Wednesday’s Scout Notes
I’ve got to ask - is there anyone out there without Ronaldo who’s still interested in this season’s fantasy football? Read on for some more tedious C-Ron goal stats and the rest of my thoughts from another evening in the Premiership…
Chelsea 1 Reading 0
Chelsea welcomed back Ballack to the midfield with Sidwell dropping to the bench. Ferreira came in at right-back for the suspended Belletti. They were unchanged elsewhere.
Coppell was forced into a change up front with Kitson sidelined with a knee injury so Oster came into the midfield and Doyle moved up front to partner Lita.
This was Chelsea’s ninth straight victory in all competitions, their fifth in a row in the Premiership. Ballack got the goal, his third of the season from a Ferreira centre. Anelka had chances in his first home start but Chelsea couldn’t add the scoreline. They were always in control however with Reading only really threatening from set-pieces. Defensively that’s three consecutive Premiership clean sheets for Grant’s men. Indeed if you discount the 4-4 with Villa, Chelsea have let in just 4 goals in 11 home games. Chelsea defence is attractive then although there are several factors to consider.
Firstly, Chelsea have no Premiership game on February 23-24 as they take on Spurs in the Carling Cup. Secondly, Carvalho is suspended for their next game at Portsmouth which will weaken their backline. Then there’s the doubts surrounding the full-back positions and rotation. Bridge once again kept Ashley Cole out of the side here, while Belletti missed this through suspension but then Ferreira did well and could keep his place. That leaves Alex and Cech as the best options but with that missing fixture in gameweek 27, they are perhaps only short-term signings if you don’t currently have them in your squad.
In attacking terms Ballack improved his reputation further although his price and the threat of Lampard’s return is a concern. Wright-Phillips remains the best mid-price option in their midfield then but there is likely to be a shake up in midfield on the return of the African Cup of Nations players which could see his current role tweaked and his points potential reduced.
Up front, Anelka is yet to find a Premiership goal in three appearances. He’s now gone seven Premiership games without a goal for Bolton and Chelsea. That will be a major concern and with gameweek 27 in mind, it could be time to look elsewhere. There is also the consideration that Drogba will be making a return from the African Cup of Nations to be available after the Carling Cup Final.
Right now however, the choice of consistent high-scoring strikers is limited to Adebayor. Berbatov, and Keane are both stuttering after good runs. Tevez is an option but, as we saw tonight, rotation is a factor with him. A cheaper striker - like Santa Cruz or Jones of Sunderland, freeing up funds for investment elsewhere, could be a better solution if you’re keen to ship Anelka out. Right now, I’m willing to give him the trip to Portsmouth and particularly the home game with Liverpool - a game in which he should be particularly motivated, to recover his Premiership goal touch.
I’ve wrattled on about Chelsea, mainly because there is little to say about Reading. It’s five consecutive defeats for them and only Kitson attracts the slightest fantasy interest right now. He is suffering from a knee injury so even he is out of the equation right now.
Derby 1 Man City 1
Jewell obviously lost patience with Todd after his performance in the FA Cup against Preston. He dropped to the bench with Leacock drafted in. Fagan returned to the lineup after serving his suspension in the cup game - he played on the right with Pearson employed on the left leaving Robert on the bench. Earnshaw got a rare Premiership start up front with Miller with another of Jewell’s signings, Villa, again left on the bench. Giles Barnes sat alongside him.
Sven made a host of changes - Jihai came in at right-back for Onuoha who dropped out of the sixteen. Hamann, Elano and Mpenza all dropped to the bench with Ireland, Gelson and Etuhu all starting. Young Daniel Sturridge also got a start after his bright performance and goal in the defeat to Sheffield United in the Cup as Sven partnered him with Vassell in a 4-4-2. Richards missed out again through injury.
Miller’s fourth Premiership goal of the season for Derby meant that City have now gone three consecutive games without a clean sheet. That spells trouble for City as they are struggling for goals. Sturridge underlined his potential with the eqauliser here, Petrov once again the provider with his ninth assist of the season and also earned the three FPL bonus points. Petrov aside, City players are slipping in the fantasy rankings then and when you consider that it’s Arsenal, United and Everton next, suddenly it appears it’s time to ship them out, at least in the short-term.
