Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 14

Week 14 happens mid-week, so please remember to change your team by tonight 20:00 SGT.

Dismal week 13 for me. My midfield returned an astonishing 7.50 points. Valencia didn’t even make it to the bench. Everton only managed a 1-1 draw at home to Norwich, with Jelly doing absolutely nothing. Ppppppffffff. QPR did surprisingly well in the first half, but finally crumbled at the end. RVP was kept relatively quiet throughout the game, so no great points from him too. The only saving grace was Defoe with his 2 goals. All this adds up to 56 points for me. Bad bad week.

I have decided to keep Lloris for week 14 since I got him on the cheap last week. The other option was Guzan. But I have really exhausted my funds and could not afford the bargain of 3.98 for him.

Shotton should continue with Wilkinson still out. 8.50 points last week at 3-ish price and playing at home again means he is doing something right. Vert stays as usual. I have very minimal funds left for the third defender. Its a toss up between Fabio and Lichaj. Both are not really in the 1st 11  for their respective teams. Swayed towards Lichaj since Villa will be playing at home and Vlaar is an injury doubt.

At his BD price of 7-ish, its hard to find a player like Michu. He is playing very high up for Swansea and they are playing at home. Just in case you are thinking of dropping him, I think its about time for him to start scoring again. The premium for Lallana was too much and had to settle for Ramirez, who is not a bad choice too. Southampton plays fellow promoter Norwich at home and are on a good run of form. I guess like everyone else, I am jumping on the “other team” vs QPR bandwagon. I doubt Harry will be able to save QPR from the drop. Sunderland should have an easy time, so Sess will be in. Cazorla had a poor week 13 by his standards. Arsenal visits Everton, and with Fellaini back, they can expect a tough tough match. Will be sticking with Cazorla though, he’s too good and too expensive to sell now.

RVP will be looking to put the QPR game behind him and put on his scoring boots vs West Ham. The Hammers are bad travellers and their defending was pretty awful last week vs Spurs. Last chance for newly appointed Benitez to get a win before he gets the boot haha. Torres still looks dead to me and Mata is too pricey. Hazard seems a good choice for now. The Sunderland vs QPR bandwagon will be completed with Fletcher. I’m expecting great things from him in this game. 

Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 13

Abramovich latest victim, Roberto De Matteo, was fired this week after their 3-0 UCL loss. The UCL trophy won last season counts for nothing if you have a boss like Abramovich. In-coming caretaker Benitez will have to really prove himself if he is thinking of staying on for the next season. Pep Guardiola would have completed his one year hiatus come pre-season, and will be waiting. For now, we have Torres and Benitez back together again. Something for us to think about in the coming games. 

 

   
My team selection for week 13 was more or less firmed last weekend.

Lloris - Looks like AVB is looking to give him more play time now and this is a home game.

Vert, Ferguson, Shotton - With Coloccini still suspended and a number of players doubtful, Shane Ferguson is set to continue playing, possibly in midfield at that. Shotton is a cheap enabler while Vert remains the season keeper.

Cazorla, Michu, Valencia, Hitzlsperger - The Hammers comes in cos Fellaini is suspended this week. Not a bad thing actually. Hitzlsperger will be the one for dead balls and long rangers. Was deciding between him and Pienaar but I’m out of funds. Managerless QPR travels to Old Trafford waiting to be whipped. I’m banking on Valencia on the wings to provide the crosses and assists for my main man upfront.

Jelly, Defoe, RVP - Everton playing at home vs Norwich. Jelavic is a must. No brainer for me. Defoe at home too, vs West Ham, with K2 suspended for 3 games. Had to let go of Suarez for my main man this week - RVP. I will be counting on him to pile more misery on QPR. They are on course for a number of records this season. Go QPR!

 

Week 13 - Pin Pointing Games

Week 12 was a great week although points earned was average only. The happiness came from the fact that Liverpool won 3-0 and I was right that not every weekend is a Sunday for the so-called come back kings Manure (lost to Norwich).

I was contemplation to include Torres, the sole reason being the unification with the hiring of Rafa. One might have known is that Torres played his best years in Liverpool and under Rafa. Perhaps its really worth the gamble. The hindering factor is because Chelsea is taking on Man City. But with a new boss at the helm, you'll know that players would give 110% to impress. Lets see.

I have included Valencia, I believe after last week's defeat, the players must have suffered the wrath of Sir Alex and i expect them to go all out against QPR at home. I have added Giroud in place of Holt, as Arsenal takes on Aston Villa. We should see a couple of goals from Arsenal unless they choke again.

