The Beautiful Game: A Football Blog

‘The Beautiful Game: A Football Blog’ by Dave McArdle

Transfer Talk

Liverpool fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has quashed reports that City are lining up a £50 million January bid for Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan, who has scored 11 goals in 16 appearances this season under Brendan Rodgers, has seemed settled since signing a new deal recently which keeps him at Anfield until 2016. However, if Liverpool continue to struggle domestically and don’t make significant improvements under Rodgers, Luis’ head may be turned in the not too distant future.

 

 Meanwhile, Radamel Falcao has added fuel to speculation linking him with a move to Chelsea. The 26-year-old Colombian has stated “Chelsea are the champions of Europe...their ambition is clear”. Falcao has been linked with a potential swap deal with Fernando Torres, which would see an end to Torres’ forgettable Chelsea career and reunite him with his boyhood club. Falcao certainly admires the Premier League: “I would welcome the challenge of the Premier League...there is so much quality and it is such an exciting league. Of course it is nice to think I might play in it.” So there is hope for Chelsea fans that this deal might come off and that before long Roberto Di Matteo will be able to call upon one of the leading goalscorers in the world to finish the chances created by his glittering array of midfield stars.

International Roundup

Perhaps fittingly, the international calendar year finished in defeat for the Republic of Ireland. However, there were some positives to take from a defeat against the Greeks – we dominated possession, shots on goal, passes, crosses and corners (how often can you say that of an Irish side under Trap?). The Irish side, which lost 0-1 to a goal from Jose Holebas, was rejuvenated by youth and it was refreshing to see Ciaran Clark, James McCarthy, James McClean and Robbie Brady given some more international minutes under their belts. We don’t have a Liam Brady, a John Giles, a Paul McGrath or a Roy Keane. We don’t even have Damien Duff or Shay Given any more – and the end is surely on the horizon for Richard Dunne and Robbie Keane. So we must look to the future. We can probably forget about qualifying for Brazil – I know we are still mathematically in contention but after seeing how Zlatan Ibrahimovic destroyed England on Wednesday night do any of us really believe we can get four points out of Sweden as well as matching their results in the other fixtures? For me, France 2016 is a more realistic target. The tournament will be expanded from 16 to 24 teams and if we can get give these young players the valuable experience they need in these World Cup Qualification games, we have every chance of going to France with a young, vibrant and energetic side.

Premier League Preview

Arsenal v Tottenham – Kick off 12:45 – Live on Sky Sports 2

Seventh-placed Tottenham visit eighth-placed Arsenal in the first north London derby of the season. Both sides are in need of a win to keep up with fourth-placed Everton who have enjoyed a fine start to the season. Spurs will be looking to arrest a run of form which has seen them taste defeat in their last two league outings while Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of Mikel Arteta’s last-gasp penalty miss against Fulham last time out.

With Kieran Gibbs, Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky and Gervinho all definitely out for the hosts, the Gunners also have doubts over Bacary Sagna, Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud. However, Jack Wilshere is available again after suspension while goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny could be included for the first time since September. Younes Kaboul, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Scott Parker remain sidelined for AVB’s troops while Moussa Dembele will miss out with a hip injury. Kyle Walker, Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe are fitness concerns but should be fit enough to feature, while Emmanuel Adebayor is pushing for his first start of the season.

Liverpool v Wigan - Kick off 3:00 – Live on Setanta Sports 1

Liverpool and Wigan, separated by one point and one place in the table, square up at Anfield with Roberto Martinez looking to put one over on the club he reportedly turned down last Summer. Pepe Reina is set to return between the posts for the Reds after a five week lay-off with injury while Jonjo Shelvey returns to the fold. There are doubts over centre-halves Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel but both are expected to feature. Wigan will be able to call upon Ryo Miyachi once more after a five game absence. James MacArthur is a doubt while Albert Crusat and Antolin Alcaraz will definitely miss out.

Man City v Aston Villa – Kick off 3:00

Aston Villa travel to the Etihad as they face Manchester opposition for the second week running but it will take a gargantuan effort from Paul Lambert’s side to halt City’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season. Roberto Mancini will benefit from a clean bill of health with only slight doubts over Jack Rodwell and Gael Clichy. Joe Bennett, Richard Dunne, Chris Herd, Charles N’Zogbia and Darren Bent are expected to miss out for Villa while Paul Lambert will be glad to welcome back full-backs Eric Lichaj and Nathan Baker to his injury-hit squad.

