United Take Home The Shield
A tepid, goalless, rain-soaked Community Shield clash saw a United side seem rather embarrassed to parade the trophy after a 3-1 win on penalties over Harry’s Portsmouth.
Here’s the notes and teams…
Man United 0 Portsmouth 0
(United win 3-1 on Penalties)
United took home their first piece of silverware, winning out in a penalty shoot-out in what was in truth a typically dire Community Shield encounter.
Ferguson’s men were dominant throughout but were too casual in their finishing. Indeed it was typical of United on the day that Tevez had to be held back from celebrating the victory with keeper Van der Sar after the penalty shoot-out victory, by his embarrassed team mates.
There were nonetheless plenty of signs of United’s flowing football, but Ferguson will be concerned that his side drew a second consecutive blank without Rooney in their lineup.
Fletcher had by far the best opportunity in the first half, somehow sitting on the ball from six yards out after Nani had caught out Johnson. He almost made amends in the second half with a delightful chip that James just finger-tipped onto the crossbar.
Man-of-the-match Tevez was so often the catalyst for United with a typical display of aggression, pace and power that nagged the Portsmouth defence all afternoon. He tested James on several occasions and should have had a penalty when he appeared to be dragged down by Hreidarsson in the second half. The offence went unseen, much to the frustration of Tevez who went on to throttle the Portsmouth man - also missed by the officials.
The Argentinian will be aware of Ferguson’s talk of signing another striker (with Henry the latest mentioned) and with Rooney to return by the end of August, that could obviously see Tevez rotated over the season. On the evidence of this game however, United are often going to be looking the way of Tevez for inspiration in the absence of Ronaldo.
In terms of the all important team lineups, perhaps the most significant news was that Gary Neville returned to right-back and skippered the side. Neville was eventually subbed for Brown just after the hour mark but it certainly appears that he has done enough to start against Newcastle next weekend. Clearly though, Neville carries the biggest threat of rotation amongst the established United back four.
There were some surprises elsewhere, as O’Shea got a start in central midfield, while Fletcher was employed on the right. Giggs was pushed up in support of Tevez up front. Nani was eligible to start on the left this match but will miss the next two through suspension after his sending off at the end of last season.
Nani’s absence should guarantee starts in the first two games for Giggs which should also see Fletcher start on the right. Given the recent lack of goals, Campbell could get an opportunity up front if Giggs is employed on the left. Alternatively it’s worth considering that Evra might be pushed into a left midfield role, with Silvestre drafted in at left back. This speculation all depends of course, on Ferguson being unable to bring in a “big name striker” in the next five days of course.
For Portsmouth, Redknapp fielded his strongest eleven with the possible exception of Pamarot who is sidelined. Hreidarsson took the left back spot. Diop appeared to take up the right side of midfield for this game - that still remains a problem area for Redknapp then.
Pompey played within themselves, often looking to restrict United but will of course have easier opposition - although that won’t come just yet. Their early fixtures are hideous - but their time will come and Crouch and Defoe will undoubtedly be popular fantasy picks over the season, as will James and his defence.
Man United: van der Sar; Neville (Brown 67), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Fletcher, O’Shea (Carrick 67), Scholes, Nani (Campbell 79); Giggs; Tevez
Portsmouth: James; Johnson, Campbell (c), Distin, Hreidarsson (Lauren 79); Diop, Diarra, Mendes (Mvuemba 76), Kranjcar (Utaka 60); Crouch, Defoe
Hi all, I’m new to this so I just wanted to know if anyone would like to give me their thoughts on my team. It would be very much appreciated:
option 1: Jaaskelainen (Schwarzer)
Laursen, Ferdinand, Carragher (Figueroa, Shorey)
Petrov, Bentley, Lampard, Fabregas (DeRidder)
Bent, Alves, Ashton.
Option 2: Jaaskelainen (Schwarzer)
Laursen, Shorey, Carragher (Figueroa, Cahill)
Petrov, Bentley, Lampard, Fabregas (DeRidder)
Adebayor, Bent (Zamora)
I don’t know if my attack is a little untested in option 1, and does anyone know if Jaaskelainen is a guareenteed starter ahead of Al-Habsi? Also what are your thoughts on Petrov vs. Downing? Thanks!
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Reply by Sam (Team Sam) on August 11 1:48 am:
Both look very good teams. I’d go with Petrov over Downing. I worry about Boro this year, think they may end up bottom 5.
As is the trend at the moment, you could always ditch Fabregas. Maybe bring in A.Young instead, then you’ve got 1.5 mil to work with. Not completely convinced that Laursen will be as good this year. If you went with option 1, you could always swap Laursen + Ferdinand for Evra + Clichy/Carvalho
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The main thing I got out of the community shield was the performance by James being phenominal other than the PK’s.
