UF Quick Throw: Guessing game **UPDATE**

Yay! UEFA just made the Interlull much more interesting. You see, UEFA General Secretary David Taylor says that the federation are about to bring match-fixing charges against a club over the next few days. Taylor could not get into specifics, but he did give a couple of clues. Apparently, the club that is to be charged competed in the UEFA Cup either this season or last, and possibly both.

It's therefore up to you, dear reader, to tell us who the club is. Leave your best guesses in the comments. If anyone gets it correct, I'll figure out an appropriate prize.
[Times Online]
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Well that didn't take long. The team, based on a poorly translated source from Macedonia, is something called FK Pobeda which is based in the aforementioned Macedonia. Allegedly the case dates back to 2004, not later as hinted in the Times Online article above. Choice quote from the breaking news article: "even the delegate of the match wrote 'This match was fixed, the Macedonians didn't even try to play'". Oh well, better luck next time.

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Who Will Host World Cup 2018? 2022?

The most important question that I did not take into account was which country will give us the best female footie fans. The answer to that would have to be Spain/Portugal with the Netherlands/Belgium a close second followed by Russia.

Thirteen whole countries decided it was worth their time to submit a letter to FIFA by February 2 expressing interest in hosting the world’s biggest sporting event in either 2018 or 2022. (Belgium and The Netherlands, however, submitted a joint letter of interest. I bet the Belgians made the Dutch write the letter, in 5 languages.)

I can’t imagine the trouble these countries went through to draft the letter.

Dear Herr Blatter,

We are interested in hosting the 2018 and/or 2022 World Cup.

Sincerely,


The US of A.

Without further ado, the complete list of countries submitting letters of interest—Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Spain and Portugal, and the United States.

Now let’s handicap these potential suitors to the Golden Orb. Since it’s early on, I’m just going to put them into tiers.

Tier 1:

England – The motherland for soccer has to be high on the list for everybody. It would certainly be well attended and much of the infrastructure is already in place to support the event and given the current economic situation, it may be difficult to come up with funds for large infrastructure improvements for other countries. Downside: It’s really expensive in England and people sometimes don’t like fait accompli.

USA – 1994 was a huge success and I think the soccer world still wants to try and develop the soccer market in this country. Plus, the infrastructure is there to have a hugely games at every venue. In 1994, this country was just getting to know soccer. With the advent of the internet and the concomitant increased exposure of soccer in the US, the event will be even bigger. Downside: Hosted the event in 1994. Not a huge soccer country. And, it is America. We are not well liked even with President Obama.

Mexico – North America will likely get one of these bids since, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America have all hosted since 1994. Also, CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner wants to bring the World Cup back to North America and will likely play the USA against Mexico to his advantage (read: line his pockets). Mexico is a soccer mad country and hosted in 1986 so it has at least an aging infrastructure for the event, and is currently building 13 stadiums. Downside: It would be really freaking hot down there.

Tier 2:

Australia – FIFA is always trying to increase it’s footprint and Asia is one of the main places it has been focusing its efforts. Now, Australia isn’t technically Asia, but it’s geographically close. It’s also the one inhabited continent that has never hosted a World Cup. Everybody loves Australia and wants to visit. Downside: It’s a long ways away from everything and it would be the third consecutive WC in the Southern hemisphere.

Belgium and Netherlands – Who doesn’t want to go to the Netherlands (or Belgium, I hear it’s nice)? The upside to this bid is that it is in Europe and easily accessible to millions, strong soccer infrastructure, and it’s not one of the big European countries. Downside: Not big European countries and may not have the political pull.

Spain and Portugal – Another European destination with infrastructure and warm climes. Given Spain’s recent soccer success, some may be inclined to bump them up to Tier 1. I thought about it, but I just see this as a three-horse race for the two spots. They could play the spoiler but I don’t see it happening. Downside: Cristiano Ronaldo is from Portugal.

Russia – This is a tough one to place. The corruption in Russia is rampant and seeing how it is going in South Africa, I can’t see FIFA wanting to battle that again. Plus, the economic crisis has severely affected Russia’s wealth at the moment, so getting stuff built might be an issue with corruption and financial problems. On the other hand, FIFA may see this as an opportunity to extract reforms out of Russia. Downside: I have no idea how the Russian soccer infrastructure is currently situated. I don’t know how traveling in Russia would go, it is a very big place. Corruption. Could very well move them to Tier 3.

