Shoulda Woulda Coulda
by Nik Argiropoulos on Jan 17, 2012 3:06 AM PST
in Looking Back
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On Saturday night I was set for the worst week of my Yahoo Fantasy Football managerial career (yes, career). Daniel Ayala's -5 combined with disappointing performances from my most expensive purchases - Steven Gerrard, Rafael van der Vaart, Emmanuel Adebayor & Wayne Rooney - left me on NINE points. The disaster seemed complete as Yohan Cabaye was stretchered off after 20 minutes, but Tim Krul and David Santon came through with 30 points between them to begin a recovery aided by my Manchester City trio of Stefan Savic, David Silva and Sergio Aguero last night.
61 points is never normally something to celebrate but it was enough to keep my on the cusp of the Top 500, suggesting it was a low scoring week for a lot of the teams towards the upper echelons of the leaderboard. There was a point on Friday when I had a team with Younes Kaboul, Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck in place of Savic, Cabaye and Rooney and if I'd stuck with the first combo I'd probably be closer to 250th right now, but our fantasy successes and failures are based on these split decisions and it's what makes Yahoo's game so up-and-down, like the game of football itself. It's also the reason I disagree with a manager running more than one YFF team as it allows you to negate the risk of these decisions, but that's a discussion for another day.
The barndoor was tricky this week with not a whole lot to get excited about, but this is what I currently have on my page:
I'm pleased with most of the players I've picked up but there will be some changes. I'm still holding Santon in Jonathan Woodgate's spot and I wouldn't mind a Chelsea player in there somewhere. I'm undecided on Sebastian Larsson or Matthew Etherington and it's very possible that I'll switch Van Der Vaart to Daniel Sturridge. That would leave me with around 2.50 to spend on upgrading my defence (ideally to get rid of Ayala). Krul, Savic, Gerrard, Silva, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Aguero will all stay.
Let me know how you got on in Week 21 and where you currently sit in the overall rankings. How's your Week 22 team shaping up?
I'm planning to calculate The Blog Cup 5th Round Results tonight so please keep checking back to see if you made it through. Week 22 Player Picks will be up tomorrow night.
Cheers, Nik
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Finally a good week for me!
Yes finally after 6 weeks of doom. Managed to get 88.5 thanks to Krul and RVP. The only decision that make me regret was swapping modric to dempsey, well after his dissappointing double week and Dempsey grabbed a hatty in the FA Cup. I just bd’ed Lamps in Dempsey place. But would drop him anyway
Cheers, Chikuera
Good week for me! 88.5 pts
Krul=22,
Brown=0, Heitinga=8, Romeu=7.5,
VDV=4, Valencia=7, Gerrard=2.5, A.johnson=0,
Dzeko=28, Rooney=8.5, Henry=1,
I am @15700 from 21700
by Ahasan Ali on Jan 17, 2012 4:48 AM PST via mobile reply actions
Week ahead
Good morning Nik…
Still looking for this weeks adjustments to my team. I had Dempsey this past week and thought it would be the pick of the week especially when Blackburn went down to 10 men so early. I have Lampard but I am not sold on him and Dempsey may get another shot.
Was also looking at Sessegnon and Valencia but their current cost is giving me concern.
Picked up Bent on the door but quickly moved him out as he remains the main player that NEVER scores when I pick him. I know Villa on the road is normally something to avoid but I am still considering Petrov or Agbonlahor but more likely I will make room for Gerrard over Lampard and use the extra funds and apply it to my much needed defender list.
I have caught Torres-itis and it seems very difficult to cure. Hopefully it will run it’s course before it puts me down for the count.
My point total for the season is now 1855 and overall position is 359. I have been lucky that my bad weeks seem to be everyone’s bad weeks.
Good luck this week. Looking forward to Blog cup results as well as this weeks player picks.
Take care
K.M. (Ken M.)
Savic
ManCity is playing Tottenham at Etihad next so I’m not sure if Savic is really a great pick for the week coming up. I’d get Santon back in if you still have that discount. The kid has been quietly taking over that LB position at NUFC, and doing a good job at it.
