Midfield Generals
The cream rose to the top in this game week, with a quintet of proven midfield leaders taking up spots in the top 10 fantasy performers. Mikel Arteta (ranked no. 2 overall), Michael Ballack (3), Cesc Fabregas (5), Xabi Alonso (6) and the man who tops the overall value list for the season, Frank Lampard (9) all gave their owners exactly the kind of value they were drafted for. Only Steven Gerrard (down at 96) was missing from this list of Usual Suspects.
Alonso is giving great value for his owners, after seeming to be all but pushed out of the picture at Liverpool on draft day. Xabi has increased his pass completion rate by almost 5% to over 84%, and has completed 442 passes – 50 more than anyone in the league except Arsenal's Denilson. His tackle rate has actually fallen off from last season, but he has gone from playing just 43% of Liverpool's minutes to over 90 – could Rafa finally be seeing the error of his rotation ways? If so, that increases the value of players currently in his first XI, like Alvaro Arbeloa and Dirk Kuyt, while hurting that of those on the outside looking in – Ryan Babel, Sami Hyypia and Jermaine Pennant, amongst others.
Safe Hands
By contrast, the top goalkeepers this week were the unlikely lads – Boaz Myhill (rank 7), Scott Carson (8) and Ross Turnbull (15) the top performers at the position. In fact, it's unfair to characterise Scott Carson's five-save clean sheet for West Brom as 'unlikely' – the man recalled this weekend to the England squad is actually the best goalkeeper in fantasy so far this season. He has put his difficult times in the national jersey behind him, and saved over 80% of the 38 shots which have come his way so far, keeping a trio of clean sheets.
Carson seems to be thriving on the activity which comes with keeping the West Brom goal. Last season, at Aston Villa, he saw an average of just 3.5 shots per game sixth lowest amongst starting stoppers. At West Brom, he has faced 5.4 per game, third highest in the league. Meanwhile his save percentage has increased sharply, from 65.6% to 81.6%. It may be that being more involved in the action brings out the best of Carson, who I expect to slip slightly from his current performance, but still finish well over 70% save rate with perhaps 9 or 10 clean sheets.
Ross Turnbull is looking like an increasingly solid fantasy option in the Middlesbrough goal. Since we highlighted him in this column a fortnight ago, all the 23 year-old has done is make 11 saves while only conceding once. His save percentage won't be elite – look for something in the mid to low seventies – but he'll accumulate some nice counting stats, and help you out if your other keeper is below average in that respect.
International Break
No league games next week, but why not use the time in between watching England revert to type (with plodding displays against Kazakhstan and Belarus, weighed down by the inevitable return of the ill-functioning Gerrard-Lampard-Rooney crowd between midfield and attack) and hoping your players return unscathed from international duty, to think about a trade?
Almost twenty percent of the season is now in the books, so you should be getting a reasonable idea of your team's strengths and weaknesses – and those of your opponents. Take a look at the standings and see where there may be a good trading match. Remember, a good trade can help both teams out, trading away surplus stats in one category and adding strength to the chase in weaker areas.
By Sandy King
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