Monday’s Friendly Round-Up
Dean Ashton was the latest striker to promote himself up the fantasy manager’s shortlist with a timely hat-trick at Ipswich. Elsewhere Bolton concede late in Greece, Alex gets one over on his son and Defoe keeps things ticking over for Pompey.
Here’s the notes and teams from last night…
Aris FC 1 Bolton 1
Bolton were denied a victory in their first game of their Greek tour by a last minute equaliser.
Gavin McCann had given Megson’s side the lead just a few minutes earlier heading home after Nolan had struck the bar from Dzemaili’s cross. Al Habsi enjoyed a superb game in the Bolton goal, making a string of world class saves but he was powerless to prevent the Aris equaliser as Javito slid the ball under him in the final minute.
Megson again adopted a familiar 4-5-1 come 4-3-3 with Davies the lone striker with Riga and Gardner playing on either flank. Club skipper Nolan returned to the Bolton midfield while McCann got a start in place of Muamba who sat this one out.
Bolton face AEK Athens in their final friendly on Friday when we’re likely to see more of Elmander and Muamba.
Bolton vs Aris:
Al Habsi, Steinsson (Hunt 45), Samuel, Nolan, Cahill, A O’Brien, Riga (Vaz Te 90), J O’Brien (Dzemaili 68), Davies (Obadeyi 58), McCann, Gardner.
Ipswich 3 West Ham 5
This game was all about Ashton who fired a superb hat-trick to help the Hammers put five past a plucky Ipswich side. The only sour note for Curbishley was an injury to Craig Bellamy who appeared to suffer a hamstring injury after just 24 minutes.
Ashton got the ball rolling as early as the fourth minute, blasting home from 20-yards from an Etherington cross. Ipswich replied soonafter but Bellamy chipped the second, beating former Hammers keeper Richard Wright after latching onto a superb Lucas Neill pass.
Ipswich got back in the game just before half-time with an equaliser but Ashton extended the West Ham lead one more, smashing another past Wright after Reid’s shot was blocked. Reid then earned another assist with Ashton again the benefactor with another superb finish. Mark Noble then made it 5 for the hammers with another spectacular strike from 25-yards.
Ashton is the latest striker to push himself forward with pre-season form. While Bent has 10 goals for Spurs and Anelka 7 for Chelsea, Ashton moved onto 6 goals over the course of 3 matches. He’s already proved a popular target for fantasy managers in the pre-season - his stock seems likely to go through the roof following this performance.
Curbishley tweaked his lineup somewhat - pushing new signing Behrami into a right midfield role, handing Widdowson a chance at left-back. The Hammers boss will be delighted with the performance but does leave Portman Road with some concerns. In addition to Bellamy’s injury, Anton Ferdinand also picked up a knock in this game and was replaced on 39 minutes. We await news on both injuries.
West Ham vs Ipswich:
Green (Stech 60), Neill, Upson, Ferdinand (Davenport 39), Widdowson, Behrami (Mullins 63), Parker, Noble, Etherington (Reid 45), Bellamy (Hines 24), Ashton (Stanislas 83)
Peterborough 0 Man United 2
United fielded a surprisingly strong lineup as Alex took on his son Darren in this pre-season game. An own goal from Peterborough’s Russell Martin and spectacular 30-yard volley from Darron Gibson, were enough to give United victory on the night.
Martin handed United a lead when he deflected in David Gray’s cross following smart work from Tevez and Nani. Ferguson then changed almost his entire lineup for the second half, handing action to some of his younger players having started with the likes of Evra, Ferdiand, Brown, Fletcher and O’Shea.
Gibson struck in the 68th minute, taking down Lee Martin’s pass and smashing home his volley from well outside the box.
United are likely to field a stronger lineup for the clash with Juventus tomorrow evening - the last game of their pre-season before the Community Shield game with Portsmouth on Sunday.
Man United vs Peterborough:
Kuszczak; R Da Silva, Brown, Ferdinand, Evra; Gray, Fletcher, O’Shea, Nani; Tevez, Campbell.
Oxford 1 Portsmouth 2
Goals from Bouba Diop and Defore were enough to see off non-league Oxford at the Kassam Stadium.
Portsmouth fell behind in this one in the 18th minute but Diop was on hand to tap in on the half-hour mark after a fine cross from Traore from the left. Then, just before half-time, Pompey took the lead. Diarra providing a superb through ball for Defoe who made no mistake with the finish.
Crouch again partnered Defoe up front, while Redknapp also gave starts to Kranjcar and Diarra - their first of the pre-season. Cranie and Distin occupied the central defensive positions.
There was a slight concern over Diarra after the game. He suffered a late challenge and was duly subbed but assistant boss, Joe Jordan, later confirmed this as a precautionary measure.
Jordan also stressed how good it was to see Diop get on the scoresheet, emphasising that Pompey will be looking for more goals from midfield during the season. Could it be that the likes of Diarra and Diop will be given more freedom to join the attack?
Portsmouth have now completed their pre-season and will take on United in the Community Shield next.
Portsmouth vs Oxford:
James; Lauren (Christophe 46), Cranie, Distin, Traore; Diop, Diarra (Rodriguez 69), Mendes, Kranjcar; Crouch, Defoe
The Baggies drew a blank against the Championship new-boys in Kristian O’Leary’s Testimonial game. It means that West Brom have yet to find a win in pre-season.
Mowbray put out a strong side and once again adopted a 4-5-1 with new signing Cech again deployed in a midfield role in support of the frontman, McDonald.
The Baggies will put out a side against Walsall tonight before taking on Mallorca in their final friendly on Saturday.
