Tuesday Night Scout Notes
Adebayor scores for fun again, Fabregas scores to spite all those fantasy managers who were on the verge of getting rid and Keegan goes home nursing another 3-0 defeat from the Emirates. Meanwhile at the other end of the table, Bolton grind another clean sheet, Boro’s Aliadiere goes crazy and scores a goal and Sunderland’s new wrecking ball of a strike force put bruises on Birmingham’s defence and a smile on Roy Keane’s face. Here’s my notes from Tuesday’s games…
Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0
It’s nine goals in the last seven games for Adebayor as he set Arsenal on their way to their second 3-0 win over Newcastle in four days. Crucially for many fantasy managers, Fabregas also delivered at last scoring, the third and setting up Flamini for his spectacular 35-yard effort. Flamini also contributed the assist for Adebayor’s opener and picked up the three FPL bonus points to take him onto twelve for the season.
Wenger brought back Almunia and Sagna as expected, while Eduardo also got another start up front. He was without Rosicky but brought Hleb back into the side to compensate with Diaby keeping his place. Walcott started on the bench.
Arsenal’s key players remain at the very top of the fantasy shopping list then - Adebayor is essential right now while Fabregas will have bought himself more time with those managers contemplating life without him. Tonight’s goal was his seventh of the season but the first in the last eight Premiership starts.
Defensively meanwhile, Arsenal have conceded just three goals in the last eight Premiership matches - that’s a better goals against than United over the same period. Those who invested in Senderos in the absence of Toure to the African Cup of Nations, seem likely to get good value from him by the time Toure returns. Arsenal’s forthcoming fixtures in the next month only appear to indicate more goals at one end and clean sheets for them at the other.
Newcastle are yet to score in three games under Keegan. Once again the gulf in class was evident here, although for periods they once again asked questions of Arsenal, without having the cutting edge to create chances.
Things will surely get better for Newcastle and they’ll hope that begins with the home game with Boro at the weekend which is now crucial. Keegan had limited options once more tonight with Emre still suspended, Viduka injured and a host of names in Ghana. Enrique added to his woes, missing out with an injury. That meant that Nzogbia was shifted to left-back with Rozenhal earning a recall in central midfield. Barton was back and on the bench.
Barton was introduced for Rozenhal just before the hour mark and looked fit - he must now come into the reckoning to start at the weekend. As does Emre who will help to add extra creativity to Newcastle’s midfield which is clearly lacking.
Injuries and Suspensions
Nzogbia picked up his fourth booking of the season here.
Bolton 0 Fulham 0
A dull encounter at the Reebok with Bolton again demonstrating that they’ve mastered the art of keeping clean sheets at home but lack the quality up front to turn them into three points. For Fulham meanwhile, this was their first points under Hodgson.
Megson made no changes from the side that got a 0-0 at Newcastle over a week ago. That meant starts and home debuts for Steinsson and Taylor.
Bolton have kept five clean sheets in the last seven home games. That makes likes of Andy O’Brien, who picked up a bonus point here, an excellent budget purchase in the FPL as a player to rotate in when Bolton are at the Reebok. Portsmouth, Liverpool and City are the next teams to visit.
In attacking terms however, Bolton will struggle unless they can pick up a striker before the window closes. Gudjohnsen has reportedly turned down a loan move. Without such quality up front, Bolton will have to rely heavily on set-pieces which could see Taylor reap some rewards. He once again played out on the left wing tonight and came closest to scoring for Bolton. His fantasy price, inflated by last season’s performance at Portsmouth, doesn’t offer to much value when the opposition don’t look as favourable as they did tonight.
Fulham had two debutants on the pitch in Hangeland and Andreasen. The arrival of Nevland and Johnson this week will likely see further changes when they take on Villa at the Cottage. That could put Dempsey, the one Fulham player worth serious consideration, under threat for a starting role. Bullard could become another consideration however. He earned two FPL bonus points tonight which could be a familiar occurrence. With forthcoming fixtures - Villa at home, Boro away and West Ham at home, looking favourable, it could be that Bullard opens his assist and goal account in the next few.
Injuries and Suspensions
Joey O’Brien picked up an injury and was replaced at half-time.
Middlesbrough 1 Wigan 0
Aliadiere found the net for just the second time this season, firing home an angled drive from a Downing pass to win the game for Boro. Surprisingly that was only Downing’s third assist of the season - a symptom of Boro’s lack of firepower up front. They were worthy of their victory here though, carving out a series of early chances before taking the lead, then defending their advantage stubbornly in the second-half.