Tier 3:

Japan – Just co-hosted in 2002. Not a big enough country to host again so soon.

South Korea – Ditto.

Qatar – One of my cohorts thinks Qatar should be higher because they have dumptrucks full of cash to line the pockets of FIFA executives. That cash would also come in handy when building state-of-the-art stadiums. Downsides: While Qatar is safer country than some of the other Middle Eastern countries right now in regards to Islamic extremists, it is still located in the heartland of that activity. I say that is a con. Moreover, it’s a Muslim country so booze and hookers would be seriously limited. Finally, it’s hot as balls there all the time. Do you remember how much trouble the teams seemed to have in the 2006 World Cup when it got “hot”? It was Germany!!! Not as hot as Qatar.

Tier 4:

Indonesia – No way in hell. I’m sure they have no infrastructure. Plus, they have some issues with Islamic extremists. I don’t think that would sit well with some of the FIFA power players.

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The EPL Weekend Ahead: The Return of Big Sam

How many EPL jobs can one man have before he's finally recognized as being useless?

Big Phil, move aside.

Big Sam is here, the face and charisma that launched a thousand ships. His working-class jowls and worry lines will dominate the sidelines this weekend, and if Blackburn dare get their new recycled gaffer a win, he'll dominate the headlines too.

But it's not all man boobs and malcontent in the EPL this week. No, there are a couple of Sunday humdingers that will surely underwhelm. We can hope for some excitement, scandal, intrigue or entertainment.

The thing is: will we receive it?

Blackburn v. Stoke
Never, ever, ever, ever underestimate the New Manager Effect. I reckon the lads from Ewood will be up for this one now that they have Allardyce to impress. Stoke don't have Delap, so they're essentially useless. Blackburn 1, Stoke 0

Bolton v. Portsmouth
Draw draw draw draw draw. Megson v. Adams: the battle of two tactically-challenged, inept managers. The only thing that can prevail is complete and utter boredom. Bolton 1, Portsmouth 1

Fulham v. Middlesbrough
The home side are unbeaten in six, with four consecutive draws. They've scored just one goal in the last month. Meanwhile, 'Boro have only won once in their last seven. This is another snore-fest, folks. Hodgson will sneak it. Fulham 2, 'Boro 1

Hull v. Sunderland
The Keane-less Mackems are still without a sideline general, while Phil Brown can do no wrong at the KC Stadium. After tomorrow, they'll have more disciples in Yorkshire to the Cult. Hull 3, Sunderland 0

West Ham v. Aston Villa
The battle of the Clarets, as u75 calls it. It will not, however, be much of a battle in the scoreline. The Hammers are not pushovers, but O'Neill's men have a self-belief that might just see them secure fourth place over the Christmas holidays once and for all. West Ham 1, Aston Villa 2

West Brom v. Manchester City (Sunday)
It's the Take it to the bank special! Despite being dreadful away from home, Sparky can't possibly fuck this one up, can he? Then again, Robinho's struggling with ankle-knack... West Brom 0, Manchester City 2

Newcastle v. Tottenham (Sunday)
We can look forward to the Clash of Old-School, Wily, Loud-Mouthed Managers at St. James's Park, and this should actually be worth watching, unlike all the drivel tomorrow. As much as you must feel the urge to back 'Arry and his culture of winning narrowly, there is the imminent danger of Michael Owen. He's enjoying a couple of weeks of good form before his next injury, and you can never write that off. It's the ultimate intangible! Newcastle 2, Tottenham 2

Thirdsenal v. HopefullyStillFirsterpool (Sunday)
These games always seem so loaded with tension and title implications, but they peter out when it's time to hit the pitch. Will this weekend be any different? No Torres and no guarantee as to which Adebayor will show up means this is heading for the bore/score draw. Arsenal 1, Liverpool 1

Everton v. Spartak London (Monday)
I always swore I'd never ever root for the Toffees in any capacity. This monday might be the one time where such a practice is even considered. F*ck Tim Cahill to the deepest chasms of hell, but I'll cheer if he puts Big Phil Scolari's men further off the pace heading into Christmas itself. Realism kicks in just enough to tell me that this doomsday scenario will never come to fruition. Everton 1, Spartak London 3

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Who is next for the chop?

