Preview #6 - Aviators

G LI 6.5 Reina
G CH 6.5 Cech
D AV 7.0 Dunne
D AR 7.5 Vermaelen
D SC 5.0 Shawcross
D WW 5.0 Craddock
D WA 4.5 Alcaraz
M AR 12.0 Fabregas
M MC 6.5 Johnson
M SC 6.0 Etherington
M MC 9.0 Silva
M MU 7.0 Giggs
F WW 5.5 Doyle
F WH 6.5 C. Cole
F TH 5.5 R. Keane

100.0 Spent
0.0 Remaining

Wiggum Unscientific Projected Ranking: Upper-to-mid table
Probable Captain: Cesc Fabregas
Biggest Strength: A clean sheet making juggernaut
Biggest Weakness: A strikeforce my beer league team might be able to contain
Potential Draft Steal: David Silva
Wildcard: Robbie Keane

Analysis: If there is anyone who knows what’s he doing, it’s Sir Grandpa Hal. Already knighted due to years of devoted service to EPL fantasy soccer, Aviators is also the only team to never suffer a drop into the wilderness of the lower divisions. So it’s probably not wise to second guess the Sir Alex Ferguson of the Small Rocks - particularly if your hobby is eating crayons.

So Wiggum won’t – well not completely. On the surface, there is nothing to suggest Aviators will not battle for the title and be comfortably ensured of another year of top flight fantasy football as early as March. The spine of the team is extremely solid – one of the best in the league. It all starts in the back, where Aviators have drafted the best 1-2 keeper combo in the history of the Small Rocks. It continues in defense, where Richard Dunne and Thomas Vermalen anchor a solid 1-5 defense with the potential of even the 4.5 and 5.0 defenders putting up respectable numbers. And it continues in midfield, where Fabregas leads a squad of young talent (Johnson), old talent (Giggs), and potentially high scoring talent (Silva).

It stops up front, however, where the clear weakness of the Aviators team lies. But again, by the end of the season this situation will likely largely be forgotten. No one reading this doubts that the war room at Aviators HQ is already busier than air traffic control at London Heathrow. There has to be a plan B in place where Hal will sacrifice some depth in the back to secure some more punch up front. Or else Aviators simply have another trick up their sleeves which we wont realize until its too late. And while Hal can be trigger happy in the transfer market, he has also proven patient in the past when needed and pounced at the right time. So while we may not know , what we do know is that the team listed above is clearly not the squad that will take the field on August 14.

So what might be the keys to winning the title – something that shockingly Aviators has never done? There are some question marks. Fabregas remaining at Arsenal is clearly the main issue here – but Coach Wiggum doesn’t believe that this will be an issue once the season begins. The adaptation of David Silva to the prem is another key factor to be sure, but the final destination of Robbie Keane is also a crucial factor. If he languishes on the Tottenham bench, Hal may see blechs_dawgs pull ahead too quickly to catch up. Were he to land somewhere else however and recapture some of his old magic, along with some shrewd moves and another monster season by Cesc, Aviators may be lifting the trophy next May.