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The most important question of the week (which may well be answered mid-week after the Twente game), is whether or not to keep Fabregas. Everyone knows he’s amazing when he plays to his best. However Wenger himself has admitted he doesn’t think Cesc is 100%, and without solid help in midfield his output could be very limited. The three main choices seem to be, 1. keep him, 2. upgrade him to Lampard/Gerrard, 3. downgrade him to A.Young/Petrov/Bentley/Arteta, and use the cash to bulk up the weaker areas of your team. I’ve therefore got 3 possible teams to choose from:
Team 1 (keep Cesc)
GK: Cech, Schwarzer
DF: Sagna, Carragher, Cahill, Evra, Figueroa
MF: Bentley, Fabregas, A.Young, M.Petrov, De Ridder
ST: Van Persie, D.Bent, Ashton
Team 2 (upgrade Cesc)
GK: Cech, Schwarzer
DF: Sagna, Carragher, Cahill, G.Johnson, Figueroa
MF: Bentley, Lampard, A.Young, M.Petrov, De Ridder
ST: Van Persie, D.Bent, Ashton
Team 3 (downgrade Cesc)
GK: Cech, Schwarzer
DF: Sagna, Carragher, Cahill, Evra, Figueroa
MF: Bentley, Arteta, A.Young, M.Petrov, De Ridder
ST: Adebayor, D.Bent, Ashton
+ 1mil in the bank for early flexibility
while you’re teams will obviously be different, which to you seems like the most sensible option???
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Thanks for your input Sam and I agree about Laursen. I like Clichy but I think Arsenal may struggle at the back this season in regards to conceding goals, and I like Evra but was reluctant to have 2 Man U players as they won’t be playing game week 3 but if I get rid of Ferdinand I guess it could work.
In regards to your team I think you should go with Lampard over Fab as I think Lampard is going to have a huge year now he’s injury free and if you look at his stats from 2 seasons ago he had nearly the same score as Fab as well. Something to think about also is Lampard will possibly take more penalty kicks then Fab as I think Adebayor will take them for Arsenal. Hope that helps a little.
If anyone else has any comments on my team options I would like to hear your opinions. Thanks.
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I hate to worry anyone but when i was watching the Man City v Milan friendly Danny Mills who was commentating on the game suggested Petrov could be out for a couple of weeks with a tweaked hamstring…Just passing on what i heard…Surprised noone else picked up on this…
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Reply by Mark on August 11 7:30 am:
No confirmation of that anywhere. Did Mills get mixed up with his compatriot Bojinov? He tweaked a hamstring against Milan and was subbed.
Petrov didn’t play in that one and completed Wednesday’s friendly at Celtic so if he’s injured, it was sustained in training and City have kept it quiet.
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Reply by Richard on August 11 6:12 pm:
No it was definitely in relation to Petrov as Bojinov had not gone off a this stage..They were speculating about why he wasn’t playing fearing there was something funny going on with the then proposed transfer of Ireland to Sunderland and problems with the board. I think either just before h/t or at h/t they said Petrov’s reason for missing the game was an injury…
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hey i’m kind of new to this and was wondering if this side seems alright?
Riena, Schwarzer
Carvallo, Neville, Clichy (Young. L, Figueroa)
Bullard, Bentley, Fabregas, Young.A (Taylor)
Bent, VP, Ashton
I’d appreciate any input. Cheers
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here’s the team, boys
Jaaskelainen
Neville, Bale, Cahill
Gerrard, Fabregas, Young, Bentley
Van Persie, Ashton, Bent.
Reserves
Neill, Figueroa, De Ridder
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How did Diarra play?
Did he play a more attacking role or was he the holding midfielder?
I’m in 2 minds about Pompey players for the start, while they do have a tough first 2 games they have shown that they will not get turned over easily and if anything United look to be weak for the opening few weeks.
I’m debating on Gera/Diarra/Pinaar or freeing up half a mil for Matt Taylor.
Any advice?
Not sure if Gera could step up a league which is my only doubt but they do start with Hull which makes it appealing.
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Evra,Bentley and Ashton OR Zamora,lampard and Gary Cahill
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Evra, Bentley and Ashton have more chance of being consistant
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Ok My team then
Jaaskelinan ( Reina )
Evra CLichy Carvalho (Bale) (Figuero)
M.Taylor Bullard Fabregas Bentley ( De Ridder )
Ashton Bent Adebayor
what dya think ?
Not sure wether to start with Bale 4-4-2 or ashton 3-4-3 ?
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at the moment Duff is looking awesome at 6mil…
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Hey guys, just wondering what the logic is against getting Torres. Is he expected to make a mediocre start?
At the moment I have:
Reina (Schwarzer)
Carvalho, Carragher, L Young, Cahill (Figueroa)
A Young, Fabregas, Downing (Lawrence, De Ridder)
Torres, Alves, Zamora
There’s 3 left in bank so it’ll be easy to make changes. I’m considering getting Adebayor instead of Torres, and putting in Lampard for Fab.
Is a 4 3 3 formation sound, or should I upgrade another of my midfielders?
My first time at FPL, so thanks for advice ;)!
