The Digest – Gameweek 16

With the door finally closed on Gameweek 16, we take time out to discuss a certain Chelsea forward’s return to scoring form, the Canaries continual climb up the table and the merits of picking up not one but two United forwards over the crucial festive period…

The Player

Many had given up on Fernando Torres. Having started the season strongly for Chelsea, with three lots of double figure returns in the opening seven Gameweeks, his campaign had stuttered to a halt as Juan Mata and Eden Hazard racked up the Fantasy points under Roberto Di Matteo. The Italian’s abrupt sacking and the subsequent installation of Rafa Benitez to the Blues hotseat was reckoned to be Roman Abramovich’s final attempt to get the best out of his £50m forward and judging by his displays over the last couple of games, Torres may be finally finding his feet.

A brace in the club’s 6-1 Champions League win over Nordsjaelland was quickly followed by two more goals and an assist against Sunderland at the weekend, helping Torres to a 16 point Fantasy Premier League (FPL) haul, his highest of the season. With an assist in the Gameweek 15 loss at West Ham, he’s starting to pick up the points once again and, as Torres points out, it’s down to a change in tactics from a manager who played to his strengths when the pair were together at Liverpool:

“We are playing a bit differently now. We do not pass the ball as much as we did in the final third and we play a bit more direct. It was a long time not to score. We are attacking more and creating more. Normally, it takes some time with a new manager but the last two results will give us more confidence.”

For Torres, confidence is clearly the key word here. Benitez’s decision to move Juan Mata into the centre role in “the hole” behind his compatriot seems to have been a significant step forward, with the new man in charge revealing how his tactical tweaks have affected things up front:

“Obviously Fernando scoring goals is good for us because he is a striker. It’s fair to say that we are watching now a Fernando with more confidence and with more belief and, at the same time, the team is the same way. I was analysing his movement before and we were adjusting little things. It’s a question of confidence and just little different movements. He is doing well because the team is helping him. If we create more chances he will score more goals.”

With Chelsea now flying off on World Club Championship duties, they now face a break in their domestic schedule this weekend before resuming league action at home to Villa in Gameweek 18. Torres has yet to do enough to persuade us he’s worthy of consideration – Fantasy managers have been over this ground before. With Eden Hazard struggling for form and returns in recent matches, however, El Nino certainly has time to play his way into winter wildcard thoughts as an alternative to Mata if Benitez’s tinkering continues to bolster his potential over the next few Gameweeks.

The Team

A trip to the Liberty last weekend was bound to test Norwich’s resolve. The Canaries arrived at Swansea on an eight-match unbeaten run but with their hosts in buoyant mood after seeing off Arsenal at the Emirates and with Michu amongst the goals, few anticipated how events transpired. Michu may have bagged another brace but it wasn’t quite enough to derail Chris Hughton’s side as they clinched a dramatic 4-3 win to continue their climb up the table.

Having shipped nine goals against Liverpool and Chelsea in Gameweeks 6 and 7 respectively, Hughton went back to basics. Building from the back, Norwich ground out results, with four clean sheets in the following five but despite conceding in their last four, they continue to offer us options right throughout the side.

Seb Bassong has notched three times in his last four and with five clean sheets accrued, the centre-half has already climbed in price twice this week and now sits at 4.9 in FPL – with 66 points to his name, Bassong is the number one value player in FPL so far. Robert Snodgrass’ potential is finally coming to the fore – a 16 point haul at Swansea was his second lot of double figures in the past three Gameweeks, while Anthony Pilkington has also excelled of late, with double figures in each of his last two home games. Priced at just 5.8 and 5.7 respectively in FPL, they both offer a route into Hughton’s flourishing side, with game time for the pair assured.

As confidence continues to coarse through the Canaries, Grant Holt has also made a timely leap onto Fantasy radars with a goal and pair of assists ending a recent Fantasy drought. Norwich have now scored six in their last two – they have mustered the same number of goals over the seven fixtures prior to Gameweek 15, a remarkable turnaround and a sign of their capabilities. With three home games in their next four, many will be prepared to invest despite the fact that Chelsea and City are two of their upcoming visitors – with United and Arsenal already tasting defeat at Carrow Road, Hughton’s side have shown they can pick up the Fantasy points regardless of opponent.

The Talking Point

Another brace from Wayne Rooney brought the United forward onto Fantasy radars as his side prepare for a superb run of upcoming festive fixtures. With Sir Alex Ferguson’s side now set to welcome Sunderland, Newcastle and West Brom to Old Trafford in the next five and with trips to Swansea and Wigan also on the agenda, is it time to consider both Rooney and Robin Van Persie as part of our three-man frontlines?

The above-mentioned run of games would take us up to Gameweek 22 – this coincides with the start of the winter wildcard and could allow us to freshen up our sides if such a tactic fails to pay off. With Rooney’s second successive double and a Van Persie free-kick at City taking United’s tally to 40 for the season, Ferguson’s side are having little trouble finding the net – they have scored 10 more than their nearest challengers.

As mentioned in yesterday’s members piece on the pair, they are almost neck-and-neck for points accrued over the nine games they have started together – Van Persie has averaged seven points per game to Rooney’s 7.3, an indication of their lethal form. While the Dutchman is already a mainstay in many teams, his consistency means he could simply be handed the armband, with Rooney drafted in to hopefully replicate the four sets of double figures he has already returned in tandem with the former Arsenal man.

Ferguson’s rest and rotation policy could potentially scupper the plans. With Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck both desperate for game time, a hectic schedule which presents us with four Gameweeks over a fortnight may see the pair earning starts at Rooney or Van Persie’s expense but their manager may rather decide to get the points on the board just now and stretch their lead over City beyond six points.

Ferguson’s recent comments regarding Rooney’s fitness are also worth considering. Here, Ferguson remarked that a break can often be counterproductive for Rooney, disrupting his rhythm. The United manager’s reluctance to stall Rooney’s recent form was highlighted by his start in United’s final Champions League group match against Cluj last week.

Can we really look forward to four or even five matches with United’s heavy-hitting strikers in partnership over Christmas, then? If that’s the case, there seems little doubt that both are set to prosper given the form and fixtures.

With no other obvious route to doubling up on United’s attacking potential, those Fantasy managers who can possibly engineer both players into their squads could hand themselves a significant differential over the festive programme.