Scout Notes – Gameweek 38

Kevin Nolan nets a hat-trick as West Ham ease past Reading. Romelu Lukaku serves up a three-goal haul in just 45 minutes against United. Gareth Bale and Philippe Coutinho help Spurs and Liverpool to narrow home wins respectively, Juan Mata ends a goal drought as Chelsea finish the season in third, while another solid defensive display sees Arsenal scrape a victory at Newcastle to take fourth:

Nolan and Carroll Sign off in Style
Prior to yesterday’s match with Reading, Kevin Nolan had scored just three times since Gameweek 9 but, with a goal and five bonus points in his previous two home fixtures, we’d handed him a place on the Scout Picks bench. The Hammers skipper ran riot against a backline that had conceded in every away fixture this season, grabbing a hat-trick to keep himself in our Fantasy thoughts over the summer – having started the season at 6.0, he looks set for an upturn in price, with yesterday’s heroics taking him to 149 points, one less than Frank Lampard and a couple more than David Silva in the midfield standings. Carroll also justified our decision to hand him a place in the Scout Picks in his final game on loan at Upton Park. The big striker maintained the form that had harvested returns in five of the last six in front of his own fans by providing a pair of assists – after a disappointing start to the campaign, he finished with four goals and four assists in his last eight Gameweeks and has placed himself firmly in the shop window over the summer, with both the Hammers and Newcastle linked with a permanent move for his services.

Lukaku Runs Riot
Dropped from the starting XI for the final match of his loan spell at West Brom, the big Belgian climbed off the bench to salvage a sensational draw in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in charge of the champions. Up against a second-string United backline, Lukaku simply bullied the visitors into submission with a brilliant hat-trick taking his tally to 17 goals for the season. Indeed, since the turn of the year Lukaku has delivered 11 goals and six assists in just 17 appearances – much depends on the plans of Chelsea’s incoming manager but if Lukaku can nail down the lone forward role at Stamford Bridge next time out, he could be Fantasy gold. With Fernando Torres and Demba Ba to compete with, another spell on loan may well be on the cards; certainly, such a scenario would afford him a greater chance of game time and if he can continue in the same vein, he looks a real contender for out three man frontlines next time out.

Hernandez Stakes a Claim
While Wayne Rooney was omitted from the squad once again, Javier Hernandez served notice of his intentions to nail down a regular role under David Moyes next season with a goal and assist in United’s incredible 5-5 draw at the Hawthorns. Starting alongside Robin Van Persie again, the Mexican continued on from the form that produced a goal against Swansea last Sunday and ended the season with 10 goals and five assists from just 953 minutes game time. With Van Persie notching his 26th of the season to cement his spot as the top scoring FPL player for the second campaign in succession, the Dutchman’s price may well even rise from 13.0 – Hernandez could be a real option next time round if he can continue as a regular under Moyes.

Bale Leaves it Late
Once again, Tottenham were reliant on their Welsh wonder to make the difference as Bale finally found a way past Simon Mignolet in the Sunderland goal. The Black Cats stopper had defied Andre Villas-Boas’ side time and again but was unable to prevent Bale from sealing the points with just a minute left on the clock – with maximum bonus points also in the bag, he has now produced double figures in five of his last six at the Lane. In a quite remarkable season, Bale has racked up 21 goals, nine assists and 50 bonus points and has delivered double figures on no less than 14 occasions –given that Robin Van Persie has produced eight sets of double figures, it highlights the Welshman’s explosive potential and providing he continues in a central role next time out, he’ll be favoured by many to oust the United man as the top scoring player for 2013/14 across the Fantasy games.

Mata Ends Drought
A first goal since Gameweek 25 helped Chelsea clinch third spot as Mata finished the season as second top scoring midfielder on 212 points. It brought to an end a run of 11 games without a goal as the Spaniard relied upon a raft of assists to boost his score – intriguingly, Mata (18) and Eden Hazard (16) were the top two for assists over the season and with 11 and nine goals respectively, the pair have justified their initial 9.5 price tags. With a price hike looking set for both next term, though, finding a place for one or both in our midfields will be a real balancing act – particularly with the Blues set for a double Gameweek in August, due to their European Super Cup final duties. Oscar’s relatively quiet debut season could ultimately prove beneficial to his cost for the following campaign; of Mata and Hazard are priced beyond our budgets, the young Brazilian may find himself in more teams next time out, having ended this campaign with three goals and six bonus points in his last five starts.

Coutinho Justifies the Hype
The Liverpool winger was drafted in by 60,000 FPL managers for yesterday’s home clash with QPR – more than any other midfield option in the game. Having produced a pair of assists in each of his two, Coutinho – subject of Thursday’s Monitor article for members – grabbed the only goal of the game as the Reds squeezed past Harry Redknapp’s side to finish the season with a win. With three goals and seven assists in 12 appearances since arriving at the club in January, Coutinho has quickly established himself as key to the Reds’ attacking endeavours and with Luis Suarez suspended for the first six games of next season, he looks set to arrive on many a Fantasy radar.

Gunners Hold Steady
Given they had already battered Newcastle 7-3 this season, many had expected a comfortable stroll for Arsenal at St James’ Park. Arsene Wenger’s side delivered the win that clinched fourth spot with another resilient showing yesterday – a 1-0 triumph produced their 14th clean sheet of the campaign and saw the north London club end the season with the second best defensive record in the top-flight, with 37 goals against and only 14 goals conceded on the road. Arsenal have shipped a mere two goals in the final six Gameweeks, with yesterday’s match-winner Laurent Koscielny serving up two sets of double figures in his last five appearances – both the Frenchman and Per Mertesacker should come i around the 6.0 mark next time out, having started at 5.5 and 5.0 respectively.

Lambert Back in the Goals
Recovering from a back injury in time for yesterday’s home clash with Stoke, Rickie Lambert ended a six-match scoring drought to register his 15th goal of the season. Earlier last week, Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino revealed his start striker had been hampered with the problem for a month or so – perhaps explaining his recent fall from form – but Lambert’s strike, allied with an initial 6.0 starting price – means he ends the season as the top value outfield player in his first campaign in the top-flight. Given the progress of Jay Rodriguez under the Argentine, the two forwards price tags for 2013/14 will be intriguing, with Lambert looking set for a more substantial hike.

City Capitulate
A home clean sheet looked firmly on the cards as City welcomed Norwich to the Etihad. The hosts had produced five clean sheets in the previous seven in front of their own fans, while Chris Hughton’s side had been dire on their travels, scoring just twice in the seven away games prior to yesterday’s showdown. City’s dreadful season stuttered to a finish with a 3-2 defeat, with Brian Kidd choosing to partner Micah Richards and Matija Nastasic at the back, with Carlos Tevez joined by Edin Dzeko up top. Replaced by Sergio Aguero just after the break, Tevez finished as City’s top FPL scorer despite returning a single assist in his last six matches, while Aguero finished the campaign on 121 points – that’s 90 less than last time out and fewer than Peter Crouch and Steven Fletcher, for example, despite the fact that the latter hasn’t played since Gameweek 30 due to injury. Looking on the positive side, with a new manager in place for next term, Aguero certainly looks set to drop from this season’s initial 11.5 price and is likely to find his way onto many radars if he can rediscover the form that made him such a spectacular option in 2011/12.