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 11:05 am:
Torres is just toooooo expensive. Adebayor is better value, particularly early on. Need to be cautious about your budget for forwards - they don’t get as many points as midfielders for scoring, so you need to keep a balanced squad. Torres’ cost doesn’t allow that.
Lampard may come into contention later on, but i don’t see him as a starter ahead of Fabregas. Arsenal’s first 7 fixtures are kind, to say the least. Also, i want to take a good look at what Scolari does over the first couple of months with his team selection.
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any thought on these midfields with respect to the first 5 games and wrt the whole season (they cost the same):
Cesc, Young, Bentley, Arteta, Petrov
or
Cesc, Young, Gerrard, Taylor, Faubert
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i reckon faubert is a real smokey. so ill go with the second lot.
anelka + bentley or fab + ashton?
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 10:16 am:
smokey? i’d rather not pick someone with health problems
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1. Bentley and Ashton OR A.Johnson and Arteta ?
2. Bullard or Matt Taylor
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 11:11 am:
Bentley & Ashton.
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2. Bullard or Matt Taylor
Same problem for me, think I’m gonna go Taylor because they have an easier first 5 games where Fulham have Arsenal in week 2 and no game in week 3
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 11:10 am:
Taylor. Hope he gets a couple of goals in his first 3 or 4 games, see his value go up to 6.2m and move him on after week 4 or 5. Nice.
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3 questions that should help a lot of us…
Does Hreidarsson have competition for Portsmouth’s LB spot other than from Lauren?
Is Duff going to be 1st choice?
When is Tim Cahill expected to be back from injury?
Thanks in advance
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Ashton + Faubert
or
Ashton + De Ridder + 1mln?
or
Zamora + Faubert + 1mln?
or
Zamora + De Ridder + 2mln
1mln gives flexibility, 2mln facilitates an upgrade of Taylor to Bentley
what would you choose and why?
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Interesting Dr Rog, i think DeRidder is the best 4.5m midfielder out there but i would only recommend him as a sub choice as predicting when he would play and if he is going to chip in with a goal/assist could be tricky. that said if he does win a starting place his value is sure to go up as ppl would be looking to transfer in a playing cheap midfielder.
i like zamora but there is risk with him in terms of games played. For difficult away games i imagine Johnson would start alone up front. Also when winning games he could be off early as Fulham try to hold a lead. I also thought Nevland looked quite good foil for a faster striker, if this tactic is adopted he would be partnering Johnson rather than Zamora.
For these reasons i would defo go for Ashton, but his partner is up 2 you, depending if your looking for a player to raise his value, or a starter for points!
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 12:48 pm:
i want the points! need a good start this year - i beleive if a player gets points, he will go up in value anyway
i def agree with you that ashton is the way forward for the first few games… and de ridder is a risk, so faubert should be in the lineup to start with - but fulham have very good fixture after a tough first few games and if zamora is a starter and they show form it could be worth looking at bringing in Zamora for ash to free up cash elsewhere - its something i will monitor
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I was wondering if anyone could help me as I can’t make my mind up and I have only got 30 minutes for lunch.
1st choice: Ham salad from cafe across the road £1.70
2nd choice: Sub of Day with a cookie £2.49
3rd choice: Chicken wings and muffin from chicken shack £2.49 without sauce or £2.89 with BBQ sauce.
Please help I can’t think for myself.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 12:59 pm:
id go for option 1 for gw1 and 2 as a budget bench ‘filler’ that should pick up some points without you having to look to far afield for them. i cant see the sub of the day offering any juice with it this year and given the hefty price rise i cant see it perfoming as well as last year… i think longterm the chicken wings offer the best option but i would opt out of the bbq this year and go for some mayo for 10p to free up funds for after work drinks
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Reply by Luke on August 11 5:16 pm:
yeah i learnt my lesson last year. Advice sucks, think for yourself. Cheers for the info mark. yer dad is poor at giving advice by the way but he’s funny. Dont put your team up here, all the teams look pretty much the same anyway. yer dad why dont you go to a curry house and get a decent lunch you big girl
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Reply by yer dad on August 11 6:24 pm:
Welcome back Luke you whinging Aussie. Great to hear from you and I look forward to giving plenty of crap advice this season. I still don’t think you have got over the Santa Cruz incident and I don’t think you ever will. Did I finished above you last season in 5,302 place. Remind me. Went with option 1 by the way
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Reply by Luke on August 12 10:04 am:
if i’m an aussie your a welshman. thanks to your advice i lapsed to 16,226. No actually it was more to do with my moral stance of refusing to pick Ronaldo in my team cos i hate him, even to my own detriment it was worth it, i think i saw him wince at one point. I also harbour the belief that you give poor advice to bring down obviously more talented opponents
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Go for the local cafe option. Everytime. BUT.. did you want a Fabs or a Lamps with that?
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Hi Fellow fantasy managers.
