Fantasy Football 2011-9-23

from the team at http://www.facebook.com/BackOfTheNetBoy

Game week 6

barcaRONAN’s last game week Score – 27 // Average Score on site – 40

Highest Haul – 8 // Lowest Haul – (-1) // Average Score Per Player 2.5

Accrued Score – 191

State Of Play

Ah FFS what a horrible week, 13 point below the average, or 33% to show how gaping a whole that was. I’m more than half way down my own league and a massive 101 points off the top. Maybe I’m making the mistake of doing the blog to soon in the day and not looking at stuff Saturday morning but I haven’t really been caught with last minute omissions etc. Well thrice in 5 weeks, but the resulting results (that’s a valid word construction yeah?) showed it would have produced negligable returns anyway.

Vindication

Arteta got me 8, and not captaining Rooney was a good idea cos of the missed penalty… eek eek eek, can you hear that? That’s the sound of the bottom of the barrel of vindication being scraped.

D’oh

A bad workman always blames his tools eh? Well I had 11 tools on my team last week. Well 10, I’ll let Arteta off the hook.

Here’s the screenshot of my team from last game week

Questions / Hunch / Drama / Dramatic Narrative this game week before Sky Have Spotted it

(*) – I haven’t listened to this week’s fantasy podcast, (or indeed read the Captain’s Corner’s) so if I make any major changes in the morning I’ll put them in the comments box. But I can’t imagine doing so, I’ve got clearish thoughts already.

Are the wheel’s coming off the Liverpool wagon, cases for the prosecution, (A) they seem to have no depth in full backs, (B) Stevie G is coming back, and for some reason, like Johnny Giles, I’ve never liked him. Even Kenny can’t drop him (yet), and with Charlie Adam suspended, there’s an obvious swap there. But what will it do to the balance of the team {extra subtext it would be quite a story is Lampard and Gerrard are both becoming non-essential figures in their clubs at the same time}. (C) they weren’t walloped by an excellent Spurs team, they were terrible and Spurs were quite good; can they pull themselves back from that, I doubt Kenny’s ever lost by that much ever. {will I bother researching that? No. I’m sure Pat Mulhearn will tell me if I’m wrong}.

But… Wolves at home is a good fixture I guess. But then Everton derby and Man Utd could be bad as well.

a lot of people going on about Newcastle, indeed Leon Best are the biggest price rise of last week, according to another FF site

Transfers/Theory/Selection

I’m committing myself to 3 changes so that’s gonna be 8 points gone from the team already

Okay, well Alex can go, he’s not performing well for Chelsea, and is suspended anyway. Everyone is tipping Ryan Taylor, but I’ll go with his namesake Stephen, as he seems to get more bonus points. And he is first choice player.

I really want Mata, my hunch a few weeks ago to get him looks valid, I only wish I’d jumped then. Houlahan is the one to go even though a very poor Sunderland at home could be a good un for him, Man Utd the next week means, realistically he could expect an average of maybe 3/4 points each from the two games. Mata could (hopefully) get a haul of 12/14, which would make it a worthwhile swap.

Bent out and his club mate, Agbonlahor in, at a tidy 2.3 million saving. He has two favourable fixture this week and next week, so should cover the extra 4 points I’m spending on him

Captain’s choice is between Arteta at home to Bolton, a Bolton who’ve lost 4 in a row and an Arteta who’s eager to step out of the shadow of Fabregas and Nasri; and barcaRONAN new boy, Mata, at Swansea. I’m gonna go with the latter; mainly cos it rhymes with Mata.

Reason Rooney isn’t in contention is while Man Utd mightn’t lose at Stoke, I can’t see them walloping them (the team will already have their nose out of joint since Steve Bruce, who’d know his fair share of getting his nose out of joint (yeah, that’s right, cheap dig at his shrón), managed a 4-0 win last week. Also if the oft repeated claim that Rooney scores in bursts perhaps his penalty miss will bookend his last great spell.

Having said what I said about Liverpool earlier, I still won’t play Hennessey in goal, but rather Given, who while away at QPR and while playing SWP and hoping he does well, will hopefully save a load of shots or something!

And the basic reasoning behind the rest of my team, is I’m playing everyone who’s playing at home, other than Walters (who is my first choice sub), so that I can play Rooney, who I might be a fool to not play eh?

