The concept of a player being fixture proof in Fantasy football is a much discussed topic around these parts. Wayne Rooney put forward a strong case a few gameweeks back, defying United’s tricky opening to the season with a points tally that left all but Sergio Aguero in his wake. Today, Robin Van Persie perhaps presented even stronger evidence that, when a player has talent and form, no opposition can stand in their way.
Van Persie is certainly a force of nature right now. Seven goals in his last three games have propelled him to the top of every Fantasy manager’s most wanted list. The Dutchman, along with Rooney and Aguero, have all enjoyed devastating spells of form this season. Any Fantasy manager who has failed to catch at least one of them, surely finds themselves floundering.
Ironically, it’s Wayne Rooney who has been hugely overshadowed by Van Persie’s recent returns. Today at Goodison, Rooney dropped alarmingly deep, as Alex Ferguson charged Danny Welback and Javier Hernandez to push on. In Fantasy terms, certainly as far as our own ICT Index is concerned, Rooney suffered his least effective 90 minutes of the season – the numbers are there – our Members can see for themselves.
Van Persie meanwhile, made a mockery of the fixture list which told us that a trip to Chelsea would pose him problems; that perhaps he couldn’t maintain his recent form at Stamford Bridge. Friday night’s decision to go with Van Persie over Sergio Aguero in the Scout Picks wasn’t taken lightly. We suspected that the Chelsea defence would be unable to keep the Dutchman at bay. Nobody could have predicted the havoc he would cause, the delicious end product he would deliver.
In three games, Van Persie has returned 36 Fantasy Premier League points – a tally that will surely increase with bonus points on Monday and perhaps the award of an assist for Theo Walcott’s goal. In contrast, Rooney has produced 5 points over the same three gameweeks. When you throw in the captaincy, that’s a big swing and painful reading for those who held Rooney with faith that his undoubted talent and early season form would see him through.
Conveniently, then, that takes us full circle. While Van Persie has done so much today to prove the theory that, with class and form, the opposition is irrelevant, Rooney’s recent returns present strong evidence of the contrary. The matches against Liverpool, City and Everton looked tough for Rooney- five points is certainly proof of that. Another twist in what is rapidly becoming a fascinating Fantasy season.
