Fantasy Football 2011-8-26

Gameweek 2

BarcaRONAN’s last gameweek Score – 48 // Average Score on site – 41

Highest Haul – 12 // Lowest Haul – 1 // Average Score Per Player 4.36

Accrued Score – 48

State Of Play

Okay, so we rebooted the league and I’m right in there at 27th place in the Back Of The Net Boy League (now while the site crashed AGAIN last weekend, we’re sticking with it now, cos you had more than enough time to get yer shit together this time). But it will take a while for real form to show across the board.

Vindication

Nowt to be honest,

D’oh

The

Omnipresent

Reliable

Relentless

Excitement

Spoiler (see what I did there?)

And a general poor performance across my back line and midfield

And I did ponder Bent as my captain

Here’s the screenshot of my team from last gameweek

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

A kind of Derby between Villa and Wolves could throw up a surprise or two? Given saves a controversial penalty and becomes a hero perhaps?

Pressure is mounting on Steve Bruce, and apparently odds on him being sacked are shortening, but I’d like to see him pull it together, those 2 goals against Sheffield Wednesday mean he still has credit in the bank of Ronan’s heart.

Transfers/Selection

I think I’ll go with no transfers, so as to have two to play with next week, all three strikers are at home and Torres has one more chance to get his act together.

 

Theory/Selection

Since I’m not making any transfers, I’m shuffling the deck really,

As I said already 3 strikers playing at home again, Rooney and Bent have both hit the ground running. I anticipate Man City parking the bus at White Hart Lane, regardless of the glut of goals recently, and Spurs might already start resting players to prepare for their high impact matches with Shamrock Rovers coming up soon.

Hoolahan is both carrying a knock and playing away at Chelsea if he manages to get off the treatment table anyway, so he’s benched. Since I want Bent to score, I better drop Johnson or else a goal or clean sheet will cost the other 4 points (I can never explain this theory cohesively, but I think you understand), so I have to nail my colours to one mast, Bent, don’t let me down.

I’m really unsure about my last slot, I think I’ll go with Huth in my 11, so despite what I said about Man City defending well, I’ll put him wearing the bib. Having said that Moses might also not play anyway.

Once again, the captaincy might go to anyone of my front three, at moment it’s Bent as I see him more likely to score more than Rooney, but what if, what it, what if Torres breaks his duck against the canaries. Spain has a tendency to overshadow the island of the same name eh? And there is a member of the BOTNB league and regular poster our www.facebook.com/backoftheneetboy (Doocey, you know who you are!) who is goading me to stick with him!

My Team this week

Keeping An Eye On

Now I know Suarez is looking at everybody in the eye and pleading in a comedic South American accent “haaay seee-knor why ewe knot sigh-n meeee”. I don’t know Louie you loveable rogue, I don’t know. I’ve seen this interesting titbit “Luis Suarez has scored or assisted for every goal (7) that Liverpool players have scored this season (all competitions), averaging a goal or assist every 30 minutes. He was also indirectly involved for the Ramsey own goal.” [Courtesy of http://totalfpl.com/].

Also Wolves are showing good form, and have 4 winnable matches in next 6, and one of the other ones is Spurs and I’ve the feeling O’Hara is gonna wanna show big ‘Arry what’s what. But I already have him so it’s looking like Suarez and Jarvis could both come on board next week.

Once again the impending transfer window closure will be interesting to see what 5 or 6 signings QPR will get (they promised they would make that amount), and also just the potential domino effect of more deals, for instance Cahill going to Arsenal, would surely see Bolton make 2 more signings with the cash surplus?

Club To Watch, Newcastle despite their pathetic performance last night in Carling Cup, look strong and have a tolerable next 6 games, but then again Newcastle Achilles Heel is, well, everything about the place is flimsy and very close to falling apart.

Captain's Corner with Phergal

Oh dear oh dear. Why do I continue to self-flagellate by picking Torres as captain? And all based on a match against Stoke when he didn't score but looked "lively". In a knee-jerk rage when he was taken off (at 59 minutes!!!) I sold him and brought in Suarez, just like Dalglish, and who incidentally scored against Stoke on his Liverpool debut. Cue a Torres hat trick against Norwich (I've said it now so it can't happen, up yours fate). May have been a rash decision though, Dalglish is "managing" Suarez's fitness, which could mean at least some bench time. Still though, it didn't stop him scoring last weekend against a shaky Arsenal.

