Fantasy Football Preview Week 30

Fantasy Football Preview Week 30

Okay, we’re really getting into the throes of the season now eh? Players dropping out dues to injuries related to tiredness, managers getting under pressure, ref getting under double the amount of scrutiny. And we start separating the wheat from the chaff in beloved Fantasy Football.

State Of Play

I’m only 70 points off the top now lads! I managed 60 points when the average was 36 and jumped another 2 places. It would have been one more if not for alphabetical order being kinder to Colin than me.

Vindication

Well baines was my highest performer and I had captained him so that’s good. Funnily enough no one scored that highly for me, but a lot of competitors had backed the wrong horses (let’s hope that form continues, both here and for Cheltenham!)

D’oh

As I said noone really performed, too many players got 3s & 4s. Particularly my double gameweek players.

It’s been a bad gameweek for injuries for me too, Nani & Schezney out for next 6 weeks, so they both have to go, which postpones any tactical changes I had planned to make.

Questions / Hunch / Drama / Dramatic Narrative before Sky Have Spotted it

According to the always handy www.physioroom.com, Man Utd’s injury list has swelled to 10 players out, that’ll have obvious knock on effects on clean sheets. How many more players will be gone (and his stands for all the clubs) after the two internationals between now and next gameweek.

Is this the time for Arsenal to go into overdrive, I decided after Barcelona match that I’d like to Arsenal win the league, but my emotional priority is Len Rovers in out league.

Is this the time to get on the West Ham roller coaster, they are in startling form but there fixture list is horrendous, Spurs, Chelsea and both Manchester teams await in their next 6 games

Can spurs keep their eye on the ball on both fronts. They have the squad to do it, defoe scored his first goals in ages against Spurs, he’s always a fits and bursts striker but can he even be assured of a starting spot anyway?

And is Liverpool, the Suarez show, mister 5 yard hatrick Kuyt AND Carrol to start playing now. Carrol the Geordie could make his full debut against Sunderland

Transfers

Schezney is out for what seems rest of season, and with Hart @ Chelsea, I want to use another keepers. Now I now Chelsea parked the bus at arsenal early this season (if memory serves they didn’t have a single shot, or bother to try), so we can assume that’s what’ll happen at the Bridge this weekend, however Chelsea should be capable of unlocking that defence better than the Arsenal tweeners, due to the fact the pensioners have more than one way of trying to score a goal. And Torres needs to explode soon, scoring a few goals to help The Old New Money leapfrog the The New New Money.

So I’m bringing Howard in, as he looks like he has a relatively easy run of fixtures (the caveat of Everton being terribly unreliable this year hovers over me though). As  a result of that I need to lose an Everton outfield player, so dropping Beckford (whose form this year has encapsulated Everton’s this season) and brining in Van Persie. The reasons are pretty much all here - http://fantasy.premierleague.com/M/pundit.mc

I expect to play my wildcard for next gameweek, as I anticipate injuries from them to buck a few teams up. I have a premonition Spurs will lose a player or two for a few weeks, perhaps Modric or Saint Van Der Vaart.

Also I am biast, but I want a Wolves resurgence happening soon.

Theory/Selection

I’ve hummed and hawed about this and to be honest not sure, and not sure about captain either. I’m veering towards Downing but Nani is in good form and I see any goals against Bolton as a cross or break away. Actually I will go with Downing, cows (a) I need to stick with my differentials policy to catch up on people ahead of me and (b) Pherg also highlights him as a pick of the bunch

My Team this week

 

Keeping An Eye On

More so the injuries next week more so than a specific player

Captains Corner with Phergal

truely awful week last week, finished on 24 points. everyone else seemed to be doing bad tho, so not too disappointed. went from 2nd to 5th in my most competitive league.

some big name injuries this week to add to your woes; nani, fabregas, arteta etc. so they'll be a lot of point deduction transfers shipping them out i'd imagine. try to field an 11 without a points hit and give yourself a 4 point head start on your rivals.

anyway, i like two matched this week, first is man u @home to bolton. i finally got rooney in for berba and will be captaining him myself, murphy's law will apply i'm sure, with berba getting a hat trick. so captain berba and reap some of my misfortune. *sigh*

i like villa @home to wolves, bent, young and downing look nice pics.

i'd be a bit nervous with arsenal away to west brom. no fab, and a RVP not fully fit but who knows, they might bounce back after their exit from the champions league, especially with united tantalisingly close. nasri maybe and rvp if he plays.

