Saturday’s action offered further compelling evidence on a number of Fantasy Football issues.
Rafael Van der Vaart continued to do the best impression of an “essential” Fantasy purchase we’ve seen for some time. Bolton’s attacking flair pushed the unlikely duo of Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies as “must-have” bargain strikers. Ben Foster confirmed his status as “the” sub 5.0 Fantasy Premier League goalkeeping option and in doing so repelled a Chelsea attack that continues to falter, convincing yet more Fantasy Managers to cast aside Florent Malouda and even Didier Drogba.
A Saturday of some significance then – about to broken down in another batch of Scout Notes…
Arsene Wenger’s wealth of attacking options once again saw Theo Walcott on the bench. With Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin earning starts ahead of him. The trio seem likely to rotate roles throughout the season, making them unlikely Fantasy mainstays. This surely promotes the benefits of opting for the security offered by skipper Cesc Fabregas. The Arsenal skipper is by far the most reliable route to Arsenal’s huge attacking potential and stood out again, even in defeat, earning more Bonus Point recognition. Samir Nasri has clearly emerged as the next best option. He stroked home his fifth goal in his last 9 Premier League starts against Spurs to continue a rich vein of form.
Rafael Van der Vaart was back on spot-kick duties after giving way to Roman Pavlyuchenko in the 4-2 win over Blackburn last weekend. Unlike the Russian, Van der Vaart calmly converted the penalty to draw Spurs level at the Emirates, notching his sixth league goal in the season. He then demonstrated his value by providing the dipping free-kick delivery for Younes Kaboul’s winner. The Dutchman has now produced a goal or an assists in 7 of his 10 league starts for Spurs – a run that has justifiably seen him generate over 25% ownership with his price rising week on week. He continues to look essential to Spurs and Fantasy Managers alike.
The case for doubling up in the Spurs midfield grew in stature as Gareth Bale notched his third goal in two league games with Tottenham’s opener. Van der Vaart owners at least earned the assist for Bale’s smartly taken goal, but those who made the switch to the Dutchman from Bale will surely be contemplating both players given the demise of Florent Malouda, Mikel Arteta and the injured Steven Gerrard as options in the midfield area.
Chelsea’s defeat to Birmingham made it 2 consecutive defeats, with 3 in their last 4 games. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have scored just 7 goals in their last 8 league matches – only Fulham have scored fewer.
The demise of Chelsea’s attacking form has had a profound effect on the returns of Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda; both however stood out against Birmingham and were only denied returns by the extraordinary heroics of Ben Foster. Drogba had a personal duel with the Birmingham keeper throughout the game, while Malouda provided a constant supply of decisive passes from midfield, earning 2 Bonus Points in the process.
Chelsea have also kept just a single clean sheet in the last 5 and, it must be said that the fixture list hardly provides assistance in this area. Ancelotti’s side travel to Newcastle to contend with Andy Carroll next, before hosting Everton in Gameweek 16. That looks to be the best bet for a clean sheet in the next five Gameweeks with matches against Spurs, United and Arsenal to follow. Sales of Chelsea assets look set to continue then.
Ben Foster’s outstanding display earned him a second consecutive clean sheet with Birmingham gaining unlikely shut-outs against City and Chelsea. While Foster has climbed the Goalkeeping rankings as a result, the likes of Liam Ridgewell, Roger Johnson and Scott Dann have also come to prominence in the Defender rankings. Birmingham’s defensive talent will go on earning investment, although their fixtures need consideration. Birmingham’s next set of opponents at St Andrews are likely to work their defensive qualities just as strongly as Chelsea (ful TOT wol NEW eve MUN ARS).
Rafael made a return at right-back for United at home to Wigan, suggesting that he is now the clear front runner for that role. Rafael seemed close to establishing himself prior to his dead leg suffered in the Manchester derby a fortnight ago. Having ousted Wes Brown from the lineup against Wigan and with John O’Shea left languishing on the bench yet again, the young Brazilian now looks set to offer value at just 5.6 in the United defence. Rafael earned his first assist of the season for United’s second goal.
The United lineup was somewhat unpredictable. Alex Ferguson gave starts to both Gabriel Obertan and Federico Macheda with Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov stepping down. The lineup had plenty to do with United’s Champions League date with Rangers in midweek – Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and the returning Wayne Rooney all started life on the bench as a result.
Charles N’Zogbia provided the major threat for Wigan with a string of pacy, threatening dribbles that tormented the United defence at times. He is likely to enjoy a climb in our Watchlist rankings as fixtures improve for the Latics.
Antolin Alcaraz (owned by 5.7%) picked up a second yellow for a late challenge and will miss the trip to West Ham next weekend. Hugo Rodallega was judged guilty of serious foul play for a two-footed challenge and will see a three-game suspension. His prolonged absence will likely see either Franco Di Santo or Mauro Boselli earn starts, although the Victor Moses situation is also worth monitoring as a possible out-of-position midfielder
Bolton continued their extraordinary run of form with the 5-1 mauling of Newcastle at the Reebok. They have now scored 17 goals in their last 8 games – no side in the Premier League can match that. Fixtures remain in their favour going into December (BLP mcy BLA sun WBA) giving them every opportunity to continue their remarkable ascent.
