Cruising City: Gameweek 9 Fantasy Review

"Why always me?" Balotelli just never stops creating chaos. Both on
and off the pitch.

Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City
MUN: Never can I imagine there'll be worse loss than Liverpool 4-1 demolition of Old Trafford to United. BUT the calamitous performance by United defenders has successfully renewed such embarrassing record.

The biggest question is of course "Why Johnny Evans but not Vidic or Jones?" Always and always I rate Jones as the best youngsters on the back among the young blood of Red Devils. Evans? Obviously the worst. And he just did it again.

The decision to not sub Phil Jones in immediately after Evans' red card is yet another disastrous decision. No matter how good Ferdinand is it's impossible for him to guard two forwards altogether - and Ferdinand was poor, if not terrible. That's just ridiculous.

To sum it up it's really the rare bad tactical decisions by Sir Alex Ferguson that made the team looked awfully awful.

MCI: Play calmly and shown resolute defence before the red. Tackles were timed to perfection and Richards has really locked Young very well. He did well up front too.

All three of Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli scored. The latter is showing some exceptional form despite having just burned his home recently. However, with the habit of Mancini to keep his forwards when he's sure of victory, their fantasy ceilings will be affected.

Silva as usual is the most consistent and important performer for the team, so grab him quickly before he becomes unaffordable.

Pick: Aguero, Balotelli, Silva, Richards
Drop: Ferdinand, Evans


QPR 1-0 Chelsea
QPR: Surprise surprise! QPR won but did they really play well? For sure not!

They are up by two men before half time and yet? It was Chelsea who's more adventurous and nearer to the second goal of the game.

All I can say is disgrace to Neil Warnock's team. When you are two men more than you opponent you should attack like a monster. Not only the didn't, they are struggling to defend in the second half.

Worth noting though is the fact that Helguson somehow squeezed through the starting XI and is capitalising his chances well.

CHE: Nothing much to comment as two red cards had effectively limited their performance.

Drogba's red pretty much mean that Sturridge's position in starting XI is almost certain, while Bosingwa's red should give chance to Luiz. Unfortunately, the Blues are struggling to keep a clean sheet lately and thus making Luiz not worthy as a fantasy defender.

Pick: Sturridge
Watch: Helguson
Drop: Bosingwa, Drogba


Liverpool 1-1 Norwich
LIV: They got 20+ shots and yet only a goal - finishing ability remains a big problem for Dalglish to be solved. Suarez just never stops wasting chances - that has to be stopped.

The team certainly needs a layoff man like Zamora and Carroll's inability to blend into the team certainly won't help.

NOR: Pilkington assisted this time as the young man continued to impress. Holt scored his second goal of the season surprisingly and I do wonder whether he is a big game guy.

Watch: Suarez, Pilkington


Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City
ARS: It's really all about Van Persie at this team. The captain came from the bench to decide the game with two goals. Incredible. Unbelievable. C Ronaldo-esque fantasy performance.

Ramsey is as productive as always and should be bought as direct replacement for Arteta who played to deep to score. Gervinho is good as well up front for setting up both Van Persie's goals. Great attacking selections at Arsenal.

STO: The team just never stops revolving around Walters in offence. Their sluggish away form just couldn't improve, however.

Pick: Van Persie, Ramsey, Gervinho, Walters


Fulham 1-3 Everton
FUL: Not their day really with Zamora missed a golden chance.


EVE: 16 points from Drenthe from his first Premier League start. He certainly looked must more offensive than I had imagined and is set to become a hot fantasy bargain.

Pick: Drenthe


***I am not giving full game by game reviews as I am very busy recently.

Stevie G Is Back: Gameweek 8 Fantasy Review

Nothing is feeling better than to score a goal after returning t the
starting XI for the first time in over 6 months.

Liverpool 1-1 Man Utd
LIV: They must be blaming themselves for not taking care of their rivals. They did play well, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game, but the finishing was basically... sucks. Until Andy Carroll hit the expectations on him Liverpool will continue to struggle with this fact.

