What an interesting week in the English Premier League. For those absolutely clueless about the EPL, this past week saw the big four teams (Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United & Liverpool) play each other in what was always going to be a fascinating exhibition of footballing talent, skill, tactics and grit. As befitting such a momentous occasion, I’ll begin by going over these matches.
First, the Man United-Liverpool game which saw the Red Devils sneak by 1-0. Tevez was the goal-scorer, side-footing in after Rooney’s attempt. Once again, Giggs was the instigator delivering quite the corner kick. It was by no means a beautiful goal, but it did the job. Anderson proved priceless for Fergusons’s men when he cleared a goal-bound Kewell shot off the line. Both Torres and Babel played well for Liverpool and were unlucky (or sloppy depending on how you look at it) for missing the goal by mere inches. Rooney will be kicking himself for missing an easy shot from six yards out after a Ronaldo pass put him through.
The other titanic game was between rivals Chelsea and Arsenal. I’m happy to say the Gunners came through in a magnificent performance that played host to some of the best refereeing I’ve seen all season. The win was made just that bit sweeter after finding out it was the first time Arsenal beat Chelsea in League play since February 2004. The Blues were missing danger-man Drogba (who has caused havoc with the Arsenal back four in the past) and their consequent lack of edge in the box was apparent. Wright-Phillips, Kalou and Schevy simply aren’t in the same league as the Ivorian. The deciding goal came courtesy a textbook header from Gunner captain (and former Chelsea defender) William Gallas after vaunted goalie, Petr Cech, made a right hash of collecting a corner kick. As is always the case in Arsenal-Chelsea games, there were plenty of frayed tempers and unreasonable tackles but credit to the referee, Alan Wiley, for being fair throughout. Adebayor and Van Persie both had the ball in the back of the net later on but each had their efforts disallowed (offside for Van Persie and a foul for Adebayor). Van Persie didn’t seem to be affected by his long absence, something which cannot be said of midfield maestro Fabregas who was somewhat off his game.
The Spurs took on Pompey and contrary to my expectations, the Spurs came out ahead thanks to a late Berbatov goal. That gives Ramos’ men their first away win of the season and confirms Berbatov is back on form (after impressing in Tottenham’s last game as well). Pompey will be ruing their lost chance to break into the top four teams will the Spurs will be celebrating breaking their away-game losing streak. All in all, a pretty boring match.
Man City took on Bolton the same day and it turned out to be a fairly good watch with Bolton triumphing 4-2 thanks to goals from Bianchi, Michalik, Vassell and Etuhu. Diouf and Nolan got Bolton on the scoreboard. Bolton started brightly and City were made to work hard for their win. The result maintains City’s unbeaten home record this season.
The last game I’ll go over is the Wigan-Rovers match up which turned out to be a goal-fest. A rollercoaster game saw Wigan race to a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Landzaat, Bent and Scharner only to have Blackburn audaciously claw level via an astonishing hatrick from Roque Santa Cruz (half-volley, simple tap-in & header). All of this after McCarthy had a penalty shot saved by Wigan keeper Pollitt. It would be in vain however as Bent went on to complete his own hat-trick marking Steve Bruce’s first win as manager of the Lactics. Roque Santa Cruz was in good form but most impressive to me was Marcus Bent who was all over his marker Nelsen. I know next to nothing about this Bent guy but if his form keeps up, he is worth watching (as is Santa Cruz for that matter).
This week sees North London adversaries, the Gunners and Hotspurs in both the Premier League and Carling Cup semi-finals. Arsenal have a great record against the Hotspurs and Ramos will be hoping to do things differently from his predecessors. Good luck with than Juande! Blackburn meet Chelsea this weekend and most would be expecting a rout by the Blues. Let me caution you, however, as these teams have the dubious honor of being the worst behaved in the season with 79 cards handed out in 34 games (according to the BBC). That can’t bode well for fantasy football players. Liverpool meets Pompey and the Merseyside club can lay claim to the best away record this season (better than Liverpool even). Nevertheless, they have failed to beat the Reds in nearly six decades so I don’t forecast an upset. The Red Devils take on Everton in the last of the big-team involvements and while both teams are playing well, I can’t see Everton making a dent in Man United. Manchester United has apparently beat Everton more often than any other Premier League club.
