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Aug 12

Early Weekend Team News

The first pass of the Premiership team news has gone in this afternoon giving you an early idea of the weekend’s lineups.

With European games, potential signings and more information leaking from the clubs over the next few days, be sure to check back. I’ll keep you updated on any major news on a daily basis.

Click here for the early goodness.

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There are currently 85 responses

  1. Does anyone else see Blackburn’s Chris Samba having as much goal scoring potential as say Laursen or Lescott from set pieces? Blackburn fan I spoke to reckons that Samba is a “handful” from set pieces and under Ince will push up for corners, free kicks, etc? Only 3.2mil in the Telegraph game for instance, while Lescott is £4.1 and Laursen £3.6.

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  2. I had Samba from the start last season because he scored a bag full of goals pre season. He did score a couple last season and used to get amongst the bonus points. He’s definitley a threat from set pieces given his presence in the 18 yard box but he does like to pick up alot of yellow cards and the occasional red.

    He could be worth a shout though this season, he’s had a year to settle in to life in the prem and has the potential to be another Laursen. But how will blakburn fair under Ince and will they keep clean sheets with Robinson in goal?? Gamble!!!

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  3. Doubt it.

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  4. Excellent guide. Elano is mentioned twice in the Man City lineup, just so you know.

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  5. Hello all, first post on this website. First I’d really like to thank Mark for the most in-depth fantasy football site on the internet.

    Having said that, I wanted to know what everyone though of possibly using Howard and Jaaskelainen for the first five weeks of the tournament, and in week six getting rid of Howard and purchasing Cech.

    The idea being that Bolton plays Stoke at home in the first week, followed by Everton at Westbrom, with week three Bolton at home against West Brom, and Everton away at Stoke and Hull for week four an five.

    The only reason I hesitate to be comfortable with this combination though is due to the fact that Everton has had a horrible pre-season and with their current injury situation I’m not sure they’re defense could ensure as many clean sheets as last year. Also not sure how Bolton would fair against these promoted sides. Any ideas are appreciated.

    Oh and my side looks like:

    Jaaskelainen (Howard)

    Carragher–Woodgate–Cole A–Young L (Scharner)

    Fabregas–Young A–Eboue–Bentley–Arteta

    Adebayor (Moore, Miller)

    1 mil. surplus to switch young Cole A to Ferdinand later.

    Don’t really like Woodgate but can’t find any other defender in that price range to replace him with.

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    he does have a lovely haircut, maybe you should opt for an ugly 5.5mln defender? samba looks like a big chap

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  6. I’m wondering why Anton Ferdinand is not mentioned at all in the West Ham team news. I’d have thought he’d be certain to start if available.

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    Well, Mark seemed to think that Davenport was now firmly in the frame. He’s not even listed on FPL…yet.

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    Ferdinand is listed on FPL. He has been since I signed up a week or two ago. He’s 5 mil and has been selected by 3% of managers.

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    I think it’s fairly obvious he meant Davenport.

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    Oh yeah… *embarrassed*

    But that still doesn’t explain why Ferdinand was completely ignored in the West Ham team news.

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    True, but I think the man can be afforded a few slip ups ;-)

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  7. what are people’s approach to keepers? is it better to get a good one in or get a budget option?

    i am toying with the idea of Reina, or Jaaskelainen instead of my current one (Green)

    also i like many here have the strikeforce of:

    RVP, Bent, Ashton

    this just doesn’t scream goals to me as RVP is more of a 2nd striker who will get more assists than goals, and Bent and Ashton i am not sure of.

    would it be worth downgrading Bent or Ashton and upgrading a defender? and then play 4-4-2?

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  8. Why do people think that RVP won’t score goals?

    When he is fit he is prolific, ok he scored 7 goals last season but it was 7 goals in the first 10 odd games as it was the season before (11 in not many more games)

    The problem is that he’s never fit but he is fully fit now.