Ok week for me...
Hi Nik,
Managed to get 68 points this week thanks to Tim Krul, also ok scores for Romeu,Bale, Silva and Rooney. My total score is now 1855,5 and I sit in 354th place.
Havent made any significant changes during the weekend(only Donovan), but none of Dempsey, Larsson, Bendtner and MEth increased in price so I still have some options.
Looking forward to the results of the blog cup, and hope my 113 points will be enough to get me through.
Thanks for your effort Nik…
Aguero 11.4 million
Very surprised by this Nik, was under the impression you had him for like 6. I thought I’d seen him in your team pretty much all season.
by Salop on Jan 17, 2012 5:54 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I sold him quite early when he had that groin problem and missed 2 games, but had him @ 11 for a few months now
by Nik Argiropoulos on Jan 17, 2012 6:56 AM PST up reply actions
Hold your paycheck guys!!!
Another good alternatives this weekend: D. Gibson, McClean, Sigurd…….Think Hard.
YNWA
I'm very lucky: 95.50 points
As I said before many times, I wasn’t sure to keep Welbeck.
Nothing is random.
My GK choice gave me points too, bye De Gea, welcome Krul!
Other players didn’t give me so much but when I see your scores I feel very lucky.
I think I’m going to keep both of my NUFC defenders until another choice comes.
Maybe should have I barndoored Ben Arfa when he was 2.
Another point is that I’ll keep Adebayor. Wigan is his next match and I’m sure he’ll do something.
Le dilemme, c’est de choisir between Bale and van der Vaart to drop… in the goal to let me a free seat for a player I’d change every week…
Anyway I’m 3800+th, while I was 7000+ last week.
Don’t hesitate to enter my French Supporters group: Group ID# (2837) and the Password (zidane).
I got a question too: is there any blog cup I could enter? I don’t know how it works. Could someone explain me? I think I asked one time and I’ve been said maybe there would be a cup beginning in the middle of the season…
Thanks guys!
---
I'm french so please be indulgent about my English! I'm also a fan of RC Lens and Arsenal FC.
Week 21: [Krul] [Vermaelen - Santon - Williamson] [Silva - van der Vaart - Ramsey - Bale] [Agüero - Adebayor - Welbeck]
You're not alone
Although I did a bit better (76.5), I too had Valencia and Welbeck but sold them to pick up Rooney. :( If only he’d scored that darned PK…
102.5 in week 21 - 1900.50 overall
on the back of krul and dzeko, with intermediate performances from bale, rooney, woodgate, silva and kaboul.
might i take this opportunity to praise you, nik? when i found your old blog, i rarely managed to rise into the 99th percentile. your methodology and insight have been invaluable in making me more competitive. i’m currently 1st in blog league 4 and my friends league, 19th among 33k Fans of Liverpool and 113th overall — and that is entirely thanks to you. so, thank you.
having said that, i’m sure my luck will run out forthwith. :^)
by Mount Prospect Wednesday on Jan 17, 2012 7:26 AM PST reply actions
Swan song
84.5 and gaining!
I had Krul and took a flyer on Graham which paid off. He’s still in my BD team along with 2 other Swans. Dyer could go but Sig probably stays.
Krul
Santon Williamson Brown (may look to upgrade Brown – status?)
Valencia Silva Dyer Sigurdsson
Graham Dzeko RVP (Have Rooney in background – If I keep him I can strengten elsewhere).
two teams
AM — I completely agree with your thought against a manager having multiple YFF teams. The “split decisions” as you describe are truly the difference between good weeks and bad (and also what makes the game fun — enjoying the close calls one gets right and lamenting those that go haywire). south city
100% mate – when people say “my A team only got 70 but my B team got 110” my heart sinks; they can’t be getting the full enjoyment of the ups and downs!
by Nik Argiropoulos on Jan 17, 2012 8:07 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Two Teams
This was my first time trying two teams because I’m still learning how to make the best decisions. With an extra team, I could try different strategies and learn what works, what doesn’t, and hopefully apply that knowledge to finish in the top 500 for the first time ever…920 is my best so far.