In other news, the Carling Cup is drawing to an end with Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea & Everton in the semis. I’m most interested in seeing if Wenger’s youngsters can actually pull in a trophy this season, that would be a formidable achievement. Anyway, hit the comments for detailed information on which games to watch & play and which players to avoid/purchase. Don’t forget to tune in to the Footy Fetish show either, tonight at 9PM EST on AceRadioLive.
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Definitely a fascinating footy weekend. However, I will argue about the fairness of the referees- The disallowed goal by Aliadiere was hardly a foul compared to Fabregas getting intentionally decked in the head in the last few minutes of play. However, as the younger Bailey rightly stated, the loss hurt Chelsea considerably more than the blow sustained by young Cesc.
Here is my lineup for the week:
My only doubt at this point is whether I keep Ronaldo or not. He does have favorable matchups, but I’m devating on trading Ronaldo and Mikel for Kapo and Downing. They both have great matchups against bottom table teams.
Forwards Opp Price
C. Tevez (MAN – F) EVE,@SUN 17.32
F. Torres (LIV – F) POR,@DER 11.16
M. Bent (WIG – F) @FUL,NUF 13.10
Players Value
Midfielders Opp Price
C. Ronaldo (MAN – M) EVE,@SUN 24
F. Fabregas (ARS – M) TOT,@POR 16.74
M. Petrov (MAC – M) @AST,BLA 12.69
J. Mikel (CHE – M) @BLA,AST 4.08
Players Value
Defenders Opp Price
A. Mokoena (BLA – D) CHE,@MAC 2.05
S. Kelly (BIR – D) @BOL,MID 5.85
D. Rozehnal (NUF – D) DER,@WIG 6.41
Players Value
Goalkeepers Opp Price
M. Taylor (BIR – G) @BOL,MID 5.66
For all of you fantasy football fans make sure you guys tune in to Ace Radio Live’s Footy Fetish show tonight at 9PM EST. we will be going over all the fantasy options for the game. Injury reports, and suspension reports.
@ Archna: you mean Adebayor, or course, Aliadiere left the Gunners some time ago. I agree, I didn’t think there was a foul there, however, Adebayor does tower over many defenders so it’s easy to forgive the ref. For my money, the offside against Van Persie was more of an issue, nevertheless, the game remains one of the fairest I have seen (including yellow cards dished out).
Yes of course.. After a while I guess their names all run together!!!
I suppose it is really hard on the refs to be as fair as possible and try to follow every detail. The offside call seemed quite close as well.. But a 1-0 still makes a win!
Hooray for Arsenal being number one for 3 months straight!
@ BennyBoy: Man U play Everton. I would consider keeping Ronaldo.
Here’s the match ups for this coming week.
Saturday December 22
22 Dec, 12:45 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur
22 Dec, 15:00 Aston Villa v Manchester City
22 Dec, 15:00 Bolton Wanderers v Birmingham City
22 Dec, 15:00 Fulham v Wigan Athletic
22 Dec, 15:00 Liverpool v Portsmouth
22 Dec, 15:00 Middlesbrough v West Ham
22 Dec, 15:00 Reading v Sunderland
Sunday December 23
23 Dec, 12:00 Manchester United v Everton
23 Dec, 14:00 Newcastle United v Derby County
23 Dec, 16:10 Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea
Wednesday December 26
26 Dec, 13:00 Chelsea v Aston Villa
26 Dec, 13:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham
26 Dec, 13:00 West Ham v Reading
26 Dec, 15:00 Everton v Bolton Wanderers
26 Dec, 15:00 Sunderland v Manchester United
26 Dec, 15:00 Birmingham City v Middlesbrough
26 Dec, 15:00 Derby County v Liverpool
26 Dec, 15:00 Wigan Athletic v Newcastle United
26 Dec, 19:45 Portsmouth v Arsenal
Thursday December 27
27 Dec, 19:45 Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers
@benny, At it would be better if you had Ronaldo at 21.xx. At 24 units, you should consider Gerrard or Fabregas instead and use the extra units to upgrade Mokoena and/or Mikel.
