Archive for July, 2007
Wednesday’s Pre-season round-up
Chelsea remain undefeated while Arsenal, West Ham and Bolton all falter. There’s no Korean hangover for Reading though, as they hit six. Meanwhile Villa kick off their pre-season with a win in Toronto and Luke Moore turns up the heat on Harewood and Carew by grabbing a hat-trick. Get all the lineups, scorers and rambling comments here…
ContinuedTuesday’s Pre-season round-up
Pompey beat Fulham and Liverpool reach the Asia Trophy Final in Hong Kong. Spurs triumph again in South Africa. While Boro get a win at Darlington and the Hammers are held at Orient. Get the lineups, goals and all the other goodness here…
ContinuedTonight’s Pre-season round-up
United stroll, even without Scholes, in the Far East. Brum hit five in Germany. Derby split their side for lower league opponents and Reading give Lita his first run out of the summer. Get all the teams, scorers and details from the day’s friendlies here…
ContinuedRochemback suspension confirmed
Middlesbrough’s Fabio Rochemback has had a 3-match ban confirmed following his red card against Hertha Berlin last week. Middlesbrough had appealed against the sending off but it has been upheld and Rochemback will now miss the home game against Blackburn, followed by the away games at Wigan and Fulham. Julio Arca or Lee Cattermole are likely to benefit from Rochemback’s absence.
ContinuedScholes to miss kick-off
As reported earlier, Paul Scholes has been sent home from United’s tour of Asia and it has now been revealed he’ll undergo exploratory knee surgery to assess the damage on his injured knee. Sir Alex has commented that, at this stage, the injury does not look serious, however, he admitted that Scholes would be absent for up to a month. Scholes will therefore miss the season kick-off on August 11.
Of course, the surgery could reveal a more serious injury any long-term injury which would open the door for new signing Anderson, which could possibly push him up your Fantasy reckoning, depending on his value in your game.
ContinuedFreddie set for Hammers move
West Ham have solved their midfield woes after the injury to new signing Faubert by swooping for Freddie Ljungberg. The Arsenal man is set to be unveiled at this afternoon’s press conference at Upton Park. He will doubtless take his place on the right-hand side of the West Ham midfield once the season is underway. Suddenly Ljungberg goes from a bit part Fantasy player to a decent mid-price target. Certainly he is likely to get 30 games under his belt and, although he was without a goal in 16 starts for Arsenal last season, a more consistent run in West Ham’s side, coupled with a boost in confidence that that brings, could well see his return this season resemble the good old days when he regularly threatened a double figures goal tally. I can see a return of around half a dozen goals and assists this term, which could do you a job, depending on his value in your game.
ContinuedBlackburn earn Intertoto advantage
Blackburn have established a 2-0 advantage from the away leg of their Intertoto tie with Lithuania’s FK Vetra. McCarthy and Derbyshire hit the goals with Gamst Pedersen and Mokoena earning the assists. Blackburn played their strongest lineup and the side most likely to take to the field come Augsut 11. Warnock was passed fit having picked up a pre-season injury. Ooijer and Savage played a full 90 minutes, while Tugay was preferred to Dunn and Roberts started in front of Derbyshire with the England Under-21 striker coming off the bench for Bentley in the second half.
Blackburn Lineup: Friedel, Ooijer, Warnock, Samba, Tugay (Mokoena 46), Nelsen, Savage, McCarthy (Rigters 65), Bentley (Derbyshire 65), Pedersen, Roberts
ContinuedThis morning’s Pre-season round up
Two games kicked in the early hours of this morning over in the US. Chelsea got through Beckham’s unveiling and came away with a win, while Everton faltered badly in the Utah heat. Get the lineups, goals and all the other goodness here…
ContinuedNewcastle lose Barton for six weeks
Joey Barton will miss the start of the start of the season having picked up a foot injury that will see him sidelined for around 6-weeks. Barton has suffered a partial fracture of the fifth metatarsal during the pre-season game with Carlisle yesterday. He will now target the home game with Wigan on September 1 as a possible return to action. With Parker now at West Ham, Big Sam will either opt for a Butt/Emre midfield pairing, or dip back into the transfer market to bolster his midfield.
ContinuedToday’s Pre-season round up
Spurs start their South African adventure with a win. Sven serves up another goal-fest. Sunderlind sunk at Scunthorpe while Newcastle and Boro scrape draws. Get all the lineups, goals and points of interstest from today’s friendlies here…
ContinuedNew stats - Premiership Set Piece Takers
A few days ago I had a request for a list of the set-piece takers in the Premiership - it so happens I was working on just that. I’ve built tables listing each club’s penalty takers, corner takers and also indirect and direct free-kick takers. These tables will be reguarly updated so keep popping back to check on them. Plus, they’ll be updated throughout the season.
Hopefully, they’ll help you find those sources of assists and goals you’re looking for in your new season lineup. Later I’ll make them available through the Selection Stats menu but for now you can have a look at the current version of the Set Piece tables here.
ContinuedBolton miss out on Peace Cup
Bolton lost out to a late Kim Kallstrom goal in the Peace Cup Final against Lyon in Korea today. In truth, Lyon’s 1-0 victory was deserved with Jaaskelainen keeping Bolton in the game throughout.
Sammy Lee’s selection offered an excellent preview of his preferred starting lineup. Onle the right of midfield spot looks in doubt with Vaz Te employed there today (although he continually swapped with Nolan on the left). Guthri, Diouf, Vaz Te and Stelios seem to be competing for the one spot that remains in the Bolton midfield alongside McCann, Speed and Nolan. Campo meanwhile seems to be fighting for a place in the centre of midfield and could benefit from Speed’s ageing legs to get his chance. At the back it’s clear that Cid and Meite will start with Samuel taking Gardner’s place at left-back until he returns from injury. Anelka and Davies are clearly first-choice up front.
Bolton Lineup: Jaaskelainen, Hunt (Sinclair 72), Meite, Cid, Samuel, Vaz Te (Diouf 85), Speed (Stelios 77), McCann, Nolan, Davies, Anelka.
ContinuedTonight’s Pre-season round-up
Rooney, Ronaldo and Gerrard all come out to play as United and Liverpool both ease to victory over FC Seoul and Auxerre respectively. Meanwhile, Sanchez took his all-new Fulham lineup to Brighton and came back with a win. Get the lineups, scorers and all the necessary here…
ContinuedCook arrives at the Cottage
Fulham have this evening sealed the signing of QPR winger Lee Cook. Cook is Fulham’s sixth signing of a busy summer and has signed on for a fee believed to be around £2.5 million. He will occupy the left wing position for Fulham, a position filled by Queudrue in the recent friendly.
Last season Cook appeared 36 times for QPR, scoring 3 goals and notching up 13 assists. He’s yet to arrive and be priced in any Fantasy Games.
Continued
