Team of the Season – Luis Suarez

For all his undoubted talents, Luis Suarez had failed to really flourish as a Fantasy force until Brendan Rodgers rolled up to Merseyside. Arriving at Liverpool midway through the 2010/11 campaign from Dutch outfit Ajax, the Uruguayan had delivered just 15 goals and 11 assists in a season-and-a-half and was resultantly priced at 9.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) before last term got underway:

While previous boss Kenny Dalglish seemed determined to forge an up-front partnership between Suarez and £35m signing Andy Carroll, Rodgers decided to cut his losses and farmed the big Geordie out to West Ham on loan. Installed as the lone striker in a 4-3-3 system, Suarez thrived from a more possession-based style of play and finally became a serious contender for our three man front lines until the decision to sink his teeth into the arm of Branislav Ivanovic ended his season abruptly.

The Statistics

Initially, Suarez was slow out the blocks as Liverpool struggled with a new change in tactics. By the end of Gameweek 5, the Reds had picked up just two points and found the net on just four occasions; although the Uruguayan had managed to notch twice – at home to City and at Sunderland – faith in his Fantasy potential had already taken a dive, as his FPL price slipped to 9.4 by the time Rodgers’ team rolled up to Carrow Road in Gameweek 6.

Away to Norwich, however, Suarez served up a sensational hat-trick and assist as the Reds ran riot in a 5-2 win. With the maximum FPL bonus points also accrued, the Uruguayan registered a 20 point haul and kicked off a run which produced returns in six of seven appearances –with eight goals, four assists and 10 bonus points picked up over that period, the bandwagon quickly hit top speed as Fantasy managers juggled budgets in order to find him a place alongside Robin Van Persie in their front three.

Even the arrival of Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea in the winter transfer window failed to dent his potential. Suarez was initially shifted to “the hole” as Liverpool trialled a 4-2-3-1 system with the former Chelsea man leading the line but when Rodgers reverted to a 4-3-3, Sturridge found himself reprising his Stamford Bridge role of bench-warmer again.

Then came Gameweek 34. Prior to the home clash with Liverpool, the press mainly focussed on Rafa Benitez’s return to Anfield but by the time the final whistle blew, it was all about Suarez. The biting incident with Ivanovic resulted in a second lengthy ban for the Uruguayan as his uncanny ability to hog the headlines for all the wrong reasons earned him a 10-match ban.

Despite accusations of inconsistency, Suarez managed to deliver attacking points in 19 of his 33 appearances last time out, with eight double figure returns an example of his explosive potential. With 23 goals, 10 assists and 34 bonus points to his name, he finished the season on 212 points – joint third overall with Juan Mata and second top forward behind Van Persie.

The Prospects

With six games of his suspension still left to serve, Suarez may still have a significant effect on how we assess the Fantasy landscape for the season ahead. Crucially, much depends if he’s still at Anfield when the player price lists are revealed in July – with Suarez still in the mix, Fantasy games are likely to afford him a premium price in spite of his remaining ban, whereas if he’s already left, Sturridge would then be seen as the club’s number one forward and be valued accordingly.

It’s believed Suarez has a clause in his contract which forces Liverpool to listen to any bid in excess of £40m and at a press conference in his homeland last week, he made his intentions of engineering a move away from Merseyside clear, citing the British press as key to his decision:

“It is a difficult moment for me. My coach and my colleagues know that they [the media] didn’t treat me well. Because of the paparazzi I could not go in my garden, I could not go to the supermarket. My reason for leaving is not the money. It’s my family and image. I don’t feel comfortable here anymore.”

With the likes of Real Madrid already linked with a move for his services, it may well be that we’ve seen the last of Suarez on these shores. Certainly, if he remains at Anfield, his form over the previous campaign suggests a price tag of around the 12.0 mark in FPL would be on the cards but with Van Persie’s consistency far superior, the Liverpool forward would perhaps struggle to find a place in many squads, given that plenty will also be earmarking Gareth Bale for their midfields.

From a Fantasy perspective, then, the ideal scenario would be for Suarez to exit Anfield after the price lists are rolled out. As mentioned above, such a scenario should see Sturridge handed a more budget friendly price tag – a potential cost in the region of 9.5 would still look strong value for a player who racked up 10 goals, five assists and eight bonus points in just 14 appearances for Rodgers’ side.

Having scored five goals, an assist and five bonus points in four games without Suarez, Sturridge’s exceptional end to the previous campaign is highly encouraging but, according to reports, he may be facing up to four months on the sidelines with an ankle problem sustained in England’s friendly draw with Republic of Ireland last week. With Carroll also expected to depart Merseyside, Sturridge certainly has the potential to become a major player across the Fantasy games next time around but if the early prognosis proves correct, Rodgers will certainly look to revitalise his forward options before entertaining the idea of Suarez departing Anfield.