Filed under: Arsenal, EPL Football, feelgood fantasy | Tags: Arsenal, EPL Football, feelgood fantasy
We visit the Emirates Stadium this week with our list, as five Arsenal players top the choices for Week 4. And with L’Arsenal playing pretty sharp football, it’s likely they’ll have their way against Paul Ince’s not-so-sharp Blackburn side.
We begin at the back with the Gunners keeper, Manuel Almunia. Two clean-sheets so far in the season and only one goal conceded in 3 starts. At the centerhalf positions, Emmerson Boyce of Wigan & Steven Taylor of Newcastle are good “unknown” choices if you want to save up your fantasy budget money for the big boys up front. Bacary Sagna and Joleon Lescott are the chosen fullbacks.
At midfield, the two young Arsenal players – Theo Walcott & Denilson – both showed their great promise as potential future players of the North London side. Walcott’s man-of-the-match performance for England on Saturday makes him a great choice for Saturday. Joe Cole’s two-goal performance also gets him up there, while Mikel Arteta will look to lead his team against newly promoted, Stoke City on Sunday.
Emmanuel Adebayor is yet to put his name on the score-sheet, but there’s a chance he’ll be on it against Blackburn. And with Walcott’s growing presence in the pitch, things might get a little bit easier for the big man from Tongo. Carlos Tevez is the other striker up front, as he looks to beat Liverpool once again.
Filed under: Chelsea, EPL Football, Michael Essien | Tags: Chelsea, EPL Football, Michael Essien
Essien will now miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in Ghana’s loss to Libya on Sunday. Chelsea reports that Essien has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will have to go under the knife as soon as the swelling goes away. Essien will miss the United clash on September 21st.
Chelsea’s injury woes continue to haunt Scolari’s early start to the season. Mikel & Ballack are still sidelined, while Makélélé is no longer available to buy Chelsea some time. Scolari will need to re-arrange his squad once more for the Manchester City match on Saturday. Juliano Belletti could be set to make another appearance in a central defensive midfield role.
Frustration mounts for Scolari, as the promise of a deep roster has become drained. And at such an early time into the campaign, the news of the fallen Ghanaian star is disheartening. It was meant to be a fresh and motivating season, as many, including Scolari, were anticipating a healthy availability of key players. But it’s Groundhog Day at the Chelsea grounds and Essien, Drogba and Mikel are all out.
Filed under: Chelsea, EPL Football, Frank Lampard | Tags: Chelsea, EPL Football, Frank Lampard
It took Chelsea’s management almost the whole Summer to negotiate a new contract deal with Frank Lampard. But was there more than just the new £150,000/week deal that made him decide to stay? When you look at Frank’s résumé for his club, one finds that he’s scored 110 goals in 369 appearances. He is seventh in Chelsea’s all-time top scorers list. He is one of England’s finest midfielder’s and of course, he is English.
This is taken from Times Online (straight from the volt):
“I think it helped coming back, training at Chelsea, seeing my team-mates, seeing the manager, feeling comfortable among the lads,” Lampard said. “The Man United game and what they did there was a big thing. I sat and watched that game with my family and when they removed their shirts [dedicating the victory to his mother] it was a very emotional moment. I will never forget it. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads and what they did. John [Terry] as a captain creates that kind of spirit and the others follow because they are all great lads.
“When you go to your mum’s funeral, you don’t expect all the players to go there; you might expect a representative from the club. I had all the lads there. And that’s something that goes beyond football and shows you what real friendships are.”
Times Online – “Frank Lampard commits future to Chelsea” (Aug. 14/08)