Been reading the great news items on this site avidly for weeks now preparing to take 1st place in my mini-league this season! BUT. Still not sure about some line-up issues. So far team is:
Jaaskelainen, Schwarzer
Young L, Figueroa, Clichy, Jagielka, Cole A
Petrov, Young A, Noble, Taylor, Fabs
Ashton, Bent, Adebayor
and 1.5m in bank
My uncertainties are:
- Is Arsenal defender a risk? If not, Clichy vs Sagna?
- Jagielka vs Neville vs spend more for Lescott?
- A.Cole vs Carvahlo vs spend more for Terry?
- Fabs or lamps? Petrov or Bentley?
I’d be interested to hear any opinions.
Nice one!
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 1:08 pm:
from what i’ve seen on this site over the last few weeks everyone seems to be converging to pretty much the same team:
Jassi is the overwhelming choice in goal
and reina/cech if you want to spend some cash there
whilst u can take yer pick from
clichy, carvalho, cole, bale, p. neville, jags for your expensive def
and cahill, o’brien, young, figs for yer budget bench fillers
midfield
expensive: pick 1-2 from gerrard, fabs and lamps
mid: pick 1-2 from young, bentley, petrov, arteta, downing
cheap: taylor, de ridder, noble, gera, osman, pienaar etc
u/f:
pretty much settled on adebayor, bent, ashton unanimously it seems
take variations of the above until some bright spark finds something more original i’d say
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Has anyone considered Eboue? In TFF he’s down as a defender at 3.4m, surely he’s going to play in the Arsenal Midfield and there’s potential for assists, which he showed he is capable of against Ajax. Arsenal’s opening fixtures are kind, so there’s the obvious chance of clean sheets too.
Ross
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 1:09 pm:
walcott will be starter on the right this season
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What are everyone’s thoughts on Ronaldo?
Are people preparing for a full season with a balanced team and no Ronaldo, or are there some considered reservation of funds to bring him in at a later date.
I think I’m planning on doing without him for the season.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 1:11 pm:
see how he goes for first few weeks hes back innit
once he’s settled can see everyone dumping gerrard/lamps and poss cesc to fund him
i know i will - hes too good to leave out
and think of all those juicy points being doubled every week
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Reply by Al on August 11 1:24 pm:
I’ll be open to bringing him in without a doubt. He can be just too influiential to miss out on.
In the back of my mind I have my wildcard to use on the week he becomes a must have as I think getting him in will likely require 2 or 3 subs to make it work financially. If that’s the case might be good time to wildcard.
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 1:33 pm:
He’ll be coming into contention at the same time that United’s fixtures become easier. Barring a problem with injury, he’ll be a cert in most teams after a couple of weeks of his return. The ideal scenario is that you’ve made 1.0m from transfers, so that the impact of bringing him in is minimised somewhat. Could also be the time to use your wildcard, as your squad will be need to be restructured for him, and probably refreshed at around that time of the season anyway. Nice.
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Build a team without him then as soon as he is fit use the wildcard to shoehorn him in. If he has similar form to last year, you can’t do without him.
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Hi everyone what do you think of my Squad for the Fantasy Premier League Game this coming season:
Cech (Schwarzer)
Clichy R.Ferdinand G.Johnson (L.Young) (Figueroa)
A.Young Fabregas Bentley Downing (Geovanni)
Ashton D.Bent Anelka.
All comments will be appreciated!
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 1:52 pm:
i think you should swap geovanni for gerrard and swap ashton for torres… get a loan from the fpl to pay for it and then declare yourself bankrupt and get the government to bail you out when it all ends in tears
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 2:00 pm:
on a serous note - i think that FF could be taken to another dimension if cash were treated slighlty differently -
ever been annoyed that you have 2.3mln cash sitting there and doing nothing? i think they should pay interest on your balances (they would have to fiddle it but maybe 5% per game week rounded down to 0.1).
ever been annoyed that you are 0.2mln away from the perfect team that will blow the competition away? now you can have it - but pay rather punitive interest on the loan (say 20% per game week on the amount borrowed to avoid people doing it or abusing the system) - this would be difficult to implement i guess and needs to be tinkered (Can see teams running up huge debts - just like in real life) and maybe you should get declared bankrupt if the value of your team goes below a certain level.
or maybe just not bother with loans, just earn interest on cash balances.
would need tinkering but i think it could add a real life cash management element that managers do face
any thoughts?
just trying to put something more original on here than “shall i pick clichy or evra” etc…
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 1:59 pm:
Cech - very expensive for a keeper
Clichy - don’t like Arsenal’s chances of keeping it tight, and 6.5m!
Johnson - Portsmouth have hard early fixtures so questionable value.
Ferdinand - 7m for a defender, surely Evra is better value. Again tough early fixtures and no game in wk3.
Geovanni - he plays for this year’s potential Derby. Will you use him? If so there is much more value at 5.5m, if not then maybe get someone even cheaper.
D.Bent - still not guaranteed a long stay in the side.
Anelka - Chelsea don’t have the easiest start, plus he may only play a few games with Drogba coming back. Van Persie may be better early doors.
