Review for GW 6

Result of CKW's XI prediction:

GK: Foster (7)

D: Dann (5), Konchesky (1), Sagna (4)

M: Parker (3), Malouda (2), Arshavin (5), Gerrard (6) , Nasri (12)

S: Torres (C)[14], Berbatov (2)

Subs: Krul, Jerome, Williamson, O' Shea

Total: 61 pts

Verdict: Another above average week with an average score of 39 pts. Konchesky's was substituted early game due to injury. Aww..

What can be more shocking than Arsenal's loss to newly-promoted West Brom? Biggest shock so far this season.


Arsenal 2 - 3 West Brom



Hey, saw Arsene Wenger's frustration? It's not the loss, it's the hero turned villain acts of Almunia that made him to show such expression. Priceless huh? Almunia made a penalty, saved it and he is suddenly against all the critics. A moment later, 3 goals were conceded and West Brom were in dreamland when they are leading by 3 goals at the Emirates stadium. The 2nd and 3rd goal were definitely Almunia's fault. Even Robert Green can handle the 2nd shot and why was he leaving the GK post and allow Thomas to tap in a simple goal.

Nasri's burden was too heavy to lead Arsenal's attacks as he did pull 2 goals back, but it was already late... too late...

Arsenal's next match was against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and without injured goalkeeper Almunia, blunderish Fabianski might be the first choice goal keeper and I can see no reason NOT to captain Drogba next week.


Manchester City 1 - 0 Chelsea



Well, the battle among the rich clubs and rich boys, seems like the richest got the result. Although a narrow one, Tevez's stats against Chelsea was superb. 5 goals in 4 matches against Chelsea. Well, this is a tight game, Mancini (defensive coach/style/tactics) vs. Ancelloti (attacking style/tactics/formation). Obviously the old rivalry among the once compatriots in the Italian national side was brought to an intense level. It's already a common thing to see during their spells with AC Milan and Inter Milan respectively.

ManCity's defensive tactics are obviously succeed in neutralizing all Chelsea's attacks. Trio Anelka, Drogba and Malouda can do nothing when they were totally sealed off from the back by the 2 holding midfielders (Yaya Toure and De Jong) plus incoming defenders from the front when Chelsea are attacking.

A nice counter-attack paid off and Tevez's strike is the only goal that wrapped up the 3 points against Chelsea. A good record thou as ManC's last season double against Chelsea are still fresh in my mind.


Bolton 2 -2 Manchester United



Owen Coyle continues to upset SAF's ManU team away from home like he did against them when he is still in-charge of Burnley. Well, another Bulgarian shines in this game, not Berbatov, but is Martin Petrov which I rated highly during the start of the season. A goal and an assist for the free transfer from Manchester City.

Nani once again showed his magic (1 goal 1 asst 2 bonus pts) and he is still working hard to fill in Ronaldo's boot. Rooney continues to struggle and his form and price continues to plummet too. For those who brought in Berbatov, disappointed huh? Well, his price do increased to $9.1 over the week but you really cant judge his performance by merely one-game's form right?


Liverpool 2 - 2 Sunderland



Does Liverpool have a habit of drawing on the same scoreline when they are dip in form? I remembered two seasons back, they got a draw with 4-4 scoreline at Stamford Bridge and lost 7-5 on aggregate and crashed out from Champions League. The next game they got another 4-4 draw at home to Arsenal with 2 last-gasp goal scored by Torres and Benayoun.

Well, it repeats again. 2-2 against Northampton 2 divisions below them, crashed out of Carling Cup on penalties. Another 2-2 draw against Sunderland. 2 goals and 3 bonus pts for Darren Bent. Thanks to a smart Torres who take the advantage of Turner's backpass to goal keeper which considered as already taken the free-kick (which fat-head Steve Bruce described as unsportmanship) and assisted Kuyt to score the opening.

Thanks to Poulsen a.k.a Lucas ver.2 to give away a penalty and Johnson who failed to be a defender and too obsessed in attackings that let Darren Bent snucked in and scored a header from the right side.

Gerrard did good enough to spare Liverpool's blushes. Torres still struggle to score goals as he is all on his own to create chances and to score goals.


West Ham 1 - 0 Tottenham



Actually this win is predicted as sooner or later West Ham will get their first win anyway and this is a good chance as Tottenham faced defender crisis once again and they need to prepare themselves too for Champions League game in the midweek.

