His arrival as a marquee signing was heralded as an example of Man City’s pulling power but David Silva took time adapting to the more robust nature of the Premier League last season following his move from Valencia.
Silva lasted the full 90 minutes in last season’s opener away to Spurs but the following three gameweeks saw him given just 16 minutes game time and his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price plummeted accordingly, dropping from 9.0 to 8.5 by gameweek 6.
Re-installed to the first XI in gameweek 5 for a trip to Wolves, Silva made three straight starts for City but as the club travelled to Blackpool in early October, while Carlos Tevez had already plundered 5 goals, 2 assists and 6 Bonus Points, Silva had yet to score or assist and was dropped to the subs bench.
Coming on for a twenty-three minute cameo that night at Bloomfield Road, Silva grabbed a goal and an assist to serve a reminder of his skills to Roberto Mancini and establish himself firmly in his manager’s first-team thoughts from that point on. Thirteen straight starts followed and by New Year’s Day, Silva had picked up a further four assists and 6 Bonus Points.
A run of games from the beginning of February saw Silva finally settle and his performances started to reflect this consistent streak, as he scored or assisted in seven of his next nine starts. His Fantasy Returns, particularly at home, meant Silva even emerged as a viable captaincy option, with his four appearances at Eastlands during this period harvesting (7,11,10,7). While the final three league games proved disappointing, Silva continued to pick up the Bonus and benefit from City’s solid defence, finishing the season on 144 FPL points.
Key Factors
- Despite his shaky start, Silva went on to record nine assists- a personal best. With his previous high being seven for Valencia, it’s a clear indication of his ability to unlock Premier League defences with greater precision. Having adapted to the division, he’ll go into next season with confidence and double figure assist returns should be expected, perhaps in the region of 12-15.
- In addition to his attacking threat, Silva played in front of a defence that chalked up 18 clean sheets last season- City midfielders have a greater chance of picking up the extra 1 FPL point for a clean sheet than most others. Or two points, if they have the armband.
- Silva seemed to catch the eye of the Bonus Judges with far more regularity in the last stage of the season, further example of his growing influence on matches. He picked up 20 for the campaign but 12 of those came in his last ten games- a cause for optimism for potential Fantasy owners ahead of the new campaign.
- With nine wins and a draw in their last ten home games of 2010/11, City are becoming a formidable force at Eastlands and, as shown, Silva is one of the main beneficiaries. Their season opener at home to Swansea will surely see City heavily backed and with Wigan visiting Eastlands in gameweek 4, Mancini’s side could rack up the Fantasy Points straight from the off.
- Silva was priced at 9.0 last term and a price hike doesn’t look likely. Yaya Toure started at 5.5 and racked up 146 points and in light of his Fantasy value, Silva mostly stayed under the FPL radar. If anything, a slight drop in price to 8.5 is a possibility.