Anyway let's have a look at likely armband candidates this week.

Bent had a lovely 12-point haul last weekend to make it 2 goals in 2 matches. Villa have a great run of fixtures going forward (shudders at own use of that phrase) and face Wolves at home this weekend. Wolves will provide stiff competition and are coming off a perfect start to their season so expect a great match. Bent looks a good bet here, I expect Wolves goals too though. How about Doyle or the in form Jarvis?

Liverpool at home to Bolton is somewhat attractive, but as stated above, Suarez is a doubt. I expect him to come off the bench. Carroll isn't firing yet either so approach this one with caution.

Man U @home to Arsenal usually wouldn't attract too much captaincy armbands, but Arsenal are injury ridden and have a tough match against Udinese on Wednesday. Players will be tired and with Koscielny and Gibbs injured and Song suspended not to mention the threadbare midfield, Arsenal will be nervous going to Old Trafford. United will be full of confidence after their comprehensive 3-0 win over Spurs. This looks like a great pick for your captaincy. Rooney, Young and Nani all look great picks, and don't forget about Welbeck who scored and created another against Spurs.

Gamble picks? For no particular reason other than I’m considering bringing him in this week and he's "due" a goal (shudders again), Northern Ireland's own Chris Brunt @home to Stoke. The obsession continues.

Fantasy Football 2011-8-19 - Gameweek 2

Fantasy Football 2011-8-19

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Gameweek 2

Last Gameweek Score – 34 // Highest Haul – 6 // Lowest Haul – 1 // Average Score Per Player 3.09

Accrued Score - 34

State Of Play

This is beyond precedent. Anybody reading this blog is obviously more than a little interested, so you know about the CRASH (I’ve spent more time thinking about that crash’s repercussions than the actual world’s economies current one). The big thing to do with our league is I've decided after some deliberation to reset it so that week 2 is where the scores start, I am confident the overall winner will win anyway, and if for some reason someone else would have won if the gameweek score from first week were included, I will out of my own pocket pay for a duplicate first prize.

Vindication

Wow, I wish I could claim that CrashGate affected me, but it didn’t. I selected a full team without any technical hindrance, and it just all backfired. If I can claim any vindication, it’s that people I moved in and out of my team and ended up on my watch list, such as Houlahan, Suarez, Larsson, Rooney all did score. But that’s not really vindication is it? It’s more like…

D’oh

Just like last season, the section for fantasy football regrets in this blog will probably be the biggest one of them all. Right… in short, terrible. Three players getting 6 points each was the HIGH of my team.

Here’s the screenshot of my team

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

The big question is, “Change everythingn or stick to your guns?”. We all have unlimited transfers, but I had made considered decisions in the first place. The stampede to sign players based on just 90 mins (and in some cases 20-ish minutes) performance seems to much of a bloodlust to me than the decisions of wisdom I want barcaRONAN to embody.

Okay the consensus seems to be Torres is back (out of all the forwards, only Rooney had more touches than him last weekend. [Does that stat mean anything? You gotta love OPTA]) to form and Chelsea have very healthy fixtures in front of them. And the afore mentioned Rooney looks hungry for epicness

And like many married men who live in suburban bliss/hell, they temptation of a Youn-Nani swap is getting stronger and stronger

Transfers/Selection

I took the bait, made 6 transfers. You know how in American sports movies when the underdogs are 20 points down in the last quarter and the Coach says in a moving montage ‘Go Big Or Go Home’ and they go on to win the match? Well I am home! So I’m going big Motherf**ker!

Theory/Selection

3 big name strikers, all playing at home; In fact against the trend of premier league stars, none of my team are playing away from home (Topical Joke - BOOM). That is how I selected it, 10 outfield players at home, 3 away. Picked Given over Hennessey, as I feel Fulham are a stronger team than Blackburn [and is Blackburn are gonna try and desperately pump it into the box, James Collins and Richard Dunne will eat them up on a plate… and Richard Dunne is fat or something, don’t people make jokes about Richard Dunne liking food? Or was that too subtle). I accept that I am going star heavy up front and 4 bubbling under midfielders, but I can be sure 3 of them will start, and I assume Cleverly but maybe Ferguson will want to steel up the midfielder what with their Minor Team backline.

