The SoB Fantasy Fix is here for Gameweek 22 and with apologies to Katy Perry… “I have been Hot and then Cold, less yes and more no, I was in and then out, I was up but then down…”

First things first.  Good luck to the squads of The Pecan Sandies (Mike), Nittany Rebels (Andrew), and the team of your sometimes humble writer, SoBphillyHarchester* in the next round of the Premier League Fantasy Cup.  We are down to 3 sides from the SoB Fantasy Zolo after last week’s 3^rd knockout round.  Over 2/3 of the original field of 1,048,576 teams have been eliminated through 3 weeks.

Thoughts on last week

Except for Man United, it was a very low scoring week across the Premiership.  Newcastle & West Ham tried to do their part with Craig Bellamy adding to his potential transfer value.  But the week belonged to ManU with their double week and 3 goals against Chelsea.  I still shake my head as to why I didn’t pick up their defender Nemanja Vidic, now 7.6£m, when he was much cheaper.  Oh, the arrogance of “the Special One”.

My cold spell continued with John Terry coming back just in time to disappoint, 3 goals allowed & a yellow card on top of it.  Temper, temper…

My Wigan midfield picks were a bit of a mixed bag.  Cattermole, Valencia, & Palacios got 7, 6, &5 respectively, but with double week I would have expected better from them.  John O’Shea was not bad as a fill in selection, 7 points total; 6 from the Wigan match. 

At least I didn’t completely jinx Clint Dempsey, I only got his Fulham match postponed through an act of God by talking him up last week.  Keep in mind that Fulham, Blackburn, ManCity and Portsmouth all have matches to make up down the road.

This week (Gameweek 22)

Let’s hope for warmer weather this week & no more frozen pitches to get manager’s teeth chattering.  The week is highlighted by the Merseyside derby as Liverpool hosts Everton.  I expect Liverpool to be up for it, especially after their controversial win over the blue half of town in September, but matches with Everton are always tight.  Also for some reason I have a good feeling about Arsenal.  I just do, but I can’t explain it.

Players to watch:

Let’s focus on bargain priced strikers this week

• Kenwyne Jones: The Sunderland striker has banged in 4 goals in his last 5 matches and picked up 2 bonus points for the first time this season.  Being “folically challenged” myself, Jones’ hairstyle is usually enough to turn me into a “hater”.  But in this case I can’t be a “playa hater” while he has this type of game for only 6.9£m
• Carlton Cole: As much as Hammer fans at the Dark Horse Pub think he is a steaming pile of wasted pounds, Cole has turned me to his side.  At least after racking up 3 goals in his last 3 matches for West Ham.  At 5.7£m, his 5 bonus points in the last 3 weeks have him primed for a price rise.  With Bellamy seemingly on his way out of the East End at the end of the month, Cole is left as the featured striker for the Hammers going forward.
• Jason Roberts: While Santa Cruz has been sidelined with his “January” injury, Blackburn’s Roberts has been making great gains.  2 goals and 2 assists go very nicely with the 4 bonus points he has netted in the last 3 matches.  Roberts at 6.3£m is a much better value than teammate Benni McCarthy at 7.2£m.

Players to drop:

Maybe that is a bit harsh to say drop

·        Nicolas Anelka: Maybe not “drop”, but definitely bench.  As hard as it is to say to the top scoring striker in this game, maybe it is time for a change.  After Didier Drogba returned, Anelka’s time has been cut in half.  A row with Chelsea manager Scolari hasn’t helped either.  Many game players have abandoned the flighty Frenchman as his price has dropped to 10.1£m from his high of 10.5£m just 2 weeks ago.  Something has gotta give at Chelsea.

·        Wayne Rooney: Another high priced striker who should visit the bench rather than leave the dressing room.  After a great performance against Chelsea, he follows it up with the opening goal versus Wigan.  Only 5 minutes later he is felled with a hamstring strain that will see him out for at least the rest of the month. 

·        Emmanuel Adebayor: The last of the high priced strikers that may need to take a seat.  Beginning the season at 11£m, the Arsenal striker’s current price has only risen .1£m.  He is a streaky scorer who is the midst of a prolonged bad streak.  Van Persie has eclipsed him as the Gunners’ leading scorer and is a much better value.  Maybe an away/revenge match against Hull City this week is just the tonic Adebayor needs but I am still skeptical.

My Moves:

My team is SoBphillyHarchester*. You can search for my team and take a look at it, I don’t mind, and see if you can find some ideas that may help your club.

• I need to execute a stiffarm of the NFL football variety to hold on to first place and keep the pursuers at bay.  With that in mind, I am going to take my own advice (I don’t why I listen to myself anymore…maybe it is my multiple personality syndrome coming through again).  So I sold off Chelsea’s Anelka for 10.1£m, which is a break even for me even after all the points he put up in November.  His replacement is West Ham’s improving striker Carlton Cole for 5.7£m, which gives me some salary cap room and future maneuverability.  Here is hoping that Bellamy is sold off by West Ham soon so Cole will become the featured attacker. 

Next week:

We look forward to strange start times and fixture congestion rearing its ugly head.  I may not be able to recognize that head, though because if the Eagles beat the Cardinals in the NFC, I won’t be able to see straight for days.  Thanks for reading…Be good.