It is always easy to think about several beer-infused transfers on a Sunday night after watching the week's highlights when your captain selection was a failure. Especially when there is one FF maxim which everyone knows and seems about as true as anything in FF: 'pick form over fixtures'. I ignored the hottest forward in football, Rooney, and went with Walcott. Part of this decision was based on my preference for players playing at home. My default rule for selecting a captain in the event there is no massively obvious choice is (i) the best available midfielder (ii) at home (iii) against the poorest opposition. So, for me, this came down to Walcott or Silva (although I gave Rooney a very long think as well). Oh-dee-doh. So far, 18,2,44,4 from the Stoosher captains. One thought experiment I am having is just handing the armband to Rooney every week. No thinking, no agonizing, just simples . . . a few observations about GW4 (which is not quite over with NCW v QPR still on tap) . . .
1. The Man City frontline again proves problematic. Dzeko was rested, although that was not a surprise to me, given he played 2 tough Euro Cup games in the break. Apparently it was a surprise to the 400,000+ who transferred him in last week (to be fair, many of those will certainly have selected him for the long-term), only to see the big Bosnian watch his Argentine teammate's hat trick from the bench. There may be an inclination for some thinking managers though, to avoid the MNC front line because of rotation concerns. Despite this, I think there is a case for Dzeko and, especially, Aguero. Historically, great strikers in FF don't necessarily need huge minutes to get those monster scores we all crave, especially when we've captained one. So, Rooney, last year on 2200+ min/11 goals/142 points; in 2009/10: 2700+/26/224. Tevez last year - 2500+/21/185. Torres in 2007/08 - 2500+/24/193; RvP last year - 1700+/18/157. If Mancini prioritizes the Prem, I think Aguero will certainly start a minimum of 25 games (2250 min). If he starts 30 games it is not hard to see Aguero picking up 18-20 goals. I think Aguero is good value even at 11.0. If you are prepared for the occasional frustration, the upside, I think, is huge. I don't have him but I am starting to think I should.
2. Chelsea huffed and puffed but couldn't seem to blow the Sunderland house down. Chelsea's attack seems a no-go area, given rotation and lack of form. I heard on a British football talk show today that Torres was dropped for comments about his teammates 'slow' play. From a guy who appears to have lost a step or 3 in the last couple of years. Ouch. And Sturridge has thickened the plot with a goal. I do think Mata will be given a run in the team and may be worth a look after this week's MNU game. I haven't looked at the Opta stats yet, but the one player I am intrigued by is Raul Meireles. I listened to the CHE game on Saturday (I had a loooooong drive into the cornfields of Indiana to see a college football game at Manchester College) and the Chelsea commentators were full of praise for his quick, 1-touch, attacking passes. If he is nailed on for starts, he could be the entre into that Chelsea attack, which, you know, sooner or later will score goals consistently. Remember, Meireles had 128 points in 2500+ minutes last year and hardly played under Hodgson. I saw him a lot last year and really liked his game.
3. Two guys popped onto the radar this week in the mid-price range at forward, Emmanuel Adebayor and Peter Odemwingie. I rode Odemwingie for most of last season (swapping him out for Suarez just before he went on his best run of the season . . . Satan, damn you !!). If you are relatively new to the game, Adebayor is a fantastic forward, full of goals if he gets minutes. So, if you are not riding the '3 big-ticket forward' bandwagon, 2 guys to think about.
4. 2 guys with seats at the bar of Stooshers' Last Chance Saloon; Moses and Graham. I selected Moses on the back of a promising preseason, he looked to be an easy slot in for N'Zogbia at Wigan, and because he rotates home/away perfectly with Bolton's Martin Petrov. Well, and he was cheap. And perhaps away at MNC is not the week to make a decision to dump him, but 4 games, no goals, no assists, is not good. I took Graham because I figured him for the odd start at home against the bottom half of the table. I penciled him in for 9-10 goals, with dreams of another DJ Campbell find. And the Opta stats show Graham is fizzing in his share of shots, unfortunately, from every highlight show I have seen, they are all right at the GK. With 2 really good mid-priced options now, Graham may lose his seat at the bar.
5. A guy I had while he was at Birmingham because he was cheaper than Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, came in straightaway to Blackburn and by all accounts played extremely well. But 5.0 for a Blackburn defender ? Brrrr.
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