with current events in the Premier League and posting to the blog.  That lasted for a solid 3 days before I felt the pull of the laptop – I guess that’s why I’ve gotten involved in writing a blog on top of a day job. 

As it appears that I’m not going to get to every team, I’m going to start with the ones that have made the most substantial changes and move downward toward the ones that didn’t do much toward the end of window.  Since we’ve already covered Arsenal, I’ll move on to Chelsea.

I LOVED what Chelsea did toward the end of the window.  They had the type of window that Arsenal used to have.  Pick up a few very high end kids and throw in a very strong continental veteran.  The difference?  The price of the high end kids that used to be Arsenal’s stock and trade has increased by a factor of about ten since this was Wenger’s strategy.  I don’t know all the details but my guess is that Chelsea ended up paying Mata and Lukaku (and their previous clubs) like they were already established stars rather than rising talents with the potential to be the “next” someone good.   The economics aside, the moves look excellent.  The only downside is that they probably won’t payoff in huge measure for another couple years. 

After the Window: Arsenal

Volumes and volumes have been written about Arsenal and their travails from February of 2011 through the close of the transfer window.  Since we're pretty sure you've read quite enough about "contending in 4 competitions to nothing in the blink of an eye" and "Nasri/Cesc/Clichy out" and "will anyone arrive?" that we won't cover that ground again.  Instead, we'll spend some time focusing on what we have learned from the first three matches of the season plus the final touches from the transfer window.

Housekeeping Note

UPDATE: Beaten to the punch by the industrious Never Captain Nicky Butt. Here is his Transfer Window Winners and Losers.

###

Sorry for the light posting.  It's an international break, after all.  Additionally there was just too much transfer news -- in the end, not really, but it wasn't worth posting until everything was said and done.  So look for our reactions to "Deadline Day" soon. Then we'll be following the internationals and counting the fake, and not so fake, injuries as we head into week four of the Premier League season.

Week 4?!?!  How is it only week 4?

Adding 'em up

It's a bit confusing, but while ESPNSoccernet is leading with the 8-2 scoreboard, ESPN Soccer has gone with the day's total score, and bigger picture.


I still prefer London 0 Hull 4.

 

10 Things We Learned: Week 3

What an incredible weekend. It started with a forward who scored one goal all of last season scoring a brace and ended with three of the more remarkable fantasy performances we are likely to see all season - one from a forward who himself only scored twice in the league last season (admittedly in limited opportunity over only 15 matches).

[NOTE: Yup, I'm still tweaking the format for this Monday/Matchweek Wrap-up column. If you have any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them. The content is the content but I'm trying to come up with a nice wrapper/theme to pull it all together]

The Barn Door Live: Week 3

Sorry, didn't realize that the match started a little earlier today

Blog Roundtable

It's been a while since we've had a good blog roundtable around these parts. Here's us trying to help each other through the perils that is Friday trading:

Jeremy Spitzberg: maybe it's the hurricane...
Jeremy Spitzberg: but I'm considering dropping Kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: for Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: requires Obertan in midfield though
Jeremy Spitzberg: ddg brown rangel kelly (to be sold to upgrade...) obertan hoilett watson silva suarez torres rooney
Neal Thurman: very interesting
Jeremy Spitzberg: could go kelly to lichaj
Jeremy Spitzberg: and obertan to cabaye or rtay (love the kicks, hate the position)
Neal Thurman: not looking at Briggs?
Jeremy Spitzberg: briggs @nufc or lichaj home to wolves
Jeremy Spitzberg: still want hunt though :-(
Neal Thurman: if Lichaj plays - looked like there were two options
Jeremy Spitzberg: he played (and scored in the Cup)
Jeremy Spitzberg: he played (and scored) in the Cup
Jeremy Spitzberg: barkley?
Neal Thurman: I did like watching him last weekend
Jeremy Spitzberg: the league/game too stacked at fwd this year
Neal Thurman: agreed
Jeremy Spitzberg: ddg brown rangel lichaj rtay hoilett watson silva suarez torres rooney
Jeremy Spitzberg: hmmmm
Jeremy Spitzberg: friday trading ;-)
Neal Thurman: nice
Neal Thurman: do like the lichaj option
Jeremy Spitzberg: TUP
Neal Thurman: could use an upgrade from Moses who is 50/50
Jeremy Spitzberg: how much $ do you have to spend?
Neal Thurman: not sure yet - on a ConCall :-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: k
Jeremy Spitzberg: barkley, cabaye, rtay all in the same range ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: taarabt
Jeremy Spitzberg: one last chance for him?
Neal Thurman: meh
Neal Thurman: like all the others better
Jeremy Spitzberg: fair enough
Jeremy Spitzberg: never seen you come off a crush so quickly
Neal Thurman: even more so over time if Barton arrives to take kicks
Jeremy Spitzberg: right
Jeremy Spitzberg: but for this week...
Neal Thurman: Still very "meh" based on what I've seen - his kicks haven't been incisive and there hasn't been anyone who looked particularly dangerous on the other end of the ones that have been into the box rather than (theoretically) on net
Neal Thurman: at least with a guy like Adam you could see the quality even when it didn't go well on kicks
Neal Thurman: feels more like a Dorans situation than a Adam/Brunt situation to me
Neal Thurman: great Championship level player, not so much at the big time level
Jeremy Spitzberg: interesting comparison
Neal Thurman: different players (Dorans not nearly as athletic) but the stat lines were similarly impressive in the Championship with combinations of goals/assists
Jeremy Spitzberg: this year's gary macsheffrey
Neal Thurman: another solid analogy
Neal Thurman: nice to see Yahoo FINALLY getting on the bandwagon with ads to the right and left of the usable screen - perfect for fantasy game
Neal Thurman: ok, off my call - if I stick with Kun then I have a ton of money for a Moses replacement (12.5) - if I go Kun to Nando then I have 6.5 for the replacement in midfield
Jeremy Spitzberg: in what universe should one be ditching aguero?
Jeremy Spitzberg: just asking ;-)
Neal Thurman: lol - weren't you the one who just suggested it?
Jeremy Spitzberg: yeah, but I'm an idiot
Neal Thurman: Ha
Neal Thurman: well, that and the fact that Kun's price hasn't gone up THAT much
Jeremy Spitzberg: they 1.5 for the week "helped"
Neal Thurman: right
Neal Thurman: so the options are Barkley + Torres or Brunt/Hunt + Kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: if you go with Hunt and he goes off, i'm going to be super, doubly pissed
Jeremy Spitzberg: and will have to make changes to match you
Neal Thurman: and don't get me wrong - that could be a big part of the fun
Jeremy Spitzberg: hoilett/watson to barkely/hunt ;-)
Neal Thurman: just trying to figure out how I feel about Hunt on the road vs. a solid team (Villa) vs. Brunt at home vs. a solid team (Stoke)
Neal Thurman: hmm - bad mojo picking players who will be facing off against each other? (Hunt/Lichaj)
Jeremy Spitzberg: indeed
Jeremy Spitzberg: trying to remind myself that i can get hunt for next week
Neal Thurman: pulled the trigger on Hunt for now but am still very up in the air
Jeremy Spitzberg: home to spurs and qpr next for wolves
Jeremy Spitzberg: Chris Herd is favourite to replace Luke Young at right-back.
Neal Thurman: trying to decide if I want to keep MRichards at a discount for next match (home to Wigan)
Jeremy Spitzberg: accding to yahoo
Jeremy Spitzberg: grrr
Neal Thurman: so that means that Lichaj is almost a lock ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: who the hell is chris herd?
Neal Thurman: the one I mentioned in Injuries and Suspensions as the likely competition for Lichaj for the RB spot at Villa ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: both started in midweek
Neal Thurman: Warnock rested?
Jeremy Spitzberg: not even on the bench
Neal Thurman: or did one play further up the field (likely to be replaced by Gabby/Albrighton)
Jeremy Spitzberg: herd replaced by beye on 87
Jeremy Spitzberg: lichaj on the left, maybe?
Neal Thurman: perhaps
Jeremy Spitzberg: herd not in the system
Jeremy Spitzberg: damn
Neal Thurman: still, a solid enabler
Jeremy Spitzberg: do i go briggs even though i have rtay?
Neal Thurman: but might go to Briggs just to be sure
Jeremy Spitzberg: wilson for stoke?
Jeremy Spitzberg: but don't like @wba
Neal Thurman: I'm not going to
Neal Thurman: excited for Boyata to Bolton (not for this week but eventually)
Neal Thurman: Barton to QPR official
Jeremy Spitzberg: i guess briggs doesn't need the CS to return value
Neal Thurman: RSC to Real Betis likely
Jeremy Spitzberg: got both left backs in that match :-(
Neal Thurman: could be worse - that match could easily be a 0-0 draw
Jeremy Spitzberg: except rtay listed as a middie
Neal Thurman: NUFC ugly in attack and Fulham always that way on the road
Jeremy Spitzberg: so no joy there
Neal Thurman: well, except that you'd get value on Briggs
Jeremy Spitzberg: damn friday trading!
Neal Thurman: :-)
Neal Thurman: always fun
Neal Thurman: my biggest regret is that I'm not doing the obvious thing and going in on Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: b/c he was worse than agureo
Jeremy Spitzberg: kun
Jeremy Spitzberg: easier to type
Neal Thurman: Kun away to a good team; Torres home to a bad one - should be an easy choice but I just don't believe in Torres
Jeremy Spitzberg: 'for good reason
Neal Thurman: true dat - just going to be embarrassing if/when he goes off
Jeremy Spitzberg: yeah...
Jeremy Spitzberg: but which one? ;-)
Jeremy Spitzberg: either or both
Neal Thurman: heh
Neal Thurman: which is why I'm sticking with the one I got
Neal Thurman: plus, he's home to someone bad next
Jeremy Spitzberg: can Mata pull an Aguero this week?
Neal Thurman: seems unlikely
Neal Thurman: don't think he's THAT good
Jeremy Spitzberg: and Sturridge comes into play next week
Jeremy Spitzberg: this would all make a good chat post ;-)
Neal Thurman: it would - haven't had one of those in a while
Jeremy Spitzberg: something for this afternoon
Neal Thurman: ok - headed out for a few - back in a bit
Jeremy Spitzberg: k. i'll be out till afternoon
Neal Thurman: enjoy
Jeremy Spitzberg: brewery tour, so yes
Neal Thurman: sweet

NCNB: Funny Feeling Friday: Yayga

Hugo Rodallega to put QPR under pressure | Never Captain Nicky Butt

Never Manage Alone partner Never Captain Nicky Butt is at it again. He has chosen Huge Rodallega as his Funny Feeling Friday pick. See his reasoning behind the link above.

Injuries and Suspensions: Week 3

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet:

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

Villas-Boas set to delay Mata debut

Villas-Boas set to delay Mata debut - Yahoo! Eurosport

Manager Andre Villas-Boas has warned Chelsea fans they may have to wait until after the international break to see Juan Mata in action for the club.

Wednesday night saw the Blues complete the signing of World Cup winner Mata, who is expected to add some much-needed creativity to their midfield.

Villas-Boas has revealed the 23-year-old, for whom Chelsea reportedly paid Valencia around £24million, is unlikely to start their Barclays Premier League game against Norwich, although he could well be on the bench.

