Small Rocks Official Draft Thread Season 04/05

[Darr]

Analysis Part IV

Nocturnal United managed by J. Darr


Strikers:
Kluivert -- Newcastle
van Nistelrooy -- Man. United





Hey I'm just glad there not complaining already about being on the same team... ;)

[Hal]

Analysis Part One

Aviators managed by Hal Jones
Goalkeepers:
Jaaskelainen -- Bolton (Subject to Medical)
Van der Sar -- Fulham

Defenders:
Boyce -- Crystal Palace
Carvalho -- Chelsea
Powell -- Crystal Palace
Samuel -- Aston Villa
Southgate -- Middlesbrough

Midfielders:
Hendrie -- Aston Villa
Lazaridis -- Birmingham
Ljungberg -- Arsenal
Malbranque -- Fulham
Rommedahl -- Charlton

Strikers:
Henry -- Arsenal
Nemeth -- Middlesbrough
Phillips -- Southampton

Solid goalie choice with strong back up. Probably starting 2 or 3 defenders, Southgate is a solid proven points scorer, samuel surprised late last season. New Chelsea signing should be strong.

Midfield, Steed is always a good choice, Ljunberg may have to watch injuries and Rommedahl is unproven in the premiership. Could be valuable assist getter, if Charlton can score. Hendrie is likely to be a sub for injured/suspended players.

Henry is everyone's number one choice -- unless you're in the other division -- Nemeth while a decent scorer last time out may struggle to get int the first XI. Phillips can score and will, but sharing the load with Beattie makes him less a points scorer than when with Sunderland.

Overall: Certainly a contender, especially with Henry as captain.

Self assessment.

Couldn't stay with Viduka and his suspension for first two weeks and watch his value drop. Plus, Viduka will likely miss games due to WCQ for Australia.

Biggest fear is Henry, who is nursing a sore achilles. The first half of the Community Shield match was his first action this preseason. Wenger may try to bring Henry on slowly.

Malbranque has a groin injury with a likely return 25 Aug. I'll risk having his salary invested on the bench for a couple of weeks, but if he doesn't return on time and stay healthy, Malbranque's tenure with the Aviators could be tenuous.

Ljungberg has a reported rib injury with a return date of the season opener. Sure hope he plays, but as well as the Arsenal youngsters played in the Community Shield match, Wenger may give Ljungberg a little more time to heal.

Nemeth, I expect to start in the absence of the suspended Viduka for the first two weeks. I'm calling that his trial period with the Aviators.

Overall assessment: Fairly solid team, if everyone were healthy. Unfortunately, the Crystal Palace defenders may be subbed in with negative scores the first two weeks. I may have to shut automatic substitutions off? We can, can't we?

Will I have the patience to wait until this team is fit? I'm just glad that no internal competitions are set for the first week.

[Hal]

Analysis Part Two

London St. Germain 3 managed by Jonathan Ingram
Goalkeepers:
Blayney -- Southampton
Niemi -- Southampton

Defenders:
Ferreira -- Chelsea
Fortune -- Charlton
Hudson -- Crystal Palace
Purse -- West Brom
Shackwell -- Norwich

Midfielders:
Butt -- Newcastle
Edu -- Arsenal
Kewell -- Liverpool
Robben -- Chelsea
Vieira -- Arsenal

Strikers:
Bellamy -- Newcastle
Drogba -- Chelsea
Radzinski -- Fulham

Southampton seem to concede few goals, so should be ok there. But if they get off to a poor start I see transfer moves here. Mediocre at goalie.

A weak defense with no stand out player. Chepa adequate point scorers, but no real threat of getting extra points for goals, clean sheets yes, but extra goals from defenders can boost scores a lot. Ferreira should be the top point scorer if he lives up to his reputation.

A very weak midfield, Butt is more a defensive midfield player and won't provide too many assists, Vieira may be in Spain, Edu may not even start. Kewell and Robben should both provide assists and some goals. Midfield is too thin, though.

Forwards, mediocre, Bellamy is very much injury prone, Drogba unproven and may well be in the rotation scheme notp laying every game. Radzinkski could be a solid scorer if Fulham can find the net.

Overall: The weakest team, likely to finish 8th.

