Showing posts with label General news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General news. Show all posts

Friday, November 26, 2010

Gameweek Preview - GW 15

Let's cut short and get directly into some important points this GW 15.

The 'cold' stuff:

Cesc Fabregas: Injured and out for 2-3 weeks, decide yourself to keep or release the $12 midfielder.


Florent Malouda: Totally dip in form. Dropped from $10.5 (peak) to $10.2 and expected to cont. dropping.



Didier Drogba: Did not score since GW 7, cash him out and you can buy any players you want.



The "hot" stuff:

Samir Nasri: Fabregas is out, Nasri's the man.



Carlos Tevez: He is hot (I mean his form.. ehem), he can assist, he can score, he takes free-kicks & penalty



Kevin Davies: Earned his England call-up and he continues to shine for Bolton playing alongside Elmander.



Morten Gamst Pedersen: His free-kick is Beckham-alike, just that he is using the left-foot. Great buy at $5.8



Luis Nani: Rooney is back, hope he can turn Nani's ball from crosses into goals. Anyway, Nani is still far from Cristiano Ronaldo. Expect something from him, but not too much.



Johan Elmander: Formed a formidable partnership with Davies, 8 goals up-to-date, more goals scored than both of his previous 2 seasons combined.



Do I need to mention Van Der Vaart and Bale?Guess not. Anyway, Defoe's return might rob VDV's penalty duty. Mark Defoe down too. 

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Some interesting facts after 1/3 of the season has gone..

What's are the some of the interesting statistics to all football clubs in the BPL so far after 1/3 of the season has gone?
Chelsea: The master in offence and defence this season
 1) Most goals scored by clubs so far:
  1. Chelsea - 28 goals
  2. Arsenal, Manchester United - 24 goals
  3. Newcastle - 21 goals
  4. Blackpool - 19 goals
  5. Bolton - 18 goals
ManCity and Liverpool scored 15 and 13 goals respectively after 1/3 season gone. Surprised to see Newcastle, Blackpool and Bolton in the top 5.


2) Most goals conceded by clubs so far:
  1. Blackpool - 26 goals
  2. West Ham - 22 goals
  3. West Brom, Wigan - 21 goals
  4. Wolves - 20 goals
  5. Stoke City - 18 goals

- Chelsea conceded least goals, only 5 up to now, and the second club is Arsenal, 11 goals conceded.


3) Most clean sheet - Chelsea  with 8 clean sheets


4) Least clean sheet - Wolves, ZERO clean sheet


5) List of top goal scorers - here


6) Top assists - here


7) BPL table with complete statistics - here

GW 13 - previews - They are back!

These fantasy hot prospect are all back from injuries and a few of them made surprise return too as earlier than predicted.


Manchester City vs Birmingham


Carlos Tevez is back from injury and Birmingham have bad records playing away. Take note of Tevez, the trouble maker, scorer and bonus point magnet when he is playing against smaller team.

What I think: Mancini said he'll be happy to settle with 1 point against ManUtd rather than nothing but won't be settling with 1 point against Birmingham



Tottenham vs Blackburn
 

Van Der Vaart made a surprise return from injury on Tuesday night and scored one too. He has scored in every home game for Tottenham this season and seems like to have become a master of tap-in (good in positioning or always lucky to be at the right place at the right time?)

Blackburn won against Newcastle at St.James Park but I don't see them to win two in a row. Sorry Blackburn. Tottenham will win this one for sure after four winless runs.

What I think: Play your Bale, Modric and Van Der Vaart!



Aston Villa vs Manchester United


Yea, Nani is back too and completed 90-minutes against Manchester City that ended 0 - 0. He is one of the best fantasy prospect this season's FPL.

But Aston Villa aren't easy at home. But I don't see them to be tough too to concede 2 goals from a Blackpool side with 10-changes made, not to say to need a 90th-minute goal from Collins to win the game 3-2 on Wednesday night.

