There are some notable injury news that you might wanna pay attention to:
The Liverpool lineup is in a mess now, with Fernando Torres out for at least 3 weeks due to an adductor muscle injury (it’s a groin strain for the curious). Xabi Alonso has been stricken by the dreaded metatarsal – 4th metatarsal on the left foot to be exact. Mascherano’s down but we don’t really care about his fantasy points (or lack thereof).
Manchester United has just one major injury concern – Paul Scholes. He’ll be out till February 2008, so cry away Red Devils supporters. But the difference this year will be Manyoo’s squad depth and I won’t be surprised if they pass the Arsenal test with flying colours.
I had just made a swoop for Bellamy on Monday, only to be informed that he’ll be out for an indefinite period due to injury. That leaves the West Ham strikeforce extremely threadbare… Carlton Cole anyone? Suddenly I’m not so ready to give West Ham the win against Bolton.
The Big Game this weekend will no doubt be between Arsenal and Manchester United. Good news: it’s the early match on Saturday night at 8.45pm. Predictions?
On the Fantasy Football front, I cracked under pressure during the past week and now find myself almost a 100 points behind Highgate in the league standings. I’ve made some extremely early and drastic changes to my squad – primarily the formation from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2. Yes, it has been quite the dilemma. Sacrificed diversity as well by adding on to my already ultra-Manchester squad.
As told by Arsenal old boy Robert Pires to the Spanish press … and yes, it’s of his ex-boss Arsene Wenger:
‘The club has a magic and it is called Wenger. He has a special eye when it comes to young players.
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‘He will spot them, guide them and finish by getting them playing at the very highest level.
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‘The fashionable one now is Cesc Fabregas, but do not forget (Robin) Van Persie, (Emmanuel) Eboue, (Kolo) Toure. ‘I was fortunate enough to work with Wenger, who is the ideal coach for a player, allowing you to do what you want on the pitch, expressing what you have inside. He gives you all your confidence.
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‘To play how they want to do at Arsenal, Arsene is unique; simple football, fast, looking for goal all the time. The fans like it. For enjoyment, there is nobody like Wenger. He is unique.’
Arsenal are sitting on top of the league as you are reading this. But their ascension is due to the highly-skilled matured play of their key players. The myth that Arsenal are a young team should be dispelled as they are in fact a team of men, not boys. Arsene Wenger did, however, brought in many of them from various parts of Europe and Africa when they were young (and not to mention, nobodies … ) and painstakingly groomed them to be the exciting team that they are now. The antithesis of Chelsea, the only gripe I have is their ability to play against teams with dirty players that have no qualms in roughing them up.
I was just telling myself yesterday that my Week 10 guide was turning into Kill Bill – so I cut it into two parts.
Now, on to the 2nd part! The position-centric YFF player previews:
Forwards
HOT: Tevez (13.51), Benjani Mwaruwari (13.05), Agbonlahor (12.97), Roque Santa Cruz (10.29) NOT: Anelka (13.60), Berbatov (12.80), Torres (10.38), BARGAIN BUY OF THE WEEK: Cameron Jerome (9.18) DARK HORSES: Kenwyne Jones (11.57), Michael Owen or Obafemi Martins
I’ve not put Rooney on the list above because if you don’t have him already, it’s just not feasible to dish out 20 dollars of moolah for a single player and lose strength in depth for the rest of the squad ( Ronaldo is the exception ). Tevez is the cheaper Rooney-like option, and might even do better. Benjani’s been on a hot streak and expect him to contribute in some way or the other in a probable win against West Ham. Agbonlahor is looking mighty fine, especially with a juicy matchup against Derby the week after!Read the rest of this entry »
Lotsa craziness in store for this weekend’s EPL games, and we’ve already been served a juicy appetizer of Martin Jol-being-sacked.
Everyone already knew that the Dutchman’s head was on the chopping block. That’s the easy prediction. So who’s next in the firing line? Chris Hutchings? Steve Bruce? Or perhaps that forgettable Derby manager?
