The Watchlist – James Collins
Filed under: Injury News - Posted by: Sir Paulos
Having missed two Premier League weekends on the trot through domestic cup duties, Aston Villa return to action with the first of two consecutive Double Game Weeks.
Investment in Martin O’Neill’s squad will understandably be high, and with Villa’s favourable run-in (plus, following the postponement of their weekend GW34 match with Everton, they may, unless the Everton game is re-scheduled midweek, have two more yet-to-be-scheduled outstanding doubles) any transfers in could easily be considered “keepers” from here on in.
Whilst the likes of Richard Dunne and James Milner are the most obvious choices, there are definite bargains to be had amongst the Villa team. Priced at just £4.5m, James Collins falls firmly into that category…
Earlier this season, Collins was in sparkling form alongside Dunne in central defence, and had impressed his manager to such an extent that O’Neill talked of him as a possible future captain of the club.
A groin injury suffered against former club West Ham in November sidelined the Wales skipper for a couple of months but having now fully recovered, he has played every minute of Villa’s league games since the turn of the year. His recent performances that have helped maintain the club’s run as the only unbeaten club in the Premiership for 2010.
Collins return to central defence has seen Carlos Cuellar shift to right back in O’Neill’s preferred line-up, and he has subsequently caught the eye of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Point judges, scoring more bonus than any Villa defender since coming back to the first-team fold. Villa’s defence have been the foundation of their success this season, and with eleven clean sheets, have only two less than Chelsea, having played two fewer games.
A great “differential”, Collins currently has just 6.5% of FPL owners compared to fellow centre half Dunne at 40%, who is also currently £2.1m more expensive. With Villa’s next five gameweeks now confirmed as: (stk & wig, WLV & SUN, che, bol, EVE), Martin O’Neill’s team will be looking to turn up the pressure in this season’s close-run battle for fourth and James Collins could and should have a big part to play.
About The Author
“Is certain he won't make the same mistakes next season.”
Sir Paulos @ffscout_paulos
Commenting is now closed for this post.
Recent Comments
-
Righty, my coach is just about to turn into a pumpkin. Night all. » -
I reckon that most that are getting him probably have or will have before the weekend so the upside in price should be… » -
Are you suggesting Moses ahead of McClean? Def a tough 1 Mull. I'm almost guaranteed to have the better points on the… » -
Surely proper ethics would mean innocent until prove guilty? If he followed what the FA did (wrongly in his opinion) he… » -
hahaha read my mind... cue Moses double digits! »
-
Cheers for the replies lads. I wasn't really considering getting in Ba for the next GW but at his price he does look… » -
Aggy to Roon in gw28 for me, bar mishaps. »
-
Possibly a good week to do that both to score coupon that Helen Chamberlain advertises :) »
-
I'd consider either Rooney or Aguero... not RVP... if you have all 3 of them and it's this week you're talking about… » -
I'm tempted to swear at you ;) McC was rubbish tonight, like he was a reserve player in the 1st team for the 1st time… »
“Gylfi is a wonderful talent. I've kept in contact with him ever since he played under me at Reading and I knew this would be a terrific club for him and he has fitted in perfectly.”
Brendan Rogers sings the praises of the Icelandic international after inspiring Swansea to victory at West Brom
-
Mark
@FFScout_Mark
-
Sir Paulos
@ffscout_paulos
-
greek fan
@FFScout_Greekf
-
Andy
@ffscout_andy
-
G-G-Granville
@FFScout_Granny
-
Akers
@FFScout_Akers
-
Big Dunc
@FFScout_Dunc
0 Responses to “The Watchlist – James Collins”