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  9. Right quick question, i’m doing a team in the Vital football site…pick 11 players in a 442 and some transfers but they’ll be a limited 20 transfers to be used after 1st Sept…

    Link http://www.vitalfantasyfootbal.....enthome.do

    Scoring is as follows…

    2 points Start match
    1 point come on as sub…
    the usual for red and yellow cards…

    Now

    Clean sheets…… 4 for Gks, 3 for Def, 1 for Mid, 0 for Stk
    Goals………….10 fot Gks, 8 for Def, 6 for Mid, 4 for Stk

    Assist 2 points all around…
    -1 point for each goal conceded…

    Team so far is…

    Friedel
    L Young
    Vidic
    Lescott
    M Taylor
    Lampard
    Gerrard
    A Young
    Walcott
    Torres
    Alves

    Gone for Walcott as he is cheap and classed as a Midfielder, or is it worth sacraficing Torres to bump him up to someone else, i’d skip Fabergas as its really based on goals by the looks of it?

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    think for yourself..

    your team looks the same as everyone elses

    stop posting teamsheets u hommes

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    lol i think i posted my team once for the FPL, and as this is a completely new type for me from a forum i’ve started to use, i just wondered if people thought with the scoring system being somewhat different, if anyone had any views on it…

    correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t that why are on here?

    I’d like to think that most on here with an iq over 50 are generally up for a challenge, its why we tinker and go over various tactics for a season, its not if anyone is saying pick my team, but more i’ve gone for this route for this reason what do you think…

    Maybe you are just an FPL man, but whilst i’ve only done the FPL and the Sky one before i enjoyed the challenge of trying to come up with new ideas for a new base….

    And one last thing….think for yourself? We are on a near epic site for help on Fantasy Football, if you were thinking for yourself you wouldn’t be on here…no one would and Mark would get more time down the pub…

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    Dr. Rog is not saying you can’t discuss tactics or even which players to buy, but don’t post your entire team. Limit yourself to asking about one problem area, such as “Who is the best midfielder available for 6.5m or less?” or “Fabregas or Lampard?”

    Seeing team after team posted on here gets very dull.

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    good points - it nothing personal btw

    my point is that i just dont get what people are trying to achieve by listing teams (with 8-9 identical players in btw). why not just say rvp or ade - who will score more?

    teams posted are virtually identical - would be nice if people could read whats been said before rather than need there confidence boosting by someone telling them how great there team is - which they wont

    this site could be a help forum for losers or it could be a forum for decent discussions on how things can be improved - how you can eek out an advantage over your opponents etc…

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    Or sometimes you could take up even MORE space and make even greater repetition by writing your team out in full AND listing the options in one post, hey Dr. Rog…

    “Dr. Rog on 10 August 2008 12:02 pm
    What do guys think is better choice?

    Option 1: The Gun midfield

    Jussi (Turnball)
    Gallas|P.Neville|Bale|L.Young (Figureoa)
    Gerrard|Lamps|Fabregas|Young|M.Taylor
    Ashton (Bentner Zamora/Bednar/Kitson)

    Option 2: Balanced team

    Jussi (Turnball)
    Gallas|P.Neville|Bale (L.Young Figureoa)
    Gerrard|Fabregas|Young|M.Taylor (Faubert)
    RVP|Elmander|Ashton

    Essentially a choice between

    Lamps + Zamora + Bentner
    vs
    RVP + Elamnder + Faubert

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    Dr. Rog on 10 August 2008 12:04 pm
    And another choice:

    Adebayor + Zamora
    vs
    RVP + Elmander”

    Pot and kettle spring to mind. Stop being a tool and let people post what they want.

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    zactly - its annoying

    sarcasm is a great tool
    both ways of saying the same thing are listed there

    whats better?

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    Ollie started it and now he is off on his hols leaving chaos and teams all over the site. Have it out with him when he comes back from Cleethorpes.

