And with a day before kickoff you should be considering your final position: The Keeper. If you’ve invested heavily in the rest of your team, don’t fret, there are a lot of top class keepers for decent prices. It’s always a good idea to pick up a quality keeper with a solid defense, like Van Der Saar, Cech or Reina, but two of them are getting on in years and could be missing from the first day action.
You want to invest in keepers that have a solid defensive line in front of them, and last year, that was Brad Friedel at Aston Villa. He’s more expensive this year but has been a consistent performer in the net and has the ability to make the saves when his defense leaks, which only gives you more points at the end of the day.
Thomas Sorensen at Stoke is almost a must pick at this point. Stoke were one of the most consistently defensive teams last year and even as he’s getting older, at only 5.0 he’s a steal. If you have him as your second choice, you’d almost be lost for who to take in your starting lineup.
When looking for a cheaper back up, you want a starter who can make the saves when his defense gives up the ghost. So you’re looking to guys like Jussi Jaaskelainen at Bolton or Mark Schwartzer at Fulham. Marcus Hahnemann at Wolves could be a good pick too if you think others are leaning towards the first two in this paragraph.
Picking from the newly promoted teams could be a risk that pays off, since you know they’ll be busy and if they steal a game or make a bunch of saves in a row they could push you up a place if they come in for your starter. Steven Harper at Newcastle is a quality player, but the fact that he shares a name with the Canadian Prime Minister sort of creeps me out – love one, can’t stand the other.
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