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right, heres who i’ve gone for today:
jaaskelainen , hart
sagna, bale, vidic, bosingwa, figueroa
bentley, benayoun, downing, valencia, de ridder
adebayor, van persie, alves
any comments positve or negative?
bale has been in my team from the off but im a bit worried to see him start on the bench against roma the other day. will he be a starter? any thoughts on changes i could make would be appreciated!
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 2:44 pm:
your midfield looks whack
who is getting you big points there?
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Reply by Dan on August 11 3:22 pm:
bentley and downing. valencia will chip in as well
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Adebayor at 11m OR Van Persie for 9.5m - my thinking is RVP is due a great season and maybe Adebayor wont be as good as last season.
Got a few days to decide. Any news on their pre-season form and fitness?
Cheers
[Reply]
Reply by Sam (Team Sam) on August 11 2:49 pm:
Both fit, Adebayor probably slightly more so. Adebayor has been the target striker, with RVP more the support striker. However, slightly worryingly, when Arsenal were behind, they brought on Bendtner and played him up with Ade and put RVP on the left wing
Ade has scored a few, RVP hasn’t scored any, although has assisted and looked lively. RVP will probably still take free-kicks, corners from the right (Fab from the left), and the penalties… unless he is the one fouled, then Ade will take them.
So from the facts, Ade looks like the better option, although I still have a feeling deep inside that this is Van Persie’s seasons
Hope that helps a little
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 2:58 pm:
Adebayor for me, until proven otherwise (it’s easier to down-grade than up-grade!). RVP may struggle with injury (again), and Ade is much more the out-and-out striker. RVP is more a goal every 3, while Ade is a goal every other game.
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boswinga still on recovering from injury.
Bale not a certain starter as isn’t benyaoun.
You’ve gone for a heavy attackers but at the expense of other areas.
Still tinker I reckon. 1 week left
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im only using benayoun until babel comes back from the olympics and the rotation between them means i’ll transfer someone else in. bosingwa will start first week on my bench. i cant decide between rvp and ade so i’ll stick em both in and get rid of the worst after a few weeks cos they’ve got easy games early on. the midfield isn’t as strong as i’d like but i fancy bentley and downing to have good seasons and both are set piece takers. valencia and de ridder are decent subs. im playing 4-3-3
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Not happy with my defence, but then i think it can be a waste of money anyway (i’m only going to play 3 at the back for the majority of weeks). If someone can do better, given the early season fixtures and the same budget (25.5m) then let me know.
Dossena, Jagielka, L.Young, Steinsson, Simpson
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Reply by Sam (Team Sam) on August 11 3:27 pm:
Carvalho 6.5
Clichy 6.5
L.Young 4.5
Cahill 4.5
Figueroa 4.0
Total = 26
that extra 0.5 could yield a big points improvement… there’s also Carragher at 6.5 if you don’t like Clichy or Carvalho
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Surprised no one is going for tevez,he will be a guaranteed starter almost every game,and regardless of united s opening fixtures should still score.
Plus i can put a good team together with £20 mill in the bank…but havent got courage to go for it.Just pick a load of players no higher than 6.5,you’ll be surprised what a good team you can get together.
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Reply by Brooklyn on August 11 4:20 pm:
maybe i’m slow but what’s the point of keeping £20 mill in the bank?
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Reply by dave t on August 11 5:02 pm:
Your not slow mate,i am playing with 2 teams,and i thought of doing it just as a challenge really just to see how far i could get and it would make band wagons with expensive players easy and could afford ronny when he is back.
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dossena is a bit risky. he’ll lose points for poor discipline. last season he was sent off 3 times in serie A which is known for tough defender and a physical game and he still got loads of bookings. hes sure to start tho and decent going forward
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Opinions on the following would be appreciated:
Jaaskelainen (Reina)
Clichy, Carvalho, Carragher, Cahill (Figueroa)
Deco, Arteta, Bentley, A.Young (De Ridder)
Adebayor, Yakubu (Moore)
I have insecurities about whether or not to stick with Clichy, Deco and Yakubu. Also, whether to swap Adebayor for van Persie, upgrade Moore to Ashton and have those three up front.
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Agree with excellent assessment of all teams becoming v similar as commented by Dr. Rog. But many ignoring key points for me. Will Jaaska play rather than Al-Habsi, how will Deco affect Lamps points (will he still take free kicks and pens), is Fab the player he was last season and is RVP fully fit?
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Lampard will definatly still take the penalties. I dont think he will be a great scorer next season though, too many midfielders fighting for places. I can see him getting subbed off on 50-60 mins when Chelsea are winning to bring on Ballack.
Fabregas has been getting better every season since he’s been in the Premiership and I can’t see that changing, he will also be full of confidence after winning the Euro’s.
I agree on Jussi and RvP, although I’ve taken a risk on Van Persie, when he’s fully fit with a run in the side he makes massive FPL points.
