Fantasy Football Captains Picks Gameweek 4
When asked by the FF247 beaks if I would like to help out with the captains article, without a moments hesitation I said ‘yes’. Then a few minutes later I thought… I HATE the captain rule. Absolutely essential to the game I admit and I would never want to see it taken away but are you like me? Do you see the ‘Team of the Week’ being boosted by a relegation-haunted reserve centre back with a captain’s armband on, who has just scored the first two goals in his career and kept a clean sheet against the strongest team in the league and some guy down in 3 quillionth place rises a zillion places because of it? And you think? How? How can you possibly have captained him? Just me? OK let’s go…
ARSENAL v MANCHESTER CITY
Starting with the game of the week – there will be lots of choices in this one. For Arsenal we have Ramsey, Alexis and Welbeck (two goals this past week for England and confidence given a huge boost). For the visitors, Toure, Silva (Monday night scorer for Spain), Aguero, ‘Dzovetic’. (I combine these two as your guess is as good as mine as to who will play). (editor – probably the Dz bit if the ovetic bit is as injured as it may first appear!).
The thing is though, very rarely will most managers back even their best players for the armband when they are playing a fellow big 4/5/6 club.
Therefore, there is probably greater point-haul potential to be found in our next three matches…
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CHELSEA v SWANSEA CITY
Week four and we have a ‘top-of-the-table’ clash with both teams putting their 100% records on the line. Swansea have professionally, and with clean sheets, dispatched both West Brom and Burnley at home after their opening day win at Old Trafford and will never arrive at The Bridge in better shape. Chelsea have started nervously, managing to run in only 11 (E L E V E N) goals in their first three matches! Irresistible force meeting the immovable object was coined for this one.
Diego Costa
Now at the time of writing he is an injury doubt (déjà vu here eh?). He played 60 minutes in Spain’s 1-0 defeat to France in Paris last week and it then emerged he had a hamstring strain and was excused Spain’s qualifier against FYR Macedonia on Monday night. A few of his Spanish teammates (Sliva was one) tweeted late last week that Costa was ‘fine’. I would say wait for Mourinho on Friday for further details but would that be any use to you after last week’s presser? Seriously though, there will surely be some update come Friday.
Statistically the man has four goals in three league games including two in his latest league outing at Everton (in which he also created two ‘big chances’). The only slight concern is the red-mist which seems to never be far away. He was involved in an altercation with Tim Howard in the Everton game having allegedly goaded Seamus Coleman about his own goal.
The sensible move if you do plan to captain him would be to have the ‘next best’ in your squads with the Vice Captain title.
Eden Hazard/Cesc Fabregas
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[/three_fourth]Many teams will have either Haz or Cesc and many will see this as a safer bet than the doubtful Costa which is fair enough. The thing is, Eden Hazard too, has a yellow flag currently but he has a goal and assist this season so information about him on Friday will be key because he will be a sure-fire starter.
As Costa has four goals, Cesc Fabregas has four assists and Chelsea’s tempo seems to be set by the classy Spaniard. He will be central again for the Blues and comes off the back of ninety minutes for Spain on Monday, a game in which he took all Spain’s corners and received a yellow card for a poor second half challenge. Both have solid captaincy claims.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
A huge favourite in fantasy football, the Icelander has a goal already this season at Old Trafford no less, but this one should be a notch or two tougher than that trip. But then he also has four assists in three games – one for the adventurous manager to captain, just to have him in your team may be enough for most.
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LIVERPOOL v ASTON VILLA
In recent seasons Villa have managed to give Liverpool quite a few scares at Anfield and that is something Liverpool will be looking to avoid this time out. The Villains come in to this one without previous tormentor, Christian Benteke though and Brendan Rodgers sadly will not be able to unleash the SSS (Sterling, Sturridge and SuperMario) in front of the Kop for the first time as Sturridge collected an injury on international duty and will miss a few weeks of action.
Raheem Sterling
This lad can do no wrong at the moment. For my money he is the most exciting player in the league at present, the best player in the England national team, the best fantasy prospect from Liverpool and the best fantasy prospect from midfield. He is 19! A home game against Aston Villa will have the appetite whetted for a number of his owners (42.9% currently) and a tremendous man-of-the-match performance against Tottenham last time out coupled with an excellent international showing on Monday, will have attracted plenty of favour for him. Interestingly, of his three shots at goal in the Spurs match, all three were on target and one resulted in his goal. One of the others was his fantastic dribble and attempt which his manager brilliantly described as being “a run like Ricky Villa with a finish like Ricky Gervais”. Don’t let that put you off!
Mario Balotelli
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[/three_fourth]What can we say about Mad Mario that hasn’t already been said, thought or written? He is a nice quiet, down-to-earth chap who is absolutely useless on the football field. There, I think I’ve done it . . .
The Sturridge injury has suddenly catapulted Balo in to the main striker role one would have thought. Although even if Rickie Lambert comes in, Mario will be in the team and looking to break his Reds duck which he almost did at The Lane on his debut. Plenty of Premier League experience and will have a few new owners but who dares captain him? Could be a stroke of madness or genius – much like Balotelli himself really so how appropriate indeed. Twenty goals and three red cards in the league in just over two seasons illustrates the man perfectly.
