WILD
Lets go WILD! Welcome to the GW5 review. How did it all go for you?
Gameweek 5 was another filled with the lack of a certain man, and following this weekend’s action I find myself among WILDCARD friends. We hung on tight through the Aguero elbow debacle and now we are taking a walk on the wild side. What a wonderful time this is!
Early in the season a few hit the panic button, while others notably played their cards following Aguero’s ban. I’m sure many will even have the WILDCARD firmly in their pocket for another rainy day. It’s worth remembering that there is no right or wrong time to push the button but the week when we do hit it is an invigorating time, something fantasy managers can look forward to. Twice a season we get the chance to reshape our squads, increase squad value and jump on the latest bandwagons. But, as Spiderman knows all too well, with great power comes great responsibility.
Once we have taken a look at what went down in the Premier League over the past weekend we will delve into the FFUK Top 50 and check out the latest from what is already shaping up to be a great season.
It feels like Sergio is discussed a lot on here and rightly so in my opinion. Very rarely do we see essential players in FPL, there are massive bandwagons and players that are such incredible value that they are impossible to ignore. I am not sure if there has ever been more than one essential player in any FPL season. Mahrez was arguably essential last season but his value was so low that he was easy to acquire and shape your team around, Capoue is doing similar things right now but will he be able to keep up the pace?
Aguero is a different beast altogether. He is the most expensive player in the game. He has a fragile injury record. He could well be rested around Champions League exertions. But even taking all that into account he is the only player with essential status simply because he is the most devastating player in the league. I know my Wildcard team will have Kun in it. I am not so sure about the other 14 players at the moment but I know that one for sure.
GW5 PL REVIEW
Lets start with an Aguero-less City. Pep’s side are going from strength to strength, playing head and shoulders above everyone else in the league, and even without that Joe with the nice hair. With Aguero in the stands City still dismantled Bournemouth 4-0 and it could have been more too. City started last season in a similar fashion before their form quickly dropped off. Personally, I can’t help but feel that the rug was taken away from under Pellegrini’s feet, the announcement of the new manager undermining the man in the hot seat. On Saturday KDB (14 points) ran the show and were it not for his lofty price tag we would all be looking a lot more closely at the ginger prince. Sterling (13) is the better value option and almost matched him for points this week. Nolito (3), however did not, and saw red late on. I must admit I wanted to get Nolito in last week but ended up going with Sterling, the finances finishing that decision. The Fantasy gods work in very strange ways it seems. Iheanacho (10) didn’t let his expensive colleagues hog all the headlines and continued his recent form with a goal and an assist. In fact Iheanacho has now scored 25 points in 161 minutes, even outshining Aguero himself (24 points from 259 minutes). Incredible from the youngster and ominous for the rest.
Who else was impressive this weekend? Well we have to discuss the Hornets. Watford smashed Man Utd 3-1 at Vicarage Road to quiet all those United fans who thought their problems were over and the City match was just a blip. There are problems at United and they are mostly in the shape of a very unattractive Wayne Rooney. Mourinho needs to get rid of him in my opinion, I know many will agree and some will disagree with me. I have not been a fan of Rooney for a long time and if Sir Alex Ferguson was still in charge at Old Trafford I am confident Wazza would not be there. Anyway lets look at the game. Watford bossed it. Etienne “the main man” Capoue (10) did his thing AGAIN. Captain Deeney (6) and Zuniga (12), on as a sub, also got stuck in. Rashford (6) got a consolation from a Zlatan (5) assist which kept those who captained the big man satisfied if not exactly elated.
Leicester were also very good in beating Burnley 3-0 on the back of their first ever Champions League game (which they also won by the same scoreline). The Foxes look to be back in form after a tricky start. New record signing Slimani (13) got a brace with Fuchs (12), Mahrez (6) and Vardy (6) providing the assists. Fuchs and Slimani shared maximum bonus. Nice.
Palace, off the back of their first win of the season last week, got another on the board and this time in far more spectacular fashion slaying Stoke 4-1. New record signing Benteke (2) was subdued but the supporting cast, in particular Andros Townsend (14), certainly didn’t disappoint! Townsend registered a goal, assist, clean sheet and maximum bonus to reward the owners who had stuck by him so patiently. As a proud Andros owner, I have to admit that I was beginning to have doubts despite his impressive stats. Tomkins (7), McArthur (8) and Puncheon (8) did the rest but lets hear it for Scott DANN (8) who scored his 2nd in 3 games and was also Palace’s highest goal scorer last season. Palace’s lack of clean sheets is certainly appeased by Dann’s scoring record, incredible goalscoring prowess for a centre back. Case in point, Arnie (6) got a late goal to disappoint all those hoping for a Palace clean sheet. Those fantasy football gods can be cruel sometimes too.
