epl fantasy blog
Looks like he's still got it. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard scored all three of his side's goals
yesterday in their 3-0 win at Anfield over Everton. We dedicated quite a bit of space on the blog
to Gerrard last ... Continue reading →
Happy Holidays to all. Let's preview the big Boxing Day weekend from a fantasy footie perspective.
But first, one last note on last weekend's snowed out fixtures: As we have said for almost 2 years,
the emergency captain rule is ... Continue reading →
Why are you smiling John? You've scored 7 goals in your last 65 matches
Here's a
quick one from the fire-sale that is the Portsmouth Football Club.
John Utaka is heading back to the Premier League.
I write this not because I recommend you purchase Utaka in the Fantasy Premier League, but just
because I wanted to call out Utaka's reasoning for returning to the English top flight:
"I would like to stay in the Premier League.
He only shaves every third day because, well, he's Dimitar Berbatov
We looked at
the age old strikers quandary yesterday - a classic fantasy football issue that has shaped and
influenced our thinking for years now, and today let's take a brief look at a striker floating
between the "affordable" and "expensive" buckets for the first time ever, yup, it's "Dimitar
Dimitar Berbatov.
Dider Drogba underwent a successful "minimally invasive" groin surgery yesterday. I don't know if
you can ever call groin surgery "minimally invasive." If anyone is sticking sharp objects near your
genitalia, that sounds pretty invasive to me.
More importantly, it looks like my fantasy squad will need to undergo some minor surgery as well
now.
Sure, it's just the pre-season, but what a nice return for Chelsea star midfielder Michael
Essien.
The Ghana star had been out of action in 2010 for both club and country due to injury but returned
today and scored in his first game back.
Here's a great team goal by Chelsea - nice one touch passing, and a good composed finish into the
bottom corner by the Chelsea central midfielder.
Matchday Musings (a.k.a Saturday Musings or Sunday Musings) is one of my favorite columns to write
when I have the time on the weekends. I benefit from living on the West Coast - where the Premier
League usually gets an early start around 5:00AM or 6:00AM on Saturday or Sunday - so by 10:00AM
I've usually seen 3-4 matches in their entirety, 2 each on the television and simultaneously the
PC.
Pretty straightforward stuff here. Man City keeper Shay Given is out for the season with an injury
to his shoulder.
Joe Hart - the team's # 2 - is out on loan to Birmingham and can't be recalled.
So, who's left? Why it's Gunnar Nielsen of course!
The 6 foot 5 inch 23 year old from the Faroe Islands will take the # 1 goalkeeper jersey and will
be entrusted with helping City qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea went four points clear of Manchester United today with a tight 1-0 win at home over Bolton
but it wasn't your usual fantasy footie suspects who did the damage...
Thousands of fantasy managers were keeping a close watch on the Chelsea match after Fernando Torres
didn't appear for Liverpool on the weekend due to an injured knee.
Frank Lampard. An oldie but goodie. Criticized at the beginning of the year from many Chelseas
fans, fantasy managers, and pundits for his lack of scoring - oh, how quickly we forget his
absolute quality.
Lampard showed it today with 4 goals in Chelsea's 7-1 demolition of Aston Villa.
Are you seeing double this (game)week? I am
A monster Fantasy Premier League
gameweek is upon us. I mean, a true monster. I can't remember 15 games played in the league in such
a short time frame - with top contenders like Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Manchester City all
benefiting from two matches in quick succession.
Cech stretchered off against Inter Milan
27 weeks down. 11 weeks to go. Do you
have what it takes to win your mini-league? To avoid relegation? Fantasy Premier League managers
still have 1/3 of the season to work with, but, like Portsmouth, we are running out of time. Let's
look at this weekend:
I.
Every competitive fantasy football manager needs a stats advantage.
For years, I've used a combination of a variety of statistical sources: pre-game match reports,
ESPN, Sky and other Premier League websites, the official fantasy game, as well as Opta Sports and
dozens of other smaller players as well as bookmakers like titanbet and even the old tried and true
Wikipedia.
The best mouth-breather in the Premier League opts for Anfield
Former Chelsea
midfielder Joe Cole has agreed to a 4-year deal at Liverpool, subject to a medical.
"Subject to a medical," is usually an afterthought for most players switching clubs, but for Cole
it's a bit more serious than that - the creative former Chelsea # 10 has suffered from injury
problems over the last 2 + seasons and at times seemed to have lost his form / confidence.
Avram smiling back when he had a real bank account to work with...
We took a look
at Martin Petrov and Bolton's fantasy chances this week as well as examining fantasy prospects from
the newly promoted clubs, and now let's preview West Ham.
The Hammers made quite a bit of news today as they announced three new signings within 24 hours.
The title is still up for grabs, but so is The Golden Boot - handed to the Premier League's top
scorer.
And we have a new wrinkle in the chase for the league's top goalscoring award: Frank Lampard has
handed penalty duties to Didier Drogba for Chelsea's last match against Wigan.
