TFF chit chat 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th January

[morganb]

FRIDAY 22ND JANUARY

FA CUP FOURTH ROUND

Chorley 19:45 Wolverhampton Wanderers

The FA Cup 4th Round kicks off with non-League Chorley facing Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves have been in poor form in the League recently, only recoding a couple of draws in their last five games. I don’t want to suggest that they are a one-man team but without Jimenez they are a bit toothess. Chorley are a National League North side - Do they have a chance of winning the tie? Of course they do; you’ve always got a chance, no matter what the odds. It might be a small one, but they are prepared to go out and give it everything to reach the fifth round. (Not my words, the words of Jamie Vermiglio the Chorley manager).

SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY

FA CUP FOURTH ROUND

Southampton 12:15 Arsenal

The Saturday lunchtime fixture is an all Prem clash between Southampton and Arsenal. The Saints only played their 3rd Round game on Tuesday where they fielded a weakened side against lower league opposition. Arsenal beat Newcastle 3-nil on Monday and love a good Cup run so expect a strong side to be fielded. Still think Saka and Smith "no hyphen" Rowe are good value.

Brighton & Hove Albion 15:00 Blackpool

At 3pm it is a seaside resort derby between bright 'n' breezy Brighton and blustery Blackpool. In the last round Brighton scraped through on penalties against lower league opposition after fielding a fairly strong line-up, will lightning strike twice? Blackpool are mid-table in League One so could see this match as an opportunity to cause a cup upset.

Sheffield United 15:00 Plymouth Argyle

Sheffield United against Plymouth next. The Blades are rock bottom in the Premier League and may already be resigned to relegation so could consider the FA Cup to be their best chance of silverware this season, especially as they are currently up against a mid-table League One side in this round. Green Army!

West Ham United 15:00 Doncaster Rovers

The last of the 3pm games is West Ham against Doncaster. The Hammers are up to 7th in the table and may see the Cup as an unwanted distraction so you could forgive Moyes for fielding a team of bench warmers and youngsters for this one. Even so, you would imagine they would beat League One Doncaster who themselves will have an eye on promotion.

Cheltenham Town 17:30 Manchester City

The last Cup tie this Saturday sees Manchester City taking on League Two Cheltenham. Cheltenham come into this game off of the back of four straight draws. City on the other hand are fighting for the top spots in the Premier League, however a second string side should still easily win here. Aguero (Covid) and KDB (hamstring) are unavailable.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Aston Villa 20:00 Newcastle United

This weekend’s solitary Premier League game is at 8pm and features Aston Villa against Newcastle. Villa played Man City on Wednesday and up until the final quarter were matching their opponents. Newcastle lost to Arsenal on Monday, so Steve Bruce is under pressure to get a result today (nothing new there).


SUNDAY 24TH JANUARY

FA CUP FOURTH ROUND

Chelsea 12:00 Luton Town

The first of the Sunday fixtures sees Chelsea welcoming Luton to Stamford Bridge. Luton are a mid-table Championship side who might be looking for a Cup upset today as the Blues have been very poor in recent games. Will Lampard risk fielding a weakened side knowing that a loss for the team could equate to him losing his job?

Brentford 14:30 Leicester City

At 2.30pm we have a couple of games, the first being Brentford against Leicester. The Bees will be well rested before this match as several of their recent games have been cancelled due to Covid. At the moment the Foxes will be more interested in the Premier League title rather than FA Cup glory so expect a heavily rotated side to take the pitch. Brentford are also challenging for promotion but like a good Cup run so might go strong, though top scorer Toney got sent off in mid-week.

Fulham 14:30 Burnley

The second of the 2:30pm matches is an all-Prem tie featuring Fulham against Burnley. Both sides are in and around the relegation zone so are unlikely to take the Cup too seriously. Fulham’s run of League draws finally came to an end with defeat to Chelsea last time out. Burnley only went and won at Anfield last time out, so if you had to pick a winner today that result could sway it.