What I think: Tough match. Aston without fit experienced strikers. Only Delfouneso available. ManUtd without Evra, Rafael, Hargraeves and Giggs. Berbatov & Hernandez seemed to lose their sparks.



Everton vs Arsenal


Yeap, Van Persie is back too and he is lethal when he is fit. With Fabregas, Walcott and Song added to the squad, a win can be possible for the Gunners. Chamakh might hold his starting place as he scored twice against Wolves on Wednesday night.

Anyway, Cahill might head one in with the fragility of Arsenal's defences.

What I think: I am backing Arsenal to win this one.



Stoke City vs Liverpool


Torres isn't injured actually but I listed him in "They-are-back"- category as Torres is really back to his old-self. No kidding, the goal against Wigan is just awesome to watch, watching Torres to outpace the defender and poke in the goal after Gerrard's perfectly weighted pass created the path for him.

What I think: Liverpool to win if their defences work real hard. Liverpool are not in a position to score 3-4 goals like Chelsea and only able to win narrowly with a Gerrard-Torres combination, so the defences really need to give their best.

Extra: Kelly might establish himself as the preferred right-back choice in the absence of Johnson and at a super bargain price at $4.2



Chelsea vs Sunderland

                                               

Lampard is tipped to be back by Ancelotti yesterday but from the updated news, he will be out for another 3 weeks. Drogba under-performed again due to his illness, affected by malaria. Recently, Chelsea's attacks are really disappointing as the returns for Drogba, Malouda and Anelka are really low value for money. Drogba's $13.1 price is not returning what we paid for.

However, Chelsea's back four are the most reliable in the BPL as Chelsea only have conceded 5 goals this season after 12 games! Take note on Ivanovic, Bosingwa and Ashley Cole (Cole's return on the past 6 games is better than Drogba's)

What I think: Chelsea to win? Of course.


Others:


West Ham vs Blackpool - Avram Grant's side failed to take advantage to clinch their second win against West Brom, but this is another chance against Blackpool. However, Blackpool won't not held back and love to play attacking games. West Ham do need to improve on their defence.



Newcastle vs Fulham - Newcastle still can't make their home a fortress, their inconsistency are giving me big frustration. One week they can win away against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and 3 days later they can lose to Blackburn at home. However, this can be a tight match, expect a draw maybe?



Wigan vs West Brom - Both have the chance to get a win out of this game, but I would like to see West Brom to continue their dream start in the BPL under Roberto Di Matteo. Odemwingie is back and he is a promising striker.



Wolves vs Bolton - Bolton are playing good this season, home and away. Wolves are still lying in the relegation zone with only 9 points from 12 games. I think Wolves will need to do something against Bolton if they want to enjoy another season in the top flight or else. However, Bolton's Davies and Elmander are playing pretty well at the moment, a fact that we can't defy, sharing 9 goals between them. (Bolton's 6th in the table, this explains all)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Gameweek Preview - GW 12

 
Congratulation to Liverpool as they beaten Chelsea 2-0 which made the headline in last weekend (other than Arsenal's loss at home to Newcastle which was one of the top headline too)

Since this is a midweek game, I will cut the preview short and simple.


1) Manchester's derby:

MC: Tevez is back. Silva and Milner is not on hot form, but not in dip form either. With Mancini's defensive approach, this might be hard for ManUtd to score with their current squad.

MU: Without Nani, United's offence are weak. Let's assume Berbatov is back (which is a doubt), he will be leading the attack with Hernandez and Park Ji-Sung. I don't think they can make it through MC's defences easily.

Will be a low-scoring game, perhaps, a narrow MC win. Look out for Tevez who loves to score against his old club.



2) Chelsea vs Fulham

Chelsea will not suffer back to back defeat in the BPL, at least under Ancelotti. Drogba is reported to be suffering with malaria but this will not keep him out from this game. Anelka, Malouda will be the usual studs to lead the attack. Essien might return but Lampard is still out, so Drogba will still be taking penalty and free-kicks. Perhaps a 2-0 win for Chelsea?



