If he’s fit, he would play. That was the thinking of Rafael Van der Vaart’s Fantasy owners after yesterday’s announcement of his availability for this afternoon’s game.
The Dutchman had trained on Thursday and overcame the hamstring strain that had kept him out of last weekend’s win at West Brom. With a home game against Bolton, Fantasy managers were licking their lips in anticipation of another big points haul as the Trotters rolled up to the Lane this afternoon.

With Jermain Defoe having played the full game against PAOK in Tottenham’s midweek Europa League defeat, it seemed likely Van der Vaart would return to the first-team; even if it was for just sixty minutes or so. As a result, plenty decided to hold on, rather than mover him on for the likes of Gareth Bale.

Today’s lineup was a bitter disappointment. Defoe held his place alongside Emmanuel Adebayor up front, with the Dutchman restricted to a thirteen minute cameo that produced nothing more than a single FPL point. Bale, on the other hand, hit the heights yet again, with a goal, assist and clean sheet in the 3-0 win- a fifth double-figure haul of the campaign see him currently sitting on 11 point, with bonus bound to come, too. Right now, he sits on 80 points, only 5 behind David Silva in the midfield rankings and, priced at 8.7, still seems a bargain, given his flourishing form.

While it’s clear Defoe offers a viable alternative to Van der Vaart in Redknapp’s mind, Bale clearly has the left wing role nailed down without any competition. A jump of 0.8 in price since gameweek 11 is indicative of his rising popularity and after today’s game, more and more may make the decision to offload Van der Vaart, with the Welshman proving a cheaper and equally efficient option in the vibrant Spurs midfield.