Gareth Bale fires home an outstanding double as Spurs clinch a last-gasp victory at Upton Park. Andy Carroll and Joe Cole continue their recent form with a goal apiece for the Hammers, though Kevin Nolan limps off injured for Sam Allardyce’s side. Elsewhere, Papiss Cisse is optimistic his luck is turning, Harry Redknapp has forgiven Jose Bosingwa’s December strop, while Martin Skrtel revels his frustration after losing his starting berth to Jamie Carragher in recent weeks:
Bale’s Blistering Form
In a Gameweek where many of the popular Fantasy assets stuttered, the Tottenham man rose to the occasion to continue his superb recent form. Bale bagged the opener at Upton Park before firing home a superb, dipping winner with just a minute left on the clock to take his tally to six goals in the last four Gameweeks. Having found the net in each of those matches, Bale has now produced his most consistent run of the season –deployed in a central role once again by Andre Villas-Boas, his momentum is picking up pace and despite a tricky looking schedule, Fantasy managers will be scrambling aboard the bandwagon ahead of this weekend’s north London derby. Now up to 167 points in FPL, Bale has risen to the top of the midfield standings and is now second only to Robin Van Persie overall – with rest and rotation not an issue, he could well be set to give the United forward a real run for his money as the top scoring FPL player come the end of the season.
Dawson’s Cut-Price Appeal
Villas-Boas once again tinkered with his defence, fielding Jan Vertonghen ahead of Benoit Assou-Ekotto at left-back in order to deal with the Hammers’ aerial threat. Although Spurs conceded more than once for the first time since Gameweek 16, Michael Dawson’s owners will at least be content with an eighth successive start, highlighting just how crucial the 4.6 priced centre-half has become for the north London outfit. With clashes against five of the current top eight in the next seven Gameweeks, though, Tottenham’s defence may struggle to persuade Fantasy managers to invest, despite an impressive run of defensive displays. Dawson’s contribution at the back is highlighted by Spurs’ defensive stats – they have conceded nine goals in his 11 starts (0.81 goals against per game) compared to 23 goals in 16 matches without him (1.4 goals against per game).
Carroll Key to Hammers
With regular penalty taker Mark Noble ruled out due to a shoulder injury, the on-loan Liverpool man was afforded the chance to slot home the hosts’ equaliser from the spot. Carroll has now notched twice in three starts since recovering from a knee injury –indeed, looking back over his appearances, he has provided three of the five goals scored by West Ham across his last five starts. With trips to Stoke and Chelsea next up for the Hammers, however, in addition to a blank Gameweek 29 sandwiched in between, Carroll’s prospects hardly seem enticing. From a Fantasy perspective, a price tag of 8.3 is a real deterrent given the host of mid-price options but, with Kevin Nolan forced off with a knock early on, Sam Allardyce could be more reliant than ever on Carroll as he looks to acquire the points to guarantee safety.
Cole’s Consistency
The Liverpool connection continued with Joe Cole notching the Hammers’ second last night. Allardyce had admitted he was keen to manage the midfielder’s game time as he builds up match-fitness but there’s no doubt Cole looks another key protagonist for the Londoners – he has scored or assisted in three of his last five and has found the net in both his league starts at Upton Park since arriving from Merseyside last month. Priced at 5.6 in FPL, he’s far more budget friendly than Carroll and could well prove a decent mid-price punt if he can maintain his current form.
In Other News
Papiss Cisse is hoping his stunning goal in Newcastle’s win over Southampton on Sunday is a sign that his fortunes are starting to turn. The Senegalese striker said of his strike against the Saints:
“It’s the top one this year. I haven’t scored too many goals this year. It’s difficult for me sometimes, but I try all the time. Last year, it was too easy – I shot and it was a goal – but this year, I don’t know, it’s a little bit more difficult. But I try – maybe it’s coming.”
With six goals in 25 league appearances this term, compared to 13 in 14 in the previous campaign, Cisse’s second season in the Premier League has been a bitter disappointment so far. The departure of Demba Ba has seen a definite upturn in his Fantasy prospects, though – handed the lone striker role once again, he has stepped out of his compatriot’s shadow and notched three times in the past seven without Ba. Three wins in four highlight the Magpies’ recent revival but they remain just six points clear of the drop zone –with a highly favourable run of fixtures to follow, though, Cisse could yet have a say in our Fantasy fortunes as the season starts to heat up.
Harry Redknapp has revealed he has now forgiven Jose Bosingwa after the defender’s strop back in December saw him fined two week’s wages for refusing to sit on the QPR bench against Fulham. Redknapp had been highly critical of the player after the incident and froze him out of his first-team plans but brought the Portuguese star back for Saturday’s game with United, saying:
“Jose made a mistake but it can’t go on forever. The issue is resolved, he was fined and we’ve all moved on from it. He’s trained hard and is showing the right attitude again. There’s no question he can play. He’s good on the ball. I took him with us to Swansea a couple of weeks ago and didn’t even put him on the bench. I did that to test his attitude and he was fine.”
With on-loan Fabio unavailable for selection against his parent club, Redknapp surprisingly named Bosingwa in the starting XI for the first time since Gameweek 16. Nedum Onouha had started six of the last seven prior to the weekend and seemed to have the right-back role sewn up but Bosingwa’s return raises real question marks over the 4.1 priced defender’s game time, bearing in mind that Fabio could also cover that position. With Bosingwa, Chris Samba and Julio Cesar all priced around the 5.0 mark, though, Clint Hill, at 4.3, looks the most secure route into the R’s backline for those eyeing up Redknapp’s defence.
Martin Skrtel has spoken of his frustration after losing his first-team place to Jamie Carragher in recent weeks. The centre-half started all but one of Liverpool’s first 22 matches but has since been afforded just 16 minutes in the last five. With Skrtel also revealing he is currently injured with a thigh problem, Carragher’s game time, in the short term at least, seems assured and at 5.0 he looks the cheapest route into the Reds’ defence ahead of a run of games which sees them face four of the current bottom five in the next six Gameweeks.
“I have to wait, what else can I do? When I was healthy, I was training with the team, giving 100 per cent and doing all I could to prove to the coach that I belonged in the starting XI. I was waiting for a chance, one then came in St Petersburg, but then I was not playing again. However, now I’m injured and we’ll see what happens when I’m back fit. The coach has his ideas about the line-up and the question is if I would be in it if I was fit. I would say it’s likelier I wouldn’t. The most important thing for me is to recover as soon as possible and resume training. I repeat this – I want to be fit as soon as possible and fight for the place in the starting line-up.”
Brian McDermott has revealed Alex Pearce was dropped for Reading’s home clash with Wigan last weekend due to poor form. The Royals boss refuted any suggestion of Pearce’s ongoing contract situation playing a part in his selection process for the Latics clash – Pearce had started the previous nine but made way for Sean Morrison at the heart of the homes side’s back-four after McDermott felt he was culpable for both Stoke’s goals in the previous Gameweek’s 2-1 defeat at the Britannia:
“The contract does not come into it at all. I thought Morrison was excellent against United and it was just a personnel decision. You live and die by that. I spoke to Pearcey on Friday, I said to him he needs to do better [for both goals against Stoke]. He had to do better picking up Robert Huth for the set play and then when Jerome turned him for the second goal. He accepted that.”