3) Wigan vs Liverpool

If Liverpool can bring on their momentum from the previous 3 back-to-back wins in the BPL to this game, I can see no reason for Liverpool to not win this one, with Torres on-hot-form. Kuyt has returned and Meireles played extremely well too in the right midfield.

Let's say another 2-0 win for Liverpool?



4)  Tottenham vs Sunderland

Bent is out and will not face his ex-club. So Gyan will lead Sunderland's attack. But Sunderland's pretty weak at away, a narrow win for Tottenham perhaps?

Bale, Modric played quite well and even Hutton participated alot in attacks. I might get it wrong but it seems Pavluychenko will be the one taking penalty if he does play.




5) Newcastle vs Blackburn

Three back-to-back wins for Newcastle as well, the win against Arsenal was totally unexpected and it proved Hughton really has some quality. But he is still not awarded a new contract.

Anyway, back to the game, Blackburn will make it hard again for Newcastle as I think Big Sam will play some hard-ass defending again. But Carroll does sure want to impress as he is called up for the England team by Capello. Hope he does not injured himself while trying to impress Fabio Capello.

So, what about Newcastle to continue their momentum to win this game? The other 2 Englishmen looked good too. Nolan and Barton.




6) Aston Villa vs Blackpool

Aston were so close to an away win last week after being denied by Hangeland in the last kick in the injury-time. Too bad.

However, Aston will do their best to win this one. Albrighton played so well and Ashley Young is still menacing from the flank.

What about 3-1 to Aston Villa? Cool?




7) Everton vs Bolton

Cahill and Arteta again to win this for Everton.

Bolton's Davies and Elmander are on-form but Goodison Park is not a place for them to score for fun.




8) Stoke City vs Birmingham

I can see a boring draw coming. Or a narrow win for Stoke City is possible.




9) West Ham vs West Brom

Avram Grant was so close to win his first away game for West Ham last weekend, so this will possibly be his second win for West Ham United. Go Obinna and Piquionne!




10) Wolves vs Arsenal

Arsenal disappointed many FPL managers last weekend fantasy wise, as all the hot studs scored like 1 or 2 points maximum.

Wolves played quite well this season at home, so Arsenal can expect a tough match but I believe they can pull something out to make this into a victory to compensate their fans over the embarassing defeat to Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium 2 days ago.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Paul II the new psychic octopus??

"They named me Paul II. WTF?"

Not long after Paul the psychic octopus died, Germany unveils new 'psychic' octopus Paul II. Anyone know what happen to the previous dead Paul? Will Paul II become the second celebrity octopus after Paul?

Friday, November 5, 2010

Gerrard shines, Malouda out (and other latest updates)

The coming match of the week, Liverpool vs Chelsea is anticipated by many fans of both side. In midweek Europa Cup, Gerrard scored a hat-trick to help salvage Liverpool from an embarassing defeat to Napoli at Anfield. All three goals scored by Stevie G came in the final 15 minutes, including a penalty.

Hat-trick hero against Napoli. Liverpool won 3 - 1
Torres was rested in the match against Napoli to keep him fresh for the match against Chelsea this weekend. Steven Gerrard came out from the bench on 46th minute to replace Milan Jovanovic and scored a hat-trick.

His last hat-trick was against Aston Villa two seasons ago when Liverpool thrashed Aston Villa 5-0 at Anfield during Benitez' tenure. Glen Johnson returned from injury that might boost Liverpool's offences from the right flank.

No chance of playing against Liverpool this weekend due to an injury
Frank Lampard might feature this weekend for Chelsea but Malouda definitely will be out. It will be a dilemma for FPL managers; to keep him or to cash him for other players that are on-form too, such as Van Der Vaart.

