The Midweek-ish Meander
Slipping to Thursday again and following on the heels of the weekend preview provided in the podcast, here’s the weekly meander with my jottings on the forthcoming fixtures…
Best For Clean Sheets…
It’s impossible to look beyond the impenetrable two – Liverpool and Chelsea yet again. They look to have clean sheet friendly fixtures for yet another gameweek. Fulham’s visit to Anfield looks unlikely to trouble Reina to a large degree given that they’ve scored just two goals on their travels. Equally, Newcastle’s away record is dismal enough to suggest that the leaders will cast them aside at Stamford Bridge with plenty of attacking and defensive points to go round.
Stoke perhaps offer the best value defensive potential this week. They are attempting to turn their home turf into a fortress and the visit of shot-shy West Brom looks another opportunity for them to kick-on with a clean sheet packaged up into the bargain. Fuller sits out through suspension which seems likely to blunt their attacking play – at the back however, the likes of Shawcross and Higginbotham (who could be on penalties with Fuller out) are worth a look.
The Boro vs Bolton clash is the outsider for defensive points. Boro are so unpredictable, it’s always unwise to put your house, shed or tent on them but this game certainly doesn’t look to have many goals in it. I’m expecting a narrow home win here – possibly with a rare cleanie.
Best For Goals…
Arsenal’s visit to City looks the plumb match-up here. City are still banging them in to compensate for their brittle back four and, to a lesser extent, the same can be said for Arsenal. Wenger will be without Fabregas and Walcott but will likely start with both Van Persie and Adebayor to compensate for that loss. You can’t see the City defence standing up to that pairing without conceding and equally, you’d expect Robinho, Wright-Phillips and Ireland to cause plenty of concern for an Arsenal defence who have lost the stability of Sagna at right back. I can see four to five goals in this one if it goes to form.
Hull have been powerful on their travels – only Chelsea have had more success on the road. They should ask questions of the Portsmouth rearguard then and that could well see two to three goals here. The likely protagonists – Geovanni, King, Kranjcar (if fit) and Defoe (if fit) all look decent shouts for profit here. If Defoe isn’t available however, Portsmouth could be set to struggle and could even see Adams opt for 4-5-1.
Elsewhere Chelsea could score any number of goals from 1-10 at home to Newcastle so Anelka investors could well be in for early returns. Spurs will be looking to bounce back from the Fulham defeat and are likely to need at least a couple to see of Blackburn if Harry keeps Gomes in goal. I’m also looking forward to see how Cisse and Jones shape up against Zola’s beleaguered West Ham. The Hammers kept a rare clean sheet last time out – I can see them being stretched by the Sunderland pairing though and I’m expecting a couple of home goals here, with at least one in reply from Zola’s side.
Best for Frustration…
Villa vs United looks to be the obvious game with plenty of attacking points flying around – although a closer examination reveals that this could well be a tight, low scoring affair. Villa kept a clean sheet at the Emirates but it’s difficult to see them achieving another with United in town. Ferguson’s men haven’t found the goals away from home though and look more likely to nick an early one and look to protect the lead. O’Neill meanwhile, could go with five in midfield and look to keep this one tight until the later periods.
The stats show that Villa are averaging just over a goal a game over the last five at home and United are reading the same over their last five away. I’ve an inkling that we could have a 1-1 or 1-0 win for United on our hands here.
Fulham spoiled our Bent-bandgwagon party last weekend and they could well prove stubborn opposition for the Liverpool this time out. Rafa’s men will have one eye on the Champions League – they seem likely to be without Gerrard and they’ve had plenty of players on international duty. It’s a Liverpool win – but by a narrow margin in my view.
Finally, I’ve got the fear over Monday’s Wigan vs Everton fixture. Many of us will be watching this, hoping for a late boost to our fantasy week totals but with Wigan’s home record and Everton nursing a string of injuries (Pienaar, Fellaini and Cahill all doubts), I wonder if we see anything but a turgid affair with few goals and fantasy points being shared out. I’m expecting little to cheer from my Monday Night Football.