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MANCHESTER UNITED v QUEENS PARK RANGERS
Manchester United are going to click sooner or later aren’t they? How many weeks can we continue to say that they are due to paste someone? Well their hand-picked opening fixtures continue with the visit of old padre Rio Ferdinand’s QPR. And oh yeah – they’ve thrown di Maria and Falcao in there too now. Now all you bigger boys play nicely and share out there – Louis is watching you.
Wayne Rooney
Captain of club and country, his solitary club goal this season came on the opening day defeat to Swansea but as with all United players, even though they have been nowhere near convincing, many of us will be attracted to the fact they are playing QPR at home. And that strangely will still be many a manager ‘sold’ on the idea. Shrek will hold the trump card as penalty duties would seemingly lie with him and he is a guaranteed starter amongst the United multi-piece jigsaw.
Angel di Maria
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[/three_fourth]He has warmed up for QPR by single-handedly taking apart the World Champions and in their own garden as well. Can’t be bad that. ADM (love it when a player in fantasy becomes known by three initials!), assisted the first three goals and scored the fourth himself for Argentina in their 4-2 drubbing of Germany in Dusseldorf last week. As a direct result, since his debut at Burnley a week past on Saturday, his transfers in stands at 127,192 for the week and equates to a 7.3% ownership. I would guess a great number of his owners will be handing captaincy duties to the Argentine and I would be in no hurry to talk anyone out of such a move.
Radamel Falcao
The Colombian has been brought in on a one-year loan deal from Monaco and so far, the £11.0M striker has just a 3.9% ownership. Now I would imagine a huge number of Wildcard Teams this week will carry him but this can only be based on his past exploits WHEN 100% FIT. He is clearly not at present. Will he be pitched straight in to this new league from minute one or will LVG manage the man properly? It would be no surprise to see him coming off the bench this weekend and in that case makes captaincy of him a tad risky. But sometimes risks work…
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Author’s tips
I suggested in the early discussions of this article for this season, that the author should put his head on the block and pick his top three each week (I hope it catches on – sorry, colleagues).
Well I’ll practice what I preached and give you in traffic signal order:
RED (Take a wild punt if you have him) – Branislav Ivanovic
AMBER (Proceed with caution) – Diego Costa
GREEN (If you have him, armband him) – Raheem Sterling
I hope you enjoyed this article and don’t forget to vote on the Captain’s Poll.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football 247 League Updates – Fantasy Premier League 2014-15. This article was written by The Gallant Pioneer
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Great work GP, thank you for your time and effort it’s much appreciated mate. I think I have a thing for Balotelli this week for some reason.
init,
Then go for it mate.
My favourite Balotelli story (could be coined) is when the police pulled him over on a random check whilst at Citeh and they asked why he had £4,000 cash in his car.
” . . . Because I am rich”
Nice work GP, cheers buddy. It says that Sturridge is out for a few weeks… is that official? I haven’t heard anything yet but need to make a move if he’s out. Ta.
Lol NIN, I knew you’d pick up on that!
I think I suggested similar actually in the last one but I’m honestly not sure just yet.
Haha, young Studge is the bane of my life right now! Well, FF wise
Here’s one for you, would you ditch Sturridge&Rodwell for Naismith&Sterling for a hit? Squad is linked.
Sturridge to Balotelli not float your boat for no hit then give Rodwell an upgrade next week with the funds?
init – It was floating my boat, but now she seems to be sinking. He’s such an anomaly that i cant comfortably make the move. I thought about Naismith because that would free up enough for Sterling, with 2.6m left over for future moves. Hmm. The hit isn’t that appealing to me, but both those moves kinda are. Why did Sturridge have to get injured? Dagnabbit! Haha.
NIN from a football point of view I honestly don’t get all the fuss over Balotelli either to be honest. I rarely remember him having a ‘great’ game. From a fantasy perspective I’m equally unsure as he seems to miss chances left, right and centre BUT…. if he’s the main point man at Pool for a bit as seems likely then he’ll certainly get chances aplenty. I’m going to give him a shot for a few weeks myself.
Yeah, i agree with all you said there mate. The Balotelli move would leave 6.7m for a new midfielder next week.
Balotelli + 6.7m mid… or… Naismith + Sterling ( i wouldn’t mind leaving the Sterling move until next week, to avoid the hit). Hmmm. Decisions decisions. Hmm.
NIN – just look at the < 7.0m mids out there – can you see any viable options for the next few weeks? If not then I think the question answers itself.
jamesimmo – One step ahead of you mate. Arnie, Hendo or Mane. If Barkley was fit then i’d do that in a heartbeat but unfortunately, he’s fecked.
Not Mane, sure he’s 7m. Idiot
I meant JWP. Was looking at Mane and confused myself.
Arnie and Hendo are both steady performers, have decent fixtures, and can get you half decent returns on occasions… but it’s nothing tempting.