Southgate was without Pogagtetz who picked up an ankle injury in the Cup at the weekend so he brought in Grounds at left-back for his second start of the season. Elsewhere Tuncay, Downing and O’Neil returned after missing the Cup tie. Mido started on the bench. He appeared after just half-an-hour as Tuncay hobbled off with an injury.
A rare clean sheet for Boro then, their second in the last seven Premiership games and only their fifth of the season overall. Defensively then they are far from a superpower, however they’ve conceded just four in the last five Premiership games - indication that the Wheater/Huth partnership is beginning to establish itself. Wheater only boosted his growing reputation with fantasy managers with the clean sheet here then - he remains an excellent budget purchase. What’s more, it’s Newcastle away and Fulham at home next - both sides who are struggling for goals.
In attacking terms much depends on the fitness of Mido and the arrival of Afonso Alves. He is due to sign if Boro can agree a fee with his club Heerenveen and a work permit can be agreed at a hearing on Wednesday. His arrival could rejuvenate Boro’s attacking players - Downing in particular.
For Wigan, Bruce selected Marlon King as expected for his debut, but surprisingly went with a three-pronged attack, keeping Heskey and Bent in the lineup and dropping Taylor to the bench. The trio rotated throughout the first-half with Heskey first starting out on the left before Bent shifted out there. King looked ineffectual though and was eventually replaced early in the second-half by Koumas as Bruce went to a conventional 4-4-2. Wigan looked brighter for the change and Bruce will feel that he’ll have to make a choice and drop one of his front three for the home game with West Ham on Saturday.
This was Wigan’s first blank under Bruce, ironic given that he went with three up front and gave a debut to a £5 million striker. Goals at both ends are normally guaranteed though and Wigan’s forthcoming fixtures suggest that their attacking players may still be worth a look over the next month. The problem is, King’s arrival has now added a layer of confusion to Bruce’s first choice midfield and attack.
Injuries and Suspensions
Tuncay picked up an injury and was replaced after just 31-minutes. Downing also got a knock in the second-half and was replaced on 70-minutes.
Heskey picked up his fourth booking of the season here and takes his place on the suspension tightrope.
Sunderland 2 Birmingham 0
I had written a nice long set of notes on this one, then lost the lot without saving, so with tiredness kicking in, I’ll have to keep this short. In a nutshell Sunderland were well worth the win, with Jones again causing all sorts of problems for the opposition, earning another three FPL bonus points into the bargain. He continues to offer the best overall value as a forward in the FPL game.
Keane gave Bardsley a debut with McShane dropped to the bench but left his other new signing, Prica in reserve. He went on to come off the bench and announced himself though with a debut goal and booking. A sign of things to come perhaps. The front pair could well be worth considering then, however Keane’s men visit Anfield next and that’s one of three away games in the next four. They have a dire away record - no wins and just nine goals - only Derby have worse. Perhaps leave it a few weeks then if you’ve missed the boat with Jones up until now.
As for Birmingham - McFadden started here as expected with O’Connor dropping out. They’ve now scored just two goals in the last five, although they’ve had a dreadful run of fixtures. Larsson continues to offer some value as a sporadic points scorer but I’m expecting some changes from McCleish in the games to come. The next two - Derby at home and West Ham away are vital and are followed by tough games against Arsenal and Spurs.
Injuries and Suspensions
Kapo picked up his fifth yellow of the season and will face a one-match ban. He’ll miss the trip to West Ham a week on Saturday. Ridgewell meanwhile is just one booking from a two-match ban having picked up his ninth booking here.
Nice notes mark. Again. I put Larsson on this week for the first time in ages, bit disapointing really. Hopefully theyll do better against 20th place.
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From one of the minority who has stubbornly abstained from picking Adebayor, I’m quite relieved he only picked up one goal.
Great boost for Fabregas followers - it is long overdue and this could kick-start a good period of form for him with Arsenal looking very formidable at the moment.
Flamini’s contribution was better than expected - just goes to show you’ve got to have a little patience in this league….he’d been picking up 2 and 3 points for some time so the idea that he could get into double figures in another game was starting to look bleak.
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Just a query Mark…
Belletti picked up his 5th yellow last Saturday so misses tonights match.
Kapo picked up his 5th yellow last night but doesnt miss this weekend game, he misses the match a week later… what preceisely is the rule on this?
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@ Chris,
Belletti actually picked up his 5th yellow against Everton last Wednesday (Carling Cup) - the ban comes into effect on 5 yellows 7 days later and hence he misses tonights game. Had Chelsea played last night then Belletti would have been available and he would have missed the game coming up this weekend.
The ban associated with red cards comes into effect immediately.
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The rule is the ban starts 7 days after the 5th booking. As this weekend’s game is not yet 7 days later, Kapo will not be suspended until after.