First, lol!
Seriously, does anyone have any further information on Defoe’s injury that forced him off at half time in the England game yesterday?
Reply by Mark on November 20th, 2008 1:39 pm:
Only what I have in team news and the injury table right now. He’s at Portsmouth being assessed I imagine. Shouldn’t be long now on a verdict..
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/fr.....4713062.jp
Any news on Zaki as yet?
Reply by Fran on November 20th, 2008 1:51 pm:
Not much news on him yet today…. only what we know already – that he is a possible doubt this weekend too?
http://www.goal.com/en/news/89.....enin-clash
football in the groin
what are peoples thought on the following:
man city vs arsenal – DRAW
villa vs man utd – DRAW
pompey vs hull – DRAW
thinking of accumalating it
Reply by Leighton on November 20th, 2008 2:41 pm:
Snowman,
You’ll do well to predict three draws, but I can’t say it’s never been done. I agree with Mark about the City v Arsenal game – City’s inconsistency has transferred to their home form as well and Arsenal are just as inconsistent: 2-1 or 3-2 to City is my shout.
Villa and United 1-1 and Hull to beat Pompey 2-1 (Hull will be a decent price to win away from home yet they’ve won 4 out of their last 5 away from home and scored 3 v United in the away game they lost).
Reply by Granville on November 20th, 2008 7:11 pm:
Villa v United 1-1. Possibly, but United haven’t dropped a point there since 2002 and have not lost a league game there since Hansen’s infamous quote “you’ll win nothing with kids”.
I know its not much of a choice but Schwarzer or Green this week?!
Reply by mitchos on November 20th, 2008 5:40 pm:
Toughy. Chances are that Schwarzer’s gonna concede, not so certain that Green will, given Sunderland have been rubbish at home this season. I’d play Green, gamble could pay off and you could get a cleany…
i’ve already spent 4 points in transfers, the first i’ve spent since gameweek 5.
bringing in geovani for fab, as well as a defender swap.
got money in the bank to bring in gerrard for arteta but i’m waiting for news on injury.
should i bring in anelka for defoe and take a 4 point hit if defoe is going to be injured? as my sub striker is ameobi (away at chels).
then i have the option of keeping anelka and getting gerrard in, or leaving anelka and improving elsewhere next week?
Yes I would take the 4 point hit for Anelka only if Defoe is ruled out, cant see Ameobe doing anything against chelsea.
Who will score more points in the Telegraph game, Defoe & Evra or Ronaldo and Aurelio?
Reply by Edge on November 20th, 2008 2:17 pm:
Ronaldo and Aurelio
Reply by EddieO on November 20th, 2008 4:33 pm:
Ronaldo and anyone!
I think Ronaldo will be rested after playing the full 90 minutes in Brazil, especialy with CL game on Tuesday. I say that through gritted teeth but it is probably the right thing to do. so Defoe and Evra (pending Defoe not ruled out).
Reply by Granville on November 20th, 2008 5:15 pm:
Can’t see it mate, Ronaldo is so important to United and it’s a very tough game. Rooney and Berbatov are doubts as it is.
Not a chance of Ronaldo being rested for the league match over the ECL as United need the league win more, they are more or less through in Europe.
4 point hit already this week and now Berbs and Zaki look likely to be sitting at home watching Jeff Stelling and Co. Am top of my league and don’t intend to sacrifce any more points this week. Think I am going to regret not buying Anelka instead of Berbatov now – little did i know Drogba would give a toss. Hopefully i will still be top of my league on Tuesday even tho i am not confident for the first weekend in a while.
ronaldo is poor away from home thus far
Reply by Barkerov on November 20th, 2008 9:52 pm:
That could change fast
What do you guys think?
Berbatov, Zaki and Ashley Young
or change to
Anelka, Defoe (subject to playing) and Geovanni
Reply by carpyfish on November 20th, 2008 5:32 pm:
I like the second choice.
Anyone got any info on whether or not Alex is over his injury?
