Gameweek eighteen is brought to a close with our regular round-up. This time around, we assess an unstoppable Welshman, the shape-shifting talents of United’s title challenge and a tiring Dutchman’s failure to reach a Premier League milestone…
The Player
Given the freedom of Carrow Road, Gareth Bale was described as “unplayable” by Harry Redknapp, following the Welshman’s one-man demolition of Norwich on Monday. Redknapp must take his share of the praise for orchestrating the shift to a 4-2-3-1 system, a formation perhaps born out of the recent injury to Aaron Lennon which disrupted the harmony and balance the Tottenham midfield.
The solution was to bring Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart inside, allowing full-backs Kyle Walker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto to provide width down the flanks. The result – in Bale’s case, was simply devastating.
Bale popped up on both flanks on Monday night, but, more crucially, in central areas. It was his strong running down the centre that cut Norwich apart, their defence badly exposed to Bale’s pace and power. While opposition teams have been seen to double and even triple-mark Bale’s threat on the flank, his ability to drift inside made it almost impossible for Norwich to put up a barrier to repel his influence.
Bale is reveling in his free role, providing returns that have already surpassed previous seasons. The brace at Norwich took him to seven goals, and with six assists to his name, Bale has now emerged as a Fantasy talent of the highest pedigree, threatening David Silva and Nani at the top of the Fantasy Premier League midfield rankings.
With a double gameweek around the corner, Bale is surely an irresistible force right now. Potentially unstoppable, having broken the shackles of a role on the flank, there will be few defences equipped to resist his talent and very few Fantasy lineups who dare to go into January without Bale in their ranks.
The Team
A makeshift lineup, ravaged by defensive injuries and Sir Alex Ferguson’s need to rest and rotate, took to the field against Wigan and returned United’s second consecutive 5-0 win.
Dimitar Berbatov stole the headlines with his hat-trick, calmly stroking home the penalty to seal the match ball, with Wayne Rooney looking on, having been introduced once victory was assured. Frustratingly, Rooney came away with a blank after notching four goals in his previous three matches. Nani was also overshadowed – Antonio Valencia continuing his campaign to win a place in our midfields, with a goal and his sixth assist in four matches. The Ecuadorian will surely find an increased Fantasy ownership once the wildcard squad shuffle takes place in gameweek 21.
Elsewhere, the defence remains a slippery Fantasy asset. Only Patrice Evra has offered security in recent weeks. Anders Lindegaard appears to be caught in rotation with David De Gea; the back four is broken up by injuries to the extent that Michael Carrick started alongside Jonny Evans at the kick-off against Wigan. Evans was forced off at half-time with a calf strain, a setback that may deprive United of his services for a fortnight. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are expected to return against Blackburn to soften the blow, Rio Ferdinand won’t be far behind.
With goals and clean sheets readily available, confidence in United’s squad will surely only increase – Jones will come back into the equation, assured of a starting role thanks to a versatility that allows Ferguson to use him to fill the gaps across the defence and in midfield. Despite his injury, Evans will likely be held by his Fantasy owners, having emerged as the preferred option alongside Rio Ferdinand in the absence of Nemanja Vidic. Nani, Valencia and Rooney will go on attracting investment in attacking areas, as United close the gap on City, and enter a period of the season that, traditionally, has seen them shift through the gears.
The Talking Point
United’s team-sheet against the Latics was the most stinging example of rest and rotation on show from the Boxing Day programme, but there will be more to come.
Robin Van Persie is now the major concern the Fantasy managers. Having failed to score the goals required to reach Alan Shearer’s record for Premier League strikes in a calendar year in the 1-1 draw with Wolves, the Dutchman now looks vulnerable when QPR visit the Emirates on Saturday.
As Arsene Wenger ponders the merits of a deal to bring Thierry Henry back to North London, the backdrop for such a move is the theory that Van Persie is tiring, that his long-term fitness is at risk. Wenger has already made noises suggesting that a rest for his skipper is on the cards – emphasising that Shearer’s record has to be secondary to the good of the Arsenal cause over the campaign.
Fantasy managers are now left anxiously waiting to see how Wenger’s cards will fall. Having dropped points against Wolves, there is surely an urgency to earn three points against Neil Warnock’s side. Can Wenger go into that game without his skipper and have confidence that a win can be achieved?
It seems unlikely, but then Van Persie will surely be needed at Fulham three days later. If the striker is to be handed the rest that Wenger seems to feel he requires, then it will likely come on Saturday, frustrating thousands of Fantasy managers in the process.