Don’t forget that Ballack is back, so its not sure that Mikel will start both games for Chelsea. I would recommend J. Cole as a better replacement.
Those wishing to call-in to the show tonight please do so after 9.30PM EST. The first half of the show we’ll be catching up with the past weeks games and so on. The second half is all about people calling in.
I guess you guys don’t like my nick Czechol… so I’ll go with my alternate (I changed it in the Footy Fetish group too)
Thanks for talking about my comments though. Good stuff
Interesting hearing your choice of players, well worthwhile. To all the listeners on the show, thanks for listening in. There won’t be a show next week owing to some fat man in a red suit prancing about. There will, however, be a Football Matters column as usual. Otherwise, send us your tip or comment here and we’ll see you in the New Year!
Well… that was fun coming on the show, but I think it might be a little pricey for my long distance
This is my full squad for next week:
O. Martins
Ashton
Torres
Koumas
Gerrard
Dempsey
Milner
Carragher
Shorey
R. Taylor
Given
Stezinech, we assumed most in the US had free long distance courtesy of their cell-phone provider. If that’s not the case, let us know (along with your home state) and we can suggest alternatives (that make use of some nifty internet tech) that are free.
Sorry I missed the show all. Here’s my lineup. Please let me know of choices you disagree with. Not totally sold on Ashton, Kewell or even Vidic. I’m assuming with Terry out, Alex is a lock at center back for awhile. Thoughts SAF taking it easy and pulling some starters against his former middie, Roy Keane.
Tevez
Torres
Ashton
Kewell
N’Zogbia
Elano
Ronaldo
Rozehnal
Vidic
Alex
Given
There are no obvious problems Gentry, but I would be cautious over the Elano and Kewell picks. Elano played 90 minutes in midweek after just coming back from injury so he might be subbed early against Aston Villa, and Blackburn for that matter.
Kewell is subject to rotation. I think the only players for Liverpool who have a real chance to start both games are Reina, Carragher, Gerrard and Torres. If you’re okay with having Kewell come off the bench then it’s a decent gamble.
Ashton is a sure starter @MID because Carleton Cole is suspended. He is traditionally a good YFF scorer so I would hold on to him.
No doubt that before Elano got hot, Geovanni would come in for him around the 65th minute. But I read Geovanni might get the start if MIchael Johnson isn’t fit. I’ve waited this long for Elano and I have him at 5.50, so I have to roll with him.
I am worried about Kewell a little. Would Xabi take his place? But you have to like the Derby matchup for Liverpool. Now that Crouch is out, you almost have to think that Torres is a lock to get time for both games.
Stez – you had mentioned on the other site as Downing being a good pick. I just wanted to make sure everyone saw this:
Gareth Southgate faces an anxious wait over midfielders Stewart Downing and Gary O’Neil. Downing picked up a hip injury at Derby and has been ill this week and, although he is hopeful of making the game.
Benny – Not like Mokoena’s value could take more of a hit, but he might fill in for Samba, meaning he will actually be in defense. I guess if you expect 0 points, then he’s a good value. He might be more valuable not starting.
On a separate matter, what a joke Fulham is. They fire Chris Coleman after a bad stretch and then fire his replacement after even a shorter bad stretch. Having said that, the new gaffer will look like a genius saving them from relegation because Jimmy Bullard is coming back. Bullard’s injury last year was the only reason they were near the drop zone. I wholly recommend Bullard as soon as he hits the field. He’s fantasy gold. And he’ll be coming back at around 6 points. A great value.
Given Elano’s tendency to do well it would seem a good choice but I am hesitant about him. I’m with Stezinech in suspecting he might be subbed during the game.
Given Kewell’s performance in the last game he is sure to play. Whether he starts or comes of the bench is a different matter.
Fulham’s Lawrie Sanchez has been at the reins since May. I agree firing him was premature, however, given the club’s standings in the League (the fact people are no doubt baying for someone’s head), it makes sense he would be the one to give way. Also Bullard could indeed pull them out of the relegation zone making the next “gaffer” as you put it, seem a right hero. John Collin is the front runner for the post now.