Adam played extremely well - one of the best game I've seen so far, and is WITH Gerrard on the field. No coexist problems. Great sign to hold him, and certainly bad sign for Carroll.

MUN: Ferguson benched most of his aces - while it's understandable, it's surprising as their opponent is none other than Liverpool. Played overly defensive in my opinion as they were pressed by Liverpool throughout the game.

Welbeck and Chicharito combined for the equaliser. Both are good but I can't see them on the field together frequently with Rooney certainly will dominate one of the two starting forward spots.

Pick: Adam, Welbeck, Chicharito
Watch: Gerrard


Man City 4-1 Aston Villa
MCI: Splendid even without starting Silva, Nasri and Dzeko. Balotelli played an important part in it with an instinctive bicycle kick. Talented but fierce competition upfront will continue to limit his playing time as Aguero returns.

Same goes to Adam Johnson and Milner. Cheap in fantasy, super productive, but will spend a lot of time on the bench.

Captain Kompany scored a goal and a bonus. Still the best City defender to own in my opinion.

AST: Outclassed by Man City. Agbonlahor got a good one-on-one chance but somehow failed to score. His speed and form should continue to produce more fantasy scores though.

Warnock scored the consolation and had another good chance before that. But don't get blind to own him as Villa's defence is not as solid as expected.

Pick: Kompany, Agbonlahor
Watch: Warnock, Balotelli


Norwich 3-1 Swansea
NOR: Great game by Pilkington and Morrison after they squandered so many chances at Old Trafford last week. Pilkington certainly has good finishing. Holt can only blame himself after failing to impress. He lead scorer last season really has no place to stand currently.

SWA: Scott Sinclair continued his fine form as he assisted one for Danny Graham who scored in two games in a row. Both deserve to be monitored.

Pick: Sinclair
Watch: Pilkington, Morrison, Graham


QPR 1-1 Blackburn
QPR: Two rather unpopular players (Helguson and Mackie) combined for the goal. Nothing much to tell here.

BLA: 11 points for Samba, but you must be gutted to pick him based on just one game.

Stoke 2-0 Fulham
STO: Britannia continues to become an untouchable stadium. I believe that owning a Stoke defender (or more) is a must at this point. Shawcross and Begovic are the best choices.

In terms of offence, it's heavily focused on Walters and Etherington - nothing much to confuse you once you've decided to pick a Stoke attackers.

FUL: Not very similar to the level they played last week. Perhaps due to the frightening Britannia's aura.

Pick: Etherington, Shawcross, Walters, Begovic


Wigan 1-3 Bolton
WIG: Al-Habsi's owners must feel happy as the stopper picked up 8 points thanks to his fantastic performance which includes a penalty save.

Having said that, nothing else in Wigan has really impressed me.

BOL: N'gog is showing some great football here with a goal and a foul which earned Bolton a missed penalty. Give him some more time and he might push Klasnic away from starting XI.

The same goes for Eagles. He overpowered Wigan on his own feet. Tremendous.

Pick: Eagles
Watch: Al-Habsi, N'gog
Avoid: WIG players


Chelsea 3-1 Everton
CHE: Sturridge has once again become the key man to the victory. Incredible. Ramires scored one too as he continued to provide good fantasy return with his great runs.

No clean sheets again - Bosingwa owners will surely be frustrated.

EVE: Osman played some good football there. Drenthe was more offensive than what I'd expected. And Vellios' 2 goals in just merely 35 minutes of Premier League exposure is just admirable.

Pick: Sturridge, Ramires, Mata
Watch: Vellios, Drenthe, Osman


West Brom 2-0 Wolves
WBA: Clean sheet are never bad but I doubt people will actually pick their defenders.

Brunt was the main man of the show as he finally showed the display of a key offensive midfielder should have.

WOL: They lost for 5 consecutive games after a great league opening. Big troubles, big confidence crisis.

Get rid of them.

Pick: Brunt
Watch: Odemwingie
Avoid: WOL players


Arsenal 2-1 Sunderland
ARS: Hail captain Van Persie for his great all-round performance. A quick opening goal and a free kick goal are enough for the victory.

But the team in general are still very disappointing - the cohesion is not good enough.

