During their recent UK Tour, N*E*R*D took some time out to visit one of Manchester's most famous attractions - The Theatre of Dreams.
Pharrell and co, no strangers to gold records, got their hands on some serious silverware as they toured the Old Trafford ground.
See more pictures of the band's visit here.
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Saturday, August 30, 2008
N*E*R*D at Old Trafford
Friday, August 29, 2008
Away From Home
Welcome to a brand spanking new Row ZZ feature - Away From Home. By now, you are no doubt familiar with the (hopefully) interesting articles to be found here at Row ZZ. Well, it turns out there's a whole wide world of football-related bloggery out there. Away From Home will bring the best of that World to you...
- Row ZZ Favorite Chris Legg hails the Boro Babes and worships in the "House of Tuncay."
- An in-depth Serie A preview from Fox Soccer Channel's Bobby McMahon.
- American defender Oguchi Onyewu impressed against Liverpool. The Offside Rules says "Gooch" is now a hot commodity.
- Ahmed Bilal of Soccerlens weighs up the pros and cons of the summer transfer market.
- Roman Pavlyuchenko is about to sign for Spurs, but The Spoiler wasn't impressed with his arrival. Perhaps he plans to hypnotise defenders into submission with his magic eye shirt.
- Most United supporters seem happy to see Louis Saha leaving for Everton (medical permitting!!!). Scott the Red thanks Saha for his service but laments the injuries that punctuated his time at Old Trafford.
- After another depressingly stale England performance against the Czech Republic, twohundredpercent revistits the creative genius of Matthew Le Tissier.
North Poll Winner: Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson is Lord Coe's favorite to manage a British Olympic football team and Row ZZ readers agree. Ferguson received 60% of the vote, while Martin O'Neill and Harry Redknapp split the remaining 40%.
After 22 years at Old Trafford, Ferguson's record is unparalleled in the modern game. Olympic Gold in 2012 would be fitting way to end his career as the greatest manager in British history.
For now, Fergie's challenge remains in Manchester and he will need all his managerial skill to plot United's course against rejuvenated enemies at home and abroad.
United had the opportunity to win six trophies this season and now stand at 1-1 after winning the Community Shield and losing the UEFA Super Cup. Will there be any more additions to the Old Trafford trophy cabinet this season? That is the topic of our latest North Poll (look in the right sidebar) so get voting and have your say!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Boot Room: Week 2 in Review
A strange feeling around the league this week, not unlike the prologue stages of the Tour de France or a World Rally Championship event. Teams are into their league seasons and picking up points (or in the case of Spurs and Pompey, failing to) - but with the transfer window still open there's a slight air of a phony war.
The likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs are still waiting on big deals to be tied up, while other players are only just returning from Olympic duty. The former scenarios are of particular interest to fantasy managers, as players of the calibre of Robinho, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Andrei Arshavin and perhaps even Ronaldo (the original!) may be arriving on these shores, ready to be claimed by managers with high Free Agent priorities at the start of the next month. When August rolls into September, the window closes, and the first round of World Cup qualifying games are completed, the League season will begin in earnest.
Star Performers
Talk around Eastlands this summer may have been all about incoming Brazilians, with Jo arriving from CSKA Moscow, a lengthy pursuit of Ronaldinho, and now rumours of old-school Ronaldo, but the samba spirit is already alive and well in Mark Hughes' squad. The most valuable player in the fantasy game this week was the Sky Blues' Elano, who created a brace of chances as well as scoring 2 of his own 3 shots on target.
After Gael Clichy led the defenders last week, the guy on the other side of the Arsenal back line, Bacary Sagna, was the most valuable defender in week two – despite the Gunners' failure to keep a clean sheet. Sagna's 4 attempts created and great passing combined with a couple of nice tackles to make a great week.
Fine performances too from Spurs' Luka Modric, who chipped in in every possible category, and Chelsea's Deco, whose fine free kick gave him his second goal in two weeks, and his side all three points. Staying with Chelsea, Petr Cech kept his second clean sheet to rank as top goalkeeper for the second week (helped by the clean sheet called in this column last week).
Under the Radar
In a relatively quiet week for goalscorers, when only Elano scored more than a single goal, the highest rated striker was in fact Hull City's Richard Garcia. The Australian scored with his only shot on target, but contributions in other categories pushed him into the top spot.
A clean sheet and the only goal of Fulham's 1-0 victory over Arsenal made Brede Hangeland a great play. The Texan-born Norwegian hasn't got a great goalscoring history, but his towering 6 foot 5 inch frame makes him a big aerial threat at set pieces if Fulham can utilise him well. With the value of squad defenders at big clubs reduced by a definition of clean sheets which requires a full 90 minutes of action, Hangeland becomes the kind of undrafted defender who could be very ownable in fantasy play. He'll pick up good minutes and some scoring opportunities.
Back in the Habit
The likes of Jo, Anderson and Javier Mascherano have now returned from the Olympic tournament; Carlos Tevez has returned from his family-related leave. Cesc Fabregas is back in the Arsenal team following injury, and new signing Carlos Cuellar should be ready to take his place in Aston Villa's first team.
Out of Action
Niko Kranjcar gave the worst news to his owners this week, picking up an ankle injury on international duty in midweek which will require an operation. Pompey's Croatian playmaker has been put out of action for three months.
Chelsea may be missing players themselves, having lost both Joe and Ashley Cole to injury during their Sunday win over Wigan. Didier Drogba hopes to be fit to make to their line-up for the first time under Felipe Scolari, but is likely to have to wait until September.
In Search of Spaghetti
Arsenal's Philippe Senderos is now on loan to AC Milan for the season. He will be joined in Italy by two strikers who have found things in England hard and have returned to Serie A: Andrei Shevchenko has ended his unhappy spell in London with a move back to Milan; Manchester City have allowed the homesick Rolando Bianchi to move to Torino.
Postponed
When setting line-ups for next week, the big thing to bear in mind is that, with Manchester United taking on Zenit St Petersburg in the European Super Cup on Friday night, their game against Fulham is postponed. No players from either club will be able to contribute.
By Sandy King
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
North Poll Winner: Team GB
It doesn't seem like Team GB can put a foot wrong at the moment. Following the historic success in Beijing, there is a growing movement in favor of a British football entry in four years time.
Alex Salmond may not agree but Row ZZ readers clearly like the idea of a GB Football team in 2012, voting 100% in favor of competing.
There are logistical issues to solve, but with "sport coming home" in 2012 it would be ludicrous for Great Britain to sit out the most popular game in the world; a sport bred in the home nation.
