The Digest – Gameweek 10

We draw a line under Gameweek 10 with a tip of the hat to Everton’s Belgian destroyer, the home form and team work of West Brom and raise questions over whether those who play in “the hole” are forcing a Fantasy rethink…

The Player

Marouane Fellaini notched for the first time since Gameweek 5 in Saturday’s draw at Fulham to serve a timely reminder of his mid-price capabilities. Fellaini’s double at the Cottage, supplemented with three FPL bonus points, earned him a 15 point haul for Gameweek 10 – more than any other player – and rewarded those owners who chose to hold following a recent knee problem.

Fellaini’s omission from the Gameweek 8 trip to QPR saw almost 206,000 Fantasy managers sell him on and with doubts over his availability for the Merseyside derby the following week, a further 117,000 parted company with the Belgian – only for him to recover and supply an assist. Those who sold him on have been somewhat reluctant to bring him back due to the fact that Fellaini is just a single caution away from a one-match ban but his weekend haul highlighted his importance to an Everton side that have now scored 19 goals in the opening 10 Gameweeks – more than the likes of City, Spurs and Arsenal.

His role in “the hole” for the Toffees means Fellaini is a constant menace to opposition backlines, with David Moyes’ tactics getting the best out of his aerial ability in and around the box – indeed, Fellaini has now scored five times, more than Nikica Jelavic. The Belgian’s weekend haul also put clear daylight between him and Steven Pienaar in the battle for the best value Toffees midfielder and despite that imminent one-match suspension hanging over him, Fellaini is clearly back in vogue – 90,000 Fantasy managers have already drafted him in after his weekend exploits. His FPL value is back up to 7.1 and those pondering a move to acquire his services will doubtless be feeling the pull of his rising popularity.

A home clash with Sunderland, a team that have looked more vulnerable in the air than most this term, bodes well for the formidable Fellaini and, should he deliver again and avoid his booking, we will doubtless see another significant rise in the week that follows.

The big question is whether Felliani is a season-keeper. Given his continued form and the struggles of Nikica Jelavic, it seems highly unlikely that we’ll see the Belgian dropped deeper into a traditional midfield role just yet. Indeed, Everton’s attack has been so effective with Fellaini in that role in terms of threat, Moyes seems likely to go with the tactic for the remainder of the season. If that is the case, then Fellaini would seem guaranteed to bring more havoc and return further hauls like the Craven Cottage display.

The Team

Another home game, another win for West Brom. The Baggies have now picked up 15 points in front of their own fans – more than any other side this season – and have registered just one win less at the Hawthorns than the entirety of the previous campaign. Steve Clarke has clearly made a big impression at home, with four Hawthorns clean sheets also accrued, though on their travels it’s been a different matter; his side have returned just two points and three goals over their opening four road trips – only the bottom two have fared worse.

The Baggies sit pretty in fifth right now but with four away trips in their next six (wig, CHE, sun, swa, STO, ars) are set for a testing time over the next few Gameweeks. As mentioned in Scout Notes earlier, Clarke seems to be utilising his squad to great effect; while no one player is the star of this side, plenty have chipped in with crucial contributions – 10 West Brom players have racked up 29 FPL points or more. Indeed, in each of the four classifications, the Baggies have provided us with a player who has returned 40+ FPL points already – Ben Foster, Gareth McAuley, James Morrison and Shane Long.

Bearing in mind that Morrison is the costliest of this quartet, at 6.3 in FPL, it’s a sign of the mid-price appeal of a side that seems to be benefitting from a more open style of play this time round, with Clarke allowing his charges to express themselves with a little more freedom than the previous regime.

The Talking Point

Glance at the top 10 scoring midfielders in FPL and one thing is immediately noticeable – five of the top performers play in “the hole” for their respective clubs. Which begs the question: should there be more variety of player classifications within our Fantasy games? As tactics evolve within the Premier League and the shift towards 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 becomes far more commonplace, would Fantasy games benefit from introducing an “attacking midfielder” bracket?

Fellaini, Kevin Nolan, Santi Cazorla, Michu and James Morrison are all racking up the points from more advanced berths and offer far greater goal threat than the traditional central midfielder type – Fellaini started the season at 6.5, compared to Mikel Arteta’s 8.0 in FPL, for example, despite the fact that the latter sits in front of the Arsenal back-four in a 4-2-3-1. The Belgian’s constant goal threat has seen him so far outperform Nikica Jelavic for the Toffees and while it’s great for Fantasy owners, the variety across our midfields is rapidly decreasing this term with a seemingly obvious and exclusive pool of talent to select from.

There will, of course, be the obvious exception in any given Gameweek but after 10 rounds of matches, those players in “the hole” clearly have an overall advantage. Strategies and tactics would be taken to a whole new level if Fantasy managers were restricted to a maximum of two players from this classification – maybe even take away their ability to earn an extra point for clean sheets and the game would be instantly more intriguing. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but FPL showed they were willing to revise the bonus points last year – a system that places the likes of Sandro and John Obi Mikel in the same player pool as Fellaini and Cazorla could surely be improved upon.