The Digest – Gameweek 26

With Sunday’s single league fixture to come, we nonetheless draw a line under Gameweek 26, heaping praise on a Premier League force of nature, acknowledging the impact of the new Saints supremo and wallowing in the disappointment of Monday night’s fare…

The Player

With the United defence just 24-hours from having to contend with the pace, trickery and raw goal threat of Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s perhaps fitting to look back on the performance of Gareth Bale on Saturday and draw comparisons.

Not since the Portuguese winger have we seen a player threaten the goal with such regularity, trouble defences with such apparent ease, resembling such an unstoppable force. Like Ronaldo, Bale is morphing into a player who cannot be defined or shackled by position or formation – a winger turned all-round attacker who proves more effective when he’s handed the freedom to roam central areas and expose the weaknesses in the opposing defence.

Bale’s weapons are not as refined as Ronaldo – he may not bamboozle or bewilder with his dribbling and tricks but he possesses the same pace and power, the same menace from long-range, both from open play and a dead-ball. He’s even worked to perfect the same dipping free-kick technique, in evidence for his opening strike against the Magpies.

While the comparison is perhaps premature given that we’ve seen Bale’s returns dip over spells this season, his propensity to explode double figure returns has none the less elevated the Welshman to new heights.

Tottenham have a true world-class talent who is perhaps yet to blossom fully; us Fantasy managers have a player who is putting in shifts and fetching returns that mirror the legend that was Ronaldo. It takes courage, stubbornness and perhaps an Arsenal season ticket to ignore him in his current form.

The Team

When Nigel Adkins was unceremoniously dumped from the St Mary’s hotseat, it was fair to say there was surprise and a certain degree of disappointment. In Fantasy terms, Adkins had shaped a side that was flirting with decent returns, offering value from all over the pitch – from Nathaniel Clyne at the back, to Rickie Lambert up top.

The arrival of Mauricio Pochettino could have led to a transition that may have de-railed such progress. Fantasy managers looked on the Southampton squad with renewed suspicion, anticipating a change in formation and tactics that would perhaps take time to bed, producing stalled and stuttering returns in the process.

Four matches into his tenure, Pochettino won his first three points with a superb display against the Champions on Saturday evening. The Argentine’s energetic, pressing brand of football unsettled Roberto Mancini’s side, rendering them ineffective in midfield and impotent in attack. Up front, a vibrancy inherited from the Adkins error has been maintained with Lambert the fulcrum – a vital cog that links the midfield runners and brings the raiding full-backs into play.

Fantasy managers cannot complain about Lambert’s first season – with 11 goals and six assists, he has presented strong value for a price tag that has only just risen to 6.6 from his bargain 6.0 initial valuation. While he has been far from explosive, his regular, plodding returns have ticked over, keeping Southampton out of the relegation mire and slowly building his Fantasy ownership.

With Lambert an effective weapon, Jason Puncheon has gone on providing a lively foil from wide areas. His fourth goal of the season against City, coupled with six assists so far, amount to another player who has more than delivered on a humble price tag.

While there has been just a single clean sheet under Pochettino’s reign thus far, Clyne, along with the now-established Artur Boruc in goal, look to be offering value for those shopping for budget pickings in defensive areas. Clyne’s keenness to edge forward and lend his pace to attacks has earned him three assists with the promise of more and, with the fixture list handing the Saints an obliging run-in, we may yet see the previously maligned rearguard fetch returns to bely their price tags.

The Talking Point

Liverpool’s spectacular failure to break the defiant West Brom defence, marshaled superbly by keeper Ben Foster, created a wave of disappointment that swept through the Fantasy fraternity. Few were immune to the impact – some escaped with light wounds: those who resisted the urge to load up on Anfield’s assets and settled for one, maybe two of Brendan Rodgers’ squad, suspicious that the bursting of the double Gameweek bubble was long overdue.

After all, we had been spoilt by the avalanche of points delivered by both Chelsea and Arsenal in recent weeks. Such heavy scoring was a seductive force and, even with the blank for both Liverpool and Swansea in Gameweek 27, many Fantasy managers dived headlong and gambled on the potential on offer.

We nonetheless have to take a step back and dust ourselves down following Monday’s events. The Anfield meeting with Swansea on Sunday provides a second leg that could yet deliver the rewards anticipated. Daniel Sturridge looks likely to be deployed up front, Luis Suarez, so ineffective against the Baggies, would seem likely to shift back to the left-flank. That partnership will surely trouble even a Swans defence that has proved to be the most miserly in the Premier League away from home.

Just as Monday provided an astonishing letdown, so Sunday could yet deliver an unexpected boost to revive the double Gameweek fortunes.