We roll out a new semi-regular article this evening, examining and analysing some of the most pertinent quotes from managers and players alike from the Gameweek fall out. For our first instalment, we find Jose Mourinho praising Fernando Torres, Manuel Pellegrini refusing to back off-form Joe Hart, Roberto Martinez discussing the impact of his recent substitutions and Brendan Rodgers explaining the decision to drop Victor Moses from the Liverpool XI – it’s not as obvious as you might think.
“It was a fantastic performance and even better because there was an easy chance missed and that makes it even more valuable because many times when a striker misses an easy chance he is affected for the rest of the game. A missed goal doesn’t matter, he was there fighting for it, our team isn’t physical, we need his physicality. The people playing behind him; Schurrle is fragile, Juan is little, Oscar is fragile, Hazard is little. You see City, even Aguero, he’s the little one but he’s a powerful tank, so we need Fernando, he gives us a lot. After that, if he scores or doesn’t score it’s okay, we know we can count on him.”Jose Mourinho on Fernando Torres’ display against City
Jose Mourinho suggests that Fernando Torres could be key for Chelsea after his goal and assist contribution helped defeat City yesterday. Having also bagged a brace in the midweek Champions League win over Schalke, Torres looks in the driving seat to continue as the lone striker – given that he’s yet to be handed back-to-back starts in the league, Fantasy managers will remain sceptical in the meantime but at 8.3 in FPL, he’s cheaper than both Eden Hazard and Oscar in midfield and with a superb run of games on the horizon, has already been snapped up by over 8,000 new owners.
“He [Nani] is a regular and captain for Portugal so he is very talented…There were one or two decisions he might have made better, but he got us the (first) goal with a lovely ball. We have a lot of competition for places in the wide areas, incredible competition, and that is what we’re looking for.”
David Moyes on Nani’s performance in the win over Stoke
David Moyes desperately tries to defend Nani after the Portuguese winger was booed from the Old Trafford pitch in the comeback win over Stoke. Nani was eventually replaced by Adnan Januzaj on the hour-mark, with Moyes clearly trying to justify his decision to bench the 18-year-old and start the ineffective Nani. Both players signed five-year deals at the club this season; both look to have very different futures. Fantasy managers will be hoping that Moyes’ judgement doesn’t remain clouded on the pair to limit Januzaj’s starts.
“From tomorrow, we are going to see the best way to arrange things. What do I think about the goal? I won’t talk about it. What do I think about my goalkeeper’s performance? I repeat, the analysis I do with individual players I do with the players…How is the confidence? You must ask him how his confidence is, I talk just internally with the players. We are losing stupid points. In our three away defeats, we’ve had the important responsibility for the goals the other team scored.”
Manuel Pellegrini on the goal that led to Chelsea’s 2-1 win
Manuel Pellegrini refuses to criticise Joe Hart’s error for the winning Chelsea goal but, as the press having highlighted, the City boss also failed to jump to his defence. Having stuck by him following criticism earlier this season, speculation is mounting that Hart may finally lose his City start with Costel Pantilimon (4.9 in Fantasy Premier League) perhaps about to come on to the radar for Fantasy managers.
“The penalty save is terrific. I have just seen it back. With the second chance, Christian does the right thing trying to go across the goalkeeper but he’s made another great save….You have to take your chances. You don’t take your chances, it puts pressure on you. The goals will come. We are creating chances. That’s the good thing. The lads will score. You can’t be harsh on them because more times than not they will take their chances. I won’t criticise them. They have given it everything they have got. On another day, they would have come in 3-0 up”
Paul Lambert on Benteke’s penalty miss and Villa’s goal plight
Paul Lambert remains optimistic Villa will turn the corner after Saturday’s home defeat to Everton means they have now gone three games without a goal. Christian Benteke missed a second spot-kick of the season and also spurned another opportunity to score for the first time since Gameweek 4 – the bandwagon may have stalled, then, but the upcoming schedule (whm, CAR, wba, SUN) still looks promising for the 8.8 priced forward.
