Oops

Should have remembered that Segares is going to be away with the Costa Rican national team on Saturday when they take on Mexico. Oh well, defender aren't really that important on a fantasy team anyways right?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 2 line-up

So here is my line-up for week two of the MLS Fantasy Challenge. Hopefully this week will work out better for me than last week did.

Both Donovan and Lewis are off this week, and therefore off my team. As much as I would of liked to be able to keep them on the bench, they are too expensive. Jorge Rojas will probably be with the Venezuelan national team, so he's off my team as well.

Changes:
In: Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Fredy Montero, Emmanuel Ekpo
Out: Landon Donovan, Eddie Lewis, Jorge Rojas

Goalkeeper:

Zach Thornton - Thorton looked shaky last week and I'd love to have a different 'keeper, but this wasn't a priority change for me this week. GKs don't get points like they did last year, so this change will have to wait.

Defenders:

Jonathan Bornstein - Looks like for the moment at least, Bornstein is actually playing in the back line. Preki is known for frequent line-up changes, so he may yet get into the midfield, especially since Kljestan will be gone with the national team with week.

Kosuke Kimura - He moves off the bench for my team and into the line-up this week. Not a real threat going forward, but a solid enough defender. Colorado is at home taking on the wizards this week, who struggle to score. A shut-out might be possible.

Gonzalo Segares - Chicago is away at DC. DC usually doesn't struggle to score at home, but they will be missing some critical pieces due to injury. Maybe he'll be able to get forward a little more than usual.

Midfielders:

Sanna Nyassi - Nyassi looked threatening last week against the Red Bulls, so he is off the bench and into the starting line-up for my team this week. Real Salt Lake should put in a better defensive effort than NY did, but he is cheap and was on my bench, and I needed to plug a hole.

Sainey Nyassi - I didn't get to see him play last week, but the Rev's are up against NY this week. Hopefully he can have success against a team that struggled last week (though NY should be better at home).

Darren Huckerby - On the plus side, SJ is at home again this week, but they will be taking on another tough team in the Dynamo. Hopefully he can get on the board in this game.

Emmanuel Ekpo - I had a bit under 300k to fill a midfield slot, so I took Ekpo. Columbus is at home this week, and they play two games next week, so I wanted to make sure I had three Columbus players on the roster. Let's hope Rogers will be back for next week.

Forwards:

Fredy Montero - Awesome game against NY, I'm hoping he can keep the form up. He won't be surprising any opponents this week after winning player of the week. Real Salt Lake should be better and more organized defensively than NY.

Juan Pablo Angel - JPA is back at home and playing against a Rev's team that is dealing with injuries and is without last year's defensive leader Parkhurst. I think he has a good chance of getting on track at home.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto - At home against a Toronto team that let in two goals last week against a team that historically struggles to score. Toronto to have more of a focus on the offense this year, probably to the detriment of the defense. Toronto will also be without the Carl Robinson, the holding midfielder who anchors the team.

Coach: Preki - Chivas USA are away against FC Dallas, I'm not confident about this match-up, but FC Dallas will be without starting GK Dario Sala.

Bench:
Two of my bench player from last week are in this week. They are playing a bigger role than I anticipated.

Omar Gonzalez, Robbie Rogers, Pablo Vitti

Tips:

Look to make sure that you don't have player who have national team duty this week. Here are the MLSers on the US roster: Brian Ching, Frankie Hejduk, Sacha Kljestan, Pablo Mastroeni.

Make sure you load up on Crew players because they have two games next week. NE will be off they following week, so plan accordingly.

Also make sure you check out the injury list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/injuries, and the discipline list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/discipline.jsp

Now here is the best line-up this week starting from scratch and with no salary limits in my opinion:

GK-
Will Hesmer
Columbus at home, even if against a much improved TFC offense.