OK folks, a few things I am gonna spew at cha … and it concerns all sporting matters relating to the English.
For those without the well-awares, I just want to take the opportunity to fill your brain with the fact that this October month is indeed a losing month for the England sporting world. Let me list it down for you …
1. England outplayed by Russia. O-U-T-played, y’all …
It started off with the England national team losing their qualifying round to the Russians — Macca getting his tactics wrong once again — and now the so-called best crop of English talents are staring at the possibility of being Euro 2008 no-shows. Don’t get me wrong, … I am not particularly fond of their style of play at the moment but a European Championship without the likes of Rooney and Co. is like having a party without P.Diddy and bling-bling and hip-hop groupies, y’know? OK, you are right, smokie … maybe I am getting ahead of myself … anyway, here is the video link.
2. Which leads me to the England Rugby Team …
They got in the World Cup final but couldn’t possibly pull off anything winnable against a better team in the form of South Africa — who remember, did give them a more intense ass-whuppin’ some couple months ago. Yet another heartbreak for English sport fans. Lesson learnt, boys.
3. Lewis Hamilton’s F1 hopes dashed …
At least it wasn’t Alonso winning, that would be a bitter pill for Hamilton fans to swallow. Nonetheless, we didn’t get to see an F1 crown on a driver representing the Union Jack.
OK, I am gonna check out of here. Until the next English heartbreak.
Welcome to our Late Edition to the EPL Fantasy Football Guide!
Better late than never? I’m Cantona Kickems, here to provide you some vital news to helpcha out with your YFF picks. Most of my tips are based on guestimating which team will win their matchup, and the number of goals scored in the process. Usually I’m biased towards the performing teams, ‘cos let’s face it, Koumas isn’t gonna earn much points if he’s up against a rampaging Red Devils frontline. He was largely absent in my 101.50 point performance on Week 8.
Hi there, girls! D’ya want my wild monkey to provide some (oooooh! heavenly!) blow dry after you paint your nails?
Throw away your other battery-operated devices! Just touch my monkey’s bananas, and Curious George will work on you like the eager chimp he is … willing to learn and willing to please.
Yesiree, ma’am!
What, not interested? Why not you shut up and touch my [...]*
It’s not the best of quality, and gets worse after the Rooney clip, but it’s the best out there thus far. Will update this post once there’s a better video!
Sorry folks, no England vs Russia highlights video yet. But I’ve got some recent (and awesome) freekick videos -> read on!
In case you don’t know it already, England lost 1-2 and are on their way out of the reckoning for a spot in EURO 2008. Boo hoo England fans…it sucks but it’s reality. England made it their Group of Death, and need to find some flair (Joe Cole is the best they’ve got at the moment) in order to be genuine Championship contenders.
Other notable results:
Georgia whoops the Scottish 2-0
Darren Fletcher started and played the whole game. But it’s not as though I’m scouting him for Red Devils’ weekend game against Villa. Italy and France get my vote as favourites to go through the ACTUAL group of death. Read the rest of this entry »
Sammy Lee got dumped by Bolton, and as expected, becomes the first manager in the EPL to be shown the door. Who’s next? Yes, we’re pointing at you Martin Jol.
The England game will be in about 25 minutes from now. MY BAD for the late information on the Astro schedule:
Euro Qualifiers: Live on Astro Supersport CH 811
17 Oct 11.00pm England vs Russia
Luzhniki the Plastic Stadium
Awesome awesome. Looks like I won’t need to wake up in the wee hours ‘o the mornin’ to watch a midweek game
![[Official ShenaniganZ EPL Fantasy Football League]](http://l.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/i/uk/sp/euro78.jpg "PENTAGRAM")
). Tevez is the cheaper Rooney-like option, and might even do better. Benjani’s been on a hot streak and expect him to contribute in some way or the other in a probable win against West Ham. Agbonlahor is looking mighty fine, especially with a juicy matchup against Derby the week after! 