My Team this week

Keeping An Eye On

It’s  bit early to be looking for trends and whatnot, I am mainly keeping an eye on the chat of Benayoun going to Spurs as part of the Modric deal. Cos of course the closer we get to transfer day deadline the closer we get to HARRYTIME

Captain's Corner with Phergal

So after what has been one of the most memorable Gameweeks in recent memory (for mostly bad reasons) we can get back to the important business of endless agonising over your captaincy choice. Cue nail biting at 11.29am Saturday morning before taking a gamble to try and catch your rival and falling into a deep depression after your entire league have captained Rooney as he scores a brace for fun.

With the controversial free transfers for the entire gameweek given to us by the powers that be, we have the option of captaining whoever we want this week, so let's have a look at the likely candidates and fixtures.

Chelsea @Home to WBA would normally be an essential pick for your captaincy, but Chelsea looked tired and lacking that spark against Stoke last weekend and WBA had some nice passages of play against United. Stoke away from home is a tough tough fixture though, and Torres looked sharper and more determined than he has looked yet in a Blue jersey. Torres is a semi gamble for me. Defence looks more reliable though, any of them will do to give you a safe 12 points hopefully.

Next up is Man City away to Bolton. Everyone's frothing at the mouth over Aguero's performance on Monday night, he's an obvious pick here. He could well be the most transferred in player in recent memory though so any gains probably won't catapult you high up in your leagues. Silva looks great this year too, was rampant against Swansea.

Next captaincy favourable fixture has to be the always entertaining Sunderland - Newcastle. Gyan looks like a good pick. I'd suggest Barton too, but he's so volatile he could easily pick up at least a yellow in this emotional contest, which is captaincy Kryptonite. If there was bonus points for entertainment, he'd be a shoe in.

Man United  at Old trafford looks good to me for this reason: United are vulnerable at the back with Rio and Vidic out and De Gea off to a shaky start. I think Spurs can score, maybe 2, which will inevitably result in United scoring 3. Ballsy prediction here: 3-2 United. Captain Young or Rooney.

Gamble picks: Moses and Rodellega away to Swansea. The obsession continues.

Fantasy Footbal Season 2011/2012 Preview

a little different to our usual format for the season preview from BOTNB and The Captain. It's pretty obvious to be fair

It's a brand new season, thank Jebus, cos to be honest there wasn't much more faux-interest I could put into current affairs; other people's baby's development and drinking in beer gardens in the bloody sun; so it's back to keeping a constant eye on which of the Da Silva twins will play most; watching the development of 19 year old academy players and sitting in pubs from early Saturday kick off till the late 'un...

Which is a fantastic link to introducing you all to the Back Of The Net Boy's sister pub for this season, Sober Lane http://www.facebook.com/soberlane?ref=ts will be giving a monthly prize and seasonal prize...

Anyroad in a break from our usual format myself and Captain's Corner will do a shortlist of 10 players. The shortlist will break down into, 3 Bankers, 3 Mid-price, 3 hunches and 1 "My head says no, but my heart says yes" player

Bankers

Okay the obvious spine of your Cech-Vidic-Nani-Rooney etc is such a given that I won't bother but it does bring us to

1) Shay Given (Aston Villa) [5.0 million] - While I do give a bit of time to the "he's not as good as people make out" argument, the trio of him with Richard Dunne and James Collins in front of me can only be a rugged defence, and at 5 million is a good deal too, with a very favourable opening 6 fixtures to the season too.

2) Tim Cahill (Everton) – What can you say, the Everton ship simply must turn soon (if the first team squad was a film, I’d put them as the team of mighty men in Armageddon), and when they do, he’ll be there at the end of most dead balls and brave headers.

3) Bent (Aston Villa) – Darren Bent scores goals, always, everywhere. He will play every game is fit for.

There you go, 3 bankers for 14 million. And since all of them are nailed on first teamers, assuming they stay injury free the three combined have a Projected points total of over 400 points for just playing alone.

Mid-Price / Budget

4) James McCarthy (Wigan) - At this point it looks unlikely he will move to a bigger club (he was mildly linked to both Arsenal and Liverpool over last few months), so this looks like he is set to (a) have a high impact 32-38 game season and (b) become the natural attacking replacement for Charles Insomnia, which should ensure many assist points and bonus points too.

