Sunday belonged to Carlton “goal machine” Cole, as the Hammers squashed Fulham’s unbeaten record at Upton Park. Meanwhile at the Lane, Defoe showed the Tottenham fans what they’ve missed, while Redknapp was left wondering how Bent missed.
The Lineups
West Ham were without Bellamy following his alleged training ground walkout. A fee with City have since been agreed and he now looks certain to be on his way. Zola recalled Di Michele up front with Carlton Cole in Bellamy’s absence. Fulham meanwhile, were unchanged again, with Bullard’s hip/dead leg keeping him out.
At White Hart Lane, Redknapp shifted King back into his defence, dropping Dawson to the bench. O’Hara started wide left, with Modric and Zokora in central midfield roles and Lennon preferred to Bentley on the right. Pavlyuchenko partnered Defoe up front.
Adams kept faith with 4-5-1 – with Nugent again playing wide but tucking in to support Crouch. Traore was deployed on a similar role on the other flank and he could now be worth further consideration as a result. Pompey have toughened up defensively of late and Traore could well hold down a starting role in this advanced midfield position for the foreseeable. However, Portsmouth’s short-term fixtures are exactly conducive to fantasy investment right now (AVL ful LIV stk mun).
The Form
Sunday was all about Carlton Cole yet again. He scored his fourth goal in the last 4 league games and topped it off with an assist and FPL bonus. In that fantasy game he has notched up 40 points in those 4 games. Not surprisingly his price is on the rise again. Currently standing at 5.8 from a starting point of 5.5, it’s surely due at least one more price rise before the gameweek deadline. The question is of course, can he continue this kind of form?
Cole’s superb returns have coincided with a kind run of fixtures for the Hammers (por STK new FUL). Sunday’s opponents were undoubtedly the toughest and most in-form of Cole’s stunning quartet of games but Hodgson’s side were very disappointing on the day. The early Paintsil error set the tone and was the first goal they conceded in the last 4 away games. Once that had gone in, Fulham’s gameplan of keeping the game tight, had gone out of the window.
So will Cole find assistance from the fixture list going forward? I’m not so sure. The home game with Hull certainly offers potential for profits. After that, his next three fixtures find him visit the Emirates, followed by a home game with United and then a trip to Bolton. I can easily see Cole’s returns drying up for a spell after the Hull game then, just as his bandwagon hits top speed.
You can see the Upton Park result as a blip, but there’s no doubt that the Fulham performance was very very flat. They have a decent spell of fixtures over the next 4 gameweeks (sun POR wig mun WBA) including a double gameweek. However, Hodgson will need to pick his team up and find some attacking ideas away from home if they are to promise any fantasy returns. Defensively, I’m slightly concerned that Sunday’s result will knock their confidence and a trip to Sunderland against Jones and Cisse, will not be an easy task for their defence next week.
Spurs and Portsmouth served up a far more attractive treat than I expected. Both sides attacked but ultimately there were few returns for fantasy managers. Defoe got his goal and is always worth consideration, particularly when you glimpse at his forthcoming fixtures (STK bol ARS hul sun). I still have concerns over Tottenham’s fluidity in attack. Sunday’s goal was only their second in the last 6 league games. Redknapp is still trying to find his best starting lineup and the most profitable role for Modric and it may take another new signing before we see the Tottenham start threatening goals. It looks as though Bellamy is now out of the equation as an option.
As for Portsmouth, Adams has brought a new-found solidity to his side with the 4-5-1 but they have now scored just 4 goals in their last 6. Clean sheets haven’t been forthcoming and they now enter a horrible period of fixtures (AVL ful LIV stk mun). This isn’t a time to consider Pompey players in my opinion.
Injuries and bans
Ledley King suffered a hamstring injury and was replaced just before half-time. Redknapp has already stated that he’ll lose his skipper for “a long time”. This is a key injury that will severely weaken Tottenham’s defensive potential. Any thoughts you had of dabbling with a Spurs defender in the short or long-term must surely go out of the window as a result of King’s absence.
Pavlyuchenko was also an injury victim, stretchered off with an ankle problem after just 28 minutes. This is just thought to be a knock which shouldn’t sideline him for a lengthy period. According to Redknapp, Lennon, Corluka and Gomes are also nursing knocks as a result of yesterday’s game.
One more addition to the suspension tightrope – West Ham’s Behrami moved to 4 bookings with his yellow on Sunday.