Piquionne did listed himself in the "miss-of-the-season" 2 weeks ago against Chelsea but he did score the winning goal in this match.

Anyway, why Avram Grant always looks sad?


Newcastle 1 - 2 Stoke City



Newcastle's brace in midweek Carling Cup win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but failed to bring that form back to St. James Park. Stoke's record signing Jones continues to score and James Perch's own goal ends it all.

Carroll's price hiked to a high $5.7 so far and is the player with the highest price rise in FPL with +$0.7. I sold him as he did not perform for a few games and sadly after I sold him he grabbed an assist though as he is brought down in the penalty box and Kevin Nolan ($5.7) converted the penalty.

Put Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton (3 bonus pts despite loss), Hatem Ben Arfa ($5.1) and Carroll in your radar as all of them are bargain buy as Newcastle definitely is top flight material.


Blackpool 1 - 2 Blackburn



Adam's form in the BPL and FPL is considered good. You actually can see him in all attacks-build-up of Blackpool as he is involved in most of the attacks. He is the captain and set-pieces/penalty taker as well so he is worth the buy as a cheap midfield option at $5.1.

However, a miscommunication between the Tangerine captain and goal keeperGilks caused an own goal as Adam headed back the ball to the GK expecting he will fetch it but it ended up in the Blackpool's net.

Blackburn's defense are still mean and tough to break. Australian international Emerton scored the winner in the dying minutes.

Is Big Sam being sarcasm as few days back he claimed to have enough materials to coach Real Madrid and being successful and before the match he claimed Ian Holloway to be on par with Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson, and Big Sam defeated Ian Holloway's Blackpool. So what he is trying to tell?


Wolves 1 - 2 Aston Villa



Aston Villa continues to excel under Houllier and Gerard Houllier seems to bring back the best in Heskey (who used to play under him too in Liverpool). Aston came back from a goal down and scored 3 goals against Blackburn in midweek Carling Cup.

Downing and Ashley Young should be put under your radar as you don't want to miss them out from your FPL squad if they winger pairs continue to perform well under Houllier.


Fulham 0 - 0 Everton

David Moyes on the brink of getting sacked? Everton plunged into the bottom of the table. With the calibre like Arteta, Pienaar, Cahill, Howard, Jagielka, Heitinga, Baines, Yakubu and Beckford (more like a flop to me, he should stick his foot to League 2 football), Everton still failed to get their first win of the season despite coming back 2 goals down and drew 3-3 against ManU.

For Fulham, bargain striker Dembele is out injured for 2-3 weeks, so, Dempsey should be a good attacking option for Fulham if you wanna have any player from the team.


Birmingham 0 - 0 Wigan

Well, the result is kinda disappointing as Birmingham is normally strong at home, their fortress to win game. They are super duper weak away. They missed a chance to seal a win against Wigan who are dip in form. Birmingham can do better with the attacking options like Hleb, Zigic, Jerome, and Gardner.

Foster and Dann are still the defensive studs. Bargain buys!

Preview - CKW's XI for GW 6

GK: Foster

D: Dann, Konchesky, Sagna

M: Parker, Malouda, Arshavin, Gerrard, Nasri

S: Torres (C), Berbatov

Subs: Krul, Jerome, Williamson, O' Shea

Gameweek Preview - GW 6

Well, put aside the League Cup's shocks away that saw clubs like Chelsea (losing to Newcastle), Everton, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool (a disgrace) out of the cup run in such early stage. We'll FOCUS back on the Premier League this coming gameweek.




- Fernando Torres ($11.5) has failed to make impact in games up to date and struggle to fulfill his lone striker role under the formation of 4-2-3-1 deployed by Hodgson which is similar to his predecessor Benitez. Poulsen a.k.a Lucas ver.2 was brought in and being positioned at the same position of Lucas. Mascherano's place will be filled either with the original Lucas or Raul Meireles.