Injuries and Suspensions
Davis and Pearson picked up injuries and were both subbed.
Corluka picked up his fifth booking here and will serve a 1-match ban against United on Sunday week.
Everton 0 Tottenham 0
Moyes had Baines back from injury and he came in on the left of midfield with Valente remaining at left-back. Neville replaced the suspended Hibbert at right-back with Fernandes taking his spot in midfield. Anichebe started up front with Johnson in place of the suspended Cahill as Moyes went with a conventional 4-4-2.
Spurs gave a debut to Woodgate who lined up alongside Huddlestone with Dawson suspended and King still nursing his sore knee. Gunter came in at left-back and O’Hara pushed into central midfield to replace Tanio who dropped out of the sixteen. Chimbonda returned for what could be his last game at right-back after the arrival of Hutton from Rangers today. Lee dropped to the bench. Keane and Berbatov remained up front with Defoe benched again.
Another clean sheet for Everton then, that’s just one goal conceded in the last five games. Baines return and his selection in midfield is of interest. The pending return of Pienaar from Ghana will however, kill any potential that he’ll play their frequently or even again. There are better options in the Everton defence.
Everton’s approaching fixtures are excellent - they don’t face any of the “big four” until the trip to Liverpool (who can hardly be considered a force right now) at the end of March. That’s seven Premiership games without a real test. That’s enough to warrant looking very seriously at Lescott, Arteta and Cahill for starters.
Jagielka offers value in defence although the return of Yobo from the African Cup of Nations seems likely to shake up the back four. His return doesn’t seem likely to affect Jagielka’s starts however as Lescott is likely to move to left-back on Yobo’s return. Pienaar in midfield also offers value if he is assured of starts on his return from the African Cup of Nations. Yakubu will also be worth a look once he gets back from Ghana and is reinstalled up front.
Be warned about Cahill though - he is due to travel to play for Australia in a World Cup qualifier on February 6 which could cast some doubt over his appearance against Blackburn at the weekend, but more likely Reading a week later.
A second consecutive clean sheet for Spurs, that doesn’t happen too often. Woodgate impressed on his debut and hinted that he could have a marked affect on Tottenham’s defensive fantasy output for the remainder of the season. That’s something that can only be helped further with Hutton’s arrival at right-back. Woodgate will serve a suspension though having picked up a fifth booking here. Berbatov was once again the class act on show for Spurs - he picked up the three FPL bonus points here. He’s now gone four Premiership games without a goal however while Keane has just one in his last five Premiership appearances.
Tottenham’s forthcoming games look very good once they get the United game at the weekend out of the way. However, with the Carling Cup final to come - they too miss a fixture in gameweek 27. After the Wembley date, it would appear there are some very decent fixtures lying in wait for them having already played United and Arsenal home and away at that point.
Injuries and Suspensions
Woodgate picked up his fifth booking tonight and will serve a 1-match ban. He’ll miss the game at Derby a week on Saturday.
Man United 2 Portsmouth 0
United had Vidic back alongside Ferdinand in defence after he shook off the illness that kept him out of the Cup game against Spurs. Giggs and Hargreaves dropped to the bench with Scholes starting his first game in three months and Park coming in on the right. More surprisingly and much to the annoyance of many fantasy managers, Ferguson decided to rest Tevez to the bench bringing in Nani to allow Ronaldo to push up alongside Rooney.
Harry gave a debut to Baros up front with Nugent sidelined with a hernia. He started up front with Benjani in a 4-4-2. Mendes dropped to the bench to allow Davis to return to the midfield. More significantly, Campbell returned to central defence allowing Pamerot to move to left-back. Hreidarsson made way and was benched. He did eventually appear after Distin picked up a knock and was subbed at half-time. Pamarot moved to the centre once more with Hreidarsson moving to left-back.
Ronaldo’s incredible run of goals continued then, reaching 19 Premiership goals and 27 goals overall, for the season here. He has now found the net in seven of the last eight Premiership games, scoring ten goals in the process. Ironically this kind of form causes fantasy managers problems elsewhere.
Ferguson’s decision to rest Tevez to the bench is a worry. Clearly, with Ronaldo on such form, Ferguson can look to rest either Rooney or Tevez. When the Champions League kicks off again next month, that will be of particular concern.
