The Burning Question – Do you hold onto Ramsey? If not, who comes in?

We roll out our second Burning Question of the week this afternoon. Having run the rule over Wayne Rooney replacements in yesterday’s piece, we now assess the fallout from Aaron Ramsey’s hamstring injury.

Although his manager has suggested a three or four-week absence, the transfer market has gone into overdrive this week and the Gunners midfielder has been subject to over 270,000 trades out in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, resultantly dropping to 8.9.

With this in mind we ask the Burning Question: Do you hold onto Ramsey? If not, who comes in?

Jonty says…
Aaron Ramsey is too expensive a player to bench for anything more than a single Gameweek. But even if he had not injured his hamstring, a case had already been mounting for ditching the Welshman. Arsenal face Chelsea away this weekend and returns were unlikely, plus his form was on the slide with just one assist in four matches. Fixtures improve in the short term, but it would be hard to look past a returning Theo Walcott as Arsenal cover. In terms of replacements, doubling up on Southampton and drafting in the impressive Dusan Tadic as well as Graziano Pelle would be a good call. My pick, however, is David Silva ahead of City’s kind run of fixtures (avl, TOT, whm, MUN, qpr, SWA) over the next six matches – no other midfielder has created more chances than the little Spaniard over the last four Gameweeks.

D1sable says…
I see no reason to hold him – the game moves so fast and you need to react not only to the changing market prices but to keep pace with other Fantasy managers who will almost certainly be switching him out.

I think there are two good options here. Firstly, as Jonty has already mentioned, David Silva looks a good alternative but my other tip is the points machine Steven Gerrard.

I know this will be an unpopular choice but the man continues to defy reason. Despite almost playing as a third centre-half in some matches, Gerrard continues to churn out points and is currently the seventh highest scoring midfielder in the FPL game. With a fixture list that reads (WBA, qpr, HULL, new, CHE, cpl) and the returning Daniel Sturridge to help tuck away the chances he creates (and potentially win a few penalties), I see no signs of his points diminishing and fancy him to outscore the majority of other options over this period.

Spencer says…
With Ramsey out, I’ve gone for Chelea’s Cesc Fabregas. I’m still annoyed that I took him out of my team and think that he has points potential against every team. Alternatively, my other midfield option would be City’s David Silva, who’s looking much more consistent this season – the champions look free scoring, and you’d like to think that the Spaniard would be at the heart of most attacks.

Mark says…
While Arsene Wenger has indicated that Ramsey could well return shortly after the international break (and therefore miss one, maybe two matches), I’m aware that the Gunners’ boss has often been optimistic with his appraisal of his player’s prognosis. Ramsey is a prize asset who won’t be rushed back and I don’t see any option but to part company and shop for a replacement.

Although the Gunners have a wealth of talent in that area, I’d personally favour opting for Danny Welbeck up front and scan the other squads for a suitable replacement.

Right now, I’d favour gambling on Dusan Tadic. While Chelsea and United have a cast of candidates, I see their attacking points being shared around, while I fully expect Tadic to bloom in the short-term with his schedule and the Saints’ current form. Like Graziano Pelle, the statistics suggest we have a potential heavy-hitter on our hands, and while he hasn’t quite delivered, I favour taking the punt on him, particularly as I’m overlooking Pelle in favour of Welbeck and Sergio Aguero as my wing-men for Diego Costa.

Long-term, I’ve one eye on Theo Walcott and I feel it’s inevitable that Alexis Sanchez will explode – it’s going to be a question of timing our investment to coincide with an uninterrupted period of pitch time. Tricky, but I feel that the Fantasy managers who can anticipate Arsene Wenger’s midfield line-up best will have a huge advantage.

Ryan says…
Picking a player with both form and fixtures is a golden rule in Fantasy football. Everything has to stack up when making such crucial transfer decisions. Ramsey is a big-hitter and takes up a significant portion of the budget but, truth be told, he was in poor form and probably needed to be sold anyway.

The difficulty, however, is that there are few big hitting midfielders with both form and fixtures. If you don’t already own them, Cesc Fabregas and Angel Di Maria are both about to embark on a run of tough fixtures. Liverpool’s form has dipped of late, reducing the appeal of Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling – although the return of Daniel Sturridge could be the catalyst for an upturn in fortunes. David Silva, who for so long has flattered to deceive, continues to do so – the Spaniard consistently racks up strong creativity stats but has only taken a measly five shots on goal this season.

By contrast, Dusan Tadic’s 16 efforts is second only to Sterling’s tally, whilst he’s also created 12 chances and has a strong run of fixtures to follow – the perfect combination. With just 2.6% ownership in the FPL game, the Saints playmaker looks like a differential well worth owning.

7shadesofsmoke says…
Aaron Ramsey’s injury will come as a cruel blow to the faithful 30% or so of FPL managers who’ve held on to him through a relatively barren spell since Gameweek 2. Unfortunately for Ramsey’s owners, he’s no longer an over-performing circa-6.0 man and his expected absence until early November will weigh heavy in the pockets of frustrated Fantasy managers who’ve seen the likes of Raheem Sterling and Cesc Fabregas deliver on a more regular basis while Angel Di Maria shot to the fore at Old Trafford.

With expected price falls on the horizon and the chance to leap onto steadier ships, selling Ramsey looks like a solid option and those who don’t have one of Fabregas or Sterling have an easy solution staring them in the eye. Anyone else could be tempted by David Silva’s excellent chance creation, with strong fixtures and a fit Sergio Aguero to feed, while Samir Nasri’s groin injury could thrust Jesus Navas into the picture – the winger has produced chances more frequently than both Silva and Fabregas when given the chance this season.

The Tinkerman says…
One key skill to FPL is to quickly spot trends and act fast. In this case, an injury to Ramsey – a player with no goals and one assist in his last four – is a great excuse to bring in another player who you have most likely missed out on up to now and who is quietly showing the kind of form that arguably makes him one of the most valuable midfielders in the game: Nacer Chadli. The Spurs midfielder has managed four goals in five appearances this term, regardless of the fact he missed Gameweek 1 and is yet to complete 90 minutes, and enjoys a modest price tag of 6.2. Add the fact that he is a relative differential, with less than 10% ownership, and his appeal over other Ramsey replacements is obvious.

Many will feel that they prefer to pick a premium option for their Ramsey alternative. However, this approach could prove to be unwise given the fact that, after six Gameweeks, Chadli sits joint-top of the FPL midfield rankings. If he continues this form and the chances keep falling his way, there’s no reason he can’t go on to be one of the top-scoring midfielders by the end of the season. Forced off during the north London derby, he’s since been included in today’s Europa League squad and is my number one Ramsey replacement.