Never heard of Mane.
well it’s pretty tough to call I can see… I’m no fan of Naismith but if he carries on it we’ll all probably have to hop aboard – and then there’s Sterling – I’d get him in for a hit personally.
After all, it could go either way, and that’s just whether Balotelli will get a red card or not! 😉
Haha, now you said it! Feck knows what he’ll be up to from game to game, minute to minute, whatever. Nut job
NIN,
Perhaps a bit of lazy journalism from yours truly. I could have covered my ass and said wait for Friday to see what Brendan says but then I begin to sound like a broken record
I would be surprised if he is back for the weekend. But if he is, CAPTAIN HIM!
GP – Sturridge (c) for the next two gwks was the plan! I emphasize the word ‘was’. Sigh. What to do what to do… any thoughts on my question above? Again, squad is linked.
NIN,
If Rodgers says Sturridge is definitely out, then I would seriously consider that move and try to make up our hit by giving Sterling the armband. Should be a bit clearer after Friday.
Cheers GP. I had my mind made up to get Balotelli, until today. It does seem the obvious move but it leaves a lot less to improve Rodwell (not one of my finest FF moments that one! Whoopsie). How would you compare those two different moves?
How is your team looking?
NIN
Are you interested in Welbeck at all?
GP – Not particularly. I’ve got Rambo, which i think is enough Arsenal cover for now. I’d be very, very interested in Remy but i’m not sure that Jose will play him each week.
Looks like it’s Naismith or Balotelli, for me. Or Costa actually, if fit.
NIN
Costa then i say. Wait until we’ve heard from all the managers on Friday.
This is really well set out. I like the match-intros and then your traffic light picks at the end GP! Really nice read, thanks, it’ll probably be a green light for me.
james
Thank you mate. I thought I would nail my colours to the mast at the end rather than be wishy-washy. And that also means I am guaranteed to armband Raheem now. Which I am more than happy to do.
Makes your choice easy at least! Haha, same here, even though he’s not even in my squad yet: behaving myself for now and waiting til Friday before making transfers. I wonder how long that will last…
Excellent work GP the Ars v City game looks a belter! Did you know that last season games played on a Monday produced an average over just a goal more than those played on any other day!Food for thought
Am slightly disappointed you haven’t recommended a player whos ‘due one’!! 😉
peaky,
Thanks. Well I play on a Monday night at five-a-sides and I am definitely due one!
Blind assist. Too bad dude ain’t listed as defender.
Something funny, Hiddink not the worst coach actually can see a central defender in Blind.
Hmmmmm. Again Rvp can’t impress. How long has it been since dude showed actual form? Would definitely not recommend getting him this fpl season. Falcao signing makes that choice even easier.
I think he’s going to be excellent for us. Play him anywhere and he’ll do a good job. He seems that type of player anyway. A bit like Denis Irwin in a way, nothing special but consistent and solid. Which is a great thing to have.
Again, don’t like betting against Blind because he keeps proving me wrong. He however is no saviour . He could flop, but we’ll see.
Hmmmmm read some Falcao stats last week and they’re really not as impressive as I first would’ve figured. Really uninvolved player. Scores but almost never assists.
Nope. Falcao is the ultimate predator. His general play stats will never look that great in comparison to others, but very few can score as frequently. He’s the perfect 9. It remains to be seen whether he can work in a crap team 😉
Defence is crap, reat not so much. 5-3-2 is really starting to annoy me though.
There’s plenty of adjustment to be done, that’s for sure.
Evening all,
How’s everyone’s team looking for this weekend?
I’m struggling on what to do!!
Could you cast your eyes over my team and let me know your thoughts
Crickey Mitro! That defence! The attack probably makes up for it…
What’s the story then – how much cash and FTs – or on a wildcard?
Surely you’ll wanna start Naismith? Would have to be Siggy benched, which is hard to justify, even if he’s facing Chelsea away…
lol! To be honest I’ve never had a decent defence!! I do have a cunning plan over the coming weeks though
I have 0.4 in the bank and 0FT!!
Tough one with siggy and Naismith both are in great form!!
Howdy Mitro.
Front 8 is seriously, seriously strong! However, Hutton may be the only defender there that is nailed, long term. Here we go, ‘broken record’ mode again, how about Sanchez >> ……. you guessed it, Ramsey
and use the funds to beef up a little in defence?
Was thinking of Sanchez for ADM for a -4, what you think?
Long term I would like either silva or Wally, I’m looking at putting in Moreno or janmatt in def over the coming weeks
Hmm, probably not for a hit. I think the hit would be more justified next week as then the defence could be improved with the funds you’d make from Sanchez.
How did i not notice you already had Ramsey? I must be losing it.
You have Ramsey on the bleedin brain NIN !! Ha ha
I know mate. It’s developing into some sort of man crush, i think. I’m not sure what to make of that one!
Lol james.. That was my first thought when seeing that defence ! “Crikey bill!!!” lol.
Fair play mitro.. You obviously know hiw you want to play the game
Does dummett even play ? He’d be my first move out if not. Then Hutton out. Moore at Leicester is a 4.0 option mate, then maybe duff at burnley.. But. It’s pretty slim pickings at that end of the scale