Fantasy Football Preview Week 25
Wow, I managed a good 119 points, then mister Pherg went off and demolished me, or is it smashed me, transfer window closed last night.
State Of Play
I jumped 20 places this week, BOOOOOOM!
Vindication
I’ll just post my latest points screenshot, backed a lot of the right horses in last week. Vindicates using the wild card I feel.
D’oh
3 players got me 3 points or less, which was the difference between me & Pherg, who I will now try to beat week on week for rest of season. For personal pride
Hunch / Drama / Dramatic Narrative before Sky Have Spotted it
Hunch, gotta be bringing in Carlos Vela, on loan at WBA, he should play each game and 4 favourable fixtures in next 5 (inc one double gameweek) – Wigan, Man City, West Ham, Wolves and Stoke.
Aston Villa have been a bogey team for Man Utd at Old Trafford in last few seasons (remember Macheda bursting on the scene, to rescue them on one occasion). So there might be some craic there. Villa have won their last 3 games and if Bradley does play he’ll have the bit between his teeth (today he says he wants to emulate Roy Keane in the premiership) to make his mark in the stadium of dreams.
Return of Joe Hart to Birmingham, the club where he made his name in the premiership, will he show them what they’re missing (I hope he does, as you’ll see) or will Ben Foster, Hart’s main rival for England Jersey for next 10ish years, show him a trick or two? [in retrospect that makes no sense, will Foster have to score a goal from a kick out or something? Or maybe an injury time equalizer? I love them]
Nothing else exciting really, except will Robbie Keane make an immediate impact? Will Adam lose his focus after being made stay in Blackpool? And will Spurs like it up ‘em up North in Blackburn.
Transfers
Carroll is plummeting in price due to his injury, so I decided to get rid, but once again he is so popular I have get lesser picked players as it’s my only way to actually overtake people, (a risky approach, but feck it, my chance of winning is gone) So I went with Vela, for the reasons I gave there, Vela is also 1.4 million cheaper so gives me a bit to play with. I prefer doing two every second gameweek, but for reasons explained in next section I felt I had to make a transfer today.
I tell a lie, I just spotted Vela hasn’t played in premiership for about 16 games, his fitness might be a little off so I’ll go with Odemwingie
Theory/Selection
Hmmn, both my keepers playing away from home (not in that way m’lord - Libel Ed), so will go with Hart due to Friedal being @ Old Trafford and I’m banking on Nani to perform and get an assist or goalNasri is injured and I’m dropping Walker, for same reason as Friedal (doubt he’d be played anyway). So that only leaves just one player selection, so will drop Coleman as he will be away at Arsenal and I have Van Persie playing, having said that I have Bent and two United Defenders, so if he scores I will in fact lose 4 points, unless utd have already conceded, and then it’ll just be two. Gooood gawd I love the numbers involved with each permutations, if they bring in fractions I’ll go mental!
Will captain Van Persie the man is in form, they are playing at home. Fingers crossed, even though I keep glancing at Dempsey and home to Newcastle, they are in flying form after walloping Spurs 4-0. Fuc* it, I’ll go with the yank. Have to go for non popular decisions.
My Team this week
Keeping An Eye On
Here are all the players I’ve written down who moved in last few days, (notice dearth of defenders), who will be all quite cheap. The club in brackets are the ones they’ve just joined
Davies (Birmingham), the well respected defensive central duo at St Andrews has been broken up (Dann is out for rest of season), will Davies step in smoothly? If so, he would be a very tasty acquistion. [***, to be fair it’s obvious is any of these tips work out they’ll be a tasty acqusition, so let’s take such sentences as read in this section, m’kay?]
Bradley (Aston Villa), he impressed at world cup, and Petrov and him could form a very good driving midfield
O’Hara (Wolves), has another loan move from Spurs, he certainly impressed at Portsmouth last season. He must be hungry to play second half of season. Does the revival Wolves hope for revolve around him?
Reid (Blackpool), obviously signed to replace Charlie Adam who didn’t move in the end, so let’s see what transpires, certainly fits in with Holloway’s vision.
Ireland (Newcastle) – the Geordies need a new messiah, is this going to be him? Or just a very naught naughty boy. Leaving obvious hair (or lack of) difference aside, Ireland is not any sort of positional replacement for Liverpool’s new number 9, but still is he there to show what Houllier said is right or wrong.
Bentley (Birmingham) – another right sided Spurs midfielder who wants to shoe ‘Arry what’s what.
Cruz (Blackburn), El Hadj Diouf has snuck off to Rangers for the rest of 2010, so Cruz is clearly the senior striker already. They always say never go back, but since he barely played for Man City, does it even count as leaving in the first place.
Keane (West Ham), this is probably green tinged glassed more so than analythical insight. But I hope he does well and if so he’s only 4.8. He plays Liverpool in 3 gameweeks time, there’s some carrot for performance.
Vela (WBA), I covered him earlier.
Sturridge (Bolton), was supposed to be the next big thing at Stamford Bridge and has found himself to be 5th choice striker, poor poor lad. Except he’s a millionaire, poor poor lad. I’d like to see him step up and work off Davies (Elamander seems to have gone off the boil and back to the simmer we know for last year and a half)
Gudjohnson (Fulham), proven goalscorer goes to club struggling to score goals. 4.8 Million
Captains Corner with Phergal
wow, what a gameweek last week, berba, torres, adam and dempsey all delivering massive returns as predicted. i hope you took my advice!
anyways, no doubles this week. lot of interest in arsenal for captain picks this week, RVP and Fab are the most likely options. they're at home to everton which doesn't feel like the right match to pick your captain imo.
torres was my pick until yesterday. i still have him in my team but will wait until he settles into the chelsea set up before giving him captaincy's. suarez looks to start for pool @home to stoke, but again, who knows how he'll do.
berba is my pick this week, at home to villas and in wicked form. he looks like the main man for united now, with rooney sometimes playing deeper on the left.
i like odemwingie at home to wigan this week. looks like he's due a goal and is also capable of scoring two. i brought him in for varney this week.
adam is still a blackpool player despite a renewed effort to bring him to anfield and looks like a great pick at home to west ham. although he is said to be upset at blackpool for not going for the transfer, so who knows.