Other major injuries doubts and question marks:


Arsenal vs Newcastle - Will Fabregas features? That's really 50-50. As Wilshere returns from suspension, Wenger has a lot choices to choose from; Song who is on-form, Arshavin, Rosicky, Denilson, Diaby, Nasri and Walcott.Who will he start? If Fabregas does feature, he is definitely my captain's pick. Chamakh is the only stable pick as he will definitely start the game.


ManUtd vs Wolves - Nani definitely will be out for sure. But since Giggs, Valencia and Fletcher are out injured as well, that narrows down Ferguson's choices of midfielders. Will it be Park Ji Sung and Obertan playing on both flanks? Or will he convert Anderson to left midfield and play Carrick and Scholes in center midfield? Gibson has a chance to start the game too. Awh.. too many uncertainties.


West Brom vs ManCity - ManCity's mega million squad suffered another embarassing 3-1 defeat to Lech Poznan. Anyway they need to move on and concentrate on this weekend's match against West Brom. West Brom is playing well this season and has already shrugged off the relegation candidate's tag. But will Tevez be featuring in this game like Mancini said? If he plays, he is definitely a good pick. Silva and Milner are the one to watch too. If ManCity stumble again at West Brom, Mancini will be in deep shit be in REAL DEEP SHIT!


Bolton vs Tottenham - Van Der Vaart is a hot property now. But he limped off in the victory against Inter Milan on Tuesday night. He is doubtful for this coming match at the Reebok Stadium. But he has an outside chance to be playing too. Will he play? Who knows? Will Bale play? Or will he be rested after the superb performance against Inter Milan? Among Keane, Crouch and Pavluychenko, who will start the game? It's all question marks. Ask Harry Redknapp.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

MIdweek studs and updates

Some updates on the BPL players that played in the midweek UEFA Champions League:

Nani suffered an injury and he will definitely missed the Wolves game at home on Saturday. He is not faking an injury this time.

Obertan scored. With Valencia, Nani and Giggs out, he has a good chance to start on Saturday.

Malouda is ruled out for the midweek game against Spartak Moscow. He has a chance to return on Sunday against Liverpool at Anfield as said by Ancelotti.

Ivanovic continues his scoring form AS A DEFENDER. He scored twice against Spartak Moscow. Chelsea won 4-1.

Both Drogba (penalty) and Anelka scored as well in the 4-1 win against Spartak Moscow.

Lampard did not play in the midweek UEFA Champions League game but will definitely be playing against Liverpool. Can he perform right away after long absense due to injury?

Walcott scored the opener for Arsenal against Shakhtar Donetsk. But an own goal from Eastmond and a goal from former Gunners Eduardo resulted a 2-1 defeat for Arsenal in Ukraine.

Van Der Vaart's display is superb against Inter Milan. He did scored a goal as he said in his Twitter earlier where his message was pointed towards Sneijder.

Bale's display is the most eye catching on this matchday and can be one of his best performance so far by seeing him "killing" Maicon. He totally outplayed Maicon with his pace and lightning speed. He provided two well assists where Crouch and Pavluychenko only have to tap in the ball. Amazing young lad.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

This might be the Portuguese' and Real Madrid's season

Let's take a break from the BPL and a peep at the La Liga, as I watched the Hercules vs Real Madrid match and witnessed how the Galacticos' determination to win the game after 1-0 down at half-time. Two influential figures:

Cristiano Ronaldo



Jose Mourinho



One is the most expensive player in world football with a record transfer fee of £80 million. Another is the self-claimed "Special One" and one of the most prestigious and highest-paid football coach in the millenium era after stealing the limelight by sending ManUtd out of the UCL in 2002 and went all the way to win the UCL that year. And both happened to be from Portugal.

But every penny spent on both the Portuguese are worth it. Just look at the stats:


Cristiano Ronaldo:

  • Top scorer in La Liga with 11 goals in 9 games, 2nd highest scorer is Messi with 7 goals.

