Hello lads and lassies,
Thankfully, the international break is over and EPL fantasy fanatics can have our lives returned.

Week 4 will be especially interesting for fantasy managers to see how players perform who switched teams or came into the EPL on the final weekend of the transfer window.
The ten matches:

Sunderland-Chelsea
ESPN2 Live

Ian Darke and the crack ESPN production team provide words and pictures as the Blues go to winless Sunderland trying to keep pace with Man Yoo and Man City.

Physioroom.com does not mention Raul Meireles who had a neck-shoulder injury. Other injury websites also do not list him, so I am not sure if he will be in the mix. If he is, will AVB have him in the starting XI.

Sunderland made one major change late in the transfer window, bringing in malcontent Bendtner from Arsenal. Sir John chuckled at a headline that had the Dane saying he would never go back to the Gooners. Flash to Nicky: Gunner supporters don’t want you back.

Arsenal-Swansea

Multiple changes at Arsenal as the Gunners hope to get well following their massacre at Old Trafford. Arsene’s lineup card will be Topic A. Most likely, Wenger will start striker Park Chu-Young in hopes of getting a one-two punch with RvP.

Mikel Arteta and Yossi Bennyoun are on the payroll but will they start? Andre Santos and Per Mertesacker are available on defense (Mertesacker leaked two goals against Poland).

Bolton-Manchester United

Man Yoo, at the top of their game will be without Danny Welbeck and Vidic but could get Valencia back. Ashley Young is sparkling and Rooney’s hair plugs are on fire.

Bolton bought Liverpool bust Ngog and checked out Kakuta at the Chelsea library. Gary Cahill was shopped like a ripe tomato, but remains with Owen Coyle.

Manchester City-Wigan

The big news at City was the signing of Owen Hargreaves; however, Sir John would be surprised if he will even be on the bench. Sir John wonders how long Mancini can keep Carlito in the cushioned seats—could he start alongside the four-goal scorer? But then again, how do you leave Aguero out of the lineup? Tevez, who porked out in recent weeks is a player in limbo. There is concern at City about a hand injury Nasri picked up during the international break and he is listed out with no projected return date.

Wigan rests in 8th position with a win and two draws. They picked up Shaun Maloney and Patrick Van Aanholt. It would be a miracle if they can get even a point on their road adventure.

Everton-Aston Villa
Defender Alan Hutton joined AV from Spurs as did midfielder Jermaine Jenas. They are two ordinary guys but a boost to protect Shay Given.

Everton must deal with the loss of Mikel Arteta who, frankly, had gone stale for the past 18 months. David Moyes continues to be one of the best managers with the least resources. Losing Jermaine Beckford to Championship team Leicester City is no loss. The Blues picked up Royston Drenthe from Real Madrid on loan and bought Blackburn flop Yakubu.

Stoke City-Liverpool

Third-place Liverpool at 2-1-0 bolstered its lineup with defender Sebastian Coates from Nacional; but how much playing time he gets for Kenny D is debatable. The big story line will be controversial Craig Bellamy, likely to be inserted for impact off the bench.

Stoke made several late moves and Tony Pulis will likely put the late transfer giraffe in the lineup along with Palacious and Cameron Jerome. Stoke is 1-2-0 and has conceded just one goal in three matches

Wolves-Spurs

Wolves rest in 5th with a 2-1-0 record and four goals scored to just one conceded. They have no significant players out with injuries and got their transfers done early.

On the other hand, Tottenham, after two games was a mess. One goal scored and eight conceded left them mired in relegation poo. ‘Arry will inject new life in the lineup with Scott Parker but will be without ace midfielder Rafael VdV. We shall see if Luka Modric has his head together after Chelsea went out of their minds and had a 40-million-pound offer rejected.

Sunday, September 11

Fulham-Blackburn

Yuck.
19th-place bottom feeder Blackburn bring their sorry team to London minus Pederson, Dunn, and Nelsen. The Rovers’ defense was upgraded with the late transfer addition of Scott Dann who may wind up playing for relegated teams two years in a row.
Roy Kean got rid of Duf-as but has little to offer Blackburn faithful.

16th-place Fulham is as dreary a team as you can have, with one goal scored in three matches and four conceded in a 0-1-2 record. Dempsey got his first and the team's only goal. Zamora may return and Martin Jol now has Bryan Ruiz, Orlando Sa (who?) and new defender Grygero.

Norwich City-WBA

Newcomer Norwich City has had a pretty good start with two draws and a loss. NC has surrendered five goals. No major transfer news for a team that formed its roster early.

West Brom is off to an awful start with three losses against tough teams. WBA is 18th and did little in the late transfer window. Odemwingie is expected to bring “Oh-dem-wingies” back from injury and Shane Long could play.

Monday, September 12
QPR-Newcastle

This will be an intriguing match with many newcomers to Rangers including Joey Barton (from Newcastle and out to show up the management of his former team), midget Shaun Wright-Phillips, defenders Arand Traore and Anton Ferdinand and Tommaso Trani.

There you have it. The table is set for Week 4. The question remains: how much of the transfer food involves left-over’s in the form of players discarded by teams happy to drop them from the payroll.

Yours faithfully,
Sir John