Say What? Gameweek 11

Say What? squeezes into the international break with another round-up of meaty quotes from the fallout of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) action in Gameweek 11. Louis van Gaal discusses tactics and a couple of summer arrivals. Jose Mourinho and Alan Irvine talk strikers, Nigel Pearson explains his recent change of formation, whilst Emmanuel Adebayor admits Spurs have yet to understand their new manager’s tactical approach.

With a merry-go-round defence and an unpredictable system that has shifted through variations from 3-5-2 to a midfield diamond and 4-1-4-1, the likes of Wayne Rooney and Angel Di Maria have seen their early appeal subside of late. Man United manager Louis van Gaal was candid enough to admit he may have tinkered with his tactics too many times following their narrow victory against Crystal Palace.

“It’s too much, I think, I agree. But I’m looking for the balance and when you see the last four matches we have had more balance because we haven’t conceded many goals. Nevertheless, we don’t score so much. With the other system we scored a lot of goals.”

Van Gaal went on to suggest that the change in formation could leave Radamel Falcao with no first-team guarantees when he returns from a calf injury that has kept him out of the last three Gameweeks.

“I have to decide which striker. It’s not his fault with the other system I could play with two strikers, but then the balance wasn’t good. We had difficulties in the last half an hour of games. That’s why I have remodelled the structure. Since then we have less goals in our favour but also less goal conceded. We have also played against the better teams in the Premier League in that time on an equal level, more or less.”

And the United boss shared a few home truths with record signing Angel Di Maria after the Argentine was withdrawn on 70 minutes against Palace despite assisting the hosts’ match-winner. Recent performances have seen him become expendable as owners flock to the likes of Alexis Sanchez, whose playing position has continued to advance while Di Maria has been more peripheral on the flank. That said, United have an excellent streak of fixtures (HUL, STO, sot, LIV, avl, NEW) following Arsenal’s visit to Old Trafford and Di Maria may look to repay the faith of owners who’ve held on to their explosive midfielder through tight encounters against Chelsea and Man City.

“He has played in a very small space and he is a dribbler. But sometimes you cannot dribble, you have to make it a pass game and Di Maria is not a player who wants to give a pass every time he gets the ball. Therefore he lost the ball a lot of times and that was not good for the balance of the team.”

Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez has discussed his growing understanding with team-mates as the campaign unfolds. The Chilean, who notched just twice in the first seven Gameweeks but has since struck six times in four league appearances, attributes his early-season form down to a lack of cohesiveness with his fellow Gunners after arriving from a three-year stint in Barcelona:

“Little by little I am gaining confidence in my team-mates and am gradually learning more. At first I had trouble understanding them, knowing where they ran, their movements, what gestures meant what, but every time I feel more confident. I am starting to memorise the moves of my team-mates and I learn to help them – clearly I need to improve and that is what I say in the dressing room, that I could stay a little less with the ball, play one-touch play more often to facilitate counter-attacks, that is vital. I must learn that because the rapid transitions are key in this league and with this team.”

With international call-ups continuing to ignite the club vs country debate, West Brom boss Alan Irvine pondered the impact of Saido Berahino’s inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s latest England squad, after his top goalscorer’s performance against Newcastle. The youngster has now blanked in consecutive Gameweeks after seeing a huge spike in ownership (to over 21%), following exceptional form earlier in the season. With the emergence of Charlie Austin and Ayoze Perez, who’ve scored four and three in their last three respectively, and West Ham’s Diafra Sakho well established in the bracket, Berahino will have a tough task holding ownership through showdowns against last season’s leanest two defences (che, ARS) when he returns from the international scene.

“He probably had his poorest game. People will ask the question, including myself, if it’s a result of what has happened during the week but you can have a poor game at any time. I would like to think it (England) has given him a massive boost and today just didn’t happen for whatever reason… The only pressure on Saido is to perform at his best level as often as he possibly can, but we need goals to come from all over the team. We just didn’t play well enough today.”

