Easily the highest scoring defender in the league and one of the form players of the season, Seamus Coleman is a stonewall selection for every Fantasy Football manager right now.
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So how was the Fantasy Football Christmas for you? Did you binge on points as much as you binged on pints over the festive season? Or did the last few weeks leave your team looking as tattered as the Christmas Tree that you really should have thrown out by now?
It seems like an age has passed since New Year’s Day but that was when the last round of fixtures that matter as Fantasy Football is concerned took place and it was a fairly motley crew of individuals that made their way onto the Dream Team.
Daniel Agger has been something of a forgotten man at Liverpool this season but his goal and clean sheet against Hull meant that he was the top scorer with 15 points, with one to spare over Oscar and two over Spurs’ Christian Eriksen and Swansea striker Wilfried Bony.
Theo Walcott had been in fine form prior to his season ending injury and his goal against Cardiff helped him to 11 points, the same as Leighton Baines and one better than Bacary Sagna and Jason Puncheon, with Ben Foster, Aleksandar Kolarov and Bradley Johnson making up the rest having all claimed nine points apiece.
J-League
When we last checked in three weeks ago, we said that the Christmas period would really test the nerve of the leading pack, so credit where it’s due to Stuart McGoldrick’s Champions 2013/14, Barry Curran’s gambitbeer and Anthony Murphy’s Sea Dogs!! for maintaining their places in the top five.
Stuart and Barry have opened up quite a bit of a lead over Anthony in third place, while the top five has a couple of new and extremely welcome members, Sean Jackson’s Bloemfontein Celtic in forth and Joe Kelly’s Kellogg’s FC in fifth.
The margin between fifth and those below is ridiculously tight – there are 12 teams within 25 points of fifth – so expect changes in the next few weeks, particularly with the Winter Wildcard now in play.
J-League Top 5:
- Champions 2013/14 – Stuart McGoldrick: 1,369 points
- Gambitbeer – Barry Curran: 1,362 points
- Sea Dogs!! – Anthony Murphy: 1,332 points
- Bloemfontein Celtic – Sean Jackson 1,327 points
- Kellogg’s FC – Joe Kelly: 1,324 points
Coleman in a class of his own
There was a time a couple of seasons back when Irish fans would have been forgiven for getting worried about Seamus Coleman. After bursting onto the scene as a flying if unorthodox winger under David Moyes in the 2010/11 season, the Donegal man seemed uncertain about his position in the following campaign and his form was certainly affected.
Coleman was solid and quietly effective last season but he has flourished big time under Roberto Martinez, with Everton, Ireland and Fantasy Football managers reaping the benefits.
Coleman’s value as far as Fantasy Football is concerned is reflected in the fact that only two players – Luis Suarez (52.2%) and Yaya Toure (45.1%) have been selected in more teams than Coleman (45%) and he has proved an absolute bargain for anyone who picked him up for £5million at the start of the season. He’s now worth £6.7 million and his value is continuously on the rise.
Since the start of the season, the right back has played every single minute of Everton’s league campaign, in which he has scored five goals, registered a single assist and looked for all the world like the best full-back in the league.
With eight clean sheets and 13 bonus points to add to the stats above, Coleman is by far and away the highest scoring defender in the league this season, 15 points better off than his nearest challenger, Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker.
It’s asking a lot of Everton to maintain the sort of form they’ve been in for the rest of the season, but their momentum shows no sign of stopping just yet, nor does the momentum of a man who, having signed for the Toffees for a mere £60,000 in 2009, might turn out to be one of the best bargains the Premier League has seen in years.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Alvaro Negredo (£9.8 million). The Spaniard has been leading the line admirably in Sergio Aguero’s absence and after a hat-trick in midweek, he’ll be hard stopped against Newcastle.
Mid-Range: Oscar (£8.8 million). It’s clear how highly he is valued by Jose Mourinho and he has contributed a goal, three assists and three bonus points in his last two games.
Bargain Basement: Adnan Januzaj (£5.1 million). It’s hard to justify the selection of any Man United player right now, but the youngster has stood out above his drastically underperforming team-mates in the last few weeks.
Irish Pick: Seamus Coleman (£6.7 million). Having gone to such lengths to flatter him above, we were hardly going to pick anyone else, but a home game against Norwich provides an excellent opportunity to continue his magnificent form of late.
Captain’s Pick: Luis Suarez (£13.3 million). It’s hard to believe he went two games without scoring over the Christmas but normal service was resumed against Hull on New Year’s Day and we expect it to continue against Stoke on Sunday.