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    Fair point, but as it was for a complete different set up i did it for some pointers, not had much time to prep for it and my FPL does consider assists and bonus points…

    I’m guessing none have you have done a team on Vital before? It would be nice but its a lil basic and it doesn’t even say who scored what last season so in the deep end it is…

    And i didn’t mean to take it personally, but i guess this would be a good point for a forum type thing, at least then full team threads could be filtered to one place and the rest of the discussion could come segregated into relevant parts…lol at least i’ve not resorted to spamming on every news thread lol

    And only 2 days ago (lol)…i hope it didn’t take you too long to search for that…wasn’t me i’ve been in the pub lol

    Mind its hard to ask about it with different scoring…and i can’t get my head around the stick to just 11 players, i usually have some idea of my transfer each week to sub in anyone playing a Derby equivalent…

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    i do apologise - you were being genuine - i was just annoyed with the nigh on constant posts (some of them on repetitve threads)

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    It’s easier to find Shergar and Lord Lucan than old posts or threads on here. No offence.

    Any chance of pinning ‘Shorey’ to the front page, Mark?

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    yep, ill change the weighting so it always appears in the “popular” section in website tools in the right hand menu…give me a mo.

    All done…shorey should be available for all for quite a while now.

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    Lets keep it nice and open. its great to see as many people responding. Its repetitive because a few of us probably read every message. But so what?
    Teams wont be being put on after this week, a lot of the traffic will calm and hopefully we’ll have a nice base for continued discussion throughout the year. Yeah all the teams are the same at the moment but 3 weeks in we’ll all be different and mark will still be trying to get us to swap in shorey and bullard.Worst thing that could happen is that people are afraid to post. Theres always the shorey shrine for in depth discusion on the burning issues!

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    Don’t forget - Mark has his own agenda; he’s trying to fool us all!!! He is Satan!!!

    I don’t mind people posting their teams, I never read them anyway.

    Remember - keep the Shorey shrine free of any FF-related stuff. Sorry to sound like a broken record.

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    yep. No real need for it. I mean, what do they want? a medal?

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  10. What do you guys think will get more points?

    Fabregas and Essien

    or

    Lamps and Kranjaer?

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    fabs and essien all day long

    lamps will get rotated, kranjar lacks final product and has tough games first up
    fabs and essien are bonus point magnets too

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  11. Thanks Dr!

    Yeh I agree..But I got a feeling with Deco playing, Chelsea will create more chances and by reading pre-season reports Lamps is taking all free kicks.

    But ur right…Come on Fabs!

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    up the Arse-nal

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  12. Here’s one for you…

    Where on earth do FPL get their valuation of Terry from? He’s been consistently priced for the last few years, and is a full million more than Carvalho, who scored more points over less minutes last season.

    It beggars belief that one, to be honest.

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  13. Been working at blackburn rovers today and they were signing a player,i may have made him his lunch :)the gossip seemed to be that he was spanish,anyone any ideas who this might be?

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    I need more clues dave t. What did you make him for lunch? Was it paella? Is so it could have been Puyol. If it was them little vinegar fishes then I am sure it was Castillas. Spicy Sausage and Cheese Tortilla would certainly indicate Xavi coming to Blackburn. Let us know.

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    Did a lot of currys? few bagguetes and a couple of bacon toasties…ohhh and cheese and red onion on toast ,bet that was him,fitting right in then :)

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    Got to register my appreciation of that response…bravo.

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  14. Fabregas is injured guys…out for at least this weekend’s round of games :(

    http://www.skysports.com/story.....04,00.html

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    back to the drawing board then

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    That’s my team totally ruined now.. :(

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    “Cesc has a hamstring problem, he will be out for the next two games.”

    - Wenger

    Sheeeite

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    This is a real downer. How effective is the Arsenal front line goign to be without Fabregas pulling the strings?

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  15. Is Barry not set to start for Aston Villa? if not who should i swap for him. and you dont think Ballack will start either?

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  16. what about alonso? he was voted best player of pre season for liverpool and at 6mil a bargain and he will start as half of liverpools midfield is at the olympics till the end of august.

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    Best player doesn’t really translate to points though in FF (apart from bonus in FPL).

    I’m saying that without knowing if he’s scored or got any assists though, but I doubt he has.

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  17. I’d replace Fab with J Cole if I didn’t already have Lamps & Carvalho in my team. Don’t think Chelsea’s first few fixtures are strong enough to warrant 3 of their players in my team.

    No obvious choice for replacement

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  18. I didn’t have A Young so he is now drafted in.
    My mid is now, Osman, Lamps, Young and M Taylor, (Mendes)
    Left the cash in the bank so be able to buy Fab back at expense of Young if need be.

