Earlier in the season Dimitar Berbatov almost prompted me into using my precious Wildcard. A sublime hat-trick at home to Liverpool sent the pulse racing and the urge to tinker seemed overwhelming. The Bulgarian looked irresistible and, having been handed a modest price tag in the Fantasy Premier League game, almost essential.
Thoughts gathered, I managed to keep the knee from jerking and my Wildcard remained intact. I spent the Gameweeks that followed thanking my lucky stars that I’d resisted as Berbatov, without the influence of Wayne Rooney alongside him, struggled to recall similar form. He proved to be anything but essential.
Today, the day I actually did throw my FPL Wildcard into the ring, the Berbatov bomb exploded once more. Five goals in a 7-1 mauling of Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford will grab the headlines on day when the Premier League went off the rails – 36 goals in total – not a clean sheet in sight. Madness…
Such insanity can be problematic for Fantasy Managers. The irony of such an avalanche of goals and such an individual performance on the day I play my Wildcard is not lost on me. In many ways I’m relieved; my tinkering itch has been well and truly scratched in the last 24 hours – the urge for more squad surgery is exhausted.
For others, probably thousands of others, Berbatov’s incredible performance and record FPL points haul will doubtless lead to one of the biggest bandwagons in memory. Tonight the scalpels will be out, hurried calculations will be made, points hits considered, more sleep lost. Berbatov has once again caused a big stir in our community. Not bad for a player who is often accused of failing to break sweat on the pitch.
And no, I didn’t sign Berbatov with my Wildcard but I’m happy enough regardless. My day and my Wildcard was anything but spectacular, but I’m content enough to opt out of the frenzy that Berbatov will cause and for that, I’m thankful.