Reply by dadoune on November 20th, 2008 3:07 pm:
I think he played for Brazil against Portugal.. I saw an “Alex” who came in as sub.. But wonder if this is the Chelsea “alex”
Reply by Ibracadabra on November 20th, 2008 3:27 pm:
I think it was Alex Silva not Chelsea’s Alex…
Reply by AndyC on November 20th, 2008 3:30 pm:
It was the other Alex…
He’s a midfielder, plays for Fenerbahçe
second
is Wes Brown playing on Saturday?
Guys…need help here…should i buy anelka or torres? liverpool, great fixtures…chelsea, will face arsenal after newcastle…but against newcastle,chelsea can score big and anelka are playing up front…some advice please?
Reply by Tjmoray on November 20th, 2008 3:34 pm:
I reckon Clesea can just about score against anyone at the moment and based on Anelkas form, price and current role he has to be the more favourable of the two.
Reply by shamrock on November 20th, 2008 3:49 pm:
i also thought that way too…and arsenal are not in good form either…but drogba got three game ban and after that bye bye anelka isn’t it…but liverpool will definitely play torres up front and they had more easy fixtures…that was tempting me on torres…
Reply by Tjmoray on November 20th, 2008 4:29 pm:
I’m more inclined to go with the idea that Scolari will play a 4-4-2 rather than give Anelka the chop. That being said if Anelkas next 3 games are utter garbage I shall eat my words. I do agree Torres once in form will be hard to resist but at 11.9 mill he’ll have to be literally thumping them in week on week before I think about chopping my team around. I’m more likely to look at other strikers should Anelkas form and role changes e.g Berba.
Reply by Jono on November 20th, 2008 3:46 pm:
I would go for Anelka right now given current form, Torres will catch fire soon though I would hazard a guess either the West Ham or Blackburn game, Fulham are too tight defensively for him to run riot although I would expect a goal.
Can see him getting 2 or more against the hammers! Personally I’m trying to fashion both into my front line having already got Anelka I need rid of Berbatov for Torres. So in short le sulk now and el nino later..
Both can score.. toss of a coin..
will Ivanovic play???
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will Ivanovic play for chelsea on the weekend???
Reply by Sven the Sage on November 20th, 2008 3:45 pm:
It was not Alex of Chelsea that came on in the Brazil v Portugal game. It was Alex Meschini of Internacional. So looks like Ivanovis will start, though I’m praying Alex recovers in time so I can use my transfer elsewhere.
I’ll be kicking myself but I’m going to give the armband to Anelka (maybe even Fat Frank) rather than Ronaldo, have I lost the plot?
Reply by Maureenho on November 20th, 2008 4:09 pm:
No.
Chelsea Injury Updates on Cech or Lampard – anyone with insider information?
I have both and have read that Lampard is DOUBTFUL.. which takes away the bold Captain armband move from Ronaldo to Lampard this weekend..
Reply by A Cheeky Little Winker on November 20th, 2008 3:50 pm:
…or Nicky Butt?
Man ,another nightmare, with injuries, I developed a habit of transferring early to beat inflation/deflation and second week in a row find my self in need of expensive surgery with Zaki,Defoe,Lampard and Ivanovics places looking infirm it might be another point deduction for yours truly
Reply by Dimitrije on November 20th, 2008 3:49 pm:
to beat inflation is just one of the reasons why I made Saturday night changes, the other being all alcohol circulating in my blood.
http://www.manutd.com/default......id=6622893
Anybody know how long Ronaldo played in the game?
Reply by DK on November 20th, 2008 3:52 pm:
Ha. Answered my own question.
90 mins
http://iht.com/articles/ap/200.....rtugal.php
Reply by Fran on November 20th, 2008 7:40 pm:
Portugal and Ronaldo got a good beating – Don’t expect much from him on the bench this weekend.
Here watch the goals:
http://www.expressandstar.com/.....ortugal-2/
Reply by DK on November 20th, 2008 7:44 pm:
Who’s gonna be your captain this weekend Fran? Think I’m leaning towards Lamps.