- Anyway I still have great faith in Torres and he will got my captain armband for this coming gameweek against Sunderland. Although Sunderland performed well last week against Arsenal and shown a lot of threat in attacking, I do believe Roy Hodgson still have something left in his pocket and live up his expectation. Still remember the wonder goal Torres scored against Sunderland last season? :)




- It was reported that Mancini's defenders choices are very limited now and only Toure, Zabaleta and Kompany reported to be fit. Well well, $6.4 goal keeper Joe Hart will have a very busy day. Look at the "faster" Chelsea now, without Lampard (injured), they definitely play a faster style of football with Essien filling in Lampard's position. Anelka's and Malouda's swift moves are mouth watering and Drogba's beasty playstyle is threatening. Chelsea is on a goal scoring run (although they lost to Newcastle 4-3 by fielding a weaker side) and I think they can get something out from this game.




- The on-loan Marseille winger scored a stunning goal last week against Everton. He only cost $5 in FPL and definitely a bargain buy if he plays 90-minutes weekly. He has the class of Nani and definitely way more cheaper. Newcastle has gained momentum and on high-morale after defeating Chelsea in midweek's Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge.

- A win for Newcastle against Stoke? Likely... Barton, Nolan and Carroll are the few good choices too. Although it's not worth to get Carroll now ($5.7 now and I have sold him to fund others), Barton is still the set piece taker. Another player to be watched is goalkeeper Tim Krul ($4) who deputize Harper who might be out for up to 12 weeks. He is a good pick as Newcastle is a team who can get clean sheets at home and sometimes away.




- Nuff' said. It's time to bring Berbatov in. He is $9 now and if he can continue the run of form that outshone Rooney ($11.6 now) since GW 1, he can grab about 20 goals + 10 assists for the whole season plus bonus points. ManUnited have easy fixture ahead, don't they? (Bolton @ away, Sunderland @ away, West Brom @ home)




- Arsenal vs West Brom is an interesting fixture and many will bring Arsenal players in, thinking that this will be a free-scoring game and free points for those Arsenal players. But I doubt that, yea, Dranzer!, i really don't see that.

- Fabregas will be out for 2-3 weeks due to a hamstring injury. West Brom was in high spirit after sending ManCity out of Carling Cup in midweek. I know I know, most of you think that Arsenal's free-flow football style will tear West Brom's defence apart like Chelsea's 6-0 thumping.

-But since then West Brom have gained momentum and played well in the BPL. They only lost one goal to Liverpool at Anfield and came back from behind to defeat Birmingham 3-1 which made Odemwingie a player-to-watch. Dorrans did not live up to his expectation though, as I prefer Chris Brunt more if I was to choose a player from WBA.

- Nasri ($7.2) and Arshavin ($9.8) is the obvious choices if you think Arsenal will win like 3-0 or 3-1. But the worry is, will Nasri play 1st team after complete 120-minutes at White Hart Lane on tuesday night? Arshavin is substituted only after 57 minutes last gameweek (although he scored 1 in midweek after brought on as a substitute). They are the pro/con choices as we don't know what will be Wenger thinking =.= duh

- Chamakh ($8.4) will definitely playing 90 minutes so he is the safer choice, he is Bendtner ver.2 and he scores alot from headers. Oh ya.. Wilshere ($5) anyone?? He did shine in the Tottenham game in midweek.

Bramble arrested over rape claim

Titus Bramble, former Wigan and Newcastle player, was arrested over a rape report by a woman. Together arrested is another suspect who is his brother Tesfaye Bramble who is also a footballer.

Boring Wenger

Boring Wenger serving the one-match touchline ban.

Arsenal won 4-1 at White Hart Lane in the Carling Cup derby against Tottenham.

Once a great, now forgotten..

1) ROBBIE FOWLER (The "God")
- Once referred as the "God" by Liverpool fans, this greatlad here is now forgetten, but still active, playing for Perth Glory in the A-League in Australia

- Age: 35 years old

- Nationality: England

- Clubs: Perth Glory, North Queensland, Blackburn, Cardiff, Liverpool (2 spells), ManCity, Leeds United

- Career height: 120 goals in 236 appearances for Liverpool

2) THIERRY HENRY
- The legend of Arsenal @ Highbury (old stadium) and did not follow the move of Arsenal to their new Emirates Stadium after being sold to Barcelona for a fee around 16 mil Euro. The greatest buy of all time by Arsene Wenger for the fees of only 10 million pounds in 1999. Playing in the US for NY Red Bulls now after leaving before the season starts.