Irvine also explained the reasons behind record signing Brown Ideye’s lack of minutes this season. Despite the hefty outlay for his services, the Nigerian – who scored in a behind-closed-doors friendly yesterday – has failed to play a single minute in the league since Gameweek 3, with his manager admitting he’s a little too similar in style to Berahino to play from the outset:

“Brown is suffering a little bit because of how well Saido is playing – and I don’t think people would be too pleased if I left Saido out to play Brown. People talk about the fee for Brown but people have also been talking about what fee Saido would command. You’re looking for partnerships and people who can play together. I’m not saying they can’t play together but they’re both of a similar type and they’re at their best going in behind people. Unless you’re going to play quite a direct style, two going in behind isn’t very effective.”

Jose Mourinho praised Spain’s decision to omit his star striker Diego Costa from their current squad. The Blues forward tops the FPL ownership charts at 56.3% despite ongoing concerns over his hamstrings, and with seven points per appearance – second only to Sergio Aguero (7.2) in the forward rankings – and a favourable run of fixtures to come (WBA, sun, TOT, new, HUL, sto, WHM), a fully-fit Costa could see his influence on the game increase further after the break.

“He’s back, he’s back. Maybe the injury had stopped him a bit. He needed time to recover step by step and at the moment he is in good condition. I think Spain made a fantastic decision to exclude him from the national side for the Euro 2016 qualifiers. It was good for them and us. He now has 15 days to be at the top of his game so when Spain needs him, they will have a good Diego and not a bad Diego.”

As Southampton approach the end of their glorious run of fixtures, Ronald Koeman assessed the impact of Shane Long’s brace off the bench in their 2-0 home win against Leicester City. The Republic of Ireland international has been handed 90 minutes just once this season but has featured in ten of Saints’ eleven league matches as a starter or from the bench. This time Long replaced the impressive Sadio Mane and went on to steal the plaudits for himself, but with a selection headache brewing and the much-touted change in fixture difficulty approaching in Gameweek 13, the result will probably see both Long and Mane on the periphery of the Fantasy watchlist.

“In the beginning he had some adaptation problems about how we play and train because it was much different to what he had in the past. You have to talk to the player that he will keep that confidence but he was starting the last two games. I think that is really a good team – it’s not about 11 players but the whole squad that we have… We don’t change a lot but we have some positions in our team with some more players to have in those positions. It’s fantastic for me if you change a player and you score two times. It’s not always like that.”

As Tottenham slumped to yet another loss under Mauricio Pochettino, Emmanuel Adebayor admitted the players have yet to become accustomed to their new manager’s approach. The Togo international was dropped to the bench for the home clash with Stoke as Pochettino handed Harry Kane the lone striker role but the home players’ displays suggested the Argentine is struggling to get his message across – a point backed up by Adebayor:

“Obviously all managers bring their own philosophies, the way they see football, the way they see games. He’s a good manager and we just have to find a way so that we can try to understand what he wants to tell us and how he wants us to play and put that on the pitch. If every player could do what the manager wants then we would win the Champions League but at the moment we are not getting the message. To me, he is a good manager and a good man – we just have to get what he is telling us.”

Leicester boss Nigel Pearson discussed his recent tactical tinkering after the Foxes were downed 2-0 at Southampton. The Championship winners have now failed to score in each of the last three matches and Pearson’s decision to switch to a diamond formation has proven detrimental to Leonardo Ulloa’s prospects, with the Argentine afforded little service due to a lack of wingers:

“I accept there is going to be criticism at times and people question why there is no wide player in there. When you have the strength of midfield we had, it was key to stay in the game without allowing a very good team like Southampton to boss possession. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t quite find the answers. I think the players worked exceptionally hard and we defended with an awful lot of commitment and sprit, and that came from front to back. But the quality side of it is costing us quite severely at the moment…He (Ulloa) has had a good season so far but what he hasn’t had is a lot of chances recently. Strikers score goals from chances. His contribution to the side remains very positive, but he has to continue to work hard.”