WK6 BD

Ok I probably messed up big time here by getting rid of Tuncay. Now I'm short and the team looks weak. I was contemplating Gerrard in the middle and keeping Tuncay, freeing up by dropping Lampard (with a negligible 0.12 loss...). Instead I picked up Rooney, playing away at Stoke's home fort. I'm waiting for the updates to see if i can squeeze in anyone to replace the last midfield slot (Scholes, Cattermole, Sidwell?)

Given
Vermaelen, Richards, Heitinga
Gomez, Fabregas, Rodwell, Sidwell
Drogba, Torres, Rooney

This may not turn out well. =(

Week 6 Barndoor

Here was my lineup for Week 5.

Given
Vermaelen, Richards, Dunne
Gomez, Fabregas, Lampard, Rodwell
Drogba, Torres, Tuncay

81 points so far with Given, Richards, Drogba, Rodwell and Lamps to play.
Overall rank is 1,188 (+906) thanks to Torres.

I refuse to touch the other players, most of them whom I consider keepers over a long period. Despite Richards' and Given's matchup this weekend, and Gomez' lousy show, over the long run I think I should keep them. Even Tuncay is bound to start eventually. As long as the remainder of the players cover him, I'm fine.

Trying to see how to BD Lennon at 12.22. Even after removing Dunne, I don't have enough to finance Lennon and Sonko. Will bring in O'hara if after tonight's matches, I still can't get in a defender.

So as it stands,

Given
Vermaelen, Richards,
Gomez, Fabregas, Lampard, Lennon
Drogba, Torres, Tuncay

Week 4 Barn Door

Amazingly, after a crazy weekend of goals, and despite a middling performance, I am up to 731 overall (+250 places) with Rodwell still to play. Tuncay was a bit of a letdown, Turner too (though he was almost credited with a goal before Zayatte got the OG.) Still turner got 4points, better than Wilkinson's -2 this week, so I shouldn't complain.


Barn doored the following and will see how tonight's matches go. Tamir Cohen over Rodwell, and Gael Givet over Michael Turner. On a side, Wilkinson's value is lowest all season and should be a pick if you are convinced he will get points.


GIVEN
VERMAELEN, RICHARDS, GIVET
GOMEZ, FABREGAS, LAMPARD, T.COHEN
DROGBA,TORRES, TUNCAY


Cohen is still an uncertainty, if anyone can tell me more about him (set piece taker, crosses, shoots on sight etc) please leave a comment.


Edit: Ended the week on 1472 position with 87 points.

Week 4 Lineup

After much deliberation, here is my final line-up

GIVEN
VERMAELEN, RICHARDS, TURNER
GOMEZ, FABREGAS, LAMPARD, RODWELL
DROGBA,TORRES, TUNCAY


Yes I've decided to jump on the Tuncay bandwagon, though I didn't strengthen the team much with the added spending power. Instead, i traded Milijas for Tuncay, since Milijas has been thus far only so-so. The other trade was from Wilkinson to Turner. Wilkinson I removed because most of his 29 points so far come from clean sheets (3/4) but against a rampant Chelsea, cleans sheet are difficult to come by. Turner, added for reasons in the post just below, is a big gamble for me. I think he will have less to do playing in the Sunderland backline, and so earn less defensive points.


So the final line-up has a very large element of risk, pretty predictable after my previous posts, and which could ultimately pay off.  That or I'll crash and burn nicely --> banking of Turner, Rodwell and Fabregas to bring in points.  I will probably leave this line-up alone unless i get get online before Saturday.

Of central defenders

Interestingly, there are bits and pieces of news, not necessarily very fact based, but nonetheless may play a part in this weekend's matches. In general, central defenders are not the best picks for your team, since they depend on keeping a clean sheet for their points. Here's the deal:

Bassong - Injured after his Cameroon debut. Spurs hosts Man Utd over the weekend and will have to field either Corluka or possibly Huddlestone vs Rooney and company. Dawson and Woodgate are of course still out.

Edit 110909: Bassong will most likely start after shaking off his injury. But it's against Man Utd so I wouldn't bet on a clean sheet in a battle between 2 form teams.

