Luis who? It’s early days but Liverpool are enjoying their best start to a season in years and a lot of that is down to a player who has become their main man in attack.
Gameweek 2 Review
Anyone who could have forecast this week’s Dream Team, lining up as it does in a 5-2-3 formation with not a single player from the teams considered the three main title contenders, is deserving of plenty of kudos indeed, despite the fact that they are probably bare-faced liars.
It is certainly something of a mixed bag this week, but hey, that’s the beauty of Fantasy Football and the reason why many managers are celebrating and others are contemplating using their wildcard if they haven’t already done so.
The main man this week was Frazier Campbell of Cardiff City after two goals and an assist in the shock win over Manchester City helped the former Manchester United man to 16 points.
Next up was Lukas Podolski with 13 after a brace against Fulham, although managers with the German in their team now have to resort to Plan B after he was ruled out for ten weeks with injury.
Liverpool left back Jose Enrique netted 12 points after a clean sheet and an assist against Aston Villa, with Ben Foster, Jose Fonte and our own Robbie Brady a point further back.
Making up the Dream Team XI were five players who all managed nine points this week, Newcastle defensive pair Davide Santon and Fabricio Coloccini, West Brom’s Billy Jones, Aron Gunnarsson of Cardiff City and Crystal Palace striker Marouane Chamakh, who was Chamakh-ing the pitch up in a 2-1 defeat to Stoke.
J-League
Such is the level of competition already in evidence in the J-League that only two of last week’s top five retain their place this time around, although Brian Emmet’s The Dutch Rudders and Eamon Scully’s seeious utd have to be content with a share of third and fourth places respectively.
Top of the pile are Shane Crinnigan’s fearless troops Nothing Toulouse, who hold a slender one point lead from Conor O’Mahony’s Mighty Ducks 2.0 in second place.
Tom Keady’s A Round Bale share third place with the aforementioned Dutch Rudders, while the aforementioned seeious utd are joined in fourth place by Padraig Brennan’s Slumdog Mignolet, with Stephen Cassidy’s F.C. Peachy Dissents and David Brennan’s DaV Werder Brennan bringing up the rear in fifth place.
J-League Top 5:
- Nothing Toulouse – Shane Crinnigan: 176 points
- The Mighty Ducks 2.0 – Conor O’Mahony: 175 points
- A Round Bale – Tom Keady, The Dutch Rudders – Brian Emmet: 174 points
- Slumdog Mignolet – Padraig Brennan, seeious utd – Eamon Scully: 170 points
- F.C. Peachy Dissents – Stephen Cassidy, DaV Werder Brennan – David Brennan: 169 points
Daniel causing a Stur-ridge
Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Liverpool signed Daniel Sturridge in January but even those defending the move could hardly have imagined that it would have worked out as well as it has to date.
Some fans will never get used to that dance he does after every goal but apart from that there can be little argument with his effectiveness at Anfield as he formed an understanding with first Luis Suarez and then Philippe Coutinho while continuing to impress on an individual level in his own right.
Although Suarez’s return – if he doesn’t leave the club before Deadline Day, of course – might change the way Liverpool line out in attack, recent history suggests that it will have little effect on Sturridge in any case.
With 13 in the calendar year to date, only Christian Benteke has scored more goals than Sturridge in 2013 and he’s already grabbed four in three games this season. Sturridge will take on his own chances when he can but it would be a stretch to call him greedy since he arrived at Liverpool and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he delivers more than the five assists he managed last season.
Some managers might be reluctant to introduce Sturridge for £9.1 million ahead of a fixture as tricky as Manchester United this weekend but after that, the fixture list has been pretty kind to Liverpool with games against Swansea, Southampton, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Brom following Sunday’s clash with their bitter rivals.
Besides, Sturridge managed a goal in only one half of football at Old Trafford last season and one of the golden rules of Fantasy Football is that you should jump aboard a bandwagon before the wheels come off.
N.B. With Chelsea in action in the Super Cup on Friday night, the Blues will not feature in this Gameweek, nor will Aston Villa, who along with Chelsea had two games in Gameweek One. Something to bear in mind when you’re spending hours assembling your team late tonight or early on Saturday morning.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Wayne Rooney (£10.5 million). It seemed written in the stars that Rooney would score against Chelsea on Monday but while that didn’t happen, he did play very well and if he’s looking to endear himself to Man United fans once more, no better way to do it than to score against their rivals on their own turf
Mid-Range: Kevin Nolan (£7.2 million). Nolan enjoys a burst of form nearly every season and he has started early this time around with 14 points from his first two games, a tally he has a very good chance of significantly increasing against Stoke.
Bargain Basement: Aaron Ramsey (£5.5 million). The Welshman is playing as well as he has at any stage of his Arsenal career to date and with goals in both legs of the Champions League clash with Fenerbahce, he could have a big part to play in the Norf Landan derby this weekend.
Irish Pick: Seamus Coleman (£5.3 million). We’re sticking with Coleman this week and with the form he’s in, with 19 points in two games – the fourth highest total in the entire league – why wouldn’t we?
Captain’s Pick: Edin Dzeko (£7.7 million). We would be hugely surprised if there isn’t a City backlash following the shock defeat to Cardiff last weekend and with Dzeko having earned the trust of Manuel Pellegrini already, he’s a good bet to rattle the onion bag on Saturday afternoon.
