Our usual scour for pertinent soundbites sees Sam Allardyce praise Sunderland’s weekend scorers, whilst Jose Mourinho discusses Diego Costa and Eden Hazard. Elsewhere, Alberto Moreno cites Jurgen Klopp’s training techniques as key to Liverpool’s progress and Arsene Wenger is determined to keep Aaron Ramsey on the Arsenal right flank.

Mourinho slates Costa mobility

Despite scoring the winner against Norwich in Gameweek 13, Diego Costa was a surprise omission from Chelsea’s starting line-up for their trip to White Hart Lane on Sunday. Instead, Jose Mourinho elected to deploy Eden Hazard as a false nine and refrained from handing the Spain international any minutes from the bench. The manifest tensions between player and manager stem from Costa’s perceived lack of intelligent movement this campaign, with Mourinho revealing his discontent following their half-time spat in the Blues’ win over Maccabi Tel Aviv:

“He is not reading the game properly in these actions. That was my opinion. As a striker he must read. You have to play not when you have the ball, but when others have the ball. You have to anticipate things and read the game faster. Everything is an accumulation. You’re not on fire again just because you’ve scored a goal against Norwich. It’s a process.”

Mourinho not convinced on Hazard’s central role

Hazard was deployed at the number-ten berth for Norwich’s visit two weekends ago, with Pedro and Willian operating from the wings. The Belgian served up just one attempt from that central role but did tally the second most key passes (five) of any midfielder in Gameweek 13. Despite then fielding Hazard up front at the Lane on Sunday, Mourinho remains skeptical over the Belgian’s capabilities through the centre of the park:

“Me and Eden have different concepts of number 10. For me a number 10 does a lot of things with and without the ball. So a number 10 is a very special player in my team. Wesley Sneijder and Deco are my perfect number 10s. The complete number 10s. Mesut Ozil was very good at Real Madrid as well. Sneijder could defend, get in the box and finish with goals. Can Eden be that man as a Number 10? I don’t think so.”

Pardew wants more consistency from Bolasie

Despite clocking just 989 minutes so far this term, Yannick Bolasie – who bagged a brace against Newcastle United while operating as a central striker alongside Connor Wickham – has already matched his goal haul (four) from the previous campaign. The DR Congo international fielded a fair amount of criticism for his lack of end product last term, but his improvement in terms of shot accuracy (48.3% compared to 27.5%) and shot-conversion rate (13.8%, up from 5.8%) suggests the tide is turning. Alan Pardew has called upon the 6.1-priced midfielder to sustain his momentum throughout the course of the season:

“The thing with Bolasie is he’s always going to create a moment and skip past someone – it’s about his final product. He acknowledges and knows it’s the final moment for him and today that was terrific. With his crossing and finishing, he could have had a hat-trick and he was unlucky not to score a third. A couple of his hits from outside the box where normally he smashes it high and wide were today on the money. When he puts it all together he can look a very, very good player and he needs to do that consistently from now until the end of the year.”

Bolasie Prefers Style over Goals

The adaptable Bolasie has been tasked with a multitude of roles this season. Mainly utilised out left, he’s also been fielded up front, whilst last Saturday’s win over Newcastle saw him handed the support berth behind Connor Wickham. Given that three of his four goals have been a product of him playing centrally – and the Eagles lack a natural goalscorer – one would imagine that Alan Pardew will be tempted to retain Bolasie through the middle. Discussing the upturn in goal threat, the DR Congo international admits he won’t be changing his style of play in order to find the net more often before going on to suggest that his versatility has been detrimental to his consistency this year:

“I don’t have a total. But the improvement is there to be seen. Four goals last season and four already this season – you don’t just build a player and everything happens overnight. It’s got to come gradually. Hopefully that’s the case. Everyone says I need to add goals to my game – but it has to come natural. I can’t change the way I play just because I want to score goals. I have to play the way I want to play – if I can add goals to that it will be a good combination. It’s been quite tricky this season because you go from number 10, to striker then back to the wing. It’s all different kinds of runs. Your body has to get used to it and I’m slowly getting there.”