- Age: 33 years old

- Nationality: France

- Clubs: Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona, New York Red Bulls

- Career height: 174 goals in 254 appearances for Arsenal

-Ranked 3rd in all time UCL goal scorer (50 goals in 109 app)

3) Ruud Van Nistelrooy
- The flying Dutchman, brought by SAF to ManUnited for a fee around 19 million pounds. One of the greatest striker and most feared forward in the EPL during his stint at ManUnited

- Age: 34 years

- Nationality: Netherland

- Clubs: Hamburg(now), Real Madrid, ManU, PSV, Heerenveen

- Career height: 95 goals in 150 appearance for ManUnited

- Ranked 2nd in all time UCL goal scorer (54 goals in 74 apps)

4)Andriy Shevchenko
- The biggest flop of all time in the EPL and Chelsea's transfer history that cost Chelsea 30 million pounds but only scored 9 goals in 47 app. for Chelsea. Average 3.33 mil pounds per goal. Ouch!

- Age: 33 years

- Nationality: Ukraine

- Clubs: Dynamo Kyiv(now), Milan (loan), Chelsea, Milan, Dynamo Kyiv

- Career height: 127 goals in 208 appearances for AC Milan

- Ranked 4th in all time UCL goal scorer with 48 goals in 100 games

5) Christian Vieri

- He was brought to Inter Milan for a (then) world record fees of 32 million Euro from Lazio when all the spells in all his previous clubs are flops. He had a very successful spell with Inter Milan and possessed one of the best striking partnership at that time with Ronaldo (the fat one) in 1999.
- Age: 37 years (retired)

- Nationality: Italy

- Clubs: Atalanta (3 spells), Fiorentina, Monaco, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Lazio, Athletico Madrid, Juventus, Vanezia, Ravena, Pisa, Torino

- Career height: 103 goals in 143 appearances for Inter Milan

- A whooping 12 different football clubs during his whole footballing career

6) FERNANDO MORIENTES

-Once the most talented young Spanish forward with a bright future, Fernando Morientes has a dip in his career after falling out with then Real Madrid manager Vicente Del Bosque and being sent out on a loan to Monaco from 2003-2004

- Age: 34 years

- Nationality : Spain

- Clubs: Marseille (now), Valencia, Liverpool, Monaco, Real Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Albacete

- Career height: 72 goals in 198 games for Real Madrid with a deadly striking partnership with Raul

- Ranked 7th in all time UCL goal scorer with 33 goals in 93 games. Raul ranked 1st with 66 goals in 132 games.


7) HERNAN CRESPO
- The Argentinian forward has scored more than 300 goals in his spanning 17 years of footballing career, which 35 of them was scored for Argentina with only 64 appearances.

- Age: 35 years

- Nationality: Argentina

- Clubs: Parma (now), Genoa, Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea, Lazio, River Plate

- Career height: 62 goals in 116 app for Parma, 39 goals in 54 app for Lazio

- Once broke the world record with a transfer fee of 35 mil Euro from Parma to Lazio


8)RONALDO
- The all time goal scorer in World Cup with 15 goals was once hailed as the greatest footballer on Earth after Pele and voted FIFA World Player of The Year twice back to back in 1996 and 1997.

- Age: 33 years

- Nationality: Brazil

- Clubs: Corinthians, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona, PSV, Cruzeiro

- Career height: 42 goals in 46 app for PSV, 34 goals in 36 apps for Barcelona, 49 goals in 68 apps for Inter, 83 goals for 127 games for Real Madrid

- All time World Cup goal scorer with 15 goals

Review GW 5

CKW's GW 5 best XI prediction:

GK: Robinson (5)

D: Gallas (2) - Ashley Cole (12) - Luke Young (2)

M: Malouda (14) - Fabregas (6) - A.Johnson (1) - Bale (2)

S: Drogba(C)[20] - Tevez (11) - Agbonlahor (2)

Total: 72 pts

Verdict: Not a bad prediction for a week with average scores of 52, and it scores more than my actual team in the FPL.


MANCHESTER UNITED 3 - 2 LIVERPOOL



Berba-top is on hot form today as he scored a hat-trick against Liverpool with 2 headers and an exceptional beautiful overhead kick. Gerrard and co. did their best to pull Liverpool back into the game but too bad, Gerrard scored a penalty and another from free kick but Berbatov is just too hot for Liverpool's defence to handle aerially as all three goals scored by him came from crosses.

