Week 9 - Bouncing Back From Defeats!

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all the Muslim friends out there! Apologies for the late Post today. Here is my selection. Trying to stick to the strategy of avoiding big clashes, I did not pick up any players from the Merseyside derby and Chelsea versus Man United except for my season keeper Ivanovic.

I was actually contemplating to drop him this weekend as his goals were drying up!

I thought of having Richards as a replacement as his form seems to be picking up but one does not if he will be picked to play? So I re-added Ivanovic at least I am sure he will be playing, unless injured.

This weekend, those teams who did not do well in Europe in mid-week has a point to prove. I picked a majority of Arsenal players as they take on QPR. Hoping they bounce back after the disappointing mid-week CL game.

Similar for the case of Manchester City, I think they will be looking to bounce back from their poor performance during mid-week, however I managed only to get Yaya Toure. This was because, I wanted to keep Suarez and Ba.

I have also added Ben Arfa. In view that Newcastle will be playing at home to West Brom, seems like its time for Ba and Arfa to hit a few home (of course not own goals). If Ba still does not repay me for believing him, I think I will drop him for next week.

Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 9

Looks like the deadline is just a few hours away.
My team atm...

Mannone
Vert Jenks Lowton
Cazorla Michu Lallana Yaya
Kone Defoe Giroud

Still with 13.21 in the bank. I may tinker my team with the following.

GK - Guzan at only 3.82 and Villa playing at home. In case there is a need to downgrade Mannone for extra funds.

Def - Got Lowton on the BD last week. Other cheap options are from Villa too, Vlaar and dirt cheap Lichaj.

Mid - Bale, rested for europa and may score big this week. Trying to squeeze some funds to get him and Nasir into the team to replace Lallana and Yaya.

Fwd - Still thinking if Kone is a risk here. 3 goals, 2 assists and 8 SOTs so far. Not too bad at all for his first season. If I drop him it will be for a Citeh player, either Tevez or Kun.

All odds will be thrown out of the window on Sunday at the Merseyside Derby. But with Pienaar out and possibly the Belgian Afro too, I think Liverpool may just nick it. I hope.

BTW, Downing got his season’s first goal against Anzhi. From the leftback position!

Week 9: Revival Not So Easy After All ...

There're some pretty straightforward fixtures this weekend, predominantly ...

Arsenal v QPR
Tottenham Hotspur @ Southampton
Manchester City v Swansea

Let's start from the bottom of the list. Manchester City is due a bounce back against an average Swansea (if we are to disregard the Swans' opening few matches). Unbeaten at home last season and only Arsenal managed to snatch a pt from them. Do you really think Swansea can do the impossible? On one hand this is a straightforward game and I really should be banking on the Man C players but this is where it gets me frustrated. Who is going to start? Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Balotelli ... any clues?

Spurs are away to the Saints who are leaking goals every match. Count on players like Defoe, Bale, Lennon to cost havoc and pick up massive fantasy points. The only thing I don't like about this fixture is that Spurs is playing away from home.

The real banker of the week: ARSENAL. Needless for any analysis or whatsoever.

Week 8 - Avoiding high profile clashes

This week, I opted to not have any Spurs and Chelsea players as they take on each other, except my keeper, Ivanovic.

I have swapped out Lambert for Podolski in view that high flying Arsenal takes on lowly Norwich. But one never knows what will happen after the international break. Still keeping Ba, even though Newcastle is playing away, I do hope he gets in a few this weekend to justify for his high price.

West Ham is playing at home and I remember how Nolan and Carroll combine to deadly effect when they were playing for Newcastle. I decided to include Nolan, but I have no space for Carroll at the moment. Lets see if Nolan can come from deep to score those deadly head down by Caroll this week. Also added Kagawa, as Manchester United takes on stoke, I got a feeling that hard tackling stoke will give Rooney and his strike force a run for their money. If there are goals in this game, I think it will come from midfield.

I have kept my defense largely the same, with the amount of money left, I was able to afford the Arsenal keeper. Seems like a good choice since Norwich is lacking in goals. But the risk here is Arsène Wenger might not play Mannone!

After the international break, things can be rather unpredictable. Norwich might just surprise everyone! lets see!

Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 8

Some good news from the international week break.
Suso has signed a long term contract with Liverpool. Good to know that this little gem will be staying with Liverpool for a few years more at least.

I’m in abit of a rush, so just a very brief summary of the group players I will be selecting from for week 8.