I have also added Adam Johnson, as Sunderland takes on West Brom. He seems like quite a good performer in recent games, worth taking another gamble. And I have added Shotton with the amount I am left with.

Week 12: Low Morale, Bad Mood ... and Sleepy

Tired week it has been. Low morale after the miserable fantasy week last weekend.

Nevertheless, there was still this one spark ... an eye opener ...  the highlight of the week - as Mel had mentioned - was definitely Zlatan Ibrahimovic's final goal against England during midweek!

Classic.

Epic.

Surely this one will go down in history as one of the best goals ever! Simply out of this world. It was a Great Goal, by one of the Greatest players of Football. Simply AWESOME. Sorry, running out of vocabulary to describe him and his goal :)

Now back to the fantasy league. I'll just pray for a turn in fortunes ... please please please! 

Talking about the stand-out fixtures for this week. Looks like other than West Brom vs Chelsea and Reading vs Everton, all the others look really appetizing. Yums yums yums!

I definitely like QPR vs the Saints. Surely, that's their best chance of grabbing this first win of the season? How about Man City at home vs Villa? Either Man City / Mancini pull up their socks or the boss gets sent packing. Not forgetting our comeback kings, my club ... Manchester United. You thought they are just going to let you down again but they will come all guns firing. shoving the barrels up your ass after the 2nd half even before you realize it. Red devils in red hot form. Can the Canaries tahan the heat?

So here goes, the group that I will be selecting from.

Jussi, Cesar, Reina
Vert, Fabio, Maicon, Bassong, Ferguson, Reid, Smalling
Fellaini, Cazorla, Taarabt, Michu, Lallana, Sterling, Nolan, Bale
RvP, Hazard, Cisse, Suarez, Tevez, Aguero

Fingers crossed.

Week 12 - Staying Unchanged

Good picks of 3 players, got me a total of 97 points for week11. Namely, Jussi Jääskeläinen,  Kevin Nolan and of course Luis Suárez!

I am planning to keep these 3 players, they seem to be able to hold their form and also they are not talking on any strong opponents.  As I advised before, we should not include players of high profile matches. But with Arsenal taking on Spurs, it seems that I am in a dilemma to include or exclude Vertonghen and Carzorla (they are my season keepers). In the end I think I will keep them, as I foresee a high scoring and heated derby game!

Keeping a majority of my squad the same. I really hope Ba will start to bang in goals. I have taken a huge risk with G. Holt. I know Norwich will be taking on "in such a hot streak and form", Manure. However in view of their leaky defense, I got a sneaky feeling that Holt will bang in a few against Manure and for them to display their comeback ability once again (Not everyday is a Sunday though!) .

Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 12

After grabbing a hat-trick vs England, Ibrahimovic wanted more. His acrobatic fourth goal oozed class, opportunism and damn superb skill. This will be replayed over and over again in all the best goal videos across the world. 

Had an average week 10 - returning 72 pts. The last minute decision to replace Giroud with Hazard turned out to be a big mistake. Hazard, though lively, did nothing exceptional vs Liverpool. His 4.50 pts paled in comparison with Giroud’s 23. Kudos to those who kept the faith with Jussi. 26 pts vs Newcastle and 52 saves so far this season. He is the best GK in the league at the moment, the fantasy league of course.

Some of the stand out teams for this weekend, Liverpool, Citeh, ManU, Fulham and ermm QPR? Still without a win, they will be playing at home vs the team just above them at the bottom of the table. If they can’t win this, I think they may go on to beat Derby’s record in 2008 - the first club in EPL to be relegated in March.

So here goes, the group that I will be selecting from.

Mannone, Cesar, Krul
Vert, Ferguson, Reid, Riether, Agger, Traore/Nelson
Cazorla, Michu, Fellaini, Nolan, Gerrard, Oscar, Granero
Suarez, Berbs, Jelly, Zamora, Pogreb, Tevez/Ageuro

Snatched Nolan, Suarez and Berbs on the BD last week. Not quite sure about Berbs, he tend to fade out after a high profile game. Will be updating this on Saturday. We’ll see then.

Week 11 - Mixture

Quite a few high profile games going on this weekend, Including Manchester City and Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool. This leaves us with a few big teams to pick from.

I do not really like to pick Manchester United players but with them playing Aston Villa, I hope flamboyant Rafeal will create or bang in a few. I noticed that Fulham had already banged in 21 goals this season. they seem to be a potent force, I also realized that their goals have been spread across quite a few players. Had a hard time trying to decide whom, I would have gone for Duff or Sidewell.

