Bantasy Football: Suggesting Sunderland (again)

I could be Captain Obvious and tell you to put in six Manchester players this week but you already know that and I like to think of my posts as somewhat useful - if largely farcical.  

If Vladimir Putin on a stick isn't a farcicle, I don't know what is

Sunderland

Enter stage left Sunderland. They may look familiar to you from my post a few weeks ago but rest assured; much has changed since you didn't read that. They now have an excellent chance of staying up - not least because Fulham couldn't beat Hull and Norwich have lost their final two games (Chelsea and Arsenal) before even playing them. 

Any game is winnable when you're in a relegation scrap. West Brom at home and even a
"Giggsified" United at Old Trafford are no exceptions. 

Connor Wickham (4.6)

Have you ever had that thing where one minute you're a totally unknown Magikarp of a player whom your relegation-bound team have squandered £8million on and the next you're single-handedly dragging them from the depths of oblivion into a position where survival isn't just possible but probable? No? Well this bloke has. Now listen all about it.  

Forget the five priceless goals Wicker chair's netted in his last three games; take a look at that bantasy points tally and you'll need to take a cold shower and conjure a mental image of Susan Boyle in a two-piece before you can leave the house without walking like a pterodactyl to cover your shame.

13, 8, 16. Only one bonus point went missing. Phwoar. 

He costs - you guessed it - practically nothing. He's owned by - wait for it - absolutely no-one (0.8%). There's no excuse to not have this boy in your team if you currently have any single GW players apart from SAS, Lukaku and maybe Giroud. I'd even swap him for Adebayscore. 

Wickam evolved into Gyarados. Sh*t subsequently got serious!

Fabio Borini (6.2)

If you like penalty takers and believe in the power of on-loan strikers to drastically over-perform like I do, Borini is your man. If, however, you also enjoy making as many fantasy points as possible for as few fantasy coins as possible, stick with Connor Wickerman. Don't try and be fancy. Borini is owned by the same number of people (0.8%) and I don't care what your Mum tells you - no-one's going to like you more for being different.

Being different: Not always beneficial

Adam Johnson (6.4)

Forget Russia - Adam Johnson is the real riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.   Between 11th January and 1st February he boshed in 51 points! In four games! It's now been five matches since he's done anything decent. Maybe there's still stardust tucked away somewhere in his boots. Maybe he accidentally shook it out along with astroturf sand. Either way he's one for the chancers amongst you. That said, at 6.4 he's the best in his price bracket given the DGW. I'd even take him over the supremely in-form Sterlings and Puncheons of this world* - THAT's how much I heart double gameweeks.

*Don't you just hate that phrase? - There's only one Jason Puncheon in this world

Jon O'Shea (4.8)

A mate of mine had a running joke with his uni mates that they would go out out every time O'Shea scored a goal. Suffice to say they all got 1sts and didn't meet many ladyfriends. Anyway point is - the boy don't score much. What he does do is play every game. He'll be playing against Swansea at home and he'll be playing at West Brom at home (let's forget about the Old Trafford game for a clean sheet shall we?). Both are must win and there's the faintest sliver of hope Sunderland could realise that keeping a clean sheet and scoring makes you three points.

For more Bantasy Football, visit www.bantasyfootball.blogspot.co.uk or follow @BantasyFootball. 

Bantasy Football: Scouting Sunderland (Desperately)

Having pinned my colours firmly to the whoever-has-the-most-fixtures-left mast last GW, I've backed myself into a corner a bit and am somewhat forced to go for Sunderland this week. 

They have two games in hand over most but despite two double GWs on the calendar, it's hard to see where the value lies. Fret not - that's what I'm here for - well... that and to show you silly pictures. 

Sunderland-sceptic

As deep as my love is for Gustavo Poyet's style, Sunderland are utterly village. A team that consistently fails to start Adam Johnson - clearly their best attacking option - is arguably beyond fantasy reproach and Hazard proved a couple of weeks ago (to me at least) that a quality player can do a lot more damage in one game than an iffy one can do in two (I'm looking at you Sterling!)

