Say What? – Gameweek 35

We sift through the press conferences and post-match reports once again in order to find any pertinent quotes over the previous weekend’s action. Tom Sherwood discusses Christian Eriksen’s best position in the Spurs XI, Arsene Wenger explains why Mesut Ozil has struggled to adapt to the Premier League this season, Tony Pulis talks spot-kick duties, Brendan Rodgers praises Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel, whilst Mauricio Pochettino is keen to afford Southampton’s youngsters some game time over the final few matches:

After a goal, a pair of assists and two bonus points on his first league start since December, there’s no wonder Arsene Wenger hailed Aaron Ramsey’s return to the Arsenal first team. The Welshman was near-essential in the first half of the season, going toe-to-toe with the league’s best midfielders for significantly less of our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) budget. Snapped up by more than 100,000 managers before the win at Hull, Ramsey’s bandwagon is now in overdrive ahead of the final three Gameweeks, in which the Gunners welcome Newcastle and West Brom before taking a trip to Norwich.

“It is important [to have Ramsey back] because we looked a bit toothless away from home in a few games. To have that [scoring option] back is of course a threat for our opponent and it gives us opportunities to score goals. Ozil had 60 minutes and it was quite encouraging. He was out for seven weeks and it is good to have him back… We looked like scoring goals. In the second half when we scored the third goal, it became easier and we controlled the game well. It was a great performance. I felt so [that the team was fresh], it was more mental.”
Arsene Wenger recognises the instant impact Aaron Ramsey’s return has had on his team.

Wenger elaborated on Ozil’s comeback and explained why he feels his record signing has struggled for any real consistency in his debut year in the Premier League. The Gunners boss reckons the former Real Madrid player will prove far more influential next term, now that he has become accustomed to the rigours of the English top-flight:

“The first season is the season in which you adapt and then you know what will happen and you go into it. And I believe that he [Ozil] will know better his partners, he will know better the league and the potential is absolutely fantastic. He will improve with goals and assists, and his presence in the game. I think he has great physical potential and that will come out. He felt the difference between Spain and here; sometimes he was rested in Spain because he said in Spain, when you are 2-0 up, when Real Madrid are 2-0 up, what strikes him is that the teams give up. They know they will lose the game. And he said what is the most difficult for him here is that at 2-0 up, the teams fight like mad to come back. And he felt that that was the main difference, it is that you have to fight until the last second of the game.”
Arsene Wenger on Mesut Ozil’s potential next season and his endeavours to adapt to the Premier League.

Tim Sherwood discussed the positioning of star-turn Christian Eriksen after seeing his midfielder maintain exceptional form in the 3-1 win at home to Fulham. Eriksen has now delivered an astonishing 55 FPL points in just five games, seeing his price rise by some 0.8m since the 18-point haul against Southampton in Gameweek 31, and with a further 26,000 Fantasy managers already jumping aboard the bandwagon this week, the Dane also looks set for an important role in our end-of-season form.

“I don’t want him to play wide. I think in my first game at Southampton, he played inside. I think he likes to play on the fringes of it and get the ball in between the lines rather than being on the combative side. He’s a No10 or plays narrow enough on the sides – that’s his position. He plays loose and gets in those sneaky positions, and he can affect it beyond the midfield. If he gets it too deep you’re probably wasting him. [Luka] Modric was similar. Modric played inside so who knows where he [Eriksen] might end up. He wants to learn and will adapt to what he’s asked to do.”
Tim Sherwood compares Christian Eriksen with former Spurs favourite Luka Modric

The Tottenham boss also took time to praise the impact of Harry Kane on first-team matters. The youngster has now notched in each of his three starts alongside Emmanuel Adebayor and, at 4.4 in FPL, looks a viable cut-price option for those shopping on a budget:

“I always knew he [Kane] was good enough to play and he knew he would get the opportunity if he showed me on the training field what he can do. So I threw him in there and he’s not let anyone down. He deserves all the backing he gets. He can score goals and he’s got a level head. He’s only a boy but he plays like an experienced campaigner. He knows when to speed the game up, knows when to slow it down and he can score. I knew he could do that at youth level and development level and I recognised he could do that when he needs to step up and play in the Premier League. I think he’s shown that to everyone now.”
Tim Sherwood on the emergence of Harry Kane.

