Injuries and Comments...
Fri Dec 22 04:21PM
First, I apologize to Joey Barton, Mrs. Barton (if there is one), Mama Barton, Papa Barton, his manager, the guys he's beaten up in nightclubs, and anyone else who might take offense at his omission. For some reason, I've had him in a blind spot all year despite his production. Part of it has to do with the fact that Citeh aren't very good, especially when attacking. Part of it is that I got used to him being cheap last season and am having trouble adjusting to thinking about him as a premium-priced midfielder. When I sit down and think "Lamps? Gerrard? Ronaldo?" - Barton is rarely the next name that comes to mind even though maybe it should (at least for fantasy purposes). Anyway, Citeh have some good match-ups so both he and the fragile Tunisian (that's Trabelsi who is back to being at least reasonably priced) were criminally omitted from yesterday's post.
On to the injuries...
The guys who make goals for Wigan appear to be injured/suspended for the match with Chelsea (Camara, McCulloch). This should improve the value of Chelsea's defence HOWEVER...
No idea what to make of the news on Cudicini - he's listed as "doubtful" so if you're so inclined, Hilario is probably the choice.
More importantly, there is no clean bill of health for John Terry meaning 1) Chelsea's defence will not be exceptional; 2) Boulahrouz represents a calculated risk as a cheap defender (reasonable chance of a clean sheet but an even higher probability of a Yellow). What a freakin' mess - I think I'd probably just stay away.
Looks like Evra is closer to coming back but no one seems to be committing to a time so Heinze is likely to start both matches but don't be shocked if he doesn't play the full 90 in both. Heinze's value is diminished slightly by this news but probably more so next week.
To the readers who have been promoting Aaron Lennon, it would appear that he's not going to play the first match of the holiday schedule. No real reason to include (or even think about) Ghaly who is his likely replacement unless you think he can continue to feed THud balls for sick half-volleys.
Zakora is back from suspension threatening THud's place in the side - given his performance, I'd guess he'll be hard to displace but with so many matches coming up AND Spurs playing 120 minutes in Carling Cup action on Wednesday here's guessing that Tom will get at least some rest.
Babaryo is back from suspension so managers can look to him as another cheap option in defence - not a great option mind you, but an option none-the-less.
In other cheap defender news, Eboue is out and Hoyte is likely to take his spot. With Arsenal's light schedule, I'd go with him over Babaryo in back if you need a cheapie. Even more so because Rover's lead striker (McCarthy) is suspended.
Rosicky is also back in contention but given his adequate-at-best fantasy performances combined with the likelihood that he'll be rotated means he should only be on the fringes of your consideration.
The news that Aurelio and Warnock both made it through a reserves match on Wednesday means that the left side of the Liverpool formation is thrown back into chaos. Riise, who has been a fantasy stud for the last month or so, is no longer guaranteed a start from Mr. Rotation. Even with the quality of his performances, investing in another high-end defender (Gary Neville, Sol Campbell, etc) might make more sense.
Interesting question on Kuyt - "will he get one or two starts, and is he worth it if he only gets one?" I think he'll get two since he and Bellamy are clicking but if you think he's only going to get one, then there's no way he's worth it.
Another interesting question on Diouf who, as the reader pointed out, is having a very nice season. In my mind, he's suffering from the image problems caused by his past history. Until this season, he's been more likely to be carded than score and, like Joey Barton, you still have the feeling he could erupt and be red carded at any time which would effectively ruin your fantasy weekend. The evidence thus far, especially over the last month as he and Anelka have solidified their partnership, is promising but I've never had much luck with Bolton players in fantasy football and this one in-particular scares the hell out of me.
As for his teammate, Jussi is just too expensive for me and the NUFC match-up just isn't as attractive as it would have been for Bolton as recently as a month ago.
For the reader who says BFAY hasn't done anything in a while - he gave me 7.5 last week for next to nothing and is still the 6th highest scoring M overall after Lamps, Ronaldo, Barton, Arteta, and Gerrard. Would I buy now, probably not but until the transfer window brings in another midfielder capable of producing those sorts of numbers for cheap, I'm sticking with him.
Looks like the Ful/Boro points have been posted from Monday - just in time for the weekend.
Finally, to the reader who said "Charlton's match-up this week is very good" - I'm still on the floor laughing.
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IM this storyberbs, saha, drogba, c.ron, stevie g, dyer, silva, heinze, a.cole, hoyte, and niemi! looks good to me.
could kieron dyer be the new A.Young?
From pscarlyle on Fri Dec 22 04:33PMM taylor good pick or not?
From xsoccerpimpx10 on Fri Dec 22 05:10PMgreat pick, if you have the $. but that's the tough part, isn't it?
