Gameweek 9 Wrap-up

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Another interesting week is in the books, which seemed to follow the recent trends of striker goals and a clear scarcity of clean sheets. Drogba, Van Persie and Bent (sort of) all managed to find the back of the net, while the fortunes of the other big strikers were much worse with Torres and Rooney missing through injury, and Defoe being sent off against former club Portsmouth (having scored earlier in the day). Only Sunderland and Fulham managed clean sheets despite good prospects for the likes of Arsenal, Everton and United. It is becoming clear that until one of the big five or six sides can sustain a run of clean sheets the best strategy is to load up on mid price/cheap defenders and play them based on matchup.

Transfer Watch
Defoe owners will likely want to move early in the week as the Spurs striker is set to miss the next two gameweeks after his suspension. His price has already fallen in the past couple of weeks due to a run of three games without a goal. At the time of writing 27,000 net transfers out have already occurred and one would expect Defoe to fall to 8.7m before the week is done. Spurs' fixtures are okay when he returns so it isn't a no brainer to sell him but it would be tough to have 8.8m ride the bench for the next two weeks.

Steve Gerrard limped out of tonight's Champions league loss to Lyon with what appears to be a recurrence of his groin injury. If I haven't said it enough before, Gerrard is a major sell right now, especially in light of Torres' injury, Liverpool's terrible form and Sunday's opposition (MNU).

Richard Dunne and James Collins both found the net this week as well as earning bonus points which should give rise to a flurry of transfer activity. I have tipped this paid in the past (especially Collins) but beware, Villa's sees them travel three times in the next four weeks before a later run of trips to MNU, Sun and Ars. Ride the wave while you can but consider selling high on this pair in a week or two.

Cesc Fabregas's value increased by an astonishing 0.3m last week and is already up by another 0.1m this week. Gerrard's injury could accelerate this and I would not be surprised to see 11.2m by the weekend. Needless to say I still rate him as a buy, having scored again tonight.

I'm just running through the schedule strengths for the next few weeks and will post them asap. Hope your weeks went okay and as always continue to post your transfer thoughts and tips.

Comments

NotoriousDre said…
hey Chris,

i already made my move this week - from Gerrard to Milner.

I agree with you on our take about the cheap defenders. No team so far as stood up defensively.

So you are wary of Villa on the road? I know many plan on having both Dunne & Collins for week 11. Do you think a Villa striker or midfielder is worth taking a gamble on for the double week? Say Milner/Young...or Milner/Carew?
October 20, 2009 at 7:51 PM
Jay Horrey said…
Chris--

Need help on a Cattermole replacement. Anyone in the 6 range will do.

Thanks
October 20, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Jay Horrey said…
Quick follow-up:

What do you think of Petrov? He seems to be playing well and is doing the things that Ireland did last year for City.

Do you think he will have a consistent first team place and is he worth the 6.7 price?

Thanks again.
October 20, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Unknown said…
47 points with Collins on the bench. Another week of not great, but I did just about as well as anyone in my league.

Now that Torres and Gerrard are out, how do you feel about Benayoun? I never got rid of him, though I was close a few times. It seems like his playing time should be up, and he got a goal today.

What to do about Torres. I've got him on my bench right now, but do you think I should move on? And to whom?

Also, thanks for the tip on RVP. Even though you had to beat it into my head, I finally got him, and I'm glad to have him.
October 21, 2009 at 1:25 AM
dhs_media_ssharp said…
whats your opinion on rooney and evra out, RVP and Song in?
October 21, 2009 at 9:48 AM
Chris said…
Dre - I like Villa in the double gameweek but two road games makes me a bit wary about going all out. Milner is a great option as he is a legit every week player anyway as are Collins and Dunne. Young and Agbonlahor are worth a look as the following four games are all good attacking games so each player will be more than just a one week punt. I wouldn't pay 4 points to bring them in but if you can move one in this week and another next week i like the idea.

Jay - Love Dunn and Boateng. Not sure about Petrov. He appears to be playing well but even after his goal against west ham he was still benched for the next game at villa. he has come off the bench twice which hurts you if you want to play him as it denies your sub the chance to come in. I'm still cautious for now.

Otis - I considered dumping Benayoun too but with the injuries I might keep him for the next few weeks. I think Drogba is the best short term replacement for Torres due to his fixtures in the next four weeks. Longer term I like Adebayor which will give you some cash. Torres should be back this week though so if you still believe in Torres I'd stay put.

dhs - for the next 6 weeks or so I love it. United's fixtures are tough and Rooney's fitness is a question mark. Arsenal are finding clean sheets hard to come by which limits Song value a bit, but Evra hasn't exactly racked them up either as yet. The move should also free 2m or so to use elsewhere. I like the move therefore, especially before this week where United face a much tougher opponent than Arsenal.

Thanks for all the posts guys. Keep 'em coming.
October 21, 2009 at 4:53 PM
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