Week 8: Bradley Double-Ya-Points Phillips

New York took full advantage of the fantasy point double-bonanza. I'm not going to re-hash the pain all of the Houston Dynamo fans, but let's just say that there were at least seven New York Red Bulls over the 10-point mark this week. Thankfully for those of us that were skeptical of the New York back line, we weren't alone: all four defenders recording clean sheets were owned by 4% or less of the managers. The same could be said for Bradley Wright-Phillips, whose hat trick was only appreciated by 4.8% of fantasy managers. Knowing that the Dynamo had yet another double-game week in Round 10, I stocked up on defenders in orange, hoping that we'd at least be able to pull off ONE clean sheet. It wasn't to be, but I was still fortunate enough to take a one-week gamble on Thierry Henry. I was also fortunate enough to dodge all of the red-card bullets:



It could've been worse... at least I didn't have Collin?

Here are the top scorers for Round 8 (Full fantasy stats at: MLSSoccer.com):





To heck with Round 9... Can we just play Round 10 Twice?

Round 9 still counts for scoring, but everyone who has their eye on the schedule has their gaze firmly fixated on the six double-game week teams in Round 10:



CLB: @HOW, VAN

COL: @SJ, CHV

DAL: @SEA, @SJ

HOU: CLB, RSL

SJ: COL, DAL

SEA: DAL, @NE



With an unlimited transfer window before Round 11, all of your efforts should be on fielding a strong squad for the Round 10 DGW. Here are my favorite options:

Goalkeepers:

Jon Busch ($5.4, SJ) - San Jose looks to have the easiest draw from the lot, so if you need a keeper, Busch might be a good play.

Stefan Frei ($5.2, SEA) - Seattle is red-hot right now, and Frei will see 180 minutes.

Tally Hall ($6.1, HOU) - A ton of managers will still have Tally in their lineups from Week 8.

Clint Irwin ($4.8, COL) - Clint's price is a steal for one of the best newcomers in MLS.



Defenders:

Matt Hedges ($8.7, DAL), Victor Bernardez ($7.5, SJ), Clarence Goodson ($7.9, SJ), Michael Parkhurst ($7.7, CLB), Chad Marshall ($8.5, SEA), David Horst ($6.1, HOU), Drew Moor ($7.0, COL) - All of these guys rack up the defensive bonuses. Choose any of these and be happy.

Michel ($7.9, DAL) - Starting to take set pieces, and if Diaz is truly injured, may be required to take ALL set pieces.

DeAndre Yedlin ($7.7, SEA) - See above. Seattle. Hot.



Midfielders:

Clint Dempsey ($10.8, SEA) - 52 POINTS IN FOUR GAMES

Lamar Neagle ($7.6, SEA) - All aboard the Seattle train. Choo, choo.

Shea Salinas ($7.8, SJ) - Great production for the price

Brad Davis ($10.7, HOU) - If he stays healthy, he is the focal point of the Houston attack

Hector Jimenez ($5.8, CLB), Will Trapp ($6.1, CLB), Je-Vaughn Watson ($6.3, DAL) - Budget-friendly options that get minutes



** UPDATE: Mauro Diaz ($8.6, DAL) - Rumor mills are saying he might be out for the season. It's looking like it's time to cash out and find a better option.





Forwards:

Obafemi Martins ($9.6 SEA) - I don't think I need to mention Seattle any more.

Federico Higuain ($11.0, CLB) - Pipa has two chances to rack up goals, assists, and bonuses.

Chris Wondolowski ($9.5, SJ) - If you're going with three DGW forwards and can afford this, I pretty much hate you.





Good luck, and as always, be sure to pick a different captain than me!