"This league is very, very specific in terms of intensity, emotionally and culturally," Villas-Boas said. "It doesn't mean he's not threatening the starting XI, but two training sessions is short for a player creating new relationships with the players.

"Friday is a decisive day in terms of the strategic part of our game, so that's when we'll decide."

Juan Mata
Chelsea
Forward
6.56

The Week Ahead: Part 2 - Player Recommendations

As we get a few weeks into the season, you may have noticed a few changes to the Yahoo game upon which this blog was founded.  The most obvious are the visual and usability tweaks that have improved the experience of searching for players and changing your team around.  I applaud Yahoo for the changes they made but don't want to leave it at that.  There are also additional, behind-the-scenes, changes that it would probably be good for you to know about.  Since we know some people at Yahoo, we're here to help.

#1 - Points Up Faster: At the beginning of each new season it has been my impression that the Yahoo game got points up (and prices adjusted) pretty fast for the first few weeks. However, like buying a new computer, the improved performance was generally a temporary thing that eroded over the course of the season.  A person who knows about these things tells me that the change is the real thing this time around.  Why do you care? It will mean that you know how you did faster which is always nice.  It will also mean that the Barn Door will close faster all season.  For those of you unable to sit in front of a computer during matches and make changes as you find out the results, you'll be well served to at least take some pre-Barn Door risks on players you think you may want for the next week before heading off to whatever other obligations come before your fantasy team (as hard as it is to imagine that such things exist).

#2 - Players In Faster: Another by-product of the improved performance of the database/fantasy game interaction is an improvement in the speed of players being added to the system.  As of this writing on Thursday, Mata is not yet in (he signed officially late yesterday/early today) but Nasri is officially listed as a City player.  For those of us who have suffered through silly circumstances like Sessegnon not ever being listed last season or missing out on players like Kolarov for the first match of last season because they weren't added in a timely fashion.  This will answer a long-standing gripe.  For those new to the game, it will function as you'd probably expect and you'll be spared this particularly painful form of digital torture.

#3 - Pricing Changes - I'm not sure whether to be impressed (by the insight) or depressed (by the amount of time spent thinking about it when the world has real problems to solve) but fantasy players have gotten pretty smart about figuring out how prices will adjust, especially for players new to the league/game. The key finding in this was the "7 match rule" that saw new players increase dramatically in price after their 7th match played.  Before the 7th match, their prices tended to stay inappropriately low and afterward, it tended to go overly high if the player had had even a few solid performances.  In recognition of this and a general trend toward wild swings in pricing, Yahoo has adjusted the way prices are calculated. According to our sources, the "7 match rule" no longer exists and price changes should be a little less extreme for all players than in years past.

We tend to be harsh on Yahoo when we feel they aren't getting things right so we want to make sure that we're equally quick to praise them when they get things right and the changes made over this past summer fall firmly into the latter category.  Thanks to all involved in making that happen at Yahoo and also for listening when we have suggestions for improvements.

OK, on to the player recommendations...

Injury Roundup

A run-through of the news from ESPNSoccernet. More as it becomes available.

Cech set to return for Man Utd clash
The article isn't quite as definitive as the headline, but Cech is quoted as saying that, ""The rehabilitation is going according to plan," Cech told his personal website. "I don't want to jinx anything but it seems that I should be ready to return to action inside the original timescale" which could have him available for United on Sept 18. That would meant that Hilario will likely start just this weekend's game against Norwich and the trip to Sunderland after the international break.

Meireles injury blow for Reds
Suarez started the match and played an hour. Hopefully we'll see more of the same from him - goal and two assists - against Bolton at the weekend.

Alcararez blow for Wigan
Seemingly Stam will start at right back with Boyce coming inside to partner Caldwell. It may not matter against QPR, but Wigan will need all the help they can get when the schedule toughens up - Manchester City, Everton and Spurs are coming up after QPR.

Ebanks-Blake blow for Wolves
Just FYI.

Wilshere sidelined with ankle injury
Another month out for Wilshere and Arsenal can ill afford a prolonged absence from their team's new hub. They'll be missing Wilshere, Song, and Gervinho against Manchester United and still have questions over Koscielny and Gibbs.

Y!AM: Week 3 - Player Picks and Update

Yahoo! Fantasy Football Blog - Your Assistant Manager: Week 3 - Player Picks:

The weekly player picks column from Never Manage Alone partner the Yahoo! Assistant Manager. He hasn't started out the season in the greatest of form [who has? - Jeremy] but his pick column always provides some wisdom.

The Week Ahead: Part 1 - The Schedule

Talk about your all-time sigh-of-relief moment.  I can't say I'm entirely out of the woods in my nervousness related to Arsenal and their direction.  That said, the fact that they, you know, scored a couple goals and didn't have any players thrown out of the match was a nice step forward.  Winning on the road in the Champions League, even the qualifying stages, isn't easy and the fact that it came after both Nasri and Cesc were gone provides some nice closure.  That new addition Gervinho was integral to the critical goal was yet another positive sign that not EVERYTHING is going in the wrong direction.  Gervinho looked good and the combination of he and Walcott will clearly cause problems for their opposition based on speed on both sides of the field.  If one or both gets more comfortable with their end product then that's even better.

You can imagine a very strong Starting XI that includes Jack Wilshere replacing Frimpong/Rosicky.  The issue continues to be depth.  Targets for Arsenal in the transfer window can now be reassured that they will be moving to a team in the Champions League group stage.  Will that be enough to get a big name like Eden Hazard? Hard to say.  Regardless, it will be critical to find some cover at CB and CM.  It might not be a bad idea to find another left back and another forward unless Bendtner will indeed be sticking around.

Only with some critical fortifications can Wenger and Arsenal ensure that their supporters don't go immediately from worrying about THIS YEAR'S Champions League to worrying about NEXT YEAR'S Champions League where Liverpool and Spurs will give them a run for their money even with the acquisitions suggested above.

