The Pre-Match Preamble – Gameweek 15

There’s something out of the ordinary about a midweek deadline. I can’t put my finger on it but it feels different, almost as if it’s a separate entity in our season, operating under a different set of rules.

I was certain of my transfer going into Tuesday evening but wrestling with the captaincy dilemma. While, under normal circumstances, I’d have played safe with the Sergio Aguero option, there was something about the evening setting which somehow seemed to make it more viable to gamble – to opt for Wilfried Bony and go for the differential.

Perhaps, on a Saturday morning, I’ve invested that extra thinking time: those extra hours overnight and lying awake when I should be reserving my attention for my girlfriend and our toddler, when, instead, at least 75% of my brain is weighing up the merits of Aguero vs Diego Costa vs the punt.

Often on a Saturday, the captaincy is pretty clear-cut. I’ve invested the time to sift the logic and, while I can often make an error, very rarely do I feel uncomfortable with my decision come 11.30.

That wasn’t the case on Tuesday. Everything felt rushed. Even at the last minute I had to fight the urge to switch back to Aguero but the option to gamble eventually won through.

I paid the price. Aguero overcame talk of the Black Cats hoodoo to dismiss Gus Poyet’s side with two quality strikes, leaving Bony’s single assist against QPR in the shade. I was unfortunate not to get more from the Ivorian but I’d made an error nonetheless. I can’t help but feel that, in the cold light of Saturday morning, with more time invested in the decision, I’d have played it safe.

It’s a shame that “playing safe” is often the default. As Aliminator stated here, it was a pity that those who took a risk on Bony and the like were so mercilessly dispatched by Aguero, and even Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard. The midweek deadline may have provided a breeding ground for reckless, risky and “brave” decision-making but its outcome certainly punished it.

Which brings me to this morning, and my current deliberation on whether to spend my first transfer hit of the season. I’m contemplating either Eden Hazard or Christian Eriksen in for Nacer Chadli for a points hit because I’m uncertain of his start against Palace. While both targets are worthy candidates who offer the potential to repay the debt, Chadli could play and, as we’ve seen, is capable of fetching returns that perhaps outweigh his talent on show.

I don’t think I can chance it. Hazard’s record that shows that he’s scored his last ten league goals at the Bridge indicates that points at Newcastle are far from guaranteed. The Magpies will have both Jack Colback and Mousa Sissoko back to bolster the midfield and, with Diego Costa up front, I’ve got Blues’ most likely source of points covered. Chadli could get minutes and punish me, and after the midweek humbling at the hands of the Fantasy gods, I think I’ve got to suppress my risk-taking gene.