Will Sir Alex manage the team? Which players from which countries would make the squad? Who would be selected as the three "overage" players? Let us know what you think! Comment or send us an email.
There's a new North Poll! We want to know who you think should coach the Team GB Football side. Look right and vote away!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Boro Idol: SuperBrad
Here's a belated look at Boro Idol Chris Legg's take on the first Premier League weekend.
Chris was delighted with Boro's 2-1 opening day victory over Spurs and celebrates their Aussie Keeper, Brad Jones.
Read Chris's full column here.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Boot Room: Week 1 in Review
The first ever Roto FC weekend rolled into town on Saturday, and managers got their first taste of the action. For some this fare will have been sweet, lively and with a peppy hint of optimism as they watched their star striker slam home a hat-trick in seven minutes. Others, however, will have been wincing at the sour aftertaste of another Valeri Bojinov season cut short by injury or the unpalatable reality of last season's top stopper picking the ball out of his net four times.
Haute Cuisine
Gabriel Agbonlahor was the most valuable player in the game, with his three goals from four shots on target. He was also helpful to his team-mates, completing 22 of 27 passes and creating two attempts.
Debutant Samir Nasri of Arsenal had the most impressive all-round performance. The young Frenchman was able to dictate the Gunners' attacking play in the absence of Cesc Fabregas, and created four attempts to go with his fourth minute goal. He also won three fouls, made a tackle, completed almost 89% of his 63 passes and hit the target with another shot. Avoiding any bookings ensured Nasri contributed above the average level in all of the 8 categories for which he was eligible.
Top Keeper was Petr Cech, who stopped all 4 of the shots that came his way to provide a clean sheet. Jose Reina saved 3, and Manuel Almunia just 1 in their respective shutouts, while Shay Given kept out 6 of the 7 Manchester United shots that came his way for a very respectable performance. Given's first game of last season was also against United, who on that occasion put a brace past the Irish number one in just 45 minutes, after which he was substituted with a groin injury – so this was a definite improvement!
Best defender was last season's leader at the position, Gael Clichy. All the defenders who kept clean sheets did well; of the rest the top scorer was Vedran Corluka. Despite seeing his side concede four to Aston Villa, Corluka created two chances, made four more tackles than fouls and scored a late consolation for Manchester City.
Lamb Dressed As Mutton?
Darren Fletcher and David Dunn were both undrafted this season, but both made the top 7 most valuable players this week. Each found the net, Fletcher created 6 chances for his United team-mates, while Dunn had 4 efforts on goal and won a couple of fouls.
Also enjoying an unexpectedly good start to the season was Marcio Giovanni of Hull, who won 3 fouls and scored for his new club. However, Giovanni pulled this trick off last season when he scored on debut for Manchester City, and only found the net twice more all year.
Under-Cooked
David James ran into trouble against a fired-up Chelsea side who were eager to impress both new boss Phil Scolari and the rest of the Premier League. While the England keeper made 5 saves, he also conceded 4 goals, and picked up a yellow card. Thomas Sorensen conceded three for Stoke, who look worryingly like this season's Derby County, while Joe Hart could only keep out 3 of the 7 shots that came his way.
Of the outfield players drafted, Stephen Warnock had the worst start to the fantasy season, giving away possession with 21 of 44 passes and picking up a booking. Kevin Davies, Scott Parker and Tal Ben Haim all managed 4 more fouls conceded than tackles successfully executed, though young Manchester United forward Frazier Campbell went one more with 5.
The most profligate user of the ball was Phil Neville, who saw just 29 of his 58 passes reach a team-mate. Neville Jr's passing accuracy was over 70% last season, so this should just have been a bad day at the office.
Week 2
This coming weekend, Aston Villa and the red-hot Agbonlahor take on Stoke, who are coming off a whipping at the hands of Bolton. This bodes well for owners of Agbonlahor, as well as the likes of Ashley Young and John Carew.
Chelsea defenders seem like a solid bet, as their team - which had the meanest defence of any away from home last season – travel to Wigan, who scored fewer at home than any other team who escaped relegation.
Fulham hope to be able to give fit-again summer signing Andrew Johnson a debut against Arsenal; Owen Hargreaves looks to be back in time to cover for Michael Carrick's injury as Manchester United take on Portsmouth on Monday; Dean Ashton should be able – and a decent bet - to face struggling Manchester City, after recovering from the knock that kept him out of England's midweek friendly.
By Sandy King
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Clips of the Day: Beckham and Oldman show off their skills
It hasn't been a great summer for Papa Beckham. His L.A. Galaxy side has gone 8 games without a win, losing their coach and general manager in the process. England's Golden boy had to watch from the sidelines during Euro 2008 and he failed to shine against the Czech Republic in yesterday's friendly.
There is, however, one reason for pride within the Team Becks camp: his youngest son's rhythm. Check out Cruz at the Teen Choice Awards (and make sure you watch till the end of the video!).
Cruz isn't the only Englishman taking Hollywood by storm. Gary Oldman's portrayal of Commissioner Gordon is a highlight of the record-breaking Batman sequel, The Dark Knight. And acting isn't the Londoner's only skill. He recently teamed up with ITV to make a commercial for the network's football coverage. How many takes do you think this took?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
North Poll Winner: Dimitar Berbatov
Berbatov edged a close North Poll on who should be Sir Alex Ferguson's next big recruit. The Bulgarian striker received a 30% of the votes, ahead of David Villa and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar with 23% each. A clever 15% of Row ZZ readers think Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz is bargain waiting to be had, while 7% backed youth and went for Lyon's prodigious Karim Benzema. There were no takers for the joker of the pack, Didier Drogba. A slap in the face for the Frenchman - now he knows how Nemanja Vidic feels.
You can find a brand new North Poll in the right sidebar. With Team GB having its most successful Olympics in a century, we ask the question - should Great Britain enter the 2012 Olympic Football Tournament?
The hypothetical choice is yours, so get voting!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Clip of the Day: Frank's Fat New Deal
So Frank Lampard has rejected Jose Mourinho's advances for now and signed a new five year contract with Chelsea which, according to The Guardian, will make the midfielder the highest paid player in the Premier League at a ludicrous £140k per week.
At least the Blues can afford it. With Chelsea set to receive £13.68m from former player Adrian Mutu, Peter Kenyon won't have to go crawling to Roman Abramovich for the money.
Now his contract issues are resolved, will we see the return of Lampard to his 2005/06 heights, when he bagged 16 league goals? Row ZZ thinks so.
