Showing posts with label Etherington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Etherington. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

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

Friday, April 22, 2011

Gameweek 34 Fantasy Preview

Gareth Bale
PFA Player of the Year. Even Dirk Kuyt has better statistics than him on the league.
Raul Meireles
PFA Fans' Player of the Year. Well deserved.
Scott Parker
Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year. What a great year for a great leader.
Congratulations to all three of them for winning their awards respectively. This season has gone pretty far isn't it? Still, there are three horses running for the title and five clubs struggling on the quicksand of relegation. Excitements continue...

Back to this gameweek. Four more teams on a double this week, with Fulham having the best fixtures among them. Will you invest heavily on double gamers given that the top clubs are having relatively easy fixtures this week? A big gamble to be honest.





PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES
Daniel Sturridge
Can he continue his magic in this gameweek double?
Double Gamers
  • Stoke City (Aston Villa @ away, Wolves @ home) - Fantasy managers won't be enjoying too much from this double with two tough opponents. The Villans had regained their long lost form and will give a hard time to Bolton at their home ground. Wolves on the other hand are still distance away from survival and will again fight their best for points. Still, start your Begovic, Huth and Etherington - they are all great in collecting fantasy points. Prediction: AST 2-0 STO, STO 1-1 WOL.
  • Wolves (Fulham @ home, Stoke @ away) - Interestingly both of their opponents this week are double gamers. They should at least salvage a point at Molineux given Fulham's inability to win an away league game since 2nd of February. Stoke at away is a tricky one, but with nothing else to lose, they will fight out their best. Jarvis is the best Wolf, but those who are willing to take risk may stock Ebanks-Blake or Milijas as well. Prediction: WOL 2-1 FUL, STO 1-1 WOL.
  • Fulham (Wolves @ away, Bolton @ home) - The Cottagers are quite on fire now with the return of Bobby Zamora, and it's quite possible to take four points from these two games. Dempsey and Zamora are worthy for your captain armband this week. Prediction: WOL 2-1 FUL, FUL 2-1 BOL.
  • Bolton (Arsenal @ home, Fulham @ away) - First, they have neither European spots to pursue for nor relegation crisis to fight for; Second, one of their opponents is Arsenal (I know the Gunners have been quite unreliable recently, but still). Don't put too much on hope for them except for one - Daniel Sturridge! Prediction: BOL 1-2 ARS, FUL 2-1 BOL.
The Rest
  • Man Utd v Everton (1-0) - The Red Devils are not as slippery the Gunners, but you never know.
  • Blackpool v Newcastle (2-1) - The Magpies are quite safe. Will they lend a helping hand?
  • Liverpool v Birmingham (3-0) - The Reds now have more than enough weaponries to kill any team who park their buses.
  • Sunderland v Wigan (2-2) - One point from last nine games for the Black Cats. I'm quite sure they will not win this time as well.
  • Tottenham v West Brom (2-0) - It's VdV's time again.
  • Chelsea v West Ham (3-0) - Expect complete demolition by the Blues (if Torres doesn't start).
  • Blackburn v Man City (0-1) - City needs to win to protect their Champions League spot.



PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS
Didier Drogba
Another scoring spree for the Ivorian?
Captain Picks

  • Drogba - On his peak currently.
  • Suarez - They will be plenty of opportunities for him to strike.
  • Zamora/Dempsey/Sturridge - Double gamers with fantasy excellence.
Buys-In
  • Drogba/Malouda - Back to their prime.
  • Van der Vaart - Starts his scoring engine again.
  • Dempsey/Zamora - Fantasy proven.
Sells-Out
  • Man Utd players - The toughest period of their season is coming soon.
Squad of XV
GK: Schwarzer
DF: Huth, Hangeland, Luiz
MF: Malouda, Dempsey, Etherington, Van der Vaart
F: Drogba, Suarez, Zamora
Subs (in order): Begovic, Jarvis, Flanagan, Gary Cahill

Captain: Drogba
ECS: Value

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Tuesday Torment

Fernando Torres
Celebrates the birth of his second child when I needed him the most in my fantasy team.
Another disappointing gameweek for me as I scored below the average again thanks to a couple of absentees including Man Utd's players. Here are the highlights for this week's game:

  • Arsenal climbed to the summit for the first time this season thanks to the delay of Man Utd game and most importantly, Nasri's marvel. The midfielder has now scored eight league goals and racked up 14 bonus points. Wenger can now release Fabregas to Barcelona with relief.
  • Tottenham failed to play consistently again as they have to share one point with Birmingham.
  • Blackburn won much easier than I expected. Robinson picked up another bonus point to lead the goalkeepers' bonus points league.
  • Tim Cahill did rub salt into Chelsea's wound as he assisted for the equaliser against them. Drogba scored, but only from a penalty. Seems like Ancelotti is on danger.
  • Tevez's only goal secured a victory for Man City. He's suspended for next game after accumulating five yellows, so don't transfer him in hastily.
  • Etherington continued his fantastic form to score three in three games but Stoke only managed to earn a draw against Wigan.
  • Odemwingie made a superb performance as his two goals helped WBA to win 3-1 against Newcastle.
  • Henderson scored the only goal to help Sunderland beating West Ham 1-0.
  • Liverpool surprisingly overpowered Aston Villa with three goals in the absence of Gerrard, Carragher and Torres. What's more surprising? N'gog scored 12 fantasy points. Unbelievable.
Anyway, it's a great time to buy Torres this week as he will want to dedicate a goal or two to his new born baby. Good luck.