Mauricio Taricco. Jonathan Greening. Rodney Wallace. Not necessarily the household names you would expect to be singing the praises of, but they were the top-scoring players during another crazy Gameweek of #ChampManFPL.
Gameweek 7 can be succinctly described as chaos. By half-time, five of the 20 goalkeepers that started had either been sent off or substituted.
Dean Windass was introduced as a substitute for Middlesbrough and was replaced just four touches later.
Thierry Henry was again taken off before the hour and a depleted Liverpool stunned Manchester United.
It was not a Gameweek for the faint-hearted.
Very few fancied Liverpool to go to Old Trafford and get anything, especially with many first-team players out injured. But the team from Merseyside hadn’t read the script. They defended superbly, led by Sami Hyypia, and cashed in with goals from Danny Murphy and substitute Jari Litmanen to take a 2-0 win back to Anfield with them.
While it was a disappointing result for Manchester United owners, their upcoming home meeting with Charlton in Gameweek 8 still looks appealing.
If owners of Red Devils assets are getting frustrated, their Gameweek 7 exploits were nothing compared to what Henry and Ian Harte inflicted on their ownership.
The Frenchman was substituted before the hour at Southampton, with the score still at 0-0. His replacement, Dennis Bergkamp, netted the opener before Kevin Davies netted a late penalty. When all seemed lost, it was differential Giovanni van Bronckhorst who popped up with the last gasp winner.
While Ian Harte’s high ownership is largely due to the potential for attacking returns, people would have probably hoped for more clean sheets when including him in their Gameweek 1 squads.
While his team has earned three shut-outs in the first seven games, Harte only has one attacking return so far and owners were left pulling their hair out as Leeds conceded four goals at Villa Park.
With clean sheets hard to find, there’s an argument for replacing Harte with a budget option and spreading the funds – but the fear factor of his high ownership leaves many managers clinging on for dear life.
Spurs continue to profit from their promising fixtures but there was nothing for popular picks Sergei Rebrov and Stefan Selakovic in their 2-1 win over a good Fulham side at White Hart Lane.
John Collins gave Fulham an early lead but it was the elder statesmen Teddy Sheringham and Gus Poyet who put Spurs into the top six – with a game in hand.
The one reliable team in terms of attacking returns for fashionable players has been Newcastle. Alan Shearer and Nolberto Solano were both on the scoresheet again as they beat Leicester 2-1. Owners will feel it could have been more, however, after the red card for Tim Flowers in the first half.
Injuries to popular selections also haunted managers. Mauricio Taricco netted the winner as Ipswich won 1-0 against Blackburn. However, he was swiftly ruled out for a month by a training ground injury.
Alen Boksic netted twice for Middlesbrough in a 3-0 win over Derby County at the Riverside, but he limped off towards the end and is likely to miss Boro’s next two fixtures.
There is no doubt in Gameweek 8 that the key fixture is Manchester United’s aforementioned home game with Charlton. Will Ruud van Nistelrooy return to his goalscoring exploits?
Spurs have the final fixture of their good home run against Blackburn Rovers in the early kick-off, while many are banking on the Ipswich defence in their home tie against West Ham.
A lot of eyes also look to the Reebok Stadium where Bolton’s strong run of fixtures continues at home to Derby. Managers may be looking to bring in Henrik Pedersen, Rodney Wallace or Michael Ricketts after they all excelled in a 3-2 win against Sunderland.
The Scout will be out and about with some team news today. Who are you hoping to hear about?
