Amidst all the lunchtime controversy, it was, perhaps, easy to overlook Wayne Rooney’s display at Old Trafford. While the Suarez-Evra shows no sign of abating, Rooney’s brace lifted United back to the summit and brought him firmly back into Fantasy considerations, setting the tone for Emmanuel Adebayor’s performance this evening…
There’s no denying Rooney’s been wildly off-form. A couple of penalties at Stamford Bridge and “those” 2 assists against Bolton was all he had returned in the last seven gameweeks. Indeed, further analysis shows that, prior to last weekend, the United forward had scored in just three games since the end of Gameweek 5.
With winter wildcards affording us a chance to restructure, plenty Fantasy managers had turned their backs on Rooney. It was easy to see why. His indifferent form, in addition to a run of fixtures – (che, LIV, nor, tot) – had, aside from the trip Norwich, hardly looked appetising. With two strong home games for Man City and Newcastle just around the corner, Sergio Aguero and Demba Ba were drafted in by many, taking their places alongside man-for-all-seasons Robin Van Persie up front.
For as much as he can be a frustrating Fantasy pick, when Rooney hits a purple patch, his returns are rarely bettered. Back-to-back double points hauls make him hard to ignore right now but with Aguero hosting Blackburn and Bolton over Gameweeks 26 and 27, Ba welcoming Wolves and Sunderland, and Van Persie virtually undroppable, the United man may still struggle for our immediate attention.
Gameweek 28 looks the likely turning point. With United’s fixtures easing up, many will turn to Rooney as a replacement for Aguero. The champions face just one top eight team from there on in and the Argentine looks the obvious candidate for the chop; currently priced at 11.2 to Rooney’s 11.9, the move will require little budget-juggling, as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side ready themselves for the final quarter of the campaign.
As this article was being written, Emmanuel Adebayor conveniently decided to barge his way into the equation, too. Similar to Rooney, his poor recent form – a goal and assist in the last ten gameweeks- has seen his Fantasy owners desert the Tottenham forward in their droves.
Close to 300,000 have sold Adebayor in the past four gameweeks but a goal and 4 assists in Spurs’ game with Newcastle have served a reminder of his own undoubted qualities. Tottenham face Arsenal and United next but then go head-to-head with just two of the top eight from Gameweek 28 onwards.
With 10 goals and 11 assists, Adebayor has now played a part in more Spurs goals than Gareth Bale, despite the Welshman’s superior overall consistency. He’s now climbed to fifth for forwards, with 130 points only 8 less than Demba Ba. Rooney is up to second top-scoring forward, now on 17 goals- only Van Persie has netted more. With their aforementioned strong schedules to come, there’s little doubt they’ll both plunder plenty more points before the season end.
In what has proved to be a hugely disappointing gameweek so far, those Fantasy managers who have one, or both, of the pair are likely to see a substantial boost up the rankings. Patience, and plenty of it, was all that seemed to be required.