Reply by Fran on November 20th, 2008 7:52 pm:
Lamps is a good option if he is playing? Others are Torres, Kuyt, Bentley, Anelka, Defoe, Alves and Bent. So there are a few good options left if Ronaldo and Lamps starts on the bench/injury/tired this weekend.
Reply by not too xabi on November 20th, 2008 11:05 pm:
i’m gonna give bosingwa a run as capitano
guaranteed 12 points and whatever else in the way of goals, assists and bonus.
however if lampard seems as though he’s gonna play then i am sure i will fold and go for him
(i’ve got ronnie)
Torres will tear fulham defence apart singlehandedly.
Reply by andiwulf on November 20th, 2008 4:36 pm:
X-Ray Dog, I’ve noticed you’re a big Torres fan!
Reply by dunk on November 20th, 2008 6:14 pm:
I hope he’s right.
Ahhhhhh!!!
I’ve Cech, Lampard, Ronaldo, Berbetov, Zaki, T Cahill, Pienarr, Kranjar, all in my team! and all are doubts!
what should I do? advice please
Reply by A Cheeky Little Winker on November 20th, 2008 4:03 pm:
Gutted! Guess you’ve played your wildcard? If so only 2 options, big points hit or shit points week, you decide!
Reply by will_f on November 20th, 2008 4:06 pm:
dont worry same thing happened to me few weeks ago.
dont make any stupid subs that you will need to get back in next week. just wait and c. when it happened to me all the doubts for the weekend played.
patience always works out better in this profession.
Reply by captainmarvel on November 20th, 2008 4:24 pm:
Pray?!
Reply by carpyfish on November 20th, 2008 5:37 pm:
I had 5 doubts one week. After much agonising I decided to do nothing. Only Ashley Cole missed the game.
Reply by not too xabi on November 20th, 2008 11:10 pm:
a few of them may end up playing, however i’d use it as an excuse for a points hit
i.e get rid of cahill (in a 4-4-2 he doesn’t have the same attacking influence as in a 4-5-1)
cech for reina (far less injury prone, may well get just as many cleanies this season)
get rid of zakattack (injury prone, he won’t go up much more in value so cash in!)
l;k;k
Great job with the scoutcast, look forward to more, keep up the good work Mark
Bit of a weird question but can anyone else see a smiley face in the very bottom left of the page, it’s literally tiny?
Reply by puffinboy on November 20th, 2008 4:29 pm:
Sure can. Out of interest, why were you looking there in the first place, you naughty boy?
Reply by Rich on November 20th, 2008 4:32 pm:
I see the cheeky little thing, lol
Reply by InTheDark on November 20th, 2008 4:40 pm:
too much time on your hands there Captain ! but yes….you are correct
Reply by neodar on November 20th, 2008 5:17 pm:
It’s a wee smiley to show that the web-stats are working on this page – http://stats.wordpress.com/g.gif
lampard may be a doubt, but thats to save face after midweek. He’ll play lads, he has to
yee how did u find that Lol
getting weirded out lads, geting really weirded out………..
Lampard, Ronaldo, Zaki, Ashley Cole, they’ll all play.
Berbatov won’t though.
Marc3, Fran isnt your source is he?
i’m sure some people are in the same situation. i have cech, bos and frank. bandwagon or not anelka looks like the inform player to have especially with a potential haul this weekend. but what to do. money is tight so it would have to be frank to ireland than miller to anelka. a good change in the short term but i cant help thinking it could be a bad move overall. one bad week and anelka will be back to the bench after drogba finishes his ban. then trying to get frank back would be troublesome. hmmm
am i mad to be cosidering transfering defoe out for agbon?
Reply by higgo on November 20th, 2008 5:01 pm:
this week vs man u yes. next 4 weeks both have good fixtures. defoes are prob better but a lot depends on mr adams approach from now on
Reply by Gazzamania on November 21st, 2008 7:58 am:
Reckon Defoe might become top scorer this season.
Does anyone fancy Rafael to seal the right-back slot at Utd? Fergie is ravnig about him, Brown seems to be out of favour ever since Liverpool game, and Neville has been poor when he has played. This is what Fergie does – he brings them into the team because he trusts them (youngsters down the years) and they end up in first team.
