Season Review – Team of the Season – Nemanja Vidic

Over Sir Alex Ferguson’s 24-year reign, Nemanja Vidic has arguably been his most shrewd and vital capture. Costing £7 million, Vidic has just secured his second Barclay’s Player of the Year award, featured in his fourth PFA Team of The Year and captained United to the Premier League title.

Every Fantasy Manager will be more than aware of what Vidic offers, with a hefty price tag to match his prominence in the United lineup, each season Fantasy managers are faced with weighing up the advantages of acquiring such an expensive defensive asset.

This season, such investment largely paid off. Despite United lacking the solidity of previous seasons, Vidic still managed to fetch returns that saw him soar in popularity and provide a firm foundation for his Fantasy owners.

The Statistics

At the start of the season Fantasy Managers could pick up Vidic for 7.0, a drop from his starting value of 8.0 in 2009/10. However, rising popularity saw his value climb to 8.1 by the end of the campaign – peaking at 8.2 in February and March.

Despite maintaining a strong backing from Fantasy managers, there’s no denying that the United defence had some shaky spells throughout. With Vidic present in the side, United kept 13 clean-sheets and 15 overall – a decent return, but hardly comparable to the heady heights of 2008/09’s 14 consecutive shutouts. Indeed, it wasn’t until gameweeks 17 and 18 that United put together back-to-back clean sheets.

There was also little improvement when it came to Bonus Points. Having gathered 17 Bonus in the 2008/09 season, Vidic’s return dropped to just 7 last season and this level was maintained with just 9 coming his way this term.

Clearly Vidic has somehow struggled to earn recognition amongst United’s wealth of attacking talent. Fortunately however, the United skipper increased his goal threat at set-pieces which helped him earn another very respectable points haul.

Vidic enjoyed his most prolific form in front of goal in United colours, finding the back of the net on 5 occasions in the league. He therefore ended 2010/11 with 148 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points which saw him sit comfortably in fourth overall in the defender rankings. Significantly, Vidic earned 35 more points than team-mate Patrice Evra who started the season priced at 0.5 more than his skipper.

The Prospects

With those statistics in mind, we should perhaps expect a price rise next season. A value of around 7.5 would seem likely.

Fantasy managers will be anticipating United’s clean sheet count to improve slightly, which should balance things out if Vidic fails to match this season’s goal tally. Alternative options in the United defence could count against the Serb however. Rio Ferdinand’s fitness will again be called into question and could open the way for Chris Smalling to earn more consistent starts in the back four. The right-back situation is another that will offer Fantasy managers potential – if either Fabio or Rafael cement a start in this position, they are surely set to offer strong short-term value.

The flipside is that, Evra aside, Vidic will undoubtedly be the consistent starter and performer in the United rearguard – he remains “untouchable” as those around him come and go. The question will be however, whether his assured presence in our defences justifies a weighty Fantasy fee.