Fourth in the table, only two goals conceded and with a hatful of players available on the cheap, Southampton are providing brilliant value for money right now.
Gameweek 7 review
It seems like an age since the last round of Premier League games, but you’ll probably remember the rush to herald Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj after his two-goal salvo got the Red Devils out of a pretty big hole at the Stadium of Light.
Those two goals helped the Belgian/Kosovar/Albanian/Englishman to 14 points, but he was eclipsed as star man by West Ham’s Winston Reid, whose goal and clean sheet helped him to 15 points, which he no doubt immediately dedicated to the mastermind behind the Hammers’ shock 3-0 victory over Spurs, Sam Allardici.
Newcastle’s Loic Remy was next best after he struck a brace in Newcastle’s win over Cardiff for 13 points, followed by Southampton’s Adam Lallana, who claimed 11 points after his goal in the Saints’ victory over Swansea.
Four players on the Dream Team – Claudio Yacob, Ravel Morrison, Steven Gerrard and Artur Boruc – scored ten points while the XI was made up of trio of players on nine points, Fulham defender Sascha Riether, Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho and Ireland international Ciaran Clark.
J-League
In a departure from what we’ve seen so far, three of the top five managed to retain their places amongst the elite this week, although a fairly universal mediocre standard of scoring was no doubt a contributory factor.
John Joe Finn’s JJ O’Kocha FC jumped from second to first after a half-decent 47 points, displacing Martin McMahon’s Accent Centic at the top. Brian Doherty’s Dynamo Dodos also managed to overtake Martin’s charges to claim second spot a point behind the leaders, with Tadgh Mullane’s Kammy’s XI, Barry Curran’s gambitbeer and Stuart McGoldrick’s Champions 2013/14 applying plenty of heat in the chasing pack.
J-League Top 5:
- JJ O’Kocha FC – John Joe Finn: 472 points
- Dynamo Dodos – Brian Doherty: 471 points
- Accent Centic – Martin McMahon: 466 points
- Kammy’s XI – Tadgh Mullane, gambitbeer – Barry Curran: 465 points
- Champions 2013/14 – Stuart McGoldrick: 458 points
The Saints are marching on
As impressive as they were under Mauricio Pochettino at the tail end of last season and even taking into account the amount of money they spent during the summer, not many Southampton fans would have envisaged being in the top four, level on points with Chelsea and only two points off the lead after seven league games.
How long it will last remains to be seen but the two Manchester clubs and Spurs are all below the Saints in the table and nobody can argue that a team promoted to the Premier League as recently as last season aren’t there on merit.
Their playing style is certainly easy on the eye and from a Fantasy Football perspective, they’re as attractive as record signing and Johnny Depp-lookalike Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, who joined the club from Roma for just over £15 million in the summer.
In Fantasy Football terms Osvaldo is the most expensive player at just £7.8million, and there is value to be had right throughout the Saints’ squad. A solid defence is the foundation on which Southampton’s brilliant start to the season has been built, a defence that has been breached just twice in seven games.
As a result, it’s hardly a surprise that Southampton have the highest scoring goalkeeper in Artur Boruc (£4.7 million) and the two highest scoring defenders in Jose Fonte (£5.0 million) and Dejan Lovren (£5.2 million), while the ever-impressive Luke Shaw (£4.7 million) isn’t far off.
Southampton have struggled for goals so far but Adam Lallana is amongst the top seven highest scoring midfielders and is a snip at six million quid, Rickie Lambert (£7.4 million) will rarely let anyone down and we suspect there will be plenty of life in Osvaldo over the coming months.
Ordinarily, a trip to Old Trafford would cause mass panic amongst Southampton fans but having already gone to Anfield and won and given the Champions’ current malaise, there’s every chance of an upset on Saturday afternoon.
Even if they don’t pick up a result, Pochettino’s charges look likely to finish in the top half at least and their players will continue to offer value for Fantasy managers throughout the rest of the season.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Luis Suarez (£11.3 million). Newcastle have flitted between the good and the incredibly bad so far in this campaign but only two sides have conceded more goals than the Magpies and if the SAS partnership maintain their current form, Suarez won’t be short of opportunities at St. James’ Park.
Mid-Range: Oscar (£8.9 million). By far the most consistent of Chelsea’s illustrious attacking midfielders so far this season, he’s a good bet to add to the three goals he’s scored already this season at home to Cardiff this weekend.
Bargain Basement: Adnan Januzaj (£4.8 million). While not getting too carried away about what he can bring to the table, especially as he is unlikely to start every game, at £4.8 million the United starlet is more than a decent option to have in your squad to rotate in and out of the starting XI as you deem fit.
Irish Pick: Ciaran Clark (£4.5 million). Aston Villa’s highest scoring defender, Clark has helped Villa keep two clean sheets and has picked up 16 points in the last three games.
Captain’s Pick: Mesut Ozil (£10.6 million). Providing he recovers from a knock he picked up against Sweden, the German genius looks the safest bet as skipper as an in-form Gunners welcome a nervy Norwich side to the Emirates.
