Scout Scribbles – Troubled Rooney Shows The Strain

A distressed Wayne Rooney fails to make an impact in Munich as United crash out the Champions League. Back home, there are injury updates from the West Brom and Liverpool camps, Alan Pardew waits on a potential return for striker Loic Remy, while Cardiff look set to lose Craig Noone for the remainder of their relegation scrap:

Hesitant Rooney Falls Short For United

Wayne Rooney’s performance in United’s 3-1 Champions League exit last night will fuel concerns that the striker remains troubled by a toe injury. Rooney missed a gilt-edged opportunity to put United back in front with the leg tied at 1-1 but failed to strike the ball cleanly, having looked out of sorts throughout the defeat in Munich. David Moyes admitted post-match that the injury may have hampered Rooney’s display:

“At times it looked like it was a struggle striking the ball. But he is so vital a player to us. He is so important with Robin van Persie out.”

The United boss had publicly announced that Rooney was happy to take a pain-killing injection in the toe in order to be available for the tie but the gamble on his fitness may yet impact on the remainder of United’s season.

The Scout Says: While the press speculate on the impact of United’s exit and likely failure to seal Champions League qualification, Fantasy managers will be left pondering if Rooney will be granted further time to recover from this current injury. With a blank this Gameweek, Rooney has been sold by almost 50,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers and last night’s unconvincing display seems likely to see sales gather pace. However, Rooney has three consecutive home matches against Norwich, Sunderland and Hull City – all of which promise strong returns. We must now sit and wait on noises from Old Trafford to assess whether Moyes will consider resting Rooney over those fixtures. The United boss could have a new option, having recently confirmed that he expects to have Robin van Persie back in contention before the end of the season, with the Dutchman responding well to treatment on his knee injury back in Holland.

Pardew Hopeful On Remy Reprieve

Alan Pardew remains optimistic on the chances of Loic Remy returning to the squad for Newcastle’s visit to Stoke this weekend. The French striker has missed the last five matches with a calf injury, during which time the Magpies have scored just a single goal, slipping to four defeats.

“Loic is not far away – it will be a boost for the squad if we can get him back in and around us. Hopefully, we can for Stoke because that’s a big game for us. We have lost two heavily at home.”

Pardew is also hopeful that Tim Krul will be back in contention between the sticks at the Britannia. The Dutch stopper missed defeats to United and Southampton with a knee injury.

The Scout Says: Remy’s return cannot come soon enough for the Magpies. His absence has left them devoid of a threat up front and has seemingly knocked the stuffing out of Pardew’s side, leaving them victim to a run of damaging setbacks. Fantasy managers are unlikely to have their heads turned by any potential Newcastle revival just yet, although with home fixtures with struggling Swansea and Cardiff, Remy has the platform to return to form. He had scored back-to-back goals in wins against Villa and Hull before sustaining the calf injury and has notched 13 over the season – a strong return for a striker that peaked at a value of 8.2 in FPL.

Bluebirds Lose Noone Option

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that winger Craig Noone is likely to miss the remainder of the season with an abdominal injury. The former Brighton man returned to the fray from the bench for the Bluebirds against Crystal Palace on Saturday, only to sustain the injury which has seen him fly to the US to seek specialist advice and treatment.

“We have to find out exactly how bad it is and I doubt we will see him back this season. He is a player who makes things happen for us and he has been terrific, but we will have to do without him over these next few weeks.”

The Scout Says: Noone had looked a key player for Solskjaer with a series of eye-catching performances back in January, convincing Fantasy managers that he was a prospect that could fill the fifth midfield slot in our FPL squads. Recent weeks have seen Noone miss out, however, with an array of knocks curtailing his game time. This has coincided with Jordan Mutch establishing himself as the weapon of choice in the Cardiff midfield, having fired seven goals and six assists over the season. While Mutch’s FPL price has soared to 5.0 from 4.5, Noone has slipped from an initial value of 5.0 to just 4.1 and will now finally be cast aside by his remaining owners. His absence could present further opportunities for Wilfred Zaha, who started ahead of Noone in Saturday’s defeat, only to be swapped on the hour mark.