Check out this effort from Chelsea's pre-season win over Guangzhou and make up your own mind.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Boot Room - 2008 Draft Review (League 2)
With the second Roto FC draft now in the books, The Boot Room looks back to review the goings-on.
You can see the full draft order here, and a list of the teams drafted here.
Trends
The first goalkeeper rush was similar to the one on Sunday – seven GKs were taken in the first 26 picks. After that it was more measured however, with only one keeper taken every 20 picks or so for the next twelve or fourteen rounds.
There was real pressure on forwards again, with 24 snagged in the first seven rounds, at an average of almost 3.5 a round. Last season there were just 16 forwards in the top 70 fantasy producers, so some managers may be left regretting such heavy early investment.
Defenders were left on the board late, with the likes of Liverpool trio Degen, Agger and Aurelio all taken as far down the draft as round 18.
3 Steals
A trio of players who should offer great value for their draft placing:
Gael Clichy – pick 23. With two straight seasons of over 80 net tackles, this is an absolute steal.
Elano – pick 57. The Brazilian almost made the top 30 last season and, still only 27, has a year of Premier League experience under his belt. I think this is great value.
Denilson – pick 153. Despite a position battle with Abou Diaby in pre-season, and rumoured Arsenal interest in Sporting's Miguel Veloso and Liverpool's Xabi Alonso, it's looking more and more to me as though Denilson has won Arsenal's holding midfield job. He certainly has the talent and influence over games to make this count, and I think should have at least the top-100 year Matthieu Flamini had last season, perhaps with a few more goals as an added bonus.
3 Gambles
Finally, three picks which could offer a great return... or a great frustration:
Frank Lampard – pick 8. Lampard Jr was a fantasy kingpin in his mid 20s, but he is now 30, and while there's no doubt players can still have fine years well into their thirties, I'd be surprised if Lampard can recapture first round value. Injuries played a part in a weak 2007/08, and now he has the further competition of Deco.
Didier Drogba – pick 12. I wrote on Monday that Drogba at pick 23 scared me a bit. Drogba at 12 gives me absolute palpitations. On the other hand, if he can imitate one of his two career seasons of 20-goal form, he's a fine asset.
Jose Reina – pick 13. Reina has never been a high save percentage keeper, though a solid defence has helped him win the 'golden gloves' award (for leading the league in clean sheets) three years running. That makes him more valuable in points-based fantasy leagues than he is here. If he can get the save rate up, however, the potential for a 20 clean sheet season is there.
By Sandy King
Boro Idol: Pre-season Predictions
It's barely a day since we introduced you to Chris Legg, Boro Idol. Already Chris is back with the first edition of his weekly Boro Idol Blog.
The Premier League is about to get underway and Middlesbrough begin against Spurs on Saturday. Click here to read Chris's five ballsy pre-season predictions.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Boot Room - 2008 Draft Review (League 1)
With the first ever Roto FC draft now in the books, The Boot Room looks back to see if there are any messages or lessons for people drafting on Tuesday evening.
You can see the full draft order here, and a list of the teams drafted here.
Trends
As Row ZZ found in their mock draft last week, there was an early run on goalkeepers, which went even further than predicted. Eight stoppers were off the board by the 33rd pick, when Lea Rules took Robert Green. Reserve keepers began to be snapped up relatively early too, with Diego Cavalieri and Ben Foster taken in round 7. Tomasz Kuszczak went in the 11th, while Steve Harper, Lukas Fabianski and Carlo Cudicini were picked in round 15.
Quality midfielders were available late in the draft, with picks like Anderson (152nd), and Sean Wright-Phillips (162nd) rewarding managers who concentrated on other positions in the early rounds.
On the other hand, once Benni McCarthy went to Jenkins AFC with pick 134, proven goalscoring options up front were gone, leaving only speculative gambles on youngsters, oldies, the injury-prone and Emile Heskey.
Cheap at the Price
The Boot Room has picked out our five favourite picks. These aren't the five who'll score most goals, or make most tackles, but the ones who we expect to offer most value relative to their draft position.
Niko Kranjcar – pick 34. The Croat ranked in the top 10 last season, and with the addition of Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe to the Fratton Park front line could maintain that production.
Jamie Carragher – pick 65. Almost the only man immune to 'Rafatation', Carragher appeared in more Premier League games and for more minutes than any other outfield player for Liverpool last season. He's getting on in years, but with no international commitments to compete for his efforts, the skipper is almost bound to provide great return on a seventh round pick.
Darren Bent – pick 89. Bent has scored 12 goals in just 6 pre-season appearances for Spurs, who have often been playing a 4-5-1 formation which seems to suit the striker's game perfectly. With service from Luca Modric, Giovani Dos Santos and David Bentley, and confusion over the future of Dimitar Berbatov, Bent could have both the opportunity and the service to return to top form.
Owen Hargreaves – pick 115. Amazing value to find the United man down here. Hargreaves can tackle, pass and create whilst keeping a fine disciplinary record. If he gets playing time to reflect Manchester United's year-long pursuit and £17million investment, this is an absolute steal.
Alan Hutton – pick 158. The forceful Scot was another one tracked by Manchester United, but in the end Spurs won the battle for his signature in January. He'll make plenty of tackles and look to get forward too. If he can simply repeat his performances after his arrival for a full season he should rise into the top 100 – if he and his colleagues in Spurs' defence can really progress, he could go much higher.
Fingers Crossed
Finally, five picks which could offer a great return... or a great frustration.
Dimitar Berbatov – pick 11. What does the year ahead hold for the moody Bulgar? Best case scenario: he links up with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez to form part of a stunning attacking quartet at Old Trafford. Worst case: he sulks on the sidelines at Spurs or gets sold out of the league by a club determined not to let Sir Alex Ferguson get his man. Expensive draft pick to find out...
Manuel Almunia – pick 14. The uncapped Spanish keeper flattered to deceive at times in his debut season as Arsenal's first choice between the posts. If he can keep it together he could provide 16+ clean sheets and a good save average without the age and health risks of Van Der Sar or Cech. If not, he could go the way of Jens Lehmann.
Luis Nani – pick 16. Might Nani become the next Ronaldo? He undoubtedly has skill, and now at 21 is the age at which his Portuguese predecessor began to really shine at Old Trafford. He's reliant on being given playing time by Ferguson, however.
Didier Drogba – pick 23. Can he return to his 2006 best? If he can he's a steal in the third round. If not – well, he was in the mid 200s for fantasy value last year.
