barcaRONAN’s last game week Score – 45 // Average Score on site – 34
Highest Haul – 11 // Lowest Haul – 1 // Average Score Per Player 4.1
Accrued Score – 355 (inc gameweek 1 score)
Place in my own fecking league – 55, up 10 Places
Points Off the top
State Of Play
I feel like a spin-doctor working for an ailing administration but here’s this week’s silver lining! Only 13 managers of the 54 ahead of me in the Back Of The Net Boy league did better than me. So at least I’m going up my own league.
It’s probably a reflection on my priorities when I spend more thinking about good lines for this blog than good defensive lines in the game (see what I did there?). My biggest disappointment this week was that James Richardson in his intro to Football Weekly Extra used the same Manchurian Candidate reference/gag I had come up with, it’s only the second or third time I’ve heard him do a joke/pun that I thought of too; he really is one of my favourite presenters/broadcasters. Anyway I better take this smoke pipe away from his ass eh? You can hear it, in his intro to the podcast http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/audio/2011/oct/20/football-weekly-extra-manchester-derby
So Manchester United’s line up at Anfield really shook things up: Nani, Rooney and Hernandez were all on the bench; a less reported thing was that the Man United bench contained ZERO defenders, which I wouldn’t do even in Football Manager. So people who captained Rooney must have been pissed off when he came on pitch and did nothing except collect a singular point.
Chelsea are steaming away without any of the press bombarding that the two Manchester teams are getting; and for now the crisis, or is it just crisis mongering, has abated at the Emirates. RVP is stats wise in the form of his career, he hasn’t been injured since January, so maybe this the time to get Arsenal players in. But now I’ve jumped about 3 sections ahead.
Vindication
Will I tell you something, it’s a sign of how poorly my teams have been doing that I forgot that players get bonus points. Well last week Jonathan Walters got an 11-point haul, which included 3 bonus points. And his goalkeeping teammate kept his net unsullied, so that was another 6 points. And Kompany nicking a goal helped make some amends for him and Clichy’s lost clean sheet bonus.
D’oh
Basically everyone and everything I didn’t mention in previous passage. Fecking 6 players on my 11 getting 2 points or less. Abysmal.
Here’s the screenshot of my team from last game week.
Questions / Hunch / Drama / Dramatic Narrative this game week before Sky Have Spotted it.
So the Manchester derby eh? This might backfire, but I need to start making ‘differential’ decisions, I’m really sure that I’m making this decision with reason as opposed to wanton trying to be different, but I’m anticipating a shut out my Man City at Old Trafford, to park ”il Bus-ino”, or whatever Italians call it. BUUUT since Rooney is in good form, I’ll be playing him.
Transfers/Theory/Selection
It’s getting stat-tastic over at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/the-scout/ and there’s plenty to ponder, so much so I’m kinda of afraid of making decisions.
In a sense I’m not making any, as I’ve decided to make no transfers, as I feel I’m just rushing them and have no real agenda/endgame in mind. I will save it to have two free transfers next week and I explain my plan in the “Keeping An Eye On” section below.
Well Given at home to WBA vs Begovic away at Arsenal. As lazy American students say to teachers regarding arithmetic, “you do the math”.
I know playing QPR againt Chelsea seems a bit silly but (A) the cliché of players playing against their old clubs raising their game might work for SWP and (B) since a lot of rivals have Chelsea defenders in their team, I get a kind of perverse double gain if he gets an assist or indeed a goal.
While Newcastle players are catching my eye at moment, casting those ocular organs a little further show that they have Man City, Man Utd and Chelsea in gameweek 11, 12 & 13.
My subs are a process of elimination, Players with tricky away fixtures basically, am humming and hawing about Long at Aston Villa or Walters at Stoke. They are both Irish so that takes away one of my favourite decision making techniques. Since Walters didn’t play midweek, I assume Pulis will play him at Emirates, and of course sorry since I’ve Given in goal I don’t’ want Long to score. Decision made. Easy.
I might tweak the order of subs, but then I, enigmatically, might not
Mata and Agbonlahor will be my captain and vice, but I’m not sure in which order.
My Team this week
Keeping An Eye On
Walker and Bassong at Spurs, very nice run of fixtures and both seem to be first teamer for next few weeks. And Dempsey at Fulham, but I wonder if the Europa League travails will drain him of his bursting-from-midfield-energy.
And I think I’m gonna ship Rooney out next week, and bring in either RVP, Sturridge or Torres, and with a few shekels saved bring VDV too. With that in mind… Let’s have a jolly good weekend chaps (sorry spent last 48 hours in London, so have been some of their lingo, what what)
Captain's Corner with Phergal
A frustrating weekend for many last week, lots of big names coming off the bench or not playing at all. Some nice fixtures captaincy wise this weekend, let's have a look.
Arsenal @home to Stoke - RVP is on form and looks a good bet here. Arsenal will be in good form after their last minute win against Marseille. Stoke also coming off a win in Europe although with little squad rotation going on, could be tired for this difficult match in the Emirates.
Man U vs. City - The biggie, should be a cracking match. The Charity shield served up 5 goals a few months ago, but i expect this to be a tighter affair with Mancini concentrating on defending more than open attacking football, maybe a goal or two in it. Aguero and Rooney are decent picks.
Chelsea@QPR - Chelsea are looking like title challengers again and will be looking for a comprehensive win. Drogba will be the focal point of attack again with 1 match left of Torres's suspension but has disappointed owners that got him in a few weeks ago. Sturridge is in great form and will looking to cement his place on the team. Lampard looks like a great differential pick here also.
Tottenham @Blackburn - I expect a convincing win for Spurs. VDV looks good, although he isn't guaranteed the full 90. Adebayor looks a safer bet.
Norwich@ Liverpool - Suarez. That is all.
Gamble pick - Ward possibly in a striker role again with Fletcher out against Swansea?
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