An unconvincing 1-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Wigan may well have taken Chelsea to a single point off second-placed Arsenal but Roman Abramovich must, nevertheless, be smarting this evening. That £50m January splurge on the talents of Fernando Torres yet again proved fruitless today, with the Spaniard unable to find the net in a 30 minute appearance at the Bridge.
El Nino’s form is alarming enough on its own but casting an ever-increasing shadow over the whole scenario is a man deemed surplus to requirement and shipped out to Bolton on loan as Chelsea chose to splash the cash: Daniel Sturridge.
In the first 24 gameweeks of the season, Sturridge managed a paltry 160 minutes on the pitch -the culmination of a handful of substitute appearances at the tail end of games- but Owen Coyle’s faith in the youngster’s abilities has been continually rewarded since the Reebok switch.
Today, West Ham were the latest team to suffer at the hands of Sturridge, as a brace in the 3-0 home win brought his tally to a fantastic six goals in eight games for Bolton. Bearing in mind that both Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka have scored just one league goal apiece over the same time span and it’s fair to say that it’s not just Torres who currently suffers by comparison.
Sturridge’s merits were not missed by FFScout this weekend, with both Mark and Big Dunc selecting him for Scout Picks and Spot the Differential respectively. This week‘s Fantasy Flutter on a Sturridge double also came up trumps, much to Mark’s delight, I’ve been informed.
The Trotters’ forthcoming FA Cup semi-final may mean he has no league game next week but being cup-tied allows Sturridge to rest up in anticipation for the following week’s double gameweek, where he’ll surely be drafted in by many a Fantasy Manager. Bolton’s matches from here on in read (blank, ARS & ful, bla, SUN, blp, MCY) and with a few dodgy defences still to take on, Sturridge has the form and fixtures to suggest he’ll continue to put those more illustrious names at his parent club in the shade between now and the end of the season.
