Aug
20
While the Scout’s away…
You may have mentioned a lull in updates in the last couple of days, something that might continue this week as I’m smack in the middle of the busiest two weeks of my working year right now (yep, I have a day job). I’m leaving for Germany tomorrow and while I’m away for the five days I may only have limited access to the net in order to provide some valuable updates. Totally outrageous I know, but I’m hoping you’ll let me off if and once I return at the weekend I’ll get things moving again.
For now I’ll update injuries, early team news and my Scout Picks tonight, although I’m sure I’d want to change these by the weekend - I may not be able to, so please let me off if my choices look slightly odd come Saturday.
THAT’S OUTRAGEOUS!!!!! WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WHILE YOU’RE OFF GALAVANTING……..
Just kidding….have a nice trip and don’t work too hard. Thanks for all your help thus far.
Craig Magee
Jupiter, FL USA
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lol..thanks Craig..I’m hoping I can get access at the hotel, but I’ve done enough of this trips to know that that’s far from 100%.
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I demand my money back!!!
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have you thought about putting some advertising on the website. Perhaps you could get rid of your day job:)
BTW: fantastic site
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Fine, just don’t get yourself killed on a plane crash or something.
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Yeah mon, great work you do here, even if I fell prey to your advice about Yakubu, and Jagielka, and Koumas…ok I’m kidding. But Laursen? Come now…
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Man…H2 beat me to it. My post, already formulated in my head was: “So you’re off to Germany and leaving us with Laursen? You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you?”
Enjoy the land of “happy people.”
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have a good trip - hurry back!
P.S Is tevez actually going to score soon or should I lump on Anelka?
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Thanks for all your help so far. Have a good time while you’re away.
Can you give some advice regarding Yakubu. Is he worth keeping now he is moving to Everton, even though he’ll play in the African Nations? Like JT I’m thinking of going for Anelka instead.
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Reports say Everton’s bid for Yakubu is set to fall through as Boro are demanding £12m. I hope this get’s settled soon as he’s on my dream team and last week he was left out of the squad. At the moment I feel like I only have 10 players in my team
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Hey Mark, I’ve been doing fantasy football for years and only just discovered your excellent site! Can’t say I’m doing any better with your help yet (13th in my Friends and Enemies League!) but I’m sure over time your advice will prove invaluable! You should get a ‘donate’ button!
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Do you enjoy your day job?!
If not, then I second the suggestion above- that you should pack it in and concentrate on the site because I think you’re doing a great job!
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I totally agree with Paul and George’s sentiments. You are a champion.
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HOORAY! Transfers can finally be made in the Telegraph game tomorrow. Ross, I’m taking out Yakubu until he moves. Even if he stays at Boro, I think his form will dip. Can’t have him not even being in the squad though, so cue the transfers!
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I’d def think about some advertising opportunities. This sight is a winner. in the meantime, enjoy Germany!
Josh (munich)
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Well, in that case and considering the fact you stuck me with Anderson I demand some advice…
Thinking about transferring Speed out and getting Sibierski, then getting rid of Anderson for Richards in a possible second transfer.
Thoughts?
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I think you should put a bargain sign (£) next to jermaine jenas who is currently in your list of midfielders. 7 million for him on the premier league fantasy football is a snip. Jenas is the reason i’ve decided not to go for lampard. Spurs have to play man utd/arsenal in upcoming weeks and jenas has previously scored against both. I am shocked jenas has been left out of the england squad and dyer has been included.
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How is everyone doing in the fantasy football - i’m currently on 137 points and have scored a solid 50 points in the last 2 gameweeks.
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Anyone got any tips on who to put as captain for this gameweek? Some great fixtures for potential points - all big 4 (bar liverpool) at home. Was going to go with Tevez against the spurs ‘defence’. Things are bound to click soon for Man Utd up front. Then again, Arsenal are at home to Man City (Van Persie), and Chelsea at home to Portsmouth (Malouda) are tempting. All advice welcome. Thanks for the help and the great website!