She was born ready to chop

Now that Ince is gone, the 6th EPL manager to taste unemployment this season (whatever that means... perhaps unemployment tastes like cigarettes and discontent?), the shortlist for soon-to-be-under-fire managers is almost non-existent. However, there's still plenty of time for screw-ups and calamity, so who might be the next to get culled in the EPL?

Mark Hughes
With all the money and star power, Sparky's marshalled Citeh to 17th place thus far. Despite impressive wins over Arsenal and, well, just Arsenal, they're hovering above relegation on goal difference alone. Come January, you'd have to think he's marching, only to be replaced with someone fitter, sexier, and more intelligent.

Joe Kinnear
Is he a viable long-term option at St. James's Park? Common sense would say "no" very loudly. His fiery, expletive-laden ways are getting him through the season, but surely he's off in the summer, along with Michael Owen and his new, cheaper wage structure.

Tony Adams
2 wins in Pompey's last 10 EPL fixtures isn't very good. They might still be in the Top 10, but that's because ineptitude currently has the bulk of the league frozen and palsied. Being the best of the worst isn't good on the resume.

Gary Megson
Please Lord, end his ginger ways at the Reebok, as then Stupid F*cking Bolton might actually drop to the Colaship once and for all. HATE.

Tony Mowbray
Being in charge of the league's worst team is never something to be proud of, but I'd imagine they'll still keep him to helm the ship as they softly land atop the Colaship with that wonderful golden parachute.

Anyone I'm missing? Thoughts?

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A rather hasty CL Preview

Who is more intelligent: Sepp, Gordon Brown, or the balls they're holding?

As noted in a previous post, the CL groups are ready to go, and things will begin in an hour or so. I made my predictions way back when, but now it's everyone else's turn to estimate who's going through to the knockouts.

Has anyone picked BATE? Could anyone even identify Borisov on a map? We shall find out!



GROUP A:
Chelsea, AS Roma, Girondins Bordeaux, CFJ Cluj

One of the softest groups in the competition (thanks to Mr. Abramovich and his clever hidden network of payoffs), and we almost have a consensus amongst the group. It will be Spartak London and AS Roma advancing through on a landslide, if not for the nationalistic myopia of resident Frenchie, The NY Kid. He is confident that Bordeaux will make it to the next round, where they'll almost certainly lose anyway. The French sure do love the agony of delayed heartbreak.

GROUP B:
Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Anorthosis Famagusta, Panathanaikos

This is the group with by far the best names. Mourinho should suffer no such Anorthosis in waltzing past the rest, and we all agree: this is an Inter Milan group through and through, except for Precious Roy, who has the Greeks gutsying past 'em for the group win (unless that was a mere formatting issue in his email; it could swing either way).

Behind that, a whole mess of questions. Bremen's an unknown quantity, and you never know what you're going to get from a Greek side. It's either a 1-0 win or a 5-1 defeat. Thusly, such confusion spread to the UF braintrust, as opinion split 50/50 between the bruisers from Germany, and the defensive boredom brought by Panathanaikos.

One thing we could agree on: Famagusta have less chance of qualifying than Chinese Democracy has of topping the charts.

GROUP C:
FC Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, FC Basel, Shakhtar Donetsk

Another slew of unpronounceables. Everyone picked Barca and Sporting, to the surprise of no-one.

GROUP D:
Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Olympique Marseille, Atletico Madrid

Tons of intrigue here, at least in possible storylines, but not with UF when it comes to boldly proclaiming that LFC will live to canter another day. Beyond that, a lot of variety (well, as much variety as having three teams to choose from could bring).

The NY Kid once again exhibited his unflinching loyalty to that most uninteresting of leagues, selecting Olympique as his group runner-up. u75 went to another uninteresting league for his pick of PSV, whereas the rest preferred the flair of the other Madrid.

This is definitely the wrong group to bet money on.

GROUP E:
Manchester United, Villarreal CF, Celtic, Aalborg BK

For every Russian string-puller, there's also a gum-chewing Scottish contingent hell-bent on rigging the odds in their favour, and it comes in this absolute cake of a group. 2 teams in Celtic and Villareal that they've played (and dispatched of handily) in the Champions League, and then a team from Scandinavia, which might as well translate to "6 points" in English.