Zombies Calientes del Getafe

Ever since last January's transfer window, my fantasy team name has been "A Scotsman Named McTavish" after a brilliant quote from Ian Holloway.

"If Charlie Adam’s worth 4 million then I’m a Scotsman called McTavish"

But I've found my inspiration for a change. Feast your eyes - and try to wrap your brain around - this promotional video from Spanish side Getafe.  The premise is that they are a poorly supported team so the only way to get more fans in to have their current ones donate sperm.  And to encourage said donations they've concocted some soccer/sci-fi porno, "Zombies Calientes del Getafe".  This is not safe for work, nor is it suitable for anyone under the age of 18 without explicit parental consent.  That being said... enjoy, "Zombies Calientes del Getafe".

Barn Door Team - Week 3

Another disappointing week in week 2 has me scrambling for answers.  I'm trying to follow The Rules and Mo's Rules and it's not happening for me.  Looking at the team I have "on paper" for week three and I'm less than thrilled.

Rooney came in, but as well as he's doing he's going to have to keep producing at that level to be worth 20.  Would it be worth gambling with a cheaper option?  There are equally hot players like Long and Klasnic, as well as gambles with high upside like Torres.

In midfield it's all well and good but pehaps a little safe.  Yes, Cabaye is doing fine and he is home to Fulham.  But is he going to get the goal or score a ton of fantasy points?  I guess he could. But would it suit me more to field Sessegnon or Cahill who are more out-right attackers?

In defence, I like the idea of Bosingwa again but he's just a touch expensive. I wonder if I should just keep Richards for a little less.  I'd be happy enough with Brown - why did all of you gamble on him in a derby match? - but I'd be just as happy to get someone else.

So... all very wishy-washy.  But that's what a barn door team is -- a canvas.  A wet lump of clay to be molded over the course of the week.

How is your clay shaping up?

UPDATE:  Rooney/Cabaye/Bosingwa to Long/Malouda/Kelly?  Or will Barton's possible move to QPR enhance Cabaye's value enough to make him work keeping?

What Did We Learn: Week 2

Still one match left to go and we still haven't seen Spurs play. That aside, here are some observations from a weekend where I got to watch a pretty serious amount of footie. Here we go...

One Shot. One Goal. One Loss.

... or the "Sigil" (Shot. Goal. Loss), as it's known.

Tim Howard shows you how it's done:

A classic example. The platonic ideal, even.

The Barn Door Live: Week 2

A big weekend for Arsenal as they look to prove that their season is not lost even before it begins.  Despite all the drama they're two clean sheets in to the season after an away match and a Champions League qualifier against Italy's most prolific forward.  

Nasri Selection for ARS Tomorrow?

Samir could be selected - Wenger | News

An interesting wrinkle that is being reported pretty widely at this point has Samir Nasri participating in a final match at the Emirates tomorrow against Liverpool before heading off to Eastlands for obscene amounts of money. If true, it would likely mean the following alignment for Arsenal tomorrow:

Szczesny

Sagna, Verm, Kos, Jenkinson

Frimpong, Ramsey, Nasri

Arshavin, RvP, Walcott

Honestly, not as hideously bad as it would look if there were yet another youngster (Lansbury or Ryo) in midfield. With Liverpool not exactly blazing with speed down the wings (or anywhere really) Jenkinson has a solid chance even if he's playing out of position. The key will be Frimpong and whether he can handle wave after wave of skilled Liverpool central midfielders without picking up one or more early cards.

Should be an interesting match and we'll look forward to sharing it with you with a Live Chat during the match.

NCNB: Funny Feeling Friday: Gabby Agbonlahor

For fans of gut instincts everywhere, here's the inimitable NeverCaptainNickyButt with his Funny Feeling Friday post.

Agbonlahor to score against Blackburn | Never Captain Nicky Butt: Our Funny Feeling Friday this weekend is Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor. Last week, we went with another cheaply priced forward – Andy Johnson at Fulham – and the 5.5M rated forward did not disappoint. Though he was only owned by 2% of fantasy players, and Fulham failed to score, Johnson was rated the best attacking player on the pitch – from either team – and finished the match with all 3 bonus points, and a respectable gameweek score of 5. We’ll take that…

Y!AM: Week 2 - Player Picks and Update

From Never Manage Alone co-conspirator the Yahoo! Assistant Manager.

Yahoo! Fantasy Football Blog - Your Assistant Manager: Week 2 - Player Picks: The dust has settled on Week 1, we've accepted that most of us did pretty poorly, but it's a new week and it's time for blog readers around the globe to put their disappointment behind them and start the march back towards the Top 50/Top 500/Top 1000 or whatever personal target they've set themselves for this season.

Plus an update

NCNB: Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 Preview | Never Captain Nicky Butt

From our resident expert on the official Premier League fantasy game:

Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 Preview | Never Captain Nicky Butt: Bolton and Manchester City sit at the top of the Premier League table and are set to face-off in Gameweek 2, but we’re here not just to talk Aguero or Gary Cahill but more importantly to preview I) the best match from a neutral’s perspective II) the most fantasy friendly game III) Studs and Duds across the entire league and IV) A predicted best eleven. Let’s do it. Week 2.

Injuries and Suspensions

Oh, how miserable it is to be an Arsenal supporter these days.  Critical matches to start the season, two excellent players seemingly out the door, two questionable suspensions from the first match of the season, and now the typical injury-riddled squad adding to the misery.  Here's the quick round up of the latest injury news heading into the weekend and the implication for fantasy owners:

The Week Ahead: Part 2

I'm a strategist at heart.  Most of the consulting work I do centers around helping businesses make better strategic decisions, improving their processes to yield better results, and creating digital tools to help them improve their engagement with customers.  In consulting we live for the elegant solution.  That one thing that simultaneously solves a bunch of issues for our client and proves how smart we are. As it turns out, that thing rarely exists.  Generally, the approach that brings results consists of a lot of little changes that all meet with a fair amount of resistance and make limited but positive impact by themselves.  Only after a few of them have come to fruition do you start seeing large scale change and potentially company-changing results.