Tim Cahill – pick 41. A fully-fit Cahill is a great addition to a team, but a fully-fit Cahill was last seen in 2005.
By Sandy King
Monday, August 11, 2008
Boro Idol Bounces Back
Chris Legg soared to fame as Century FM (Northeast) Boro Idol in 2006, but after only one season in the sun, his time as the station's pitchside reporter was cruelly cut short.
Now, like Alan Partridge, Chris has bounced back with a weekly column at Middlesbrough fan site, Fly Me To The Moon.
Read Chris's first column here.
Clip of the Day: Spurs Crush Roma
English shores have not been kind to A.S. Roma of late. They took that famous 7-1 beating by Manchester United in 2007 and lost again to the English Champions at the quarter-final stage of last season's Champions League.
Now this on Sunday...
Terrible Roma defending aside, the win completes a brilliant pre-season for Juande Ramos's side before his first full season at White Hart Lane. Yes, it is only pre-season, but 33 goals scored and only 5 conceded is reason to be optimistic.
Spurs fans will be particularly pleased to see new arrivals Luka Modric and Gomes performing well, though Gomes's task is made easier given what he had to follow. Ex-Gooner, David Bentley has successfully acclimatized to life back in North London with 3 goals in his 3 pre-season appearances.
Doubts over Dimitar Berbatov's future persist, but his loss would felt less harshly if Darren Bent can continue his prolific pre-season form into the Premier League fixtures. The 24-year-old struck has struck 12 times over the past few weeks and will hope to rediscover the form that persuaded Spurs to pay Charlton £16.5 million for him last summer.
Of course, the real test is still to come. Spurs will look to seize upon their early momentum and finally crack the Premier League's top 4. That challenge starts on Saturday with a trip to Middlesbrough.
What do you think of Spurs's chances this season? Comment and let us know.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Steve Nash: Yid Canada
It's been some time since we made Bret Michaels our first Fantasy Fan and consigned him, unwillingly, to the roller coaster life of a Newcastle supporter.
Now, in a slight departure from the segment's "fantasy" concept, we present to you Steve Nash, two-time NBA MVP and actual Spurs fan.
Nash was born in South Africa to a Welsh mother and English father before moving to Canada at the age of 18 months. His father was from North London so Nash had no choice but to follow family tradition and support Spurs. Lets be honest, no-one puts themselves through that unless they have to.
There have even been rumours that the Phoenix Suns star would be interested in a financial role at White Hart Lane when his NBA days are over.
"I'd like to be an owner [of Spurs]," Nash said in 2007. "It's something I could do for the rest of my life.
Nash has also been keen to draw a line between himself and other cross-Atlantic football investors.
"I've been a passionate supporter all my life...so it's not like I'm some Yank who wants to make a profit out of football. I don't care about making money. I just want to see Spurs succeed and, if I can help, that's great."
Nash will be hoping that Spurs continue their progress under Juande Ramos this season. The Spaniard's major signing so far has been £16.5 million summer acquisition, Luka Modric. The Croatian's role will be similar to Nash's on a basketball court - bring the ball forward and find the open man. The pair also share somewhat dubious hairstyling.
Any future involvement with Spurs would be an intriguing next step in Nash's career. Until then he'll remain a fan. That is...unless Ramos sees this video.
Thank you to Colin O'Grady for recommending Steve Nash.
Which fantasy or real celebrity fan would you like to see on Row ZZ? Email your suggestions or comment below.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Clip of the Day: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
This week the FA launched its Respect Campaign in an effort to prevent referees from leaving the game because of intimidation and threats. Regrettably it came too late to save Anders Frisk.
Many of you will have seen the video already, but if not take a look and keep watching to the end - there's an extra-special cameo around the 1:17 mark.
Friday, August 8, 2008
North Poll Winner : West Brom
With 60% of the vote, West Brom were your choice as the promoted side most likely to stay in the Premier League. Hull City received the remaining 40% of the vote and no-one fancied the poor old Potters.
You'll find a new North Poll if you look in the right sidebar. Sir Alex Ferguson has said he wants to sign another striker - who should it be?
Roto FC Mock Draft - Analysis
When the real 2008 Roto FC Draft takes place on Sunday, it will likely look very different to our Mock Draft (Rounds 1-10, Rounds 11-18).
There are, however, some trends that might be worth paying attention to come draft day.
Positional Breakdown
Click on this table to expand.Goalkeepers - There are three distinct groups of goalkeepers. The elite, the middling, and the wouldn't-touch-with-a-barge-pole. The elite - Cech, VDS, James, Howard and Reina - should all be gone by the end of round 3. Expect the middling group - including Almunia (who could actually go higher), Friedel and Gomes - to go a few rounds later. After that you find a big decline in value, which explains why we didn't see keepers picked up again until the later rounds.
Defenders - Only 12 defenders were selected in the first 5 rounds and all of those, with the exception of Portsmouth's Glen Johnson, were from the "Big Four." When they did go, defenders tended to be fairly streaky - a run of 5 defenders were selected between rounds 9 and 10. If it's clean sheets you're after - as with goalkeepers - you'll need to grab the elite defenders early, but there are plenty of serviceable fullbacks to be had in the lower rounds.
Midfielders - By and large the midfielders taken first will be your your creative box-to-box types - Gerrard, Fabregas, etc. - since they offer the most all-round value. Wait until at least the 5th of 6th rounds to get your tough-tackling midfielders like Mascherano and Hargreaves. The later rounds will be reserved for young potential - see N'Zogbia and Denilson in the last round - and proven but aging players like Giggs and Murphy.
Forwards - Get your best forwards quick. Ronaldo will almost certainly be the first player drafted (especially after pledging his short-term future to United) and the first round will probably see the next 3-5 best strikers go with him. Forward is the position where there is probably the highest risk/reward; Concerns over fitness saw Benjani (last year's 8th best striker) fall to the last round, while the brittle Michael Owen was gambled on in the 4th.
Club Breakdown
Click on this table to expand.The draft board reads a lot like the league table, with managers gobbling up the bigger clubs' star men and unwilling to risk picks on players from the smaller clubs. With 71 players drafted, the "Big Four" account for almost 40% of the 180 choices. Manchester United have the best "elite players" with a league-leading 6 in the top 20. Chelsea have the most players overall - a testament to their great depth - and the most in the top 100. Arsenal and Liverpool look fairly similar across the board.