Wenger Looking to Keep Ramsey on the Right

In light of Francis Coquelin’s long-term injury, Aaron Ramsey has been tipped as a possible replacement in the double pivot – a position he thrived in during the majority of the 2013/14 campaign (10 goals, nine assists). Prior to last week’s draw at Norwich, Arsene Wenger was adamant that stationing the Welshman in a deep-lying midfield role would diminish his attacking thrusts:

“Ramsey is more an offensive player. I will use him sometimes there [centrally] when the game demands, but is he naturally with Cazorla a balanced pair? Defensively, certainly, it’s a very adventurous one! I used Ramsey on the right because he gives us a balance, because we have Ozil who is an offensive player, we have Sanchez, we have Giroud or Walcott and Cazorla so to balance a bit defensively, I use Ramsey on the right. That’s where I will certainly continue to use him. He is not afraid to tackle but he likes to go in the box and he has a good timing of runs and he wants the ball and he wants to go forward. If you take that out of him, and you say ‘look, you have to sit now, and sit there and wait,’ you kill his strengths.

Ranieri Determined to Help Vardy Record

Jamie Vardy set a new record for scoring in consecutive Premier League matches (11) with his strike against Manchester United, surpassing Ruud van Nistelrooy’s streak from 2003. That proved to be his only effort of the encounter, marking a subdued outing by the Englishman’s recent standards. Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri was determined to facilitate Vardy’s quest to beat the record and will now hope he can extend that run as the West Midlanders match-up against a floundering Swansea outfit:

“I asked my players in the meeting session two things: one, to win the match, and two, to help Jamie to achieve the record. It was just one chance but great champions need just one chance. He’s very, very smart, very clever and very cool. I think Louis van Gaal (Manchester United manager) put three defenders because he was worried about our counter attack.”

Van Gaal explains change of formation

Manchester United lined up in a 3-5-2 set-up for their trip to the King Power Stadium, with Paddy McNair, Daley Blind and Chris Smalling forming the central-defensive partnership. The Red Devils’ set-up succeeded in limiting the damage done by Leicester’s buoyant attack, with the Foxes mustering just three shots on target and one big chance. However, Louis van Gaal conceded that his troops failed to balance their resolve at the back with an abundance of creativity and goal threat:

“I have a lot of injuries in defence, so I was a little bit forced to do that. But I also did it because of the way Leicester play. I had to close the channels for Vardy and Okazaki, and that was always a reason, and we also had one man more in midfield so we had a lot of space and, because of that, we dominated the game. But we have to create more chances and we didn’t do that. We had more chances than Leicester City, but not too much.”

Flores Heaps Praise on Watford front two

Troy Deeney (four goals and one assist) and Odion Ighalo (three goals and four assists) have dovetailed to great effect over the last five Gameweeks, arguably making them the top two forwards in the budget bracket. The former has discovered his scoring touch in the wake of a nine-match barren spell, while the latter has been directly involved (seven goals and four assists) in 11 of Watford’s previous 13 league goals. Quique Sanchez Flores lauded the duo’s application ahead of a pair of fixtures (NOR, sun) that look ripe for further attacking returns:

“It is an amazing connection they have. We have the possibility of playing different styles with Deeney and Ighalo. We can play long ball or we can play with the ball on the floor. They are not strikers who only play well if they score. It is amazing what they do in defence. They put in so much effort to reduce space and that is why we always defend with 11 players.”

Allardyce Keen to Keep Watmore as Impact Player

Having failed to impress Sam Allardyce in his league debut against Southampton, Duncan Watmore was afforded a lengthy run-out against Stoke City following Jermain Defoe’s withdrawal at the 30-minute mark. The England U21 international went on to net the Black Cats’ second goal in the 84^th minute and proved to be handful for the Potters’ centre-backs by virtue of his penetrative movement. Although Allardyce doesn’t yet see Watmore as a regular starter, he’s confident that could become a reality in the future:

“He started against Southampton to see what he could do. I thought he did okay but he will stay more of an impact player off the substitutes’ bench. Eventually, though, I see him as a player who can start on a regular basis, if he can carry on his progression. We just have to make sure we keep his feet on the ground! He came on and what he has shown me, in the short time that I have been here, I had no hesitation for him to come on for Jermain. The impact of Duncan is one of the major factors of winning this game. He caused the central defenders so many problems in the first and second half.”