5) Wes Brown (Sunderland) [4.5] – Same club, different story. One of the most subtly decorated players in the modern game, this guy has experience in every muscle of his body (but also a medical history with pretty much all of them too). Bruce knows him personally and surely bought him to parachute him straight into team at Anton Ferdinand’s expense. I’m predicting an Indian summer for him. (By the by, I now count 5 former Man Utd players at Stadium of Light, not including Steve Bruce and backroom staff)

6) Peter Odemwingie – WBA [7.5] – A great season last year, can’t argue with 15 goals and 9 assists. Hodgson knows how to use him effectively. Two horrible opening fixtures, but after that a really nice run of matches.

There you go, 3 bankers for 14 million.

Hunch

7) Conor Wickam (Sunderland) [6.0] – I’m reticent to big up anyone who fell out with Roy Keane, but then again it’s quite a long list. An incredibly hyped player (but it’s unlike the English press to build up a teenager and write them off by 21). Sunderland have made quite a few signings, this season and it’s hard to tell who will be Gyan’s main foil. One thing for certain, the spot is up for grabs. And mister Ellis wouldn’t have let the tight purse strings let 8million pounds out for a laugh or on a hunch.

8) Riise (Fulham) [6.0] – Sturdy and solid for Liverpool, I was surprised they let him go so easy. Always a hard worker and seemingly good guy, not too bothered with the limelight (not even karaoke - Click On This!!!). His return to English football hasn’t set the back pages on fire, but Martin Jol is an insightful manager, and the only worry might be with Europa League distraction the defence will concede a lot of silly late goals. If memory serves he has a great long range shot and has a long throw in.

9) Benayon (Chelsea) – At 7 million, he’s an expensive hunch I know, but it’s just hard to predict Chelsea’s attacking line up at any time, 7/8 players going for a maximum of 3 places; with Torres surely being guaranteed one unless he gets worse and even more goal shy (which would be quite hard)

Total Cost 19 million.

My Head Says No But My Heart Say Yes

10) Think Stoke for as much as they have been derided as the Antithesis of Barcelona (who would win on a rainy Tuesday night etc etc), will have a good solid season. And even right now they have only one fit striker (Jones), but I’m also drawn to Irish international Jonathan Walters (his profile pic on fantasy football website doesn’t look like how I remember him) is a listed as a midfielder but if I’m right he plays close to a forwards role. But the horrendous opening fixture of Chelsea tells me to hand back….

______________________________________________________

So Here is The Captain of Captain's Corner giving his 10 cents...

Bankers

1) Vincent Kompany (Man City) [6.0 million] – City had the most clean sheets in the PL last season, an impressive 18 so you definitely want representation there. City defenders are all undervalued, I’m even considering picking up two. Kompany is definitely a nailed on starter and looks set to be club captain this year. Players new to FPL shouldn’t be confused by his score last year of 95, as he was classified as a midfielder and hence not getting 4 points for each of those lovely 18 shut outs.

2) Nani (Man United) [10.0 million] – Nani was the highest FPL scorer last year with a whopping 198 points. He’s somewhat under the radar this year (although still coming in with 23% ownership) as doubts about his playing time emerged with Valencia stealing minutes from him last year and the signing of versatile midfielder Ashley Young. But with Valencia injured again, a brace against City in the Community shield and Fergie himself publicly promising him a start against West Brom, you really need to get him in. It remains to be seen if he’s good pick season long though.

3) Robin Van Persie (Arsenal) [12.0 million] – RVP is a FPL beast. He’s what the  long time Fantasy Managers call “fixture proof”. He can and will score against anyone and if fit will make your captaincy choice pretty easy every week. But that’s a big if, at the time of writing, RVP is yet again an injury concern with a niggling ankle problem after being taken off at half time against Benefica.

Mid-Price / Budget

4) Stephen Taylor (Newcastle) [4.5] – Injured for most of last season, S. Taylor is back and is a definite starter in the back for Newcastle. He managed an impressive 3 goals and 1 assisst in just 1000 minutes last year. Extrapolate that to a full season and you’re getting returns that rival Baines at 3.5m cheaper. And he scored the other day in a friendly. At 4.5 million it’s a no brainer for me.

