As we brace ourselves for a weekend of FA Cup action, we’ve time to take stock and assess the lessons learned over Tuesday and Wednesday’s eight fixtures:
Sherwood Has His Own Agenda
Having kicked off his tenure at Tottenham with a 4-4-2, Tim Sherwood has gradually settled on a lone striker system as his preferred formation. As the weeks go by and the treatment room empties, he continues to fine tune his preferred first XI – last night saw Christian Eriksen drop out of the starting line-up for the first time since the new manager arrived, whilst Michael Dawson – who had previously played every minute of the season – joined the Dane on the bench as Younes Kaboul partnered Jan Vertonghen at the heart of the back-four. Emmanuel Adebayor’s goals seem one of the few guarantees at the Lane right now as Sherwood shows he’s not afraid to shirk big decisions and mix things up in his pursuit of a top four finish.
Sturridge is a Genuine Captaincy Option
In spite of his superb consistency, Daniel Sturridge’s first few months failed to convince us of his explosive Fantasy qualities. His first 12 appearances – five without Luis Suarez, seven with the Uruguayan – delivered just two scores of nine or more Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points, highlighting his lack of captaincy credentials at a time when his fellow forward ran riot upon his return from suspension. Now, it seems, the tables have turned. Since his comeback from injury, Sturridge has beaten Suarez’ hauls in four of their five starts together ans produced nine or more points in all but one of those matches. Not so long back, many felt doubling up on the duo was overkill – not only have Sturridge’s displays put that argument to rest, they have shown that, when it comes to our armband decisions, he has to be taken seriously.
Vlaar the Key to Villa’s Survival
The Dutchman’s return against Cardiff helped his side to a first clean sheet since Gameweek 20 and their seventh of the season. Vlaar has missed six games through hamstring problems in recent weeks and it’s telling that Paul Lambert’s side have failed to register a single shut-out in his absence, averaging 1.8 goals against without their captain, compared to 1.3 with him in the XI. The Midlands side sit just four points clear of the drop zone and, if Lambert is to steer them to safety, Vlaar’s presence at the back looks vital.
Solskjaer’s Still Tinkering
A shift from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2, with Kenwyne Jones joined by Fraizer Campbell up top, made little difference to Cardiff’s faltering form as they failed to score for the fourth time in six under their new manager. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not only omitted Peter Whittingham from the starting XI for the first time this term, he dropped the midfielder out of the squad altogether, whilst Kim Bo-Kyung – who had started against Swansea in the previous match – was also given the night off, despite Craig Bellamy’s suspension. The Norwegian still seems far from certain of his most efficient side and, despite some kind upcoming home games, his erratic selection policy is likely to keep Fantasy managers away.
Reid Isn’t Guaranteed Game Time
It was widely assumed that the Kiwi international would make an immediate return for the Hammers once fully recovered from an ankle problem. Reid had played very minute of the first 10 Gameweeks before sustaining the injury but, despite his return to fitness, has found himself behind James Collins and James Tomkins in the pecking order. With five clean sheets in the last six, we can hardly blame Big Sam for sticking with his current central defensive pairing – Collins’ goal against Norwich merely strengthened his case to continue as a regular, offering Fantasy managers a cut-price option at just 4.1 in FPL.
Moyes Doesn’t Know What To Do with Mata
Four games into his United career and Juan Mata has already started in three different positions under David Moyes. Handed his debut in “the hole” behind Robin van Persie, the Spaniard was shifted over to the right in the next two as Wayne Rooney was brought back into the starting XI – last night, he was moved to the left flank as Moyes drafted in Antonio Valencia on the right. With the Red Devils boss still seemingly nowhere nearer establishing a settled side, Mata’s arrival seems to have given Moyes more questions than answers – whilst the big-money move from Chelsea has boosted his game time, a move to his preferred central role may be out of Mata’s reach.
Swans Need Hernandez’ Creativity
Injuries have severely hampered the Spaniard’s game time this term, with ongoing hamstring problems limiting Hernandez to just 11 starts for Swansea. Handed a starting berth at Stoke last night after emerging from the bench to produce a pair of assists against Cardiff last Saturday, the former Valencia man teed up Chico Flores’ goal as the visitors scrapped for a draw at the Britannia. Despite his limited number of minutes, Hernandez has now registered six assists – two more than any Swansea player – and, with Michu still failing to find a way out of the treatment room, keeping his compatriot fit could be the difference between survival and a drop to the Championship for the Welsh outfit.