The next best are Spurs and Man City with 14 and 13 players chosen respectively, though Spurs had two taken in the top 20 and City had none. Villa and Everton have 11 players apiece with only Villa's Ashley Young breaking into the top 20. Next are Portsmouth with 10, including an impressive 4 in the top 50. Newcastle and West Ham both had 9 players selected but the majority were in lower rounds - only 1 top 50 pick between them.
Also-rans like Wigan, Fulham, Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Bolton and Sunderland have a few players each. Boro do at least have Stewart Downing, their only top 20 player, while Rovers boast the 12th pick, Roque Santa Cruz.
Life is tough at the bottom. None of the promoted clubs managed a single player chosen (thoigh this may change on Sunday when there will also be 4 reserve players drafted per manager). In my haste to post, I actually gave Zoltan Gera to West Brom until I realised my mistake and gave him back to Fulham. Sorry Baggies. Newly promoted players may of course become attractive free agent options depending on performances - an Ishmael Miller perhaps or the much-doubted Dave Kitson.
Players Not Selected
As I said above, there will be 40 additional picks made for reserve players on Sunday , but I still thought it was interesting to see certain names go undrafted:
Shaun Maloney/Forward/Aston Villa
Grabs the odd goal in Martin O'Neill's forward line rotation
Brett Emerton/Midfielder/Blackburn Rovers
Energetic Aussie played 33 times for Rovers last term - surely worthy of a pick.
Olivier Kapo/Midfielder/Wigan
Scored 5 goals for Birmingham last season. Now reunited with Steve Bruce at Wigan.
Joey Barton/Midfielder/Newcastle United
Having received a second chance (more like fifth) will he change his ways?
Andre Ooijer/Defender/Blackburn Rovers
Getting on at 34, but still plays for Holland. Key part of a decent Blackburn defence.
James Milner/Midfielder/Newcastle United
Once considered one of England's brightest prospects. Should play more under Keegan.
Lucas/Midfielder/Liverpool
Currently at the Olympics, but should continue his steady progress when he returns.
Kanu/Forward/Portsmouth
The lanky Nigerian is prone to the odd shocking miss but he brings entertainment if nothing else.
Andrei Shevchenko/Forward/Chelsea
How are the mighty fallen. Made Pele's FIFA 100 list, now he can't even make the top 180 Premiership players.
Kevin Davies/Forward/Bolton Wanderers
The only regular player to make the top 5 in a scoring category (fouls won) and not be drafted.
Roto FC Final Mock Draft - Rounds 11-18
Round 11 101. Team 1 – John Obi Mikel/Midfielder/Chelsea Round 12 111. Team 10 – Ryan Giggs/Midfielder/Manchester United Round 14 131. Team 10 – Jonas Gutierrez/Midfielder/Newcastle United Round 15 141. Team 1 – Ben Foster/Goalkeeper/Manchester United Round 16 151. Team 10 – Tim Cahill/Midfielder/Everton Round 17 161. Team 1 – Matthew Upson/Defender/West Ham United Round 18 171. Team 10 – Matthew Taylor/Defender/Bolton Wanderers
Here are the final 8 rounds of the 2008 Roto FC Mock Draft (Click here to see Rounds 1-10).
102. Team 2 – Dirk Kuyt/Forward/Liverpool
103. Team 3 – Richard Dunne/Defender/Manchester City
104. Team 4 – Luke Young/Defender/Aston Villa
105. Team 5 – Anderson/Midfielder/Manchester United
106. Team 6 – Didier Zokora/Midfielder/Tottenham Hotspur
107. Team 7 – Fabrice Muamba/Midfielder/Bolton Wanderers
108. Team 8 – Clint Dempsey/Forward/Fulham
109. Team 9 – Sanli Tuncay/Midfielder/Middlesbrough
110. Team 10 – Benni McCarthy/Forward/Blackburn Rovers
112. Team 9 – Philippe Senderos/Defender/Arsenal
113. Team 8 – El Hadji Diouf/Forward/Sunderland
114. Team 7 – Gary Neville/Defender/Manchester United
115. Team 6 – Jimmy Bullard/Midfielder/Fulham
116. Team 5 – Zoltan Gera/Midfielder/Fulham
117. Team 4 – Theo Walcott/Forward/Arsenal
118. Team 3 – Mark Noble/Midfielder/West Ham United
119. Team 2 – John O’Shea/Defender/Manchester United
120. Team 1 – Joseph Yobo/Defender/Everton
122. Team 2 – Sol Campbell/Defender/Portsmouth
123. Team 3 – Gelson Fernandes/Midfielder/Manchester City
124. Team 4 – Craig Bellamy/Forward/West Ham United
125. Team 5 – Amr Zaki/Forward/Wigan Athletic
126. Team 6 – Lucas Neill/Defender/West Ham United
127. Team 7 – Xabi Alonso/Midfielder/Liverpool
128. Team 8 – John Utaka/Midfielder/Portsmouth
129. Team 9 – John Carew/Forward/Aston Villa
130. Team 10 – Niklas Bendtner/Forward/Arsenal
132. Team 9 – Robert Green/Goalkeeper/West Ham United
133. Team 8 – Shay Given/Goalkeeper/Newcastle United
134. Team 7 – George McCartney/Defender/West Ham United
135. Team 6 – Nigel Reo Coker/Midfielder/Aston Villa
136. Team 5 – Abou Diaby/Midfielder/Arsenal
137. Team 4 – Paul Scharner/Defender/Wigan Athletic
138. Team 3 – Jonathan Woodgate/Defender/Tottenham Hotspur
139. Team 2 – Yossi Benayoun/Midfielder/Liverpool
140. Team 1 – Carlo Cudicini/Goalkeeper/Chelsea
142. Team 2 – Emile Heskey/Forward/Wigan Athletic
143. Team 3 – Michael Johnson/Midfielder/Manchester City
144. Team 4 – Philipp Degen/Defender/Liverpool
145. Team 5 – Juliano Belletti/Defender/Chelsea
146. Team 6 – Steve Finnan/Defender/Liverpool
147. Team 7 – Danny Murphy/Midfielder/Fulham
148. Team 8 – Sami Hyypia/Defender/Liverpool
149. Team 9 – Tony Hibbert/Defender/Everton
150. Team 10 – Hermann Hreidarsson/Defender/Portsmouth
152. Team 9 – Scott Parker/Midfielder/West Ham United
153. Team 8 – Nicky Butt/Midfielder/Newcastle United
154. Team 7 – Steve Harper/Goalkeeper/Newcastle United
155. Team 6 – Ali Al-Habsi/Goalkeeper/Bolton Wanderers
156. Team 5 – Christopher Samba/Defender/Blackburn Rovers
157. Team 4 – Steven Pienaar/Midfielder/Everton
158. Team 3 – Anton Ferdinand/Defender/West Ham United
159. Team 2 – Stilian Petrov/Midfielder/Aston Villa
160. Team 1 – Habib Beye/Defender/Newcastle United
162. Team 2 – Mario Melchiot/Defender/Wigan Athletic
163. Team 3 – Valeri Bojinov/Forward/Manchester City
164. Team 4 – Curtis Davies/Defender/Aston Villa
165. Team 5 – Jason Koumas/Midfielder/Wigan Athletic
166. Team 6 – Jeremie Aliadiere/Forward/Middlesbrough
167. Team 7 – Tom Huddlestone/Midfielder/Tottenham Hotspur
168. Team 8 – Shaun Wright-Phillips/Midfielder/Chelsea
169. Team 9 – Wayne Bridge/Defender/Chelsea
170. Team 10 – Benjani Mwaruwari/Forward/Manchester City
172. Team 9 – Charles N’Zogbia/Midfielder/Newcastle United
173. Team 8 – Javier Garrido/Defender/Manchester City
174. Team 7 – Steven Taylor/Defender/Newcastle United
175. Team 6 – Paulo Ferreira/Defender/Chelsea
176. Team 5 – Ross Turnbull/Goalkeeper/Middlesbrough
177. Team 4 – Tomasz Kuszczak/Goalkeeper/Manchester United
178. Team 3 – Craig Gordon/Goalkeeper/Sunderland
179. Team 2 – Paul Robinson/Goalkeeper/Tottenham Hotspur
180. Team 1 – Denilson/Midfielder/Arsenal
So...after all that, here's a breakdown of how each team ended up. You can also read analysis of the Mock Draft here.