Disagree with calling this forward collection mediocre. Compare that to other top forwards: Van Nistelrooy out till 4 Sep, Henry nursing an achilles, Saha out till 8/30, Shearer having competition of Kluivert. I've heard Robson likes Bellamy's pace in the squad, so I see Kluivert trying to get time from Shearer, Keane (Tot) out till 9/25. All these injuries mean more opportunities for the second tier of forwards and I'd say Jon's qualifies.

His worries are in midfield - Vieria may leave for Real Madrid and if he stays, he's nursing a thigh problem. Kewell has had a career threatening weak ankle according to the Australian WC manager when talking about being selective on calling Harry in for WCQ.

I like Robben, but how soon will he become first choice? Is he competing against Parker or Duff or Cole or whom? Certainly not Lampard.

Concur that the Gk and defender corps is weak, with the exception of Ferreira. But how soon will he be the first choice? Is Wayne Bridge relegated to the bench?

[Hal]

Analysis Part III

Kopite Juniors managed by Chloe Adams
Goalkeepers:
Green -- Norwich
Howard -- Man. United

Defenders:
Higginbotham -- Southampton
Hyypia -- Liverpool
Johnson -- Chelsea
Kishishev -- Charlton
Moore - West Brom

Midfielders:
Hitzlsperger -- Aston Villa
Holland -- Charlton
Okocha -- Bolton
Pires -- Arsenal
Watson -- Everton

Strikers:
Anelka -- Man. City
Defoe -- Tottenham
Stead -- Blackburn

Solid goalie in Howard, for a team that doesn't lose a lot. Covered by a cheap starter if necessary.

Defense anchored by Hyypia -- highest scoring defender last season -- and the reds won't be conceding many this season either. The other four defenders are solid points scorers, Johnson gets assists too. They will rotate off the bench depending on the opposition.

Midfield anchored by Pires, top midfield point getter last season (tied with Lampard). Likely to be this team's captain. Okocha's point totla was dimished last year by his month in Africa. He is here for the full season this time around. The other three midfielders are relatively cheap proven point scorers.

Forwards: Anelka is a proven points scorer in this league and both Defoe and Stead shone at the tail end of last season. probably my weakest area and will be looking to upgrade as forwards emerge after the season begins.

Overall: Mid to high table, contender if Pires and any one forward shines.

Biggest fear is Pires' fitness. Hasn't played much preseason and was held out of the community shield with a thigh problem. Hopefully, he'll be ready for the season opener.

Solid defense. OK mid without Pires, Solid mid with a typically Pires performance.
Striker corps - with Keane's injury, Defoe may see more action so he may surprise. Anelka and Stead should both be their team's leading scorer.

[Hal]

Analysis Part IV

Nocturnal United managed by J. Darr
Goalkeepers:
Berthelin -- Crystal Palace
Given -- Newcastle

Defenders:
Bocanegra -- Fulham
Briggs -- Norwich
Brennan -- Norwich
Helveg -- Norwich
Terry -- Chelsea

Midfielders:
Barry -- Aston Villa
Jensen -- Fulham
Keane -- Man. United
Ronaldo -- Man. United
Thompson -- Blackburn

Strikers:
Cisse -- Liverpool
Kluivert -- Newcastle
van Nistelrooy -- Man. United

Solid goalie in Given. Any injuries or suspensions will see a visit to the TL.

John Terry anchors the defenders. Let's hope those Norwich defenders stay on the bench :)

On paper a strong midfield, but Keane's propensity for cards, Ronaldo's Olympic trip, and Thompson's injury prone-ness make me a little nervous. Jensen and Barry are good buys but may struggle to fill the void left by non-starting players.

Forwards: Cisse is a star, no doubt about that, can he do it in the Premiership? As a Liverpool fan I sure hope so. We'll take a wait and see on that one. RVN is out for a while and who knows how quick he'll recover. Let's see how long you can risk him on the bench with your Norwich defenders starting, ouch!

Kluivert will be pushed by shearer and Bellamy for playing time. Interesting choice, could back fire as Kluivert gets used to the premiership.

Overall: Mid to low table, depending on all 3 forwards.

Striker corps is very suspect to start the season. Once Ruud returns, est 9/4, and Kluivert earns some regular minutes, and Cisse develops a partnership with Owen, this could be a great strikeforce. Jason will need patience, and if Kluivert doesn't impress quickly, it may be wise to drop him before his value drops too much.

I like the midfield. Jason is again showing patience as Ronaldo may not play for a month; first due to the Olympics, then for Portugal's early Sep WCQ. Even Sir Alex has said, "Do I bring him back for one game after the Olympics the back to WCQ or do I let Ronaldo have a week to rest up?" or words to that effect.