“You worry about fatigue a little bit, but not too much. Sometimes when you play every three days you look tired and then in three days you are flying again. It goes a bit in cycles….I will rotate against Chelsea, yes, but play with a team as well who has a good chance to qualify, that will be the target.”
Arsene Wenger talks rotation
Arsene Wenger discussed rotation ahead of an upcoming schedule which pits his side against Chelsea, Liverpool, Dortmund and United over the space of 10 days from next Tuesday onwards. Wenger admitted the Capital One Cup clash with Jose Mourinho’s side looks an ideal chance to rest some of his main protagonists prior to the Gameweek 10 visit of Liverpool the following Saturday – good news for owners of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud, after all three were afforded 90 minutes against Palace on Saturday.
“I’m really pleased. I said before that we have a really strong squad. All that matters is every player is ready to help whenever they are called upon. I told Leon (Osman) that it was going to be a good opportunity for him in the last 20 minutes with Villa tiring and when he came on it was a masterclass of getting on the ball in the attacking third.”
Roberto Martinez sings the praises of sub Leon Osman following his match-winning display
Roberto Martinez hails Leon Osman’s impact after he climbed off the bench to produce a goal and assist in Everton’s 2-0 win at Villa. Martinez has now seen his second-half substitutions pay dividend in back-to-back Gameweeks after Steven Pienaar scored the winner in a similar situation last week. Given how successful his tinkering has proved, Martinez is likely to continue with such a tactic – somewhat worrying for Ross Barkley owners, then, after the youngster made way for the versatile Osman on the hour mark.
“After the first half I really thought we needed to try and repair the damage and that’s what we tried to do with (Aaron) Hughes. That helped a bit because we didn’t defend well in the first half with Lallana drifting infield and Sascha staying out on the right.”
Martin Jol explains the withdrawal of Sascha Reither at Southampton
Martin Jol explains his decision to withdraw Sascha Riether at the break during Fulham’s 2-0 loss at Southampton. The right-back had played the full 90 minutes in all but one of the previous eight Gameweeks and has picked up two assists in his last four but Jol’s tactical tinkering suggests he feels the German’s forward forays leave his side a little exposed at the back – with United, Liverpool, Swansea and Spurs in the next five, Riether’s owners will be hoping he isn’t sacrificed as Jol attempts to tighten up his rearguard.
“When you play that system, I’ve been looking to have someone in that controlling role. That allows the other two advanced players to go forward. Lucas came in and filled that really well today. I thought he was excellent in his performance, as were Jordan Henderson and Steven (Gerrard). They made good forward runs and were always available for the ball. It was very, very good.”
Brendan Rodgers explains why Victor Moses gave way for the West Brom clash
Brendan Rodgers explains his decision to drop Victor Moses for Lucas in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over West Brom. As this average position map in our members section highlights, the switch saw Liverpool operate in more of a 3-1-4-2 than 3-4-1-2 formation, with the Brazilian sitting deep in front of the back-three, allowing Gerrard and Henderson license to forage forward against the Baggies. With Philippe Coutinho expected back this weekend, however, the Reds boss faces a dilemma – the former Inter man is expected to line up in “the hole” behind Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, forcing Rodgers into a tactical re-think once again.
“To be fair, I’ve felt better. The last couple of weeks, it’s been quite tough for me. I’ve been sore in a couple of places and I want to play through that.”
Robin van Persie acknowledges his recent injury problems
Robin Van Persie admitted he has been struggling with injuries in recent matches for United. Omitted from the Champions League win over Real Sociedad, the Dutchman returned to the starting XI and grabbed a goal and assist in the narrow win over Stoke on Saturday but has still been sold by over 10,000 FPL managers ahead of a trip to Fulham. Having racked up 19 points over the past two matches, Van Persie – who has also scored in back-to-back matches for the first time this term – may be finally starting to find his form after a difficult settling-in period under new boss David Moyes but continues to be overshadowed by Wayne Rooney, with the latter enjoying something of a renaissance under his former Everton mentor.
