Score (Gameweek): Arteta-22, Drogba-20, Carew-19, Lampard-18, Malouda-17 ...... Score (Total): Rooney-216, Fabregas-212, Lampard-200, Drogba-198, Bent-166 ...... Form: Lampard-9.5, Arteta-9.2, Malouda-8.8, Torres, 8.5, Drogba-8 ...... A simple click on the ads is the best way to motivate me! Thank you.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Monthly Express: September

Again I've made some improvements on the monthly preview and postview. August past in the blink of an eye, so did the 4 premier league gameweeks occur. And now lets review on some goods and bads of each teams, and also the recommendations for September.


Arsenal
Games this month: Man City (A), Wigan (H), Fulham (A)
Difficulty: ●●●●
  1. Fabregas is as strong as ever and showed to the world that who's the boss in Arsenal. His creativity provided the gunners the biggest advantage in offense. Sadly he's now injured though. He's one of the best high priced midfielders once available, given his superior position currently at the London club.
  2. Arshavin's glow, unfortunately, had been wiped off by Fabby. He's much overpriced now since the position of the attacking ace has now returned to the captain of the team. And with the current trend, I would recommend you to sell him, but you can still keep him before Fabregas is recovered.
  3. Van Persie is still on his scoring drought, surprisingly. My predicted top scorer of Arsenal, although yet to score a goal, had provided numerous assists. But still I don't think the goalless streak will last, so to get him is not really a bad choice, though not the best.
Aston Villa
Games this month: Birmingham (A), Portsmouth (H), Blackburn (A)
Difficulty: ●●
  1. Agbonlahor finally scored a goal on the last game of August, after having his price dropped by 0.3! This is definitely a good time to buy in Gabby since Villa's fixtures are quite favourable to them. So if you want to load him on, don't hesitate.
  2. Ashley Young is gaining his ace status at Villa following Barry's departure. He scored 12 points against Liverpool, and this looks quite promising. Just the same as Agbonlahor, don't wait if you want to buy him; otherwise you won't get any bank profits.
Birmingham
Games this month: Aston Villa (H), Hull (A), Bolton (H)
Difficulty: ●●●
  1. Joe Hart is showing something with the Blues. His great form has halted Taylor from coming up from the bench. For those who like cheap keepers in their team, Sorensen-Hart combo is the best.
Blackburn
Games this month: Wolves (H), Everton (A), Aston Villa (H)
Difficulty: ●●●●

Not really anyone that worthed to be written here since their starting 11 are unpredictable and their fixtures are tough this month.

Bolton
Games this month: Portsmouth (A), Stoke (H), Birmingham (A)
Difficulty: ●●●
  1. It must be the time for Matthew Taylor to unleash his best this month as their fixtures are relatively easy, especially at Portsmouth. It's certainly a doomsday for him and Bolton if he still can't score any goals or assists after this month. Strongly recommended.
  2. Kevin Davies still never show any signs of retirement after his fine display against Liverpool. A goal added with an assist by him had almost led them to punish the Reds.
Burnley
Games this month: Liverpool (A), Sunderland (H), Tottenham (A)
Difficulty: ●●●●●

Despite having two unexpected wins and a few of surprising players such as Jensen, Bikey and Elliott, I don't recommend anyone from Burnley this month as:
  1. Liverpool and Tottenham aren't Man Utd and Everton who have difficulty in breaking stubborn defenses, not to be forgotten Burnley is the visitors for both games.
  2. Sunderland isn't a relegation candidate anymore.
  3. Chelsea had uncovered the mysterious mask of this promoted team.
Chelsea
Games this month: Stoke (A), Tottenham (H), Wigan (A)
Difficulty: ●●●●
  1. Michael Ballack has finally found his glorious moments with Chelsea. 2 goals from 4 matches certainly is a good record for a midfielder. If the form can be sustained, bring him on instead of Lampard.
  2. Have a look on Ashley Cole. This guy had already collected at least 1 bonus point for 3 consecutive games, and this certainly isn't luck. But as a defender, 2 tough games this month certainly aren't that favourable for fantasy managers to add him into their squad.
  3. Didier Drogba is insane. 4 games this season Chelsea had played, and 4 games Drogba ended up with at least 1 goal or assist. His revival under Carlo Ancelotti has made him the best pick among fantasy strikers currently.
Everton
Games this month: Fulham (A), Blackburn (H), Portsmouth (A)
Difficulty: ●●●
  1. Distin is the only man I would recommend for. At the price of £4.9m, he'll give a lot of defensive fortification to Everton - at least before Jagielka's back.
  2. Baines, despite scoring double figure on last game, still not really a good pick. Note that his goal last game was a penalty, which not even a single team on the premier league would get it once for every 2-3 games. And still, Everton is waiting for its first clean sheet this season.
Fulham
Games this month: Everton (H), Wolves (A), Arsenal (H)
Difficulty: ●●●●

It's always about defenders at Fulham, and this month's fixtures will be a tricky gamble to get them.