Injury Boost for Baggies

Pepe Mel looks set to welcome back a trio of first-team players for the weekend visit of Tottenham. According to the club’s official website, Billy Jones, Chris Brunt and Claudio Yacob are all in contention, with the former two turning out for the reserves earlier in the week, though Zoltan Gera is sidelined for four weeks with a hamstring problem. Jones, though, acknowledges he faces a fight to oust Steven Reid from the right-back berth after a number of weeks on the sidelines:

“In the eyes of the medical staff and in my own eyes I’m ready to be back involved with the first-team, if selected. I’m feeling good now and looking forward to being involved again. It will be difficult to get my place back. If I’m going to be perfectly honest then I don’t expect the gaffer to change a winning team. That’s very much a rule of football – if the team is winning then you don’t change it.”

The Scout Says: The Baggies are starting to pick up under their new manager, with two wins and a draw in the previous four Gameweeks. Last week’s 1-0 victory at Norwich was the first time they’d managed a clean sheet under Pepe Mel, though, with a series of unconvincing defensive displays perhaps boosting Jones’ chances of an immediate recall. Brunt will also be hopeful of ousting Graham Dorrans from the left flank berth – the Scot has started the last four and grabbed a goal in the Gameweek 32 draw at Cardiff, though the upcoming schedule – Spurs, City and Arsenal in the next four – is surely enough to focus our targets elsewhere.

Agger On Course for Weekend Return

Reports indicate the centre-half is on course for a quick return to action after missing last week’s win over West Ham with a knee problem. Agger is set to be available for selection for Liverpool’s vital home encounter with Man City, though Mamadou Sakho will be hoping to continue alongside Martin Skrtel after earning the praise of manager Brendan Rodgers:

“It was a nice introduction to some parts of English football for Sakho. West Ham play a very direct game and Andy Carroll is as good as anyone in world football when the ball is played up to him. But he coped really well with it, having been out of the side for so long. I thought he and Martin Skrtel were very good.”

The Scout Says: With a home clash against Chelsea in Gameweek 36, Agger’s quick return could prove significant for the Merseysiders’ title tilt. Liverpool have produced eight clean sheets in the 15 games the Dane has started – without him in the XI, they have managed a mere two shut-outs in 18 matches. Indeed, in spite of Skrtel’s six goals thus far, he has still averaged less than Agger this term, by 4.1 to 4.2 points per game; a clear indication of just how vital the latter is to Liverpool’s defensive prospects. With Norwich, Palace and Newcastle all still to follow, more defensive returns look on the cards providing Agger can steer clear of the treatment room.

Reid Determined To End Season Strongly

The West Ham defender is looking to secure a starting berth for the remainder of the season after finally appearing to have reclaimed his role in Sam Allardyce’s XI after a lengthy injury lay-off:

“I’ve been out for four months with my ankle and it’s still getting better. I feel maybe that I still have another ten, 15 per cent to work on until I’m there 100 per cent. I’ll work hard every day to make sure I’m there. This is how I feel personally. There’s a little bit more sharpness to get out there and hopefully I can get that before the season ends.”

The Scout Says: Having started each of the first 10 Gameweeks, Reid was expected to be immediately reinstalled to the Hammers’ XI upon his return from injury. With James Collins and James Tomkins helping Sam Allardyce’s side to four back-to-back clean sheets between Gameweeks 23-26, Reid was afforded no more than a handful of brief second-half sub appearances. Collins’ recent injury problems have allowed the Kiwi the chance to slot back in alongside Tomkins in three of the last five, though given that Allardyce’s side are without a clean sheet in seven and square up to Arsenal, Spurs and City in the final five, few will be looking to bring their defensive assets on board, despite an impressive 13 clean sheets to their name thus far.