Recommended Player for Gameweek 25 - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City)
Some of you may not have heard of him and he may appear to be an unknown in the Premier League thus far. In spite of this I have decided to endorse him - my recommended player for Gameweek 25 is Swansea city's on-loan sensation Gylfi Sigurdsson. Gylfi who? He was shrewdly signed during the January 2012 transfer window and will be at Brendan Rodgers disposal until the end of the season. Interestingly both were previously acquainted during their time at Reading FC, before Gylfi's lucrative move to Hoffenheim. Hoff who you may say? The same club where West Ham snapped up Demba Ba who has now become a regular goal scorer at Newcastle United. Aged 22, he is remarkably experienced and has an eye for goal. 19 league goals in 43 matches at Reading and 9 league goals in 36 matches at Hoffenheim is a decent return ratio for any midfielder, let alone goal shy-striker. I believe that his flair could be the difference between Swansea staying up or being relegated, in a mirroring way to Vorm's successful command of their defence. Gylfi has so far played four matches in which he has managed to attain a credible three assists and one goal. Moreover, I feel that with Swansea's upcoming three fixtures he is worth having in the team:
Norwich (H)
Stoke (A)
Wigan (A)
Norwich are a different team away from home, Stoke have had mixed league results at the Britannia and Wigan have only won one home match all season. All three of those matches are winnable for Swansea. At 5.0 Gylfi is a steal - if not as a first teamer, a first sub bench warmer at the very least. I don't think he is yet another bog standard Icelandic footballer with a hard-to-pronounce name. He is probably one of their best prospects since Eidhur Gudjohnsen at his peak. I bought him by selling Ben Arfa who has reverted back to bench duty with the return on Ba and signing of Cisse at United. Buy Gylfi now before his value shoots up!
My captain for GW 25 will be Sergio Aguero and vice-captain will be Clint Dempsey.
Transfers: Ben Arfa (OUT) / Sigurdsson (IN)
My GW team can be found here within 12 hours of the first Saturday Premier League kick off.
My recommended player for gameweek 18 is finally a goalkeeping pick. He’s done surprisingly well thus far in the Premier League. It’s Swansea City’s Michel Vorm. The Dutchman has won many fans for his match saving and winning displays. He has defied the odds by keeping 8 clean sheets out of 17 matches – a remarkable feat for a newly promoted team and player that have never played in the Premier League. Such has been his impact that his FPL value has increased by 1.1 from August. At 5.1 he is still a steal of a purchase, cheaper than many top goalkeepers. He also has two penalty saves to his name – giving credence to his surprisingly apt nickname – “The Penalty Killer”. Vorm has acquired 22 points from him last three games. His points tally can be furthered even more with Swansea’s next match at home to QPR. Of course shortly after that he will face Tottenham and Arsenal – but you could always bench him for those matches, provided you have a half decent sub (I don’t!). Vorm has also been capped by his national team and it may be difficult for Swansea to keep hold of him if a big club comes knocking in June. All this begs a question, will Vorm’s second half of the season be as good as his first?
My captain for GW 18 is Robin Van Persie and vice-captain is Nani.
Transfers*: Jones (OUT) / Evans (IN)
My gameweek 18 team will be updated here within the next 48 hours.
*I still have one free transfer at hand as I didn't make any transfers in GW 17.
Recommended Player for Gameweek 12 - Joe Allen (Swansea City)
I have been monitoring cheap bargains of late and have finally bought one. You may not have heard of him, but my recommended pick for gameweek 12 (and beyond) is the 21 year old Wales International Joe Allen (Swansea City). He forms a formidable midfield with Bales and Ramsey on a global level. He has started eight of Swansea's last Premier League matches, providing a credible two goals and two assists. He is listed as a midfielder, but plays behind Danny Graham in an attacking midfield role (almost second striker), or as I call it the VDV slot. I was inclined to buy Bolton's Eagles (5.4) but was unconvinced by Bolton's lack of goals. Also, by buying Joe Allen I am saving 0.7 over Eagles and a further 0.7 on the player that I swapped him for (Scott Sinclair, 6.1). I decided to make the transfer as both are first team regulars for Swansea, yet with a relatively huge 1.4 price difference, there is only a one goal difference between them. I know Swansea are playing Manchester United this gamweek and will be hard pressed for goals against the league champions. But United's defence has been leaky (bar the last two gameweeks) and Swansea have been scoring goals. Even if you don't have him in your first team it is worthwhile having him as a a cheap stock substitute. Ultimately, the reason why I bought Joe Allen is due to his star potential at a cheap price and also as it has allowed me to free up funds, which I can hopefully invest in a Silva.
My captain for gameweek 12 is Edin Dzeko. My full game week team can be found here.
