West Ham are in a barely believable fourth place in the table and a lot of that is down to their new and very impressive strike partnership.
Gameweek 8 review
If you played your cards right, there was ample potential for high-scoring in Gameweek 8, where a couple of Southampton lads, a trio of Everton defenders and one Sergio Aguero went on something of a scoring rampage.
It’s almost a surprise that only two Southampton players made the Dream Team after their 8-0 demolition of Sunderland but maybe it’s a less of a surprise when you consider that so many points were hogged by two Saints players, Dusan Tadic and Graziano Pelle. With a goal and four assists, Tadic was comfortably the highest scorer of the week with 23 points, while Pelle didn’t too bad either, registering two goals and an assist for a 15-point haul.
The aforementioned Aguero could have joined Tadic in breaking the 20-point barrier if he hadn’t missed a penalty against Spurs, but he had to be content with only 19 after scoring all of City’s four goals against the Londoners.
Seamus Coleman made a welcome return to the Everton side and to the Dream Team and managed 13 points after his goal against Aston Villa, the same total as Chelsea’s Oscar and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez. Despite his goal, Coleman was trumped by his defensive colleagues Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines with 14 and 15 points respectively, with Joe Hart (9), Diafra Sakho (12) and 11-point Gabriel Obertan – yes that Gabriel Obertan – completing the dream XI.
J-League
With so many points up for grabs it’s no surprise that there was much jostling for positions at the top of the J-League this week, with every single spot apart from top spot occupied by a different team than it was seven days ago.
The man in top spot is still Terry O’Rourke, whose Sporting Kilbeggan outfit are just about holding off the threat posed by Enda McGearty’s Coin Men in second and Stephen Mullet’s wecouldwinitsixtimes five points further back.
John Thompson’s No pants dance FC are a single point back in fourth, with Niall Colfer’s Baines on Toast making up the top five after a very respectable 86 points this week.
J-League Top 5:
- Sporting Kilbeggan – Terry O’Rourke: 525 points
- Coin Men – Enda McGearty: 519 points
- Wecouldwinitsixtimes – Stephen Mullett: 514 points
- No pants dance FC – John Thompson: 513 points
- Baines on Toast – Niall Colfer: 510 points
Stop, Hammers time
Had you checked the odds on the first Premier League manager to get the sack at the start of the season, chances are Sam Allardyce would have been close to the top of the list. Big Sam was under pressure from the West Ham hierarchy to play more attacking football but rather than wilt under the pressure he has flourished, with a couple of very astute signings helping the Hammers to the lofty heights of fourth in the league eight matches in.
Not many expect West Ham to stay where they are at the moment, but barring a major meltdown, Big Sam has probably made his job safe for the season already and besides, with the talent at his disposal, they should be really shooting for a finish in the top half.
They’ll certainly end up there if their brand new strike partnership continue firing in the manner they have been already this season. In eight games, Diafra Sakho (£5.7 million) has registered four goals, two assists and 41 points in total, enough to make him the sixth highest-scoring striker so far in this campaign.
Enner Valencia (£6.9 million) hasn’t been as consistent with only two goals and an assist so far, but his potential to do damage has been obvious all season and the relationship between the two bodes well for West Ham’s season ahead.
Neither player is going to provide the regular supply of goals that you’d get from an Aguero or a Costa, but they’re not a bad option to support the likes of those players up front and while you might want to wait until after they take on Manchester City this weekend, this pair of Hammers could well end up being nailed-on selections for many managers a little further down the line.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks
Top Dollar: Cesc Fabregas (£9.7 million). Scored his first of the season against Palace last time out and just as we expect Chelsea to score at Old Trafford on Sunday, we expect the Spaniard to be heavily involved.
Mid-Range: Dusan Tadic (£7.6 million). This guy has been excellent all season, but he’s now virtually impossible to ignore after a whopping 23 points against Sunderland last weekend. Stoke should beware on Saturday.
Bargain Basement: Diafra Sakho (£5.7 million). Vincent Kompany will be an intimidating opponent in the early kick-off on Saturday, but he’s proved a handful for everyone he’s faced so far and is definitely worth a punt on a more long-term basis.
Irish Pick: Seamus Coleman (£6.9 million). Our recommendation of John O’Shea last weekend backfired ever so slightly, so we’ll return to our default option, the ever excellent Seamus Coleman after he was back amongst the goals last Saturday.
Captain’s Pick: Sergio Aguero (£12.5 million). When he’s on form, there is no better striker in the league. And after four goals against Spurs, he’s most definitely on form at the moment. West Ham might struggle to cope.
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