Any thoughts?
Reply by dadoune on November 20th, 2008 5:29 pm:
Forget it, rafael is rated as a midfielder in FPL, so even if Manu gets clean sheet, he wont score the defensive points.. You will then only to rely on assists, goals and bonus from him.
Reply by Jonny on November 20th, 2008 8:05 pm:
Wes Brown must be piiiiissed! The ever-dependable Gary Neville loses form, and just when it looks like Brown might have sealed a first team place some cheaky 18-year-old Brazilian joins and threatens to steal it off him.
No RJ just none of them had any serious knocks, if Berbatov has pulled a hamstring then it won’t be pushed as it could do serious damage.
I quite like the way Agbon has been playing since the start of the season. He’s already tucked 6 away whilst getting involved in most of Villas forward runs. This has been with Carew alongside. Now Big Jon isn’t around Agbon may well prosper further especially with a decent run of fixtures after MU.
Reply by Tjmoray on November 20th, 2008 5:17 pm:
Ignore the Carew bit as there is always a chance he could play I guess I’m just being optimistic
Im not too sure,must have scrolled down to the bottom by mistake, weird!
http://www.arsenal.com/news/ne.....r-man-city
Even Toure will miss Arsenal trip to City.. With Sagna, Eboue and Toure all injured, seems like Djourou will make his comeback..
Can u boys help please.
Im looking for a defender that plays most weeks, iv only got 4.3m
I was thinking mabe some1 from Fullam or Bolton ?
Thanks
Reply by Ibracadabra on November 20th, 2008 6:25 pm:
Paintsil perhaps, he’s made that position his own and Shwarzer is in good form behind him. Plus, Hodgson rarely rotates.
Reply by JN on November 20th, 2008 6:28 pm:
Safe options are Pantsil-ful Obrien-Bolt
if you fancy a bit of a gamble Gardner Bolt
Reply by Rich on November 20th, 2008 6:26 pm:
I would prob go for O’Brien A (Bolton), he plays every game and is nice and cheap (4.3)
Reply by Coozie on November 20th, 2008 6:28 pm:
Where do thay play at the back?
Reply by Sojourner on November 20th, 2008 6:35 pm:
I would stay clear of Bolton for a while, look at the list of their upcoming fixtures.
Reply by Sojourner on November 20th, 2008 6:37 pm:
I have been watching Gardner but wouldn’t bring him into my side as a rotating Defender till GW 23 in January.
Reply by Coozie on November 20th, 2008 6:44 pm:
Thank you boys
Reply by carpyfish on November 20th, 2008 8:32 pm:
Same for Fulham. Try Figueroa. Wigan miss a game one week but their fixtures seem good compared to Ful and Bol.
Reply by Jim Boukis on November 21st, 2008 1:11 am:
Out of all that, Paintsil from fulham is your best bet. Very strong at Home, don’t concede.
Wigan can;t keep a cleanie to save em selves.
And Bolton are just plain shite
Reply by jimbo on November 21st, 2008 10:19 am:
Shawcross for the next few weeks only. Good fixtures.
Tiny little smiley, I’ll call it ‘Smiley’.
Does anyone think I am a complete nutcase to be considering ireland or robinho for captain ahead of lamps and ron?
My logic is ron might not do much v villa lamps may not play v newcastle.
And Ireland does not play for eh Irealnd so he should be fit and raring to go for city
Robinho is robinho gets goals at eastlands arsenal have no fabregas
Those were the pros…for man city captaincy
The cons are if ron and/or lamps go on a flier and city dont instead of surging i am left further behind
Ireland does not do much at home in eastlands
Robinho is now playing a deeper role…
Ah f**k it i will captain Ireland for the craic as long as lamps remains a doubt.
Reply by Ibracadabra on November 20th, 2008 7:12 pm:
Keep a close eye on Chelsea news though – Terry was quoted as saying Lampard was going to receive an injection to play midweek, so perhaps the week recovery time puts him back into the Chelsea midfield on the weekend..
