Wolves’ Kevin Foley has finally started to live up to the pre-season hype and jumps onto our Watchlist as a legitimate defensive option following a haul of two goals in the last three starts.
A right-back by trade, Foley was frequently pushed into the midfield last season to accommodate the emergence of Ronald Zubar. His versatility has continued to earn him midfield assignments this season, despite his “Defender” classification in Fantasy terms. In his most recent outing, Foley started on the right of midfield against Sunderland, before switching to a central role when Stephen Hunt entered the game. He took his goal clinically and also served several crossed balls to torment the Black Cats defence as Foley figured prominently as part of a more attacking Wolves approach.
In addition to his “out of position” (Oop) status, Foley has continued to demonstrate leadership qualities on and off the pitch; he was handed the captains armband in the absence of Karl Henry and spoke out to defend his manager Mick McCarthy earlier in the week. Foley has clearly cemented his role in the starting lineup then and his record of 14 starts from 15 far exceeds the nominal requirement of a beating pulse that is typically requested of any 3.9 FPL defender…
Foley’s recent run of form also finds him stepping up for Wolves at a critical juncture. It is not hyperbole, given their schedule, to consider the next 6 games as a make or break period for McCarthy’s men. To put it simply, Wolves must get results over the next six Gameweeks (bla, BIR, wba, WIG, liv, whm), as fixtures stiffen up considerably after that (CHE, mcy, LIV, bol, MUN, ars, BLP, TOT, avl).
While Foley’s recent goals and “out-of-position” status have garnered attention, transferring the Wolves man in at this time could well be a classic case of chasing points. Foley is far from a prolific goalscorer and the recent production could be little more than the fortuity of being in the right place at the right time; it is also unclear if he will retain his advanced position on the right of midfield or revert to a full-back role. Foley’s potential must also take into account the fact that the Wolves defence is hardly a popular horse to back. They have yet record a clean sheet this season and therefore Foley stands a regular risk of being docked a point for conceding 2 or 3 goals (as Wolves have done in 10 of their 15 games).
Owned by 14.2% of the FPL teams, Foley is currently seeing a mini-flood of investment due to his recent goals. In contrast, Danny Simpson of Newcastle – another 3.9 defender currently garnering regular minutes – is owned by only 2.0% of FPL teams. If you’re choosing between them, Simpson has no attacking returns in his 7 games since gaining a starting role, but Newcastle have at least recorded four clean sheets. Wolves have demonstrated strong attacking intent over the past few Gameweeks and, at a time when clean sheets are so hard to come by, let alone predict, the promise of attacking returns from Foley could be the deciding factor in his favour right now.
With game postponements becoming more of a concern as we head into a cold winter, both Foley and Simpson offer all we can ask from a 3.9 defender – a bench option who will play regularly and present some chance of Fantasy return when called upon in an emergency.
