Scout Notes – Gameweek 17 – Sunday

Jan Vertonghen nets the only goal in Tottenham’s win over Swansea to return his biggest points haul of the season, while West Ham and West Brom end their respective runs without clean sheets by battling their way to a goalless draw at the Hawthorns…

Villas-Boas Tinkers at the Back
Steven Caulker’s Fantasy prospects took a dent yesterday after a defensive reshuffle saw him drop to the bench against Swansea. Perhaps Caulker’s mistake at Everton in the previous match played a part or maybe the impending return of Benoit Assou-Ekotto was in Andre Villas-Boas’ thinking as he moved Jan Vertonghen back into the centre, with Kyle Naughton drafted in at left-back. With two clean sheets in their last three, Spurs are showing signs of resilience at the back after keeping out their opponents just once in the first 14 Gameweeks. William Gallas continues to look the most reliable of the mid-price options at the back for Spurs – he has now started all but one of the opening 17 matches and, at 5.0, is far cheaper than the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker.

Both Vertonghen and Walker justified their lofty price tags yesterday, though, after both returned their highest points hauls of the season. The Belgian hinted at his goal potential from the back with the only strike of the game and threatened Gerhard Tremmel in the opposition goal on a number of occasions. With maximum bonus also accrued, Vertonghen picked up 15 FPL points – more than his total from the previous eight Gameweeks combined – while Walker’s second assist in the last three home games helped him to 11 points. Priced at 6.3 and 6.1 in FPL neither are budget-friendly but may prove a decent differential if they can continue their upturn in form.

Forward Concerns for Spurs
A caution for Jermain Defoe took the forward’s yellow card count to four for the season yesterday – just one short of an automatic one-match ban. While Spurs’ upcoming fixtures look enticing for investment, Defoe now has to avoid succumbing to the referee’s wrath over the next three (STO, avl, sun); a factor that may put some Fantasy managers off from snapping him up in the short-term. Emmanuel Adebayor gave Villas-Boas cause for concern after limping off with hamstring and ankle complaints. The Togo international has started the last four he has been available for and seems to have cemented a role in the first-team again – he had looked a possible differential but with doubts over his fitness and with Gareth Bale also remaining uncertain to play against Stoke next weekend, there seems to be no risk-free route into Spurs’ attacking assets right now.

Clean Sheets for Baggies and Hammers
Fantasy owners of West Brom and West Ham’s backlines were afforded a boost after yesterday’s goalless draw at the Hawthorns. Neither side have impressed defensively of late – Boaz Myhill had conceded in all six games since stepping in for the injured Ben Foster but finally kept out his opponents; while the upcoming schedule is relatively kind, Foster’s return to training last week suggests Myhill’s starts may be in doubt. Foster’s record of four clean sheets in six at the Hawthorns certainly hints at his potential ahead of home clashes with Norwich, Fulham and Villa in the next six.

Post-match, however, Steve Clarke revealed Foster was still edging towards fitness, while the Baggies boss also took time out to praise Goran Popov, who stood in for the injured Liam Ridgewell once again:

“To be honest Ben and Claudio (Yacob) weren’t close to playing today. But defensively I thought we were strong. We wanted to put in a strong defensive performance to make sure the worse we got today was a point – and that’s what it turned out we had to accept. Goran (Popov) was one of a number of good performers for us. I thought Billy Jones on the other side was good as well. The back-four were strong and solid. It’s good for Goran because he’s not had too many starts and it’s good to see he is settling into the Premier League.”

Sam Allardyce’s had also disappointed at the back in recent matches. The Hammers had conceded in their last five heading into the Hawthorns clash, with their last clean sheet back in Gameweek 11 at Newcastle, but are starting to reappear on Fantasy radars as the schedule starts to look a little kinder. While upcoming games against Everton and Arsenal could be tricky, West Ham’s fixtures then start to pick up from Gameweek 20 onwards – 4.0 priced Guy Demel has now started the last four now and, having retired from international action, no longer has African Cup of Nations duties to curtail his winter game time.

Long Drought Continues
For the first 13 Gameweeks of the season, Shane Long was one of the most consistent Fantasy performers around. With attacking returns in nine of those matches, the Baggies forward had never gone longer than one week without providing a goal or assist but, having been benched for the Gameweek 14 trip to Swansea, he has since returned three back-to-back blanks. It’s no coincidence this downturn has coincided with a loss of form for Steve’s Clarke’s side – while yesterday’s point arrested a run of three straight losses, West Brom have now failed to score in their last three, a real concern ahead of what could, potentially, be a potent source of points. Bearing in mind Clarke has already spoken of rotation over the festive period, Long’s owners may have reason to be concerned over his upcoming game time, with the Baggies manager perhaps looking to freshen up his frontline to rectify the scoring drought.