  • 38 goals in 38 La Liga games played for Real Madrid. An average of one goal per game

  • 45 goals in 48 games in all competition played for Real Madrid since joining them in 2008
  • Which footballer can give such stats?

    Jose Mourinho:

    Porto: [G: 123] [W: 87] [D:21] [L: 15] [Win %: 70.73%]

    Chelsea: [G: 185] [W: 131] [D:36] [L: 18] [Win %: 70.81%]

    Inter Milan: [G: 108] [W: 68] [D:25] [L: 15] [Win %: 62.96%]

    Real Madrid: [G: 13] [W: 10] [D:3] [L: 0] [Win %: 76.92%]

    (sources from Wikipedia as accurate as at 30th October 2010)

    The stats with Internazionale are enough to win him a treble last season, grabbing the Serie A, Coppa Italia and the UCL winner.

    He started to manage a football club with Benfica in year 2000 and in this 10 years stint he has won 6 Domestic League, 3 Domestic Cup, 3 Domestic Super Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 UEFA Cup, 2 UEFA Champions League.

    He can dare any managers in the world to challenge his CV and what he can do in a 10 years time frame.

    Real Madrid's new Galactico era has proven to be a more successful one compared to the previous Galactico era with a string of fresh young blood added to the squad like Di Maria, Ozil, Khedira, and Benzema.This might just be the season for Real Madrid.

    Although they are held by lowly Levante earlier, when the Special One said goals will come, he meant it!! (unlike the England's Real Madrid-wanna be, that are beaten by England's Levante, to be accurate; Wolves 2 - 1 Manchester City) ***Wolves and Levante just happened to have almost similar points and form in their respective league.

    Tuesday, October 26, 2010

    Paul the Octopus died

    "Remember me?"


    After the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the football leagues fever are back and every seems to forget Paul the Oracle Octopus that predicted correctly all Germany's matches' outcomes in the World Cup.
    Anyway, Paul the world's first celebrity octopus died at the age of two. Rest in peace.

    Wednesday, October 20, 2010

    Rooney wants out!


    (Rooney: Looking for a new club and prospect)

    The rift between Rooney and SAF is real and they have not talk for a month. Rooney is injured currently after a training session and mostly will not feature this week's game in UCL and BPL.

    It was reported that Rooney refused to sign a new contract extension and once his contract expires in 2012, he is free to go. However, he is also able to buy out the final year of his own contract under the Webster ruling for only £5 million.

    Big clubs out there must have been alerted after hearing this news. Even Chelsea's coach Ancelloti has voiced out publicly about his admiration for Rooney and the desire to bring him to Chelsea.

    Friday, October 15, 2010

    After the international break - GW 8 is coming

    OK, put aside the Liverpool saga as it's super frustrating to see a club to fight from within in the Board of Directors. Sale or no sale? Anyway let's just leave these fussy stuff to the management level as we ARE focused on the players and manager (although the instability and internal problems greatly affected the team's performance, but Gerrard is still Gerrard, Torres is still Torres, aren't they?)

    Match of the week, the same old Merseyside derby...




    Everton vs Liverpool



    News: Torres passed the fitness test and will be included in the squad against Everton, Kuyt will be sidelined due to the ankle injury suffered when playing for Holland in midweek. Gerrard will still be leading Liverpool in searching for the tonic to kickstart their season (it's into the 8th game and yet Liverpool still need a so-called "kickstart")


    In the last meeting between these two side, the game ended 1-0 thanks to a winning header from Dirk Kuyt despite playing 10-men most of the time at Anfield. But the dynamic Kuyt is out injured for some time as the ankle injury he suffered is quite serious.


    However, Liverpool is boosted by the return of Torres and Konchesky. Thanks to the international break that allowed Torres to rehabilitate and recover, but how well he can do as he has just returned once again from injury and yet to find his touch and consistency since World Cup. The burdens are once again on him and Gerrard. (I hold the faith in Torres and did not sell him as I believed that he will recover in time, he still cost $11.6 despite being injured in Blackpool match)


    Everton are strong at home (looked at the 3-3 draw against ManUtd, they just won't give up). Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar and Baines all looked good. A hard match to predict and a game worth dying for for both teams.