Fantasy Football Preview Week 28

Fantasy Football Preview Week 28

Not too shabby I though to myself after the dust settled on Chelski v Man Unsecure-without-Vidic&Ferdinand-playing-together (remind anyone else of a Lethal Weapon style scenario [thinking about that it makes Raphael a Joe Pesci character, or would that be Johnny Evans}). You see I scored 60 points, 17 more than the average. But I think people who have lost interest and don’t tweak their teams anymore, so they have maybe 4 or 5 injured players etc, are skewing the average

State Of Play

I jumped a mammoth 2 places. TWO baby!!! The people ahead of me all got in or around 60 as well ya see.

Vindication

Hmmn, going by the concept of vindication being hunches paying off, nothing is vindicated except the groundbreaking decision to but Nani as captain. I suppose a differential of playing Vela scoring a goal helped since only 0.7% of people have signed him.

D’oh

The other 9 players on my team, I had six players getting 3 points or less. Mad I really hummed and hawed between Ashley Young and Downing last Friday evening, I picked the wrong horse, there was a 6-point difference between the players

Hunch / Drama / Dramatic Narrative before Sky Have Spotted it

I guess Birmingham will have a hangover and dip in form after their amazing exercitations

 In the league cup final (maybe I say again fair play and I’m delighted Stephen Carr lifted that trophy, it will, mark by words, be a trivia question soon)

If there is going to be an amazing run of form for Arsenal, this is their moment. Similarly Everton, but their season is over now, is this gonna be Moyes’ swansong, or a chance to reboot the team for next season [if they could get past the block of their legendary shit starts to each season what could happen them).

But as a counter point, Newcastle face them this weekend (in st james park) and they genuinely have a chance of finishing 6^th, they have one sticky fixture left in their run in.

But this week in specific, Mark Sparky Hughes (well Fulham do!) plays Blackburn, the team where he made his name as a club manager, (interestingly Fulham have quietly put together the best defensive record in the league, yet two of their defenders are in the top 10 defenders)

Transfers

Decided to get rid of three injured players and take an 8-point hit, but since they are all double gameweek players, I should should should make it back

Going against my worry Birmingham will drop form; I reckon Bentley will keep his (after all he’s playing to revive his career and is ‘only’ on loan), so I brought him in for Van Der Vart

Then brought in Beckford, who is slowly finding his feet at Everton, as it would be churlish to bring in brittle bones Saha for brittle muscle Van Persie

Finally brought in dead ball Baines for Martin Kelly, who has flourished under Daglish but is out for a monthish (he’s already on my shortlist for next season. [Yep even now I’m planning]

Theory/Selection

I’ve captained Baines, as he’s playing twice and if he picks up one assist, one clean sheet and a few bonus points that should get him 20 to possibly 25 points, and it’s still and all about differentials for me if I’m gonna make up ground on the 14 teams ahead of me.

With Vidic suspended, I only have 13 players to play with anyway, by virtue of playing my 5 double gameweek players, I now don’t want Vela to score as it would prevent a clean sheet bonus for Johnson, and then I think there’s more in Downing at Bolton than his team mate Walker.

Keeper wise, Szcezesny confidence is gone (alumia played ahead of him in FA CUP), so I’ll go with the stalwarth Hart, who is at home to Wigan

My Team this week

 

Keeping An Eye On

Will the Sturridge steam roll continue, Please Deity no!!!!!

Captains Corner with Phergal

2 doubles this week, Everton and Birmingham, let's take a look at them.

Everton have Newcastle away and @home to Birmingham. To be honest I don't like this double, especially with Cahill out. Arteta then or perhaps saha, but this for me isn't attractive enough to edge out some of the single match contenders who I’ll mention later.

Birmingham have west brom @home and Everton @home. This one looks a bit better, foster or a defender could be a nice safe bet. zigic is risky.

so who else is there? Man city @home to wigan is irresistible; tevez is my pick like many other managers. dzeko still isn't giving me any reason to punt on over carlos.

The always-entertaining Liverpool man u game should give us a few goals. Rooney is in flying form; I’d pick him here. United will be looking to bounce back from the Chelsea defeat. I predict 2-0.

RVP injured has a lot of people running for a replacement. I recommend tevez if you don't already have him or Rooney if you have a bit of spare cash.

Good luck!