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 4:38 pm:
I can see Fabregas, Lampard & Gerrard finishing on about the same number of points (about 180-190). Fabregas won’t get quite as many goals as last, Lampard will play slightly more minutes than last season (less injury but points shared out more and he’ll be rested sometimes), while Gerrard won’t score as many goals this season. So with Fabregas at 10m it’s a no brainer. Once Ronaldo comes back, i doubt anyone will have enough money for Gerrard or Lampard anyway. I’m hoping my 7-8.5m buys will do me proud.
I like RVP in principle, but if i’m going to keep one striker to be consistent and stay injury free then Adebayor it is. As i say, always easier to change down than up, so RVP could come into centention when Ronaldo is fit.
Jussi should be safe enough, although i’m going for bolton defender Steinsson instead - i hope the RB slot is his. Cahill looks alright but Shittu arriving has complicated matters.
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Jassi - been outstanding for years now
Deco will affect Lamps through rotation and both will score less than they should i think. Also, u might have the problem of sticking lamps as your captain vs Hull only to see someone random like Kalou starting instead.
Fab is young and improving. He is the best player in the league. A must have for that price. One he adds goals he will be the new scholes. An ever present this year methinks.
RVP hasnt looked great pre season. Im so concerned i’ve switched him for Adebuymore. Can always switch back if hes good on wednesday cos i am the tinkerKing…
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I think something a little more complicated would definately appeal to the masses of muppets like us, who spend half our waking lives (and some of our sleeping) on this fucking stuff!
The interest would certainly be good, with margin calls on loans every two weeks or every month (ie, your loan has to be repaid with a points per dollar value like 5 points per .2 million borrowed at a certain date, or, you sell someone before that date and make a profit, or break even, having gained extra points from your loan)
This would introduce alot of speculating, but could be good craic. The only variable necessary would be how many people go in or out of a player, and people would be speculating on this (what would really be cool would e if the loans were between managers individually- ie, i have fabregas, but i think he’ll have a bad week, so ill loan hiim to you for a week at .1m etc.)- i make a profit, and if he has a good week, the points made will easily pay the loan cost… jesus, i think im onto a serious idea here !!!!!
or im possibly bored in work and delusional from printer fumes
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 4:07 pm:
i brought this up earlier
thinking about it a little bit more - unless point penalties (like the transfers) came into it people would just abuse it. you dont win your league by being the richest team - but you do win it by having the most points.
so a system whereby you can exceed your budget but for each gameweek you are penalised 1pt per 0.1mln you are over. i think it would require a lot of testing and most likely would make the ame hideously unbalanced but i think its an interesting altrenative.
if u were earning interest you could also spend say the first month of the season with a budget team therefore u earn interest on a huge cash pile and with the extra monies can buy all the megabucks names for the rest of the season and effectively buy the league - effectively replicating your team being rubbish but subject to a billionaire benefactor who can buy you the league by picking over rated over priced players
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 4:20 pm:
like the idea of loaning players - think it would be hard to implement but i like the idea of going short a player for a few weeks if hes coming up to a bad run of games and ur not keen to sub him or pay to transfer him back.
eg. lets say u buy fab for 9mln and he goes up to 10mln. you see he is about to play all the top 5 times and you wanna offload him for 5wks to free up funds to get a young, deco, bentley or whoever in the team for those weeks. problem is you only get 9.5mln back from fab, but would need to pay at least 6.8 to buy him back later.
it makes overtrading impossible for your team.
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A name Im not hearing a lot of on hear is Giovani Dos Santos… he’s looking like an absolute star in pre-season, and looks a snip at 7 mil?
Appreciate that in FPL he’s classed as a forward, and so he won’t be getting any clean sheet bonuses and will get less points for the goals he scores… but I still think he’s worth a look for the assists and bonus points he’ll generate.
Or am I missing something that everyone else knows?! :\
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Dos Santos falls into the Walcott catergory for me.
Had they been midfielders then I’d have both but don’t see them scoring as many goals as somone like Zamora or Ashton so am opting against it.
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Could someone let me know there thoughts on my team
Green
Clichy, Shorey, Ferdinand, Johnson
Young A, Gerrard, Bentley, Lawrence
Adebayor, Walcott
SUBS: Niemi, Meite, De Ridder,Ashton
Thanks
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 4:21 pm:
niemi injured
miete - is he a starter?
johnson - tough early fixtures but pompey do keep it tight
two arsenal forwards - not sure about that need to diversify a bit more
the rest is solid
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Reply by Peter F on August 12 7:12 am:
Points taken on board and thanks for the advise.
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Pompey do keep it tight and it’s a good time to be playing United so their early fixtures look worse on paper
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Whats the deal with Faubert, I’ve noticed he’s creeped into the monthly picks. I didn’t really see him play after he came back from his injury and hasn’t exactly been outstanding in the pre season games.
Will he take free kicks, corners and pens ahead of Noble?