Defense-
Chad Marshall
See above, great defender and a threat on set pieces.
Richard Mulrooney
Playing against a SJ team that struggles to score. Likes to get forward and sometimes plays in the midfield. Also takes some set pieces.
Jimmy Conrad
Away from home, but playing against a Colorado team that is not especially strong and missing Mastroeni. Always dangerous on set pieces.

Midfield-
Christian Gomez
Returning for home debut. Will be looking to impress the fans.
Cuauhtemoc Blanco
Against a DC team that will likely be missing may key pieces (Fred, Quaranta, McTavish, Janicki). He scored in limited minutes last week, let's hope he can play the whole game this week.
Justin Mapp
Got a nice goal last week and is up against a weakened DC.
Brian Mullen
Might even see some time at forward since Ching is gone with the national team and Kamara is still out suspended. Also against SJ, who struggled all of last season.

Forward-
Brian McBride
Struck last week, and is against a weakened DC.
Juan Pablo Angel
At home against a Rev's team that is not as good as it has been or could be without injuries.
Kenny Cooper
At home against Chivas USA. Thorton looked shaky last week and I think Cooper can take advantage of that. Chivas also without Kljestan, one of their cogs.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 1 results

So not exactly a great start for me this year in the MLS Fantasy Challenge. My point total for the first week is 106.

Without Landon Donovan, I would have had a absolutely miserable week. So what lesson do we take away from this week (besides not listening to me)? Well I think that I am going to try and go with a cheaper back line. While defender do get lots of points if they score or assist, it seems like the majority of the time they are going to be a drain on points. In fact, it might make the most sense to fill your back line with guys who cost they minimum and don't actually play (so they can't lose points). I'm not exactly sure about this strategy, so I'm going to observe what the results would be before I implement it.

So it turns out that Hirsig did he visa issues worked out and got into the game as a sub and assisted on a goal. Too bad I inserted Vitti instead, who didn't get on the field.

Zach Thorton looked pretty terrible against Colorado. He could hold onto the ball and gave up a costly rebound that lead to a goal. As some of the more expensive goalkeepers get cheaper, I'll try to replace him.

Looks like I'll have to replace Robbie Roger too because of injury. All in all, not a great week.

NY vs. Seattle

Wow! 3-0 Seattle with two goals and an assist for Montero. By my calculations, that is almost 70 points for Montero. It was amazing to see an expansion team dominate their first night out against a team that played in the MLS Cup last year.

Sigi Schmid has done an excellent job getting his team ready. They looked solid in the back, and Montero, Jaqua and Nyassi all look to be meshing well in the attack.

The same can't be said for the Red Bull's, it almost looked like they hadn't played together at all during the pre-season. The back line played sloppy and was disorganized. People looked extremely uncomfortable with the ball at their feet. Rojas was playing right on top of the defense and their was very little linking play in the midfield (although he did have one great volley on goal that Keller parried away). Juan Pablo Angel got very little service.

Anyways, the take away lesson from this game is that I don't really know anything. If the Red Bulls continue in this form, drop their players from your team and start picking guys who are going to play against them.

Amendment to Week 1 line-up

Looks like Hirsig might have some unresolved visa issues. I'm going to switch to a 3-4-3 and plug in Vitti from Toronto up front. He and Hirsig are both $250,000.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 1 line-up

So here is my team for week one of the 2009 MLS Fantasy Challenge:

Join the fun: http://fantasy.mlsnet.com/

Goalkeeper:

Zach Thornton - Chivas has been a pretty good defensive team, and playing against a weak offensive team (Colorado Rapids) at home should give him a pretty good chance at getting a shut out. Plus, he costs less than many of the other starting 'keepers, so I can spend money elsewhere.

Defenders:

My main strategy with defenders was picking guys who might actually play midfield, and therefore have a better shot at scoring goals and getting assists.

Jonathan Bornstein - Not only might he get up the field and score, but it is also possible that his team will get the shut out as well.