But, in the end, it’s been really strange, because, despite two teams, and making different choices…somehow the two teams both have an almost identical score! 1740 v 1702.50, and they have flip-flopped a couple of times in terms of which one is in the lead.
So, yes, I agree. I probably won’t do two teams next season. But it’s not been completely pointless, as I have learned quite a bit this year by taking on the extra team. It’s nice for learning, but, yeah, not for full enjoyment, as you said.
I thought I was alone here. Am out of the blog cup, both teams performing badly, and its been up and down. Won’t try it next season
by sidewinder on Jan 17, 2012 8:44 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
66 points
i too was saved by santon and krul. donovan and senderos are the only others that got more than there cost. i had picked up pedersen on wednesday, but dropped him because everyone said i needed a manure player and picked up valencia. i was excited about yakubu, but the red card was bitter. i picked dempsey a week too early.
for next week, i let santon go for wheater. yakubu is gone for fletcher. i can afford larsson, but i fear he will be the steven gerrard pick this week. i am happy i avoided that trendy pick last weeek. larsson if he was under $10 would be the pick of the week. i am leaning closer to pedersen
AAH, Brown, Kaboul – discount, Romeu, Sesssssss, Valencia, Ramires, Sigurdson, Rooney, Donovan, Cox
Hmmm, just typing that out, I notice I have got rid of K2. I didn’t mean to do that. Ah well, live and learn. Is he even available for Sunday? Is he on loan at Spurs or permanent transfer? Either way, he’s not getting into my team now. Not sure on 20 on Rooney but there’s not a lot of good match ups for the top teams.
what to do?
current team
krul
verm,brown,clark
nani,silva,gibson,vdv,bale
aguero,K2
should i drop K2 @ 9.06 and gibson to pick up donovan and henry?
my team for week 22..
DDG..
Brown,Santon,Woodgate..
Silva,HBA,Bale,VDV,Sigurdsson..
Aguero,Dzeko@11…
i thought about dropping VDV@15 to Valencia..is it ok,guys?
K2 gone for me..but will re-buy him for match against wigan…
GGMU..!!!
my team for week 22..
DDG..
Brown,Santon,Woodgate..
Silva,HBA,Bale,VDV,Sigurdsson..
Aguero,Dzeko@11…
i thought about dropping VDV@15 to Valencia..is it ok,guys?
K2 gone for me..but will re-buy him for match against wigan…
GGMU..!!!
Team Name – SportingCP
Wk 21 score – 69
Overall pts – 1671.50
Overall Rank – 7350
Slowly getting up the ranks. Haven’t been spending as much time as seasons past working on my team but still in first place in our workplace private league. Must of been a sorry week for most teams as I climbed up the ranking by a few thousand.
Week 22 thoughts???
Currently sitting on Krul, Clark, Santon, Ayala, Bale, Gerrard, Sigurdsson, Ireland, Aguero, Donovan, Torres and have 13.5 in the ‘bank’. Any suggestions where I could/should strengthen?? I realise that most people will suggest removing Torres btw!! Although this could be his week up against a leaky Norwich defence, just a thought…..
Middie
I’m quite clueless about which midfield players to pick.
I have Gerrard Silva and VDV. But I also have 16.76 to spend on another one.
Dempsey, Valencia, Larsson… I don’t know who to pick…
Krul/Santon/Verm/Clark/Dyer//Silva/Gerrard/VDV/Aguero/Donovan/Rooney
I would say Dempsey
He has dropped down in price as low as he’ll likely get unless some craziness occurs. But the guy is a points machine since he does everything. Grab him while he’s low and maybe ride it out for 1 more week. I would say it is a very good risk.
keep bellamy @ 6.73 (market 11+) or go with torres… dempsey or lamps, decisions decisions.
by stephen.jagemann on Jan 17, 2012 9:44 AM PST reply actions
My team this week...
