Torres proves decisive. Lampard proves a point. Rodallega proves me wrong. There was plenty of lessons dished out in gameweek ten. Here’s some belated musings to soak up…
Cole is leading the Hammers fight…
Carlton Cole got his fourth goal in five games against the Gunners. He has now scored in every home game this term. With that in mind, West Ham have four home games in the next six gameweeks, plus a double fixture to come this coming gamweek, with games against Sunderland and Villa. At just 6.8 in the FPL, it will be interesting to see how many will brave downgrading the likes of Drogba, Torres, Van Perise or even Bent, to get Cole in and free up some cash for midfield areas.
The Gunners continue to be brittle…
Arsenal have registered just 2 clean sheets so far this season. A run of opposition that saw them face Blackburn, Birmingham and West Ham should have brought defensive returns. It hasn’t. Gallas and Vermaelen owners continue to rely on goals to justify their inclusion, but the likes of Clichy, Sagna and even midfielder Song, are struggling to justify their price tags. As for the keeper situation – will Mannone pay the price for palming the ball into Carlton Cole’s path? Who knows? But while Arsenal continue to concede, few of us will really care. Spurs next – what price a clean sheet there?
Van Persie is Mr Consistency…
The Dutchman scored for the fourth consecutive league game at Upton Park to keep up a record that shows just one fixture in nine starts without a return of a goal or an assist.
But he can’t quite match Drogba…
The Chelsea striker can better Van Persie by boasting at least a goal or an assist in every one of Chelsea’s league games this season. He now sits on 8 goals and 7 assists, making him a clear front runner among the strikers. Essential? It looks that way.
Frank’s back but Cole needs watching…
Lampard’s two goals justified his selecton in the Scout Picks and suddenly lifted him up the midfield rankings just behind Fabregas. That will doubtless win him plenty of attention this gameweek – particularly while Gerrard remains an injury doubt. However, Joe Cole could be the one to watch in the midfield area.
Cole started his first league game, playing at the point of Ancelotti’s diamond and duly sparkled. The Chelsea boss left us in no doubt just how highly he rates the trickster and just where he sees him fitting in Chelsea’s formation. Cole didn’t contribute in fantasy terms on Sunday, despite the five goal rout, but he will doubtless start producing while he remains up just behind Drogba and Anelka. That’s the position he’s been craving for many seasons.
At 9.0 in the FPL, he could and should offer a strong differential if you time investment to hit a hot gameweek. With a tricky trip to Bolton and then United to follow, it might be worth holding fire for a while though.
Bolton are a source of attacking points…
No really. After failing to score in their first two games, Megson’s side have gone on the attack and have notched two or more goals in 6 of their last 8 fixtures. Not surprisingly perhaps, 11 goals have come from set-pieces. That stat should put us on alert for several key players – Gary Cahill’s goal on Sunday was his second of the season, while Matt Taylor provided his second assist of this term. Meanwhile, Kevin Davies has contributed either a goal or an assist in 7 of his last 8 league games. Chung-Yong Lee is also worth monitoring further. He already has 2 goals, an assist and 2 bonus points to his name in just 3 starts.
Bolton are a tangible source of bargains then, particularly once they have Chelsea and Villa out of the way in the next two gameweeks. Look out for a double fixture in gameweek 14 – although that is subject to change after this week’s Carling Cup ties.
There’s little or no security in the City ranks…
Mark Hughes sprung several surprises on Sunday, not least by dropping Wright-Phillips to the bench to accommodate both Petrov and Bellamy. The continued exclusion of last year’s starlet, Stephen Ireland, is also a shock. For some, Petrov will be considered a viable fantasy option in midfield, although he did pick up a knock and will be under constant threat of rotation should his form drop. Personally, the options available to Mark Hughes scare me to death – particularly once he has Robinho fit and Santa Cruz up to speed.
We’ve got a keeper crisis…
Burnley’s Brian Jensen suffers an ankle injury. Fellow budget favourite Thomas Sorensen, misses out for Stoke at Spurs through illness and watches Simonsen play a blinder. Where do we go now for our cheap clean sheet potential? Jensen could return for the plum home fixture with Hull this weekend but even if fit, Sorensen will have a real task to oust the outstanding Simonsen. Can we gamble on the Stoke stand-in? Certainly Pulis is hinting that Sorensen will start with a second-string eleven in the Carling Cup in midweek. That would suggest that Simonsen will hold his place for the weekend. Stoke have the fixtures but Simonsen would be a risk. We might have to consider an upgrade to double gameweek Friedel, or really splash the cash and get some clean sheet security with Cech.
Hugo proves me wrong….
Only last week I was stating that Rodallega is no longer as central to Wigan’s attacking ploys then he goes and scores a brace a Burnley, plus an assist. Hands up, this was a bad call on my part. Although, as these chalkboards from Wigan’s last two away games show, Rodallega is clearly being employed in a wider role on the left in support of Scotland down the middle, obviously he is being given the freedom to get beyond the big centre forward and provide a big threat. The Columbian will doubtless get plenty of fantasy attention over the next few weeks and the fixture list appears to help him out (por FUL tot SUN BIR). Along with Carlton Cole, Kevin Davies, Gabby Agbonlahor and Louis Saha, he’s a low-to-mid price option up front for those looking for alternatives to the big guns.
Chucho is on the verge…
Birmingham’s Christian “Chucho” Benitez may not have profited from the 2-1 win over Sunderland but he was the star performer on show (no really FPL bonus judges) and a constant threat to the Black Cats defence. Goals are brewing and his fixtures looks strong in the coming weeks (MCY liv FUL wlv wig WHM BLA). Certainly he has some decent home games which will surely see him earn his first Premier League goals, although Stoke’s Beattie and Fuller perhaps provide a better short-term proposition in the budget bracket.