Already on course to repeat last season’s heroics, Robin van Persie is on fire for Manchester United at the moment.
Gameweek 10 review
A quick glance at the Dream Team for Gameweek 10 will show that it was a pretty disappointing week for the majority of Fantasy managers, with the eleven players in it resembling a selection you’d expect to get if you used the auto-complete function before the start of the season.
Only three players from the top four sides feature in the team of the week, hardly a surprise when everyone apart from Manchester United suffered some form of setback.
Speaking of the Red Devils, Patrice Evra, who has doubled his cumulative goal tally from the last six seasons already in this campaign, is included at the back with 10 points after his goal against Arsenal on Saturday, with Reading’s Kaspar Gorkss (11) and Wigan’s Gary Caldwell (8) completing the most unlikely back three you’ll see all season.
Another one of the top four representatives, Everton’s Marouane Fellaini, was the top dog this week after his two goals at Fulham contributed to a 15-point haul, two better than Peter Odemwingie, who bagged a brace for the Baggies against Southampton on Monday.
Goalscoring midfielders Victor Moses, Bradley Johnson and Ben Watson all managed 11 points apiece, while the man who rescued a point for Swansea, Pablo Hernandez, and Aston Villa’s match-winner against Sunderland, Gabby Agbonlahor, also featured with nine points each.
J-League
With the week that was in it, it was no surprise that the J-League top two, Barry McCabe’s Breffni Blues and Stephen Ruth’s Man Red, stayed exactly where they were this week, although there was a bit of shuffling below them as Derek Dickenson’s Haven’t Got a Kalou and Michael Brophy’s Athletic Bilbrophy catapulted into the top five alongside Darren McCann’s Dazzleros and Gavin Gingles’ Meath Lovers Pizza.
What had looked like a significant gap between Barry and Stephen and the rest doesn’t seem so big now after the leaders both scored under 40 points, so don’t be surprised if there is a change at the top by this time next week.
J-League Top 5:
- Breffni Blues – Barry McCabe: 654 points
- Man Red – Stephen Ruth: 643 points
- Haven’t Got a Kalou – Derek Dickenson: 629 points
- Dazzleros – Darren McCann, Athletic Bilbrophy – Michael Brophy: 622 points
- Meath Lovers Pizza – Gavin Gingles: 614 points
Easy as ABC with RVP
When somebody enjoys as brilliant a season as Robin van Persie did last season, football fans tend to automatically assume that it just won’t be the same the next time around.
Through a combination of injuries, loss of form, or opposition teams being more aware of their threat, players in the Premier League rarely produce absolutely brilliant seasons back to back, certainly, say, not on the level of a Messi or a Ronaldo in Spain at any rate.
Manchester United fans may curse me for putting a jinx on their current leading scorer, but at the moment, Robin van Persie is on course to have an even better season than he did last year when he scored 30 goals, provided 13 assists, collected a string of individual awards, was a must have for every Fantasy Football manager and was almost a shoo-in as captain every week.
The Dutchman has instantly dismissed any concerns he might take time to adapt to his new surroundings and has already weighed in with eight goals, four assists and 15 bonus points, a third of the 45 he managed last year.
On 72 points, Van Persie has surpassed Eden Hazard as the highest points scorer in the league and one would think that it is only going to get better considering that United have played all of the Premier League’s top ten apart from West Brom, West Ham and Man City and have Aston Villa, Norwich, QPR, West Ham and Reading as their opposition in the next five league games.
The beauty with Van Persie is that, barring his tendency to pick up injuries, he’s ultra-reliable. Unlike Wayne Rooney, his goals don’t arrive in spurts and he’s as likely to score against the big teams as he is against the minnows. That’s why, at £13.5 million, he’s nearly £2 million more expensive than any other player in the league (Wayne Rooney is his nearest challenger at £11.8 million, followed by Sergio Aguero – £11.1 million).
A manager will obviously have to take into account the cost and the inevitable weakening of their squad elsewhere when bringing in the Dutchman, but to once again paraphrase a terribly over-used marketing slogan, it’s because he’s worth it.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Juan Mata (£9.4 million). Chelsea really missed him against Swansea last weekend, but unfortunately for Liverpool fans, he’ll be back to terrorise Agger, Skrtel and company on Sunday.
A big statement considering the contribution of Hazard and Oscar this season, but he’s probably the most important part of the dazzling advanced midfield trio that have made such an impact so far.
Mid Range: Marouane Fellaini (£7.2 million). His brace against Fulham brought him to five for the season so far and he could prove useful against a stubborn Sunderland defence at Goodison on Saturday. There’s a reason he’s in over a quarter of all Fantasy teams at the minute.
Bargain Basement: Pablo Hernandez (£6.1 million). A little pricey for this category, but could be worth the extra few quid after two goals and 20 points in three games for a Swansea team who seem to have recovered from their little blip.
Irish Pick: Shane Long (£6.1 million). Unfortunately for Irish fans there aren’t many alternatives at the moment, but Long cast aside any doubts about his fitness with a brilliant display and wonderful assist for West Brom against Southampton earlier this week. He’s flying at the moment.
Captain’s Pick: Robin van Persie (£13.5 million). With the form he’s in and a goal in his last three league games, Aston Villa’s defenders should have plenty of cause for concern at Villa Park on Saturday evening.
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