Although Joe Cole was daring and trying hard to create chances, Torres' burden is just too strong and lack of supports until N'Gog was brought on to diverse the defence's attentions and create spaces for Torres to win both the penalty and free kick which allow Liverpool to pull themselve back into the game.

O'Shea definitely was the last man and he deserved a red card for bringing down Torres.

WIGAN 0 - 2 MANCHESTER CITY

Tevez scored the opening and created a second for Yaya Toure to grab his first goal for the club. The rotation continues and David Silva who played and scored in the Europa game started the game instead of Adam Johnson. Seems like Milner is not prone to rotation though. MC did just well and deserved to win the game.

SUNDERLAND 1 - 1 ARSENAL



This game left ARSENE WENGER fuming again as BENT scored the goal in the 95th minute, after Fabregas' fluke goal gave Gunners the lead at first half. Rosicky will be the villain as he blasted a penalty into the crowd and wasted the chance to extend the lead. This allowed Sunderland to boost their spirit and eventually succeed to bring themselves back into the game.


EVERTON 0 - 1 NEWCASTLE



Everton who have a habit of starting slow every season stumbled again at home as Newcastle's new signing Ben Arfa scored a stunning long range goal that is also the winning goal for Newcastle's first away win of the season. Ben Arfa is only priced at $5 is definitely a bargain buy as he is a star of his own class.


TOTTENHAM 3 - 1 WOLVES



Wolves failed to secure another win against Tottenham at White Hart Lane as Tottenham have a very late late show to pull themselves back into the game through Van Der Vaart (who was reported to be doubtful for the game) and eventually won the game 3-1, who is scored by supersubs Pavlyuchenko and Alan Hutton (who replaced Kaboul at right back due to injury).


CHELSEA 4 - 0 BLACKPOOL



Blackpool gained their momentum too late as their defences have been tore apart by Chelsea in the first 45 minutes. Kalou started instead of Anelka and has scored the opener and assisted the last goal of Chelsea who is scored by Malouda (2 goals). Drogba assisted 1 and scored 1 in this game, which is quite below my expectation. No goal scored in the second half as Blackpool defended well and even forced Cech to perform 1 or 2 saves. Anyway, 22 goals for Chelsea in just 5 games into the new season.


STOKE 1 -1 WHU

West Ham got their 1st point of the season through a draw at the Britannia Stadium. Quite a dull game to watch. However, there is a man-to-watch who is Parker, Scott Parker who has scored 3 goals for West Ham so far this season. Add him to your watch list.



BLACKBURN 1 - 1 FULHAM

Big 'mouth' Sam who claimed himself who is good enough to manage Real Madrid managed only a draw at home against Fulham. His attacks are toothless and the only goal came from a defender (Samba) assisted by their goalkeeper!! Duh... =.=

Dempsey scored the away goal but Dembele ($5.7 now!!) claimed the bonus 3 pts. I think Dembele is a good choice as Zamora will be out for 5 months and that makes him the only regular striker for Mark Hughes' team.


ASTON 1 - 1 BOLTON

Gerard Houllier only managed a draw with his first game in-charge. Ashley Young scored a beauty free kick (and also bonus 3 pts) but Kevin Davies managed to get a goal to grab a point for Bolton to bring back home.


WEST BROM 3 - 1 BIRMINGHAM

Birmingham are still as weak as last season playing away games. Odemwingie might be another bargain buy for the striker slot as he performed well especially at home games. West Brom this season is no longer the West Brom like before who are often to be the team that allow opposite teams to score free points. They are strong this season and might be one of the contender to survive and stay in the EPL

Quick Saturday night review - GW 5

The Premier League is no longer that predictable and that greatly affects my fantasy points this season. Injuries news by clubs cannot be relied anymore.

And WHAT'S WRONG with THE SCORE LINE TODAY!? Kinda FREAKY!

**Detailed review will be posted after GW 5 ends

Gameweek Preview - GW 5's best XI prediction

(give me a single reason not to captain this beast)


CKW's GW 5 best XI prediction:

GK: Robinson

D: Gallas - Ashley Cole - Luke Young

M: Malouda - Fabregas - A.Johnson - Bale

S: Drogba(C) - Tevez - Agbonlahor

Subs: Sorenson, Albrighton, Jones(Blackburn), Dann

Gameweek Preview - GW 5

Let's discuss the upcoming GW 4 with a glance at the EPL teams that played in the UEFA Champions League.


