Scout Notes – Gameweek Thirty Eight

Sergio Aguero wins the title for City. Emmerson Boyce continues to excel at wing-back for Wigan. Steven Pienaar, Emmanuel Adebayor and Yossi Benayoun finish their loan deals in style, Djibril Cisse maintains his remarkable QPR scoring form, while Wayne Rooney produces his best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season so far as United are beaten at the post:

Sergio Aguero
The overwhelming favourite for the captain’s armband, the Argentine made his Fantasy owners wait until the very last minute before delivering the goal that won the title. There’s little doubt as to how crucial his contribution has been in the last few Gameweeks for City – Aguero has returned six goals, three assists and nine bonus points in his last six appearances. Finishing the season on 23 goals and a total of 211 points, and with attacking returns in all three away games since the return of Carlos Tevez, it’s been an outstanding debut campaign for the former Atletico Madrid man.

Pablo Zabaleta
While Micah Richards started the season in such strong form, the Argentine ended the 2011/12 campaign as Roberto Mancini’s favourite for the right-back position. Zabaleta started every one of City’s last five Gameweeks and vindicated his manager’s faith with the opener in yesterday’s 3-2 thriller. With Champions League football on the agenda once again, though, Mancini’s penchant for rotation at full-back will likely to come into play once again, with Vincent Kompany looking the only certainty once more, despite the impressive contributions of both Zabaleta and Gael Clichy in recent matches.

Djibril Cisse
The January signing was amongst the goals once again as QPR survived the drop despite their late defeat. To say his time at Loftus Road has been eventful is an understatement – Cisse has either scored or been sent off in every one of his eight starts since arriving in January. Luckily for Mark Hughes’ side, six of those games have produced goals, but with two red cards resulting in a total of seven games unavailable through suspension, his absence could have had severe repercussions for his side’s chances of survival. If he can keep his compusure, Cisse is clearly one to consider next time round – with QPR winning their last five at home under Hughes, Loftus Road is proving to be a tricky test for many.

Emmerson Boyce and Jean Beausejour
Boyce continued his recent impressive attacking displays as Wigan picked up their seventh win in nine against relegated Wolves. The right wing-back bagged a double in the 3-2 triumph, taking his returns to three goals, an assist and two clean sheets in the last four. Beausejour maintained his strong form since joining from Birmingham in January – he picked up his third assist in as many matches, taking his total to seven for the season; more than any Wigan player. Given that both play as wing-backs in Roberto Martinez’s 3-4-2-1, their classification next season will be intriguing – Beausejour would be of particular interest if FPL change him from a midfielder to a defender, given his creative contribution.

Franco Di Santo
The Argentine is another player who has picked up in form over the last few Gameweeks. Yesterday’s goal took his tally to three in the last five and, with an assist and five bonus points also thrown in, he’s proven exceptional value recently, given his 4.8 price tag. If Martinez’s men can continue next season in such strong form, Di Santo could well prove a popular cut-price option up front.

Matt Jarvis
Wolves’ left winger is one of the few players who can hold their head high after his performances under interim boss Terry Connor. Jarvis’ opener at the DW means he has scored seven of the 12 goals mustered by the midlands outfit since Mick McCarthy’s sacking after the Gameweek 25 defeat at West Brom. Steven Fletcher also found the net, despite being handed a 16 minute sub appearance by Connor. Two goals and an assist in his last three took the Scot’s goal haul to 12 for the season and, amid rumours he could be snapped up by a Premier League club before the start of next term, is another who could offer potential as a lower priced forward next time round.

Emmanuel Adebayor
A goal and the maximum bonus points saw the on-loan forward end his spell at the Lane in strong form. Adebayor’s last three games in a Spurs shirt produced four goals and seven bonus points for his Fantasy owners, taking his total to 194 – just a single point behind Gareth Bale amongst Harry Redknapp’s squad. Starting the season at 8.0, he’s proven to be a real bargain over the campaign, ending as the fourth top scoring forward – if Daniel Levy can open the purse strings enough to make Adebayor’s move a permanent one, he clearly has plenty to offer Fantasy squads next term.

Steven Pienaar
A goal and a single bonus point brought down the curtain on his return to Merseyside as Everton extended their unbeaten run to nine. David Moyes has already spoken of his desire to bring back the South African on a permanent deal – such a move would be hugely significant for Fantasy managers if Pienaar can maintain his current form. Clearly, his days at Spurs look numbered; he played just 17 minutes in the first 23 Gameweeks under Harry Redknapp but has picked up four goals, seven assists and 12 bonus points in just 14 appearances for the Toffees, averaging 5.7 points per game.

