The Oxford Dictionary defines fantasy as whimsical speculation, and when it comes to selecting a Fantasy Premier League XI, this definition just about sums up the process.
The EPL is infamous for its predictable top-performing teams, but top-performing players are a different story.
With the exception of Diego Costa and a few others, the best players thus far, based on fantasy points accrued, are in fact from the poorer performing clubs.
Out of the top 12 fantasy team players, seven come from teams generally considered mid table settlers or relegation battlers.
Bottom of the league Burnley field one of the league’s highest point-earning goalkeepers in Tom Heaton. Before Monday morning’s 4-0 shellacking by West Brom, Burnley had previously kept three consecutive clean sheets.
Clean sheets that have unfortunately coincided with a goalless run for the newcomers, lasting a frustrating 10 hours. The fact, however, that a goalie in an otherwise under-performing team can still excel says a lot.
Criticised for generally being a title race between the richest and most successful clubs, fantasy football has shown me how misleading this stereotype can be. At least when it comes to picking a fantasy team.
Having initially selected an XI saturated with big club players, I was at a loss when I returned a measly number of points from the first week of competition. It was only as I was scavenging through the remnants of my initial failure that I realised big clubs don’t always yield top players, by fantasy laws anyway.
Fielding tantalising line-ups of stars, clubs like Manchester City can only allow their players to shine so much. With an array of strikers including Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic, the chance for each star to shine respectively on field is severely limited.
With the proverbial night sky already polluted with bright stars, solid players like Jovetic are rarely given the opportunity to shine at their brightest. In turn making them poor choices for a fantasy team.
Just take a look at Fabio Borini, the striker performed admirably on loan at Sunderland, picking up goals and assists at will. He would have been seen as a logical choice in anyone’s fantasy team. But choosing to return to a star studded Liverpool team has denied the Italian any opportunity to shine.
The season so far has exemplified how players in less star-studded clubs can themselves shine more brightly, making them more logical fantasy team choices and ensuring they attain individual, if not team success.
West Brom’s young striker Saido Berahino for one has, in an otherwise unconvincing side, managed to toss his name into England squad speculation through a number of stellar performances and an uncanny ability to consistently find the back of the net. The same can be said for Leicester striker Leonardo Ulloa, who has claimed five of his team’s seven goals in what has been a turbulent season for the newly promoted club.
These instances of players performing at a higher level more consistently illustrate how lower club players can prove far better fantasy investments than big club players like returning Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Manchester United front man Robin van Persie.
The latter, at 31, would seem a poor pick for a fantasy team now having to compete with both Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao for a starting spot. Although still having plenty to offer, Van Persie will likely struggle to contribute anything meaningful in comparison to Rooney and Falcao.
Drogba, on the other hand, has doomed himself to a bench warming position for fellow striker Diego Costa, who continues to shine brightest at Chelsea. But just how long can that last?
With the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian all looking to shine, will Costa remain such a lucrative fantasy team investment? Will Berahino and Ulloa continue their run of form despite being in such underwhelming teams? Can Heaton bounce back with another Burnley clean sheet as he watches his opposite number likely do the same?
I guess, at the end of the day, all we can do is speculate… whimsically of course.
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