Mark Schwarzer has been ruled out for anywhere up to 6 weeks with a spinal issue and given the nature of the injury, you wouldn't be 100% confident that those timelines will be accurate. In short, he needs to be replaced and given that a large portion of his owners will have been pairing him with Vorm, that move needs to be made quickly given Vorm's away trips this week and next (@New and @Eve). If you don't own Vorm then barring a total mismatch of fixtures, the Swansea keeper is your ready made replacement, and hey, you'll even get a bit of change.
So, who should Schwarzer/Vorm owners target? Well the defensive fixture rotation stats point to a number of options whose games will fit in nicely with Vorm (who can now be option 1a in rotation option rather than 1b as expected given Swansea's start to the season):
Tim Krul - 4.9m
Krul would have been the pick 6 weeks ago but with S Taylor out for good and Coloccini also sidelined, Newcastle's recent defensive struggles become predictable rather than unexpected. They have just one clean sheet in the last 11 games and don't seem to be showing signs of getting back on track. I don't see Newcastle becoming a top defensive unit anytime soon.
Radek Cerny - 4.0m / Paddy Kenny - 4.4m
Kenny should be back this week or next (you wouldn't want to play him against Utd anyway) though QPR have really declined defensively of late and I'm not sure Kenny or Cerny is the answer here.
Brad Guzan - 4.4m / Shay Given 4.8m
Given is still out for another 3 weeks or so but given that in that time Villa face Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, I don't think it's worth making a move to Guzan. Whether or not you target Given is a question for next month.
Keiren Westwood 4.4m / Simon Mignolet 4.3m
Mignolet's injury is another one that is hard to predict and it looks like he'll be out for at least another month. Westwood has performed really well in his absence and while this team hasn't exactly had a revolution since O'Neil arrived, they have at least been consistent all year rather than following a dynamite start with a couple of months of defensive craptitude (I'm looking at you Newcastle and QPR). The problem is that Sunderland have a tough month of fixtures, which is the main time you want someone to fill in (you can always get Schwarzer back during the free wild card period).
Brad Friedel - 5.5m
Too rich for my taste but the fixtures are good and Spurs are a decent defensive side. Worth a look but I'm not sure he's worth ~1.0m more than the above group.
Thomas Sorensen - 4.3m
Sorensen isn't locked into this spot but until he messes up it would appear that the job is his to lose. Stoke's fixtures don't gel with Vorm's as well as the above teams and he has two road games in the immediate future, including a trip to City so you don't gain a great deal in the short term by making this move. I like this idea if you want to pick a match for the long run but assuming you're just trying to make it until your wildcard, you can do better in the short term.
David Stockdale - 4.5m
If you were happy with Schwarzer then you should be happy with Stockdale who is a capable replacement for the Australian. You get the excellent fixture this week and Vorm gets decent fixtures to cover Stockdale when he plays United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the coming weeks.
You really screwed us Mark. Of the players who fixtures go well with Vorm, none of them really inspire much confidence. With the above in mind I am leaning towards Stockdale as Schwarzer's replacement. This allows you to make the move now and protect yourself from the future price decline facing Schwarzer as well as capitalise on the good looking fixture this week against Bolton.
If you don't own Vorm, and have no intention of doing so, you can check out the other defensive pairings here, though I'd urge you to reconsider given Vorm's performances to date.
So, who should Schwarzer/Vorm owners target? Well the defensive fixture rotation stats point to a number of options whose games will fit in nicely with Vorm (who can now be option 1a in rotation option rather than 1b as expected given Swansea's start to the season):
Tim Krul - 4.9m
Krul would have been the pick 6 weeks ago but with S Taylor out for good and Coloccini also sidelined, Newcastle's recent defensive struggles become predictable rather than unexpected. They have just one clean sheet in the last 11 games and don't seem to be showing signs of getting back on track. I don't see Newcastle becoming a top defensive unit anytime soon.
Radek Cerny - 4.0m / Paddy Kenny - 4.4m
Kenny should be back this week or next (you wouldn't want to play him against Utd anyway) though QPR have really declined defensively of late and I'm not sure Kenny or Cerny is the answer here.
Brad Guzan - 4.4m / Shay Given 4.8m
Given is still out for another 3 weeks or so but given that in that time Villa face Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, I don't think it's worth making a move to Guzan. Whether or not you target Given is a question for next month.
Keiren Westwood 4.4m / Simon Mignolet 4.3m
Mignolet's injury is another one that is hard to predict and it looks like he'll be out for at least another month. Westwood has performed really well in his absence and while this team hasn't exactly had a revolution since O'Neil arrived, they have at least been consistent all year rather than following a dynamite start with a couple of months of defensive craptitude (I'm looking at you Newcastle and QPR). The problem is that Sunderland have a tough month of fixtures, which is the main time you want someone to fill in (you can always get Schwarzer back during the free wild card period).
Brad Friedel - 5.5m
Too rich for my taste but the fixtures are good and Spurs are a decent defensive side. Worth a look but I'm not sure he's worth ~1.0m more than the above group.
Thomas Sorensen - 4.3m
Sorensen isn't locked into this spot but until he messes up it would appear that the job is his to lose. Stoke's fixtures don't gel with Vorm's as well as the above teams and he has two road games in the immediate future, including a trip to City so you don't gain a great deal in the short term by making this move. I like this idea if you want to pick a match for the long run but assuming you're just trying to make it until your wildcard, you can do better in the short term.
David Stockdale - 4.5m
If you were happy with Schwarzer then you should be happy with Stockdale who is a capable replacement for the Australian. You get the excellent fixture this week and Vorm gets decent fixtures to cover Stockdale when he plays United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the coming weeks.
You really screwed us Mark. Of the players who fixtures go well with Vorm, none of them really inspire much confidence. With the above in mind I am leaning towards Stockdale as Schwarzer's replacement. This allows you to make the move now and protect yourself from the future price decline facing Schwarzer as well as capitalise on the good looking fixture this week against Bolton.
If you don't own Vorm, and have no intention of doing so, you can check out the other defensive pairings here, though I'd urge you to reconsider given Vorm's performances to date.
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