Archive for April, 2008
Wenger Considering Fabianski
According to a report in the Mail, Wenger is toying with the idea of starting with Lukasz Fabianski in goal for the remaining games of the season.
Arsenal have Almunia nursing a thumb injury, whilst it’s widely anticipated that Lehmann will leave the club in the summer. Such a decision on Wenger’s part would certainly interest fantasy managers given the Arsenal fixture list. The Gunners take on Derby, Everton and Sunderland over the final three games. There’s already plenty of interest in the Arsenal defence this week with the Derby game beckoning - Fabianski could well offer a very cheap option in goal should this report be confirmed.
ContinuedWeekend Scout Notes
First of all apologoies for the recent downtime - I’ve had some technical issues with my hosting in the last 24-hours so I’m a little behind on news and updates. Things seem to be back to normal this morning though, so here’s your belated notes on last weekend’s proceedings.
ContinuedTorres and Carragher Benched
As expected, Rafa has made an array of changes to his side for visit to Fulham. Gerrard misses out with a neck injury (honest), while Torres and Carragher have been rested to the bench.
Voronin and Crouch start up front as predicted. Hyypia, Riise and Arbeloa come into the defence and Mascherano replaces Gerrard in midfield. Pennant and Benayoun slot into the wide positions for Kuyt and Babel.
Megson must be chuffed.
ContinuedWalcott Starts. All Change for Reading.
Wenger has handed Walcott a start against Reading dropping Eboue to the bench in the only change to the lineup that lost at Old Trafford. That means that Lehmann is once again in goal with Almunia still sidelined with a thumb injury.
In contrast, Reading have made a whole host of changes. Most surprisingly, Nicky Shorey hasn’t travelled to the Emirates, presumably dropped from the squad with no known injury concerns. Hunt is also dropped from the sixteen as are Long and Oster. Doyle and Matejovsky are dropped to the bench. Reading will apparently employ a 4-5-1 with Rosenior at lett-back and the returning Murty at right-back. Sonko, Bikey and Ingimarsson will make up the remainder of a back five. Kebe makes his first Premiership start in midfield.
There’s been some significant investment in Arsenal players for this one and a lot of fantasy managers will be banking on Adebayor and Fabregas for decent returns.
ContinuedRafa Paves The Way For Gerrard Absence
Rafa has cleared the path for Gerrard’s absence in the Liverpool team to face Fulham by revealing that the midfielder has picked up a neck injury in training.
In a rather bizarre statement on the club’s official site, Rafa claims “He has a neck problem. Yesterday in training he scored three or four goals with his head so at the end he had a problem”. Right you are Rafa.
Gerrard has reportedly been left behind as the squad travel to London for the game and it seems likely that he’ll be joined by several notable names as Benitez prepares for the Champions League clash with Chelsea in midweek.
ContinuedThursday Night Scout Notes
Chelsea successfully navigated their way past a tricky trip to Goodison to keep it mildly interesting then. Essien’s goal enough to seal the win with Moyes’ men again struggling for the creative spark to mount a serious goal threat. Oh how the Yak is suffering. Here’s my notes on last night’s events.
ContinuedUpdated Scout Picks
Fresh from a most unspectacular performance from my picks last weekend, I’m delivering my selection for this week days before kick-off with a scrap of team news to go on. It’s all the FPL’s fault of course, or rather Sky Sports. Yes they are the true evil to blame for my foolhardy confidence and this debacle of a gameweek.
With the FPL deadline just hours away I’ve stuck my neck out with some early picks for this gameweek - which starts with tonight’s game at Goodison. It’s all highly irregular, high risk stuff - but for those FPL managers looking to close a gap, this dodgy early deadline could well be a godsend.
For the rest of you, consider this early commitment on my part as an added bonus or more likely, an early warning on who to avoid this weekend.
Refresh your screens, read on and don’t say I didn’t warn you.
ContinuedEarly Weekend Team News
With the FPL deadline under 24 hours away - yep that’s right, it’s tomorrow at 7.30pm - I’ve updated the team news with all the early information so you can make a call on the likely lineups for this weekend’s games.
As for tomorrow night’s Everton vs Chelsea clash which has caused the early deadline - it seems that Lampard remains a major doubt, while Drogba also looks unlikely to travel to Merseyside having missed training so far this week. With the deadline just 30 minutes from kick-off there’s every chance that Chelsea team news will be revealed in time for last minute changes. I’ll keep ‘em peeled for the lineups right up until the deadline and try to keep you informed.
I’ll also endeavour to update on the rest of the team news as more information becomes available and for those not troubled by the FPL deadline, I’ll keep the updates coming on this right up until Saturday.
ContinuedVidic Set for Rovers Return
According to reports in today’s Sun (yeah I know - but hear me out), Nemanja Vidic is on the verge of a return from injury and could well figure against Blackburn at the weekend.
Vidic has missed the last three games with a knee injury sustained against Roma in the Champions League but reportedly came through a training session yesterday. He is already being pencilled in for a recall to the side for the visit to visit Ewood Park. Any potential return for Vidic would cast doubt over the value of the likes of Pique and O’Shea who could both be on the radar for a few fantasy managers over the remaining games.
The Sun also report that Saha is close to a return and could well figure in some capacity at the weekend. Let’s face it though, Saha got injured walking from the dressing room to the pitch last time, so we won’t hold our breath on that one.
ContinuedSome Injury Updates
With Thursday FPL deadline looming, here’s a quick run through of the injury news that’s doing the rounds so far today, plus some confirmed news on Lampard.
ContinuedA Torres Stat Attack
The impact of Fernando Torres on the Premeirship has been staggering and in fantasy terms he’s pushed himself right into the top tier of strikers with 22 goals so far this season. However, a close look at his goal tally reveal some interesting pointers - not only for his owners considering trading him in for the remaining games, but also for any fantasy manager considering the striker for next season.
ContinuedMonday Night Scout Notes
An awful night for Chelsea as Heskey’s injury time volley dents their ailing title hopes and a pretty awful one for fantasy managers, as Frank calls in sick before kick-off. Here’s my notes on last night’s action.
ContinuedWeekend Scout Notes
United finally bring the curtain down on Arsenal’s title challenge as Chelsea face two games in the space of four days to keep it a two-horse race. At the other end, Fulham and Bolton make it interesting with wins, as Birmingham and Reading slip back into the mire. Torres and Gerrard get back into the groove but overall the fantasy big hitters brought in modest returns so it was a “meh” week for most of us. Here’s my notes on how it all went…
ContinuedUpdated Scout Picks
The five game countdown begins then, with plenty of time to make that inspired transfer or almighty clanger. I’m not sure which I can help you with - could go either way. Still if you fancy another viewpoint on the players to consider for this weekend’s games, refresh for this weeks picks, then read on for my usual mix of wild speculation with the odd splattering of logic.
Continued
