Fantasy Premier League Blog

Al-Habsi!

Is that the worst title for a post ever? Alliteration aside (Oops... I did it again), there's just no excuse for it. So let's forgo the usual long preamble (sorry, Neal) and just get into it, shall we?

It seems like our earlier post about Robbie Keane to Birmingham was wrong, though rumour now has Rangers' Kenny Miller joining his former manager. And while this deal is still awaiting a medical, it seems close to done.

For fantasy I think this returns Former BFDB to relevance. He's well-priced at 7.73 and will likely slot right into the team (on the right), ending Beausejour's and Hleb's relevance -- or what there was of it -- while likely vulturing kicks and points away from Larsson.

Day One in the books, and I'm as happy as Sylvie in the photo above. 46 points from Begovic, Van Der Vaart and Gyan. Day Two looks to me much more interesting, with the Manchester derby very much at the forefront - including the Nani's possible early return from injury.

But first a brief look back at yesterday.

With the World Cup not even cold yet, has the fantasy Premier League season begun?  Or at the very least, is it time to turn our attention to the League and the team's pre-season preparations?

[Roman Pavlyuchenko] stole the show with a superb second-half display, scoring twice and creating another goal as Harry Redknapp's Champions League hopefuls turned the screw after the break.

Jonathan Obika netted the only goal of the first half. The youngster profited from a mix-up in the Bournemouth defence and rolled the ball into an unguarded net after 36 minutes.

Andros Townsend set-up Pavlyuchenko to make it 2-0 before the two players combined again soon afterwards to create an opening for Danny Rose to score.

Pavlyuchenko completed the scoring with a deft lob after latching on to a long throughball.

In the same match, however:

[David Bentley] was forced off during Spurs' 4-0 win in the pre-season friendly at Bournemouth on Saturday and scans revealed Bentley had damaged right ankle ligaments.

A short statement on the club's official website confirmed Bentley would miss the tour of the USA to receive further treatment at Spurs Lodge.

Meanwhile, it's all happening at Liverpool.

• Torres' groin injury could keep him out for two months
• Insua is in talks over a move to Fiorentina
• Lucas could be on his way to Palermo

Stuart Pearce feels he has been let down by David Bentley after his withdrawal from the England squad for the European U-21 Championships.The Blackburn starlet has left manager Pearce a man short for the tournament in Holland after pulling out due to "fatigue".

"I don't agree with it. I told him last night I don't agree with it in any way, shape or form," Pearce said on Sky Sports News.

"I feel as though I've been supportive to him. He wasn't in the under-21 side for whatever reason when I took over the job.

"I put him in, I thought he was arguably one of our best players in the two matches we had him.

"With that in mind, I rang Steve [McClaren] and said 'what I've got to report is I think this kid's doing quite well. Keep an eye on him'."

Players can only be replaced as a result of injury, so Pearce has been left with a squad of 22 for the finals, with England starting their campaign against Czech Republic on Monday.

It's no secret that we're big fans of David Bentley around these parts. But this is a strange situation. Perhaps he's discouraged by a certain other player's successful return to England's right flank?