Allardyce Hails Van Aanholt Improvement

Amassing five assists at a budget price point, Patrick van Aanholt emerged as a viable pick-up in the previous campaign. This season, a 5.0 valuation and the Wearsiders’ inability to record a clean sheet through the first nine Gameweeks has rendered him a non-factor on the Fantasy scene. Since Allardyce took the helm at the Stadium of Light, though, the Dutchman – who has been utilised as a wing-back in Big Sam’s 3-5-2 – has carded a goal and an assist and scooped clean-sheet points his last two starts, piquing our interest at the 4.6 mark. Allardyce is of the mind-set that Van Aanholt’s upturn in form is a product of better decision making:

“It’s not difficult to see his qualities; it’s just using them in the right areas at the right time. It’s your decision-making process and I have to get everybody’s decision-making process better, which has been about cutting out these mistakes. I’m not particularly talking about Patrick now, but I’ve got players who’ve made a lot of mistakes and we had to cut that out and stop that easy option for the opposition to score against us, which is what we were doing. You could call us a soft touch if you like. But we’ve cut that out now and started being more disciplined. Patrick’s got a lot of ability and if he uses it in the right areas like he did on Saturday he stays in the team. Not only has he done the defensive side well, he’s also got down the left-hand side to try to create as much as he can, and then he’s scored a very, very good goal as well.”

Moreno Lauds Klopp Impact

A 1-0 win over Swansea last weekend took Liverpool’s record to a single defeat in ten matches under new manager Jurgen Klopp. Alberto Moreno earned a nine-point return for his FPL owners against the Swans and, although he’s yet to earn any attacking returns, the left-back’s raids down the left over the last six Gameweeks see him sit he second for crosses (35) and key passes (ten) amongst defenders, whilst he is joint-top for attempts on goal, with seven unsuccessful shots to his name, since Klopp’s arrival.
Discussing the German’s impact on Merseyside, Moreno reckons Klopp’s training methods have brought more focus to Liverpool’s approach and helped boost confidence in the Anfield ranks:

“He arrived here with a clear idea. He explained to us saying that if we lose it was going to be his fault but he wanted us to follow his idea. And it is paying off. His idea is fixed and is going great so the best is to do what he says. I like his style, being aggressive because it fits with my style. I love it, pressing, steal the ball and go quick on the counter-attack with 11 guys running. I love it. With Klopp the training sessions are all about tactics, in order to have the team well-positioned on the pitch, and to know how and when to press. He doesn’t do games or things like that. It’s all tactical. It’s what he likes and what we work. The change has been noticed because with Brendan there were some players who had no confidence in themselves. Klopp has brought us energy, desire, being a team that presses high. He transmits so much. All the players are at 100% fit now and with the confidence they need. That’s why we are getting the results.”

De Bruyne Talks up Silva Partnership

There are question marks regarding how Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva will impact on each other’s production from a Fantasy standpoint, yet in the only league match that they’ve played together this term, Manchester City ran out 6-1 victors over Newcastle United – the former chalked up a goal and two assists, while the latter grabbed two assists. De Bruyne – who bagged two goals and an assist against Hull alongside Silva last night – is confident that their styles will mesh well, with the Spaniard likely to enjoy more of the possession:

“We didn’t play that much together, and that’s been really difficult for both of us, but he’s such a great player that it’s easy to play together with him. Everybody has his own style, and I think we play almost at the same position, but we’re very different players, so it’s better to have different players who play together than to have all the same. I’m more direct than him, he can keep the ball a little bit more than me, so with the two together that’s an advantage and we can switch different things.”