Gameweek 7 Reader Questions

K_Lock - What do you think about Adebayor as captain? 
Grounderz - Chris, any thoughts on Adebayor and Agbonlahor? I've got one more spot for either one of them in the team but I don't know who to buy. 

I am very much on board the Adebayor bandwagon, having been a big fan of his work at Arsenal and City (I must also admit to having a bit of a chuckle at his frankly ridiculous goal celebration against Arsenal - who doesn't love a pantomime villain?). He ranks second in the league with 2.3 shots on target per game, trailing only the red-hot Rooney. He's racked up huge PPI numbers in his 3 appearances suggesting that when he scores, the bonus points will be soon to follow. Spurs scored 1 goal in the 2 games before he arrived but have added 8 in 3 since Adebayor has been starting (we are looking at very small samples here though so don't get overly excited by that one). When it comes to captaining players though, I am extremely cautious and honestly a big boring. Does Adebayor have the potential to score 3 on his way to a 16 point game? Absolutely. However, he also carries a greater risk of dropping a 2 point game than the likes of Aguero or (a healthy) Rooney and thats' what I am keen to avoid. Who knows what to make of this Arsenal defense who have looked serviceable at times, but when they've been bad they've been horrific. There is certainly logic in giving Adebayor the armband but for me it's too soon to brand him as a reliable, every week stud and thus I would still rank him behind the United and City elite.

As for Agbonlahor, I was intrigued by his low price in the pre-season but I am concerned with his positioning. He's a pretty good finisher but he just isn't getting enough shots on goal to keep up his scoring record and I'd still be surprised if he reached the teens for the year. If there's any way to save money elsewhere, I think Adebayor is a big upgrade.

Breeze - I noticed that Gareth McAuley made a first start for WBA, with a clean sheet and 3 bonus points. Is he expected to be a regular starter? With an easy(ish) run of games and a 4m price tag surely he could be considered a useful addition to your squad. 

Any time you get a 4.0m starter there is potential for value but I will need to see McAuley establish his place in the side on a permanent basis before I'm ready to consider him. I'm not particularly close to the West Brom team but there is some depth and the potential for rotation. Worth monitoring but it's too early for me to buy in just yet.

Gummi - I would love your take on the Given/Vorm combo for the near-future and rest of the season.

Given and Vorm's fixtures mesh very well according to the data. I like Vorm a lot but I'm not ready to make him the focal point of my GK-combo just yet, so I like the idea of a having a reliable keeper like Given on a generally solid team like Villa to fall back on, should Swansea hit a rough patch later in the year.

RLB - I'm surprised you didn't mention Bannan as a midfield bargain! 

I probably should have thrown Bannan in the article this week, but he missed the cut based on a lack of minutes played. I like him in the short term quite a lot but as Steve points out, he will lose those penalty duties on Bent's return, hurting his value a bit. I like him, but I'd rank him below Moses and Dyer in the long term.

Pat Vivat - any idea on who are going to play Forward for MUTD this weekend?? 

Everyone seems to think Rooney will play but I still have my reservations. If he doesn't, you have to think Welbeck gets the nod to accompany Hernandez up front. If you don't already own any of them though, I'd stay away from the United front line this week. High reward but equally high risk. It's too early to be chasing points so hard.

Chemikilis - Where do you get these stats, particularly the first two [shots on goal and pass percentage]. I've had trouble trying to source shots on target stats for this season 

The raw data is from a mixture of ESPN, Opta and the PremierLeague.com.

Tycho - Anyone venture an opinion on Ramires vs Mata? Ramires is vastly cheaper and has played 90 mins in all games so far while Mata have played anything from 28 to 75 mins and has poorer returns so far. I never hear Ramires name mentioned and I know your big on Mata.

I'm not buying Ramires at all yet. He's taking plenty of shots (13) but his passing totals are dissapointing and thus his assist potential is limited. Those box-to-box midfielders always tend to struggle to provide consistent fantasy returns as their positioning is often dictated by the opposition and with how well a game is going. As for Mata, I was very high on him when he arrived but I agree his progress has stalled a bit over the past couple of gameweeks. I think he is a notch or two below the likes of Silva, Nani and Young and thus it becomes tough to fit him into your side. Chelsea have a good looking run of games coming up and Mata provides a nice differentiating option for those looking to take a small chance.

Mel FantasyOnTheGo - With Rooney's injury, is RVP essential this weekend against Spurs away? 

I like Aguero more for this week but if you're looking for a three week replacement, Van Persie makes it very close. Arsenal have been frustrating this year though, and with Tevez out of the picture for a while, Aguero looks to have a winning combination of certainty and upside.

@SyncJS - if you have to pick one player out of Petrov/Murphy/Walters/Barton, who do you think would be a more consistent player?

For consistency I think you have to go with Murphy, as discussed here. He can contribute in every category and his set piece duties ensure he never goes too long without having a decent game. I like M Petrov too this year, whose looked much better than last season despite Bolton playing a brutal run of games.

Comments

Phil Birkey said…
One more quick question if you have time. What are your thoughts on Van Der Vaart? Is he not an intriguing prospect as he returns to health with such low ownership?
Joel said…
Thanks for the insight, Chris.
Joel said…
Sigh... with Sergio Aguero limping off with an injury at half-time and Ashley Young missing the game last night, I'm very disappointed. I just hope my substitutions will do even better than the absentees.

Worst of it all is I replaced Vincent Kompany with Micah Richards in hopes of earning even more points due to Richards ability as a right back to push forward and cross in for assists and maybe goals, and then get clean sheets through the defense.

Unluckily for me, Mancini rested him for God knows what reasons.

Tonight seems like a big one for me like a compensation. I am hoping Adebayor to score lots of goals, some clean sheets and a bit of goals from Shawcross, Williams and Ferdinand, and a couple of subs to do well for me after missing those guys above. I'm hoping too much, ey?

I've always started Rooney but I've got the same instincts as Chris Glover. SAF might give him a 45 minutes half and other reasons to prepare for Liverpool's and City's games, which is why I brought in Aguero instead and then that happened.

Yes, I'm in a head-to-head league with a group of friends about 20 people and we've got prizes at the end of the season for the highest points scorer. At the moment, I'm trailing by massive gap - currently 25 points while my opponent has already earned 49 points due to Liverpool's controversial game.

Yes, I'm cursing Atkinson right now as I write.
Raddz said…
Hey Chris I just wanted to know if you think that it would be worth it to bring in Cleverly as Fergie said he will be back after the internationals? He looked good before the injury and could be a good cheap option on an elite team and he play 90 mins! My only thing is that right now I have nani and jones and will get Rooney after the City game. Do you think its worth dropping one of these guys for Cleverly?

Also has anyone heard of Aguero's status??

Thanks
Joel said…
@Raddz,
Sergio Aguero tweeted he's okay and only had a 'muscle bound', and he joined the national team yesterday but I don't think the manager will start him.

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