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Basically play a front 3 of van persie, tevez and forsell and you should get enough points at the weekend. Also include some newcastle defenders because boro probably wont be able to break them down and newcastle/boro often proves to be a tight fixture as neither team wants to lose the teeside/tynside derby or whatever its called.
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Make Tevez your captain and if he doesnt get you at least 15 points (including double points) then drop him for the next gameweek. It would be an idea to keep about 5 million saved up so you can maybe bring ronaldo in after that suspension (as he would have had a long rest) or if you have tevez/van persie and one of them flops you would also have the option of bringing in drogba (which would still leave you with another million with which you could strengthen your midfield)
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how about you put on a counter to see how many people visit this site, because im sure its alot. and a step closer to helping in getting advertising.
van persie will be my captain. and geremi in for campbell my transfer
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The last couple of years that I’ve played, I’ve gotten better scores each year. And while my knowledge of the players on just about every team has certainly improved, I continue to miss out on labeling the proper player with the “Captain’s armband.” Any hints/tips beyond just blind luck for labeling a guy as my captain?
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An idea that worked for me: give captaincy to someone (prime defender, choice midfielder, scorer, etc.) and watch everyone else do well for that week.
Case in point: Ronaldo is my capt. He gets red carded. Then it’s Arteta. He does nothing. Meanwhile, the other members of my team get jealous and start performing well. Anelka gets his goals, Dunne, Richards, Ingimarsson, and Shorey all get clean sheets.
In essence, I just try to manipulate Murphy’s Law to my advantage when dishing out the armband. Those without it tend to play better…
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any confirmation on whether a.cole will be fit for the weekend? i’ve got a defence of clichy, r.ferdinand, evra, a.cole…. with forsell on the bench at the moment. but i’m not sure, i can see him doing something against derby. what do you guys think? anyone i should ditch at the back, and go for a 3-4-3 formation? the rest of the team is staying put i think, with hleb, arteta, malouda, downing, and martins and rvp up front.
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and as for captain, there’s only one choice…
R
V
P
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I like Rise for the armband. He’s a good chance of a clean sheet and playing in midfield he may also score or assist.
Q. Do others struggle picking players in FL that are up against your REAL team? I get all sorts of mixed emotions and hate the feeling. Each year but by Christmas I’m done with FL prefering to support my team without conflict. Play up Pompey! Yes, we need all the help we can get!
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Meant to add - great web site, great job!
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H2 and I are on the same page. I too gave it to Ronaldo and was going to let it ride then he’s red-carded. Then I gave it to Cesc and he did nothing. Then I bench Shorey and Ingi and both get clean sheets. I played McShane and Geremi (w/Lescott) instead. At least Geremi got a clean sheet.
My team’s as follows:
Howard (Gordon)
Geremi, Lescott, Shorey (Ingi, McShane)
Bentley, Cesc, Arteta, Gamst, Milner
Van Persie, Martins (Utaka…yeah I had him on the bench too)
So, I’d go with RVP, but I’m really partial to midfielders, especially Cesc or Essien as both seem to get a hell of a lot of assists and 1-3 bonus points.
We’ll see I guess. This week I have Cesc as my Captain again. My free transfer will likely bring Barry to the midfield.
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I think Geremi’s the one everyones going for this week judging by some of the teams you’ve posted. I’ve included him in my team but am slightly concerned over whether he will be fit as he came off last week injured.
Anyway i’ve included both geremi and taylor as i think newcastle are going to be a team that will get quite a few clean sheets in the next few weeks.
A lot of people on this thread are also debating who is the ideal captain - i dont think there is an ideal captain. RVP would be a good choice but IMO its best to rotate captains. eg last week i made elano captain for the midweek fixture and then made jenas captain for the weekend game. And i got a lot of points.
