The curtain has fallen on gameweek twenty-one, prompting our regular round-up. We take a look at a certain Swansea winger who has come to the fore, the increased stability of Man City’s defence and, of course, sign off by drawing a line under “those” assists awarded to Wayne Rooney in the win over Bolton…
The Player
With the winter wildcards in play, Nathan Dyer chose the perfect moment to force himself into Fantasy managers’ thoughts with a devastating wing display against Arsenal last Sunday. A goal and assist from the Swansea man helped him to the maximum bonus, returning a 13 point haul for his role in the 3-2 triumph at the Liberty Stadium. With a goal in the recent FA Cup win over Barnsley, Dyer has now netted for Brendan Rodgers’ side in each of his last three appearances.
While Michel Vorm conceded more than a single goal at home for the first time this season, the Swansea attacking returns go from strength to strength. In the nine matches from gameweek 11-19, they scored just 6 goals but have since netted 5 times in their last two, with Dyer clearly instrumental in their much-improved attacking threat.
Priced at just 4.7, he’s forging a strong claim as the cut-price midfield option in our Fantasy squads of late and while the likes of Victor Moses and James McClean offer viable alternatives, Dyer’s clearly capable of explosive returns more synonymous with far pricier midfield options. He has now produced double figures in back-to-back gameweeks – perhaps surprisingly, this is a feat that David Silva has yet to achieve this season. With team mate Gylfi Sigurdsson, priced at 5.0, also looking a potential bargain with his share of set-pieces, Dyer looks likely to be one of the main contenders for acquisition over the upcoming period, with 25,000 Fantasy managers already drafting him in on the back of his weekend performance.
The Team
Last night’s 1-0 win over Wigan sent Man City three points clear at the top of the table and again served a reminder of their upturn in defensive Fantasy returns. Deprived of the services of Vincent Kompany through suspension and with Micah Richards an absentee due to a hamstring strain, City nevertheless produced a resolute display at the back to chalk up their fifth clean sheet in the last six games, with a late goal at Sunderland the only time Joe Hart has been beaten since gameweek 15.
What’s particularly significant about this is that gameweek 15 was, of course, the 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge- the first time City tasted defeat this season. Since then, it seems Roberto Mancini has reigned in his side’s attacking tendencies and turned to their defensive solidity to grind out results, particularly on their travels. The league leaders have scored just once in their three away games since the Chelsea loss, whereas up to and including that game, they netted 25 times in eight away fixtures- a real source of frustration for those banking on big returns from the likes of Sergio Aguero away from the Etihad.
At home, they continue to prosper going forward, with 7 in their last three home fixtures but again, the defence has shone, with not a single goal conceded. A run of fixtures that reads (TOT, eve, FUL, avl, BLA, BOL, swa), while looking enticing for Aguero in terms of both goals and as a strong captaincy option, also looks hugely appealing for defensive returns. Doubling up at the back on the likes of Kompany and Richards looks a real tactical alternative over the upcoming month or two, with City’s defensive unit producing points on a more consistent basis right now, as Mancini’s tightens up at the back.
The Talking Point
Ever since Robin Van Persie was denied an assist for Thomas Vermaelen’s goal back in Gameweek 11, it became clear that we’d be revisiting similar cases in the near future. Ten Gameweeks later and the FPL’s definition of an assist is brought to the fore once again, sparking much discussion, dividing Fantasy managers.
While the Arsenal skipper saw his points removed on that cold November morning, Wayne Rooney’s owners were spared the indignity of having their points removed as, after the Press Association’s review process, both assists were adjudged to be valid.
Of course Rooney’s owners will have been content with the outcome. The rest of us will either feel indifferent about this recent case, or feel somewhat aggrieved that conclusive proof of Danny Welbeck’s touch on Rooney’s cross for Paul Scholes’ opener was not gathered, while, at the same time, slightly baffled as to how the Press Association could make out a definite touch by Rooney in the tangle with David Wheater.
We all have our opinion on the events. Mine directly conflicts with the end result – for me, neither of Rooney’s assists should stand. That’s not part of agenda to punish rival managers – it’s because, in my opinion, Welbeck’s touch looks clear enough, while Rooney’s role in Welbeck’s goal is fuzzy to say the least. It seems that the decision makers have looked to be 100% certain on the touch in the first goal, and then abandoned this policy when it comes to the second. For me, I don’t see how they can be certain on the Welbeck goal – Opta’s decision to award no assist for the goal only compounds matters.
The events open a familiar can of worms still further. Clearly, while the assist rule has been changed to add clarity and outlaw the objective view of an individual, when decisions go to the wire, ultimately it has to come down to one or more person’s view of events. Someone at the Press Association made these decisions based on the footage. As players of the game, we have to take that decision as final and move on.
We can however, push for change. The fact is, the new assist definition does not totally remove the opinion of an individual – it makes it less frequent, but it still leads to occasional scenarios where we’re analysing hairline glances, the merest of touches and the correct outcome of a mess of limbs. There will be further examples, there may even have been earlier cases, where players will miss out or be awarded assists wrongly, simply because suitable angles and footage are unavailable. Should such a case occur in a crucial Gameweek, at a critical stage in our Fantasy seasons, suddenly the onus on the individual to come to the right conclusion will be huge. That’s a concern. In fairness to those involved, the decisions can be tough to call.
It’s important to stress that the FPL’s new definition is not the root cause – we would have been debating both Rooney’s assists under last season’s rule. We have to ask, however – should such excruciating detail be a factor? Should an individual be asked to judge an unintentional glance of the ball, using a variety of camera angles, to come to a conclusion on an assist?
Surely we can use more definitive data? Was the touch registered as a positive action in the Press Asocciation statistics – was it a pass, cross, or a header won? If not, then it’s not an assist. Did the defender make a clearance, interception or block in the penalty area before the attacking player scored? If he did, then no assist is awarded. An individual still needs to come to the correct conclusion, but all this data is already being gathered and at least all these actions are positive. They should all be defined and clear. Far clearer than an unintentional scuff off the studs.
It’s a simplistic view, to be debated at another time but it’s clear that this season’s redefined assist ruling is not the silver bullet we’re looking for. Maybe that ideal solution doesn’t even exist, but in my view, the events of Gameweek 21 emphasise the need to start searching again for next season.