QPR v Southampton – Kick off 3:00

Bottom side QPR face second from bottom Southampton in what even at this early stage is looking like a crucial encounter for both sides. Both managers are under pressure and are both in line to be the first manager of the season to be sacked. Mark Hughes’ side, who are winless all season, are missing Stephane M’Bia through suspension while Park Ji-Sung and Andy Johnson are still sidelined. QPR also have doubts over Fabio, Jamie Mackie and Bobby Zamora but all three could be involved. Frazer Richardson and Richard Chaplow will be missing for the Saints but Guly do Prado could feature.

West Brom v Chelsea – Kick off 3:00

Chelsea travel to the Hawthorns to face high-flying West Brom looking to arrest a pattern of form which has seen them fail to win in their last three. West Brom have fitness concerns over Gareth McAuley and Youssouf Mulumbu while Boaz Myhill will again deputise for the injured Ben Foster between the posts. On-loan striker Romelu Lukaku will play no part as he is ineligible to face his parent club. John Terry will definitely miss out for the hosts while Roberto Di Matteo also has doubts over the fitness over Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.

Reading v Everton – Kick off 3:00

Reading welcome in-form Everton to the Madejski as the hosts search for their first victory of the season. Fourth placed Everton have still only been beaten once this season despite conceding first in each of their last six matches. Brian McDermott will definitely be without goalkeeper Alex McCarthy along with midfielders Danny Guthrie and Jem Karacan. Winger Jimmy Kebe is rated at 50-50 for the clash. David Moyes has confirmed that Darron Gibson and Kevin Mirallas will miss out for the away side whilst there are serious doubts over the participation of Tony Hibbert and Victor Anichebe.

Newcastle v Swansea – Kick off 3:00

Swansea make the long trek north to St.James’ Park on the back of two consecutive draws while Newcastle will be hoping that their excellent record against the Swans can continue. The situation over whether Papiss Cisse will feature for the home side still remains unclear – Senegal’s football federation are aggrieved that Cisse did not feature for them midweek and are threatening to invoke FIFA’s five-day rule, which would make Cisse unavailable. Alan Pardew, however, is convinced that the issue is nothing more than a communication breakdown and he is hopeful that Cisse should be ok to feature. Jonas Gutierrez and Johan Cabaye will definitely miss out for the home side while Captain Fabricio Coloccini remains sidelined through suspension. Ki sung-yeung will miss out for the Swans while Michael Laudrup also has doubts over the fitness of Kemy Agustien, Leon Britton and Pablo Hernandez. Neil Taylor remains on the long-term injury list.

Norwich v Man Utd – Kick off 5:30 – Live on ESPN

League leaders Manchester United travel to Carrow Road in Saturday’s evening fixture hoping to cement their place at the top of the table. However, the home side will be confident of causing an upset as they are unbeaten in five going into the game. The Canaries will once more be without Russell Martin and on-loan Tottenham striker Harry Kane continues to miss out with a broken metatarsal. Chris Hughton should be able to call upon Alexander Tettey, however, after the Norwegian midfielder pulled out of a friendly in midweek. Sir Alex Ferguson has doubts over the fitness of Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie but while the former is likely to miss out, the latter is likely to be fit. Javier Hernandez is being tipped to start up front while the Red Devils will once more be without Shinji Kagawa, Phil Jones and captain Nemanja Vidic.

Fulham v Sunderland – Kick off 4:00 (Sunday) – Live on Sky Sports 1

Just the one game on Sunday this week as ninth placed Fulham look to continue to exert pressure on London rivals Arsenal and Spurs, who occupy the two places directly above them in the table. For Sunderland, however, things are decidedly different – the Black Cats sit just three points above the relegation zone and will be desperate to get something from the game. Mahamadou Diarra is very doubtful for the hosts while Chris Baird, Simon Davies and Kieran Richardson will definitely miss out. Martin O’Neill has injury concerns in each area of the pitch with Keiren Westwood, Phil Bardsley, Lee Cattermole and Stephen Fletcher all doubtful.

