Our final Digest piece of the 2012/13 campaign highlights the return to form of the West Ham skipper and his former Newcastle sidekick, wonders whether the Canaries could offer us something extra in attack next time out and underlines just how crucial the current bonus system proved to be, with the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) crown decided by the finest of margins.
The Player
Kevin Nolan will no doubt remain on Fantasy radars after ending the season in some style. The Hammers captain took advantage of a porous Reading side that had conceded in every road trip of 2012/13 by hitting a hat-trick in a 4-2 home win for Sam Allardyce’s side – having finished the campaign with 10 goals, he has now delivered double figures in each of his last four seasons for Newcastle and West Ham, a clear sign of his consistency.
While a total of 149 points saw him finish top Fantasy Premier League (FPL) scorer for Allardyce’s side, and 11th in the midfield standings, Nolan’s season was frustrating in the main. An instant impact delivered five goals, a pair of assists and seven bonus points by Gameweek 11 as his initial priced rose from 6.0 to 6.9 but Nolan then scored just two more times in 23 appearances before his weekend return to form.
As the season drew to a close, however, his partnership with Andy Carroll proved beneficial to both – particularly at home. Over the final seven home games of his loan spell, Carroll produced attacking returns six times, with four goals, four assists and six bonus points earning him 46 points, while Nolan registered 35 points in the last three in front of his own fans, courtesy of four goals and eight bonus points.
Clearly, while Allardyce needs to address a scoring record that saw his side net a mere 11 times on the road all season – the poorest attack in the Premier League – his side’s survival will depend on their Upton Park form. Snapping up Carroll on a permanent deal not only looks crucial to his side’s chances, it could well be key to how we assess Nolan’s impact for the campaign ahead.
The Team
Having faltered in front of goal for most of the season, Norwich finished with a real flourish by handing City their second home defeat of 2012/13. The Canaries sealed their survival the previous week with a 4-0 hammering of West Brom and followed that up with an unexpected 3-2 triumph at the Etihad – given they have scored seven goals in the nine games previous to Gameweek 37, the upturn in attacking points was hugely unexpected.
Certainly, from an offensive perspective, Robert Snodgrass was the only real positive in Chris Hughton’s first term in charge at Carrow Road. His arrival from Leeds last summer proved a masterstroke by the Canaries boss as Snodgrass racked up six goals, nine assists and 23 bonus points – a total of 152 points was over 30 points more than any team mate but Norwich’s finish will perhaps afford reason for optimism next time round.
The recent return from injury of Anthony Pilkington was also key for the run in – offering a natural width on the left flank, his recovery from a hamstring problem allowed Snodgrass to return to the right flank in Hughton’s 4-4-1-1, with Wes Hoolahan tucked in behind Grant Holt. Pilkington was amongst the goals at the Etihad, serving a belated reminder of the attacking potential that saw him score in four home fixtures in five between Gameweeks 12 and 20 earlier in the campaign. Grant Holt also ended the season on a high. With 35 Gameweeks gone, he’d found the net a mere five times but scored in each of his last three, notching 24 points over that trio of fixtures.
With new signing Ricky Van Wolfswinkel arriving from Sporting Lisbon this summer and looking to add extra bite to the attack, Hughton will be hoping to roll out a more expressive side next time round. Having found his footing in his first season as a top-flight manager, the Canaries boss will be hoping to push on come next August and, as his acquisition of Snodgrass has shown, could potentially offer Fantasy managers solid, mid-price options for our 15 man squads in the season ahead.
The Talking Point
While Sunday failed to deliver the nerve shredding Premier League drama of seasons past, in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game things went right to the wire. With just two points separating the top two prior to the arrival of the bonus points, their award was to prove crucial and it was the five points allocated to both Philippe Coutinho and Jose Enrique that were decisive.
While Coutinho’s two points were predictable enough, Enrique gained the maximum thanks to a clean sheet and two goal-bound efforts. There can be no complaints: such a result was consistent with previous verdicts from the EA Sports Player Performance Index but perhaps the significance of the award was unfortunate, given that the bonus points remain a contentious issue in a game which is otherwise accepted as rock solid.
It remains to be seen if this area will be revisited by the FPL over the summer months. Meanwhile, with just three points separating the top two, it underlines the narrow margins involved. Indeed, two transfer hits split the top four; food for thought the next time those double Gameweeks tempt the transfer trigger finger.