Nikica Jelavic
The Croatian was on the score sheet once again for the Toffees as Newcastle’s Champions League hopes were put to rest. It’s nine goals in just 10 first XI appearances now since moving from Glasgow Rangers back in January and, with 11 bonus points also thrown in, Jelavic has averaged 6.6 points per start – an incredible level of consistency for a 6.3 priced forward. Given that he started at 6.5 in the winter, though, we can expect a price hike when the player lists are announced in a couple of months’ time.

Grant Holt
Yesterday’s goal in the 2-0 stroll over Villa took his tally to 15 for the season. Despite his contribution, Holt has dropped in price, down from 5.5 to 5.1 – Paul Lambert’s rotation policy has frustrated Fantasy managers, with only 24 of his skipper’s 36 appearances coming in a starting role. Holt has been top for overall points, goals and bonus points for the Canaries, though, and, as the second best outfield player in terms of value, has more than proved his capabilities this term.

Jonathan Walters
With no goals since Gameweek 19, few would have betted on Walters finding his form to send Bolton down. A double against the Trotters saw the out of position midfielder clinch top spot as Stoke’s best Fantasy performer, with a total of 140 points bettering Peter Crouch’s contribution by 10 points. Surely to be reclassified as a forward next time round, it’s fair to say that Walters’ appeal will be considerably lessened and, having gone the previous 18 Gameweeks with no assists or bonus points either, few will be rushing to snap up his services for next season.

John Terry
His suspension for the upcoming Champions League Final has been handy for Terry’s Fantasy owners. A goal and a couple of bonus points harvested a 10 point haul – the second time in the last four Gameweeks he has returned double figures. While Chelsea have been far less impressive at the back this season, Terry’s eye for goal has produced six goals – double his tally from the previous campaign. The change is bonus has also been hugely beneficial to the Blues skipper – he had failed to pick up a single point last term but is joint-top with Leighton Baines for defenders, after amassing 18 bonus points this time round.

Wayne Rooney
The United man’s first away goal since Gameweek 27 helped him to his best ever Fantasy campaign yesterday. While Rooney’s Old Trafford form had produced eight goals in his last five home matches, his away displays harvested just a single assist in the four games prior to the Sunderland showdown, as United’s late stumble handed City a lifeline in the title race. With three bonus points also returned, he picked up 230 points, eclipsing his 2009/10 total by just six points – Rooney’s 27 goals was also a personal best but, like United, he finished second best, with Robin Van Persie’s incredible 269 points proving unassailable.

Danny Graham
While Swansea’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool earned Michel Vorm and co their fourteenth clean sheet of the campaign, the former Watford man’s late winner clinched his spot as the top value outfield player this season. Graham dropped as low as 4.7 in price but produced attacking returns for the third successive game at the Liberty, taking his tally to 138 points, with 12 goals, three assists and 16 bonus points also thrown in for good measure. Indeed, of all Brendan Rodgers’ players, only Vorm and Scott Sinclair accrued more points this term and, with Graham likely to be first-choice next time round, his cut-price prospects look promising.

James Morrison
Having returned to action last week with a goal, the Scot continued his form in Roy Hodgson’s final match in charge of West Brom. Morrison provided assists for both the Baggies’ goals to serve a reminder of his potential as a low to mid-price option next season. Starting this term at 5.5, he’s proven to be a decent alternative to Chris Brunt in the West Brom midfield and finished just three points behind the Irishman, with five goals and six assist accrued in his 23 starts.

Robin Van Persie
With Arsenal needing the win to confirm their place in next season’s Champions League, many had handed the Gunners skipper the armband ahead of their Hawthorns trip – little wonder, given that he had produced attacking returns in all five of his previous road trips. While Yossi Benayoun notched his third goal in his last four Gameweeks to end his loan spell on a high, Van Persie mustered just a single assist from his side’s three goals. Laurent Koscielny and Andre Santos also found the net to ensure Van Persie failed to pick up any bonus but, with 30 goals, 13 assists and 45 bonus points, his season has been a spectacular success. Arsene Wenger has promised to hold talks with the Dutchman over a new contract prior to the upcoming Euro 2012 – if he signs, we can surely expect a rise in FPL price, given his heroics; his starting price of 12.0 this term seems almost cheap, given his incredible 269 point haul.