I bring this up because it occurs to me that many Premier League teams need some help in understanding how to make change happen.  Since it is the (assumed) birthright of all consultants to make recommendations on businesses in which they themselves are not necessarily experts, I offer my unsolicited (and likely unwanted) advice to managers and technical directors across the land on small tweaks to the way they do things that will help down the line: 

Steve Bruce: See above, change happens slowly - you can't switch out your entire roster each season.  More money on 2 or 3 high quality additions each off-season rather than the same money spent on 8 or 9 lesser players you can't possibly hope to bring quickly into a unified team concept.

Arsene Wenger: Buy earlier man.  Everyone on the planet knew you had money coming in from Cesc and Nasri at some point.  Why not get ahead of your problem and buy Hazard and Jagielka BEFORE pre-season started (we know you were already on the phone with Lille)?  You have a new billionaire owner, I'm sure he'd have been willing to float the cash for a month until Cesc and Nasri were sold.  Why waste the value of an entire pre-season and the first few matches of the actual season?

AVB: Start playing Drogba and Torres together now because you just bought the "next Drogba" for a bunch of money.  All three players are best suited to the "9" role in your favored 4-3-3 alignment but those aren't the cards you've bought/been dealt.  You have one player (Malouda) who makes sense as a wide player in that alignment from time-to-time and a couple who either don't fit well (Anelka) or just aren't that good (Kalou).  Seems like time for Plan B.

Mancini: I'm sure that all of England appreciated that the first attempt that the club made to spend its way to success focused mostly on English players (SWP, Barry, Milner, Lescott, Bridge, etc.).  Now that the flaws in that plan have been revealed, it is time to allow the corpses of these players to go back to the mid-table clubs where they belong.  I have no problem with the notion of playing two holding-type midfielders but the ghost of Gareth Barry added very little going forward or backward against an over-matched Swansea side.  Time to let him find his rightful place on the bench or somewhere else where he can make a positive contribution.

Harry Redknapp: Be decisive.  I can only imagine the plight of current forwards Defoe, Crouch, and Pav.  They've spent the last two summers reading about how Spurs needed a world class forward to take the leap to being a serious and regular contender for the Top 4.  We're almost two seasons on and nothing has happened. Either shut up and try your best to boost their confidence because there is some talent there or pull the trigger and get the guy you want.  The middle ground isn't helping anyone but the media who get to write column after column about your failed/failing attempts to improve your lot at forward.

Petr Cech out for a month

After some good news on the injury front, here's some surprisingly bad news.

Petr Cech out for 3-4 weeks with medial knee ligament injury suffered in training. Courtois on loan, time for Hilario or Turnbull to step upless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyESPN Soccernet
ESPNSoccernet

We'll post more information as we have it, but for fantasy this is a blow with Chelsea having a good matchup, home to West Brom. I don't think I'll take a gamble on Turnbull or Hilario against Long (and maybe Odemwingie) who's already drawn blood against the top teams. It would also give me pause if I had the likes of Cole, Bosingwa or Terry in my fantasy team.

The Week Ahead: Part 1

The Best Interests of the Game.

For all of the imperfections that have existed in the past and continue to exist in Major League Baseball, the governance of the game has embedded within it a clause that the commissioner can use to fill in when the rules as written just don't apply properly to the situation at hand.

There are two reasons I mention this in a column about the Premier League.  First, baseball sensibly has an "out" clause that the Premier League clearly lacks to help facilitate the right thing being done.  Second, baseball (and all American sports) rightly have appointed individuals (Commissioners) who are charged with overseeing their leagues, acting as figureheads/PR talking heads, and acting as the lightning rod for controversy when things go wrong.  The controversy at St. James Park on the opening Saturday of the season underscored the lack of an individual in the driver's seat with sufficient latitude to ensure that the right thing happens.

If the Premier League had a single Commissioner who the public generally held accountable (and feared in any way for the ability to hold down what is generally a high-paying, high-profile job) then the end result of this past weekend's melee would have been entirely different.  I could be talked into red cards for everyone involved (Song, Barton, and Gervinho).  I could be talked into yellow cards for all involved.  I could be talked into reds for Song and Barton and a yellow for Gervinho.  What I and any public-facing Commissioner would never be talked into under the confines of American sports is letting a technicality like "we already awarded Barton a yellow card so we can't even review it and get it right" because that's the way our screwed up system works.

A Commissioner that is forced to meet regularly with reporters, go on sports talk radio, and watch his name crushed on social media would find a way to get it right, and fast.  Apologies would be issued for the way things turned out.  Slowly but surely, the tide of public opinion would force even the most traditional of traditionalists (you listening Mr. Selig) to do things like enlist video replay to get more things right.

Instead, the Premier League continues on with a Chairman, a Chief Executive, and a Board of Directors to oversee day-to-day operations.  If ever there was a way to diffuse responsibility for things going wrong, this would be the way.  A Google search for "Barton" and "Scudamore" (the Chief Executive of the Prem) yielded exactly 13 hits under the "news" tab.  You have to try hard to find a search that yields only 13 hits.  A similar search for "Artest" and "Stern" yielded 30x more hits associated with a particularly ugly incident in the National Basketball Association.  Another similar search on "Selig" (MLB commissioner) and Dodgers (a financially troubled team where he had to step in) yielded even more than that.

