Valencia Shines On Debut

Yesterday’s pre-season events were dominated by Antonio Valencia’s debut for United. He wasted no time in promoting himself in the thoughts of Alex Ferguson, or indeed, us fantasy managers, by firing United’s second goal on 42 minutes in a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors. Earlier, Valencia’s fleet-footed dribbling had earned the free-kick that was sublimely dispatched by Anderson from 20 yards.

It’s caused plenty of us to ask again – can Valencia justify his mid-price fantasy price tag? Against the odds, it’s even caused some of us to reconsider Anderson…

Akers examined the merits of Valencia in his catch-up earlier this month and caution was advised. The Ecuadorian perhaps represents the best option in the United midfield, given the threat of rotation elsewhere but, as Akers pointed out, Valencia’s output in the Premier League thus far has been far from convincing. In the Fantasy Premier League game he’s also been reliant on bonus points to boost his tally – he’ll surely find those harder to come by amongst United’s star-studded lineup.

Having said all this, Valencia is still worth an early punt due to the curse of gameweek 2 which deprives us of so many other midfield options in the same price bracket. Whether his inclusion in your initial squad warrants turning your back on an expensive but surely explosive, Gerrard/Lampard pairing, is another matter.

Meanwhile, Anderson’s first-half free-kick clearly shows promise of points from set-plays in the coming season. His returns rely on regualr starts though and that remains an issue. Anderson started just 11 Premier League games last season.

Carrick has his place in the centre of United’s midfield secured – that leaves Scholes, Fletcher, Giggs, Hargreaves (when fit) and Anderson to compete for the final spot. Such competition is likely to limit Anderson to 20 starts and no more. Given his output in his first two seasons, he’ll need to demonstrate a massive improvement in his goal/assist returns in order to justify fantasy selection, even with his modest price tag.

We shouldn’t get carried away by yesterday’s goal either. We have to consider that Nani, Giggs and Berbatov were on the bench when Anderson stood over the free-kick. I imagine they would have had a say had they been on the pitch.

There is actually a third point of note to come from United’s latest pre-season win – the injury to Wes Brown. He pulled up, with no opponent near him, eight minutes before the half-time break.

According to United it’s a thigh strain and, at this stage, there’s no word on a likely term of absence. Ferguson played down the injury after the game but it’s another reminder that Brown, and to a lesser extent Rio Ferdinand, are both fragile and likely to break down at least twice a season. The likes of Brown, Evans, O’Shea and Rafael are seductively cheap options in the United defence but come with undoubted risks. Sadly for Wes Brown, his remains his propensity to sustain injuries.