Belletti picked up his 5th yellow in last week’s League Cup game, meaning tonight’s game is over 7 days later and the ban is served tonight.
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wheater looking good (tho not physically) - apparently he had two excellent chances to score too and shouldve done better (that would’ve netted him 21 points in FPL!)
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Thanks Martin and Alex!!
Yeah IA. I think Wheater could be a wise buy and think I’m gonna trade Richards for him!
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I was gonna get Wheater this week, but had to make my transfer early so went for Belletti (his price was gonna go up and I’d been wanting him for a while). Fabulous decision of course.
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Well done Alex on filling in Chris all the bits I missed out (must have been writing at the same time - surely?)
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it was just the one chance wheater had apparently, just it was reported twice in the bbc match summary, my bad - but still, good for a cheapass defender who seems to be bagging the bonus points too…
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Looks like it Martin…
I just wish someone would have told me Belletti was on 4 yellows instead of 3 when I got him in last week…
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I got down to around 300th in FPL but have been dropping because I have been having rough times picking my captain. It’s a bit annoying that a lot of people have the same players. I’ve got Flamini though. Great player
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Great site Mark by the way. You hardly ever see a good site without advertising attached these days. Well done mate.
I’m going for top manager in New Zealand, about 40 points adrift at the moment
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I’d be 12th in the Christmas Islanders league, if they hadn’t lost my registration forms in the mail
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Hi Alex - regarding Belletti, yellow card counts and suspensions - the “suspension tightrope” in the right-hand menu will help with monitoring players on the verge of suspension. I also have a more detailed table here…
http://www.fantasyfootballscou.....ine-table/
These are normally updated 24-hours after games and they are pretty accurate although reserve team bookings are hard to track and have caught me out once or twice.
Not sure if visitors are picking up on that since I introduced the expandable tables in the menu.
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Mark I know, but I had to make my transfer on Tuesday last week as i was going to be out of town and didn’t know if I;d be able to make my transfer there. So went for Belletti as he was about to rise, your suspension tightrope still had him on 3 then…Just shows that early transfers aren’t a good idea…
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ah yes…the curse of having to go away without access to a pc to make your transfers. Horrible that, I still shudder when I think about Christmas 2005
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Even more bitter when it turned out I did have access…so when I checked on my team and saw Belletti’s red i…well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.
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If I had not moved from the Christmas Islands at the beginning of the season I would be in 1st place, why did I move to the Falkland Islands and join that league. Might try the Ascension Islands next year. Anyone coming???
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Sorry, there’s no Ascension Islands, not this season anyway. You could try the Heard and McDonald Islands, although they do have over 1,000 entrants already. Which is quite odd, since they’re uninhabited
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Right then, I will advertise for a group of ex sailors and convicts in exsailors/convicts weekly to take said islands. I will set off before the pre season and should reach them before gameweek one. Where are they??
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for those dudes who have to make early doors transfers cos theyre away from access to a PC - I highly recommend getting an apple itouch (unless your going to be somewhere where you cant pick up a wireless network) Or if you dont mind getting bent over contract-wise, an iphone is even better
However despite the itouch and also access to this truely wonderful site (well done Dave again) I am actually having by far my worst season ever! But this is mainly due to some absolutely phenomenal bad luck and to be honest i would be a lot further down had it not been for this site. Roll on my resurrection next season!!!
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wheater’s picked up a knock, och for f*** sake!!!!
another item to add to the long list of misfortune for this season…..
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Ollie: I told you to sign him, again and again. Give in and sign him.
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The winker’s a must have, alright.
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wheres tevez!?!?
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(In Spanish)Bloody gaffer felt I needed a rest and put that chancer ronaldo up front instead, sorry lads.
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I need a midfielder for 4.8m. Any ideas?
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Er, Ronaldo? (Sorry mate)
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@ Ollie.
You have two choices… Larsson at Birmingham, good player and has Derby next… OR you could maybe buy Ronaldos boots!
(Sorry I couldnt resist!… but I’m serious about Larrson!)
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Winker’s form; 15,0,15,10,3,15,9,5,9,21,8,16. Surely everyone has to have him now, Ollie? Maybe thinking about Lennon to gain some points on others. Petrov did well for me tonight,
Roberto
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I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me flippin’ club.
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what about Gerard? waste of money…
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Just thought I would be the first to say something on the last day of January.
I have 13.3 million in the bank? Any ideas who to buy for my midfield and please,please,please no Newcastle players.
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@Ollie. I have Noble at 4.3 and he did me proud tonight. I only signed him this week and would have had him on my bench had it not been for suspensions to Cahill and Belletti, so I was pretty chuffed. He’s worth a go because he takes corners and penalties
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