Click on this table to expand.Food for thought...
As always, your thoughts are greatly appreciated so get commenting.
See you on Sunday for the real thing!
Roto FC Final Mock Draft - Rounds 1-10
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10
The Roto FC Draft is almost upon us so for your information - but mostly for our enjoyment - Row ZZ has assembled its best and brightest to hash out what we think might happen on Sunday.
This is our final comprehensive mock draft for 2008. You can also check out our earlier in-depth predictions of Round 1, Round 2, and Rounds 3 and 4.
Reminder: The Roto FC Draft snakes from round to round, hence the order of Round 1 will be reversed for Round 2, back to normal in Round 3, and so forth.
Here's how it went in the first 10 rounds...
The Boot Room - The 10 Commandments of Draft Day
1). Thou Shalt Prepare. When round seven comes around and all the names you put in your newspaper fantasy team are gone, you need to know where to turn - at that stage, you still have fifteen picks to make. Don't be the manager who goes to check how his newly-drafted players are doing in pre-season, only to find they've torn a cruciate ligament or been sold to Real Madrid.
2). Thou Shalt Consider How Much Thou (and thy rivals) Canst Separate Fantasy From Reality. Can you stand the thought of cheering a goal scored by one of your real life team's bitter rivals? Can you take the pain of your favourite defender making a howler that costs you points in two universes? How about your fellow managers? That kind of knowledge can be used to stay one step ahead of the competition.
3). Thou Shalt Expect Only To Have Thine Heart Broken By Spurs Defenders, Liverpool Wingers And West Ham Strikers. Don't mess with decades of precedent, folks.
4). Honour Thy Multi-Category Player. Whether it's the full-back who makes a tackle to preserve a clean sheet one minute and curls in an inch-perfect cross the next, the ever-present striker who can make a challenge without conceding a foul or the midfield dynamo who sprints box to box playing one-touch passes all the way, players who can help you in more than one area are a fantasy manager's best friend.
5). Thou Shalt Not Read Too Much Into Pre-Season Form. Line-ups are experimental, limbs are just warming up and the quality of opposition is very mixed. Don't let four weeks of form sway your judgement more than years of competitive performance.
6). Fear Thou Greatly Rafael Benitez And His Rotation Policy. You know the guy you spent that early round pick on is the best in his position at Anfield. The fans know it, the media knows it, the whole damn world knows it... But Rafa's 'saving them' for that big game in May. 2012.
7). Thou Shalt Be Wary Of The Player Without Premier League Experience. Especially the young one.
8). Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbour's Player. So, that sleeper you've been itching to snap up just got filched from under your nose by the guy right before you. Keep your head level, think about who's left in the pool, and if you must covet, do it constructively by checking out their emerging team and picking up some trade bait they'll be glad to get hold of.
9). Remember Always The Draft Day And Keep It Holy. Some things can't be put off, but unless you're getting married, shipwrecked on an island with no wi-fi reception or spending time at Her Majesty's pleasure, try not to leave your team selection to an auto-draft. If you must, at least make sure the league has your personal rankings. Commandment 5 a): Thou Shalt Turn Up On Time.
10). Thou Shalt Not Draft Paul Robinson. It will only end in tears.
By Sandy King
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
New Column at Soccer365 - Lords of the Rings
Fed up of pre-season friendlies? Hate sleeping? The 2008 Olympic Games are for you! In my latest column at soccer365.com, I take a look at the history of the tournament, the stars who made their names at the Games, and who to watch out for in Beijing.
Click here to read my story - Lords of the Rings
The Boot Room: Potential Busts
Having stuck my neck out and picked 10 players who I think will deliver above expectations this season, I'm now going to flip the idea round and name 10 potential 'busts' – highly regarded players who will cost you prime draft picks but I predict will disappoint for various reasons.
This is all a matter of value. Being the twentieth most valuable player in the game is great if you were picked up fiftieth, but it's a disappointment if you were taken first overall. I'm not saying you should avoid these players entirely, just that you should be wary of taking them too early, when the opportunity cost is highest.
NB. As with the 'sleepers' column, I'm going to avoid repeating what I wrote about players who have moved clubs in my transfer review last week.
Goalkeepers
David James, Portsmouth – Official Draft Rank 6, GK rank 1
Not that I think James will have a terrible year entirely, but from being the sixth best player in the game, the only way for him is down. Pompey's strength in defence came from stability last season, as their first choice back 4 played an average of 83% of all Premiership minutes, but with Glenn Johnson the only member of the quartet under 30, I don't see that repeating itself. James (himself 38) saw his consecutive games streak snapped at 164 with a calf strain late in the season, proving that he too is not invulnerable to the ageing process. He will also miss the strong interventions of Sulley Muntari in midfield.
