Our Suspension Tightrope only kicked back into action last week but we’ve already seen a couple of players topple off after Gameweek 7 came to an end. Both Calum Chambers and Jonjo Shelvey went into the weekend with four yellows accrued and the pair were culpable yet again, earning their fifth domestic cautions to automatically trigger a one-match ban.
In an ill-tempered affair at Stamford Bridge, Chambers was a little fortunate not to receive his marching orders after Martin Atkinson chose not to dish out a second yellow for a foul on Andre Schurrle. Indeed, although the whistler booked seven players in the 2-0 win, the likes of Laurent Koscielny, Gary Cahill and Danny Welbeck were also shown a little leniency, and received a caution when a dismissal could just as easily have been the outcome. Welbeck owners will particularly be relieved after his wild lunge on Cesc Fabregas was only deemed worthy of a yellow.
Chambers – who has now been booked six times in just eight appearances for the Gunners – misses the Gameweek 8 home encounter against Hull but will return in time for the following week’s trip to Sunderland.
Shelvey will skip the Swans’ trip to Stoke next time around before coming back into contention for the Gameweek 9 home clash against Leicester. Team-mate Angel Rangel is available now, though, after serving his own one-match suspension against Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
The duo join Wayne Rooney on the sidelines, then, as the United skipper serves the second of a three-match suspension away to West Brom. Rooney also misses a home match with Chelsea before being available in time for the Gameweek 10 Manchester derby at the Etihad.
Back to the Tightrope and Chambers’ team-mate Jack Wilshere is now the only player currently sitting with four cautions to his name. Just below him, though, are band of 10 players which include a trio of big-hitting Fantasy prospects, in the form of Diego Costa, Yaya Toure and Graziano Pelle.