Thusly, no-one of the crowd displayed the testicles necessary to pick away from the crowd, as Manchester United and Villareal are the ones with the golden tickets..... EXCEPT ONE. (can you see where this flimsy conceit is going yet?)

The NY Kid, bold and perhaps stupid, feels Celtic can shimmy and glasgow kiss their way past the La Liga outfit to claim a sacrificial lamb place in the next round. If he displays any more outliers, I'm going to have to assume he's picking at random. If there's a BATE pick in there, I might have to step down as a blogger and as a human being.

GROUP F:
Olympique Lyon, Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest, Fiorentina

Well, there's a French team in here too, but thankfully everyone else picked Lyon and Bayern to cruise on, so no NY Kid joke in this one. Phew.

GROUP G:
Arsenal, FC Porto, Fenerbahce, Dinamo Kiev

Arsenal are gifted passage into the next round by virtue of the fact that a. they're a good side and b. just about every UF staff member is a Gooners fan. The 50/50 split beyond that is for the Portugese and the Turkish, which makes me almost want to go back and pick Kiev just so they don't feel left out. It's only the kind, NY Kid-esque thing to do.

GROUP H:
Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit St. Petersburg, Bate

Mercifully, a rather soft group to close out. Lots of squabbling about the 1-2 order, but almost everyone has Real and Juve so it's immaterial. The Fan's Attick fancies the Russians (as does our favourite prognosticator, The NY Kid), and to be fair, they're a stylish pick right now having dispatched of Man U in the SuperCup. However, Liverpool just beat them, thus neutering the impact and significance of Zenit's performance a little bit. Still, it'd be nice to see one of the juggernauts fall, especially either one of these two snooty collectives.

-----

So there you have it. Close to 1000 words (probably), and yet no closer to figuring out who's winning this bloody thing. I mean, we can't be that bold, can we?

(Of course, I am picking LFC, instantly making me several notches worse than NY Kid on the guessing game scale)

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How'd We Do?

Once again, the UF randomizer has provided the scores for the upcoming EPL games.

Last week's randomizer had a pretty good showing for the first weekend. Generally, it takes a little bit for the randomizer to warm up. It hit spot on in three matches, pretty damn close in six matches, and totally off the mark in one. I think The Likely Lad was influencing the randomizer last week. We'll make sure to keep his grubby little hands away from the randomizer this week.

Predicted scores on the left, actual scores in bold.

Damn we're good
3-1 Bolton v. Stoke (3-1)
0-1 Sunderland v. Liverpool (0-1)
1-1 Manchester United v. Newcastle (1-1)

Pretty damn close

2-0 Hull v. Fulham (2-1)
2-4 Everton v. Blackburn (2-3)
1-1 West Ham v. Wigan (2-1)
2-0 Arsenal v. West Brom (1-0)
3-1 Aston Villa v. Man City (4-2)
2-0 Chelsea v. Portsmouth (4-0)

What the hell were we thinking?
0-3 Middlesbrough v. Tottenham (2-1)

After the jump, the results you should be gambling 1/4 of your life savings on...



This week there are going to be a lot of reverses, lots of scoring and very few draws.

3-1
1-1
0-2
2-1
1-2
3-1
0-3
0-2
2-2
1-2

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Results You Can Use

First weekends are tough to predict. If this were a 38 part trilogy, this installment would be called A New Hope. Every team has a shot. Everybody is tied for first. Although, everybody is tied for last. Given a little luck in the opening match, the faith and hope of the underdogs are buoyed enough to carry them to a result in the first match. Then they dream of going to Europe, only to have reality crash down upon them the next weekend.

Once the luster of the new season is off, we can expect more predictable results. As it is, look for the new Derby County to make its mark in this weekend only to epically fail afterwards.

As always, here the weekend's scores ahead of schedule. Go ahead and lay some coin down on them. We'll let you know next week how we did.

Scores:
3-1
0-1
2-0
1-1
2-4
1-1
0-3
2-0
3-1
2-0

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SPL season preview

The SPL kicks off this weekend, one week before England launch their top league. Inside, we'll take a quick look at the ins and outs of all the SPL squads, and make rudimentary, and probably laughable, guesses of where the teams will finish.

Also, I will wax rhapsodically about Aberdeen and their chances this season. It's what I do, deal with it.

