Who should I be looking to get in with the wildcard?

Baines?
Van persie?

Gerrard?

Del Horno.

Great thread as the window is imminent, going for consistency for the second half so thinking Vorm, Jones, Kompany, Walker, Silva, Dempsey, Van Persie and Aguero are the players I will be building my team around.

How brave are you? (Yakubu)

Walker rather than Enrique?

This is something I have in mind. Hopefully he will get a couple of starts before I wildcard. Could be a great differential.

Also with Liverpool in mind, should Suarez end up with his ban, Bellamy could be a good bet.

Landon Donovan

s. Ireland???

Ronnie Stam

I'm planning to max out my midfield going Gerrard, Bale, VDV, Valencia, Silva.

I can then downgrade Adebayor to Yakubu, reducing Tottenham exposure, alongside RVP and Sturridge.

Would expect to play a 3-5-2 or 4-5-1. Keepers would remain Vorm/Ruddy, defence would add Shotton to Simpson, N Taylor, McAuley, Hibbert.

Steven Gerrard for 10.5m?

Yes please.

He's goin straight in after the DGW when I wildcard

sessengnon obv.

borderline world class and MON knows how to use him.

As well as considering fixtures, you'd probably have to have a think about where certain clubs will finish come the end of the season. Will Arsenal and Spurs feature in the top 3/4 come May? Or will Chelsea start keeping clean sheets and push on? Players in those clubs should achieve points that reflect their team's fortunes.

Spurs have a tough February and March, but very good fixtures after that till the end.

Swansea don't look like fading just yet, so those with Vorm, Taylor, Williams etc will probably hang on to those players until a real dip becomes visible.

Everton usually have a great last few months, with Cahill and Baines often fruitful. I just can't see myself parting with over 7.5m for a defender though.

Stewart Downing could be a chance pick for Liverpool (as well as Bellamy who has already been mentioned)... To go through a whole season without scoring or grabbing an assist would be some feat, and with Carroll now to aim at regularly over the next couple of months, Downing could burst into form.

Injured

Pulled a hamstring getting into his car

-RvP
-Jones
-Vorm
-Nani
-Silva
-Bale

Anyone used it yet?

Yup, great thread.

The likes of Van Persie, Kompany, Bale, Silva, Adebayor, Sturridge, Van der Vaart, Mata, possibly Valencia... these are names that most people already have in their team but who you can't overlook. Will be taking a long hard look at Dempsey too. Obviously the crucial thing is which combination to choose. For me this season is still all about the strikers and attacking midfielders so will likely try to shoehorn as many big hitters up front as possible with maybe Kompany as my only expensive defender, although that might change as this is usually the time that defences start closing up.

I have both wildcards left so will most likely be splitting the rest of the season into two ~8-week sections and looking for some form teams to fill the remainder.

Keeping an eye on:

Gerrard
Cahill
Sigurdsson
Henry
A Young
Odenwingie
Fletcher
Mingolet
Bent if he goes to Liverpool
Zog
Dempsey
Ettherington

* Last three usually kick on in the second half of the season.

* Brought Valencia in a few game weeks ago, hes been gold. Focus i think is going to be on players who are fresher in the second half of the season.

Bent to Liverpool?! Why, because he's black?

Right, got mine in place, loving the strength in depth now.

So far its looking like

Lindergaard, Vorm
Kompany, Richards, Evans, Caulker, Simpson
Gerrard, Bale, VDV, Valencia, Cabaye
Van Persie, Sturridge, Yakubu

Fingers crossed I have a good doubleweek so these players can build on it.

Me

and no one bothers to mention rooney

Any idea what price Sigurdsson will be?

No mention of Ba?

GK
Almunia (ARS)
Lainton (BOL)

DEF
Beye (AST)
Bertrand (CHE)
Halliche (FUL)
Fryers (MNU)
Hurst (WBA)

MID
Linganzi (BLA)
Razak (MCI)
Abeid (NEW)
Rowlands (QPR)
Arismendi (STK)

STR
Baxter (EVE)
Tevez (MCI)
Owen (MNU)

[*Dedicated to AlexSong ]

Off to ANC any day now, most people will probably be wildcarding him out if anything...

(and getting him back in when he returns...)

Caulker's my first choice base price defender.

This bit is kind of the point. If this thread isn't going to be just another WC thread, the "second half of the season" bit is going to have to be emphasised!