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Opinions on the following would be appreciated:
Jaaskelainen (Reina)
Clichy, Carvalho, Carragher, Cahill (Figueroa)
Deco, Arteta, Bentley, A.Young (De Ridder)
Adebayor, Yakubu (Moore)
I have insecurities about whether or not to stick with Clichy, Deco and Yakubu. Also, whether to swap Adebayor for van Persie, upgrade Moore to Ashton and have those three up front.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 4:40 pm:
your team is great. its the same +-2 players as everyone elses on here. you’ve posted it twice now - the responses to this general teamsheet are there for all to see
if you need someone to hold your hand then i can say
you will get loads of points and surely win your league with that team.
my opinion is deco will get rotated, yak hasnt scored a goal pre season and i have the same issue as you regarding 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 this season.
i wish we could have some more in depth discussions rather than this is my team - will it be good enough kinda chat
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 4:48 pm:
Mine looks positively nuts then;
Schwarzer, Turnbull
Jagielka, Dossena, Simpson, L Young, Steinsson
Bentley, M.Taylor, G-Pedersen, Fabregas, A.Young
Adebayor, Ashton, Elmander
3-4-2 as the base, with the 11th player being the best player for the fixture from the spare defender, midfielder & forward.
+2.5 in the bank for my ‘little scheme’, which is basically to get in a forward (or midfielder) who looks like he’s going to enjoy himself for that gameweek, possibly several gameweeks.
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Reply by Bedknobs and Boomsticks on August 11 6:32 pm:
3-4-3 is the way to go to start with.
3 Defeenders:
If you look at the top point scorers, defenders are up there, but what no-one seems to get is that there are only a few top scoring defenders and the points drop off quickly. So while you might have 10 top scoring strikers to choose 3 from, you may only have 5 equally high scoring defenders from which to choose 5. Defenders are therefore poor to buy en-mass. Add to that the irritation value of early subs & last minute goals, a lack of predictability in their ‘big’ scores (you can’t predict when they’ll score and get a big haul), and the general satisfaction of seeing your strikers / midfielders name on the videprinter, and thats why I only ever plan on 3 at the back. A big four player, a boni scorer, and three to rotate from (two of whom may play if one of your forawrds has a horror fixture) is my favoured tactic.
As for the attacking line-up, I favour 3 strikers to start with simply because it gives you greater flexibility to bring in any inform strikers.
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 6:49 pm:
couldn’t agree more. i think my 25.5m budget for all 5 is about right. certain defenders have a tendancy to score but it’s almost impossible to buy them for their true value.
i agree, again.
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I don’t understand why Bale is so popular. He’s not a guaranteed starter, he’s not cheap at a whopping 6m, and above all, he’s a Spurs defender!
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Formations (to change the subject matter):
What are the best formations to play and why?
What area do people tend to think its best to spend ‘big’ in?
Whats a good budget split between the 3 areas.
The guy who won our league last year swears by cheap defenders, for instance.
Last year, 541 or 451 would’ve served you well at the start but by the end of the season you would have needed 352 or 343 as strikers got on top of defences and made more points. Does anyone have any goals (or cleansheets) per fixture per game month stats? This could give a good indic of what to play over the year.
My personal opinion is that I found my best strategy was to have 1 top and 4 mid-low priced defenders who rotate according to fixtures and then play 352 or 343 for the season utilising a gun midfield and striekforce that is very stong with a couple of buget buys to make up the numbers.
It seems most people are opting for 352 or 343 this year. Which of those do you find more effective - if you choose this system do you allocate your budget sub to midfield or upfront and commit to one formation - or try to get two budgets for both and rotate formations & players by fixtures?
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 6:32 pm:
no set ideas with formation, just pick a team that looks good from match to match. I like to have plenty of players playing at home, which means using my whole squad. Clearly defenders score less than midfielders so if i’ve only got 3 defenders playing each week, then i’m not overly worried.
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Adebayor/Fabregas/Lampard, who is the best choice for captain in gameweek 1? Where is the poll?
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 5:41 pm:
adebayor for me. not popular but as good a chance of scoring big as Fabregas, if not better.
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Right, time for a new conversation. Does anyone have a strategy with the ‘wild card’. I used mine early on last season and lived to regret it as i started to tinker too much and erode my total with the 4 point penalty. I am torn between:
1. Use it to accomodate Ronaldo when he is back;
2. Over Christmas when the fixtures could see you better picking mid table players rather than the top 4 who will rotate players more
3. Plan never to use it and only use in an emergency
4. Hope you are winning the league late on in the season and use it as a strategy to mimic rivals below you to hedge out the risk?
Probably no exact science but should evoke a change in conversation?!!
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Reply by Intricacy on August 11 5:22 pm:
I’m in the same boat, i used it ever so early on as my players didn’t hit the heights i expected of them and i had too many players who were unknown quantities. As exciting as this was, it led to me having a poor start. Another reason for this was the unexpectedly poor opening by Spurs, with whom i had a few players from (including Berbatov).
