When Wayne Rooney starts scoring he’s a man you want in your Fantasy team. He hasn’t managed any yet, but he could be about to start.
Gameweek 7 review
Gameweek 7 turned out to be something of a defender’s paradise, with five players featuring in the Dream Team and all of them scoring 13 points or more.
Amongst that group, Man City’s Alexsandr Kolarov stood head and shoulders above the rest with a goal, two assists, a clean sheet and two bonus points for a 20-point total, five ahead of nearest challengers Stephen Caulker of Tottenham and Southampton’s Jose Fonte.
In the red half of Manchester, the unlikely sight of both Jonny Evans and Patrice Evra getting on the scoresheet led to the inclusion of both in the Dream Team this week after 14 and 13 points respectively, while James Milner completed a good weekend for last season’s top two with 11 points.
Milner is joined in midfield by Swansea’s Wayne Routledge (13 points) and West Brom’s James Morrison, whose goal and assist brought him to 40 points for the season and into the company of the likes of Santi Cazorla, Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale as the highest scoring midfielders so far.
Fernando Torres and Olivier Giroud haven’t been able to hit a barn door at various stages of their Chelsea and Arsenal careers, but they form the Dream Team front two after scoring 12 points apiece the weekend before last.
J-League
It somehow slipped our minds in our last Fantasy Football piece, but after Gameweek 6, the leader of the J-League, Barry McCabe, managed the none-too-impressive feat of being the top Fantasy Football manager IN THE WORLD with his side Breffni Blues.
Unfortunately for Barry he’s plummeted to the depths of second in the world after Gameweek 7 but none of that matters because, far more importantly, he’s still top of the J-League with 525 points.
It’s a testament to the Fantasy Football skills of JOE readers that second placed Man Red, managed by Stephen Ruth, are less than 20 points behind, with Shane Judge’s Raving Lunatics, Gavin Gingles’ Meath Lovers Pizza and Richard Snowden’s Release the Krakens making up the top five.
Keep up the good work lads.
J-League Top 5:
- Breffni Blues – Barry McCabe: 525 points
- Man Red – Stephen Ruth: 506 points
- Raving Lunatics – Shane Judge: 481 points
- Meath Lovers Pizza – Gavin Gingles: 476 points
- Release the Krakens – Richard Snowden: 473 points
Time for another Wayne Rooney spurt?
First of all, apologies for whatever terrifying images the above sub-heading might inspire, but one of the cardinal rules of Fantasy Football over the last few years is that a manager must pick Wayne Rooney when he goes on a goal spurt.
Ever since he took over the mantle of Manchester United’s main man when Cristiano Ronaldo left in the summer of 2009, Rooney has been the main source of goals for the Red Devils, scoring 64 in the last three seasons. It’s an average of just over 20 goals a season, although that statistic is skewed somewhat by the 11 he netted in the 2010/11 campaign.
Anyone that follows Rooney, or indeed Fantasy Football closely, will be aware that he is an incredibly streaky player, particularly in front of goal, the type who could go ten games without a goal and then score ten in five or six games.
Injury and eh, about half a stone of excess weight which he appears to have since shed have prevented him from opening his account in the league this season but there are signs that he is beginning to hit form.
He made a huge difference when introduced at half-time in the defeat to Spurs, he was man of the match against Newcastle with two assists and although the presence of Robin van Persie may well affect the number of goals he scores, he’ll still score plenty and if he’s in a deeper role he’ll assume the role of provider-in-chief.
Assuming that he will embark one of his renowned streaks at some stage, the period between now and Christmas could well be when he picks his time to shine. United have to play Chelsea and Arsenal in the next three weeks, but from now until their meeting with arch rivals Man City on December 9, they will also face Stoke, Aston Villa, Norwich, QPR, West Ham and Reading.
It is because of their record against the teams from the middle to the bottom of the table, rather than against their counterparts at the top of the table that United have won titles in recent years and Rooney scoring goals against those sides has been a crucial component of that.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Santi Cazorla (£9.4 million). You may have gathered it from previous articles but we love this guy. Two goals, three assists and five bonus points so far, he’ll likely add to his tally against a Norwich side leaking goals at the moment.
Mid Range: James Morrison (£6.0 million). Only five midfielders have scored more points than him so far this season and will be looking to add to his two goals and three assists against the champions this weekend.
Bargain Basement: Rafael (£5.9 million). At the expensive end of the bargain basement category, but the Brazilian has scored two goals in six games and is playing the best football of his United career.
Irish Pick: Damien Duff (£6.3 million). By far the highest scoring player in a Fulham team playing well, his decision to call it quits at international level seems to be having the desired effect, annoying and all as that realisation is for Irish fans.
Captain’s Pick: Wayne Rooney (£11.7 million). As elaborated upon above, we have a feeling Rooney’s about to embark on a good run of form. Stoke at home seems like a decent place to start.
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