5) N’Zogbia (Aston Villa) [7.5] – N’Zogbia was the shining light in a pretty dismal Wigan side that barely avoided relegation and was rewarded with a move to Villa. It remains to be seen how he’ll fit in and there was some fitness doubts but those fears would seem to be allayed with him playing and scoring in a friendly against Sporting Braga. Great value at 7.5 million.

6) Hugo Rodallega (Wigan) [6.5] – Bit of a gamble here to be honest and we all remember Wigan’s dreadful 4-0 opening day loss to Blackpool (hands up who had Boselli in their starting 11?), but Wigan face the three promoted teams in their first fixtures and this is just too tempting. At 6.5 you could do much worse than Rodallega.

Hunch

7) Moses (Wigan) [5.0] – Another Wigan player?? Have I learned nothing? Moses replaces N’Zogbia on the wing and really wouldn’t have got a mention other than he’s been very impressive pre season, scoring 5 in 6 games. Now picking players based on pre season form is dangerous and again I would point to the Boselli fiasco of last year. Moses is most definitely a gamble, but at just 5 million, he’s a cheap gamble.

8) David Silva (Man City) [9.5] – There’s an ongoing debate in Fantasy Football circles about Yaya versus Silva. With so much rotation in the City forwards, people will look to the midfield for City representation. Yaya comes in 1.5 cheaper and has gained a lot of interest based on his being allowed to get forward towards the end of last year. He played deeper in the Community Shield on Sunday though, and Silva has been impressive pre season. I’m going with Silva. Much easier to trade down to yaya if need be rather than trying to trade up.

9) Ramsey (Arsenal) [6.5] – In the perceived post Fabregas and possibly Nasri Arsenal team, Jack Wilshere is attracting all the attention, a great player sure, but just wasn’t getting the fasntasy points last year to warrant an investment. Ramsay looks to be playing more forward and taking on the Cesc role and some Arsenal blogs and forums I’ve been to reckon he’s the man to fill Fab’s boots. So many uncertainties at this stage though.


My Head Says No But My Hearts Say Yes

Wigan! I’m clearly obsessed with them. I see them in my dreams and in my nightmares. Boselli is there, kicking a beach ball against a wall and missing, then Moses comes along and boots him over to Italy, telling me “It’s different this time, play and captain me and I will lavish you with points”.  Okay then.

Fantasy Football Preview Week 36

 

Prescript, I have 10 mins to write and post this, before collecting my son. So this will almost be in real time

State Of Play

Average Score was 38, I got 50. I rose 2 places in the Back Of The Net Boy league and am not just 7 points off 9^th (I am currently 12^th). A Top ten finish will be okay this season for me.

Vindication

As predicted, I brought in Kuyt, made him captained and he over half my points. Lampard scored a goal too. However neither of these were awe inspiring moves.

D’oh

The rest of my players got 3 points or less. Which is a terrible haul. Old Dirk is sitting in the dressing room at Len Rovers looking pretty smug I’d say.

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

It’s all about Super Soccer Amazing Sky Sunday, Chelsea v Man Utd, cannot see it being a no score draw, so dropping Cech.

Transfers/Selection

Have decided to make no transfers, so as to have a double next week.

Theory/Selection

Don’t trust Sunderland away at Bolton, so dropping Bardsley snd making Davies my captain. Hoping Wolves to pull if odd against West Brom. Regarding my defenders, Birmingham are having a listless end of season so away at Newcastle looks pesky, so brining in Walker at home for Villa instead.

My Team this week

 

Keeping An Eye On

The weekend in general!

Captain's Corner with Phergal (Now with added capitals)

So just three gameweeks left. Captain choice is probably the only thing left that can help you beat who's in front of you in your leagues. The long game is over. My advice now is to go with the most obvious captain's choice if you're on top in your leagues, and go for a slight differential/gamble if you want to finish higher.

So two doubles stand out this weekend, the majority will be captaining someone from City or Spurs.

Spurs first then. They have the very tasty Blackpool @home, and the not so tasty Man City away. The logic here is that the first fixture is so promising, anything gained from the City game is a bonus. It's hard to look past VDV really. Captaining Spurs strikers has left grown men weeping and gnashing over the years, although a gamble is always tempting at this time of the year. Pav? Defoe? Hard to know who'll get two games really.