Reply by carpyfish on November 20th, 2008 8:34 pm:
I had Robinho captain when he got his hat-trick ( Mr Smug )
Re Reply by Ibracadabra on November 20, 2008 7:12 pm
Ok grand thanks…I suppose lampard is hardly ever injured I should keep the faith until 11.22am on saturday at least!
OK boys and girls and Fran I need your advice.
I’m off away tomorrow morning for the weekend so need to make my captain pick now. I’m leaning towards not giving it to Ron at the moment but if I don’t who do you think I should go with?
My possible choices:
Lamps
Defoe
Kuyt
Thoughts? Am I mad to look beyond Ron?
Reply by Phil Pino on November 20th, 2008 8:30 pm:
No, not at all… Despite the importance of the game, CRon just might be too fatigued to play. Plus Villa away is not an easy game. I’d go for Kuyt. Lamps and Defoe are both injury doubts.
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 8:35 pm:
Is Lamps definitely a doubt ?
or was it just a knock that wasn’t worth risking ?
Reply by Phil Pino on November 20th, 2008 8:42 pm:
Well he withdrew from the Eng game with a ‘rib injury’. It may just have been a knock that wasn’t worth risking but it certainly makes him a doubt. And why chance your captaincy choice on a doubt when you can have a on-form Kuyt instead?
Reply by JWF on November 20th, 2008 8:48 pm:
That’s who I’ve got at the moment but I’ve already canged three times! Slightly worried as Kuyt playedthe full 90 mins but he is a bit of a workhorse. Guess he’s the best bet with other injury doubts – just got a feeling Lamps might pull it out of the bag. Hmmm… guess I’ll go pack and decide!
Portsmouth has some nice fixtures coming, what do you think about Crouchie? I’d love to see him do the robot again! Should I bring him in? He hasn’t been that effective lately, and I have my doubts about Tony Adams in general. Can’t afford Defoe.
Reply by Phil Pino on November 20th, 2008 8:36 pm:
No, not at all… I mean. Yes, bring him in. Adams appears to like playing a 4-5-1 with Crouch the main striker away from home. Plus Defoe picked up an injury midweek.
He’s already stated there will never be a robot again. Push that one down into folklore…
Crack The Code site has gone seriously down in my estimations , Reina was not posted as remotely close to a rise and yet he has risen , wtf !
Now i have lost 0.2 on my transfers this week because i held back thinking there was no point in doing them before the internationals if people are not going to go up , it’s a handy tool but keeping it accurate would be helpful.
Reply by DK on November 20th, 2008 7:49 pm:
He was
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 8:08 pm:
he wasn’t , he was extremely low last night , about 30% , then i log on tonight , and he has gone up , i doubt 20 odd thousand people have put him in in that space of time.
Reply by Will on November 20th, 2008 8:16 pm:
sorry AJ, but I think you’re mistaken-I checked a couple of days ago and reina was fairly close to a rise, 80-90%ish. don’t think CTC have gotten this one wrong.
Reply by Sojourner on November 20th, 2008 8:17 pm:
Yep he was, was watching him yesterday
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 8:23 pm:
Well my comp was playing up then , apologies to CTC site.
Either way my stupid computer cost me 0.2 , i just gotta hope that wont cost me in the future.
Reply by CK on November 20th, 2008 8:38 pm:
Yes I too noticed Reina sitting at about 90% at one stage
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 8:46 pm:
alright let’s stop rubbing it in ! haha. My computer hasn’t updated the site for some reason which is quite frustrating!
Reply by wolf on November 20th, 2008 9:58 pm:
i noticed him at 101% last night late
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 10:00 pm:
Yes i have said twice now that y computer is the problem , so i know he was up on the rankings , but not on my computer , ok?!?!?!?!?
Reply by Dan on November 20th, 2008 10:45 pm:
I saw it quite high too
Reply by The Littlest Hobo on November 21st, 2008 3:49 pm:
Are you sure it was not just your computer playing up AJ?
