GW6 Review

A few notes on this past GW.  Note the title of the post is "GW6 Review" and not "The Monday Wreckage".  What a decent captain's selection will do . . .

1.  Over 200,000 managers have transferred Luis Suarez out in the past 2 weeks.  I will, for future reference, refer to these as 'Lemming Managers' or "LM" for short.  Why did they transfer him out ?  His all-action performances haven't declined and the LMs dumped him out in front of a home match v. WW.  A goal and all 3 BPs rewarded those of us who maintained our patience and captained him.  If you expect a forward to score every single game, sign up for LaLiga fantasy and draft in Messi.

2.  Manchester City v. Everton.  I thought the new BP system would weed out apparently random BP choices.  And then Milner pops up with 3BP for his goal in a late cameo.  Very, very strange.  Meanwhile, Silva had 3 key passes, including slotting Milner in for his goal, despite being manmarked by Neville and Rodwell for 80 minutes.  The other observation I have about this game is one I've made before but Aguero seems like a 'must-have'.  Unlucky not to score, he did grab an assist and a deserved BP.  I am monitoring Rooney's injury closely because I would have no trouble swapping him out for the Argentine.  The line-up for tonight's Bayern Munich CL may influence this decision as well.  The other observation is that Moyes is a superb manager.  Everton could have nicked a point in this one up until the second goal.  Unfortunately, Everton look a massive wasteland in terms of FF value.

3.  Arsenal v Bolton.  RvP returns with a vengeance.  There are so many forwards with high price tags looking for inclusion in your FF team it's hard to decide how to go.  But Arsenal's next 6 are: tot, SUN, STK, che, WBA, nor.  Hard to see RvP failing to offer major returns in that stretch.  If your budget is tight, is Ramsey returning to our FF radar ?  I don't think Mertasacker is a bad shout at 6.0 either over this stretch.  Bolton had another woeful game.  I've had Petrov in since GW1 as a rotation midfielder and he looks their best player.  Bolton's early schedule has been brutal but after this week's visit from Chelsea the schedule softens considerably and it may be time to revisit a few of their lads.

4.  Newcastle v. Blackburn.  I had Demba Ba in my preseason/GW1 side, but he was pulled early by Pardew and then spent time on the bench and I quickly dumped him with the "extra" WC afforded by GW2.  I was very impressed with him last year in half a season with West Ham (7G in the equivalent of 10 games).  If this game kickstarts his season he may be a monster value at 6.1.  One for the Watchlist if you are going old school with a budget forward.  The other NWC issue here is Ben Arfa.  Will he get a starting role after a long injury layoff ?  Does that impact Cabaye ?  You should have your GK situation sorted at this point in the season but Krul looks to have taken the GK position permanently here and is a great value in rotation.  Blackburn look like a FF no-go area unless - again, you are kicking it old school with a budget forward  - Junior Hoillet added a goal to his 3 assists this year.  Good value for a squad forward at 6.0. 

5.  Chelsea v. Swansea.  Just when I was thinking it safe to start a Torres bandwagon . . . a red card.  I've been touting Meireles in this blog, but Ramires scored twice here and Mata had an influential game.  Lampard and Malouda seem second choice now or perhaps will be restricted to CL and Cup matches but the Portugese, the Spaniard, and the Brazilian seem the best options for CHE attacking points here.  With Torres out, we may see a mini-Drogba bandwagon.  With so many good options at forward, I am not jumping.  As for Swansea,  the line-up proves what a crap shoot (or just crap) newly promoted forwards are as Danny Graham garnered splinters as Leroy Lita (himself lasting only 58 min) started up front.  With Holt of Norwich restricted to a late cameo, and QPR's DJ Campbell not able to get a game (and Bothroyd firing blanks)  . . . well, the extra money for a Hoillet or a Ba or Odemwingie as your squad forward seems well worth it.

6.  Wigan v. Tottenham.  We still don't know what Harry will do with a full squad available, since Defoe and Lennon were unavailable here, but it is pretty hard to see Van der Vaert or Adebayor sitting when healthy.  As for Wigan, there is the continuing disappointment for those of us holding Victor Moses.  He is a leader in 'successful dribbles made' and is a top 10 guy in shots, including on frame (he's hit the woodwork once) but, as of yet, no FF returns.  And he's dropped to 4.9.  He only plays home matches for my team and with BOL, FUL, BLA ahead, I am keeping faith with the youngster.  He just needs a damn goal to get his confidence, so your Stoosher manager says optimistically.

7.  Stoke City v. Man United.  Proving once again, Stoke are good value at the Brittania.  With question marks surrounding Rooney, there will no doubt be a major Nani bandwagon.  But I think the easier swap is Hernandez.  He'll be watching the midweek CL game on TV and surely his 'deadleg' will be healed by the time the Canaries reach Old Trafford next weekend.  A game with 3+ goals in it for Man Utd surely.  The one issue - and it's a big one - is that Rooney is now 12.5.  Most of us Rooney holders will really struggle to get him back if we let him go now.  A real dilemma.

8.  QPR v. Aston Villa.  I keep thinking Taraabt, SWP, or Barton will start to score consistently but so far, not so much.  As for Villa, I saw a big chunk of this game, and I just think MacLeish is happy with 0-0 or 1-1 draws.  Which makes it difficult to see a lot of value here except for Given, Warnock and now perhaps Hutton.

9.  Sunderland's 4-0 romp over Stoke City . . . was that a year ago or a week ago ?  I thought Bendtner would be a big success with the Black Cats, but not so far.  And Sessegnon should be under strict instructions NOT to shoot unless he is inside the 6 yard box.  The BBC coverage had a funny line about the fans in row Z behind the Norwich goal being pleased when he was substituted on 69 minutes.  A massive FF fail. 

10.  As for Norwich, Holt has proved a massive fail.  And those of us who brought in Richie DeLaet as a budget defender and were pleased with some early season FF returns now have 4.0 of deadweight on their bench.  Ouch.

11.  Rooney.  The injury to Rooney (and his prices rises to 12.5 now) made me think whether he is truly a 'must have'.  And the answer is . . . no.  He has played only 2 'full' seasons in the last 5.  Those were both great years in terms of FF scores.  But . . . the 3 less than full seasons saw him average about 140 points.  So, the gamble here is that Rooney will play a 'full' season.  Meanwhile, at 2.0M+ less: Nani had 198 points last year, Ashley Young, for a much less potent Villa, has averaged 160 points a year for the last 4 years, and Chicharito had just 32 points fewer than Rooney in the equivalent of 10 less games last year.  With the emergence of other slightly less expensive forwards too (Aguero, RvP, Adebayor, Dzeko, Bent, Torres(??)), Rooney strikes me as expendable.  Of course, you will want an attacking MNU player (or 2).  As long as you are willing to hold steady when Nani/Young/Hernandez face inevitable rotation, the cheaper option is there.

With 2 free transfers this week, Stooshers are looking to find a way to get Man Utd attacking exposure in if Rooney is really injured.  One problem is  . . . the LMs. Early week transfers have increasingly become a problem in FF in the last year.  Prices change very quickly now on some targets, as fewer managers seem to wait until Friday to make transfers.  This week is a prime example as Nani has already risen despite Man Utd's CL game in Basle.  Obviously, some are gambling that the Portugese will be rested (a safe bet in my view) in midweek, but there are a number of potential injuries with to other members of your squad with so many teams in Europe.  My squad is not so deep that I feel comfortable risking an early transfer.