That makes it seven managers who have been ousted this season:
Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
Sammy Lee (Bolton)
Martin Jol (Spurs)
Chris Hutchings (Wigan)
Billy Davies (Derby)
Steve Bruce (Birmingham-went to Wigan)
Lawrie Sanchez (Fulham)
When I made my comments about Elano, I didn’t know that Gentry had him at 5.50. At that price there is no way you should drop him. At full price he’s a slight risk though, there are some more consistent players like Milner/ S. Davies who will in all likelihood will get 180 minutes this week.
I agree that Bullard will be a good fantasy pick once he comes back, but I don’t think he’ll be able to save Fulham alone. They need to improve their defending first. Fulham have conceeded as many goals at home as Derby (15 goals in 8 matches), that’s is just pitiful.
I’ve gone absolutely crazy. In order to get van Persie, I made some changes. Time will tell if I’m crazy or just stupid(subbed out players in parentheses). Maybe I’m just asking for an intervention.
Tevez
Torres
van Persie(Ashton)
Cattermole(Kewell)
N’Zogbia
Elano
Ronaldo
Murty(Rozehnal)
Mokoena(Vidic)
Alex
Given
I gots only good feelings about Persie’s return. If you saw the Blues-Gunners game, you’ll know he hungry for goal action. I think getting him is a good move. On the other hand, I can’t comment on what you had to sacrifice to get him.
You have one hell of an attacking line though.
Dammit, how come nobody mentioned that Ferdinand was injured? I would have busted 100 pts for the first set of games easily with him in the line up. Oh well, I just hope he’s back for the Boxing Day matches.
Dammit, how come nobody knew that van Persie ‘picked up a knock’? There is hope as well that RvP will start the Boxing Day matches.
I can’t confirm anywhere than Van Persie got injured in any way. It seems he may be rested just for resting’s sake, nothing else. I think he’ll play for sure but likely not start. Crucial games these.
5cents has it right, RVP (Van Persie) will probably come on as a sub against Portsmouth.
There are some articles saying that Wenger didn’t want to “risk” him in the Tottenham match. Which probably means that he’s still recovering from his knee injury. I don’t buy the story that he’s picked a new knock, it looks more like he’s still recovering from the old one.
That’s the danger of picking players who have just come back from injury… be wary of it.
Conventional wisdom certainly dictates it is prudent to be wary of players just returning from injury. That said, when I saw Van Persie play, he looked like he was at peak fitness. I think Wenger is applying strategy here.
Barn door watch(well, that’s what they call it on the Yahoo Fantasy forums.) – David James. Not a great value for next week, but not bad. Good at home, and pretty good away matchup. If he plays well tomorrow, pick him up before his price goes up. I will be watching tomorrow.
Speaking of keepers, who would you rate as a top goalkeeper? Not a lot of consistency out there. It would be great to ride a goalkeeper for awhile. I got off of Alumnia this week and onto Given. Fool’s gold. Looking for a new stud between the pipes.
Thanks for the clarification on RvP.
By the way, CRon only 18% owned. Probably double that last year.
@Gentry: get T. Kuszczak before the update… Van Der Sar will probably be out for both games
got him. good call. If van Der Sar comes back then I might look at Friedel. Very easy schedule.
Cech used to be a good bet if you had him. Lately though, one gaffe after another. I think it’s that helmet he wears, obstructing his brainwaves and general reasoning skills.
I have to mention, what a ridiculously good week for all the picks I recommended on the show:
Torres (39.50 points)
Gerrard (21.00 points)
Shorey (18.50 points)
and best of all… Ryan Taylor with 30.50 points!
It’s too bad I dropped Gerrard for Lamps, who got injured
Does anyone know the date of when all the African players leave for the African Nations Cup? It looks like handling the fallout of this will be as important as handling this holiday period.
The African Nations cup is being held from Jan 20 to Feb 10 2008. I’ve included a list of players that will likely miss EPL games due to their committments at home. Feel free to add to it as it is by no means conclusive. See list HERE.