City have Everton away and Spurs @home. Not the greatest fixtures really. If Tevez was in good health he'd be an auto choice for me, few rumours talking about him making the everton game. Too much of a gamble. All attacking lines seem to be going through Silva the last few weeks and he's been racking up some nice double digit scores. He's a good shout here. How about Kolorov? Chance of a clean sheet and maybe an assist. Could be a nice differential. Balotelli too, although his last few games wouldn't fill you confidence and there's always a danger of a card with him too (minus points are multiplied with captains too!).

Other matches of captain's interest if you don't fancy the doubles would be the game that decides the premiership, Man U @home to Chelsea. Big game. Look to Drogba and Rooney to step it up a notch. I don't foresee a 0-0 borefest either. Chelsea have a sniff of the title and will be attacking from the get go and Man U have learnt their lesson from playing for a draw against arsenal last week.

I also like RVP away to Stoke.

Fantasy Football Preview Week 35

State Of Play

Ballsack. This was my chance to jump up a few spots and it all went wrong. Now further off the top than I have been for last 2 months, 10 points off top 10 position even.

Vindication

Nothing that anyone would be surprised by, Lampard and Dempsey both did well.

D’oh

Captaining Davies got me one fecking point, ONE!!! I trebled up on wolves players and their combined haul was 10 points.

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

Will Torres score for fun for rest of season? Are we watching Drogba do his lap of honour at Stamford Bridge?

Will Liverpool get 4^th spot? It’d be Roy Of The Rovers stuff, but can they do it? Everyone is tipping Kuyt for fantasy teams at the moment and who wouldn’t after his great haul over last few gameweeks.

Transfers/Selection

Brought in Kuyt, said adios to Cesc.

Theory/Selection

Assuming Liverpool will continue their form, and that Kuyt will get something somehow so made him captain from the off, have selected Carroll even though he is an orange arrow. The Wolves decision I made has backfired cos they now make up 75% of my bench, but if they had paid off in the last gameweek I’d be standing gloating. I think Davies might knock a goal in for me  to and further push Blackburn into the mire. I’m hoping Chelsea will demolish Spurs and keep a clean sheet.

My Team this week

Keeping An Eye On

Liverpool/Spurs/Man City for the race for 4^th, will they have players doing stellar things?

Captain's Corner with Phergal (Now with added capitals)

Wide open again this weekend with no obvious choices, so a good chance for people to close the lead on their league rivals. Lot of big matches this weekend, Chelsea @home to Spurs and Arsenal @home to Man U. For chelsea, i'd be wary of Drog or Torres, Ancelotti hinted yesterday that the two might start together, thereby diluting their attacking potential. Also not the easiest opposition either. Lampard looks a much better bet in that one.

For the Man U at Arsenal game, really hard to predict again, I suppose it's a must win for Arsenal, but you have to feel they are finished now and they must be feeling a bit deflated after all their squandered chances to catch up the last few weeks. RVP at home is always attractive, so he could be an okay choice. Rooney's back and should be hungry. He's scored in 3 of the last 4 games against Arsenal, so is a good shout.

So that's the biggies, i think there are much better captain choices to be had though. Liverpool@ home to Newcastle looks great. The Pool are in wicked form and are looking to finish the season on a high with King Kenny at the helm. Kuyt has been particularly impressive, with 7 goals and 2 assists in the last 6 games. He's a great differential, at just 7.3% ownership.

Man City seem a popular choice this week, but without Tevez, is there any really solid pick for captain that's not a gamble? Not in my opinion, maybe Silva or Balotelli then.

I've a sneaky feeling about Odemwingie too, on great form and @home to Villa. Brom also have the best final four fixtures in the league, so you should be getting him in, if not this week, then next week i think.

Fantasy Football Preview Week 34

State Of Play

Okay, I’m in top ten. I used up my wildcard, played the double game week roulette and it seems to have somewhat paid off. I did 25 points better than the curve, but it’s no fair assessment anymore, a better reflection of my ‘nous’ was I did better than the 6 people directly ahead of me in the league; but then the top three in the Back Of The Net Boy league all got 100+ points, which goes to show why they are the winners. It’s safe to say, unless I pull of an 88 point miracle, that The Back Of The Net Boy league trophy, the Ballon d’Ronan, will be leaving my hands after a two year reign.

