Say What – Gameweek 26

This week’s delve into the press conferences sees Tim Sherwood discuss Christian Benteke’s lack of self-belief. We hear from Matthy Phillips on the impact of new QPR boss Chris Ramsey, Arsene Wenger talks rotation, Raheem Sterling discusses his finishing, whilst Jose Mourinho admits his new signing will take time to settle.

New Villa boss Tim Sherwood conceded that misfiring striker Christian Benteke’s lack of form is down to a crisis in confidence. The big Belgian has failed to score in each of the last nine Gameweeks now but over that period has produced more touches in the box (79) and shots inside the penalty area (22) than any other striker. Benteke has fired a total of 26 unsuccessful attempts from Gameweek 18 onwards and Sherwood (who has never managed against the forward) nonetheless went on to say:

“I don’t think Christian thinks he’s cracked it yet. I don’t need to watch the DVDs, I know he was a beast up there and can bully people. Anything crossed into the box, he used to eat it up — we need to get back to that. But he needs support…I remember playing against Benteke as a manager, what a handful he can be. We need to get back to that. He needs a goal for himself. That will breed confidence. He will be an important part because we know what he can be. All the best clubs in the world were after him. I’m sure we can tap into that confidence and get him back firing.”

The installation of Chris Ramsey to the QPR hotseat has led to a dramatic improvement in Matty Phillips’ Fantasy fortunes. Ramsey has started the 4.6-priced winger in all three of his matches in charge and has been rewarded with a trio of assists as the former Blackpool flier grasps his opportunity with both hands. Discussing his recent form, Phillips acknowledged Ramsey’s part in his recent rise to prominence and explained just why the new man in charge is getting the best out of his talents:

“Chris has spent time with me on things I need to work on, and hopefully I’ll see the benefit. He’s very hands on, and we’ve practised three or our different types and angles and weight of cross and people getting on the end of it. It feels good, and you feel like you have a worth within the side and that breeds confidence, especially as I’m a confidence player, and when you haven’t got it, you do need those assists and goals. At the beginning of the season I wasn’t quite ready to play, and it was tough. But always knew in the back of my head one day I would get the chance to play again. I’m over my injuries and I’ve got a bit of confidence now.”

With Jack Wilshere back in the frame following a return from injury, Arsene Wenger has a multitude of options in the midfield areas. The Gunners boss conceded that the upcoming schedule, which sees Arsenal battling on two cup fronts in addition to the Premier League, is likely to ensure he rotates in order to retain a degree of freshness within his first-team squad:

“No matter who plays, you always worry about the balance of the team. If you look at Santi, for example, until now he has maybe been our most consistent player and, since he moved centrally, he has increased his influence as well. In Cazorla and Özil, Welbeck and Sánchez, it is a very offensive team and that means if you take one out and put Jack in it is exactly the same. Jack is an offensive player, someone who can turn the game forward and win the ball. And that’s his game. He can play wide so that means he can play on the right, on the left and in the middle, and with those positions there is fierce competition as well. But when you look at our scheduling over the next month I’m happy with that as he will get games. He is exactly the same player as he was before he was injured.”

A goal against United in last Saturday’s 2-1 win at the Liberty means Ki Sung-Yeung has now scored twice in three appearances since returning from last month’s Asian Cup. The South Korean has found the net on five occasions this season – second only to former Swan Wilfried Bony for Garry Monk’s side this season – and with showdowns against Burnley, Villa and Hull in the next five, the 5.0-priced Ki explained just why he’s profiting in the final third more than ever before:

“I’m scoring goals because I have more confidence in certain areas and I have licence to go forwards. My position is more of a defensive midfielder, but sometimes I need to go forward to score a goal. That helps the team get more motivated. Me and Jonjo (Shelvey) both have the qualities to score goals, I believe, from midfield, and I want to score more goals for the team. I try to work hard every day in training and of course there’s always pressure to perform on the pitch. I need to always try to handle the pressure. The coaching staff help me tactically and also, I always try to train very hard myself to become better. That’s why my form is getting better and I’m scoring for the team.”

