Who gets the armband?

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For those of you with Ronaldo in your team - that's a quarter of you - the weekly question is whether anyone should take the armband from your premium midfielder. Since I bought him in week 7 I have captained Ronaldo every week and he has had 2 poor weeks, 2 good weeks and 2 monster weeks, averaging 8.33 points over that 6 game stretch.
Last week was a stupid move captaining him against Arsenal rather than Lampard against Blackburn, and I am now cautious about captaining him again this week.

I know I know, Stoke have shipped 10 in 6 on the road, and 19 in total, and I know that Ronaldo has now scored in his last 10 domestic home games, but my question is whether he will play.
Looking back to last year is encouraging as Ronaldo featured in 34 league games, and of the 4 he missed, three were due to suspension. However, with his injury over the summer potentially still lingering, will Ferguson be tempted to drop his leading man?

On the other hand, you can be almost certain that Lampard will play, earn a point for the clean sheet and get a couple of bonus points, so as captain he all but guarantees you 10 points.

So what would you guys do? Are you going to captain Ronaldo this week? Let me know your thoughts

Comments

Unknown said…
After bombing last week, I think you have to make Ronaldo captain this week. When was the last time he got nothing in consecutive games? Exactly.

He was rested in midweek (along with pretty much everyone else), there's no midweek game next week, he generally plays every game anyway, and United MUST win to stay in touch. I'd say the odds of him playing are about 99.999%. Unless I hear something to the contrary, he'll be my captain once again.
November 13, 2008 at 5:14 PM
Chris said…
i hope you're right, as of now he's in but I am a little nervous after i got destroyed last week (I lost about 40 points on half my league). Ouch.
November 13, 2008 at 5:32 PM
Ash said…
Hi Chris,
I think Ronaldo will play. Your last week was good for me! I have hope that I can overtake you.
If I were you, I'd captain Ronnie. I don't have him in my team, I just bought Lamps and have captained him. I think West Brom are really weak defensively, but I can definitely see Ronnie going nuts this week!
November 13, 2008 at 8:09 PM
Ollycee said…
I have just posted this on Never Captain Nicky Butt who are running a similar Lamps Vs C Ron thread...

"I think your right, Lamps probably will score or at least set one up away to WBA and Stoke have proven they are tough to beat and have given a good account of themselves so far. Having said all that I think we are missing the point that they are essentially a very good championship side, that are going to old Trafford and facing probably the best attacking line up in the world! I just don’t think their defence is ready to cope! Im predicting a big haul for Ronaldo this weekend and im also hoping for some big points from Berbatov. Remember United are coming back from a defeat to the Gunners and will be looking to dish out a can of 'whoop-ass'. C Ron is definitely my captain this week (and probably every week).

I think its a bit of no brainer to be honest!
November 14, 2008 at 5:27 AM
Unknown said…
Arbeloa suspended? What the hell? Against Bolton?? Oh, come on! No fair! :-/

I've got Traore (who might not play, again) and Zayatte (vs. Robinho & Co.) to choose from. Great.

But at least my investment in Bent has already paid off, with his price rising 0.2. Easy money.
November 14, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Unknown said…
Btw., anybody think that an awful lot of managers are overrating Rory Delap? He only got 6 assists in the Championship last season, for crying out loud. (In 44 games!) Arsenal's defending the other week was absolutely pathetic. A sloth on tranquilizers would've scored from his throws. (More than once, probably.) Surely teams will adjust to him sooner rather than later? (These are supposed to be the best defenders in the world, afterall. Send them to the Bulgarian third division, if they can't defend against a bloody straight-as-an-arrow throw in!)
November 14, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Chris said…
I totally agree Jay. Delap is just not that good of a player. Plus, I've noticed that while commentators have said that his throw 'caused havoc' and setup a goal, when you check the points he often isn't credited as the ball takes numerous deflections. If you've made 0.3 on him, he's a definate sell for me.
November 14, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Unknown said…
I read the matchcast comments, which made him sound like some sort of havoc-wreaking attack-monster. Then I saw the highlights and couldn't believe how his throws kept getting Arsenal into trouble. They just stood there, watching the ball fly by. If all teams defend like that, sure - he'll get 25 assists. But let's just assume that most defenders will actually be awake from now on...
November 14, 2008 at 6:52 PM
Unknown said…
OK, who was silly enough NOT to captain Ronaldo? Took him all of 4 minutes to make you regret it. Teehee. :-)
November 15, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Amit said…
Ronaldo has scored 2 goals and gave away 1 assist. 16 points for him so far and he has every chance of earning 3 bonus points!
I gave the armband to Lampard. West Brom isn't the hardest team to beat in the world.
November 15, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Unknown said…
Neither is Stoke... at home. Silly boy. ;-)
November 15, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Amit said…
I'm regretting putting Lampard as captain. I could've got an extra 18-19 points! These silly mistakes can cost you 1st place! Which I'm hoping for at the end of the season. So far I'm 100 points behind my league! My team is quiet balanced:

Reina, Troare.A, Agger, Bosingwa, Lampard(c), Ronaldo, Valencia, Nasri, Geovanni, Alves and Zaki.
November 15, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Unknown said…
Reina, Troare.A, Agger, Bosingwa, Lampard(c), Ronaldo, Valencia, Nasri, Geovanni, Alves and Zaki.

Pretty solid team. But I'd replace Traore (the new manager doesn't seem to like him much; started on the bench again today), Valencia (doesn't seem to produce as much as he should) and Alves (who seems out of sorts right now.) And wait and see on Zaki's injury, I suppose.
November 15, 2008 at 2:10 PM
Amit said…
Thanks.

I'll swap Traore.A for Behladj. I've got 1.4 to spend on a striker, proberly swap Alves for Defoe.
November 15, 2008 at 3:01 PM
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