In recent years it has been seen as an unwise move to captain a player in the first game of the weekend, the best players seem to falter and it is a crapshoot most owners want to stay away from. But i’m here to see if this year the best player in the first fixture or the player that would most likely be captained from the first fixture has really under performed.

GW1: Most people took advantage of the double game week by captaining either Eden Hazard or a different Chelsea midfielder and some chose the week’s leading scorer Christian Benteke to wear the arm band. The first fixture was between Liverpool and Stoke and the two most likely captain candidates from this game were Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho. Sturridge showed us a glimpse of things to come by finishing with 6 points and the game’s lone goal. Coutinho also showed us a glimpse of the future by frustratingly being involved in all Liverpool attacks without any points to show for his efforts.

GW2: The first game in week two was between Arsenal and Fulham, Theo Walcott (despite drawing a blank) and Olivier Giroud (who had scored the week before) were selected by many. Although both provided some return for our faith with a Giroud goal and a Walcott assist they were upstaged by Lukas Podolski’s brace and left fantasy captainers somewhat frustrated at the lack of points received in a 3-1 rout of Fulham.

GW3: In a week with no glaringly obvious captain choice many went with Sturridge and Giroud who were seeming consistent in their goal scoring pace. A very attractive fixture for Manchester City against Hull had owners wondering which option was the safest. At this time the forwards were being rotated regularly and picking which mid would do well was a daunting task. Yaya Toure who had done pretty well in the two games prior was selected along with any City defender who were almost guaranteed a CS against an inferior team. Both options worked out well enough with Yaya ending with ten points and the most selected defender from City at the time: Pablo Zabaleta, got an assist along with his clean sheet to give him maximum bonus points for the game.

GW4: Another tasty match-up was played this week with the first match being Manchester United vs. Palace and RVP was easily the most captained player among all players. While van Persie did reward those who had placed their faith in him with a single goal, he was outscored by his fellow striker Wayne Rooney who scored a single goal as well but received maximum bonus points bringing him onto our fantasy radars for the first time this year.
GW 5: A matchup between Aston Villa and Norwich had Benteke owners eager to captain him and reap the rewards. But a freak injury left captainers horrified to see their captain taken off. And to add insult to injury the man who replaced Benteke: Libor Kozak, scored the game’s only goal and received two bonus points.
GW 6: Not many chose captains from the early game between Tottenham and Chelsea especially with United and City having relatively easy fixtures. But the two best players at the time in this fixture: Roberto Soldado and Oscar did not perform as well some may have wished, with Soldado providing returns only with an assist to a popular pick at the time Gylfi Sigurdsson.

GW 7: This week we had a relatively welcoming fixture in Everton vs. Manchester City although maybe not as nice Liverpool vs. Palace, with Romelu Lukaku coming off of a brace against Newcastle the game week prior. Lukaku performed well scoring a goal. For those who risked a Manchester City captain were rewarded with most of the big names on the team sheet providing some sort of return with Alvaro Negredo leading the charge by scoring a goal and getting maximum bonus points.

GW 8: We were given a nice set of fixtures with the early fixture being Newcastle vs. Liverpool coupled with Arsenal vs Norwich. A popular captain pick this week was Luis Suarez. Suarez provided a return on the faith placed in him by many by assisting both of Liverpool’s goals and receiving two bonus points. For those who had still thought Suarez could be ignored if they had Sturridge were pleased to see a goal for the Englishman.

GW 9: Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace seemed like a great game to captain someone, while most considered a West Brom fixture for Liverpool a tough game and that Suarez and the team would struggle. The two most selected captains were Giroud and Mesut Ozil who was fresh off a two goal game in a 4-1 win over Norwich. Giroud provided some compensation with a goal but Ozil did not receive any attacking points.

GW 10: Although far and away the most popular candidate for captaincy this week was Sergio Aguero who was facing a weak Norwich side, who as you all know did not disappoint. For those without Aguero this week, a Chelsea captain looked like a decent option vs. Newcastle, especially with Fernando Torres’ “reemergence” the week before against City. Unfortunately Chelsea failed to score and lost a disappointing 2-0 game to Newcastle and disappointed those who had put their faith in Chelsea this week.

GW 11: Although a Luis Suarez fixture looked very appealing vs. Fulham and granted, he did return those who placed their trust in him in a big way with two goals and and an assist, but for some a Christian Benteke punt looked in the cards especially against a promoted side in Cardiff for those who wanted to captain a differential and maybe make up some ground. However, Benteke had other plans and disappointed those who had put faith in the Beligian and failed to score any points while not being involved in each of the Villa goals.

To conclude, yes there have been some struggles with some early game captains but its about even between the negative and positive performances with there being slightly more positive performances than negative ones. With this information I am led to believe that we simply can't overlook Suarez this week or another player in the future who may have a decent fixture but does not attract as much captaincy attention due to him playing in the early fixture. Especially with Suarez's form he can not be over look just because of an early fixture, this week he is as good of an option as Rooney is and even more so in the future.