If Jason has released Terry, then he has decided he needs to beef up his defense. Picking up Bocanegra was a good start.

[Hal]

DC Chickenhawks managed by J. Jones
Goalkeepers:
Gallacher -- Norwich
Kiely -- Charlton

Defenders:
De Zeeuw -- Portsmouth
Dodd -- Southampton
Distin -- Man. City
Scimeca -- West Brom
Symons -- Crystal Palace

Midfielders:
Gilberto -- Arsenal
Izzet -- Birmingham
Robert -- Newcastle
Scholes -- Man. United
Sibierski -- Man. City

Strikers:
Forssell -- Birmingham
Kanu -- West Brom
Shearer -- Newcastle

Back to defend the title I think they may have a shot.

Solid goalie in Kiely, will need to go to the transfer list if he goes down.

Defenders are this teams weak spot. No real point getter, just moderate point getters. Could be an achilles heel.

Midfield was how he won the title last season and this season could prove the same. All 5 players are solid point scorers and should be successful this season too.

Forwards: Forsell and Shearer are certainly top choices up front. Kanu is a risk and likely to be sold early if he doesn't produce quickly.

Overall: A title contender if the defenders can hold the goals down.

Jay's team is solid front to back. It's nice his top stars, Shearer and Scholes, have also retired from the national team commitments. Kanu is a flyer, but I'm sure Jay will find a quick replacement if Kanu doesn't impress with his new team.

I look at this team as the favorite for the initial draft.

[Hal]

WinningConnection managed by Jonathan Chase
Goalkeepers:
Kuszczak -- West Brom
Poole -- Bolton

Defenders:
Bridge -- Chelsea
Charlton -- Norwich
Cooper -- Middlesbrough
Hreidarsson -- Charlton
Robinson -- West Brom

Midfielders:
Juninho -- Middlesbrough
Lampard -- Chelsea
Mendieta -- Middlesbrough
Nolan -- Bolton
Wright-Phillips -- Man. City

Strikers:
Davies -- Bolton
Saha -- Man. United
Smith -- Man. United

Very weak goalie choices backed up by a relatively weak set of defenders. Bridge is solid, the other choices are low scorers.

A strong midfield, though Juhninho's injury prone and may be going to Celtic. But a strong group nontheless. Lampard should repeat last season's efforts.

A weak front 3 in my opinion. Once RVN comes back one of the Man U players will be on the bench.

Overall: Low table, fighting it out for 6th or 7th.

With Saha's and Van Nistelrooy's injuries, and Smith's pre-season scoring, I expect Smith will be the star of this corps. I like Davies for Bolton, and once Saha returns with Ruud, then I'd consider dropping Smith and cashing in on the likely early season valuation increase.

Solid midfield.

Overall, this initial roster should be a lower half of the table team, but with tweaking could become competitive.

Not a bad job done by DutchFootballRulez (Chris) as Jonathan's proxy picker, especially under the presure placed on him to pick, pick, pick. lol

[Hal]

1800-France.com managed by Jacques Santini
Goalkeepers:
Lehmann -- Arsenal
Sorensen -- Aston Villa

Defenders:
Chambers J -- West Brom
Hierro -- Bolton
Laursen -- Aston Villa
Popovic -- Crystal Palace
Stefanovic -- Portsmouth

Midfielders:
Campo -- Bolton
Diop -- Fulham
Gerrard -- Liverpool
Gravesen -- Everton
Pennant -- Arsenal

Strikers:
Hasselbaink -- Middlesbrough
Reyes -- Arsenal
Yakubu -- Portsmouth


Strong goalie choices. Lehmann could be the top scoring golaie this season. Moderate defenders, Hierro's season will be one to watch. Laursen will get points too. Stefanovic will steal good cheap points.

Midfield is a little weak, Gerrard maybe a great player but he doesn't score a lot. Maybe plenty of assists for him, but not goals. Pennant is unlikely to start and Diop may struggle getting used to the premiership. Lots of risks there.

Fowards, JFH should do well at Boro, Reyes may well break out this season and if Yakubu repeats last year's success, then all is good. I would be nervous about Portmouth and Boro being my main source of goals every weekend though.