My point is that with a diffused management structure at the league and even more ability to avoid responsibility by hiding behind the FA, UEFA, and FIFA there's almost no chance that the Premier League as currently constituted will ever be serious about making things better.  It would be like expecting FIFA to not be corrupt or the NCAA to make decisions that are in the best interests of the fans or the players.

Sadly, unlike most of my rants, I don't really have a proposed solution here.  The league has to WANT to change and make things better.  The clubs have to decide that there's some risk to their financial health to not making the change.  The way things are going with TV revenues, etc. that seems highly unlikely.  We'll just have to suffer through poor decisions left un-reviewed, no video replays, and an absence of even modest improvements like referees using spray paint to keep walls from encroaching like they do in the US and Argentina.

Etherington Boost For The Potters

Stoke City | News | Latest News | Latest News | Etherington Boost For The Potters

STOKE CITY have received a major boost ahead of their Europa League tie against FC Thun . . . with the news that winger Matthew Etherington should be available for the game in Switzerland after tests revealed no serious damage to his left arm.

Etherington was in the City squad that flew out of Manchester Airport today for Thursday's evening's away leg in the Play-Off tie after an X-ray revealed that he suffered nothing more than nerve damage in Sunday's match against Chelsea.

So you shouldn't have any worries about picking Eth against Norwich. Though, to be honest, his absence at the weekend would have been a real boost to Jermaine Pennant's value.

Shay Given to be fit for Blackburn Match

Shay Given set to be declared fit for Aston Villa's clash with Blackburn - Aston Villa FC news - Aston Villa - Sport - Birmingham Mail

Given will resume full training tomorrow after being advised to rest up following the slight groin problem he sustained in Saturday’s goalless draw at Fulham...

And Given is expected to be fit and raring to go for his and McLeish’s home debuts in Saturday afternoon’s Premier League clash against Blackburn at Villa Park.

“He’s on the mend,” confirmed McLeish. “He should be OK for the weekend.

A tip in the comments of my Barn Door Team post suggested that Given was struggling, but it looks like he'll be fine for this weekend's match against Blackburn Rovers.  And if Collins has to take goal kicks again as a precaution, so be it.  No fantasy points in that. ;-)

Week Two Barn Door Team

A bit of analysis, including who is on the bubble, coming soon.

This was my team after the weekend matches, though in truth I do have Riise and Formica held "behind the scenes", as Nik likes to say.  There's obviously a strong Manchester City contingent after yesterday's match.  Aguero was devestating in his 30-minute cameo and I wouldn't expect his playing time to be limited going forward.  Silva was the straw that stirred the drink, and Richards and Toure were sometimes the most advanced players on the pitch!  They travel to Bolton this weekend (top of the table clash!), and I am still betting against the Trotters.  Yes, I tried that last weekend with Taarabt and DJ Campbell, and no it didn't work out.  Bolton have a settled back five at the moment, even if those players couldn't keep a clean sheet to save their lives last season.  I'm not going to over-react to the QPR match (though maybe I'm over-reacting to the Swansea match?) and I'm going to bet on Citeh to do the business again.

Everton and Aston Villa get strong representation here, with two players apiece. Everton are opening their season and get to do so now at home, against QPR.  Saha is fit and does well when healthy.  Cahill should again play as a withdrawn forward, which is great for a fantasy midfielder.  He's also healthy, and scored for Australia against Wales last week. Mikel Arteta is back for Everton, but I'm not sure he'll start.  Osman is a bit more expensive than Cahill but could also represent a good bet.

Aston Villa are represented after their credible 0-0 draw at Fulham.  Given goes into the team and can hopefully replicate the clean sheet at home against a struggling Rovers side. Rovers played Hanley and N'Zonzi at center back last weekend so N'Zogbia (battle of the N's!) gets the nod in midfield.  Other candidates for the fantasy team would include Darren Bent - LOVE the idea of his running at that makeshift backline) and Warnock - who is back in the team and getting involved going forward as far as I can tell.

Rounding out the team is Luis Suarez, who picked up right where he left off after last season and seems to be a +10 fantasy player.  He should love running at, and around, the Arsenal defence this weekend.  That defence may or may not have Gibbs as he is not "unlikely" to be fit.  I may keep Gibbs at his ridiculously low price, but I may look to gut Bosingwa and bring in two mid-price defenders (back to Riise?) for the combined value.

Scheduled Maintenance

UPDATE: The Y!FF game is back online.

All of a sudden, Y! greeting me with this.



Better than the experience over the weekend with the official Premier League game, but still lousy timing.  Here's the official game's apology and list of make-rights.  It's impressive.  Y!, please note that this is how to handle the situation.  Free does not excuse a lack of communication with your users any longer.

Manchester United down to bare bones

Crocked Rio out for six weeks | Manchester United Football Club News, Fixtures, Results, Gossip | Football365

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed after the game Ferdinand will miss six weeks, meaning he will be out until the start of October...

Fellow central defender Nemanja Vidic also succumbed to injury on Sunday, struggling with a calf problem with the opening minutes before eventually coming off just after half-time.

It all adds up to serious defensive concerns for Ferguson who has also lost Rafael for 10 weeks after he dislocated a shoulder in training....

"Young Rafa has done his shoulder in training in Friday and will be out for 10 weeks, he's probably going to have an operation.

"Rio will be out for six weeks. Vida will have checks tomorrow, we don't know if it's just a nerve or something, but he could be out for a couple of weeks."

With Evra coming back (presumably) United have Evans and Jones (or Smalling) at center back, and Fabio (or Smalling) on the right. That is strength in depth, but certainly it's not a happy morning at Carrington.