I think it’s better to use it for options 1 or 2. Using it in December would be good as you can pretty much revamp your team for the second half of the season, just before the busy Winter period. However, this would mean not drafting Ronaldo in (unless willing to lose a lot of points to accomodate him beforehand) until that period.
Either way, you’re going to have to sacrifice one or the other.
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 6:27 pm:
use it when you really need to (that’s when you look at your squad and you want to cry), and pray it’s not week 2!!!
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Reply by CK on August 11 10:25 pm:
LOL !!!!!
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1 is my preference if my team is screwed by then
if its ok and ron only cost 2 transfers then i would wait till xmas
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Has anyone noticed that Newcastle’s home fixtures for the first half of the season are remarkably easy? I’m planning to do something I thought I’d never ever do with Keegan in charge. Buy a Newcastle defender and rotate him in for their home fixtures. Beye is my tip for an unlikely points haul. Have I gone nuts?
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Reply by Intricacy on August 11 5:24 pm:
Yes, pretty much. Newcastle are an inconsistent team, you never know what you’re going to get with them. I thought they’d do well last season under Allardyce, with all the signings they made yet they failed to produce and finished in a disappointing (based on the size of the club) mid-table position.
It depends on what their fixtures are like, it may be worth looking into but your mind will probably be changed when you see what defences/defenders are coming good and which ones are not.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 11 5:31 pm:
i wrote down my prem finishing positions this morning and had newcastle in the bottom 5 [so much so i backed them for a) relegation, b) to not be the best north east club this year] i can see it going horribly wrong for them this year with wigan/fulham/boro/sunderland all looking better. i would stay away from their players personally but thats just my opinion.
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Thoughts please: Adebayor/Yakubu OR Van Persie/Keane, i really cant decide, im leaning to adebayor as he seemed to be the main goal threat against ajax but no too sure about Yak, any possibly suggestions as an alternative much appreciated? Cheers
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Reply by Intricacy on August 11 5:26 pm:
You know what you’re going to get with Yakubu and given Everton’s relatively easy start (at home against Blackburn and then three promoted sides away from home after that) i think it’s a good opportunity for him to get some early goals.
I personally fancy Adebayor to score more than Robin van Persie, although i know that when i make my mind up on one then the other will go and score a hat-trick on the opening day. That is primarily, my biggest decision…RVP or Adebayor…
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Gomes(Schwarzer)
Clichy, Jagielka, Carragher (Paintsil,Figueroa)
Arteta, Young, Bently, Lampard (de ridder)
RVP,Ashton,Bent
my problem is:-
I spent 27mil for defenders non of them can score goal and need to routed Carragher in week 3 n 4 but cant find realible budget defenders.
Satisfied with my mid and little bit shacky with my Fow. Why Gomes? Im gonna gamble all the shot that he save from the lack of Spurs defend.
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 5:44 pm:
you can’t really predict which defenders will score. Jags may do if he’s playing midfield.
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Id go Ade and Yakubu and consider swapping him every other game early on with Elmander. Or is it just me that thinks Elmander is gonna be a hit, to be honest i wouldn’t consider him if Bolton fixtures wern’t so good. Is this just fixture trading gone too far?
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Reply by Intricacy on August 11 5:31 pm:
I wasn’t overly impressed with him at the Euros but he seems to have had a decent pre-season as far as i am aware.
I expect Bolton to beat us (Stoke) on the opening day but i wouldn’t bet on them scoring too many goals past us. Pulis has been working on the defence and we’re known as a team that is tough to break down. I can’t see it being anymore than 1-0 to be honest.
I’m sticking with Adebayor, Yakubu and Ashton up front.
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Reply by stevie b on August 11 6:10 pm:
an early goal and who knows? it’s a 7m punt that could pay off.
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Yes, “Why Gomes?” is the question that first springs to mind. He’s 5.5 and there’s keepers that are better for less/equal money in my opinion like Jaaskelainen, Friedel and Howard.
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Reply by Intricacy on August 11 5:34 pm:
As i posted in another thread, i’m going with Reina and Jaaskelainen and rotating them for the first 5 games. There’s some pretty juicy fixtures and i reckon i can get at least 3 clean sheets out of them.
Jussi - Bolton vs Stoke
Reina - Liverpool vs Middlesbrough
Jussi - Bolton vs West Brom
Jussi - Fulham vs Bolton
Reina - Liverpool vs Stoke
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Reply by Gordon on August 11 5:47 pm:
Intricacy, i am doing a similar strategy but am rotating howard and jaaske; dont u think they have better early fixtures and a cheaper pair? you get gk exposure v stoke, wba, wba, stoke and hull with this pair. if i had reina i wud b tempted to forget about the position and adopt a buy and hold strategy
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Reply by Intricacy on August 11 5:49 pm:
You’re right, actually. I have changed Reina for Howard now. Thanks for your advice.
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Thanks guys, one more thing i have 7.5mil for a midfielder im thinking one of downing petrov or arteta again thoughts please? Cheers
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