Overall: Mid-table, maybe lower if midfield underperforms

Michel had an interesting draft strategy to save salary cap to be able to make the expensive early season adjustment. He's a wily one, and knows the players, in my opinion, better than the rest of us. Just stay active the entire year, Michel -- Deal! LOL

I think he drafted the best strike force. I expect Reyes, especially after his Community Shield performance and the Arsenal walking wounded, to start. Yakuba should be his team's top scorer again, and JFH, especially until Viduka returns, will be Middlesbrough's go to guy. (I'm just hoping he sets up Nemeth for a few.) Plus JFH may challenge for the role of taking free kicks.

The midfield is too DM oriented for me, and with Gerrard's thigh problem (est back 8/14), I expect Michel to strengthen it before the season opener, despite his protestations that his board is happy for now.

Great goalkeeping choices and 3 solid defenders.

Contrary to Mark, I rate this team as a top half of the table team, moving to challenge for the top with some midfield upgrades.

[Hal]

RamRod FC managed by Justin Govo
Goalkeepers:
Murphy -- West Brom
Schwarzer -- Middlesbrough

Defenders:
Clement -- West Brom
Mellberg -- Aston Villa
Reiziger -- Middlesbrough
Upson -- Birmingham
Volz -- Fulham

Midfielders:
Berger -- Portsmouth
Borrowdale -- Crystal Palace
Giggs -- Man. United
Koumas -- West Brom
Zenden -- Middlesbrough

Strikers:
Beattie -- Southhampton
Kezman -- Chelsea
Owen -- Liverpool


Good Boro goalie, will need back up elsewhere if he goes down.

Mellberg should be a constant source of points and Upson can do the same for Brum. I expect the rest to be on the bench to cover. Moderate to good back two.

Giggs leads the midfield and injury free should see him get a ton of points. Less points but equally injury prone is Patrik Berger. I wanted Zenden so that tells you he is points getter and will prove to be a solid pick up. Koumas misses the first 4 matches IIRC, so hopefully he'll be worth it later.

Beattie, Kezman, Owen, wow! Not bad front three at all. beattie might lose some production with Phillips and Owen needs to stay helathy. Kezman suspension has been lifted. Excellent front 3.

Overall: A little thin in midfield, strong front 3, mid-high table

Great news in that Kezman's ban was overturned. This strike force should challenge Michel's as the best of the draft.

Berger is reported to be starting the season with a dead leg, with an estimated return of 8/16 so he may not play in the opener.

Reiziger's shoulder knock has him listed as doubtful for the season pener.

Giggs early production may suffer from the lack of first choice teammates due to injuries and suspension and Olympics, plus they start at Chelsea.

Predict a slow start, but this drafted team should compete for the table championship.

[Darr]

-Nocturnal Draft Strategy

Honestly I took Kluivert because of what he MIGHT be able to acomplish... There are quite a few lower valued strikers I had/have my eye on but none of them have the ceiling of production PK can achive... From what I've heard, seen, and read Newcastle plans on pairing Kluivert and Shearer up top, and putting Bellamy out wide... But if he does crash and burn the hook will be quick...

Ruud I hope/think will only miss the first 3 matches give or take, and he looked like he was in good form during EURO... Plus the added value that I was picking 4th, would I of taken him if I was top 2? Probably not, I had Henry and Pires rated higher then him, and the only other option in my mind was Lampard... When the season ends I'll for sure be looking at point totals to see If I mis-judged...

My main goal during the draft was Cisse... The guy is just an animal, I've been a fan of his since pre WC-Korea... Knowing Kop would prob have him on his shortlist as well being where he is, I was prepared to take him in the first round... But thankfully Kop drafted before me and went after a tried and tue player, I knew I had a good chance of grabbing him on the turn back up before Kop picked again...

In Midfield I tried to buy undervalued talent that had a good chance to produce, mainly because of my overvalued forward line... I have always liked and been a fan of Jensen, even at Charlton the guy just scores points... Thompson always puts up points when he's healthy, I hear the entire Rovers offense will be going through him this season as he moves to the center... A risk I feel is worth it... Hal took another guy I had my eye on that I think is undervalued, Rommedahl is a burner and should thrive in the premiership...

On defense I chose to go after Terry, before figuring my following choices... Because of his value I had to fill my defense with low valued bench warmers. His selection handicapped my preferences and in the end I chose to drop him to put more bodies out there... Mills is a standard defender that likes to go forward... Boca did nice his first season in EPL, and Matteo is just so I can say I have a Leeds player on my team... :P hehe But really he's filler until I can see some results for my super secret watch list...

