God bless Arsenal and their attacking riches. Where Ronaldo used to cover up the cracks of our failing fantasy lineups, now it seems it’s left to Fabregas and his gang to do the same.
Elsewhere, I’m not sure what sickened me more. The fact I got rid of James Milner, or the fact I had to witness Sam Allardyce on Match of the Day at his most smug. Here’s some thoughts on Saturday’s contribution to our gameweek…
Money can’t buy you a defence…
Man City’s pricey combinations of Bridge, Lescott and Toure were frankly embarrassed by Burnley’s speed of thought and passing. The recall of Stephen Ireland in midfield allowed for more attacking zest in the City side, but De Jong’s absence did appear to remove a protective layer. You have to wonder whether Ireland will keep a starting role for the trip to Anfield next gamweek. That could see City’s defence up against revived versions of Gerrard and Torres – not a prospect that will be welcomed by Mark Hughes. After that, fixtures are patchy (HUL CHE bol tot) – which hardly promotes confidence in the defenders. At least Given should keep the save points coming.
We can always rely on Arsenal…
When your defence goes missing or your logic persuades you that Villa surely won’t score a shed-load after scoring just a single goal in five of their last six, you can always bank on Arsenal’s attacking players to bring in the points. Once more Fabregas, Van Persie and Arshavin (are they the “real” new holy trinity?) did the business as the Gunners to continue to cut through defences on weekly basis like a carefully hand-crafted knife through butter (or in the case of Wolves – I can’t believe it’s not butter). Fixtures stiffen a little with a tricky trip to Sunderland next, followed by the titantic clash with Chelsea at the Emirates. Although continued fantasy investment in Arsenal’s big guns looks assured. You surely need two of the three in your lineup at the very least.
Big Sam loves himself…
I couldn’t help cringing when gazing upon Allardyce’s smug face as he battled and lost to keep his self-congratulating post-match interview under control. Yes the substitutions worked out, but could he have patted himself on the back with more gusto? On a serious note though – both McCarthy and Roberts took their opportunities when arriving from the bench against Portsmouth. That will spell trouble for Di Santo and may even have a knock-on effect on David Dunn’s potential. Dunn has nestled in nicely behind a lone striker for the past month. Should Roberts and McCarthy show signs of reviving their partnership, we could see a shift to 4-4-2 and Dunn stuck out wide on the left. Let’s face it, Allardyce surely doesn’t need to deliberate over dropping Gamst-Pedersen. Well done Sam by the way. Take another bow why don’t you.
Carew is back to his unplayable best…
The big Norwegian was awesome against Bolton. They are one of the more muscular defences he’ll come up against but Cahill and Knight just couldn’t handle him. Carew brought in a big points haul this week and has surely sealed his starting role in the Villa attack for some time to come. Looking at his next three (bur TOT HUL) you have to say that he is coming up against defences that offer some real potential. If anyone out there is getting cold feet on Darren Bent (hello!) then Carew could be your ideal short-term swap.
In fact, Villa are giving us options…
Just like Carew presents the cheaper alternative to Agbonlahor, Milner continues to offer better value that team-mate Ashley Young. Recovering quickly from a calf injury, Milner repaid the faith of those who lept on his double fixture bandwagon with an impressive points haul against Bolton. Young is also in form – scoring his second goal in a week. Bizarrely, the fact that Milner wrestled the spot-kick duties from Young is a major factor in favouring him. We just have to hope that his miss against Bolton hasn’t changed that thinking in the Villa camp.