GK - Reina (late fitness test), Mannone, Jussi
Def - Jenkins, Vert, Chico, Wisdom, Agger, Riether
Mid - Cazorla, Kagawa, Gerrard, Sterling, Duff, Nolan, MIchu
Fwd - Suarez, Carroll, Podolski, Giroud, Berbs (if fit)

I had Reina earlier, but it looks like he will be facing a late fitness test due to a minor injury. Swapped him with Mannone, with one eye looking at Jussi.

Vert and Jenkins seem like my keepers at the moment. Chico for Swansea playing at home against Wigan and Wisdom for Liverpool, both at 6-ish are cheap options. Agger too, as Liverpool will be gunning for their first home win and a CS. He may even chip in with a goal. Get Riether if you want a Fulham Def. Fulham at home will be too strong for Villa.

I am currently holding Cazorla, Gerrard, Nolan and Michu. Gerrard should be bossing Reading and be pushed up in this fairly easy game. Nolan is also played further up in the Hammers team, supporting Carroll. And I am keeping the faith with Michu. May just swap 1 or 2 of them with Kagawa, Sterling or Duff later in the day.

No surprises for the forwards here. Suarez is still in my team. Carroll is back and playing at home against the Saints, who are really poor defensively. Podolski over Giroud for me and for the brave, Berbs. He may turn on his “4 goals” mode for this this game. We never know.
 

Week 8: For My Revival

The previous fantasy week was really great for me as the Chelsea bet really paid dividends. Okay, now everything back to the drawing board as I am now back in the game again ... hehehe ... although still some hundreds of points off the summit. There are a few interesting match-ups this week and really, you should just be focusing on these 4:

ARSENAL @ Norwich City
MANCHESTER UNITED v Stoke City
FULHAM v Aston Villa
LIVERPOOL v Reading


The teams in bold were highlighted for a reason and you should bloody hell know why ... no need to guess, no need to doubt ... just whack! As my current team line-up now stands, 70% of my players come from these teams.

Trust me to deliver the goods again? You bet!

England did it (as expected)

5-0 the scoreline but great work to the San Marinos who were able to keep the Englishmen quiet for at least thirty odd minutes ... their hard work undone after their keeper tried to stop Welbeck from scoring. The previous two meetings between the 2 nations all ended up in big scores and hence, I was rather disappointed with the 5-0 score in fact ... not that I had my ticket on a 9-0 win but you know, everyone's expectations of the Three Lions were really high.

Rooney, the stand-in skipper, scored a brace and climbed to fifth in the all-time Three Lions scoring charts to help Roy Hodgson's team defeat the minnows in a one-sided affair to go top of Group H.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also got off the mark for England and became the fourth youngest national goal scorer in English history, mirroring dad Mark Chamberlain's own Three Lions record of one goal from eight caps.

And there were two other goals from Mr Welbeck, who showed that his cute backheel against Sweden at Euro 2012 was no fluke by scoring in almost identical fashion.

Week 7 Post

Damn it ... I was in HongKong for my brother's wedding and didn't manage to update my team. I thought ... just hack it and just try my luck with my previous week team lineup. Damn it again, when I came back from hols and Mel / Gab said that I ate a big zero for that game week, I then recalled that I had made some tweaks to my team previously but I hadn't formed a complete team ... (that explains the big zero ... god damn it!!!)

I have sort of given up all hope of getting a TOP 3 finish this season ... (pretty much seems like every other season right?) So please don't count on me to do any more analysis as I am going for the break!

YEA MAN ... MAKE IT OR BREAK IT!!!

Pouring my funds into Chelsea players this week ... that's my hunch to make it ... not break it!

Watch your backs guys ... cos I am coming after you!!!!

Week 7 - Mix and Match

The choices for week 6 went quite well with Suarez, Crouch and Vertonghan scoring 3, 2 & 1 goals respectively. That was where the bulk of week 6's points came from. 


Julio Cesar was a disappointment at negative 2 points. I will need to start concentrating on these negative scores. Also for Ivanovic, he does not seem to be getting the points he was clocking in the first few games for Chelsea.

It also seems like my gamble on Duff did not pay off, he did perform at all for week 6. However, for the first time in the history of playing this game, I am up to a single digit position in my own challenge league, I hope to keep the momentum up!

Now lets talk about week 7! I have decided to go BA or go home, investing heavily on Ba hoping to ride on his good form. However like Duff, they will play against Manchester United this week. Its really going to be a gamble, but its gamble like this that I need to catch up with the rest of the high scorers in the league table.

