Fantasy Profile: Smart Midfield Buys

As the Premier League season starts to take shape, so should your fantasy team lineups. Choosing you midfield stalwarts is the easiest part. Gerrard, Ronaldo, Lampard (yuck, I feel awful giving Plump Francis any credit), Fabregas, and Ballack, all should go hard and fast for any fantasy owner. The tricky part is picking those players that will get you solid points, and not break the bank.

What you want out of these players is consistency, week in and week out, they get you points. Here are some of my sure bets and sleepers for 2008/09 Premier League fantasy season.

Good Bets
Stewart Downing (Middlesborough): Downing is a lock to start every game he is healthy for 'Boro. He is a good goal scoring and set up option on the left wing and he won't cost as much as a Scholes or Alonso, who won't get as many games.


Jimmy Bullard (Fulham): Bullard is a great buy for a good cost. He takes the Fulham free kicks which is an added bonus. Fulham may not be a great team, but they have enough in the lineup to provide some goals and help Bullard rack up points.

Gareth Barry (Aston Villa): Much like Downing, a solid choice, who will play in every game he is healthy. Once he puts the transfer mess behind him, Villan fans will fold him back into the bosom of Villa Park, and he be a staple of the Aston Villa midfield for another year.

Stephen Ireland (Manchester City): Their is a lot of talent in the Man City midfield, but Irish international, Ireland, shouldn't have much trouble holding down a place if he keeps improving each year. He creates a lot, can shoot, and more importantly has a good amount of talent around him to pick up points.

Sleepers
Morten Gamst Pedersen (Blackburn): Had an off year last year, but has looked back on form for this campaign. A great crosser, he takes corners and free kicks, which should help. He also is the rare Blackburn player who just assume punch you in the face as look at you.

Samir Nasri (Arsenal): Nasri is a young player who is looking better and better as the depleted Arsenal midfield struggles. He should get plenty of games, and his points will improve with his comfort level in the Prem.


Steed Malbranque (Sunderland): It seems as though everyone has marked Sunderland for vast improvements under Roy Keane this year. One reason is the acquisition of Steed Malbranque. Free from the cluster of Spurs midfield, Malbranque will join a Black Cats attack which looks stronger every day, with David Healy and Cisse joining, Jones, Diouf, and Chopra up front. With all that firepower, Malbranque should rack up a lot of points and play in a lot of games to do it.

Wild Card
Antonio Valencia (Wigan): Valencia really came to my attention last year against Arsenal. He was the most dangerous player on the pitch for the entire game. He broke down the Arsenal defense with his pace and confidence on the ball. He needs consistency, but has the potential to become a star.

A Couple of Things
-I tend to think a team like Tottenham is trouble. They have so many midfield options. They have 8 solid, first team, for any non "Big Four" team, players from which to choose, for 4-5 spots. Who sits? Any player from the Spurs midfield could be a little risky, not to mention Spurs give up a lot of goals.
-The "Big Four" teams will have a glut of midfielders every year, and like Spurs, great players will sit or not play 90 minutes every game. Choosing the best from these teams works, but players like Nani, Anderson, Alonso, Kuyt, Babel, Rosicky, Wright-Phillips, Joe Cole, etc., will leave a lot of minutes and games with points unaccounted for.

Other Players Worth a Shot:
Niko Kranjčar (Pompey), Blumer Elano (Man City), Martin Petrov (Man City), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Geovanni (Hull City, Matthew Etherington (West Ham), Wilson Palacios (Wigan)