Monitor – Stewart Downing

It’d be fair to say that when the pre-season player lists were revealed last July, Stewart Downing was far from our thoughts as a viable Fantasy option. A goal and two assists over 2,507 minutes in 2013/14 highlights his lack of impact in a West Ham outfit that scored just 40 times over the entire campaign, and despite reports suggesting Sam Allardyce’s side were set to go on the attack this time around, we were anything but convinced.

After five Gameweeks, though, the Hammers are starting to deliver. A 3-1 win over Liverpool means they have now scored nine times so far – averaging of 1.8 goals per match compared to last year’s 1.05 – and, from a Fantasy perspective at least, Downing has been the player to benefit most. A total of 27 points is just six off the top of the midfield standings in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game and sees the 5.5-priced Downing sandwiched in between Aaron Ramsey and Eden Hazard, on 28 and 25 points respectively.

With a goal, two assists and six bonus points accrued, Downing’s prospects could be boosted further by a switch in formation which afforded him the role in “the hole” behind Enner Valencia last weekend.

In our next members article of the week, we turn to the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) tables in order to assess the 2%-owned Downing’s displays in comparison to the season gone by.

For those who aren’t familiar with them, KPI tables are designed to use a series of key stats to allow our members to track form or changes in player performance. By tracking the frequency of certain key statistics and comparing them over two separate periods of time, we can ascertain whether a player’s form has improved or declined. As mentioned in last summer’s introductory article, we’ve rolled out a preview movie which shows just how to get the best out of the KPI tables.