After handing new boy Juan Cuadrado an 11-minute debut off the bench in Gameweek 24, Jose Mourinho has started the former Fiorentina man in each of the subsequent couple of league fixtures. Chelsea have scored just once in both those last two matches and Cuadrado has been subbed off just before the 70-minute mark, having failed to deliver any returns to date. The Blues boss conceded the Colombian needs time to adjust to the rigours of the Premier League and doesn’t expect Cuadrado to make an instant impact as the league leaders attempt to stave off City’s challenge at the summit:

“He is adapting. He needs to adapt in everything. The pace of the game, in Italy it’s completely different, the intensity is much higher [here], it is different to play at the intensity we play – especially for 90 minutes. At Fiorentina he was playing as a wide player, here he has to go to areas where he’s not adapted to it. I truly believe we are not seeing the player we know we have because the kid needs to adapt.”

Having changed his tactics on a number of occasions in recent weeks, Gus Poyet has confirmed he has permanently ditched the experiment with three central defenders. The Black Cats boss continues to alternate between a lone striker system and two up top as a result of Jermain Defoe’s arrival, though with no goals in the last two, it’s clear his tinkering is proving detrimental:

“If I go first with the system and then I pick the players, everyone would be mad at me. You have to adapt to the players, not the system. The four and two three’s [4-3-3] is my idea, it’s the one that makes us most solid. You can have that special player wide who can become a second striker. We tried it with Connor [Wickham] and it worked for a few weeks, but not enough. Now we’ve got Jermain so we’re adapting. The three at the back was a good try. There are certain things I really like about that system. It’s not me. I’ve been four at the back all my life and I will stay like that. For us, I wasn’t really convinced what the wing-backs really give you in that system. They need to be more offensive than defensive, more wingers than full-backs. We didn’t find that situation right.”

Baggies boss Tony Pulis may have earned four clean sheets in his first six but for Andre Wisdom owners, his arrival has been bad news. The third most popular defender in the FPL game with 20% ownership, the on-loan Liverpool defender has dropped to the bench in the last three Gameweeks, with Pulis instead opting for Craig Dawson at right-back, with Chris Brunt moving out of midfield to occupy the opposite flank in the back-four. With the he new manager praising his new full-backs, Wisdom owners now look set to exit quickly:

“I’ve been pleased with Dawson and Brunt. Brunty’s done well there in the games and Daws. The two of them have got really good energy to get forward. If you look at the first goal and the third goal that we scored against West Ham. There’s a cross from Brunt that goes in first that Brown Ideye misses that he should score and for the first goal ‘Daws’ gets down the side of the pitch and his cross Brown does score from. To get them forward is important and they’ve got the legs and the energy to do that. Daws is enjoying it, giving him more of a free reign as you saw for the first goal last week and he’s very, very fit. Both of them are, so they won’t worry about getting up and down the pitch.”

In spite of a disappointing display against Monaco last night. Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud has mainly been thriving up front in recent matches. The Frenchman has served up three goals and two assists in the last five Gameweeks and also bagged a brace in the recent FA Cup win over Middlesbrough – he attributed that Boro brace to a collective lack of belief in his qualities as he sets about trying to prove the doubters wrong:

” When I do this (he puts his head in his hands) after a missed chances, the coaches get a bit annoyed. They want me to have a ‘killer’ attitude, almost insensitive. Diego Costa shows no emotion. I am more emotional. I have therefore learned to control my emotions. When you talk about a guy to play in your place, you feel offended because it is your place. I here them saying: ‘They have Giroud and Welbeck but they need a world-class attacker’. It is like saying, we are not world-class attackers. Does it upset me? No but it stings. Recently there was a buzz around Jackson Martinez (Porto). The coach said nice things about him, the player said he would like to come. I heard that just before the Middlesbrough game. It gave me extra motivation. I was very pleased to score two goals.”

Since moving to a 3-4-2-1 formation, Liverpool have been beaten once in 11 league outings. After losing 3-0 to United back in Gameweek 16, Brendan Rodgers’ side have embarked on a ten-match unbeaten run, which has seen Raheem Sterling collect points in five of his last seven league appearances. The Reds’ youngster fired five attempts against the Red Devils without managing to find the net and he reckons that addressing his misfortunes that day has been responsible for the turnaround in form:

“United was a low day, definitely, because everyone at this football wants to win those type of games and I missed the chances that would have helped us do that. That day was massive for me. I was devastated afterwards. I went home and the next day I watched the clips over and over again, I can’t tell you how many times I watched them, just to see what I could have done better. I am very critical of myself and always look at what I can improve on. At this moment in time that is my finishing and no one has to tell me. When I get a chance to practice, I do. I get five balls on my left side and five on my right side. On my right I score three or four, on my left two or one. So any chance I get I am looking to improve.”