My Team this week

Keeping An Eye On

No one in specific to be honest, more so to see if Stoke perhaps are starting to tire, might be time for Huth and Walters to head for the door? And is my Liverpool theory correct. Also will I continue my head in the sand approach to Aguero and Dzeko?

Captain's Corner with Phergal

It's quite open this weekend in terms of captaincy options, let's take a look at the main candidates.

Rooney away to Stoke - Rooney won't be the automatic choice he was other weeks, due to Stokes resilience at home. Rooney has also never scored against Stoke for what that's worth. I like this fixture though, Stoke will have a lot of the same players that played mid week and will be tired, and were also badly exposed by Sunderland last weekend. I can see a few United goals here despite the tricky fixture.

Aguero/Dzeko @Home to everton - I reckon Dzeko and Aguero will both start here, having been rested mid week for the carling cup tie. Aguero seems the safer bet. I see Everton putting up a good fight here though and City play a bit more carefully against the better teams (do Everton count as one of these "better teams" though?) so i wouldn't expect massive returns.

Suarez @Home to Wolves - Suarez has yet to produce a large return and the Pool are going though a bad patch but what better time to rack up a big score than at home against a Wolves side that are losing some of their start of season shine.

Torres/Mata @Home to Swansea - Swansea's excellent defensive record will be put to the test this weekend by a Chelsea side still in the process of settling with new players, new manager and new tactics. Chelsea put in a good shift against United last weekend and Torres's howler will have overshadowed what was actually a great performance from him. Mata looks a good shout too although he hasn't staked his claim as a regular captain option just yet.

Adebayor away to Wigan - bagged two last weekend against Liverpool, nice fixture against Wigan for him to grab some more points.

Gamble pick: Leon Best @home to Blackburn. On a great run and against relegation candidates at home.

Fantasy Football 2011-9-16 Gameweek 5

Gameweek 5

BarcaRONAN’s last gameweek Score – 66 // Average Score on site – 57

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

Accrued Score – 198

State Of Play

Jeez, my average score per gameweek is just below 50 points, so that’s not league winning form at all. On a personal level I need to d better and stop being hungover writing these blogs.

Vindication

The Rooney captaincy, what insight eh? Errah 34 points will do me fine. I picked 3 clean sheets too and I had no hunches that I ignored that came back to haunt me

D’oh

The rest of team combined accrued less points than Captain Rooney…

Here’s the screenshot of my team from last gameweek

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

So apparently there are rumblings that Torres may go to Milan (http://joe.ie/football/football-news/serie-a-giants-offer-early-chelsea-exit-for-fernando-torres-0015849-1) or is that he will be pushed. Either way the pressure on him now is immense, and against Man Utd he has the chance to bag the lead role in sky sport’s always understated highlights package at end of the broadcast.

The Spurs v Liverpool match promises to be a better game I feel, and certainly more points to be mined. I however am just coming up with no ideas beyond that, I am scratching my beard, scrolling up and down different websites, fixture lists and permutations and I’m coming up with nothing. I feel close to saying something like “is there anything to be said for another mass?” [there is never a situation where a Fr Ted references doesn’t work here at BOTNB HQ]

In short, I’ve got no hunches, no ideas or anything, so I’m gonna just hoof the ball forward and hope a gutsy Irish forward does something with it…

Transfers/Theory/Selection

So I’m buying Walters! Basically cleverly is out for a few weeks, just too long to have him warm the bench so I looked at my midfield watchlist and he appealed to me most, away at Stadium Of Light won’t be too daunting for Stoke and he’s a good chance of an assist or even a goal. And he seems to take the penalties too.

That’s it really, I fancy Given over Hennesey in goal, doubt Alex will play so put him on bench (also doubt either Chelsea or Man Utd will keep a clean sheet anyway. Dropped SWP cos I want Wolves to keep a clean sheet for Johnson to pick up 6 points for me, and then just had to pick who I felt will do least at weekend at Norwich away at Bolton looks a toughie for young Wes. (is he young?, I’m older than him I guess ergo he is young)

My Team this week

Keeping An Eye On

Everton, there are dark clouds over Goodison at moment and the next 4/5 fixtures they have are realy toughies, Man Utd/Chelsea/Liverpool derby, so if they can weather those, maybe eek a few draws and a late win etc etc, then I see some of them joining barcaRONAN

Captain's Corner with Phergal

So it's all about Rooney at the moment as he achieved an incredible back to back hat tricks against Bolton, bringing his premiership total to 8 goals in 4 games. So do you captain Rooney all season a la Ronaldo 07-08, getting rid of a major source of headache every week (not to mention making my column redundant!) leaving you to spend more time thinking about the rest of your team? It seems like a good choice at the moment, although i would offer up my old advice from last year: safe captaincy choice when you're doing well (if they don't score big, you won't lose too much ground as everyone will have them captained), take a gamble when behind, although it's still a bit early to be getting too worried about being behind in leagues. One decent week can still catapult you to the top of your league.