Reply by A Cheeky Little Winker on November 21st, 2008 5:33 pm:
Yeah, I noticed he was quite high too
Reply by ag on November 20th, 2008 8:40 pm:
I brought Reina in on 18th Nov, when CTC showed him in the high 90s for a rise. He went up that night to 6.2m.
Can’t always take it as read though. I’m planning to ship Ferdy out this week, and was holding off for international news. He went down overnight even though his drop % was only in the 70s. Must have been lots of late sales.
Reply by Sojourner on November 20th, 2008 8:45 pm:
That and the CTC site warns that drops are a bit more unpredictable than the rises.
Reply by JonBonJovi on November 20th, 2008 8:50 pm:
It does say its not accurate, I never trust it
Only use it as a major estimate
Can generally see when a player will rise without it
Thoughts on Captain this weekend – Ronaldo away to Villa or Anelka home to Newcastle??
need injury news asap
Reply by ellis on November 20th, 2008 9:10 pm:
defoe is defiantley playing on the portmouth website it says he is fit and was just suffering from cramp
torres captain this weekend he wil star firing in the goals this weekend. Fulhams defence wont no wats hit them. he looks like hes back after his goal for spain yesterday
Reply by Team d2b. on November 20th, 2008 10:43 pm:
Quite possible.
I might go for bosingwa as captain!
Reply by Team d2b. on November 20th, 2008 10:43 pm:
Playing catch up? Or just in the mood for a wild choice to spice things up?
Looks like Berba’s out this weekend anyway guys…
http://www.skysports.com/story.....16,00.html
Reply by Team d2b. on November 20th, 2008 10:45 pm:
Only got him for my skysports team, think I might just do a straight swap to Bent for next 2 home games.
Just read that Martin Skrtel could be back sooner rather than later. BBC gossip page quoting the Independent.
think a traore will play on weekend?
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 10:06 pm:
Nope , He doesn’t seem like Adams’ favourite
Reply by Sojourner on November 20th, 2008 10:07 pm:
Kinda hope not as I just sold him for Belhadj and also have Kranjcar. If Traore plays it will be most likely due to Kranjcar not playing….and I sure hope he is fit!
Reply by DK on November 20th, 2008 10:13 pm:
Im going with Kaboul. I think>
Or Belhadj
Kaboul….
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/.....-side.html
Reply by Team d2b. on November 20th, 2008 10:47 pm:
Traore to Belhadj should be a sound transfer. You should be fine.
Reply by a bloke on November 20th, 2008 10:13 pm:
if Krancjar is fit then he probably won’t.
Reply by CK on November 20th, 2008 10:20 pm:
Traore won’t play IMO. Although looking forward to Marks team news
hmm still trying to decide whether to either transfer defoe for anelka or a sub defender for agger (cos i only have bosingwa, traore, laursen and figueroa) and if traore doesnt play then figeueroa will get me 2 points at best but agger would get me 6. what you reckon?
Reply by Sojourner on November 20th, 2008 10:16 pm:
Tough one. Anelka’s bandwagon as been huge for a reason. Three matches, against sub-par teams, the goals could come in. As could Defoe’s goals if he is fit. I personally prefer defense to flash. I think if I were you I would wait till the last minute and see if you can find some truth on Defoe’s fitness. If he is set to play I would uptrade a fig to Agger. Hold on to Traore one more week, never know but by the looks of it you may want to swap him for Belhadj…if money is an issue do it this week as Belhadj is set to raise .1 in the next day or so.
Sorry I rambled there
Reply by wolf on November 20th, 2008 10:21 pm:
appreciated sojourner – is a well tough one – been procrastinating all week, moving towards your thinking to grind out an extra 4 for clean sheet thinking anelka will at best only get 6 more points than defoe if fit – can get belhadj next week – thanks
Just noticed that the FPL recently changed a good many of the profile pics….Fat Franks new one is a laugh!
