Preview #8 - blechs_dawgs

G BR 4.5 Robinson
G WW 4.5 Hahnemann
D TH 5.5 Dawson
D AR 6.0 Koscielny
D SU 4.5 Al-Muhammadi
D BI 5.0 Ridgewell
D AV 6.0 Warnock
M CH 13.0 Lampard
M BW 6.0 Petrov
M TH 6.5 Bale
M WA 6.0 N'Zogbia
M WH 5.5 Hitzlsperger
F LI 11.5 Torres
F WA 6.0 Boselli
F MC 8.0 Bellamy

98.5 Spent
1.5 Remaining

Wiggum Unscientific Projected Ranking: Champion
Probable Captain: Frank Lampard
Biggest Strength: Frank Lampard-Fernando Torres Superstar Duo
Biggest Weakness: Goalkeepers 
Potential Draft Steal: Martin Petrov
Wildcard: Fernando Torres

Analysis: Drafting in the first position, blechs_dawgs made no mistakes in making this a top heavy squad that is Wiggum’s early pick as favorite for the 2010-2011 title. 

Simply put, if Torres remains healthy and lights up the premiership it will be very hard to keep pace with blechs_dawgs for the title. Along with the consistent fantasy superstar Lampard, this squad had two bona-fide captains who could bring in serious points week-in, week-out. As anyone knows, this is a crucial ingredient for any team that aspires to the Small Rocks title. But blechs_dawgs has really put together a potential juggernaut with other shrewd moves – Petrov was a great pick who seems eager to show Man City what it will be missing this season. Bale should also put up a guaranteed 100-150 points. And a rumored transfer of Bellamy to Fulham or elsewhere could also see serious points coming blech’s way. But at the end of the day, if Lampard and Torres remain healthy all season, it would not surprise me to see them finish 1-2 in the fantasy scoring system at years end, making every other player simply bonus points.

The Lampard-Torres duo will likely mask the weaknesses on this roster. For starters, the two keepers appear to be between the posts of two teams destined to be in a relegation battle – clean sheets will be hard to come by. The defense is also anchored by starters of teams – Hi North London arch-rivals! – who wont bend over backwards to keep clean sheets. These are cases of “you get what you pay for” – blechs-dawgs ranked 7th in both categories for salaries in the draft.

However, these appear to be minor points for a squad with two players who can both realistically score over 250 points. The fact remains that should they stay healthy, blechs_dawgs is the early favorite. Even if one of them doesn’t, the production of the other superstar (and subsequent bonus points) will likely be sufficient to ensure a mid-table finish at worst.