Cometh the hour, cometh the man?
Gameweek 26 review
It’ll come as little consolation to them now given the way they were overwhelmed by Barcelona during the week but Manchester City dominate the Dream Team after their 5-0 drubbing of Newcastle.
David Silva was easily the highest points scorer of the week with 17 points, followed by teammates Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko on 13 and 11 respectively.
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho joined Dzeko on 11 after his wonder strike against Southampton, earning a point more than a string of players on ten points: Ander Herrera, Victor Moses, Danny Rose and West Ham ‘keeper Adrian.
Steven Naismith got a look in alongside Dzeko up front with nine points, the same total as defenders Ben Mee and Santiago Vergini.
J-League
Illustrating once again that one slip-up will cost you dearly in the J-League, John Cotter’s Iron Army surrendered top spot to Sean Kelly’s The Honey Badgers, who regained the lead with a solid 73 points.
Having held a comfortable (ish) lead last week. John is just about clinging onto second spot now with Garry Doran’s What’s Love Gotze do only for points behind him after an excellent 81-point haul.
Joe O’Neill’s Dr. Neo Cortex are two points further back in fourth, with Mark ‘tinkerman’ Elliott’s Gylfi Pleasures another three points back in fifth place.
That means only 11 points currently separate fifth from first. Didn’t we tell you it was tight?
J-League Top 5
- The Honey Badgers – Sean Kelly: 1,588 points
- Iron Army – John Cotter: 1,586 points
- What’s Love Gotze Do? – Garry Doran: 1,582 points
- Neo Cortex – Joe O’Neill: 1,580 points
- Gylfi Pleasures – Mark ‘tinkerman’ Elliott: 1,577 points
New role, new Rooney?
Wayne Rooney was probably Manchester United’s most important player already, but the weight on his shoulders is about to increase in the coming weeks.
A lot of United fans have taken news of Robin van Persie’s injury well because of his anonymity in games of late and it also means that Rooney’s recent return to a forward role will now likely last until the end of the season.
It should be pointed out that Rooney was doing OK in midfield and actually managed three goals in three games in a productive period over Christmas.
But Wayne Rooney is more than an OK player and even accounting for the mediocrity of Louis van Gaal’s men, he is still one of the best strikers in the league on his day.
Rooney is also, as we have pointed out in numerous columns in the past, a player who tends to scores his goals in spurts and Lord is he due one.
The United skipper has gone eight league games without a goal and hasn’t scored more than two points in a single game over that period, a fairly miserable record for a player of his class. The fact that he was playing in a midfield obviously goes some way towards such a lean spell, but he won’t be able to offer that excuse for the foreseeable future.
With the season entering a crucial stage and United needing goals to drive their bid for a return to the Champions League, they need Rooney to step up and deliver.
At £10.5 million and given the way the Red Devils are playing, it’s a huge gamble, but he’s proved people wrong before.
N.B. Just in case you forgot folks, Spurs and Chelsea are out of action this week because of the Capital One Cup Final.
Leicester and QPR won’t be playing either, but they’re not as important.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks
Top Dollar: Wayne Rooney (£10.5 million). We’ve outlined the reasons for his potential selection above, but such is the air of uncertainty at Old Trafford right now that we’re reluctant to recommend him as captain.
Even though they’re at home to Sunderland.
Mid-Range: Romelu Lukaku (£8.8 million). The big man has been hit and miss this season but Everton are improving, he’s been scoring for fun in Europe of late and he did bag two assists his last Premier League outing.
Bargain Basement: Scott Sinclair (£5.2 million). The forgotten man of Premier League football has grabbed two goals in as many performances and he earned eight points for his efforts against Stoke last weekend.
Irish Pick: Stephen Ireland (£4.7 million). We can barely believe we’re recommending Stephen Ireland either, but he’s starting a few games these days and he has three assists in his last four games.
Captain’s Pick: Santi Cazorla (£8.6 million). It’s really tough picking a skipper this week, but Cazorla’s form – three goals, three assists and 45 points in his last five games – justifies him getting the armband.
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