Scz
Kaboul/ Woodgate/ Wheater
Silva/ Sigurdsson/ Ireland/ Larsson
Kun/ RVP/ K2
I’m still holding Brown and Clark on Woody and Wheater spots & Ramires and RTaylor on Sigurdsson and Larsson spots. I’m thinking of takin a zero on K2 (@5mil) for next week vs Wigan.
What yu all think????
K2
Seems like there are a lot of managers who have him @5 and are concerned if they should hold him or not.
My opinion, if I had ANY PLAYER @5 who has produced over 200 points and is more or less going to start every game AND is also playing on a top 4 team in the league I could not for any reason (short of long term injury) drop him. WHY? Makes my head hurt just thinking about it.
K.M. (Ken M.)
Totally agree.
I had him at 9 so I dropped him for this coming week as he’s ineligible to play, but I would have held on if I had paid 5.
Thoughts?
I’m currently looking at
Krul
Verm Brown Woodgate
Silva HBA Dempsey Sigurdsson
RvP Kun Donovan
Any news on Verm or Brown? I think I’ll still swallow the 0’s if they’re still not playing this week. Something about the rest of my team just has me feeling uneasy. Dempsey never scores for me when I pick him up, and I still don’t know if I can justify holding RvP at 26 when there’s good options that are cheaper.
by AtleticoDeMadrid1903 on Jan 17, 2012 1:51 PM PST reply actions
Single Digits All Around
Just noticed that none of my players this week has gotten me double digit points:
Robinson 9.5
Santon 9
S. Kelly 8
Miguel 6.5
Ramsey 6
Cabaye 1
VdV 4
Nani 7.5
Bellamy 2
Aguero 5
Torres 3
Cheap defense the way to go….
If I fail my classes this semester, I am taking Yahoo to court. At the end, I didn't fail any of my classes. In fact, I've done pretty well. So I am going to increase my hours so that I could fail in fantasy soccer instead.
what about Lamp
got him at 16.15, should I keep for this week? or change to Demp?
W Brown will return at Feb.1? so another 2 weeks zero?? have him at 3.82
worth the risk
it is worth the risk, in case sigurdsson becomes a starter and really gets 10 points a game. those of us that missed the barndoor will look elsewhere
by gregandtonic on Jan 17, 2012 9:19 PM PST up reply actions
Decisions
Still cannot decide between Dempsey/Lampard. I hold Lampard at a slight discount but his pitch time is limited each game combined with the possibility of rotation. Also holding both Bale/VDV and the decision to drop one (VDV?) will have to play itself out soon. I have Kenny in goal @1.39 but with the run of fixtures for QPR on the horizon this just may work out. Over the next 6 games or so it is hard not to look at City players. I currently have Silva/Dzeko/Aguero and may just ride through rotations and such and hold these three. My defenders remain week but with little invested. I have pretty much decided to “swing for the seats” over the next 5-6 weeks and acquire/hold as many big guns as possible even riding them through tough match ups. It’s a pretty simple formula…if you have 200 or more points I will attempt to fit you in and will be looking at 3-4 players to fill positions as cheep as possible. Attempting a “balanced” team over the past few weeks has failed, time to fly or crash/burn. I feel I am back to chasing points and I need a change.
K.M. (Ken M.)
dropped dzeko
next game more difficult for a player like dzeko, imo, who’s a better risk against lesser competition. but i generally agree with the sentiment. hoping balotelli and richards get healthy and regain their spots for weeks 24-27.
by Mount Prospect Wednesday on Jan 18, 2012 7:13 AM PST up reply actions
how about Cissé?
this guy could be a huge difference maker for newcastle in attack.
by Mount Prospect Wednesday on Jan 18, 2012 7:15 AM PST reply actions
Not until February
He’s also at the African Cup of Nations. Definitely one to keep an eye on, though. He and Ba will have an understanding as they play together for Senegal.
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