Rafael van der Vaart was always a doubt, Roberto Mancini’s lineup tomorrow at Anfield, surely a lottery. We knew, approaching the gameweek, that things were going to get treacherous. We weren’t quite prepared for further setbacks.
Phil Jones’ omission from the United lineup and 18-man squad, perhaps wasn’t a major shock. The 19-year-old had strung together six consecutive appearances for United and England this month and, with options available to Sir Alex, the decision to rest the former Rovers man at least carries some logic. It doesn’t make it any easier to take however.
Presumably Jones remains a first choice option in Ferguson’s lineup, but it’s certainly not guaranteed, with Fabio and Chris Smalling, along with Rafael, all available to fill the right-back berth. Unless Jones can find his way into the United midfield or alongside Nemanja Vidic in the centre, it seems that his Fantasy owners are now set for a degree of uncertainty each week.
Having established himself in the top five of our Watchlist this week, Jones’ position now looks vulnerable, leaving Fantasy managers with few options but to look to the expensive Vidic or Patrice Evra, if they are to seek a secure route to United’s defensive returns.
As it turned out, the controversial spot-kick that handed Newcastle a point at Old Trafford, made the bitter pill of Jones’ absence that little easier to swallow. The pain felt as a result of Frank Lampard’s omission from the Chelsea lineup, was certainly more severe.
While Juan Mata bewildered visitors Wolves, helping himself to a handsome goal and two assist points haul, Lampard was left fidgeting on the bench, missing out on the fun of a convincing 3-0 win.
The decision to rest Lampard will certainly have taken most by surprise. He’d started the last six league games, scoring five goals in a spell that had reinstated him as a worthy Fantasy consideration. Ownership had climbed and suddenly there was belief that he warranted attention, despite his hefty Fantasy price tag.
We do at least, have an explanation for today’s decision. Andre Villas-Boas stated post-match that, with four yellows collected, he was protected from a possible ban with Tuesday’s Carling Cup clash with Liverpool in mind. Very few of us would have predicted such caution, or that Villas-Boas would put such priority on the midweek tie.
The Wolves fixture at Stamford Bridge look tailor-made for Lampard – an opportunity to boost his goal count further against one of the most obliging defences in town. A 21-minute appearance from the bench saw him draw a predictable blank however, with Mata owners basking in a 14-point haul, that will surely be boosted further by the maximum FPL bonus return on Monday. Having previously failed to compete with Lamaprd’s explosive returns, suddenly attention will now shift back to Mata – a cheaper option, who will surely see heavy investment before gameweek 14.
With Van der Vaart missing out, Royston Drenthe absent from Everton’s 2-0 win at Bolton with an ankle injury, and the Man City lottery to come, the need for a strong Fantasy bench has suddenly become more apparent.
Many FPL managers will find themselves relying on their second and even third substitutes this weekend; that could see some unlikely names pressed into action.
As we approach the busy Christmas period and things ramp up in the Champions League, rest and rotation are surely set to bite even deeper. Suddenly, we’re struggling to find a place for the Shane Ferguson’s of this world.