Hull City
Games this month: Sunderland (A), Birmingham (H), Liverpool (A)
Difficulty: ●●●●
  1. Stephen Hunt have a perfect start in the premier league this season. Provided his price is continuously rising, get him asap to improve your team value and even your score.
  2. Experienced Dutch Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has just joined the team, and I believe with his experience, he'll give the Tigers a lot in his striker position. Observe him for 2-3 games, and bring him on if he's doing very good upfront.
Liverpool
Games this month: Burnley (H), West Ham (A), Hull (H)
Difficulty: ●●
  1. Glen Johnson is already the leader of the defenders scoreboard despite only joined Liverpool this season. His totally out of position play will benefit most of the fantasy managers owning him. Please not that Liverpool's defense are still not on their best, so he can potentially load you more points.
  2. Torres is finding back his scoring touch steadily - 3 goals in past 3 games. You cannot fool with the league's best striker anyway. Yet he'll need better midfield control for him to score more.
Manchester City
Games this month: Arsenal (H), Man Utd (A), West Ham (H)
Difficulty: ●●●●●
  1. Adebayor is on rampage, but the true test for him begins this month. For those who haven't got him yet, I would recommend you to wait until he played against Arsenal and Man Utd.
Manchester United
Games this month: Tottenham (A), Man City (H), Stoke (A)
Difficulty: ●●●●●
  1. Rooney gained the quo status at Old Trafford at ease - scoring decisive goals at all three of United's victories. No matter who's the opponent, to place Rooney in your team is always a good choice.
Portsmouth
Games this month: Bolton (H), Aston Villa (A), Everton (H)
Difficulty: ●●●●

It's always a wise decision to rule Portsmouth's players out of your fantasy lineup.

Stoke City
Games this month: Chelsea (H), Bolton (A), Man Utd (H)
Difficulty: ●●●●●
  1. Ryan Shawcross had already helped fantasy managers who included him in their team since GW1 to earn £0.4m. But for those who haven't have him yet, now is the worst time to get him - when Stoke have to fight 2 mega teams this month.
  2. Sorensen is showing signs of becoming this season's Schwarzer - at a even cheaper price than Schwarzer last season. Stoke are a good clean sheet collector, so you can expect Sorensen to achieve great results this season.
Sunderland
Games this month: Hull (H), Burnley (A), Wolves (H)
Difficulty: ●●
  1. Darren Bent should give his loyal supporters 2-3 goals this month as the Black Cats are having easy opponents this month. Then you can expect his price to increase for £0.2m again.
  2. Michael Turner's is here, and with his new club, he's even a better bet. They have better defenses and better players with better calibres than Hull. He'll make Sunderland a better team, so I also expect some bonus points from him.
Tottenham
Games this month: Man Utd (H), Chelsea (A), Burnley (H)
Difficulty: ●●●●●
  1. Jermaine Defoe should score again at the game against Man Utd since White Hart Lane is always a heaven of goals. For those who want to sell him due to two continuous tough fixtures, the best time to do so is still two and a half months from now.
  2. Aaron Lennon is claiming the best right wing of the premier league currently, and with Modrice not around, he'll be the main firepower of the Spurs' midfield. Get him fast.
West Ham
Games this month: Wigan (A), Liverpool (H), Man City (A)
Difficulty: ●●●●●
  1. Upson is showing his best, but those who own him should sell him after the game with Wigan since they'll face a lot of tough teams continuously after that.
Wigan
Games this month: West Ham (H), Arsenal (A), Chelsea (H)
Difficulty: ●●●●●

Arsenal and Chelsea are too much for this team, so you better don't bring in a Wigan player to mess your team up.

Wolves
Games this month: Blackburn (A), Fulham (H), Sunderland (A)
Difficulty: ●●●
  1. 22k of net transfers for Keogh up to now this week, and I believe this isn't a wise decision. Ebanks-Blake is near to his recovery, and he'll have to warm up the bench again.
  2. Ebanks-Blake's price had dropped to £5.3m since his injury, but the price should bounce back if he score a couple of goals this month.
  3. Even without goals, Kevin Doyle got 1 bonus point last game. You can imagine how many he'll get if he scores don't you?
  4. Kightly is close to his recovery. With him back to action, I can tell you that it'll be the best time to bring on him, SEB and Doyle.


My Predicted Dream Team of the Month

Cech

G.Johnson G.Cahill Turner Warnock

Hunt Ballack M.Taylor A.Young

Bent Torres

Value: £75.4m (as at 9/9/09)

Cech - Stoke and Wigan aren't great in offense, and Tottenham's attack is always weaker away from home.
Johnson - Always the best defender in terms of offensivity.
Cahill - He shall get clean sheets and hopefully a goal or two with easy opponents.
Turner - The same reason as Cahill.
Warnock - He'll perform better with a better team.
Hunt - The new powerhouse of Hull City.
Ballack - His strong body is the best weapon to pierce through tough defense.
Taylor - Time to bounce back from low form.
Young - He has teams like Portsmouth for him to rape.
Bent - He won't fail to score.
Torres - His goals will be the best cover for the Reds' bad defense.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Post-Match Analysis: Gameweek 4

Here's what happened in Gameweek 4. Not really any surprises happened though.

