Somebody once said “A little knowledge can be dangerous” (Einstein, if you are interested) and, in the context of the suspension tightrope this week, we’ve seen this profound maxim played out before our very eyes as Michu and Marouane Fellaini racked up their fourth week of suspended animation in the weekend fixtures.
Both players still sit a single indiscretion from a one-match ban, though, and although Swansea’s Spanish number nine negotiated his home encounter with Chelsea with just a two point return, the towering Belgian notched a double to serve those of us who gave him too wide a berth a severe lesson. While our pair of protagonists look forward to a decent run of fixtures, Fantasy managers are understandably cautious of investment, given the duo’s Tightrope balancing act.
Fulham defender-cum-midfielder, Chris Baird has been the object of desire for over 100,000 Fantasy managers in the last two Gameweeks, thanks largely to his back-to-back goals against Villa and Reading. The out of position prospect delivered a cautionary note to his new owners this week, however, after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season in the Craven Cottage draw with Everton. Pulled up for an unfair challenge on Steven Pienaar, the Northern Irishman will now join the Tightrope party ahead of the visit to Arsenal in Gameweek 11, while his suitors now face an anxious wait.
Chelsea pair David Luiz and Ramires are not strictly new additions to the funambulist’s fraternity, though both flashed brightly on our disciplinary radar this week. The duo missed out on first-team duties at Swansea on Saturday – a place on the bench greeted Ramires, while Luiz was ruled out with an ankle injury, but they will be wary of further sanction in their next forays after accruing their fourth cautions in the Capital One Cup win over United in midweek. It’s therefore an interesting proposition this Sunday as, if fit and selected, the Brazilians will face up against fellow tightrope resident Luis Suárez – all three bidding to avoid an enforced rest.
The final pairing to be picked out this week highlight the future risks within the otherwise investable West Ham defence. As the cheapest back line to muster a season-leading four clean sheets, West Ham continue to blink wildly with solid budget options – as this week’s shut out of the Champions showed, the tricky fixtures ahead may still reap reward in this area. Sitting pretty in the centre of that defence, and the upper echelons of the Fantasy point charts, James Collins and Winston Reid would leave a large hole behind should they fall foul of a sanction, and while the likes of Jordan Spence would step in, injuries to James Tomkins and Guy Demel already have the Hammers’ backline stretched.
For the full list of those now with four cautions to their name, the tightrope widget in the right-hand sidebar is the place to visit.
Crossing to the other side of the line, a few new faces put themselves in hot water this week, and will now serve immediate bans. A straight red card for Fabricio Coloccini, following dangerous play in the vicinity of Mr Suárez will see him suspended for the next three fixtures (WHM, SWA, sot). A pair of yellow cards for an over exuberant Jack Wilshere against Manchester United will put him straight back in the Emirates stands for the visit of Fulham, while an accumulation of yellow cards for Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj, despite only starting three league games this season, has amounted to five and a ban for the upcoming visit of United. Those 3 will join Stéphane M’Bia (second of three matches) and Cheick Tioté (last of three) in missing gameweek eleven.