    I intend to go long Bolton, Everton and Arsenal at the start of the season, with subs adding a touch of WHAM and AVL. So not to get caught out after GW5 i intend to use wild card and completely restructure to bring in Ronaldo and rest of Man U exposure. Oh for a perfect world!! Sure something will hurt my plan!!

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  19. This is my first time doing a fantasy team and this site is very useful. I wanted to know if you are sure Fabregas is not playing the first two games, or do people try and stitch each other up by lying on these comments? i have not heard anything thing about him on the news!

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    check the link above

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  20. No one would make a cruel joke like that :(.

    http://news.google.com/news?cl.....amp;tab=wn

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  21. with Fabregas out 4-3-3?

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  22. oh yeah, the link.
    have got the Yak and Adebayor up front. do you think i should replace Fab with someone cheaper and replace the Yak with someone more expensive?

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  23. heres a tip i know he is rubbish but may grab a goal (unless he sits on it again) due to newcastle been rubish at the start

    how’s about fletcher 5.5M (can’t complain)

    also if he gets injured like the rest of my players it will be a bounus for united!

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  24. Hi..

    Any views or tips for my team..

    i’ve tried to set it up for the first few game weeks.

    van der sar, schwarcher
    cliche, glen johnson, bale, laureson, Andy o brien
    Lampard, downing, Ashley young, geovanni, bullard
    darren bent, defoe, luke moore..

    any guidance wud be appreciated :) thks

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    not bad at all but i would probably change van and bale. van misses gw 3 and bale is not definite starter.

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    Good looking side.

    I’d swap O’Brien for Figueroa and free up .5m and add that to change Moore for Zamora (in good form and scoring in pre-season for Fulham).

    No one seems keen on Bale but I think he’s worth a punt for a week or two and you can always bring in another Portsmouth defender once they get clear of Man Utd and Chelsea.

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    thnx guys .i wasnt aware of th gw3 thing. n that zamora shout sounds intersting!

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  25. Anyone got an idea if Carlos Cuéllar could get a start in the villans first game against city? I’m seriously thinking he’s one to watch, has a decent goal return for a defender and with Friedal in between the sticks I reckon more clean sheets, worth a gamble over Laursen - is Zat Knight likely to be resigned to the bench though??

    Also while I’m at it, what do you think of my current lineup after much tinkering! :D

    Jaask
    Carra, Carvalho, Clichy
    Ash Young, Taylor, Bentley, Gerrard
    Adebayor(C), Ashton, Bent
    Subs: Schwarz, Didi Hamann, Paintsil, Figueroa

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    Sweet looking side. On a personal side of things I think defences tend to do better at the start of season. I’ve also got a hunch the arse won’t start well despite the early fixtures, especially with fab out. Hence my side is:

    Green (Schwarz)
    Woodgate, Laursen, Carvalho, Jagielka, (Figueroa)
    Young, Gera, Lampard, (Petrov/Taylor/Arteta/Modric), (De Ridder)
    Anelka(C), Ashton, Bent

    And it still leaves 2.5mil in the bank when it all goes wrong in week 1!

    Who do you reckon I should pick as the 4th midfielder?

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    petrov/arteta i would say but who knows how eithers team will fare.

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    Bentley

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    Cheers Bomber, your midfield dilemma will be answered by Bentley I reckon, his pre-season form suggests he can step things up a gear and will probably have a hand in goals and lots of assists, Luka Modric is going to take time to settle imho.

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  26. is there everyone choose S.Nasri ?

    he would be arsenal midfield starter and is very cheap!

    Any suggestion?

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  27. I’m still keen on bringing in Giovanni for wk1, and bringing in Torres for a while (Liverpool have some tasty fixtures in the first 8 games). Torres is more likely to score than any mid-price midfielder (of course), and more likely than most forwards to be in the goals, while Giovanni will play as a front-man - which, for 5m, is a bargain (bearing in mind he’ll get midfield points if he does fluke a goal). Even if Giovanni does FA, at least he’s cost nowt.

    *Sigh* If only Bentley was 7.5m, then things would be a lot simpler for me.