Arsenal thrashed 'want-to-make-history' Braga 6-0 at home. Fantasy hot picks Fabregas, Arshavin and Chamakh all grab points. Fabregas scored 2 and assisted 2 in this game. Well, he is a great buy since he is the regular starter again and could be a good replacement for those who has extra money to spend after selling Lampard or plan to sell Gerrard who whose performance is not on par with his value. For those who cant afford Fabregas ($11.9), Arshavin ($9.6) is good enough.


Manchester United has made 10 changes to the team that drew 0-0 at home to Rangers. Valencia who is out injured has alarmed managers that Nani ($8.1) will be the automatic starter and a good long term fantasy prospect.


Chelsea won away from home thrashing Zilina 4-1. Playing without the likes of Didier Drogba (suspension) and Frank Lampard (injury), they still managed to win comfortably away at home. Essien showed great form again, will his form continues and scores points regularly with the absense of Lampard? He is worth the bet, only $6.9, that makes him one of the most affordable Chelsea midfielder who play box-to-box with alot of potential to score and assist. Anelka did shine in this game, because Drogba wasn't there.


Tottenham drew 2-2 away from home to Werder Bremen. Tottenham's recent run in the EPL dissapoints me as I invested heavily in their squad thinking that they are able to handle both competitions well even with that depth of squad, but I am wrong. They are human afterall and they can get tired after midweek games. Nevertheless, Bale ($7.0) and Lennon ($8) are still in my squad as I really love to see when Tottenham attacks from flanks and these 2 guys possessed the abilities to make the biggest threat.

Valencia will be out for the season..

(Valencia - suspected broken leg ruled him out for the season)

One of ManUtd's winger was injured in the clash with Ranger (UEFA Champions League) earlier this morning, and might be possibly out for the season. Well, this narrows down Ferguson's selection of wingers down to Giggs, Park J.S. and Nani only.. well I can say that Nani might be the hot pick due to his role to take corners and free kicks. He is involved in most of United's attacks due to his dribbling skills and ability to send accurate crosses and passes that resulted in goals.

Nani ($8.1 now!) is not prone to SAF's rotation as Valencia is out now. I did brought him into my squad but sold him off in the 3rd GW and swapped him for Malouda.. which has proven to be a bad choice as Nani performed well starting from GW 3 onwards. Well... United next match is against Liverpool at home and they won 2-1 last season at the Old Trafford. We'll see..

Review GW 4

Okay, I scored the least points among all of us in this week's FPL and I deserved it by under rating Blackpool and chose Carroll ($5.6 now!!) as my captain.

Back to the results. (I did not post GW 4's Preview back last week due to some matters)


EVERTON 3-3 MANUTD


(Devastated Devils)

See the reactions on the ManUtd's players when they are leading 3-1 in the game with 2 minutes to go and out of a sudden the game ended 3-3 with both goals scored by Everton's Cahill and Arteta in injury time. Everton even make a breaking counter-attack which was considered to be the final touch of the game before referee Martin Atkinson blew the whistle and ended the game when Everton was already in front of ManUtd's goal. Manager Moyes and assistant Round were both fined by FA due to their protests and comments on the referee's action.


ARSENAL 4-1 BOLTON


(Vela's finishing was way way better still than Chamakh's)

Quite an expected result, which earlier I predicted the game would ended 3-0. Same goal difference though, with Arsenal's attacks became more effective with the dismissal of Cahill after a tackle on Chamakh. The referee should not stop the game after Chamakh was brought down as he did a nice flick back to Arshavin which might has the advantage to carry on the game and score the goal.


Birmingham 0-0 Liverpool


(It was Birmingham vs Reina on this day)

Thanks to Pepe Reina, Liverpool were able to spare the blushes from being 2-0 down in the first half of the game. Reina really was on top form on this day and you must watch on your on to see how magnificent he was on this matchday. Birmingham 0 - 0 Reina


180 millions 1 - 1 Blackburn Rovers


(GK Hart did a rookie mistake today)

The bad communication between GK Hart and Kolo Toure gifted Blackburn's Kalinic a free goal that sees Blackburn grabbed a rare draw at the Manchester City's homeground. Last season Blackburn was defeated 4-1 here. Well, money just doesn't bring instant success. Again, Manchester City were humiliated even with a draw AT HOME.