What We Learned: Week 1

With one match left to go tomorrow (Monday), the first thing we learned is that when your fantasy pundit spends the summer harping on the fact that you should spend your time, effort, and budget picking home players that we won't see a home win in week 1.  I stick by my initial hypothesis that you should strongly favor players playing at home but this was certainly not great positive reinforcement early for those who might have thought I was off-base with my analysis.  At the end of the season though, I'm pretty sure you'll be happy if you keep the faith with the home players.

In other news from the first weekend of Premier League (and fantasy) action:

The Cesc Saga Ends - FINALLY

Arsenal agree terms with Barca for Fabregas | News Archive | News | Arsenal.com

I'm not sure how to feel about this but it is finally over. Cesc Fabregas is now officially a Barca player with a bunch of money going the other way. Here are my thoughts:

It had to end this way - the negative press and momentum were like a cancer eating away at the club. His heart wasn't in being the focal point of the team and you just can't have your best player not into it.

Did they wait too long? My sense is that they waited one season too long. I don't know if they would have gotten any more money if they'd sold him last summer but I'm pretty sure that the club would be in a better place now if he'd been gone for the last year.

What do they know? Is his hammy a chronic thing? There's one thing you can say about Wenger during his Arsenal years, there aren't many players who have left and played better after they left. TH14 had some OK seasons at Barca but he wasn't his best. Vieira won trophies at Inter but wasn't an integral cog in the machine. K2...Toure...Flamini... you get the idea. Just something to keep in mind as you rush to crush Wenger for losing it.

Ready replacement? It certainly isn't Rosicky. I can see Wilshere and Ramsey being a solid pairing in front of Song. It is certainly a step back from Cesc/Nasri at their best. Is it a step back from the end of last season? No, not really. That said, the end of last season wasn't very good was it?

What's next? I can't claim to know about every high potential attacking midfielder out there but you have to think Arsenal need to buy someone at the Hazard/Mata level to keep themselves in the conversation with the big boys of the league.

Whether it is fair or not, I'd imagine Arsenal's next steps will be something of a referendum on Wenger and his ability to keep the club moving forward. If the club end up with the money in the bank, then the supporters aren't going to give him/them much of a leash for additional ugly 0-0 road matches with mid-table opponents. I'd imagine the supporters won't be satisfied unless there is both a center back and a replacement attacking midfielder regardless of what happens next with Nasri.

Barn Door Live: Season Opener

Welcome back to the new and improved blog with our old reliable online chat:

Fantasy Football 101

... or, Introduction to Fantasy Football.  (Whichever is more acceptable to our new search engine overloards.)

With the Premier League season set to kick off tomorrow, Spurs/Everton notwithstanding, a lot of us are head down, surfing the web for news, chopping and changing our team line-ups, and basically doing everything we can to be ready.  Those of us who have been playing the game for a while sometimes forget about someone who is new to fantasy football or who are asking themselves, "How do I play fantasy football?"  I think with ESPN and Fox Soccer covering the sport and raising its profile here in the United States, there are a lot of Americans asking that question.

So for you, the newbie fantasy manager, I present our two-part introduction to fantasy Premier League.  This is especially relevant to the Yahoo! Fantasy Football game, but the measures and guidelines are relevant across all competitions.

• The Rules. Here is the latest incarnation of this post, written two years ago so forgive some of the outdated references.  If you are interested, here is the original incarnation.  This post will give you my fantasy football strategy advice.  This is pretty big-picture stuff, and especially relevant to the Yahoo! Fantasy Football game's unique scoring system. 
• Mo Rules. This post is Neal's breakdown of a top-10 fantasy team over the course of yet another successful seasaon.  The analysis is a little more detailed, and I think adds some nuance to the broader advice given above.

Some other quick resources would include:

• Complete, club-by-club season previews
• Focused look at the Premier League's opening weekend, in two parts,
  • Part 1, a look at the schedules and a big announcement, and
  • Part 2, player picks
• "Who is K2?", our (hopefully) handy guide to the nicknames and jargon we've established on the blog after writing about fantasy and the Premier League for seven years.

Whatever your level, good luck this season. Don't hesitate to post questions in the comments, or over in the Facebook group (of which you should become a fan).

Y!AM's Player Picks

http://yahoofantasyfootballuk.blogspot.com/2011/08/week-1-player-picks.html

If you'd like some additional insight over and above The Week Ahead.  Our Never Manage Alone partner the Yahoo! Assistant Manager has posted his weekly Player Picks column.

Enjoy!

Injuries and Suspensions - Week 1

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

So, what to make of all the injury news discussed behind the link above?

Here are my rapid-fire thoughts:

The Week Ahead - Never Manage Alone Edition, Part 2: Yahoo Player Recommendations

Click here for Part 1 - a look at the opening week's schedule plus a big announcement.

For a day when nothing concrete really happened, it has been a crazy day. The Tevez/Nasri swap was thrown out there and led to Jeremy's excellent post on other potential swap deals that might make sense for both clubs. I'll throw in a slightly smaller deal into the mix as my contribution to rampant speculation about transfers that will never happen:

Niko Kranjcar for Nik Bendtner
No, there's no way that these two North London rivals would get together and voluntarily do a swap deal but it would make sense. With Nasri and Cesc presumably on their way out, Kranjcar would be a logical short-term replacement for Nasri as a creative midfielder who tends to play a little wider than the average central midfielder but isn't a true wing player either - perfect for Arsenal. Not earth-shattering, but a good fit. Bendtner would be a great fit going back in the other direction. He may be a jack@ss but even in part-time duty, he's been more productive than either of Spurs' "big" forwards Crouch and Pav. Throw in the fact that Bendtner is young, has upside, and that his aristocratic wife could more than hold her own socially with Sylvie van der Vaart at team functions and you have the makings of a great swap that will never happen. As a Gooner, it would be a lot of fun getting to root against Bendtner for the next 5 years too.