West Brom scored 4 goals in just over one half of football, and it’s not very often you can say that. West Ham could only manage 2 goals in reply and the pressure builds on Slaven and co. New WBA signing Chadli (21) was the star of the show and the highest scoring player of GW5 with 2 goals, an assist and maximum bonus! Anyone have him? Rondon (10) also did well and looks an interesting pick at that price if WBA can continue to score goals.
Unfortunately I have to discuss the Liverpool game next. Liverpool were impressive in the first half but I cant help thinking that they looked better than they actually were. If Jordan Henderson (10) looks good then you know something is wrong. Chelsea were pathetic, Hazard (2) didn’t bother for the second game in a row but the problems were more in defence. Cahill (1) and Ivanovic (1) need to move on and should not be considered first choice any longer. I just hope Conte gets time to sort this mess out. Fair play Liverpool but to be honest this game could easily have finished 2-2 and the Blues were absolutely woeful so I would argue Liverpool are still a work in progress right now.
Arsenal beat Hull 4-1 with Sanchez (10) getting a brace despite missing a penalty. The Chilean looks hot property and will surely be popular in many wildcard teams. Iwobi (11) got a couple of assists but goal of the game went to new boy Xhaka (6) with a rocket from distance despite only coming on as a late sub.
Everton continued their impressive form beating Boro 3-1. Lukaku (12) was once again in the heart of the action with a (dubious) goal and assist whilst Bolasie (5) was unlucky not to be credited for that dubious goal. Still, Bolasie was given the assist and looks great value going forward. Coleman (10) opened his account for the season too!
Southampton and Spurs both recorded 1-0 wins over Swansea and Sunderland. Neither were particularly impressive hence the reason they are last on here, a bit like match of the day! Super sub Austin (5) got the winner for the Saints. Kane (6) got the winner for Spurs but at what cost? The striker was withdrawn with a nasty ankle injury and early prognosis looks like he will miss the next 2 months of action! Ouch!
FFUK TOP 50 REVIEW
So what did all this mean for the FFUK League?
First up congratulations to Martin Tickle (8th) who was top scorer in the league this week with 84 points! Having just played his WILDCARD this was a welcome reward for Mr Tickle! Sterling (C) was a wise choice and his front line of Lukaku, Kane and Costa all scored. Mahrez, Bolasie, Walker, Forster and Bolasie also contributed.
Daniel Card (39th) also had a weekend to remember with 82 points. Dan went with Lukaku (C) but could also rely on points from Zlatan, Iheanacho, Antonio, KDB, Van Dijk and everyone’s favourite goalscoring centre back Dann!
Rob Harding (5th) also had a great week with 80 points scored. Rob is now firmly in the Top 10 after a few years in the relative obscurity of mid table. Lukaku (C) was impressive, Walker and Morgan did the job at the back and Capoue and Sterling running the midfield. Costa and Zlatan also scored! Lessons learnt clearly. Can Mr Harding keep up the impressive scoring?
At the other end of the scale the lowest scorer on Page 1 was unfortunately Lee Hopkins (32nd) who despite Zlatan (C) struggled and other than Payet and Costa his team disappeared. What makes this all the more depressing for Lee is that he Wildcarded the week before and he had Capoue on the bench. Ouch. Still, there are 33 more weeks to recover. All is not lost.
The youngest player in the league is certainly holding his own. Tom Page-Chatton (41st) scored a very respectable 64 points and still has his wildcard firmly in his pocket. Costa (C) did ok but his move to bring in Iheanacho shows he knows exactly what he is doing. Fuchs, Kolarov and Townsend were also clever picks and rewarded him with solid points. Well done Tom, keep up the good work!
Level on points with TPC, Daron Russell (40th) had a less successful gameweek with just 45 points accrued. Zlatan (C) fared ok but Daz could only rely on points from Bolasie, Antonio and Lukaku to supplement that.
Ok that is all for me. Thanks for reading. I will leave you with a picture of Sunderland’s new record signing Didier N’dong who might be the owner of both the best name in the Premier League and also the best haircut. Maybe that debate is for another day? It’s WILDCARD time for me, I have to stop thinking about great names and haircuts and concentrate on points and prices. I am sure that when Spiderman uttered those famous words, he was not referring to some wishy washy super power, but the emotional rollercoaster that is the Wildcard. Wish me luck!
FFUK 