West Ham's Kelvin Nolan will be playing against his old club as it always happens old boys like to score against their old clubs. In place of Holt, I got Peter Crouch, hopping he will get some this weekend thru their direct style of play against QPR.

With the amount of $$ left, I went for the cheapest defender, Ferguson.

Week 11 - Tired Week

Man, it was hell of a week. First time ever since I moved to my new department that I felt sooo tired. Checks after checks. Ensuring ensuring and more ensuring to give assurance that our data are in order. Finally, the checks are all over with the submission yesterday.

Now ... back to soccer.

The only fixture that appeals to me in terms of fantasy points wise is Newcastle vs West Ham. But ... i am not going to bank all my funds on Newcastle players. Why? Let me pose a question to you. Which Newcastle player has been returning the goods? Anyone? Nah .... If you feel that you really have to invest in one, that person got to be BA.

Some quick notes:

A. The Senegal international was disgusted after being named among the substitutes for last Monday night's 2-2 draw against Everton. However, he was really professional by responding in fine style by coming off the bench to score both his side's goals.

B. Midweek, Ba was rested as Newcastle face the Portuguese side Maritimo in the Europa League.

C. 3rd match out of favour again? Perhaps. Maybe not. Who knows? Can somebody read Pardew's mind, please?

There is Mr BA, waiting in the dressing room ... waiting to be called up.

Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 11

Posting earlier this week.
This will be the group of players that I will be choosing from.
To be updated Friday evening or Saturday morning...

GK - Mannone, Howard, Davis/Gazza

Def - Vert, Ferguson, Wilkinson, Shorey

Mid - Cazorla, Michu, Lallana/Ramirez, Fellaini/Pienaar, HBA

Fwd - RVP, Giroud, Jelavic/Mirallas, Ba

<Update>

It's going to be Mannone, Vert, Ferguson, Wilkinson, Cazorla, Michu, Ramirez, Fellaini, RVP, Jelavic and Hazard. 

A full strength Everton, playing at home, will be too strong for MON's Sunderland. Grabbed Fellaini last week on the BD just after he scored the 2 goals for the draw at Fulham. Brought in 2 cheap defenders, Ferguson and Wilkinson, so that I have enough funds for RVP. Just can't ignore the fact that he is the form player for the Mancs now. Scoring almost every game. Got rid of Giroud for Hazard at the last minute. I have to admit that it will be a very daunting task for Liverpool to leave Stamford Bridge with any point. My only hope is for "dead" Torres to end the game with a blank sheet.

Come on Agger!

Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 10

It was a week of bad refereeing last week. First Liverpool were robbed of a win at Goodison. Then the 2 red cards at Chelsea. Both teams could have won and collected 3 points. Anyway, Moyes choose the wrong game to “motivate” Suarez.

Its just like an hour to the deadline. I guess everybody must have selected their players. Would love to keep Bale, but there is just not enough funds to spread around the team. Replaced him with Lennon instead. Cesar, Nelson and Taarabt may help QPR to their first win of the season. Jenkins, Vert, Cazorla, Michu, Defoe, Suarez stays. Can’t believe it, but I captured dead Torres for this week. It was not too long ago when Spurs trashed Wigan 8-1 and Defoe helped himself to a buffet of goals. I will be happy with 3 goals from him this time.

Congrats to the new Dad , Gabriel! I think this is a good sign for tomorrow’s game haha...

Week 10 - New additions to the family

With a new addition to the family, I did not have much time to think about the squad. Here's my squad for week 10:

Week 10 - Climbing Up The Ranks

Last week had not been fantastic for me, neither had it been for my fellow fantasy league members. I was still able to climb up the table, thanks to the few golden picks that I punted on!

This week, I shall continue my strategy by investing in the standout fixture(s) heavily ...

Tell me, if you are to pick just one fixture to bank on, which will it be?

5
4
3
2 .... 1

Tottenham vs Wigan

Although Wigan are no more beating boys and I reckon their new addition of Arouna Kone will certainly be tormenting the Spurs' defense tonight, Spurs does look far more convincing to grab the goals and the final victory.

Well I know most people will be saying ... "hey, you forgot how they lost to Norwich a few days earlier?" Certainly, the critics and the skepticals ... but they have all the quality and ability to beat any team on their day, let alone a Wigan, right?

Caught up with Gabriel last week ... now Mel is not that far ahead.

Hot on your heels Mel. Watch out :)