With so many key men on form early on, fantasy managers have a wealth of attacking options at their disposal at the moment.
One of the most pleasing aspects about the start of the Premier League season has been the abundance of goals scored so far. Granted, comical defending has been at the heart of a lot of them, but with an average of almost three goals a game to date, there aren’t many fans complaining.
The problem for Fantasy Football managers is that so many of the big guns have been doing the business to date and it is impossible to fit them all into the same team at once. In the past, you were nearly guaranteed a Robin van Persie injury or a Wayne Rooney cold streak that enabled you to focus on other options, but although it’s early days yet, that hasn’t been the case this season.
Take the three leading strikers so far for instance. Around ten or 11 months ago, hell even six months ago, you would have been given very generous odds on Carlos Tevez appearing in a City shirt this season, but the Argentine has slimmed down, copped on (for now, at least) and is playing some of his best ever football since his arrival in England. Three goals, three assists and six bonus points in three games is testament to that.
Many an Arsenal fan raised a wry smile when they saw Robin van Persie hobble off for Holland during the week, but Louis van Gaal has said it’s nothing to worry about and Man United fans will hope he’s telling the truth. Already, the Red Devils have developed a dependence on the Dutchman, who has scored four of his side’s six goals so far.
Fernando Torres finally seems to be flourishing in a Chelsea shirt and the arrival of Eden Hazard has played a large part in that. Two goals, two assists and four bonus points has been the previously faltering Spaniard’s contribution so far and with a worrying lack of alternatives up front for the Blues, they’ll need that sort of return on a consistent basis throughout the season.
Three strikers in form makes for simple Fantasy Football selection, right? Well, not exactly. At their current valuation, Tevez, Torres and Van Persie together cost £33.3 million, literally a third of the value of a manager’s entire squad. Even at the start of the season, their cumulative total was £32 million, quite a hefty chunk of a manager’s total spend.
If you’re prepared to sacrifice the rest of your team for such a deadly strikeforce that’s well and good, but with the likes of Hazard, Cazorla and Yaya Toure – all expensive midfielders – all tearing it up so far, we would advise taking only two of them in an effort to achieve a balance throughout the rest of the squad.
Still, being spoiled for choice is not a bad problem to have all the same, the closest thing to a real-life version of those ‘welcome headaches’ for managers you always hear about.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Santi Cazorla (£9.1 million). Make no mistake, Arsenal have got a real player on their hands. If the Arsenal strikers were as tuned in as Cazorla so far, he’d have far more than the goal and assist he has to his name already, but they looked good against Liverpool and Southampton at home looks like a good opportunity for greater improvement.
Mid-Range: Michu (£7.3 million). There are probably loads of you thinking that this run must come to an end sooner rather than later, but one of the secrets of Fantasy Football is shamelessly jumping aboard a bandwagon while you still can. No better bandwagon than the one belonging to the highest scorer in the league so far.
Bargain Basement: Carl Jenkinson (£4.8 million). Cheap defenders from the big clubs that play regularly are very hard to find, but although he’s still very raw, Jenkinson has played every minute for the Gunners this season, kept three clean sheets and picked up four bonus points while he’s at it.
Irish Pick: Shane Long (£6.0 million). He scored at Craven Cottage in the week and in the form he’s in, there’s no reason why he can’t do it again against Fulham this weekend.
Captain’s Pick: Robin van Persie (£13.4 million). Wigan have provided little more than token opposition at Old Trafford in recent years and if he’s fit, and that’s a big if, Van Persie could have a field day.
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