And what better week for a "differential" captaincy choice than this weekend as Man U take on Chelsea @home? I would safely say that a huge amount of people will be captaining Rooney from now on regardless of fixtures. Against tough opposition like Chelsea (albeit a home fixture) this offers you a chance to make up some points, so who looks a good bet this week?

Arsenal away to Blackburn - Lots including my good self got burned last weekend captaining RVP against new boys Swansea, perhaps we chose to ignore the warning signals - no signs of a resurgence in Arsenal's form and a good defensive showing (mostly) from Swansea. Perhaps we read too much into RVP's 4 goals (is there a name for this in football? quadtrick, double brace?) against San Marino. Anyway, RVP has scored 8 goals in 10 matches against Blackburn and looks a good shout here even though that's what i said last week, and he was highly rated against Dortmund the other night as well.

Fulham @home to Man City - Fulham are off to a bad start and City's premiership form is irresistible. Again we're faced with the rotation dilemma. Tevez and Aguero started last week with Dzeko rested for the mid week Napoli game. Two matches isn't much to go on to try and second guess Mancini so there's a big caveat here. In my opinion Aguero is the most likely starter.

Gamble pick - Baines at home to Wigan. Expect at least 6 points with a good chance of a goal or assist.

Fantasy Football 2011-9-9

Gameweek 4

BarcaRONAN’s last gameweek Score – 54 // Average Score on site – 57

Highest Haul – 22 // Lowest Haul – 1 // Average Score Per Player 4.9

Accrued Score – 136

State Of Play

Well I always said if going into gameweek four I was in the top 1,099,133 of the league I’d be happy, and I’ve achieved that goal… who am I kidding. I’m on a train on way to Holyhead for the ferry to go to Dublin after a week sojurn in England and am just a bag of frustration looking at my notes; I sit nice and snugly in the mid table of the Back Of The Net Boy! League. 44^th ain’t worth writing home about, but technically that’s what I am currently doing.

Vindication

Other than one of the most obvious selections ever (Rooney), nothing, not a single assist or from what I can think (offline at moment) a bonus point scored by my other 10 men. [I’ve not noticed a trend in my blog where even the vindication section is me berating myself, that’s how bad things are at barcaRONAN HQ]

D’oh

If I’d captained Rooney, his points doubled would have been more than the rest of the team put together!!!!!! I keep going back to my internal argument about the difference between a bad decision and a considered a decision that doesn’t pay off. But while I ponder these philospohpical things the league is already running away from me.

Here’s the screenshot of my team from last gameweek

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

Will Richard Dunne and Shay Given bring this gung-ho spirit into Villa team and perhaps reignite things? I am sensing they will, they are going to Goodison park, where there have been a few tasty tete-a-tetes between Everton and Aston Villa in past seasons, also baring in mind that Everton are down to two fit strikers [or is it easier for us to point out when Everton don’t have an injury problem].

The pressure is on Torres now, more than ever, Spanish media agititaing for him to be dropped from the national team and AVB has said only today that he’d have no problem dropping Torres if he ‘compromises’ the team (now unless Fernando has a photograph of Lamps and the boys up to something they shouldn’t be doing on a photocopier, I can only assume Andres is talking about the continuing goal drought); the shadow of Drogba lingering on Torre’s  shoulder [clunky mixed metaphor of the week award] won’t be there this game week, due to the formers concussion keeping him out of the game. {insert laboured comedy riff about Torres getting concussion during match this week, and the physio asking him who he is and when the patient says he doesn’t know, they tell him he’s Drogba and he goes back onto pitch and scores a hat-trick gag here}

I think O’Hara will have a good game against Spurs, who’ve really not been too good to him over last 2 years. And I think the great Dane, Nicolas, who has left Arsenal to go to Sunderland, might have have roy of the rovers stuff in his boots, home debut for a struggling team against Chelsea, it’s a perfect set up for a man of such high self regard / ego.