WEST HAM 1 - 3 CHELSEA

(Green continues his blundering form)

Nothing much to say as this is another predicted result. One thing went out of prediction is Malouda was benched and only scored 1 point which dissapoint up to millions of managers in the FPL. Well, Parker did score a beautiful consolation goal.


STOKE CITY 2 - 1 ASTON VILLA



Tony Pulis was absent in the 1st half of the game due to his mother's passing away. Down 1-0 at half time after a Downing's goal, Pulis cannot stand watching and present himself at the stadium which saw Stoke turned the deficit and won the game 2-1 with an injury time goal from Huth. Stoke's record signing Jones scored his 1st goal.


WIGAN 1 - 1 SUNDERLAND


(Best debut goal for club record signing Gyan)

Gyan was only brought on during the 2nd half and he made an immediate impact. He scored Sunderland's first goal despite playing with 10 players. Wigan get an equalizer though through Alcaraz.


NEWCASTLE 0 - 2 BLACKPOOL

Football is round. Statistic showed that Blackpool lost 4-1 here earlier in the Championship Division and Newcastle was predicted to score at least 2 with Carroll tipped as the leading goalscorer. Everything went out of prediction.


WEST BROM 1 - 1 TOTTENHAM

Can Tottenham handle the pressure and challenges to play both EPL and UCL with that depth of squad? We will see. Bale grabbed 3 bonus pts despite a draw with no goal or assist.


FULHAM 2 - 1 WOLVES

Dembele has caught many FPL managers' eyes after his performance in his last 3 games. Add him to your watch list.

Injuries news.. after the international break..

I freaking hate international break as hot stars are normally picked by their countries and many ended up returning with injuries.

• WALCOTT - is injured and carried off by a stretcher and might be out for 2 weeks.. I JUST bought him for god sake!! I gotta waste another 4 pts for nothing.. I believe many players will swap him out for in-form Adam Johnson ($6.4) who has scored twice in two England games.
  


• Defoe - Defoe's scored a hat-trick for England against Bulgaria and that made him the hot pick for the away game against newly-promoted West Brom. Too bad he is injured when playing for England against Switzerland.

• RVP - is also will be out injured and might only return in 6 weeks time. So Chamakh (who is not so classy but still have some quality) will be Arsenal's main striker.

• Dirk Kuyt - shoulder injury will rule him out for 4 weeks. He did assist Torres who scored the only goal in 1-0 win over West Brom.

• Dawson - Tottenham's main center-back will be out up to 8 weeks!! He is owned by almost 23% of the fantasy managers in the game.

Latest transfers after the window closed~

Let's start on two big stars who have arrived to the EPL at the edge of the closure of the transfer window....

RAUL MEIRELES - LIVERPOOL

Portugal is one of the world's leading footballing nation with great players like Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo. Well, you can find Portuguese players in Chelsea (Bosingwa, Ferreira, Carvalho (left), Deco (left)).. ManU (Nani, CR7 (left)).. and even Liverpool now!


(14 mil euros signing from Porto)

Raul Meireless is one great box-to-box midfielder and has been capped 38 times for his country, featuring all World Cup's qualifiers and final matches until they are eliminated by Spain in the recent World Cup.

He is said to be replacing Mascherano who has left for Barcelona. But, he cannot to be compared to Mascherano as he is a totally different player which I think that can complete the Roy Hodgson's Liverpool squad.

Nevertheless, Mascherano is a great defensive midfielder with great tackling techniques and defensive midfield runs and positionings. He has great dynamic and engine too which make him to appear so energetic and powerful during gameplays and performed consistently. But his abilities are very limited due to his bad-passing and lack of goal-scoring ability. He has only scored TWO goals in the EPL in his entire EPL career with Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Raul Meireless might be playing the defensive midfield role that is left vacant by Mascherano, but he is a box-to-box midfielder that can spark some creativity while playing the defensive role. Let's compare him to ManU's Michael Carrick, they are quite similar, while defensing, they can be creative and create chances, sometimes score as well. Meireless will be a good player to be paired with Steven Gerrard in the midfield. Please do not write Liverpool off too early.