The performance and continued potential of Johan Elmander was covered in last night’s Knee Jerk. It’s worth stating however that Kevin Davies came out of the victory over Newcastle with a bigger points return than the Swede, justifying his selection in the Scout Picks. Two spot-kicks helped Davies to his 16 point haul and, yet again, he earned the maximum 3 Bonus Points. That’s the fifth time that Davies has brought in the maximum and he now has more Bonus than any other player in the FPL.
Lee Chung-Yong and Matt Taylor remain on the periphery of our Fantasy thinking but both have played a significant part in Bolton’s recent form. They provide constant service from the flanks, with Taylor a real threat from set-plays. Similarly, Gary Cahill again showed his attacking flair with another run and long-range effort from the back. While Elmander and Davies will be hugely popular signings, there’s a case for supplementing them with an additional Bolton player.
A miserable day for Newcastle was capped by a red card for Fabricio Coloccini who was caught throwing a frustrated elbow at Johan Elmander. Coloccini will face a three-match band and Steven Taylor could now come into the Newcastle back four – he is available for 3.9 in the FPL for those looking for a budget bench defender although with Chelsea and Liverpool in the next three, his immediate potential looks limited.
Marek Cech started in the left-back role ahead of Nicky Shorey in West Brom’s encounter with Stoke at the Hawthorns. Shorey has struggled to break back into the Baggies starting lineup following injury and at 3.9, Cech could offer a short-term budget option for a bench defender for those who don’t fancy Newcastle’s Danny Simpson. Elsewhere in the Baggies lineup, Roberto Di Matteo preferred to bring in Giles Barnes to Graham Dorrans, perhaps influenced by the Scot’s recent foot injury. Chris Brunt’s groin injury sustained with Northern Ireland in midweek, kept him out.
West Brom’s form is miserable with 4 defeats in the last 5 now undermining their Premier League credentials. Fixtures remain kind (NEW avl WOL bol BLA) but confidence is at a low, casting real doubt on the Fantasy potential in attacking and certainly defensive terms. They have scored just 3 goals in those 5 games, conceding an average of 2 goals a game.
Stoke earned their third straight league win and a second consecutive clean sheet. Jon Walters, an inconsistent starter for Tony Pulis’ side, came off the bench to earn a brace. He offers potential as an out-of position Midfield option but remains far from assured of his role. The hamstring injury, sustained by Jermaine Pennant on 11 minutes could well force a reshuffle of the Stoke midfield in forthcoming matches however.
Stoke’s fixtures remain in their favour with 4 decent Britannia match-ups and trips to Wigan and Blackburn in the next 7 Gameweeks (MCY wig BLP ars bla FUL EVE). That could investment in the back four, while Asmir Begovic continues to keep Thomas Sorensen benched to offer an option in goal for an FPL fee of 4.3. Two of Stoke’s defence are on the verge of bans however – Robert Huth and James Collins both moved onto the suspension tightrope with their fourth bookings of the season in Saturday’s victory.
Kevin Foley was an early casualty in Wolves’ 2-1 defeat at Blackpool. He was the victim of a tactical substitution from Mick McCarthy as he shifted his formation, introducing Nenad Milijaš to the play. Stephen Hunt was also sacrificed at half-time as Wolves chased the game. Matt Jarvis was again the outstanding attacking player for McCarthy’s side, providing a vast number of crossed ball attempts to feed the strikers.
Charlie Adam recovered from injury to start for Blackpool but once again returned a blank for the Seasiders. Adam has now contributed just a single goal in his last five starts for Ian Holloway’s side and that was from the spot against West Brom. Adam has been reliant on Bonus Points to supplement his returns so far – his total of 16 is impressive but this contribution could falter if Blackpool fall victim to a sustained run of bad results.
Dirk Kuyt assumed spot-kick duties in the absence of Steven Gerrard and duly fired home Liverpool’s second in the 3-0 win over lowly West Ham. Fernando Torres owners will have been disappointed to see their man visibly hand over duties to Kuyt prior to the kick and had to be content with the assist for the penalty. The Spaniard came away without a goal then, denied by a combination of Robert Green and a post in a tepid second-half.
Roy Hodgson’s recent comments on Glen Johnson’s form, appears to have proved motivational for the England full-back. Johnson was restored to Hodgson’s lineup, did a reasonable job defensively and provided plenty of aggressive attacking runs on the right flank; a well-taken goal from a corner kick capped the performance. Sotirios Kyrkiakos was ousted to the bench as a result of Johnson’s recall and Carragher’s shift alongside Martin Skrtel. The Greek’s potential as a Fantasy option now looks very limited.
While Johnson raided down the right, Paul Konchesky contributed the assist for Maxi Rodriguez’ goal. The former Fulham left-back offers a cheaper route to Liverpool’s defensive potential and will surely rank highly on the Watchlist when Liverpool’s fixtures soften in December. Fabio Aurelio’s return in a substitute role may give some cause for concern, but Konchesky, a Hodgson favourite, looks assured of starts regardless and at 5.0 in the FPL, looks a potential bargain.