He knows I'm looking at him but can't help continuing to rubbish (erroneous phrasing used for comedic effect)

Maffs

Thing is, whichever way you look at it, 2+2=4. Adam Johnson's fantasy production has fizzled out recently with him finding that great bench-warming form he specialised in at Man City but his overall points tally for the season (114) is still higher than top mid Eden Hazard if you double it - and he's about half the price! Now consider the fact that two double GWs = 4 matches and even Ki Sung-Yueng's meagre 80 pts begins to look like the dog's.

The Black Cats face a downtrodden Tottenham at the Lane this week (Spurs will play badly, their fans will boo, the away team will snatch a win/score draw) and their two double GWs are Everton/Man City (GW 34) and United/West Brom (GW 37).  This is neither spectacular nor as ominous as it seems - all these sides concede goals and Sunderland are (CLICHE ALERT) fighting for their little lives.


Adam Johnson (6.5m)

Might as well start with the only one anyone's heard of. AJ's had some scintillating performances this campaign. His overall score is heavily propped up by a hat-trick against Fulham (does that really count?) but he proceeded to score in three consecutive games after that. Ne shabby pas for a midfielder. Also he scored in Monday's loss to Wham despite only playing 38 minutes.


Sung-Yeung Ki (4.3m)

4.3 million fantasy dolla dolla bills y'all for a mid who plays pretty much every game is about as cheap as fish and chips wrapping paper - without the chips. On 3 goals and 2 assists he's hardly a world-beater but is a decent player with quick feet and the ability to unlock a defence. Bang for buck.


Fabio Borini (6.2m)

The Liverpool loanee has established himself as first choice frontman... ish. His stats (3 goals and 2 assists) aren't even really worth a first look, let alone a second, but his ownership (0.5%) provides a delectable differential.

Some sources (FIFA 14) would indicate that the longer Borini plays, the longer he will continue to remain useless. Getting him to score a goal against a top 7 team is like getting Nigel Farage to answer a question with no made-up statistics in it - ain't gonna happen, sonny. Since 5 of Sunderland's remaining 8 are against these elite sides, you might be wary about taking a punt on him.

Vito Mannone (4.5m)

8 clean sheets isn't horrendous for a relegation-threatened team and you'd like to think Poyet's main mission will be to plug holes at the back if he's to stay a Premiership manager. While Sunderland's fixtures might appear daunting at first, Mannone rotates beautifully with Brad Guzan (Aston Vanilla, 5.1m) and Joe Hart (Man City, 6.0m). Swapping between them your match-ups could be:

GW        Fixture

33 -- Fulham (H) /  Southampton (H)
34 -- Everton (H) + Man City (A) / Sunderland (H)
35 -- Southampton (H)
36 -- Cardiff (H) / West Brom (H)
37 -- Man U (A) + West Brom (H) / Everton (A) + Aston Villa (H)
38 -- Swansea (H) / West Ham (H)


Key - Mannone in Red. Hart Blue. Guzan Pink. 


Marcos Alonso (4.5m)

Who? Marcos Alonso. He plays for Sunderland. He's a full back. Also on loan. Can play in midfield.

Why? Has only missed one game (red card suspension) since coming in in January. Clearly rated by Poyet. Made one appearance for Real Madrid so is officially better than all other Sunderland defenders ever.

Really? Sure, why not? You could get Wes Brown 0.2m cheaper but he's a centre-back and you know who he is so where's the fun in that?


Altidore (6.2m)

This man is all the rage across the pond. He hasn't had three 90 minute games in a row all season, though - and has one goal this season. Fogetabaaaaatit.


Advanced apologies

We all make mistakes. Suggesting the procurement of Sunderland players in fantasy football could certainly prove to be one of mine. But be open minded, allow yourself to take risks and, most importantly, don't blame me if it all goes tits-up.

