David Groarke’s aptly named Table Toppers lead the J-League after the completion of Gameweek One, while Joe’s Journeymen lie in a highly credible tie for fifth. Did your team feature in the top five?
The more things change, the more they stay the same they say and while Blackpool provided the big shock of the opening Premier League weekend, it was tried and tested Premier League performers who proved to be the best value for money in Fantasy Football terms.
Chelsea delivered an ominous statement of intent in the first game of the defence of their Premier League crown and in Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda; the Blues had the two biggest point gatherers of the weekend.
Drogba, who was omitted by many a Fantasy League manager on the basis that he wasn’t supposed to be fit to start against West Bromwich Albion, landed a hat-trick and the obligatory three bonus points that come with it to collect 17 points in total, while Malouda’s two-goal haul, complete with a point for a clean sheet and two bonus points resulted in 15 points for the classy midfielder.
Malouda was joined on 15 points by Blackpool new boy Marlon Harewood, while for a defender costing only £4 million; Alex Baptiste’s haul of 12 points was also impressive. Manchester City’s Joe Hart topped the goalkeeping charts on 12 points, which included three points for 11 saves and three bonus points, just reward for his outstanding display against Tottenham Hotspur.
Paul Scholes rolled back the years against Newcastle at Old Trafford on Monday night and his performance garnered him 11 fantasy football points, including two assists and three bonus points, while the point deducted for a yellow card is hardly surprising.
Paul Scholes delivered a midfield masterclass against Newcastle
8.4% of Fantasy League managers will be cursing their decision to select Liverpool’s Joe Cole after the impish midfielder was sent off on his debut. He and Sunderland’s Lee Cattermole are currently the bottom ranked players in the league on -2 points.
Pepe Reina also had a bad weekend. His catastrophic blunder at Anfield cost him two points for an own goal and the four points he would have got if the Reds could have held on for a few minutes longer. Elsewhere, a host of West Brom defenders are in minus figures after conceding a hatful against Chelsea, while Ronnie Stam was the only Wigan defender to get a point after a frankly appalling collective defensive display against Blackpool at the DW stadium.
As far as the J-League is concerned, David Groarke has set the early lead with his appropriately named side, Table Toppers on 75 points. His team’s success was based on a solid back four, who all kept clean sheets, while his decision to select Malouda as captain earned him 30 points.
Following closely behind on 72 points is Philip Larkin’s selection fiannaphilly. Philip, obviously partial to some inside information from Carlo Ancelotti’s camp, selected Didier Drogba as captain for the week and earned 34 points from the big Ivorian as a result.
Alan Egan’s Moone Maulers lie in third place on 70 points, but had the best spread of points across the top three. Egan’s decision to select Wayne Rooney yielded only ten points after the misfiring United striker got a fortuitous assist for Darren Fletcher’s goal, but his XI also included Joe Hart in goal and Florent Malouda and Paul Scholes in midfield.
We worried in the JOE camp all week that our fantasy football credentials would be undermined with a hapless showing on the first week, but such fears proved unfounded as our selection, Joe’s Journeymen, finished in a highly credible tie for fifth place.
Our late decision to include Florent Malouda was entirely vindicated, while Frank Lampard didn’t let us down as captain with a perfectly fine 16 points. Next week, the journeymen will be in the more than capable hands of Robert Carry, as we begin the rotation policy we believe will lead us to the coveted J-League title. No pressure, Rob!
Keep in touch for tips on who to select next weekend in Fantasy Football Insider which will be in the football section this Thursday.
J-League Top Five:
- Table Toppers – Dermot Groarke: 75 points
- Fiannaphilly – Philip Larkin: 72 points
- Moone Maulers – Alan Egan: 70 points
- Dafunkbrothers – Brendan Breen: 69 points
- Komplett United – Darragh McManamon, Joe’s Journeymen – Editor JOE, Cleragh Athlethico – Alan Sheridan: all 68 points