Manchester United 17:00 Liverpool

At 5pm is the biggest tie of the round – Manchester United v Liverpool. The two sides met in the League last Sunday when they played out a nil-nil draw. A similar score line today would see it going to penalties and we all know how Klopp feels about Man Utd and penalties. Imagine both sides will be at reasonable strength as neither team will want to lose to their rivals. Liverpool have extra incentive after their shock midweek defeat.

Everton 20:00 Sheffield Wednesday

The final Sunday fixture is at 8pm and features Everton against Sheff Wed at Goodison. The Toffees are in good form so would hope to progress to the next round of the Cup against a Sheffield Wednesday side who lie second bottom in the Championship and who will probably treat the Cup as an unwanted distraction over their league survival.


MONDAY 25TH JANUARY

FA CUP FOURTH ROUND

Wycombe Wanderers 19:45 Tottenham Hotspur

And finally, the MNF is another Championship against Premier League clash in the shape of Wycombe versus Spurs at Adams Park. Even though Wycombe are bottom of the Championship I’m sure Gareth Ainsworth would love to take the scalp of Jose. Spurs will probably field a weakened team as the top 4 beckons so the top names will be rested for this one.

There are no games for the 3 teams who are out of the FA Cup already - Crystal Palace, Leeds and West Brom.

Coming up -10 midweek games taking place between Tuesday and Thursday.

[SPR]

Thanks Morgan.

I wonder if Foden is a solid pick with KDB out?

[ChaffMyJive]

Thanks Morgan.

Could everyone please set their alarms for 11 o’clock Sunday to get on here and stop me bringing Werner back in. Thanks in advance.

[murf]

I wonder if Foden is a solid pick with KDB out?

Anyone selected v Cheltenham is a solid pick in my book!

[murf]

Could everyone please set their alarms for 11 o’clock Sunday to get on here and stop me bringing Werner back in. Thanks in advance.

Give me your password and I'll set my alarm and transfer him in for you if you like

[Moon Knight]

KdB out for 4-6 weeks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55769661

[murf]

KdB out for 4-6 weeks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55769661

Inflation from yesterday's 2-3 weeks.

replace with Jamie Vardy.....

"Jamie Vardy is set for a minor hernia operation and will be out for a short period of time, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed." LCFC website just now.

[Darbyand]

Ha, bloody typical. Held on to Vardy for ages staying with 2 up front thus denying myself the easy and profitable 541 options recently.

[Canaryfan]

"Jamie Vardy is set for a minor hernia operation and will be out for a short period of time, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed." LCFC website just now.

BBC report says "Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy will undergo hernia surgery and is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.".

"Short period of time" v "A few weeks"!

Either way it's put a stop to my plan of swapping KdB to Kane to have Kane and Vardy up front

With Liverpool struggling it's quite hard to find a striker (Kane excepted) or midfielder I'm busting to have given that money is no object.

[ChaffMyJive]

Could everyone please set their alarms for 11 o’clock Sunday to get on here and stop me bringing Werner back in. Thanks in advance.

Give me your password and I'll set my alarm and transfer him in for you if you like

Thanks Murf. Much appreciated. Chuck in a Sheff Utd block while you’re there would you.

[Jamjack]

Could everyone please set their alarms for 11 o’clock Sunday to get on here and stop me bringing Werner back in. Thanks in advance.

Give me your password and I'll set my alarm and transfer him in for you if you like

Thanks Murf. Much appreciated. Chuck in a Sheff Utd block while you’re there would you.

Sunday is Timo’s big opportunity to put on a big performance and find himself a loan club in January

[ChaffMyJive]

Marine reserves?

[Jester]

Mahrez likely to get a run now? His points per game is up there with other City players.

[Tom QC]

Who takes pens for Leicester with Vardy out? (Assuming they win any).

[happyhoppy]

Re KDB
Torn between just bringing in Sterling or going Foden and upgrade the defence you know what that means feels a bit late but still three good clean sheet possibilities and a cup game.

[happyhoppy]

Who takes pens for Leicester with Vardy out? (Assuming they win any).

Maddison I think.

[happyhoppy]

Mahrez likely to get a run now? His points per game is up there with other City players.

Worthy of consideration but being benched at 5.5 m at this stage of the season when transfers are getting critical feels like a risk too far.