Sam Allardyce sympathised with Andy Carroll’s plight following his striker’s third consecutive blank. Carroll has endured an injury-ravaged campaign, playing in just over one third of his side’s games this season. West Ham look to be safe from the threat of relegation, and with a trip to survival hopefuls West Brom next, followed by Spurs and Manchester City in their final two, Fantasy managers will likely share Allardyce’s doubts over Carroll’s prolificacy.

“He had 11 months off and he had no pre-season at all. He’s worked very hard but getting into games at this stage of the season after 11 months off is very hard. What we need to do is find an alternative type of frontman as well, one who scores a few more goals.”
West Ham’s Sam Allardyce calls for goal-scorers to support Andy Carroll.

Tony Pulis explained the penalty-taking hierarchy at Crystal Palace. With Jason Puncheon racking up FPL interest following his incredible double Gameweek performance, Fantasy managers were left frustrated when the otherwise inept, in Fantasy terms, Mile Jedinak (one assist in 34 starts beforehand) stepped up to convert Palace’s match-winning spot kick against West Ham.

“I just let the lads decide out on the pitch, whoever is confident for me is the one, unless you’ve got a specialised penalty taker and Glenn Murray was right up (on the touchline awaiting to come on as a sub) when we got the penalty saying ‘get me on there, get me on there!’ but Mile’s stepped up and thank God he did.”
Tony Pulis on pre-match instructions for Crystal Palace’s penalty takers.

Brendan Rodgers hailed the impact of Raheem Sterling after the youngster’s two goals and assist against Norwich last Sunday helped steer Liverpool a step closer to the title. The Reds boss explained how Sterling’s tactical awareness without different systems of play makes him such a key player for the league leaders:

“I think he is arguably the best young player in European football at the moment. He’s a talent. I’ve been really pleased with his maturity. He puts an awful lot of time into his work. We’ve tried to play him in different positions to improve his football intelligence. You could see how today he operated at the top of the diamond. He penetrated and was comfortable on the ball. When we switched to 4-3-3, he was the wide player on the side. So it really shows you how intelligent he is as a footballer. He’s got that in-built brain and belief he can be a good player. He’s a really humble kid and it’s been great to see.”
Brendan Rodgers on the on-field awareness of Raheem Sterling.

Rodgers also commended Martin Skrtel’s impact in the heart of the Liverpool defence. The Slovakian started the season on the bench but has now featured in the first XI in every match from Gameweek 3 onwards thanks to a series of commanding displays at both ends of the pitch – Skrtel has notched seven times and is almost 50 points clear of any defensive team-mate as a result of his aerial threat in the opposition box:

“Tactically, he has taken on board what I’ve spoken to him about and the intelligence in his game has grown. He’s very comfortable on the ball and his reading of the game and his awareness has become better. He has added to his power game. Now he knows the right times to use his aggression. That aggression is still there but he has added a bit of subtlety to his defending. He has also shown his threat from set-pieces. His movement to score from the corner against Manchester City was excellent. He’s the highest-scoring defender in the Premier League.”
Brendan Rodgers on the transformation of Martin Skrtel

As the sun sets on a fantastic season for Southampton, Mauricio Pochettino took the opportunity to reflect on the success of integrating some fantastic young players over the course of the season. In the 0-0 stalemate at Villa Park, Pochettino gave young Harrison Reed his second Premier League minutes, while Sam Gallagher got another run out under his belt for the ninth game in succession. With Jay Rodriguez’ untimely injury seeming to have put the brakes on Southampton’s excellent form, the increased integration of academy products could be a further warning-shot to FPL managers holding on to memories of former glories. The Saints welcome Everton and Manchester United to St Mary’s either side of a trip to Swansea, and with little to play for, many will consider joining the 16,000+ Fantasy managers who’ve already shipped out Adam Lallana this week.

“It’s clear that at Southampton we have a project that is based around young players and we always want to nurture young talent. That’s what we’ve been doing this season. We want to support these young players, we want to give them chances and [Sam Gallagher and Harrison Reed] are clear examples of that. It’s also clear that we have a short squad, we don’t have that many players within our squad. It’s very important we give these young players time to mature and experience what it is to be in the Premier League.”
Mauricio Pochettino talks of the value in handing his youngsters Premier League experience.