Toure - Has been named Citeh's captain by Hughes. Highly excitable, this will have a positive effect on him and he will do a Captain Fantastic and try to win the game by galloping up to the other end of the field with the ball. This lapse will create a opening for Arsenal's goal-happy attackers to score.

Vermaelen - Is suspended over the midweek international and will have had an extra 4 days of rest. This will translate to less fatigue, better conditioning and probably a clean sheet. Hence my prediction will be an Arsenal away win over a Man City side that has yet to concede a goal so far.

Turner - Plays for Sunderland this weekend against his old club. And we all know what happens when players go against their old club. Expect a swashbuckling performance from Hull's ex star defender. I wouldn't even rule out a goal.

Edit 110909: I'm still keeping him, but it's a risky pick. Sunderland's first choice keepers are out, and Trevor Carson (who?) is set to start in place. George McCartney is also out so it's a weak Sunderland defence.

Sonko - Joins Hull on loan from Stoke and looks to be replacing Michael Turner in a one for one swap at the back. Cheap enough, though Stoke faces Chelsea at home. There could be more though, Stoke is the form team after Spurs, and the two Manchester clubs. In addition, they are notoriously difficult to play against at home. I'd say watch his performance this weekend before making a decision to BD him.

Dunne - Is expected to start for Villa. Against Birmingham, this is tough call. Christian Benitez is expected to start this weekend and will test Dunne. I would say Dunne will triumph. That or he gets sent off and Birmingham wins 1-0.

Tuncay vs Chelsea

Now this is interesting. Initially i balked at the thought of putting in the 1.00 priced Tuncay into my team. Consider this, he is playing for Stoke against a strong Chelsea team, and that after two draining international matches. But after tonight, I am seriously thinking of putting him into my line-up. Reasons are as follows:

1) They play Chelsea at home. Stoke are notoriously difficult to play at home. Chelsea has the shocking news that they cannot sign anyone for the next couple years and this will seriously take their mind off the pitch (though this point is probably moot --> Chelsea should be mentally stronger than that).

2) Tuncay Sanli (corrected the name) has scored 2 goals in Turkey's 4-2 win over Estonia in Istanbul. I would watch out for his midweek international before deciding whether to put him in, especially if Tony Pulis decides to bench him.

3) He costs 1.00, which is enough reason for most managers who wish to spend their cash elsewhere. At that price, anything is a good return (unless of course, he gets cards and an own goal!). Heck he will still get points even if he comes on as a sub i am sure.

4) In real life, the Potters paid Boro 5mil to bring him to the Britannia, so he will definitely be a first teamer.

So here i am contemplating whether to jump onto the Tuncay bandwagon. All my players cost above the prices I got them so it does make more sense in the long term to keep them over Tuncay, since there's no way I can get them back if I drop them now. For now, what I will do is play around with my positions and watch the international scoreline. Even if I decide not to add him in, I will barn door him in if he does well.

Edit: Ahhh. I'll be out of town over the weekend...so i'll have to make a decision before Thurs. =(

Strategy - How to spend your 100m

My strategy is simple and it should be more or less similar to yours. First is to buy 2 or 3 premium players. These are your proven point scores. Gerrard and Lamps come to mind now that Ronaldo's gone. They are costly and should take slightly less than half of your total budget. Next is to buy cheap players newly introduced into the game that you expect to do well. These would be a bit of gamble, which may pay off handsomely. Think Arshavin from last season. This season's picks for me would have to be Milijas and Gomez so far. Zhirkov too when he gets well. Of cos you may get the occasional dud, like last seasons Deco. These two groups of players are the keepers, especially if the Milijas' and Gomez-es get the points. The remainder of your budget is spent on picking players by their matches, those you would expect to do well given their match-ups. These would be from the mid-table teams or bottom of table. They are cheap, and have a chance of doing well.

The other point to note is to watch out for players whose values drop. Recent seasons this tactic does not really work because the value fluctuates much less. But you can still pick up a few gems like this. For example, drubbing like Everton's 1-6 defeat to Arsenal might allow you to pick up their players. Everton will not become a bad team overnight so their players can be season keepers.