Who’s on top?

This is the 2nd week atop the leaderboard, after an immense season-long struggle to regain top spot. Due mainly to Cristiano Ronaldo and some astute (or rather lucky) purchases – Benjani’s hattrick among the notables.

Good luck in Week 23rd!

YFF P.S. Take a long hard look at Sunderland players: Prica (striker), Evans (defender) and Craig Gordon (goalkeeper) – a very enticing matchup at home against Wigan.

YFF Quick-notes

With 7 million to spend in the 100 mil salary cap, what significant changes can one make?

The Quick-notes:

Strikers:
Afonso alves, mido (next week against Fulham)
rade Prica (next week against Wigan)
McFadden (against Derby)
Eduardo (away against mancity, next week against blackburn)
Marlon King (Fulham – not anytime soon)
Felipe Caicedo (Man City – not anytime soon)
Mauro Zarate (birmingham – not anytime soon)

Midfielders:
Noble (away against wigan, next week against Birmingham)
Gerrard (due against Sunderland – to drop immediately if picked up)

Defender:
Steinsson (against reading)
Skrtel (against sunderland)
Surely there must be more choices….I’m keeping this for last minute

Goalkeeper:
Lehmann (away against mancity)
Jose Reina (at home to Sun)
Radek cerny (next week away to Derby)

Lousiest teams in the EPL (based on current form):
derby, wigan, Fulham, Bolton, Middlesbrough, Newcastle

- important factor in YFF player selection!

Chelsea sign £15m Anelka

Breaking news from BBC: Chelsea sign £15m Nicolas Anelka

Chelski are now officially back on track and are ready to breakup the two horse race for the English Premier League title. 6 points adrift of the leaders Arsenal, they are capable of reducing the deficit if they can win their January games against mediocre opponents Tottenham, Birmingham and Reading.

On the YFF front, Anelka’s the Big Dog is a must-have and he’s not too pricey at 16.09. But with Agbonlahor and Torres already part of a power-packed strikeforce, I may pass him on for a more balanced squad.

Meanwhile, Manchester United has a question at rightback: with Wes Brown suspended against Newcastle, will the eveready benchwarmer John O’Shea make his mark, or will Captain Gary Neville make his first team return (after scoring in the reserves in midweek)?

Team Cantona Kickems

Is there any room for improvement?

Yahoo Fantasy Football Mid-season Awards

As we reach the halfway point of the YFF season, it’s time to handout the mid-season awards:

Best team of the league: Looprevil (the midweek surge leaves him numero uno with 1748.5 – 15 points clear of his closest rival)

Best single-week performance: Highgate FC (an unstoppable 228 points in week 17)

Most dedicate YFF player: LEE CY aka LEE-banglahore (barely surpassing the 1000-point mark, but passionate in his chase for kaka_bangku’s ass)

YFF Player of the year: Cristiano Ronaldo (261 points for the season thus far)

YFF Best Worst player of the year: Aaron Mokoena (but we still keep him for budget’s sake, don’t we?)

Most catchy name in the league: Shut up and Touch the Monkey

Most stable position in the league: 10th spot (held by devil’s band for much of the season)

And the last but not least…

Underdog of the season thus far: Small Potato (was mired in the relegation zone till his late surge – the Week 18 winner with 173.5 points! You can’t help but root for this guy…

African Cup of Nations

It’s time to take a breather from the hectic YFF double gamer weeks and enjoy some good ‘ol FA CUP action this weekend. Highlight matchup has gotta be the Aston Villa vs Manchester United CRACKAH of a game.

In the meantime, we are faced with a mass exodus of African players participating in the African Nations Cup. BBC has recently released an unofficial list of English Premier League players likely to feature in the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

I can foresee Chelsea’s title challenge being severely dented, with the likes Essien, Drogba and Kalou having to fulfil their national duties. Arsenal will miss Toure, with Phillipe Senderos most likely to deputize. And if the Swiss star fails to perform to the Gunner’s high standards, Gilberto may even have a chance to start.

Pompey, Newcastle and Everton are likely to suffer as well – and I’ll mention the important names for YFF consideration: Yakubu, Pienaar, Martins, Utaka and Muntari.

Feel free to pick up Benjani Mwaruwari – his country Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the ACN.

Wanted

My final change before the New Year’s double-gamers: Benni McCarthy.

A little extra persuasion from thedailymail.co.uk:

McCarthy told he’s wanted at Blackburn

Benni McCarthy has been told his future lies with Blackburn after manager Mark Hughes ruled out a January exit for the striker.

McCarthy, 30, has been reduced to playing a bit-part role behind in-form Roque Santa Cruz, but Hughes will recall him to the starting line-up against strugglers Derby tomorrow.

Hughes said: “He’s a top player, one of our most technically gifted.”

So Benni wins the match between the 8 dollah players – the runnerups include Joe Cole, Kanu, Bianchi and Kevin Davies. I’m faced with the prospect of a total Blackburn blowout on my face if they do not perform to my expectations. Why? ‘Cos I have Friedel, Mokoena and Savage (the latter two for budgeting purposes).

Good luck folks!

Bye Bye Lawrie

Top football stories of today:

1. Arsenal has been drawn to face AC Milan in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League
2. while the Red Devils will face Lyon.
3. Liverpool were handed a strong serving of Italian. Inter will be tuff.
4. Bye Bye Lawrie
   

News no. 4 leaves me perplexed. Can Dempsey and Fulham cope without their gaffer for the double-header matchups? The future is looking bleak for the Cottagers, and for my YFF squad.

Who and Why

As we approach Week 17 of Yahoo Fantasy Football, team choices are in abundance – therefore no longer limited in terms of scoring potential. The double gamers that will occur these next couple of weeks will determine the fate of not only the Premier League teams and the title race, but also the YFF standings.

I will be relying on the following team to boost my chances of regaining top spot of the Pentagram league. Here is the Who and Why:

The Fantasy Football Struggle

The heat is on for the struggling football pundits Small Potato and Cantona Kickems. While the Potato is unable to translate his expert views on to the YFF pitch, I find myself in a spell of rotten luck and 3 straight games of <100 points. As we close in towards the end of the first half of the season, I can only hope of regaining 3rd spot. The Ronaldo-Mokoena strategy has not been as rewarding due to other bad picks – either overly-conservative or just downright foolish risky business.

Here are the Pentagram Fantasy Football Standings thus far: