As expected, Harry Kane was at the centre of Fantasy Premier League drama as Spurs beat Cardiff at Wembley.
After being heavily backed as the best captain candidate for Gameweek 8, he served up just one point.
We’ve got more details on why that happened and all the other FPL talking points from the match in this latest edition of Scout Notes.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Cardiff City
Goals: Eric Dier (£4.8m)
Assists: Davinson Sánchez (£5.8m)
Harry Kane (£12.5m) let down his 380,000+ new owners by recording just one FPL point in Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Cardiff. The forward spent a lot of time dropping deep and, according to our Members Area, his average position for the match was nearer to the centre-circle than the penalty area. Even Lucas Moura (£7.4m) and Erik Lamela (£6.4m) registered average positions closer to the Cardiff goal than Kane.
He still had more shots than anyone else at Wembley on Saturday afternoon, but Moura outperformed him for efforts inside the box. Three of Kane’s team-mates registered more touches in Cardiff’s box too, two of whom played fewer minutes than him. With Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal on Tottenham’s schedule in the next six Gameweeks, many of those who signed Kane for Gameweek 8 may be looking to immediately remove him from their squads.
England’s captain was not the only underperformer for Spurs, who did not look like they were in control of the match throughout. They were sloppy in midfield and their poor passing, in the absence of Christian Eriksen (£9.2m), Dele Alli (£9.0m) and Mousa Dembélé (£4.9m), allowed Cardiff to spend large spells camped in the Spurs half. The Bluebirds’ tactic of high pressure on Spurs certainly had its desired effect.
“Being honest we need to improve a lot. We need to kill the games and have more control. We need to be calm. When you’re at home you must control the game. I am happy, the effort was fantastic and it wasn’t easy after the defeat to Barcelona.” – Mauricio Pochettino
Son Heung-min (£8.3m) was another Spurs asset to disappoint. He had just two efforts on goal and has now gone 18 matches without a goal for his club. Furthermore, he was taken off in the 72nd minute when manager Mauricio Pochettino was still chasing goals.
Danny Rose (£5.8m) was withdrawn with a groin injury in the closing stages, and still needs to be assessed.
“It was the same as it was after Huddersfield, a problem in (Rose’s) groin. He felt it again. Hope that nothing important but of course we need to assess. He needs to go to the national team and see what happened. He needs to check in with the national team.” – Mauricio Pochettino
The Gameweek 7 injury to Jan Vertonghen (£6.0m) allowed Davinson Sánchez (£5.8m) to make his second successive start. He demonstrated his set-piece threat once again, his first-half shot leading to Eric Dier‘s (£4.8m) goal. That was his second assist of the season.
Cardiff showed off some neat approach play but it was another match where a distinct lack of quality in the final third was obvious. Junior Hoilett (£5.2m) was the prime example of the problem, as he found himself in great positions down the left-wing on multiple occasions and still failed to deliver. He was reticent to use his left-foot, consistently looking to cross with the outside of his right or attempting to cut inside, all with little success.
Utility man Callum Paterson (£5.2m) was deployed up front and did cause Spurs some problems with his hold-up play. He set up several decent chances for Cardiff, with Hoilett and Josh Murphy (£4.8m) going close. Hoilett was especially unlucky not to score a first-half equaliser as Toby Alderweireld (£5.9m) produced an exceptional block on the line. However, the fact that Neil Warnock has now named five different options at centre-forward in eight league matches is indicative of the attacking problems facing the Cardiff manager.
Sean Morrison (£4.9m) proved his goal threat from set-pieces yet again and he nearly scored in the 63rd minute with a back-post header from a free-kick. Hugo Lloris (£5.4m), back in the side for the first time since Gameweek 3, kept the Spurs clean sheet intact with a great save. That allowed the brave Fantasy managers who captained Kieran Trippier (£6.2m) to collect a 14-point haul, thanks to a shut-out and a bonus point.
Warnock and Kane’s owners were dealt a blow in the 58th minute when Joe Ralls (£4.8m) was sent off for a foul on Moura. It was a wild and cynical challenge, which stopped a dangerous Spurs break, but was still 40-yards from the Cardiff goal. Naturally, Warnock was incensed by the decision, especially with Kane getting involved in the aftermath. His reaction earned the Spurs man a yellow card.
“I was disappointed. All afternoon there were plenty of busy people around him. He said it was a group decision. I don’t think Mike Dean needs earplugs to tell him what to do. He’s a top ref. I don’t think 15 white shirts around him helped.” – Neil Warnock
“(Kane) plays for England and is a top player, I love him, but I don’t think you should try and get other pros sent off. He’s the England captain for goodness sake. He didn’t need to do that. Just because Kane was having a poor game himself. He was determined to score today because we’re the only Premier League side he’s not scored against, but I thought our centre-backs handled him well.” – Neil Warnock
FPL midfielder Danny Ward (£4.5m) made another appearance as a striker, this time coming on for Paterson. However, he had to be substituted minutes later with a calf injury.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR XI (4-3-3): Lloris; Rose (Davies 88′), Sánchez, Alderweireld, Trippier; Winks, Dier, Sissoko (Wanyama 85′); Lucas, Kane, Son (Lamela 72′).
CARDIFF CITY XI (4-2-3-1): Etheridge, Bennett, Morrison, Bamba, Manga; Ralls, Arter; Hoilett, Camarasa, Hoilett (Harris 78′); Paterson (Ward 78′, Reid 84′).
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