As the BBC so helpfully points out, no team other than Rangers or Celtic have won the league title in 23 years. That's not likely to change this time around. The so-called New Firm teams, Aberdeen and Dundee United, would seem to have the best shot at pulling any surprise, but don't count on it. You can get odds of 200 to 1 for Aberdeen and 250 to 1 for Dundee United. Those are both wasted bets. 500 to 1 for either, I would take. Unfortunately for those who follow Kevin Malone's advice for life, there are no 10,000 to 1 shots out there.

Aberdeen
Aberdeen are a team of two minds this offseason. The Dons unloaded a full XI of talent (if one were to play a 6-2-3), but also brought in five new players to fill in the emptying spots. Since Jimmy Calderwood has been in charge, Aberdeen have been frustratingly consistent. Consistent that there will be an inexplicable slump somewhere in between October and March that will force the fans to reassess their expectations for the team's finish.

Last season, Aberdeen had that slump from the time they qualified for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Cup until they needed to scrape together a couple of results in a row to make the Top 6 split. The season was capped nicely for Dons fans by getting a win against Rangers to knock the hated Huns out of any chance of winning the league title. Expect a similar campaign this year with a thinner, but more finely tuned, squad.
Prediction: 4th

Celtic
Celtic didn't fuss much with the squad that won their third consecutive SPL title last season. The big addition is Giorgios Samaras from Manchester City. Their losses of personnel are minimal as well, though Bigus will have a keen interest in one of their loan-aways, John Kennedy, who will ply his trade in Norwich next season.

Wee Gordon Strachan has a magic touch with the Hoops. In three seasons at the helm, he has delivered three SPL titles. Celtic tend to start slowly in the league, then win everything at the end of the season. I think this season will mimic the '06-'07 campaign when Celtic won the league by 13 points. The biggest obstacle may be team chemistry, as there are a lot of players rumored to want out.
Prediction: 1st

Dundee United
United may rue the loss of Mark Kerr to Aberdeen, but many pundits who know better than I seem to think that the Tangerines offseason signings will more than make up for their admittedly large losses. Look for Craig Levein to keep up his club's impressive home defensive form, while trying to improve on their woeful overall away form. They should do so, and, given some luck, could pluck away second spot from Rangers.
Prediction: 3rd

Falkirk
Falkirk were the busy bees on the offseason signing front, apparently offering contracts to anyone who seemed likely to sign. The net result is a team that could finally break into the top 6 of the SPL. This is a team on the rise, and is problably the only "smaller" team in the top flight that seems to be in good financial standing. They will approach the 33 game mark firmly on the bubble to make the Top 6, and I think this is the year they do so.
Prediction: 6th

Hamilton Academical
All the chatter I have seen seems to place Hamilton at the foot of the table. In a way, they seem to look a little like Gretna from last season. They are a team good enough to make the SPL, but not good enough to stay there. Unlike Gretna, this is a young team that got to the SPL. If the youngsters are still developing, they could pull off some late season surprises. Unfortunately, it may not be enough to get out of a presumed early season hole. Signings have been minimal and cosmetic, at best.
Prediction: 12th

Heart of Midlothian
Hearts have been a club full of promise since Lithuanian Vladimir Romanov took over in 2005. While Hearts supporters may have hoped this super-rich Eastern European businessman would do wonders for their club, it hasn't panned out. Quite frankly, owning Hearts seems to be a business deal only, and as long as the investment is safe, there is no need to do anything further.

In the offseason, Hearts offloaded a fair amount of players while bringing in only one player of note. Let's face it, Romanov does not care about the feelings of the Hearts' faithful, and the club's results will continue to mirror this. As a coupled aside, Hearts could also be on the receiving end of some extra ire from Rangers this year, as Romanov also owns the club, FBK Kaunas, that knocked the Blues out of Europe.
Prediction: 9th

Hibernian
Hibernian went out of Europe even quicker than Rangers, losing 4-0 over two legs to Swedish club Elfsborg in the Intertoto Cup. The Intertoto Cup is a bit hard on Scottish clubs, as they are placed in a region with Scandinavian clubs who are in mid-season while the Scots are out of season. So, don't read too much into Hibs looking awful last month.