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And to the person who is deciding on whether he wants to play a 3-4-3 with forsell up front - great idea. I strongly advise it. I’m currently playing a 4-3-3 with this team:
———GORDON————-
GEREMI–S.TAYLOR–B.HAIM
MILNER–JENAS–ARTETA–FABREGAS
TEVEZ–FORSELL–V.PERSIE
SUBS: SCHMECEL/DOWNING/RICHARDS/MCSHANE
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*it should have said 3-4-3 in the last post. that was a mistake.
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@Kent: Auuch! I HATE having big point scorers sitting on the bench taunting you.
I was a lot easier choosing a captain when Henry was still at Arsenal. You could put the armband on him, lean back and se the points rolling in. Ronaldo wasn’t bad last year either…
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sean your team is average. put on shmecel and richards and sell tevez and b haim for someone else
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Sean, unfortunately it doesn’t work that way for me. As soon as I change my captain it turns out I made the wrong choice and should have stuck with the former one.
Not only that, I seem to bench the players that get points, but only when they get points. As soon as I put them on, they get me yellow cards.
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Don’t stress- I think Ronaldo will hit form again as soon as he comes back- and there will be your captain material.
I’m going to transfer Ronaldo in when he returns but I’ve just drafted in Drogba as I think he’s about to hit form and I’m a bit wary of transferring him out again so soon..
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Can anyone help me over Rolando Bianchi & Gary McSheffrey. I’m debating whether or not to transfer them for Chopra & Gerrard. Its Telegraph FFL scoring.
I’d be grateful for anyones comments on the matter.
Cheers.
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Hey everybody…seems to be an active site and very helpful, I love it! I am in a small dilemma here, I will be leaving the country for 3 weeks with no email access on safari and need to field the best team possible so I don’t slide from my first place position in the ESPN fantasy league (only 30 transfers all year) I am in. I have already used 4 transfers on injuries, with 26 remaining, and I have Sol Campbell in the back that I need to get rid of. I was thinking him for ingimarsson, Laursen, or Stubbs which would free up a whole point to upgrade Whitehead in my MF. Team i as follows…
Schmeical and Carson
Campbell, A Cole, Riise, Melberg, and Shorey
MG Pederson, Bentley, Arteta, Malouda, and Whitehead
Tevez, RVP, and Heskey
Let me know what you think for the Whitehead trade, thinking Koumas, Noble, or Davies, any ideas on both trades?
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Simon,
I have McSheffrey and Bianchi. I would keep hold of them for now.
McSheffrey was dropped to the bench against West Ham yet this proved to be Birmingham’s least productive performance so Bruce will start him against Derby where there is bound to be points potential.
Bianchi worth keeping hold of with Bojinov injured he will be a sure starter at the moment and Lehman may well drop another clanger to allow him to score at the Emirates this weekend.
Gerrard will be rested this weekend, and I’m not 100% on Chopra yet.
Tom
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In reference to my team which people are criticising:
Michael i hear what you are saying about carlos tevez but i think he has every chance of scoring against a leaky spurs defence. As for ben haim well i think its about time chelsea kept a clean sheet dont you? And where better to do it than at home to pompey.
I’d prefer to have a bunch of above average 7 million players in my midfield with maybe one 9 million player so i can rotate them according to fixtures rather than waste 11 odd million on lamps or gerrard who wont necessarily be top scorers every week. I think its much better to have milner/jenas/arteta/fabregas and rotate them. I also have downing waiting in the wings and given that boro have birmingham in a couple of weeks, i’ve left him on my bench and will bring him in when the time is right.
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Here are some more reasons as to why i have picked certain players
Gordon - i picked him ahead of the other keeper in my squad because i think sunderland’s defence is very strong at home. And at home to a liverpool side without gerrard i think sunderland have every chance of keeping a clean sheet.