Defensively, United also continue to excel. Another clean sheet tonight - that’s five in the last six Premiership games. A United defender is a must then. Evra is available this weekend but is due to serve his one match ban against City the following Sunday.
Portsmouth’s form has suffered with so many key players absent at the African Cup of Nations. Defensively it’s just one clean sheet in the last five. Their goals for over the last eight games meanwhile is boosted by five goals against the Derby and Reading defences - and Reading were down to ten in that game. In basic terms then, they’re struggling at both ends. A home game with Chelsea next, doesn’t promise too much of a return. After that however they will have their African players back and their fixtures do improve.
Injuries and Suspensions
Distin picked up an injury and was replaced by Hreidarsson at half-time.
West Ham 1 Liverpool 0
Curbishley resisted the temptation to start with Ashton and left him on the bench. Indeed he made just one change, bringing in Mullins for Etherington in midfield. Solano was fit enough to take a place amongst the subs.
Liverpool had Aurellio back from injury at left-back and Carragher returned in central defence. Kewell came in on the left of midfield, Alonso came in for the suspended Mascherano and Kuyt and Torres returned up front. Benayoun kept his place after his hat-trick in the Cup.
A fantastic result for the Hammers and well deserved. They had the better of this against a Liverpool side which appears low on confidence at both ends. It’s just one clean sheet in nine Premiership games for Liverpool. At the other end, Gerrard has gone five straight games without a goal or assist. Torres has faired better but has had to create his own chances to keep his tally tickin. Fixture wise, the Sunderland game should offer opportunities to improve. They visit Chelsea after this and then have a run of decent looking fixtures. They’ll need to recover form and confidence to make the most of them though.
For West Ham, this was a first clean sheet in eight and they’ve lost just one in the last seven Premiership games. Despite that, in fantasy terms there’s little to get excited about. Ljungberg is in fine form but is expensive, Noble offers Larsson-like value in midfield. Bellamy’s return could offer some potential however, as could Ashton if he ever gets back to full fitness.
Ur a Legend, Im always sittin here waiting for updates ha. Im worried about the Belletti Situation - by that i mean if ferrera keeps his spot. Would Alex be a good permanent replacement? Even when Terry’s back?
GK: Hart
DEF: Laursen, Lescott, Belletti, Clichy, R.Ferdinand
MID: Fabregas, Ronaldo (c), M.Petrov
ATT: Tevez, Adebayor
SUBS: Taylor, Larrson, Bent, Dempsey
Also thinking of replacing tevez if he’s going to be rested now.
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I had to make a tough choice but after looking at man city’s schedule i dropped out petrov and got ballack instead. Ballack has gotten a lot of bonus points lately so im hoping he will keep on. Does anyone know when richardson will be back?, im looking to switch dempsey for him. any one having an opinion on whether i shoul get ferdinand from west ham or wheater? i need a scoring defender. i sold lescott for brown
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Wheater poses a bigger threat IMO. Which brown did you get? If your concerned about getting bonus points and/or goals, i woulda stuck with Lescott???
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Wheater poses a bigger threat perhaps but Ferdinand has that double gameweek coming up soon
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Good point
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mmm the Belletti thing is interesting!
if anyone (Mark?)can throw further light on it, let us know.
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I’ve already started to think about the double gameweek for west ham and liverpool. I’m going to hang on to A Ferdinand and possibly bring in Hyppia, was thinking of swapping out fabregas for gerrard just for that week but to be honest cesc has more chance of scoring more points in one gameweek than gerrard does in two on current form. But Liverpool’s fixtures in GW27 are bolton and west ham so they should get a few goals, surely?
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Sorry i meant GW28 for the double header
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Aye, A Ferdinand looks a good choice, with Wigan (A) then Birmingham (H) followed by a double game week. Though that double game week is against Chelsea and Liverpool however, as long as they play like they did last night hopefully they wont concede too many so that’s at least 4 points right there. Wheater on the other hand with Newcastle (A) and Fulham (H) also looks good @ £.1 cheaper than Ferdinand. Not sure how long Newcastle’s goal drought can go on for though.