    Hmm...: Try to avoid placing both team's defenders as both team are still shaky and doing badly since the new season began.





    Manchester United vs West Bromich Albion



    News: Rooney is back and seems there's a rift between him and SAF as he claimed he did not suffer from ankle injuries as told by SAF (everytime when Rooney did not feature)


    Although Nani and Berbatov started greatly this season and totally shadowed Rooney (plus all the scandals and medias surrounding him), I put my focus on Wayne Rooney this weekend. His form has dipped greatly with only 1 goal (from a penalty) since the start of the new season. But, he only cost $11.4 now and with the penalty-taker responsibility still with him, why not gamble on him?


    I know I know (I did not mention about Nani right?), Nani did greatly for both club (since start of 10/11 season) and country (scored twice and assisted 1 for Portugal against Denmark) and everyone is taunting him to be the new Ronaldo, he has since became a favourite choice in FPL (since Valencia was injured and Nani became indispensable). With the free-kick and corners taking responsibility, $8.6 is the best deal ever for a ManUtd player who is guaranteed a starting place and involved in attacking build-ups.


    Hmm...: Captain Rooney this week and expect a surprise in return.



    Arsenal vs Birmingham




    News: Fabregas is back!


    Fabregas is back and only cost $11.8 now. But he still needs time to gain back his touch and consistency. The Spaniard who is also bothered by injury and fragility (oh, the other Spaniard is Torres, who suffers from the same problem), have one of the best average points per game if you did notice (22 pts in 4 games for Arsenal)


    But Nasri is out there to voice out and claim that he is better playing in central position than playing out wide, meaning that it will be back to Wenger to decide whether to put back Fabregas into the central position, who has super vision and passing accuracy, or sticking with Nasri in that position, who is so on-form right now (20 pts in his last 3 games playing in central position)


    However, Fabregas is still the stud as he will be taking free-kicks, corners and penalties if he is playing, so, in a team like Arsenal, $11.8 is definitely worth it. He is a must-buy when Arsenal have a good run of fixture, but, but... I still need to observe him for a little bit longer. Be patient...


    Hmm...: Arsenal are good at home and Birmingham s*cks at away games. Do I need to elaborate further?



    Aston Villa vs Chelsea



    News: Benayoun will be out for 6 months (WHO CARES!!?)


    Drogba can't stop scoring. Malouda is enjoying his football and currently the highest scoring midfielder in BPL. Ashley Cole is the only defender that worth his value in FPL at $7.9... (Bad for those who bring in Alex as he was injured after the game against Arsenal.. HEY!! remember a guy called Ivanovic!?haha)


    How many teams that score 23 goals in just 7 games into a new season? You'll be stunned if you looked at the goal differences at the BPL table and compare Chelsea's against all 19 other teams. Don't be surprised if they are tipped to retain the BPL title just after 7 games into the new season.


    Aston Villa? Gerard Houllier? Yea yea, they are strong at home, they beat Chelsea 2-1 at home last season, but I don't see that coming again.


    Hmm...: Aston Villa's defenders are not worth the value at all this season, except for Luke Young. Marc Albrighton is the best choice to fill in your midfield slot with a price tag of $4.6 if you need a cheap and guaranteed starting place player.



    Van Der Vaart... a phenomena?




    News: price shooting up!!


    Since joining Tottenham, he adapted to English football at a very swiftly. The spot kicks, corners and penalty all belong to him. Why not, at only $7.8, playing in a team of Champion League calibre?


    Hmm...: Tottenham will meet some tough teams in the next 4 games, so don't be surprised if he does not deliver. Fulham under Mark Hughes have a total different approach and do not expect to beat them easily at Craven Cottage.