West Ham v Stoke – Kick off 8:00 (Monday) – Live on Sky Sports 1

West Ham go into Monday evening’s game against Stoke in good form and in sixth place in the table. The Hammers come off the back of a great win away at Newcastle last time out and will be hoping to push further towards the champions league spots with a victory over the Potters. Stoke recorded their first win in five last time out and will be hoping for a result at Upton Park to regain some momentum in the league. Sam Allardyce has an injury doubt over Mattie Taylor while Alou Diarra, Jack Collison and Ricardo Vaz Te look set to miss out. Tony Pulis’ side will be without Marc Wilson, Dean Whithead, Rory Delap and Mamady Sidibe while there are doubts over the fitness of Jonathan Walters, Charlie Adam and Michael Owen.

The Fantasy Perspective

Ah, fantasy football. That cruel mistress who treats us badly but keeps us going back for more. Last week’s top points scorers were Dimitar Berbatov (16 points), Javier Hernandez (15 points) and Marouane Fellaini (13 points) and all three look like producing the goods again this week with opposition of Sunderland (home), Norwich (away) and Reading (away) respectively. This trio are all in form, all expected to start and these look like kind fixtures which could produce attacking returns.

As all fantasy managers are aware, clean sheets can be a great source of points throughout the season but so far this year they has been few and far between. Nevertheless, I will try and pick out some likely ones from this week’s fixtures. West Ham have been solid at the back, as most Sam Allardyce teams are, and will be hoping that Stoke’s lack of attacking proficiency on the road might produce a shutout for them at Upton Park. Fulham also face a side in Sunderland who have been pretty toothless away from home this season and a punt on Brede Hangeland or John Arne Riise (who both can offer returns at the other end of the pitch as well) may be a good bet. My third choice for a possible clean sheet this weekend is Man City at home to Villa. While City were so reliable at the back last season, they have been much less steady this season. Nevertheless, they still have the capacity to produce clean sheets and Alexander Kolarov (if he plays) can be a great source of points at both ends of the pitch. If you’re looking for a definite starter in the City defence, however, the only certainties seem to be in Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany.

In our own Midlands Sport fantasy league, Leonard O’Meara leads the way with Liam Dugdale in second and Tommy Brennan in third - but my own team are motoring along quite nicely in fourth spot and an overall rank of around 8,00 out of almost 2.5 million players has me placed pretty much where I’d like to be. However, there’s a long way to go in this season and there are many players who can yet come good in our league that has well in excess of 200 members. Fun times ahead!

Finally, I’m going to aim to give a few tips to those of you who don’t like to spend too much time on their team but who may be looking for a few pointers:

Don’t spend too many points on transfers – In my first two or three seasons of playing I used to spend at least 4, and sometimes 8 or 12 points on transfers every week. This is a tactic which will rarely work out and should only be used in extreme cases. For example, if you spend 4 points every week, you’ll be down 156 points by the end of the season and in many mini-leagues that can be the difference between first and last.

Try and get players who play – The season is long and most weeks you will have to prioritise your transfers- you very often will have a player injured, suspended or severely out of form – so try always to have players in your team who at least play week in week out. The last thing you want is to have a bare eleven who play and four bench-warmers who never play. Then when some of your first eleven inevitably get injured, suspended or rested, you will suffer by losing out on points.

Defence Rotation – If you’re willing to put the time and effort into it, rotation of defenders and keepers can be a good tactic. Take for instance if you pick a Newcastle defender and a Sunderland defender, both teams never play away from home in the same gameweek. Therefore, you are guaranteed a home game every week if you have one of each of these players. This also works with other combinations of teams – including Man Utd and Man City.

If you have Van Persie, Captain him – This one is very much just my own personal preference but it is one that has worked well for me. The theory being that changing your captain every week can be very hit and miss, but with RVP you are guaranteed a consistency that few players can match. He was last season’s top points scorer and he leads the way again this year. With double points on offer for your captain, getting the choice right can be crucial and having a big-hitting, consistent source of points such as Van Persie is a must in my book.

Well, that’s all from me for this week folks. Please comment in the box below if you liked the blog or if you have any football-related issues that you’d like to discuss.

You can follow Dave McArdle on Twitter @DaveMidlands103

  

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