Back to the swap deal that may come to fruition, I'm not sure how I feel about it. Here are some quick thoughts on the pros and cons of the deal if it has been correctly reported:

Pros

• In Tevez, Arsenal get a playing asset rather than cash that they generally don't spend much of.
• They get that asset in return for an expiring asset in Nasri who was, by all reports, going to leave for free next summer.
• Tevez is really good.
• If they were going to sell Nasri to a Premier League rival, I'm much happier with it being City (who really don't need him and for whom I don't see him as a huge upgrade on what they've got) instead of United where he'd fill a more pronounced gap. I'd rather offload him to Italy, Spain or Russia but if it had to be England, this is the best possible situation.
• Getting the want-away elements out of the Arsenal dressing room can be nothing but a positive despite the talents of the players involved, it has clearly created an environment that the players can't overcome and overall negative momentum for the team.
• Maybe this gets Arsenal out of the "we'll never buy a great player at his peak" mentality (the first evidence of Stan Kroenke's influence as owner? You could never see Wenger signing up for this entirely voluntarily could you?)
• Did I mention that Tevez is really good?

Cons

• Tevez never really seems to be happy so it seems highly likely that we'll be right back here in this spot next summer with Tevez agitating for a move elsewhere "to see his children". We'll call that Summer of Cesc, Part IV: The Tevez Drama when it inevitably happens.
• As Jeremy accurately pointed out, it isn't clear how RvP and Tevez might work together given that Arsenal have been favoring what is essentially a 4-3-3 with RvP playing the only role I can see Tevez occupying which is the central #9 figure.
• If the presence of RvP and Tevez dictates a move towards more of a 4-4-2 formation then what becomes of Gervinho who looks perfectly suited to one of the roles supporting the #9?
• Assuming Cesc goes as well, have Arsenal lost too much creativity while replacing that creativity with big attacking names that are less creative and more goal-scorers? That's a big burden to put on Wilshere, Ramsey and someone who might be purchased either now or in January.

OK, enough speculation on random things and on to the main event, our first week's worth of player recommendations for the Yahoo! fantasy game. Keep in mind that the Spurs match has been postponed due to the riots but that the rest of them are likely to come off as scheduled.

Swap Meet

Funny thing about this transfer window is that teams have seemingly stocked up on redundant players rather than addressing clearer needs.  Also, we've seen a further concentration of players at the top as the biggest clubs fill out their 25-man rosters with full internationals while clubs below them are looking to academy and youth players to play a larger first-team role.  How do we address this?  Not being shy of an opinion, we offer our solution:

Based on the rumoured "Nasri for Tevez" swap, here are some ideas for player swaps that would help both sides.

Drogba for Modric
Chelsea want Modric, but Spurs are playing hardball and demanding an exorbitant fee.  Spurs are desperate for a striker, any striker, to help keep them in the hunt for Champions League football.  So, let's swap players!

Meireles for Shawcross
Stoke are desperate for some source of creativity in their central midfield and we're all well aware of Liverpool's glut of players in that department.  Also, Liverpool are looking to shore up their central defence as Carragher continues to age and neither Skrtel or Agger can put together a consistent run of matches.   So, let's swap players!

Adebayor for Aquilani
Back to Liverpool's bloated squad.  This swap makes sense for both teams in terms of shoring up their squads where they lack depth.  Adebayor would be an excellent "understudy" for Carroll as he would bring many of the same attributes to the team - good in the air, headcase, etc.  In return, Manchester City get another creative player who could be cover for Silva or be an alternative to Milner in the middle of the park. So, let's swap players!

Cahill, Reo-Coker for Vela, Bendtner, and Oxlade-Chamberlain
Bolton are reasonably well represented in central midfield with Muamba, Holden, Pratley, M Davies, S Davis as "specialists" while Ricardo Gardner can also play there.  They also have a ready-made replacement for Cahill in David Wheater.  In return for sending their commanding center-back to Arsenal they would get the attacking tools that they desperately need.  Bendtner could play though the middle with, or in place of, Davies while Vela can play across the front line.  In Oxlade-Chamberlain, Owen Coyle would get another youngster to mould and would provide cover on the wings with Chyong-Lee out with his broken leg.  So, let's swap players!

What swaps would you propose?

The Week Ahead - Never Manage Alone Edition, Part 1

The original reason we started the blog seven years ago was to keep a group of friends, increasingly separated by geography and the responsibilities of life, together around the Yahoo! fantasy game.  Over the years we’ve been doing this, one of the best parts of this experience for me was the opportunity get to know Jeremy as well as I have. [Jeremy's note: Right back at you, Neal!] We knew each other a little bit from common friends and socializing during the brief time we overlapped in Washington, DC but he was on his way to the sunshine of San Diego as I was returning from living in Atlanta for six years.  Without the blog, it is likely that our passing connection would have eroded over time, as would have the bonds among that larger group of friends.

I won’t bore you with the details of how the blog grew over the years but one of the best parts about it, and one of the things that drew me to starting the blog in the first place, is the idea that it is more fun watch games and play fantasy sports when there is a community you can share it with.   Thanks to the blog we've been able to maintain connections with our original circle of friends, but also we've now built relationships with people that, in most cases, we’ve never met in person.  I’ve gotten to know those who comment on the blog, on Facebook, or participate occasionally or regularly in our Saturday live chats.  We talk about the matches, the players, fantasy implications and move beyond them all to finding out bits and pieces about all of the people who participate.  I am not going to mention individual names because I don’t want to slight anyone as we appreciate everyone who reads and participates – even the ones who think we’re idiots some, or all of the time.  Suffice it to say, for someone living in a place where watching the Premier League isn’t the most popular activity on a Saturday, building a virtual pub of friends around the world has been fantastic.