Fantasy Premier League

Monday Morning Manager

Mon Mar 31 04:32PM

At this point in the season it gets hard to come up with themes or motifs for these posts. So let's skip the plesantries and just look at the team and see how the week went, shall we?

1. K. Miller -- Well, at least I had the right idea on this one.  As I wrote on Friday, "if someone gets an early goal the floodgates could open."  Unfortunately Miller came of after the half hour with an injury so all I had to show for my pick was a shot on target and a successful cross.  And there you have my fantasy season in microcosm.
2. J. Defoe - Wow... does he do anything but score goals?  I mean really, does he touch the ball all match save for the one, maybe two times, a match where he sticks it in the net?  Great buy for 'Arry and a bright spot on my team this week.
3. D. Berbatov - Not a bright spot.  I bet fairly heavily on Spus this weekend - as you'll see below - and got burned across the board.  They are quickly approaching Bolton status for me.  Don't bet on or against them.  Though for the rest of this season, I think I may try to bet against them.  Helllloooo BFDB, RSC, and maybe Jason Roberts as the affordable option!
4. J. Bullard - As friend of the blog Mike says, with Jummy playing, Fulham's forwards have no hope of seeing the ball.  To be fair, Kamara did score on Davies nicely floated cross, but much of Fulham's play starts and stops in the midfield.  Much of it ending on ill-advised long range shooting.  Jummy will probably stay in the side for the home match against Sunderland as he does get consistent phantom points.  But his shooting from the run of play and from set piece situations was poor - one kick off the bar not-withstanding.  Between him and Eddie Lewis it sure made me long for Laurent Robert to make something from those opportunities.  Where is he these days anyway?
5. A. Reid - Second, and only other, bright spot as BFAReid scored at the death to take Sunderland over West Ham.  That's why you pick the guys who take kicks (see Bullard, J above v. Villa).  You never know what might happen.
6. Joe Cole - Typical underwhelming performance from Mr. Cole, J.  With him you  never know when he'll go off with a goal and a assist.  And he's consistent enough, and was cheap enough, that it's not hard to hang on to him.  But like his team grinding out one-nil wins, it's nice, but not very helpful for fantasy purposes.
7. M. Petrov - Out with illness.  My season in microcosm.  Again.
8. P. Konchesky - Has had a good run of form recently scoring between four and eight points a week.  Only three cards all season.  This is what I'm thinking to myself trying to justify spending my Sagna money plus some on Konch.  And what do I get?  A card, and minus one for the week.  Sigh.  Should have known better.  My season in... oh, never mind.
9. A. Hutton - Stud.  But really hating Spurs right now.  I sure hope he's cheap enough next season.
10. D. Collins - Sunderland's defenders are putting up decent numbers right now and even without the clean sheet, Collins - the worst and cheapest of the bunch - came up with seven points.  Almost worth selling Torres for Miller to afford him.  Almost.
11. P. Robinson - Welcome the newest member of the League of Scholes, ie. for fantasy purposes he's dead to me.  I picked around his clean sheet against Pompey and have "collected" -12 from Robbo (or PRobbo) in the last three weeks.  I for one am looking forward to the Diego Lopez era. 

So that's the look back.  Next week it's Yak, Arteta, Lescott, and any and all cheap players to get under the cap.  My one concern is at keeper where Carson (Villa terrible right now, but home against Bolton whom we never bet against) and Gordon (on the road against a desperate but dire Fulham) are both 4.30.  Probably a coin flip, but as they saying goes, "whomever I pick will be wrong".

Until next week,

The Manager 

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