Hibernian kept their core squad intact in the offseason, and should be a lock for a Top 6 showing. They do give the impression, at times, of a team falling apart at the seams. Mix in the fact that Mixu Paatelainen is not the most technically nuanced manager out there, and I foresee a little struggle for the top half finish, perhaps even being pipped by Falkirk for fifth.
Prediction: 5th

Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness' manager Craig Brewster pulled a few miracles out of the hat last season, and will need a few more this season to stay out of relegation troubles. This is consistently a thin squad to which Brewster will wish he could insert a slightly younger version of himself into, because goals will be hard to come by. They will likely escape the drop, but it won't be by much.
Prediction: 11th

Kilmarnock
As anyone who read my SPL updates last season will know, I'm not too big on Kilmarnock in any fashion. An 11th place finish last season only helped fuel this distaste for the club further. Things should be a good bit more rosy this time around for Killie, as they strengthened their team in the offseason. This will be a team that puts together solid runs coupled with some surprising wins through the year, a la ICT last season. It won't be enough to get into the Top 6, though.
Prediction: 7th

Motherwell
It has to happen, doesn't it? Not to keep dredging up the sad days, but at some point this team has to be affected negatively by the passing of Phil O'Donnell last December. A spirited finish to last season sees Motherwell going to Europe this year, but I think that the team will suffer domestically for their European adventure.

The team remains largely unchanged from last season, and that should be a positive. They will, however, have to maintain their focus at all times. If something starts to go wrong, it could all fall apart very quickly for a team where nearly everyone still has a heavy heart. I see them just missing the Top 6 cutoff, and sliding down over the last five matches into their final placement.
Prediction: 8th

Rangers
Well, the shine is off this club, isn't it? Losing at the first hurdle of the Champions League with the very same tactics that took them to last season's UEFA Cup final sees Rangers without any further European dates to worry about. There are already grumblings out there about the status of Walter Smith's job as well as fans unsure of Smith's big offseason signing, Kenny Miller.

The problem with missing out on Europe is that Rangers are said to be losing $25 million from not making the group stages. That could turn the club into a major seller in January, especially if Celtic waltz away from them early. Second is likely for this club, if they keep their personnel. However, if they engage in a fire sale, Dundee United could overtake them.
Prediction: 2nd

St. Mirren
Finally, it's the end. The Saints are a tough one to figure out. They have been very active in both buying and selling in the offseason, looking to improve on the 10th place finish from last time. Don's count on it. It looks like they have been selling young and buying old. Maybe it is for a one or two season push up the ladder, but such wholesale changes will take time to gel, if they do so at all. The Buddies will frustratingly mimic last season's finish in the end
Prediction: 10th

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Yahoo Fantasy Soccer Advice

Short and sweet this week, but first a recap of my rules:

Rule #1: Go outside spend time with your loved ones.

Obviously, you aren't going to follow rule #1 if you have read this far.

Rule #2: Pick players from teams with good matchups.

Last week my recommendations were LIV, MANU, ARS. Obviously, ManU was the only one that came true. Again, I would recommend them as they have a good matchup against just about anyone in the EPL (Suck it, Barclay's!).

This week look at ManU @ Reading, Arsenal @ Fulham, Newcastle home to Bolton (I think the new manager will enliven the squad), Blackburn home to 'Boro, and Chelsea @ Birm.

Rule #3: Don't pick players that won't play.

Check here for injuries. Check here for suspensions.

Rule #4: Don't ever drop Cristiano Ronaldo prior to the December double matches and you should probably have him in your squad.*

I violated this rule after Ronaldo's poor performance at Everton (3 points) and lost out at having him at a discount and failed to bite the bullet and buy him for the double-game weeks. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I don't care what your opinions on him as a footballer, in fantasy terms this guy is money and should be on your team if you can fit him without decimating your squad.

Ronaldo: smiling you to the top of the table

If he costs 31 points, units, dollars, pounds, etc., like right now, it probably isn't a good idea to grab him. But, if he ever gets down to the 23-24 range grab him if at all possible.

*This rule subject to change depending on my opinion about Ronaldo's form, but right now I stick by it.

One other recommendation: take a look at Portsmouth against Derby this week. Derby has scored only 3 away goals and conceded 27. Pompey has only 11 home goals scored and allowed 8. Something has to give and I think it will be Derby's defense even though half of Portsmouth's squad is at the ANC. Benjani Mwa..... was hot earlier in the season and this may be the match to get him going again. He will likely be the focal point along Krancjar. The prices are good on those two as well.

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