Without a doubt, Suarez is a season keeper for me, even if he doesn't score he will average about a good 10 points per game. As for Lambert, it was a good thing that I dropped him for week 6, he did earn much points. Placing my faith in him again to bounce back for a home game with Fulham.

For midfielders, I managed to BD Oscar, while performing really well in the Champions league he is yet to score many points for the league. I am sure there will be alot of people looking to bang in Chelsea players as they look to trash lowly Norwich.

Another new addition to the midfield is Dembele, with confidence sky high from the win at old trafford last week, I hope Spurs does well at home against Aston Villa.

I dropped Julio Cesar as they will be playing away. And investing heavily in Ba, I am only left with enough for Southampton's Kelvin Davis. Playing at home against Fulham, seems like the only logical choice!

Mel’s Fantasy Team Selection - Week 7

The Suarez show started late this season. And what a show it was at Carrow Road! His hat trick helped Liverpool register their first win in 6 games. If there was an award for the most number of successful nutmegs executed, Suarez will win it for sure. Every season. He just doesn’t like to score easy goals! I am also very pleased that Sterling, Suso and Wisdom started against Norwich. Suso impressed me in particular. He is calm with the ball and always in a position with space to create chances. In a way, he reminded me of Fabregas in his later years at Arsenal. Sterling is quickly developing into the swashbuckling winger that Liverpool have been missing, since the days of Macca. Many had not heard of Wisdom before this season, but he is really making a name for himself playing as the makeshift RB, with Johnson covering the injured Enrique on the left.  I’m hoping these 3 youngsters will kick start a new generation of talented and hungry footballers from the academy. Something that Liverpool is missing since the days of Fowler, Macca, Carra, Owen and Gerrard.



Had a pretty good Week 6. 2 goals each from Jelavic and Crouch, and 1 from Fletcher (just 10 points from him though). Pienaar, my most expensive MF, had a quiet game and only scored 3.50 points. Surprisingly, no SOTs or assists after Everton’s 3-1 win. Stoke’s Cameron has been averaging 8 points in the last 5 games, mostly coming from tackles won (17) and pass intercepted (13). I had to let him go for Week 7 (@Liverpool) and Week 8 (@Man U), but will be hoping to get him on the BD for Week 9.

Reina may finally get his clean sheet at Anfield against Stoke for Week 7, and he is still dirt cheap. Another good option will be the Saints keeper. It's anybody's guess who will get to start. Gazzaniga looks like the favoured one. Mannone could be your budget keeper this week. Arsenal is on a good run of form and is expected to roll over the Hammers. Among the >10 keepers, I think Friedel should offer the best ROI. Spurs will be too quick and powerful for relegation favourites Villa.

Grabbed Vert on the BD after his blazing run and goal last week. A season keeper? We’ll see. As mentioned earlier, Arsenal should overcome West Ham away. So if you need a cheap option, Jenkins' your man. I’m back on the Chico bandwagon. Swansea is playing at home and its Reading! Chelsea was involved in the UCL this week and I think they may rest some players. There is a good chance that Bertrand will start (in midfield!). What happened to Maicon? Mancini may tinker with the squad after the Dortmund game, so keep your eyes on the team/injury news if he gets into the first 11. Popov looks set to start with a couple of WBA’s regular defenders out injured. They play QPR at home, another team on relegation form.

Choose 1 from Lallana and Ramirez. Both are about the same price now. But if you had gotten them on the BD, Ramirez is the cheaper option if you are tight on the budget. I had also BD-ed Gerrard and may be gambling on Sterling (only 3-ish). The kid is performing wonderfully on the field, but the fantasy points are not coming. Maybe they will come against Stoke. The excitement over Michu seemed to have died down a little in the last 3 games. He will be looking to rediscover his early performances and I think he just might do that this week. Or get Dyer if you have a bit more to spend. Bale may be out of reach for most, try Lennon if you need a Spurs MF. Nolan’s value has dipped slightly. West Ham will be counting on him to provide the creativity and firepower to beat Arsenal. Count Cazorla in as always.

I want Defoe, so one of Hazard, Suarez or Aguero has to make way for him. Lambert, at 10.25 and very likely to get a goal at least, and 6-ish Lukaku are the other forwards that you can consider.

My team for now.

Reina
Vert Jenkins Chico
Gerrard Sterling Ramirez Cazorla
Hazard Suarez Aguero

Trying to fit in Bertrand, Michu and Defoe.
Who should I replace?
Hmmmmmm