Eddie Lewis - Once again, a guy who will get up the field. I think it is unlikely that LA will shut out DC, but I think Lewis has a good chance of recording points against a DC team that struggled last year and will be missing some players in the opener. The negatives of this pick is that LA is off next week, so I'll have to replace him, and he'll probably lose points for goals conceeded.

Gonzalo Segares - Good defender on a great defensive unit. He does get up field on occasion. A good all around pick. He can get shut out points as well as goals and assists.

Midfielders:

As much as I like players like Shalrie Joseph, you want to pick guys who are going to be scoring and assisting. I'm going with five midfielder this week, because I liked my options for cheap midfielder better than cheap forwards.

Jorge Rojas - Rojas apparently came into camp this year fitter than he was last year and with some MLS experience under his belt. Look to him to be seeing a lot of the ball now that Dave van den Bergh is with FC Dallas. Plus they are taking on an expansion team, which historically struggle in their first season.

Sainey Nyassi - Rev's winger is ridiculously fast and loves to take players on. Didn't produce extremely well last season, but Wells Thompson will be putting the pressure on Nyassi to perform lest he lose his starting position.

Santiago Hirsig - Hirsig is a relatively unknown quantity to me, but he was a respected player on an Argentine first division team, so he may be a steal at only $250,000. Plus the Wizards are playing at home unlike any of my previous picks.

Darren Huckerby -Huckerby put up big numbers last year in only half a season. This year in fantasy he is listed as a midfielder instead of a forward, which will help him rack up even more points. Playing at home, a big plus.

Robbie Rogers - Rogers had a solid season last year, and he is only getting better. However, he is going to have a hard time scoring away against a good Dynamo team. The plan here is to accumulate some Columbus players, because they play twice in week three.

Forwards:

Landon Donovan - As much as I would have liked to leave LA players off my roster because they don't play next week, I felt like I had to take Donovan and make him my captain. The Galaxy are playing at home against a DC team that struggled on defense last year and will be missing some key starters this game.

Juan Pablo Angel - JPA is a consistant scoring threat. He is used to playing in big football stadiums, so Qwest field's turf should be no problem. Plus the Red Bulls are playing against an expansion team. I like Angel for the long haul this season.

Coach: Preki - I like Chivas USA's chances against the Rapids at home.

Bench:

My theory here is to pick cheap guys who are going to play, and maybe go up in value, and who will be able to plug wholes in my roster in the future.

Omar Gonzalez, Kosuke Kimura, Sanna Nyassi

Guys I would have liked to have (couldn't fit under the cap):

Jimmy Conrad, Chad Marshall, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Kenny Cooper. I'll be interested to see how Christian Gomez fares. I was tempted to take him, but I decide to keep my DC United sympathies in check.

Some general tips:

Get out the schedule (http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/schedule/) and look who is playing in the furture. Try to add guys that are going to have favorable match-ups in the future or multiple games (like Columbus in week three). Also realize which teams aren't going to be playing (like RSL this week and LA next week). Plan accordingly. Also make sure you check injuries and suspensions, to make sure you player is in fact playing this week: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/injuries.jsp, http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/discipline.jsp

Welcome to my guide for the 2009 Major League Soccer Fantasy Challenge. Why should you read what I have to say? Here's my resume, as an intern for the league office last year, I finished first in our league. So I beat out a whole bunch of people who are supposed to be the most knowledgeable about the League (Garber didn't have a team, but he's no expert about the on-field product). I can't remember where I finished in the overall standings, but I think it was a little over one-hundred. I think I would have done better if I weren't a D.C. United fan (oh Marcelo Gallardo), anyways, if you see any D.C. players in my line-ups, realize that I have a home team bias. I'm currently playing in "The FIL" league, (feel free to join) and my team name is DJibouti FC, so look for it in the standings to track how I'm doing. Anyways lets get started. First let's look at the new scoring system:

Scoring Breakdown
Forward
Goal 20
Assist 10
Match Winning Goal 15
Shot on target 1
Hat Trick 20
Yellow Card -2
Red Card -10
Midfielder
Goal 30
Assist 15
Match Winning Goal 20
Shot on target 2
Hat Trick 30
Yellow Card -2
Red Card -10
Defender
Goal 40
Assist 20
Match Winning Goal 30
Hat Trick 50
Clean Sheet 10
Team Goals Allowed -1
Yellow Card -2
Red Card -10
Goalkeeper
Goal 70
Assist 40
Match Winning Goal 100
Save 2
Penalty Kick Save 15
Clean Sheet 20
Goal Allowed -2
Yellow Card -5
Red Card -10
Coach
Win 20
Loss 0
Tie 10
Yellow Card (*) -2
Red Card(*) -10

(*) - Yellow cards/Red cards are on a per player basisLast year there was no question that goalkeeper was the most important position on the field and forwards and midfielders were scored essentially the same.

This year things appear to be more balanced. Last year I almost exclusively used a 3-4-3 formation, this year it is not as clear to me which formation is going to be most beneficial. I like the scoring for midfielders, so I think I might go with a 3-5-2 or the trusty old 3-4-3 this year.He is my list of the top players for a fantasy team at each position (in no particular order):

Goalkeeper:
Will Hesmer, Columbus Crew, Good 'keeper, but I like him because of the team in front of him.
Jon Busch, Chicago Fire, ditto, probably the best defense in the league.
Matt Reis, New England Revolution, I'm more nervous about this recommendation, let's see how they do without Parkhurst.

Defenders:
Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards, Started all 30 games last year, scoring six goals, great defender on a solid, if young defense.
Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew, Started 29 games last year, four goals and two assists. Great team around him.
Eddie Lewis, Los Angeles Galaxy, on a weak team and defense overall, but he will probably spend a fair amount of time in the midfield and has a good chance of scoring and getting assists on a pretty good offensive team.
Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA, another player listed as a defender who will probably spend a good amount of time in midfield. If he can produce like he did in 2006 (six goals, four assists), he'll be an invaluable member of your team.
Gonzalo Segares, Chicago Fire, with two goals and two assists last year, he might not be the offense threat that the rest of these defenders are, but he does play on arguably the best defense in the league.

Midfielders:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago Fire, seven goals, 11 assists, impressive numbers that could be better with a whole season with McBride.
Sasha Kljestan, Chivas USA, five goals, seven assists, he had a break out game with the national team, scoring a hat-trick and trained with Celtic over the summer. His confidence should be high.
Robbie Rogers, Columbus Crew, six goals, three assists, with another year under his belt he should increase his production.
Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto FC, seven goals, two assists, let's see how thing go now that he isn't in Houston. Should get a boost playing in his hometown.
Javier Morales, Real Salt Lake, 6 goals, 15 assists, as Movsisyan establishes himself, Morales should boost his assist numbers.
Steve Ralston, New England Revolution, eight goals, seven assists, we'll see how Ralston does in a 4-4-2 this year. He might have to work more defensively this season.
Darren Huckerby, San Jose Earthquakes, six goals, four assists in less than half a season. Let's see what he can do in a whole season.

Forwards:
Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy, 20 goals, nine assists, Donovan is a fantasy player's dream. He should be sharp coming into the season after training with Bayern Munich during the off-season.
Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas, 18 goals, three assists, the big man should get some better service with the addition of David Ferreira. He'll hopefully fill in the void that was left since Toja's departure.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew, seven goals, 19 assists, no question Barros Scchelotto is a talented player, but the switch in fantasy position from midfield to forward will make him a little less desireable.
Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls, 14 goals, three assists, If JPA is healthy, I imagine he will improve on last year's pretty awesome numbers.
Edson Buddle, Los Angeles Galaxy, 15 goals, three assists, Buddle has had some pretty good years before, let's see if he can consistantly put up good numbers.

Ok I'll have my starting line-up for week one posted later today.