Fantasy Premier League

Sun Jan 06 04:46AM by Jeremy

MANCHESTER CITY

Don't lose anyone, and already clinched Nery Castillo's arrival. He'll be worth a look for sure. Also be worth keeping an eye on Bojinov's return. Could he be the out and out striker that MAC want and need? He was on the bench against Liverpool.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Probably not much to see here in terms of comings or goings.

MIDDLESBROUGH

Mido has been gond for so long with an injury, it's hard to imagine it's much a loss for Boro. They're relying on youth as they're unwillling or unable to bring bigger names to the club. Not seeing too many opportunities in the transfer window but I'm willing to be surprised.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

NUFC lose Martins, Geremi, Faye and Beye. That's a lot of first teamers to replace on an already stretched side. Players coming back from injury help, and that includes Duff & Owen could be fantasy values. However, they have relatively tough upcoming schedule and did nothing with their recent cake walk. Could be best to just stay away.

PORTSMOUTH

Pompey were the team most often tipped to stuggle with their African players leaving. And they'll miss Kanu, Utaka, Diop, Muntari, and Lauren. However they have an donut schedule to ease the blow a bit. @Sun, Der, @Man, Che, @Bol, Sun. Could be a chance for players like Nugent, MTaylor, Kranjcar to shine. Kranjcar should get the kicks, but Nugent - if he earns a spot as Benjani isn't leaving - would be the biggest bargain at 4.37.

READING

Reading aren't helped with the ACN, though they're not crippled by it. Only Sonko, Bikey, and Fae are leaving. But they're a very thin squad. And having Duberry more prominently featured in their defence can't be a good thing. They're probably safe from relegation, but they could use some reinforcement. Central midfield and defence come to mind. But another winger would come in handy. LBC (Lil' Bobby Convey) seems to have platued for them. Granted, he's coming back from major injury - the latest in a long line of injuries - but other than a shot or two off target per game he's not offering much. 2.5 pts per game since his assist in the Liverpool match, and that was a late counter where he sprung Harper on a run from the halfway line. And yes, that includes the two-game weeks!

SUNDERLAND

"Evans and McShane made a little stir playing so well for Sunderland last season in the Championship. Maybe you can't separate them or maybe Evans is the senior player, but McShane has been out of his depth in the Premier League. And it's yet another ManU "old" boy. With Savage another option. Keane needs a new, and larger, Rolodex." Wrote that last week and now see that Quinton Fortune is on trial with Sunderland! Are you kidding me? SGE signs studs based on DVD evidence. Keane only seems to want to sign marginal players he's showered with. I don't get it. They need a striker to complement KwJ. The Stokes/Chopra/Cole/Murphy thing just isn't going to work in the Premier League. Then if he can shore up his defence with Evans and a returning Nosworthy, and maybe find a fullback or two who can stay on the field for consecutive matches he'll be on to something. Edwards-Leadbitter-Whitehead-Richardson is a servicable midfield when healthy (Etuhu goes to the ACN). And then just a break or two going their way should find them safe sooner rather than later. Whitehead is the cheapest of the bunch under 5 thanks to his recent penalty miss against Rovers. But KRich is the one to watch if he's taking kicks and contributing to the attack in the second half of the season. We thought he'd be the pick of the year when he came in around 2 and maybe now that he's recovered from his injury he can be worth his new, higher price tag.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

What a mess.They should be so much better, shouldn't they? Lesson learned - just stay away from Robbo. Even though he's so cheap and they should be challenging for Europe. Unless Ramos brings in new defenders and plays a midfield that can support the defence, and Zokora who isn't a true holding middie is off to Africa in January - just stay away from Robbo. And in the midfield, they just have too many pieces that all can produce fantasy points, but none can do so consistently. And in attacky, well, Keane and Berbs are as good as they come but cost as such. Unless some big names come in and have Ramos' backing - just stay away.

WEST HAM UNITED

Note to self: follow Faubert's recovery closely. Consider CCole under 5. And hope that Ashton gets back into the regular rotation. Otherwise, they only lose Paintsil/Pantsil and Camara. If they get other players back over the same time frame they could - and really need - to start putting some results together. They're constantly linked with players, but I would be surprised to see any new faces, save for those that they bought over the summer and haven't made an impact (or appearance!) yet.

WIGAN ATHLETIC

No first teamers going and looking a bit more lively under Steve Bruce. I'll be watching Koumas' return to see if he's worth picking up. What will be interesting to watch is how Bruce's tendency to spend money works in Wigan, who don't like to spend money and who have a hard time attracting players.

Sidebar: Did I forget to mention Bullard returning for Fulham? That could definitley be one to watch. At the beginning of last season he was a fantasy machine! Kicks, PKs, goals and lots of phantom points. Here's hoping he can come back, and find that kind of form again.

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