From jspitzberg on Fri Dec 22 06:03PMwho is bfay?
From sakti_246 on Fri Dec 22 06:11PMscott carson?
From sakti_246 on Fri Dec 22 06:12PMBlog Favorite Ashley Young. http://fantasyepl.blogspot.com/2006/10/blog-favori
te-ashley-young.htmlFrom jspitzberg on Fri Dec 22 06:25PMwhat about howard? isnt he worth the risk. and i got arteta cheap, what do you think?..worth the keep?
From bsgill11 on Fri Dec 22 06:26PMdont worry dudes, read this.. http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/arteta-passe
d-fit.htmlFrom bsgill11 on Fri Dec 22 06:29PMHoward has been disappointing since the end of October in my eyes - he started off great but has been no better than average fantasy-wise since then for a variety of reasons (none of which seem to be any different this week). T-Ho isn't a BAD pick, but he's not a great one either. Robinson is about the same, ditto Robert Green (who at least has the momentum of a new manager and a big win over ManYoo). If you're looking to go cheap, then I'd still go Niemi over T-Ho (the charts are pretty similar after the end of Oct when you factor out Niemi's time out of the line-up).
Scott Carson is cheap for a reason - his last six weeks looks to be net negative points total. Why not go for Hilario who at least has a defence in front of him (albeit not as a good a defence w/o Terry) - might turn out that one match from Hilario is better than two from Carson at the current rates
From neal_thurman on Fri Dec 22 06:38PMDyer could be the new AY if he can stay healthy - but when has that ever happened?
From neal_thurman on Fri Dec 22 06:39PMhmm with arteta being fit, im glad at least. Ive gone for Hilario in goal, like you said at least he has a defence.
cheersFrom bsgill11 on Fri Dec 22 07:16PMi've stuck by sheva & cudicini for too long....my team now reads rooney/defoe/bellamy/ronaldo/gerrard/dyer/ballack/
riise/cole/weaver....i fancy weaver to get points in both matches....was a sad day after selling sheva, but i can't go on with a 60 min(30 mins lately) strikerFrom sloration on Fri Dec 22 07:38PMThank you for giving my boy his duly earned props. -- Mama Barton
From kaiser_sosay_returns on Fri Dec 22 07:49PMsloration//
I think Weaver will be dropped to the bench, Isaksson is back and did good in his second half against ManUtd
From thetoxethterror on Fri Dec 22 08:46PMAnd what of the fog situation in England?
From terrydog_80 on Fri Dec 22 08:48PMthetoxethterror -- that's what i assumed would happen last week, but weaver was back in goal against Spurs.
From jspitzberg on Fri Dec 22 09:25PMso is bently gonna stay on the right side? is he even worth considering this week as blackburn play liverpool and arsenal?
From towcestrians2win on Fri Dec 22 11:13PMKuyt or Kanu????
From ajax1187 on Sat Dec 23 12:42AMI am in a bit of a dilemma - I have 3 really cheap middies - Young 10.71(+5.18), Bentley 10.39(+2.15), and Dyer at 5.30.
But Young and Bentley will be against BOTH Liverpool AND Arsenal.
Am wondering if I should drop any of them - but their increase in values (+5.18 and +2.15 respectively) makes my choice a really pain in the ass¡
Any comments gaffers? =)
From kullwee on Sat Dec 23 01:52AMStick with Young at +5 no matter who he's playing
From vprasad217 on Sat Dec 23 02:06AMWould you get Reina-Kuyt or Hilario-Drogba
From yusrisafri on Sat Dec 23 07:52AMNeed cheap striker 8 and under (who will play the double of course...)
From dominic_ellis on Sat Dec 23 10:24AMFulham 0, West Ham United 0
Not bad for a cheap goalie like Niemi...From gammauniverse on Sat Dec 23 02:43PM*headdesk* At the last minute, I swapped out RvP for Berbatov. Few worse swaps will have been made this fantasy week. At least the Newcastle players came through.
From shadow_over_innsmouth on Sat Dec 23 04:53PMconrgrats to all the joey barton fans out there
From djnima_19 on Sat Dec 23 05:30PMis kalou the new saha? mayyybeeee.
From pscarlyle on Sat Dec 23 05:51PMSocorro, por favor
Should I sell the highly inconcistent Rooney for Barton?
Thanks for la ayuda.
From bigfoot_012 on Sat Dec 23 08:53PMhmm anyone know if adebayor will play next week...henry was expected to return on the 1st of january but has anyone heard if thats still the case?
From joshtottenham on Sun Dec 24 12:22AMwhat the sh*t! the moment u mention barton, and I've picked him, he got sent off!!!! and he will miss the next game as well!
From luvmnm on Sun Dec 24 04:25AM
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