    Thursday, September 23, 2010

    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.

    Sunday, September 19, 2010

    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

    Wednesday, September 15, 2010

    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..

    Wednesday, September 8, 2010

    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.

    Friday, September 3, 2010

    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

    Tuesday, August 31, 2010

    Latest transfer news before the transfer window closes today...

    • Adebayor is making a loan switch to Arsenal's rival Tottenham due to limited playing time at MC.. that'll make him more famous at Arsenal after last season's provoking of Arsenal's fans..

    • Yobo of Everton is requesting a loan switch to financial-struck West Ham, weirdo..

    • Ghanaian star and villain Asamoah Gyan has been seen at Sunderland

    • Shay Given has decided to stay at MC regardless the limited playing time

    • Gudjohnson has snubbed Stoke City and ended up on-loan at Fulham

    • Tottenham is offering Robbie Keane plus cash for West Ham's Scott Parker but the deal is seen to be unlikely due to Parker's popularity at West Ham and WHU is determined to keep the midfielder.

    Saturday, August 28, 2010

    Latest transfer news...

    • Frenchmen Ben Arfa is set to join Newcastle for a fee around 5 mil Euros

    • Charles N'Zogbia is set to join Birmingham after falling out with Roberto Martinez

    • Adebayor has admitted he will be leaving ManC if any offers come

    • Kuyt has commited to Liverpool but Mascherano is set to leave Anfield as he refused to play for Liverpool under Roy Hodgson to force a move to Barcelona

    • Aquilani who has join Juventus on loan has admitted that he will be staying there even after the loan deal ends.

    • Chelsea's transfers business has ended as told by Ancelloti after letting Joe Cole, Deco, Ballack, Carvalho go and only signed Ramires and Benayoun this season

    Friday, August 27, 2010

    Transfers and Injuries before GW 3 starts

    Aquilani has returned to Italy Serie A to join Juventus (the club that pursue Benitez last season) on loan until the end of the season with an option to buy the player at 16 million pounds.


    (Liverpool's 20 mil flop Alberto Aquilani)


    Mascherano continues to work with his agent to engineer a move to one of the three possible destinations that can match Liverpool's valuation of him which are Real Madrid, Barcelona or Inter Milan.

    Dirk Kuyt is rumored to join Benitez (who bids for Mascherano at the same time) and reunite at Inter Milan as Kuyt is persuaded by Sneijder to join him there as well.

    Squillaci will be joining Arsenal soon. Can he force Konscielny out of Arsenal's starting 11? He has the experience to command at the defence line, which is a job done by Gallas previously, who has joined Tottenham on a free transfer.

    Konchesky will be joining Liverpool if the bid for him is successful. He worked well under Roy Hodgson in Fulham and can fill in the shortage of fit left-backs at Liverpool's left flank now.



    For other injuries and doubtful news about BPL players, please visit this website:
    http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php

    Tuesday, August 17, 2010

    BPL Fantasy Football - 1st Blood Season 4

    BPL Fantasy has come into season 4. Congratz to my friends who have sticked to the game for the past 4 seasons.

    This blog is created to post some 1st blood records, BPL news, injuries, predictions, etc and is dedicated to all fellow 1st blood members LHP, Dranzer, Sern, Yi Siong, and last-season newcomer and last in the table 09/10 Apolle. This season we will have another newcomer, Chin who will join us in this fun game.

    Some brief overview of last season's (09/10) history.

    1- CKW - 2268 pts (joined season 1)
    2- LCW - 2167 pts (joined season 1)
    3 - LHP - 2143 pts (joined season 1)
    4- TKS - 1998 pts (joined season 1)
    5 - YiSiong - 1860 pts (joined season 1)
    6 - Apolle - 1856 pts (joined season 3, newcomer must learn some lesson 1 b4 proceed, hehe)

    Get ready for the new season 2010/2011!!