Lampard's fantasy value is thus reduced since a whopping 8 of his goals (8 goals x 5 fantasy points
= 40 points) have come from the spot this season.
Liam Lawrence is alive and kicking after all
- I'm still gloating over Liam Lawrence and mid-table Premier League hardmen Stoke, but our boys
at Football Corner have some prizes available to those who can predict the Barcelona - Arsenal
score as we now turn our attention to The Champions League [Football Corner]
- The Champions League may be the hot topic this week, but The World Cup trumps it - when it
comes to footballing spectacles [The Yanks Are Coming]
- Should Rafa have taken off Torres at Birmingham?
Another trophy-less season for Arsenal without Cesc
They are dropping like flies.
Our fantasy footie superstars and the Premier League's finest.
This time, it's Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas' season may be over after he picked up a leg injury in the
closing minutes of Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Barcelona in The Champions League.
Hugo is Hungry like the Wolf
Some exciting announcements coming soon for fantasy footie players, so stay posted here at NCNB
over the next few weeks as we are getting ready to launch some cool stuff for you guys. But first,
let's look at the Premier League this weekend, and our preferred fantasy footie selections.
Yup, you're a footballing God. Unless you're playing Algeria
Editor's Note: This is a lengthy but important article if you are a fantasy
football manager. It's the age-old "strikers" quandary - let's take a deeper look:
If
you're a fantasy football veteran, then you remember the days when it made absolutely no sense to
buy expensive strikers.
To trust The Sun or not to trust The Sun. That is the question.
According to the British paper, Chelsea have today made a $77M offer for Liverpool striker Fernando
Torres.
Is a Drogba - Torres partnership in the works at Stamford Bridge?
What about the poisonous Frenchman Nic Anelka?
Let's preview The Premier League's upcoming weekend / week but first, don't forget to check out
11kicks' amazing work creating the platform for the first ever Never Captain Nicky Butt Fantasy
Challenge. Sign up today to check out the latest and greatest fantasy footie game to hit the
market- by our buddies 11kicks - and play in our very own Never Captain Nicky Butt environment.
Just as we predicted, Flo was the difference maker
The title is Chelsea's to lose.
A dominating first half performance at Old Trafford which saw Florent Malouda skin the aging Gary
Neville time and time again down the left flank - leading to the 1-0 halftime lead through a Joe
Cole flick.
South Africa star Khumalo
- Tottenham trial South African defender Bongani Khumalo, who impressed this summer at the World
Cup in a central partnership with Mokoena [Tribal Football]
- Eduardo has left Arsenal, in case you care. With Bendtner, Van Persie, and Chamakh (not to
mention Vela) fighting for a starting role up front, the Brazilian turned Croatian will take his
horrific leg breaks and loss of speed to Ukraine [A Football Report]
- Your customary two-footed studs up tackle [Dirty Tackle]
- For USMNT fans, an article on rising midfielders for the 2014 World Cup [The Yanks are
Coming]
- Martin Jole, everyone's choice for next Fulham manager, stays at Ajax [Unprofessional
Foul]
- Chelsea's Cech tears a calf muscle [Times Live]
I. Chelsea @ Liverpool: Liverpool fans hate United more than they do Chelsea, so this will
be a strange one - supporting your club against Chelsea when a win probably means that the title
goes to United... Interesting.
After being dumped out of the Europa League on the away goals rule, Liverpool now focus on the
league - where they still have a tiny mathematical chance to sneak into 4th position.
Liam and friends will have to wait until May to play twice in one fantasy game
week
This just in from Stoke's official website - the Fulham / Stoke match scheduled
for next week has been re-arranged for May 5th or 6th.
Not that big of a deal in "real" life - as both of these teams are safe - neither will be relegated
and neither will end up in the Europa League, so they are stuck in mid table mediocrity.
Funny man is Hull's only chance of staying up
Your Funny Feeling Friday selection
this week is blog favorite Jimmy Bullard. Not too exciting choosing a Hull player, but hear me
out...
Bullard has a point to prove against his old club Fulham. Check.
Bullard only costs 5.
While the footballing world on this lazy summer Sunday morning is obsessed with learning about
Cristiano Ronaldo's pick-up lines and his new baby boy, we are sticking to the pitch.
Ronaldo may have had a one night stand with an American beauty, but this beauty of a goal from
Russia is certainly worth a second look.
He scored 10 league goals last season and I think he'll hit double digits again
With Liverpool home to Blackburn, I had an itch all week to put my faith in an end of the season
Liverpool resurgence and pick a Benayoun, Kuyt, or even Mascherano as a Funny Feeling
Friday but instead I look further (way further) down the table and end up with Kenwyne Jones
(6.
The Rest
Zola, in happier times
West Ham have confirmed that their squad has been given
three days off this week. The Hammers lost for the sixth straight time on Saturday, this time
bowing out at home to Stoke and while Zola's job is reportedly not in danger, the team's Premier
League status certainly is.