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Hi, which game will Evra miss, Tottenham(A) or Man City(H), I’ve read few conflicting reports.
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Mark,
Bit of a dilemma here.
Stuck with Belletti now who might not play. Anelka’s doing nothing and Gerrard’s near death. Was thinking of bringing Flamini in this week for Petrov, but he then went and got an assist and boni. His fixtures still don’t look promising though and Gerrard has Sunderland (although they’ve been doing Ok lately). Also want to bring in Adebayor, but would have either do a straight swap with Anelka or get him in for Santa Cruz and do a double transfer, getting Flamini for either Petrov or Gerrard.
Who to get? Nothing’s working out anymore…
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What would be best, Sign Lescott or Alex? (for Belletti?)
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@ Alex
Beware - Adebayor is on four yellows!
IMO you should keep Gerrard. Double game week and its only a matter of time b4 he gets back on track!
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I’ve been thinking that for the past 4 gameweeks now…Surely there has to come a point where enough’s enough. I could use the money elsewhere.
Same with Anelka…I keep haning onto him hoping he’ll finally come good, but it just doesn’t happen. Meanwhile Adebayor’s just raking in the points…
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Oh, and about doubles…
The last double gameweek didn’t work out for me at all even though I had 4 doublers. I can see Gerrard getting 4 points out of those two matches.
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Adebayor on 4 yellows?? Since when? Isn’t he only on 2?
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Mark you ask:
“is there anyone out there without Ronaldo who’s still interested in this season’s fantasy football?”
I think the question is rather does anyone with Ronaldo care too much about football?
As far as I can see Ronaldo gets a few goals so who cares about all the details discussed here? A great manager can be cut to little by one player! Or cut him out and what do those who have him and little else have left? A great deal of the currently scoring “uninterested” would seem to rely upon one or two players and little else.
By the way I do have Ronaldo but one guy in our league who is an avid fan and got me into it is doing very well, no exceptionally well, without! There is life without Ronaldo and probably a far better fanatasy game without a dominant scorer week in week out.
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Alex,
I feel your pain, I’ve had the same Anelka + Gerrard dilema. I’ve just swapped Anelka (I put him as captain for the Reading game too) out for Adebayor. Better fixtures, better form, its a no-brainer when you detach yourself from the fact that you’ve had him for a while.
I’ve also given up and brought in Lescott for Carvalho (only got him a week ago but he’s picked up a suspension and a dead gameweek since then, arg). Gerrard I’m hanging onto ‘cos of the Sunderland fixture and the lure of the double gameweek, plus there’s absolutely no-one else worth buying in midfield for the long-term at the mo’.
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Thinking of chopping Anelka for Adebayor myself. Should have gotten Wheater last week, am now stuck with Belletti, so that’s also a concern.
I have a midfield of Ronaldo, Fabregas, Petrov and Gerrard, so I feel there’s too much money stuck there that I could better spend on a better striker. So cutting Gerrard would be the logical option, as the rest have been performing better (thoug Fabs only recently).
But might cut Petrov instead. He’s only geting assists every now and then and he’s got some tough fixtures coming up. Flamini looks very tempting.
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Jo, sounds like we have the exact same team and the exact same problems.
Dr Sanchez I’m still not convinced keeping Gerrard for the double is going to pay off at all. But will probably hang onto him. Although I too am looking at Flamini…
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@ Leftfoot
I agree with you, I have only captained once this whole season back in September. Everybody else in my league don’t know much about football so they captain him every week whilst I go for shrewder choices and even though I had Tevez captain this week I still managed an average score and still top of my league!
It does get annoying though, when people who just leave Ronaldo captain get closer towards you cheaply.
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I wish Ronaldo would get injured. Would make things a lot more interesting!!
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Benjani signed at ManC for three years. To replace him, Portsmouth signed Defoe from Tottenham.
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@Leftfoot, Name & Luke:
I do not wish ill on any of the players, but I agree it would make the season MUCH more interesting if the likes of Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney, et al. were faced with a prolonged spell on the bench or loss of form (e.g., Torres).
For me, the fun of Fantasy Football is the week-to-week decisions. In my mini-league the prevailing attitude is one of managerial lock down. Zzzzzzzz…
-TheNecromancer
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Careful on that double gameweek, though. I was really disappointed at the last one.