Home vs Away

PR

SC

RS

Analysis

Chelsea

vs

Burnley


2-0



3-0



CW


And so the wonderful fantasy of the newcomer ended. Another goalless yet 10 points performance from Lampard.

Blackburn

vs

West Ham


2-0



0-0



WG


Just a draw.

Bolton

vs

Liverpool


0-3



2-3



CW


There are now 3 musketeers from Liverpool – Torres, Gerrard and Johnson. Still, the defense is still awful.

Stoke City

vs

Sunderland


0-0



1-0



WG



Kitson – remember this guy.


Tottenham

vs

Birmingham


1-0



2-1



CM


Tottenham won in expense of Modric. Oops! Lennon proved himself again.

Wolves

vs

Hull City


2-1



1-1



WG


Watch out for Kevin Doyle – he's powering up the offense.

Man Utd

vs

Arsenal


1-0



2-1



CM


Diaby scores again! ... against Arsenal.

Portsmouth

vs

Man City


0-4



0-1



CW


Another small win by City. Adebayor is on rampage.

Everton

vs

Wigan


0-1



2-1



WG


Everton dominated the game but only managed to won at last minute. Baines was the hero!

Aston Villa

vs

Fulham


1-0



2-0


CW

An own goal ruined the cottagers' day.


Note: PR - Prediction, SC - Final Score, RS - Result, CS - Correct Score, CM - Correct Margin, CW - Correct Winner and WG - Wrong.


Special Topics

Man Utd vs Arsenal
Again the Red Devils had shown us the power of Old Trafford. Home wins are Man Utd key to success last season, and if they can repeat it, 4th in a row isn't a dream for them.

Arsenal was unlucky anyway to lost Fabregas in such critical games. The gunners have the advantage at the earlier stage of the game, but losing in the end due to the lack of character to withstand the pressure. From this game, I also found something interesting: Arshavin can only load you a lot of points when Fabby's absent.

The Three Musketeers
Johnson, Torres and Gerrard - 3 of them scored on the same game! The latter duo should be happy since now there's another man to share their load, and Glen Johnson's £18m price proved to be a real deal now. But still, Liverpool will have to pay more attention to their defense - 5 goals conceded from 4 games certainly is not a healthy figure for a top 4 team.

Modric's Pain
That's an unfortunate news for Tottenham - to lost their playmaker for a long period of time. Modric's absent certainly will affect much towards Spurs' hunt for a Champions League spot. They'll need to find a cover for him asap, and Redknapp's is now attempting to sign Kranjcar.



Players of the Gameweek
  1. Ballack (11) - The German captain is back on hot form this season. Should be a season regular finally.
  2. Torres (12) - £11.5m certainly isn't an inflated price. Even not in his peak form, he scored 3 from 3 games.
  3. Upson (9) - Another fine display had helped him to claim extra 3 bonus points.
  4. Lennon (10) - A decisive winner by him.
  5. A Cole (14) - He's showing something to protect his starting position at Chelsea.
  6. Kitson (9) - His only goal has converted 3 points for Stoke.


Leaderboard of the Gameweek
  1. A Cole (14)
  2. Baines, Torres (12)
  3. Stearman, Ballack (11)
  4. Lampard, Lennon (10)
Leaderboard of the Season
  1. Drogba (33)
  2. Rooney, G Johnson (31)
  3. Shawcross (29)
  4. Defoe (28)
  5. A Cole, Lennon (27)

Monday, August 31, 2009

Poll of the Fortnight: Who'll Be the First Manager to be Sacked?

Sorry guys as I didn't post up any topic of the fortnight as promised, as I was quite busy days before. Now here's episode 2 of poll of the fortnight: the first ever manager to be sacked this season?

In this poll, Portsmouth manager Paul Hart is the leader with 23 votes (or 47%). This is quite reasonable since the Pompey are having a extremely tough moments under him - 4 losses from 4 games. I believe by the end of September, if Paul Hart can't lead his team to their first victory, he'll be sacked.

On the second position is Manchester City's manager Mark Hughes (17 votes or 35%). While everyone is suspecting his ability to lead a team full of big names, Hughes led his team to 3 consecutive wins - although all of them won by only small margin. His next two games against Arsenal and Man Utd are the crucial ones - if he can do a great result at both games, he'll be safe.

And the third place stands the one who most people hate: Phil Brown from Hull City. He got only 10% of votes but that doesn't mean that he's safe from being fired. But thanks to Hull City fine display (certainly not bad), he's still safe at the moment.

Meanwhile Roberto Martinez (2 votes) is having a hard time following Wigan's third consecutive defeats. His low figure of votes is indeed in contrast with his current dangerous position. And Alex McLeish surprisingly got null votes from our fellow respondents. He's just not famous so nobody votes him don't you think?

There're two votes who voted for others - is it Rafa Benitez who lost 2 games from 4, or Moyes who only managed to help Everton to pick 3 points out of 3 games? Or Bolton's Megson who yet to lead his team to first league victory of the season?