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    Will Giovanni play if King arrives from Wigan, which sounds like it will happen within 48 hours?

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  28. Anyone think Assou-Ekotto is worth a try from day 1? I get the feeling Ramos wants really defence minded defenders, what with Tottenham’s sloppy defending over recent years (Ekotto has hardly crossed the half way line in his career, let alone scored), hence Bale will be bench material most of the time. Spurs have some nice looking fixtures for the first 9, so for 4.5m he’s better value than Figueroa at 4m as an occasional appearance defender.

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  29. ok team finalised (telegraph), other than I cant decide between Petrov and Walcott as my fourth midfielder. Walcott looks like he’ll start, but Petrov’s had a good pre season. Any thoughts?!

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  30. Thoughts on:

    RVP & Anelka/Berb

    OR

    Adebayor & Bent

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  31. Does anyone actually know if Tim Cahill will play at the weekend? also is gary cahill suspended after his red card pre-season?

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  32. Not sure about Anelka this season, is he going to feature, what about if Drogba stays and Chelsea but one of the many strikers they have been linked with??

    Is he worth a risk?

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  33. Ive been thinking about what the highest scoring team will be this season (BUDGET NOT INCLUDED!). ive come up with this…
    Cech
    Ferdinand- Terry- Lescott
    Lampard-Gerrard-Ronaldo-Young-Fabrigas
    Torres-Adebayor

    i know its pretty much all the highest scoring players and is not affordable on budget, but i thought it is important to get the most players possible from these teams - ie. just having 5 players from here gives fantastic potential for captain choice.

    does anyone think the team will be different?

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  34. any thoughts on carvalho (better first 5 fixtures in my book) vs laursen (better chance of goals/ bonus) for first 5 weeks?

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  35. I need a cheap defender… G Neville or Tel Ben Haim?

    Also, Bentley and Faubert (bit of a gamble)
    or Areteta and Modric/Elano?

    Thanks for any thoughts.

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    although Everton have got some easy looking games at the start their team is missing some good players, and have done rubbish in pre-season. so maybe you should wait on Areteta, as i am coming to wait on the Yak

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  36. Pre-season results count for nothing though. Stoke lost to Rhyl 4-2 in Pre-season last year, then we ended up coming second in the league and being promoted to the Premiership for the first time ever.

    Everton will come 5th-8th, regardless of their transfer turbulence.

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  37. I am suprised no one has mentioned Tal Ben Haim as a cheap defender.

    City had a good defence last year and he will be more secure to start then Baines who could be of to Sunderland

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    Can Ben Haim absolutely be City defend starter?

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  38. My post-Fabregas rearranging has left me with a bit of money that I’m thinking of spending on Anelka.

    Good choice or not? I’m worried that Scolari is going to go with Drogba from the start. Even if he doesn’t, I’m not sure Anelka will play the full 90. Anyone got any thoughts on him?

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    i think that he would score a lot of goals if he gets the playing time and Drogba is out at the moment, But i still think he won’t play much. go for Bent if you want to gamble.

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  39. Alex he will definatly start for the first 2 games as Dunne is suspended and when Dunne returns I think Richards will be moved to right back to fit Ben Haim into the side.

    Marknlard I reckon Anelka will score a load but wouldnt bank on him doing it against Portsmouth as they have a good back 5 and can’t see Chelsea running riot against them.

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  40. Gary Neville or Wes Brown?

    It’s a tough one as Brown was great last year but Neville is fit now

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  41. Marc, Neville will most likely start against Newcastle, since he started when United took the Shield! Ferguson has also told the starters in that match will start against Newcastle. Except Nani, because of his ban.

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  42. Mark, what do you think about Arteta? Everton is not looking very good this year, but he is fantastic in form. Or should I buy Cahill. He is a doubt?

    Edit: Another thing, I have a feeling that the PL-forwards in not so good in the start of the season. What sort of tactic do you think I should use?

    Great site mate, hopes on a answer ;)

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  43. Who’s the likeliest Chelsea right back for the first game? Mark has Ferreira, the BBC think Bosingwa will be fit and Fantasy League Pro has Essien.

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