Vindication 

Okay well I hoped Lampard would step up to the plate for me in gameweek 33, which somewhat paid off, with him getting 22 points cos of the double points he got for being my captain…

D’oh

… Unfortunately for me his teammates Drogba and Malouda both brought in 22 point hauls BEFORE doubling up as captains. AARRGGGHH. Gameweek 33’s dream team and mine had whopping two similarities, which is not good enough to be winning this league. This is Senior Hurling level now; Junior B bullshit isn’t good enough

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

Man Utd’s bogie team blah blah blah, Everton slow start to season blah blah, on form since January Everton would be second in league blah blah, Man Utd one eye on Shalke match blah blah.

Will Bolton who are already hurt after last weekend’s demolishing via the Potters, lie down and lick their wounds against the gunners? Oooooooorrrrrrrrr will Owen Coyle and his men regroup around a faltering Arsenal? I’m dropping Van Persie, and keeping Fabregas so watch out for a Dutch hat trick knowing my luck.

Nothing of note really sticks out this week.

Transfers

It’s really big ideas here at The Hateau, 3 transfers in so 8 points being spent in the name of bringing in players who have double game playing this gameweek and favorable fixtures in the next one too (so I’m going with Dempsey @ Fulham (wolves/Bolton/sunderland) & Davies @ Bolton (arsenal/fulham/Blackburn), but they don’t reinvent the wheel, so also bringing Ireland’s new hope Jon Walters, once again 3 matches in next 2 Gameweeks (I’m gonna bank on him shining against Villa and being rested against Wolves, otherwise his success will offset others losses).

Theory/Selection

Okay I'm putting my chips down on Mick McCarthy on Wolves pulling it out of the fire, 3 players from the club in my first 11 (i brought them all in when using my wildcard last week - clever see).

Having listened to fantasy footballs scoutcast, I seem to have made every decision opposed to them.

I sometimes wonder what style to write this blog in, realistically we’ve 14 or 15 readers all with the same level of knowledge and experience/interest as me, so is it redundant for me to say things like it’s not worth making Walters captain because if he did score against wolves it’d cost me notional points etc, but I am making Davies Captain specifically because his successes will have no negative impact on any of my team.

Dropping Walker because I want Stoke to do well, dropping Johnson cos I assume Liverpool will beat them and I hope Carroll does the scoring, even though the big Geordies is my first choice substitute, 

My Team this week

 

Keeping An Eye On

Carroll’s fitness, he plays against his old club next gameweek. And arsenal if they really do go off the radar this week, I’ll ship the Catalonian prince Fabregas out too.

Captains Corner with Phergal (please note I don’t even try and fix up the text anymore, he’s a grown man if he doesn’t want to capitalise club’s names I’m not going to do it for him)

so i changed captains at the last minute from RVP to Drog after a few beers and it payed off big time, 44 points from him alone, total score 109 to catapult me into top position in the BOTNB league.

enough gloating. what looks good this week for your captains armband? well it's wide open this. lot of doubles, but nothing as attractive as last weeks chelsea fixtures.

Bolton - Arsenal @Home, fulham away. Elmander hasn't had a double digit score since november and just a single goal this year. sturridge is the golden boy atm, fresh from a brace at west ham's expenses last week, and 6 goals from 8 matches. tempting. if the fixtures were a bit better he'd be a dead cert for me.

fulham - Wolves away and @home to Bolton. very nice fixtures. dempsey and zamora are your picks. zamora got a brace against blackpool on his return and looks lively. i would be leaning towards him here.

stoke - villa away, @home to wolves. huth might get you a clean sheet against wolves and a chance of a goal so not a bad pick. etherington is an okay pick.

wolves - @home to fulham, away to stoke. meh, jarvis maybe?

as for the other fixtures, a resurgent chelsea @home to west ham looks great for the likes of drogba, malouda and lampard. i'd go with drog again here, he's in wicked form.

Fantasy Football Preview Week 33

Hey there sportsfan! We're at the business end of the season now, 5 more gameweeks, five more blogs, then that "summer" thing everyone is talking about

State Of Play

Whoo Hoo, 15 points better than average (even though as I’ve said before, the average is getting skewed by the people who’ve lost interest and have left teams dormant). On the Back Of The Net Boy league, I am now 85 points of top, where I’ve been bobbing around for last few weeks; and 20 off the top ten.

