This was meant to be the day that would see talent from the north London clubs cause tremors in the Fantasy Premier League ranks and market place. Instead, both Spurs and Arsenal fell flat – to varying degrees of disaster.
Harry Kane had the opportunity to transform the Fantasy Football landscape. Not only could he have buried the August goal hoodoo, but he could also have delivered points for the 16.1% who captained him to capitalise on the failings of others – including Romelu Lukaku’s zero point score.
Once again he blanked. Once again the numbers he produced defied belief.
Kane had ten attempts on goal, seven from inside the box. For the second match running, he has surpassed his personal record for the number of shots in a single Premier League match without scoring.
This season Kane has fired just 25% of his efforts on target with a zero conversion rate. His rates for both in 2016/17 were 52% and 26% respectively.
According to certain statistical models, he should have 2.5 goals by now. But he hasn’t. He’s got nothing, and he’s being ushered out of FPL squads at a pace.
To compound matters, both Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata and Roberto Firmino of Liverpool provided goal and assist returns with maximum bonus to overtake Lukaku in the forward standings.
They provide an obvious exit route for those left feeling decidedly uneasy about Kane’s extraordinary three-match drought.
Dismissing talk of the August “curse”, there is perhaps another reason behind this sorry spell: maybe Spurs really are destined to struggle at Wembley.
We have just two “home” matches to go on – the first against the champions Chelsea, while it should also be noted that Spurs only edged out Burnley 2-1 at White Hart Lane last season.
However, there is building momentum behind the theory that Mauricio Pochettino’s men could lack intensity and that sides will raise their game on visiting Wembley.
With Swansea City and Bournemouth the next two opponents due to arrive, we will surely have more evidence soon. Falter against that pair, and our confidence in Kane and Spurs’ other key assets – Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli – will plummet.
While it’s a testing trip to Everton to come next, those forthcoming home fixtures, coupled with the unfeasible and record-breaking numbers – may convince many Kane owners to sit on their hands, even when faced with cheaper and more profitable temptations.
Spurs toiled, but their suffering pales in significance next to the cataclysmic display delivered by Arsenal at Anfield.
Like Kane, Alexis Sanchez had the opportunity to put Fantasy managers in a spin. Instead, he played a 60-minute role in a farcical Gunners performance which may actually transpire to be his last for the club.
It remains to be seen if Sanchez stays in the Premier League to be a factor in our season. For now, he played his part in making Liverpool’s attacking assets seem irresistible, as the aforementioned Firmino pulled the strings for both Sadio Mane and Mo Salah to step up with further hauls.
It appears that there is still one thing we can all rely on as Fantasy managers: Liverpool will present us with the dilemma of putting many attacking eggs in a single basket.
With Kane – our most bankable scorer currently defying all odds to misfire – perhaps we should just embrace that “problem”.
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