The Digest – Gameweek Eleven

The leader of the pack delivers for Wolves. Bolton tear into a leg-weary Stoke to avenge an FA Cup humiliation and Robin Van Persie takes a hit, as Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are given every reason to dislike Mondays…

The Player

We’ve waited for Jamie O’Hara to deliver. For weeks we’ve had him bubbling under as a Scout Pick’s consideration, pondering when his contribution to the Wolves effort will translate into Fantasy returns. We suspected it would come as soon as Mick McCarthy’s side could turn the corner and earn their first win since gameweek two. Almost inevitably, lowly Wigan were on the receiving end of a Wolves revival with O’Hara the protagonist in a 3-1 win.

A 15-point FPL haul was signposted. Our Members can see for themselves how O’Hara matches up to some of the leading Fantasy targets this season – how his creativity and threat are integral to Wolves’ chances of saving their Premier League status.

With an FPL valuation of 5.7, O’Hara’s goal and two assists seems likely to rouse interest. Right now, however, investment in O’Hara is being dwarfed by the interest shown in this weekend’s other midfield revelations – Bolton’s Chris Eagles and Norwich’s Anthony Pilkington. Both are cheaper than the Wolves man and have also shown greater consistency when it comes to returns this season.

It’s difficult to make a case for O’Hara then, although we’re pretty certain that if McCarthy can get the Wolves ship on steady waters, O’Hara will be back amongst the points on a regular basis.

The Team

Having slipped to eight defeats in nine league games, Bolton unleashed a goal frenzy on a weary Stoke City at the Reebok. Owen Coyle’s men were relentless, led by the attacking verve of reborn Chris Eagles and the recalled Ivan Klasnic.

The Croatian had a point to prove having dropped down the pecking order following his foolish red card in the gameweek five defeat to Norwich. Since then David Ngog has emerged as a contender up front, while Coyle has dropped Kevin Davies to the bench as he juggled his formation and tactics. Klasnic was back in the lineup against Stoke however, with Kevin Davies alongside him. The Potters, suffering a Europa League hangover once again, had no answer to Bolton’s desire to banish the demons of last season’s humiliating FA Cup semi-final defeat.

The emergence of Chris Eagles is of particular interest to Fantasy managers. The winger has become a major component in Coyle’s plans and, having completed 90 minutes in the last four league games, appears to have surpassed Martin Petrov as a reliable creative force, with a heightened goal threat thrown in.

Three goals and four assists is a healthy return for a midfielder priced at just 5.3 in the FPL game. While Petrov languished on the bench, Eagles seized the opportunity to take centre stage. It’s hard to say how long his flame will burn, but with Bolton entering a run of favourable enough fixtures, short-term investment seems sound.

The Talking Point

Monday morning brought a chain of events that boiled the frustration of many Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers. Having delivered another huge points haul in the 3-0 win over West Brom, Robin Van Persie lost the assist awarded for Thomas Vermaelen’s goal and dropped in the EA PPI rankings, denying him a single bonus point. Those who captained Van Persie suffered an 8-point drop in their total – green arrows suddenly turned into red – I speak from experience.

It’s hard to pin down the real issues at play here. Is it frustration with the criteria used to judge an assist? The fact that a touch from Gervinho would be enough to cancel out the cross from Van Persie which eventually found it’s way to Vermaelen’s boot?

Perhaps it’s more the process of the points being removed, the fact that it took forty-eight hours for the points awarded on Saturday, to be stripped on Monday morning.

The fact is, Gervinho touched Van Persie’s cross. That was not only the judgement of the Press Association after Monday’s review. It was also the call made by Opta who also awarded a “Goal Assist” to the Ivorian on Saturday night.

Like it or not, then, no Fantasy game in the land gave the assist to Van Persie – it’s not included in the Sky game, it’s not included in the Fantasy League and, while the Telegraph give Van Persie a “Key Contribution”, they also award the same to Gervinho – recognising that he got a touch on the Dutchman’s cross.

We had the Van Persie assist for forty-eight hours but it was never ours to have. We can argue it – re-examine footage but where do we draw the line with such disputes?

When two data providers, charged with supplying correct and accurate data for statistical purposes both say Gervinho touched it, it’s clear we’re fighting a losing battle. The same could be said of Gareth Bale’s “goal” at Fulham – the Press Association don’t stand alone here either – Bale’s goal has been awarded by Opta and all the major Fantasy Games. At what point do we have to shut up and put up?

It also seems unlikely that the new definition of an assist within the FPL ruleset is to blame in the Van Persie’s case. There were examples last season, when this definition wasn’t around, where the slightest of touches took an assist from the supplier of a cross. If an attacking player gets a touch on a cross, a flicked header for example – they gain the assist if a goal is then resultantly scored, not the cross provider. We should be used to this by now.

Van Persie’s cross was intended for Gervinho – the Ivorian fluffed his lines, missed the cross but appeared to divert the ball with his back leg after swinging with the right. A bungled, unintentional intervention but, in terms of the significance of the touch, just how far apart is this from a flick off a player’s hairline on the near post? For all the frustration, once we accept that Gervinho touched the ball, it’s hard to argue against the assist going his way.

Unless of course we push for the whole definition of an assist to be changed. Perhaps such a touch from Gervinho shouldn’t be rewarded? After all, he never intended for the ball to end up Vermaelen’s path when he swung his leg.

Interestingly, Opta have two definitions for an assist; a “goal assist” -which Gervinho earned- and an “intentional assist” – which clearly he didn’t. Do we need and want a similar system applied to the FPL – should we only reward a player if he genuinely intended to set up the scorer?

Perhaps we want the Telegraph’s Key Contribution instead – a system where more than one player can be awarded points for their role in creating a goal – in this case both Van Persie and Gervinho would have benefited.

I’m not sure that a perfect solution is available, but we can and will debate this further. While the definition of an assist in the FPL is clear, it does create cases that cause frustration and perhaps offer the need for things to be re-examined.

Personally, I’m far more frustrated by assists being awarded after positive intervention from a defender (a clearance). Demba Ba’s assist for Ryan Taylor’s goal against Everton being the latest case in point. That’s my own crusade and one I’ll go on pursuing.

Don’t get me wrong. While I’m firmly in the camp that we have to accept the fact that Van Persie did not earn an assist, I’m also aware that things are far from perfect.

It’s worth noting that the FPL did act as a result of Monday’s events by adding clarity to the rules concerning the revision of decisions. They now state the following:

“All assists are reviewed daily but remain provisional until verified by the Press Association. For the avoidance of doubt, points awarded in-game are subject to change until the Gameweek closes. Once a Gameweek closes, no further adjustments to points will be made.”

Better. Nobody can be in doubt now that, until the bonus points are allocated, assists can be added and removed. Whether we’re comfortable with that is another matter. The view is that it’s better to arrive at the correct decision later, than make a call in twenty-four hours or less and get it wrong. Again, it’s hard to argue against this. We all want a fair outcome – had Van Persie kept his assist in the FPL, it would have been the only Fantasy game to award it. That surely would not have been a fair outcome.

We want live updates on our scores, but perhaps if a decision is subject to review, at that point the associated points could be removed. Perhaps that would make the potential pill easier to swallow. Perhaps communication on decisions under review is also required.

Monday’s events have clearly raised a number of issues and, while, in my view, we have to put the specific case of Van Persie’s assist to bed, the classification of assists and the allocation of points under review, remain hot potatoes that will clearly spark further debate. Listen out for the next podcast is all I can say.