Joe Hart, Manchester City – ODR 148, GK rank 9
Manchester City's keeper enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2007-08, climbing above Kasper Schmeichel and Andreas Isaakson to take the number one spot at Eastlands, then finishing in goal for England against Trinidad. He ended the year ranked ninth in the fantasy keeper list, and some may be tempted to bump him even higher on their draft boards. I'm sceptical, however.
I don't trust a data set of only 25 top flight games as a sample size. I'm always wary of young keepers, especially those prematurely touted as England's future number one (from Carson and Kirkland to Weaver and Wright, all have seen a painful comedown at some stage). Finally, I think City will find it hard to juggle domestic and European competition this season, and leave Hart under pressure.
Defenders
Martin Laursen, Aston Villa – ODR 19, DEF rank 4
Laursen's stock was inflated by six goals last season, second only to Joleon Lescott from defence. This all but doubled the previous tally from his entire twelve year professional career. There's no way that happens again. Laursen should inherit the captains armband from a departing or disciplined Gareth Barry, but will have to be at the height of his powers to marshall a Villa defence that has lost one full back (Olof Mellberg) to Juventus and the other (Wilfred Bouma) to a horrible ankle injury – over a domestic and UEFA Cup campaign. Do not forget either that this was the first season in his career in which the Dane was able to dodge injury himself.
Joleon Lescott, Everton – ODR 33, DEF rank 9
I expect another solid year from Everton's formidable defender, but I think he'll fall short of the very high fantasy value he earned last year, and could be overdrafted as a result. Last season Lescott started at left back more often than centre back, and that enabled him to make more tackles. This season I think David Moyes will aim to use Leighton Baines on the left hand side of his defence, if the former Wigan man can stay healthy, allowing Lescott to cover the central position and the versatile Phil Jagielka to move back into midfield, filling the gap left by the departing Lee Carsley.
Even if this is not the case, much of Lescott's value last term was tied up in his almost 100% time on the pitch, and his eight goals, which came from only ten attempts on target – an amazing ratio which must surely regress.
Gary Neville, Manchester United – ODR 64, DEF rank 21
Managers who spend a high pick on 'Red Devil' Neville will be picking the memory of what he was from 1998-2006, when he was a rock for club and country. He's now 33, and has managed only 9 minutes of competitive action in nearly 18 months. He'll also have to win back his place from Wes Brown.
Midfielders
Steed Malbranque, Sunderland – ODR 16, MID rank 5
Malbranque enjoyed a career year with Spurs last season, finishing high in the fans' player of the year vote – and promptly moved on to Sunderland, who made an offer too good for the London club to refuse. This move came too late for mention of Steed in the transfers column, so I'll say here what I would otherwise have done there.
Malbranque was used on the left side of midfield at Tottenham, but dropped deep and inside when the lillywhites were defending, and made a huge number of tackles which give him most of his fantasy value. With Andy Reid covering the left flank for Sunderland, I think Malbranque plays as the central link between midfield and attack, and his tackle count will decrease as a result. He will not have the same talent ahead of him as Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane either, and I think this too will hurt his value.
Gareth Barry, Aston Villa – ODR 26, MID rank 9
There have just been too many bitter words and too much protracted wrangling involving Barry this summer for me not to have some concern about his on-field performance in the coming year. I'm not suggesting he disappears without trace – Fabio Capello's apparently preferred holding midfield option has far too much class to do that – but I could see a bit of a downturn in output.
Barry also does not see much of the ball for a supposedly dominant central midfielder, believe it or not. Cesc Fabregas had the ball on an average of around 76 occasions a game last season, Frank Lampard about 65, Steven Gerrard about 56 – Barry only around 40 times per 90 minutes. That puts more pressure on his creativity when he does get possession.
Forwards
Emmanuel Adebayor, Arsenal – ODR 3, FW rank 2
Sometimes you have to stick your neck out. Adebayor had a brilliant last season in fantasy terms; his 24 goals augmented by a fine passing game and work rate which saw him at the heart of much of Arsenal's attacking play, and not just poaching goals. There's no reason to think any of that will disappear.
However, that goal total concerns me. Since he joined Arsenal in January 2006, Adebayor's shooting accuracy has been very steady around 50%. In those first two seasons, his scoring rate (goals per shot) was around 16%, a bit under what you'd expect from a striker with 50% accuracy. However, last season – without being supported by a greater on-target percentage, it rocketed over 23%, and I don't believe it will stay so high. Combine this with a decline in his very large number of chances, which I think will come as Arsene Wenger's other attacking options mature, and I see Adebayor dropping back into the top scorer pack on around 16 goals. Still a nice return, but not so good on a third overall pick.
Benjani Mwaruwari, Manchester City – ODR 20, FW rank 8
Benjani netted 15 times last season, between spells at Fratton Park and Eastlands, but I can't see him repeating the trick. As I discussed when talking about draft strategy [***LINK***], the top scorers list is enormously changeable year-on-year, and I don't expect to see the Zimbabwean featuring prominently again come next May.
He turns 30 before the start of the season, and all but three of his goals last year came before his January move North. Finally, he sits in the bottom 20% of forwards for touches per minute, which means that when the goals aren't flowing, there's little value to be had here.
Didier Drogba, Chelsea – ODR 278, FW rank 56
It seems odd for a player ranked as low as this last season to be a bust candidate, but I am sure Drogba will be over-drafted. Indeed, the 36 year-old Ivorian appeared in the second round of the Row ZZ mock draft last week. The optimistic manager remembers Drogba's 33 goal season in 2006-07, and writes off last year as a blip brought about by injury and the disruption of an African Cup campaign mid-season. I think it was 06-07 that was the oddity.
Of those 33 goals, only 20 came in the league - Drogba has only 40 goals in 109 Premier League appearances. The only other season ever in which he broke the seventeen goal barrier (in all competitions, mind!) came in 2003-04 with Marseille. He is now the wrong side of 30 years old, which makes me think those knocks last season may not have been coincidence, and is already carrying an injury that will rule him out of the start of the season. His rate of goals per shot has never broken a pedestrian 17% in English football – that 20 goal tally was the product of 128 attempts: by way of comparison, Ronaldo's 31 last season came from 131.
All of this is before you consider the slight possibility that he may not remain in the league beyond the close of the transfer window. I implore you – let someone else be the manager who spends a high pick on Drogba.
By Sandy King
Clip of the day: Rangers dumped out of Europe
Lithuanian side FBK Kaunas have knocked Scottish giants Rangers out of the Champions League (full match report here).