[DoctorJones24]

Interesting analysis so far. In comparing the 8 likely starting lineups, I came to the conclusion that with 2 less squads, we all have much deeper teams, AND the free agent pool is deeper so that we all have a nice safety net if things go bad early. I mean, there are legit STARS in the pool still (Murphy, Duff, etc.). So it's going to be interesting to see who gets hits the hardest with all these rumored last minute transfers, injuries, position battles, and international committments.

And the good news is that everyone drafted pretty well--I don't think anyone killed themselves yet (the way one guy did in my baseball league this year). I see this as a wide-open race to start the season.

[1800-WorldCup]

<snip>

I'm just glad that no internal competitions are set for the first week.


Oh but they are...... announcement to come shortly.

;)

[Hal]

Oh but they are...... announcement to come shortly.

;)

Michel,

You and Mark are so predictable. I figured my comment would spur one of you into action!!! LOL

When you set up the competition, could you set up a mirror competition for the Very Small Rocks Division? Or is your competition going to be one with all the teams from both divisions?

[kopiteinkc]

Oh but they are...... announcement to come shortly.

;)

Hey I am in charge of those :)

I plan to let the first weeks scores determine seedings and then run a competition involving all 16 teams in four groups. Everyone play twice, and top two advance to the next round.

[1800-WorldCup]

Hey I am in charge of those :)

I plan to let the first weeks scores determine seedings and then run a competition involving all 16 teams in four groups. Everyone play twice, and top two advance to the next round.

More than one competition can be run concurrently. Someone might fall out of one cup and get a good run in the other.

The FA Cup and the League Cups run alongside each other and alongside the UEFA Cup and Champions League.

Champions League stumblers even getting a chance to throw their might in the UEFA Cup.

;)

[1800-WorldCup]

Michel,

You and Mark are so predictable. I figured my comment would spur one of you into action!!! LOL

When you set up the competition, could you set up a mirror competition for the Very Small Rocks Division? Or is your competition going to be one with all the teams from both divisions?

Hehe.....

I was up late last night trying to figure out something interesting and competitive..... so that most managers get to have more than a round robin go at it.....

It's going to be long-winded..... but it looks good on paper.

[1800-WorldCup]

============
PRESS RELEASE
============

With a large interest shown from media around the world, the draw for the Rock Hard Championship Challenge Cup went smoothly.

Managers of the teams involved were making notes faster than the journalists sent to cover the event and, as yet, no-one has been able to call a Group of Death or predict four favourites for the semi-finals..... let alone put a provisional name on the prestigious trophy.

One thing is certain, the action hots up from Day 1 and will last until the very last game -- in May, 2005.

It's a tricky looking draw, if ever we've seen one, and something that the suits at FIFA would have been proud of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Full Draw:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129723
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Hal]

Aviators make an early season SHOCK move.
After consulting with our medical staff, the board felt Ljungberg's sore ribs were too much of a liability and too likely for reinjuring to command a 9 M salary.
The crack Aviators scouting staff noticed the Liverpool defender Finnan playing in the midfield. For fantasy soccer players, you still get the clean sheet points as well as increased chances at getting assists and goals when you have a defender on your team who the real life manager plays in midfield.

Accordingly, Aviators are pleased to announce the following player moves:

OUT:
Arsenal Mid Ljungberg 9.0
Crystal Palace Def Boyce 3.0

IN:
Southhampton Mid Fernandes 5.5
Liverpool Def Finnan 6.5

In the bank: 0.0

[Hal]

Updated Aviators Roster:

Pos. Name Team**
F Henry** Arsenal**
F Nemeth** Middlesbrough**
F Phillips Southampton**
M Rommedahl Charlton**
M Malbranque** Fulham**
M Fernandes** Southampton**
M Lazaridis** Birmingham**
M Hendrie** Aston Villa**
D Southgate** Middlesbrough**
D Carvalho Chelsea**
D Samuel** Aston Villa**
D Finnan** Liverpool**
D Powell** Crystal Palace
GK Van der Sar** Fulham**
GK Jaaskelainen** Bolton**

[United Forever]

PRESS RELEASE

The Aviators Manager , Hal Jones has just named his updated roster in an attempt to be a title contender in the Div 1 and to be one of the top seeds of his group with The Class Acts in the way.