[buttonphobic]

I’m contemplating bringing in a Man C mid ie Foden if he plays and a Man C defender for Zouma and Dier on Saturday . Could be disasterous if those two play on Sunday and Monday but don’t want to miss out on the Cheltenham points

[Tom QC]

Wolves: Ruddy, Kilman, Coady, Boly, Hoever, Ait-Nouri, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Vitinha, Silva, Cutrone

Subs: Patricio, Neto, Neves, Semedo, Traore, Richards, Otasowie, Lonwijk, Corbeanu

Doubt there'll be too much TFF interest tonight, apart from the odd Kilman knocking about?

[buttonphobic]

If you’ve got a team hovering around top 100 what’s the minimum number of transfers to have at the mo?

[murf]

If you’ve got a team hovering around top 100 what’s the minimum number of transfers to have at the mo?

Didn't TFF tell us last week that at the top (can't remember how many) the average is only 5 left.

EDIT - Here you go. Linky. You should have around 7.7!

Top 10: average 5.5 transfers remaining
Top 100: average 7.7 transfers remaining
Top 1,000: average 12 transfers remaining
Top 5,000: average 15 transfers remaining
Top 10,000: average 16.4 transfers remaining

[Jamjack]

Re KDB
Torn between just bringing in Sterling or going Foden and upgrade the defence you know what that means feels a bit late but still three good clean sheet possibilities and a cup game.

Very low on inspiration. Shortlist down to Son (seems like I dropped him only days ago, that will be because I dropped him only days ago), Grealish (numbers game), Maddison, Bilva and Gundog.

[buttonphobic]

If you’ve got a team hovering around top 100 what’s the minimum number of transfers to have at the mo?

Didn't TFF tell us last week that at the top (can't remember how many) the average is only 5 left.

EDIT - Here you go. Linky. You should have around 7.7!

Top 10: average 5.5 transfers remaining
Top 100: average 7.7 transfers remaining
Top 1,000: average 12 transfers remaining
Top 5,000: average 15 transfers remaining
Top 10,000: average 16.4 transfers remaining

Thanks Murf. Those top ones are quite low. If they’re full of Kevin’s and Vardys it could be good news

[buttonphobic]

Re KDB
Torn between just bringing in Sterling or going Foden and upgrade the defence you know what that means feels a bit late but still three good clean sheet possibilities and a cup game.

Very low on inspiration. Shortlist down to Son (seems like I dropped him only days ago, that will be because I dropped him only days ago), Grealish (numbers game), Maddison, Bilva and Gundog.

Possibly Antonio

[happyhoppy]

If you’ve got a team hovering around top 100 what’s the minimum number of transfers to have at the mo?

Didn't TFF tell us last week that at the top (can't remember how many) the average is only 5 left.

EDIT - Here you go. Linky. You should have around 7.7!

Top 10: average 5.5 transfers remaining
Top 100: average 7.7 transfers remaining
Top 1,000: average 12 transfers remaining
Top 5,000: average 15 transfers remaining
Top 10,000: average 16.4 transfers remaining

If I was to believe that which I don’t I’m in great shape with my transfers I’m 36th and have more than those in the top 10k. Ridiculous.

[brencarr]

Good work Hoppy .... may the Force be with you

[buttonphobic]

If you’ve got a team hovering around top 100 what’s the minimum number of transfers to have at the mo?

Didn't TFF tell us last week that at the top (can't remember how many) the average is only 5 left.

EDIT - Here you go. Linky. You should have around 7.7!

Top 10: average 5.5 transfers remaining
Top 100: average 7.7 transfers remaining
Top 1,000: average 12 transfers remaining
Top 5,000: average 15 transfers remaining
Top 10,000: average 16.4 transfers remaining

If I was to believe that which I don’t I’m in great shape with my transfers I’m 36th and have more than those in the top 10k. Ridiculous.

Looking good then. But what would the motive be for them to tell porkies???

[murf]

Has to be true but will be lots on very few and some with more.

[buttonphobic]

Yep with Happy being one of the ‘some with more’

[Spinynorman]

So with the amount of transfers I have left in my various teams I should be right up there. However when I check my points and position something seems to have gone awry.