The writing was on the wall when Rangers lost 4-0 to Liverpool on Saturday. After the game, Rangers manager Walter Smith said, "We have to get up and playing - there is no running away from that - and we must do it very quickly."
It didn't happen. The loss means that Rangers will drop out of European competition completely this season, without even the UEFA Cup as consolation. Now, with last year's European success a distant memory, Rangers stand to lose a potential £12m in revenue.
Perhaps this setback will help The Gers focus on their domestic challenge; Celtic have taken the last three SPL titles. They cannot afford to fall further behind their Old Firm rivals.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Roto FC Mock Draft - Rounds 3-4
The first two rounds are in the books so it's time to get stuck into the meat of the Roto FC Draft.
Picking your first two players isn't overly taxing - Ronaldo, Fabregas or Torres - it's hard to go wrong with the best of the best. It's when the rounds get deeper that your squad really begins to take shape and the draft-day winners and losers are made.
Here's a look at who's gone already:
Round 1
1 - Cristiano Ronaldo
2 - Steven Gerrard
3 - Cesc Fabregas
4 - Fernando Torres
5 - Emmanuel Adebayor
6 - Carlos Tevez
7 - Dimitar Berbatov
8 - Petr Cech
9 - David James
10 - Edwin van der Sar
Click here to see Round 1 in full.
Round 2
11 - Gael Clichy
12 - Ashley Young
13 - Frank Lampard
14 - Patrice Evra
15 - Nemanja Vidic
16 - Jose Bosingwa
17 - David Bentley
18 - Robbie Keane
19 - Didier Drogba
20 - Rio Ferdinand
Click here to see Round 2 in full.
Reminder: The Roto FC Draft snakes from round to round, hence the order of Round 1 will be reversed for Round 2, back to normal in Round 3, and so forth.
Round 3
Pick 21 - Manager 1
Niko Kranjcar
Midfielder/Portsmouth
The partnership between Kranjcar and Lassana Diarra will be key to Pompey's success this season.
Last season's ranking - 10
Pick 22 - Manager 2
Bacary Sagna
Defender/Arsenal
After an excellent first season at the Emirates, look for more of the same from the French right back.
Last season's ranking - 28
Pick 23 - Manager 3
Stewart Downing
Midfielder/Middlesbrough
I expect progress from Boro under Southgate and Downing is the fulcrum of their attack. At 24 years old, the local-born winger is entering the prime of his career.
Last season's ranking - 12
Pick 24 - Manager 4
William Gallas
Defender/Arsenal
Suffers from the occasional mental breakdown, but the Arsenal captain is a quality defender and his goalscoring is a bonus.
Last season's ranking - 38
Pick 25 - Manager 5
Ashley Cole
Defender/Chelsea
His attacking play has deteriorated since joining Chelsea, but his defending has improved and he will play a vital role in Scolari's watertight defence.
Last season's ranking - 32
Pick 26 - Manager 6
Elano
Midfielder/Manchester City
The versatile Brazilian made City tick last year and his productivity (8 goals and 44 attempts created) should improve in his second season.
Last season's ranking - 31
Pick 27 - Manager 7
Deco
Midfielder/Chelsea
There's no doubting his ability, but how will he fit into Scolari's plans? Production tailed off towards the end at Barca.
Last season's ranking - N/A
Pick 28 - Manager 8
Wayne Rooney
Forward/Manchester United
If he falls this far he'll be a steal. Currently suffering from a virus but should only miss the first two games.
Last season's ranking - 52
Pick 29 - Manager 9
Roque Santa Cruz
Forward/Blackburn Rovers
If Morten Gamst Pederson can redicover his best form and make up for the loss of Bentley, Santa Cruz won't fall off the face of the earth like Benni McCarthy did in his second season at Ewood Park.
Last season's ranking - 8
Pick 30 - Manager 10
Nicolas Anelka
Forward/Chelsea
What he lacks in personality, "Le Sulk" makes up for in finishing ability. Scored 4 goals against AC Milan in pre-season.
Last season's ranking - 25
Round 4
Pick 31 - Manager 10
Michael Carrick
Midfielder/Manchester United
After taking a selfish forward with their last pick, Manager 10 goes in the opposite direction with the creative Carrick. Not the toughest, Carrick still managed the fifth best net tackles (62) in the league last season.
Last season's ranking - 29
Pick 32 - Manager 9
Glen Johnson
Defender/Portsmouth
It's hard to believe Johnson is still only 23. After his disappointing time at Chelsea he has once again established himself as an England contender.
Last season's ranking - 36
Pick 33 - Manager 8
Jamie Carragher
Defender/Liverpool
With Daniel Agger back, Liverpool and Carragher should keep more clean sheets this season.
Last season's ranking - 42
Pick 34 - Manager 7
Tim Howard
Goalkeeper/Everton
Has Flourished since making the journey along the M62 to Goddison Park. Benefits from Everton's defensive style and registered 14 clean sheets last term.
Last season's ranking - 51
Pick 35 - Manager 6
Gabriel Abgonlahor
Forward/Aston Villa
Even if he doesn't match last season's goalscoring (11) he is still maturing and should compensate by improving his attempt creation and net tackling tallies.
Last season's ranking - 23
Pick 36 - Manager 5
Mikel Arteta
Midfielder/Everton
Struggled with a stomach injury during last season and only featured in 28 games, the third fewest among the top 40 overall performers. Fitness permitting, picking him up in the third round could be daylight robbery.
Last season's ranking - 37
Pick 37 - Manager 4
Michael Owen
Forward/Newcastle United
With Owen's injury history this could be a bit of a gamble, but since Manager 4 already has Torres in the bag they feel confident enough to go with Owen's upside.
Last season's ranking - 35
Pick 38 - Manager 3
Kolo Toure
Defender/Arsenal
Away at the African Nations last winter so should see his value increase with a full season for the Gooners.
Last season's ranking - 40
Pick 39 - Manager 2
Salomon Kalou
Forward/Chelsea
Manager 2 covers their bases and drafts the rapidly improving Kalou, thus softening the blow if Drogba fails to perform or moves before the end of the transfer window.
Last season's ranking - 44
Pick 40 - Manager 1
Gareth Barry
Midfielder/Aston Villa
Who knows where he'll end up, but Barry should be a consistent performer for any team. Rarely injured, Barry provides solid if unspectacular stats in every category.
Last season's ranking - 26
What do you think of our Round 3 and 4 choices? Comment and let us know!
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