I didnt go for schmiecel who is on my bench because theres only so long a team can go without conceding. Oh and city have got arsenal away from home. So that also explains my reason not to put micah richards in the team and instead opt for a back 3 of geremi—-s.taylor—-b.haim–
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With regards to the keeper arguemnt. I think it depends on what FF game you are playing. I play the FPL.com which gains points for saves made, and therefore will be going with Schmeical, due the fact i think he will be kept very busy and will earn those extra points, with the possibility of bonus points to boot. I aslo think Liverpool will beat Sunderland convincingly 0-2. But like alot of people on this forum, I am often very wrong. We’ll have to wait and see.
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Sunderland looked like a difficult team to break down when playing at home to spurs. I think when at home, they will probably be a completely different side.
Without Gerrard, Liverpool are a completely different side - in fact i’d go as far as to say liverpool are half the side when they are without gerrard. So i think at best liverpool can hope for a 1-0 win.
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I see your point about schmeicel but surely liverpool will test out gordon quite a lot in the game againt sunderland.
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I like Riise as my captain. With Gerard out, others will need to step up and has a chance to put up big numbers on both ends.
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I generally prefer midfielders as captains, especially when the bigger sides are playing at home.
Lampard scored in last 2 games and Pompey’s lack of ambition going forward against the big 4 probably means a clean sheet
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Well lads, my 3 strikers, Johnson, McCarthy, Anelka. Do I play all 3 tomorrow as Johnson meant to have some knee injury and McCarthy is only back. Appreciate any help.
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Anyone know the latest on Yakubu’s possible transfer? I haven’t found any additional news since Tuesday. If he goes to Everton, what is the concensus on his value/short term performance. He’s an eratic forward and I think it would take him some time to mesh with his new teammates. On the other hand, Everton would be certain to give him minutes due to their stortage of bodies up front and the recent injury to Johnson.
–Thoughts?
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Mark, come back !
Anyone know how many weeks Carragher and Sagna will be out?
Also, anyone as disappointed by the likes of McSheffrey, Bianchi and Koumas as I am?! Time to make a change.
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WOW!!!!!! After all our talk about Finnan and you putting a big REST beside his name while bigging up Riise with a nice looking Oops beside him, the tool comes on after 75 mins and does nothing. I still dig your site man (big time) but I switched my captain from Fabregas to Riise and now I want to die….
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AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not your fault tho. It was a good call. I didn’t think of it myself but I was salivating at the prospect of him kgetting a clean sheet and maybe a goal. Oh well. Last weeks captain Artete - 2 points… This week, Riise - 2 points.. Sheeeeet….
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lol! it’s hard to blame Mark though - until recently Riise was playing more or less the full 90 minutes - then all of a sudden he gets a pathetic 17 minutes..
but i guess there is a fair degree of risk in selecting Liverpool players given Benitez’s tendency to rotate players time and time again - it seems as though that Reina, Carragher and Gerard are the only players that are guaranteed to start..
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On the premier league fantasy football, I’ve used my wildcard up and use up 2 transfers a week (so i basically lose 4 points a week). But it seems to be working overall as the changes i make nearly always work.
The only one that costed me badly was taking out forsell - according to ‘team news’ on quite a few sites, forsell was doubtful and he still played (and got an assist). The same thing happend a few weeks ago - there were doubts on forsells fitness…. only that time i left him in.
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how do you guys feel about trading McSheffrey and Bianchi for Petrov and Torres?
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I’ve had it with Bianchi and McSheffrey now. Wierd that despite spending over £10m and scoring City’s first goal of the season, Sven is now preferring not to start him.
I’ve just got this feeling McSheffrey isn’t up to scratch in the Premiership, he certainly doesn’t look it fitness wise and has not lasted a full 90 minutes yet.
What does everyone think of Juliano Belletti and the likelihood of holding down the right back starting position in the Premiership for Chelsea this season?
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I wouldn’t bother with Belletti for now. Maybe once he has a few games under his belt. I suppose it’s possible that he’ll hold down the RB spot but he wasn’t anything special in an inferior league, so I wouldn’t expect much from him. Shame about Alves not coming over, that’s who we needed.
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