SUN: Seb Larsson scored through a free kick as he once again shown why spot kick takers are worth to be held in your team.

Pick: Van Persie, Larsson


Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham
NEW: Rock solid. I certainly like the way they play. Dominated despite not earning 3 points.

It's also a must to hold a Newcastle defender or goalkeeper at this point, and I think Krul is the best choice.

Ba scored 5 in 3. From a possible flop at gameweek 1 he has developed into a monstrous presence.

TOT: Hail those who didn't drop Adebayor as he started and earned 8 points after being classified as doubtful before the game.

Van der Vaart and Defoe were the usual suspects again, nothing too surprising.

Pick: Ba, NEW defence, Adebayor, VdV
Watch: Defoe

Reviews on Deadline Day Deals

Per Mertesacker is the best deadline day deal in my opinion.

Some reviews on notable deadline day transfers:

1. Arteta (£8.1m) - He actually took a pay cut to join Arsenal. Is expected to become the new playmaker of the team and steal some set piece duties of Van Persie. Pick.
2. Mertesacker (£6.0m) - A very solid buy by Arsenal. Should take defence to another level but is rather expensive. Watch.
3. Santos (£6.5m) - Too expensive for an Premier League unproven defender with a rather leaky side. Avoid until he shown great offensive capabilities. Avoid.
4. Benayoun (£6.9m) - Not too sure about his position as a starter or a benchwarmer. If it's the former, he will resemble a great fantasy bargain with his creativity. Watch.
5. Hutton (£5.0m) - Should become first choice RB of Villa, but with no discount compared to Stephen Warnock. Pick.
6. Jenas (£5.5m) - Pretty cheap for a midfielder who is capable of breaking 100-point ceiling. Watch.
7. Dann (£5.0m) - The former Birmingham defender joins Blackburn to bolster their defence, but it remains to be seen how is it going to be improved. Watch.
8. Yakubu (£5.5m) - He's getting older, but with limited options upfront at Blackburn, he can be a steal if he somehow finds his form. Watch.
9. N'gog (£5.4m) - Don't know how it he going to get his place with K Davies and in-form Klasnic upfront. Needs to wait for his chance. Avoid.
10. Meireles (£7.4m) - A surprise move. 50-50 on him whether to replace in-form Ramires or Mikel for a starting spot. Watch.
11. Drenthe (£6.0m) - Former Real Madrid left-back is expected to take a spot in midfield, but I don't see how is he going to contribute much in offence. Avoid.
12. Grygera (£5.0m) - An experienced defender who can play in both CB and RB. Pretty hard to predict where he stands in Fulham's defence. Watch.
13. Ruiz (£7.0m) - The new Fulham striker has some decent scoring record and is expected to share goal burden with Zamora and A Johnson. Watch.
14. Coates (£5.5m) - A big threat for Carragher's CB spot. Should replace him sooner or later. Watch.
15. Bellamy (£7.5m) - Expect a supersub role for him. Apparently overpriced. Avoid.
16. Hargreaves (£5.0m) - One of the worst deals in my opinion. Avoid.
17. Santon (£4.5m) - Surprisingly cheap for a former Inter defender. Expected to be a direct replacement for Jose Enrique. Pick.
18. Wright-Phillips (£6.4m) - May give immediate impact to QPR's attack. Pick.
19. Puncheon (-) - Great talent that should perform well alongside Barton, Taarabt and Wright-Phillips. Fantasy impact remains a question. Watch.
20. Crouch (£6.9m) - Fits nicely into Stoke's system but will not be too productive in my opinion. Watch.
21. Palacios (£4.9m) - Historically a good defensive midfielder but not a good fantasy midfielder. Avoid.
22. Bendtner (£6.4m) - Should be pairing up with Gyan to provide greater dimension to Sunderland's offence. Watch.
23. Parker (£6.5m) - Good time to arrive as Van der Vaart will out for some months. Pick.
24. Adebayor (£8.0m) - Has good scoring record and should shine with offensive-minded Tottenham. Pick.

Missing some? Kindly inform me. Thank you.