24 Feb 2013
Gameweek 27 - Part One, Dire Straits
The big hitters flattered to deceive as managers were left to ponder over abysmal returns in a matchday that promised lots but delivered little. Captaincy favourites Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott struggled to match the highs of gameweeks gone by as both registered below par points scores, given their lofty standards. Walcott played largely to his Bayern Munich script (shunted out wide this time, however), looking a bit dangerous but doing very little to influence proceedings against Aston Villa. In fairness to van Persie, a hip injury saw the Dutchman resigned to hobbling off after a relatively fruitful 42 minutes - he managed to carve out an assist for Rafael’s stunning goal (before falling to injury in bizarre circumstances). His four point return, however, will be scant consolation to the myriad of managers who afforded him the armband.
THE BIG HITTERS
Maynor Figueroa - a goal, an assist, a clean-sheet and maximum bonus saw the Honduran register Saturday’s highest score as the Latics compounded Reading’s struggles with a 3-0 battering. A strong performance from the left-back brought even more misery to Brian Mc Dermott’s side when Reading forward Pavel Pogrebnyak saw red for scything Figueroa down with a very rash tackle. None of the league’s 15 managers enjoyed his 15 point haul however, evidenced by his 0% ownership in the LoF.
Santi Cazorla - an authoritative performance featuring a brace saw the dimunitive playmaker claim 12 fantasy points from a must-win tie for the Gunners. The Spaniard had taken a backseat in recent weeks as regards Fantasy ownership following a poor streak of form, many gaffers having opted for the relative safety of Theo Walcott’s explosive returns. His return to the form table, however, will have more than a few managers casting a keen eye on the former Malaga man.
Romelu Lukaku - the Belgian notched two goals to keep Albion’s hopes of finishing in the European places alive. Paired upfront with Shane Long, Lukaku looked unstoppable at times - quite literally for his second goal as a lung-bursting run culminated in ‘keeper Simon Mignolet’s clearance cannoning off of him and into the Sunderland goal. His potential will however be muddled by his ineligibity against his parent club, Chelsea, when they face off next week.
Mark Schwarzer - the Fulham goalkeeper was instrumental in the Cottagers’ efforts to scale up the league table as he put in an immense performance to nab 11 fantasy points. A penalty save from Jon Walters set the tone early on as the Australian battled in the Johnny Haynes end, ultimately earning a well-deserved clean sheet, apropos to Dimitar Berbatov’s stunning winner.
ROLL ON SUNDAY…
Managers will be hoping for decent returns as they bid to put to bed a day of meagre offerings. A star-studded early kickoff sees the Citizens take on Chelsea, a tie littered with an array of fantasy prospects.
The day’s other fixture sees Newcastle take on Southampton.
Will it be a bountiful sowing or a gnashing of managerial teeth?
That’s it for now,
- denniskig at 09:36