Once again the duties of real-life have deprived me of the opportunity to spend my Saturday mulling over transfer plans and the morning press, whilst jotting down a stream of consciousness in the “Preamble”. Instead, these words are written on a Friday evening – a dangerous period of the week that can often be spent dreaming up transfers that seem destined for glory through the blur of a tipple or two, only to fall flat on their face in the chilly reality of Saturday afternoon.
Friday night so often conjures a deceitful mirage. As I type this I can recall recent dream sequences of Leighton Baines stroking home his second goal of an extraordinary afternoon, of Robin Van Persie strutting off the pitch with a match ball under his arm, having put paid to the gathering doubters with a devastating points return. This images flicker into the head like bad late night TV as sleep attempts to takeover, leaving me to wake on Saturday armed with a strategy and reassured of my latest stroke of transfer genius.
As you may have gathered, just lately, these trusty prophecies have been off kilter. It seems I’ve spent Friday evenings talking myself into holding firm on assets that continue to stutter; transferring in players that fail to hit the anticipated heights. Thankfully, then, Gareth Bale’s ankle injury has killed off this week’s regular broadcast. This evening there’s no need to imagine up scenarios to steer my transfer thinking as Bale’s bloated joint has made the decision rather simple for me and doubtless many others.
Bale’s absence, thought to be for at least two weeks, forces my hand. With Santi Cazorla an obvious Gameweek 33 target, it makes sense to move this week, switching Bale and swooping for the Spaniard one week early. Without Bale’s misfortune, it’s doubtful such a decision would have been made. Instead I’d have indulged in procrastination, perhaps even talked myself into taking a series of desperate points hits – depending on the volume of my aforementioned tipple. It’s taken such a forced change to open my eyes and enjoy some rare Friday night clarity that I actually think I can trust.
The mass sales of Bale completes a chain of events that have seen the “power five” or “template midfield” crumble before us. Theo Walcott remains a doubt for the double Gameweek, Marouane Fellaini has been sold on as his suspension came knocking, Michu’s form has dropped through the floor and Juan Mata’s security of start has compounded a run of one assist in four Gameweeks. One way or another, the mighty have fallen.
It takes such events to remind us Fantasy managers that so little in this game is reliable – nothing is permanent – not even the seemingly unshakable form of Gareth Bale.
Admittedly, I was quick to declare these players as “season keepers” and, although they’ve come close, none have achieved such a status. While they’ve all flourished for long periods, the most successful Fantasy managers, those in the same club as this week’s “Full Jonty” candidate, Julian Zipparo, have honed in on their talents and form with unerring accuracy, whilst selecting the right time to move on.
I’ve learnt a valuable lesson this season, one that really should be engrained in a seasoned Fantasy manager such as myself. Of course it pays to react and pounce on form but equally, learning to let go and find the next source, regardless of the proven class of the player involved, is a trick that the very best amongst us have mastered.
Next term I’ll try to block the regular Friday night broadcasts, or perhaps tune them into a different channel. I can’t stomach these depressingly predictable repeats for another season.