For more Bantasy Football, go to: bantasyfootball.blogspot.co.uk or follow us @BantasyFootball

Recommended Player for Gameweek 34

Recommended Player for Gameweek 34 - James McClean (Sunderland)

James McClean, pre-Sunderland, 2011.

(Shirt Number 11 and scores the opener)

Sunderland's league form may be patchy of late, but that will not stop me endorsing a player from the Black Cats.  My recommended player for Gameweek 34 is Sunderland's James McClean.  The Irish international didn't start a single league match this season under Steve Bruce and had to wait until the start of 2012 (Gameweek 19) courtesy of Martin O'Neill's stewardship.  Since then he has started every single league match and has scored 4 and assisted 3 in 15 matches.  He has tended to do well at home as well as against weak or mediocre teams as is evident with the following:

GW 20 - Wigan (A) - scored a goal

GW 22 - Swansea (H) - assisted a goal

GW 23 - Norwich (H) - assisted a goal

GW 24 - Stoke (A) - scored a goal

GW 25 -  Arsenal (H) scored a goal

GW 30 - QPR (H) scored and assisted a goal

With the above in mind, I believe that he should do well at home versus a dire Wolves team that has been conceding approximately 3 goals a match under the interim management of Terry Connor.  In fact the next few Gameweek seem reasonable for Sunderland as follows:

GW 34 - Wolves (H)

GW 35 - Aston Villa (A)

GW 36 - Bolton (H)

At 5.0, McClean is an absolute bargain, a steal purchase.  He has the highest points per game average (4.4) for any player priced at 5.5 or less.  This makes him an automatic must have, especially to play against weaker opposition or as a first sub bench warmer at the very least.  Of course he hasn't scored or assisted regularly of late.  But against a Wolves team leaking goals at will what is to stop him getting on the score sheet again?

I will post My GW 34 Blog Team (with confirmation of my selected captain and vice-captain) a night before the Gameweek commences.

Recommended Player for Gameweek 22

Recommended Player for Gameweek 22 - Stephane Sessegnon (Sunderland)

Being a staunch Newcastle United fan, I don't have much good to say about our neighbours and arch-rivals - Sunderland.  However, without partisan bias, my recommended player for Gameweek 22 is Sunderland's Stephane Sessegnon.  Though listed as a midfielder, he plays in a quasi second-striker role for Sunderland that has allowed him to bag 4 goals and 7 assists thus far.  He probably would have had more goals to his name this season had he been given the right guidance and encouragement by Steve Bruce.  But following his departure, Sessegnon has flourished under his replacement Martin O'Neill.  In fact the ex-PSG player bagged an amazing 31 points from 4 consecutive games prior to the Chelsea match.  It must be noted that Sunderland's upcoming fixtures will not be as difficult as Chelsea (A) - see the following:

Swansea (H)
Norwich (H)
Stoke (A)

While some may think of Swansea as being tough league opponents, the truth is that the Swans are a completely different outfit when playing away - with 6 defeats out of 10 and only 8 goals scored by them on their travels.  The same can be said of Norwich when they play away (only 3 wins out of 11), where as Stoke have only won 33% of league matches at home this season.  Thus Sunderland are not only capable of winning in their next three matches, but should score a few goals along the way also.  At 6.6, Sessegnon is still relatively cheap for a first-team player listed as a midfielder in FPL, especially considering the attacking nature of his play.

On a side note, I decided to sell Yakubu after he incurred a three match ban.  I replaced him with a cheaper alternative - Danny Graham (4.7), with the intention of deploying him in Swansea's home matches and benching him for their away matches.

My captain for GW 22 will be Steven Gerrard and vice-captain will be Stephane Sessegnon

Transfers:  Yakubu (OUT) / Graham (IN)

My team for GW 22 can be found here.