RAFAEL VAN DER VAART - TOTTENHAM


(8 mil euro signing from Real Madrid)

Being forced out from the star-studded Real Madrid's squad, RVDV has left Real Madrid to look for more regular football and ended up in Tottenham. Well, Real Madrid do really overcrowd their midfield with great vast selections to choose from with talents like Kaka, CR, Alonso and new signings Khedira, Ozil, Leon, Canales and the highly rated Angel Di Maria as well. It is wise to leave thou.. at least, RVDV can play Champions League Football too with... TOTTENHAM!

Tottenham is grouped with other European elites like Internazionale and Werder Bremen and RVDV really do have the vast experiences that can help Tottenham to play and compete in the Champions League under Harry Redknapp. RVDV also can provide the creativity in the midfield and will be good to be paired with Tom Huddlestone, keeping Bale and Lennon on each flanks. When Tottenham is to switch to a full attacking mode, pairing RVDV with Luka Modric in the middle can bring devastating damages, however, it's better to be safe with the conventional formation, not to sacrifice defence.

Nevertheless, another good signing to the EPL and add up the spice in this new season's top 4 contenders. He definitely can excel in Tottenham with his experiences and creative play.


Other transfers:-

• Konchesky has joined Liverpool from Fulham

• Former Wigan utility player Paul Scharner has joined West Brom

• Birmingham has completed signing of trio - Hleb (former Arsenal, Barca, Stuggart), Beausejour and Jiranek

• Stoke has signed - Pennant(former Liverpool and Arsenal), Wilson and Gudjohnson (loan)

• Blackpool has signed Ghana's international goalkeeper Kingson

• Squilacci has confirmed joining Arsenal

• Newcastle acquired Ben Arfa on loan

• Wigan signed Cleverly (from MU on loan) and Di Santo (Chelsea on loan)

• Ghana's star Gyan has joined Sunderland in 13.24 mil deal, pairing with Bent that can create a terrifying striking partnership

For complete and detailed listing of transfer news - please visit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/transfers/index?cc=4716

GW 3 - review and statistics

Fantasy Shocker of GW 3 - Wigan and Hugo Rodallega!!

• Never expected that Wigan will stun Tottenham and all pundits and fantasy players with the 0-1 win at White Hart Lane. Rodallega who was a hot pick to sink Blackpool in GW 1 has dropped price to $ 6.1 from $6.5 but scored the never expected winner at Tottenham and bonus 3 pts too. I captained Bale $6.8 who was expected to shine but did badly with only 2 pts in this game.

Humiliation of the week - Sunderland 1 - 0 $180 million

• Tevez ($10.4) missed an early chance firing blank facing an empty net with the GK already distracted to the other side of the goal. He will regret that miss.

• Money really can't buy instant success?? Maybe.. $180 mil worth of squad and talents lost to a last minute penalty from $10 mil bargain signing Darren Bent ($8.5). David Silva ($8.8) can only sit on the bench watching the game... what a waste of talent.. he should opt for Liverpool (even only if Liverpool can afford him)

Others performed as expected, some below par, some just average...

• Carroll (OMG $5.4 now!!) scored again as predicted

• Liverpool will not be an attacking football team under RH. Torres bagged his 1st goal as predicted.

• Chelsea were over rated as they are predicted to thrash Stoke again. Drogba ($12.9!!!!) was too bugged to score 3 bonus pts with only 8 passes made and a goal from penalty..

• Bolton has great spirit at home to fight back from 1 man down, 2 goals behind to draw the game at 2-2.. Blake's free kick was curled nicely.

• Walcott ($7.2) did score again and same to Arshavin ($9.5) who both scored last week. VPS ($9.9) and Fabregas ($11.9) did not really shine in that game. Blackburn's rugby tactics has failed.

• Aston 1-0 win over Everton did surprise me. Young (Luke) scored the winning goal that is assisted by Young (Ashley). Will the Youngs secure the job for Kevin MacDonald? We will see.

• Fulham threw away a goal lead and have to worked themselves after falling behind 2-1 down at the second half to score a 80-minute equalizer from Etuhu.

• Manchester United? Bah.. Avram Grant just cant get the chemistry out of West Ham. Anyway congratz to Rooney ($11.9) that broke his goal drought and I just sold Nani ($7.9) when he scored 14 pts this week. Great...