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 10:13 pm:
haha , yep he does look quite comical
Reply by wolf on November 20th, 2008 10:13 pm:
ha he’s looking fatter alright or in awe of anelka’s recent record
Reply by DK on November 20th, 2008 10:21 pm:
Frank Spencer!!
Ha
http://farm2.static.flickr.com.....92dbb0.jpg
or i could get belhadj for my sub defender and anelka for defoe and sacrifice 4 points
Can someone advise me on these 2 possible transfers this week?
Torres & Delap or Van Persie & Bentley?
cheers
Reply by DK on November 20th, 2008 10:14 pm:
Tough one
Van Persie & Bentley imo
Reply by AJ on November 20th, 2008 10:15 pm:
Torres and Delap for me. Both have decent fixtures and Torres is awesome
Reply by wolf on November 20th, 2008 10:17 pm:
i got a feeling bout van persie this week – might be bit soon for torres, not sure bout bentley yet tho – might be alternatives like nasri or even carrick
Here’s one for you..
Reina
Bosingwa,Belhadj,Carragher
Ronaldo,Jenas,Lampard,Geovanni,Delap
Anelka, Zaki
Subs in order:
Bent
Zayatte
Paintsil
Schwarzer
I’m considering:
griffin (stoke) in for zayatte (hull)
jenas out for ireland
I’m thinking it’s worth taking the hit as a clean sheet and midfield goals looks more likely and fixtures aren’t too shabby. Their prices are also on the rise.
Worth it?
Reply by PaulieC on November 20th, 2008 10:52 pm:
Probly
Griffins next 6-3 clean sheets
Ireland pure quality
Im mulling over a double swap dis week
Agger in -Evra out
Bent in- Zaki out
Is taht sensible or cud i spend it elsewhere?
Hmmm…
maybe I’ll go for Van Persie & Delap then get in Torres next week if he proves himself this saturday, I agree with Wolf I can see Van persie doing alright this weekend!
Any news on Alex?
either going to ship out alex for a l’pool defender (got 0.8 in bank) or pantsil (longer term view for bent)
or swap etherington for delap (assists at home where there is no advertising hoard moving)
any views appreciated
maybe even zaki for bent which i can afford
Just got rid of him mate. Physioroom have him back for 6th Dec, by which time Carvalho should be back
is ivanovic likely to play in his place?
If he does it’ll just be for the one game I reckon so prob not worth it!
done alex for ivanovic and etherington for delap, risky double hehe
Reply by Sojourner on November 20th, 2008 11:32 pm:
very. Bit of a waste really with uncertainty on ivanovic, who knows if he will even play this weekend and with Carva coming back, most likely next week. Delap move was good though
Reply by Kenna on November 20th, 2008 11:40 pm:
dammit misread carvalho return date on physioroom, schoolboy error.
the question is… zaki or griffin to play? zaki is an injury doubt but who knows what’s going on there, will probably bite the bullet and stick with zaki and just have griffin ready to come in if he doesn’t play.
Needed to bring in Anelka this week, so gave up Alex, Sturridge and Arteta to free up funds, and brought in Anelka, Muamba and Griffin.
Not playing Muamba this week, but Griffins got a chance of hauling in the standard defenders points this week. Ronaldo for captain!
http://www.skysports.com/story.....16,00.html
I think i’ll be doing a Berbatov -> Torres this week. Was contemplating doing Evra -> Agger but this could work as well i think.
Can anyone throw a bit of light on how the Crack the Code site works?
Fletcher has been over 100% NTI since Tuesday yet he still hasnt dropped in price. Why?
Reply by CK on November 21st, 2008 12:06 am:
The ‘price rises’ seem much easier to understand!
Hey does anyone know if I can make transfers gradually during the week and then play wildcard without taking a points loss? Or does one have to do all the transfers at once?
Reply by Jono on November 21st, 2008 12:46 am:
You can make transfers during the week and then play the wildcard without losing points yes, it is considered active for that gw after it is played so any transfers that have gone before it being played are still free.
Gents, I consider both Geovanni, Delap and Zaki to be more of a threat than Arteta this gameweek, and have benched Arteta. Sound like the right choice?