And on a club level, if Arsenal are gonna get their shit together, this is when it has to start; 4 very winnable fixtures in next 6 games – Swansea, Blackburn, Bolton, Tottenham, Sunderland and Stoke. Now noone expects clean sheets anymore with wenger’s boys, but Arteta is looking very tempting now (and Van Persie did score 4 goals against San Marino last week)

           

And while everyone seems to be going mad for Chris Smalling in particular, and the Man Utd rookies in general, Bolton, Chelsea and Stoke will all be tough customers in next few games so I don’t anticipate any clean sheets at all.

Transfers/Theory/Selection

I have two free transfers this week, as I used none last gameweek, but I think I’m going to make a third as well and really try and breath a bit of life in my team, Torres will be culled from my overly expensive front three, cos to be fair Bent will always play when fit, and will generally score when he plays, and for next while I can’t see Rooney being rotated out (when champions league etc starts, it might be different). I’m going to bring Long in, he’s clearly in form, pity he’s got a knock but Roy will always stick with the same team as  much as possible.

I want to get QPR player in, and after humming and hawing I’ll take SWP in over Taarabt, the latter takes the free kicks etc, but the former will be given a freer role apparently so I assume he’ll be nearer the ball too.

I’ve been mulling over Arteta v Benyaoun (both at Arsenal) v Mata (Chelsea)

I annoyingly have a lot of players playing against each other this week, ie two Man City defenders playing which means if they do well Moses, my Wigan midfielder will just score 2, but vice versa I might only get 4 points in total from Clichy and Kompany.

I’ll go with the old simple rule of picking the keeping playing at home, even though it goes against Given, I have a notion that Wolves will really stand out against Spurs this weekend, so a three wolf spine (they also play at home next week folks, if yer looking to bring any in).

My Team this week

Keeping An Eye On

The new Fulham signing has been tipped by the fantasy football podcast (I dunno if it was Granville or the other one, no doubt whoever it was will make sure we know about it if he is proven right! I’m really interested in seeing Bentder does at Sunderland, I will see how he does in next two games and decide then,

Kakuta, has joined Bolton on loan, now Man Utd, and Arsenal are two of the next three games and then Chelsea the following fixture (I can only assume he won’t eligible for that game), so if he shows some good involvement and is picked for all those games he can play, game week 7 he’ll be joining barcaRONAN.

Captain's Corner with Phergal

So the international break is over and the big names seem to have come out of it injury free. Plenty of nice captaincy friendly fixtures this week, let's take a look.

Arsenal @home to Swansea - There's a feeling among Gooners that the Arsenal season begins with this match, after a dismal few weeks marked by big name departures, a humiliating 8-2 defeat to United and some last minute transfer dealings. Morale will surely be up among the team (it couldn't get any worse) and you would expect Arsenal to come back with a vengeance here a bag and few goals against promoted Swansea. RVP is still remarkably uninjured and he's the best pick here. He's more than capable of racking up huge scores and will have some good service coming from Arteta, who himself could be a decent captain pick, but a new player at a club is always a gamble, even a Premier League veteran like Arteta. His returns the last two years from Everton have been uninspiring but maybe he'll discover some form with his new club, who knows.

Man City@ Home to Wigan. City are on a rampage and confidence is flowing. There should  be plenty of goals here, but with City's "embarrassment of riches" as the press like to say, there's a lot of choice for your captaincy armband. Dzeko is on fire and full of confidence after bagging 4 against Spurs two weeks ago, he seems to have established himself as City's target man. You'd have to feel Mancini would be adverse to benching a player hitting such great form, then again you have two other world class strikers in Tevez and Aguero that are almost sinful to bench. I see Tevez or Aguero as being interchangeable to partner Dzeko, but really, who knows. A safer pick may be Silva, who doesn't seem to be under any kind of threat from Nasri, and both are expected to start. Nasri has a broken hand but apparently will start this weekend.

Man United away to Bolton - Hard to resist United at the moment. Rooney is in the form of his life and you could safely captain him every week without too much worry. Young is also on wicked form but don't expect the massive haul he got against Arsenal 2 weeks ago, he should be good for a goal and assist here though and maybe some bonii.

Gamble picks -  Peter Odemwingie away to Norwich. WBA put in great performances against Chelsea and United and you feel they have to have a significant win soon. Shane Long is doubtful for the match.

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….

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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.