West Brom vs Swansea:
Kiely (Carson 46), Hoefkens, Robinson, Kim (Beattie, 74), Barnett, Clement, Morrison, Greening, Cech, Brunt, McDonald.
dadoune
Chook
Panda Bear
TorresMagic
masafi
darcy
blimey a goal from the “wardrobe” that must be his first since that screamer aginst Utd a few seasons ago!
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Just to let you guys know.
The baggies beat Northampton 1-0 last week and Kim scored it the Korean international.
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Mendes or De Ridder? who goes? You decide….
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Reply by stevie b on August 5 11:13 am:
both
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Hey guys, Firstly would like to compliment the site creator on a great job. I have no doubt this website will be very helpful to keep up to date with all goings on
I have one suggestion that could possibly improve the site… a forum possibly??
Anyway its my first season playing fantasy league and after a LOT of tinkering at the moment (which will surely change again) i have my squad as:-
Friedel, Schwarzer
Clichy, Neville, Laurson, Melchiot, Hoefkens
Fabregas, Petrov, Downing, Valencia, Nolan/Davies
Adebayor, Ashton, Bent
Have kept an extra 1.5 million in my bank so i can transfer in different players when the fixture list is favourable to other teams… will be playing with a 3-3-3 backbone then choosing one more from (melchiot,hoefkens, valencia or nolan/davies) Whats your thoughts??
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Reply by stevie b on August 5 12:28 pm:
The base of the team looks ok. I’m assuming that’s Phil Neville. Bent might not be a starter for Spurs, other than that it’s fine. Maybe Laursen won’t be value for money, and you could then beef up the midfield a little, or swap Bent?
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Reply by bertiebassett on August 6 2:38 pm:
try the forum at http://www.fiso.co.uk
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Well, I need either De Ridder or Mendes as my cheapest bench warmer.
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Reply by stevie b on August 5 12:55 pm:
hmmm, if you can’t squeeze another 0.5 from somewhere then try to get a regular for one of the promoted teams - at least you’ll be assured of 2 points if they’re needed.
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Hi guys - anyone here doing the Times ‘play the game’ fantasy game??? Its completely different so i thought i’d give it a whirl this year…Players are drawn using an online auction…The squad i came out with was as follows:
GK - Almunia
RB - Neville, Arbeloa
LB - Matt Taylor, Aurelio, Baines
CB - Carvalho, Curtis Davies
LM - Arteta, Pedersen, Dos Santos, Emnes
CM - Lampard, Modric
RM - Lawrence
CF - Torres, Van Persie, Bent, Crouch, Job
Team looks a little lopsided but some players have alternative positions so Van Persie for example can also play RM or LM and so on…What kind of squads did other people get??
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Reply by Big Phill Scolari on August 5 12:45 pm:
That’s a great attacking squad - how many people are in your league? I play the PlayTheGame game too (I think it’s the best one despite the stupid name). We haven’t got our squads yet though.
For this game, your Mids/Strs are miles better than your defence (Almunia and Carvalho excepted). I would try to transfer injury-prone RVP for Evra or A.Cole (a regular defender for a top 4 side). Arbeloa and Aurelio are prob going to be rotated a lot so I might try swapping both out for Sagna or Clichy. It looks like you could do with fewer fullbacks and an extra CB sub too.
Crouch will be great int his game this year. It’s interesting that Matt Taylor is STILL a left back- worth holding onto him for the Goals and Assists from defence category. Arteta dos Santos Lampard Modric and Lawrence is a great midfield. Lucky you!
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Ireland, Pienaar or A.N Other <5.5m midfielder?
Any help would be appreciated!
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Reply by Steve on August 5 12:55 pm:
try geovanni from Hull only 5m
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Reply by stevie b on August 5 12:56 pm:
Pienaar. Possibly Noble.
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Does anyone know the likelihood of Jagielka being an everpresent starter for Everton? I know he could be used at CB or play a holding role in midfield, but i have a slight concern that Baines could play LB, Lescott & Yobo CB, Hibbert RB with Phil Neville in Midfield….or is this simply not going to happen?
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This is my first season for FF, been reading this site a lot and this is my team:
Howard, Schwarzer
Carvalho, Terry, Carragher, Laursen, Cahill
Fabregas, Young, Pedersen, M.Taylor, M.Petrov
Alves(Ashton), Bent, Bendtner
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Reply by Bedknobs and Boomsticks on August 5 7:10 pm:
Your squad’s a bit big. Terry’s poor value for money, so I’d sell him for a bench warmer and plow the cash into your strikers. Watch out for rotation with Bent and Taylor (he didn’t play last night), and be wary of anyone who plays for Blackburn.
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Reply by Gary on August 5 7:30 pm:
How about:
Howard, Schwarzer
Carvalho, Figueroa, Carragher, Laursen, Cahill
Fabregas, Young, Noble, M.Taylor, M.Petrov
Torres, Bent, Bendtner
0.5 in bank?
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Hi Guys, Just wondered what you’re thoughts were on my team for the start of the season because I want to get an early lead:
Jaaskelainen (Schwarzer)
NevilleP, Lescott, Terry, Steinsson (Ricketts)
Fabregas, Lampard, Taylor (Geovanni) (De Ridder)
Persie, Anelka, Ashton
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looking strong Howard. That’s pretty similar to my team. I’ve gone for a less solid defence so i can afford torres
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I’ve picked my team based on the opta index, favourable fixtures and also the budget picks on the partner site. Just want a good start, then when Torres starts firing I’ll just swap Terry & Persie for Dunne & Torres. People will be playing their wildcards trying to catch up with me , lol
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