For Liverpool it’ll be a tough week, they will have games at 2,5 (double GW),8,11 (CL),15 of March. So you’ll never know when Rafa will rest who. Might even Gerrard only plays in 1 of the 2 games
For West Ham it’s gonna be Chelsea and Liverpool, hmm, quite a gamble
Back to this gameweek, I’m really interested in Ballack (in top form, effectively made for fantasy game) and also Belletti (I think Ferreira will be rested). But Chelsea’s fixtures are not that promising, especially with GW 27 missing.
And like Mark’s said, will give Anelka 1 last chance ..
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To me, having these players has now become a preemptive thing. I have Laursen and Ronaldo for instance, had them for a long time and am now keeping them just because everybody else in my league has them as well, so they won’t catch up with those points. I just see them as level-point players now, the rest of the squad is the real challenge. For instance, when Ron got his 42 points I still dropped in the rankings because others had players who also did well whereas the rest of my squad did eff all.
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Anyone hazard a guess on the likelihood that Tevez or Rooney will be rested (or at least start on the bench) vs Spurs?
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Agree with Alex and TheNecromancer on the Ronaldo case.
If he’s injured, it would be even easier, just transfer him out. But if he lost his form then it would be something (which is unlikely :D)
@TheNecro..
Tevez will play as he’s already rested.
Rooney has already not played enough games so that he doesn’t need a rest.
Will Ronaldo be rested?
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@ all
Sorry - I said Adebayor was on 4 yellows… I meant Abgonlahor.
These Scottish names confuse me!
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@Mad:
I figgered as such. I need to start nipping into our league leader, who has locked in a very strong lineup. Only way to do that would be to swap Rooney, Tevez or Ade and use the money for “can’t miss” midfielder.
Last time I tried that I swapped out Tevez (based on rumors that he was nicked; Mark not infallible) and he scored two goals. Ouch.
You’d think I’d learn, but where’s the fun in just riding out the season and collecting my silver medal?
-TheNecromancer
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GK: Hart, M.Taylor
DEF: Laursen, Lescott, Belletti, Wheater, Carragher
MID: Fabregas, M.Petrov, Bentley, Gerrard, Cahill
FWD: Adebayor, Benjani, M.Bent
Thinking of chaning Carragher for Clichy
and M.Bent for Defoe (if he goes to Pompey)
Then change Cahill for a 6.7 mid (Noble/Downing)
Should I get rid of Gerrard?
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anyone know if Evra will miss this weekend match vs Spurs or one after??
My cut price defence of O’Brien, Wheater and Gordon played a blinder this week! Ok I have Ronny as captain but the satisfaction is always in picking the lass fancied players!!
And does anyone know for CERTAIN that Cahill goes before this weekend’s match?
Tempted to trade him out for BArry (but he’s on 4 yellows) and If I get Flamini then I can’t transfer out Berbatov in weeks for Adebayor. Now when’s this VAn Persie lad going to play again?!! I already have Fab and Petrov and Bently. Ho hum….
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I swapped brown for lescott because for one he is cheaper and man u has kept a good number of clean sheets.
Any news on Distin, im having trouble deciding if i want to switch him out for hyppia or dunne ,if he is injured then it will make it easier for me to decide, now the question will be who?
the double gameweek sure is coming into consideration
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Mark i also need news on richardson, i have looked but get no specific timeframe
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Hi theMoz
I got the Evra suspension wrong in last nights notes - I’ll edit that now. I’ve got it right elsewhere though just had a lapse when I wrote those last night. Evra is available on Saturday but will miss the City game on week on Sunday.
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While all y’all are sleeping, think about MAC’s anticipated form at home vs ARS.
A tight affair worthy of a gamble?
In honor of the SAS (”Who Dares Wins”) and to keep things interesting, I am considering “resting” Adebayor and using the money for two midfielders or 1 MF and 1 forward who are absolutely positively going to rack up the points.
Just a thought. I am well in front of third place and losing ground to the leader.
Cheers,
TheNecromancer
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Marcus bent looks a great prospect for the next 4 weeks, WHM, sun, DER, mcy - there must be goals there, and history shows when he scores he usually gets more than 1…
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