Vindication

My keeper and back three all got 6 points or more…

D’oh

… but everyone ahead of me, let the team down. If I’d captained Nani or Van Persie, I’d be in top ten not. In fact Bent has left down so much, he has now left the Len Rovers squad, till next season at earliest. (that’s all covered in later section)

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

It’s all about if Chelsea pull their socks up, and Arsenal pull themselves together for “5 cup finals”, as the annoying cliché goes. The tasty Norf London derby awaits us too, that could be scentalating, neither team can defend right and both teams are chasing points, and Arsenal get the extra bonus of effectively ruining Spurs chance of stepping back into the Champions League if they manage to stay on course for premiership. If spurs don’t get in, the squad will quickly distentigrate with the big names moving to “bigger clubs”, and that’d be a very satisfactory 90 minutes at the office for any myopic gooner.

And can Torres break his duck against a team now managed by the man who was his Boss just a few months ago? Can torres hurt Hodgson from both sides in one year?

Transfers/Selection

WILD CARD – WILD CARD – WILD CARD!!!!

Not even looking at my current team, I started from the top. 3 players from all the double game week players .

Chelsea: Cech/Luiz/Lampard… I am hoping there isn’t a champion league exit hangover, and rather a late roy of the rovers title charge, built on Lampard penalties and midfield blasters and Chelsea clean sheets, (both have happened a lot over the years)

Arsenal: I went marquee baby, Van Persie and Fabregas, can’t rely or trust any of the rest of the squad,. I always have a soft spot for Song but change my mind when I see him, not in a racist way it’s a hairest thing.

Then the Birmingham conondrum, they are actually having a terrible season, but still… it’s like when yer in the tail end of a relationship but you really want it to work out. So I went with Johnson (no major groundbreaking decision, then following fantasy premier league tips, I went with Gardner, due to his penalty taking. And Phillips up front, mainly because it’s surely my last season I can sign him, and I’ve always liked him, especially on championship manager. And he’s buddies in real life with Niall Quinn, how can you not like him! (I know he won’t play full games twice, but 1 goal and a few mins in both will be almost worth it), actually I’ll have him on the bench. DO you know what, he’s a pointless buy, so I’m gonan go with a cheap ass striker, as he’ll be sub 2 or 3 anyway. Ebanks-Blake come on down, double gameweek next week (none this week), so I’ll be prepared for that, he is first choice striker in absence of Doyle. (bringing Jarvis & Hennessy for Wolves in for same reason, good to be ready for then)

That’s it then! Probably make 3 transfers next week, I wonder is my wildcard use means my standard transfer credit passes over? Let’s find out!!!

The one problem with wildcard use, is I can keep tweaking it all night, but I do have my son so I’ll hope I’m a focused father!

so here is the list of all my transfers today, the Kitman here at Len Rovers will be up all night stitching the names onto new jerseys.

Theory/Selection

It’s pretty much all explained via the previous section, I’ll pile on my 8 double game week players, and then the only real decision was Walker or Bardsley, both are playing away, so when with the latter just cos I reckon Sunderland need & want to buck up and therefore tighten up the defence, and also while West Ham are scoring as of late, Birmingham still aren’t, so Bardsley has slightly better chance of a clean sheet (even though I do want Gardner to score!)

Will make Lampard captain, due to him and his penalty taking, I bet you ancelotti will feck me over now and ‘rest’ him for one of the games.

My Team this week

Keeping An Eye On

Stoke V Bolton FA Cup semi final, realistically the loser will go on to have quite a hangover.

Captains Corner with Phergal

doubles ahoy again this weekend, so your captains should be coming from these fixtures.

chelsea have west brom @home, and birmingham away. very tasty indeed. the three stand outs for captain are drogba, lampard and luiz. drog came up short last week, so i'm going for him this week. i would captain lampard if i had him though.

birmingham also have a double, home to sunderland and away to chelsea, i wouldn't be too bothered with that one tbh.

arsenal have a double, but nowhere near as captain friendly as chelseas. I like arsenal @home to liverpool. both sides seem attractive. RVP doing the business last week is an obvious choice. the tricky away fixture then comes against spurs. maybe fab's time to finally shine this season against such strong opposition?

gamble-ish pick - charlie adam @home to wigan, battling for premiership survival, just one point ahead of west ham.