He’s got a big job on his hands, but Angel di Maria might be the man to wake Manchester United from their early season slumber and pile on the Fantasy Football points while he’s at it.
Gameweek 2 review
With a new manager and not a whole lot of fresh faces to talk about, Spurs didn’t get much of mention from pundits predicting the teams that would make an impact in the Premier League this season, but they’ve made a pretty big one so far.
There was no special treatment for old boss Harry Redknapp on Sunday as Spurs went to town on London rivals QPR at White Hart Lane, scoring four goals and providing three players for the Dream Team in the process.
Two-goal Nacer Chadli was the main man with 15 points and was joined by prolific defender Eric Dier (14) and the notoriously streaky Emmanuel Adebayor, who had 12 points after a goal and an assist in a one-sided rout.
Man City’s Stevan Jovetic joined the big hitters with 13 points after his brace against Liverpool at the Etihad, a point better off than Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic (12) and Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross (11).
Swansea’s Nathan Dyer was one of a trio of goalscoring midfielders to score 10 points alongside Juan Mata and Stewart Downing with the top scoring XI completed by Fabricio Coloccini (9) and Aston Villa netminder Brad Guzan (7).
J-League
As it’s very, very early days yet there’s still a lot of jostling for position at the top of the J-League, but Terry O’Rourke’s Sporting Kilbeggan and Eoin McIntyre’s Dirty Sanchez will take heart from the fact that they’re the only managers to keep their places in the top five from Gameweek 1.
Both Terry and Eoin had Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa to thank for very respectable totals of 64 and 71 respectively, but they’ll do well to maintain places in the top five for three weeks running with the likes of John McManus’ Rathdown Rovers, Niall Colfer’s Baines on Toast and Samuel Frazher’s Gazzaniga Please leading the chasing pack like hungry wolves not far behind.
J-League Top 5:
- Sporting Kilbeggan – Terry O’Rourke: 152 points
- Dirty Sanchez – Eoin McIntyre: 150 points
- Rathdown Rovers – John McManus: 148 points
- Baines on Toast – Niall Colfer: 148 points
- Gazzaniga Please – Samuel Frazher: 146 points
Can Angel be Manchester United’s saviour?
£59.7 million is an awful lot of money and Manchester United are in an awful lot of trouble right now, but there should still be no doubt that Angel di Maria has what it takes to be a success at Manchester United.
Sure, Real Madrid deemed him surplus to requirements, but a lot of good players have been deemed surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu and gone onto greater things afterwards – Dutch duo Wesley Sniejder and Arjen Robben to name just two – and Di Maria’s departure should not lead to a downgrading of his ability or his status amongst the world’s elite footballers. Man of the match in last season’s Champions League final, he might not sell shirts, but he really is top class.
Like two recent high-profile La Liga imports, Cesc Fabregas and Mesut Ozil, Di Maria is not exactly prolific in front of goal – 25 goals in four seasons for Real Madrid – but it is with his assists that Manchester United fans will hope he earns his bulging wage packet; he delivered 52 assists in the same period for Los Blancos, including 17 in the league last season.
There are a few mitigating factors to consider before rushing to include Di Maria in your team, of course. For one, United are hardly in flying form right now and the arrival of one player isn’t going to change that in an instant.
Also, no offence United fans, but Di Maria will not be playing with the same calibre of player at Old Trafford as he was at the Bernabeu and there remains doubt over where he’ll play for the Red Devils. Will it be as a wide front man in a 4-3-3 or an energetic left-sided central midfielder in the same formation? Behind the front two or as a wing-back in a 3-5-2 perhaps?
No matter where he plays, Di Maria has the ability to be a success, especially as you’d imagine Louis van Gaal’s side will get better as the season progresses. It might be asking a lot for this Angel to be United’s saviour immediately but if he can go some way to fixing the mess they’re in at the moment then the halo will soon be on show for United fans and Fantasy Football managers alike.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Angel Di Maria (£9.5 million). He’s a bit of a risk given United’s patchy form thus far, but after waxing lyrical about him above, we might as well give him the seal of approval ahead of what would normally be considered a ‘gimme’ win for the Red Devils against Burnley at Turf Moor.
Mid-Range: Aaron Ramsey (£9.1 million). It didn’t take a genius to do as we did and tip a player as good as Ramsey for a bright start to the season, but he’s delivered in spades with two goals, five bonus points and 19 points in all so far.
Bargain Basement: Eric Dier (£5.3 million). We doubt he’ll keep up his amazing start to the season for long, but after two games, two goals, five bonus points and 29 points in total, it might be worth hopping aboard the bandwagon while it’s still rolling.
Irish Pick: Robbie Brady (£4.9 million). Brady hasn’t featured in either of Hull’s league games so far, but two goals in the Europa League in midweek should change that fairly lively.
Captain’s Pick: Stevan Jovetic (£8.1 million). Sergio Aguero’s fragility has provided Jovetic with the opportunities he was never really afforded last season and he has responded in style. Will fancy his chances of adding to the brace he scored against Liverpool at home to Stoke on Saturday.
