Greetings, and welcome back for another round of FPL captaincy debate, the most important decision of your gameweek.
We have had two completed gameweeks since Sunday and another deadline coming on Saturday. The fixtures are rolling through thick and fast, and the captaincy column must follow suit.
Last time out, I reported on a bad round that dropped me about 80,000 places in the ranks and this most recent round added another 30,000 drop so about the only silver lining I can come up with is that this busy festive period can help one maintain a short-term memory, as a great round could be literally hours away.
Ever since I got into playing fantasy sports, which has been going on for over 20 years, the benefit that I always could count on was that if my reality team was suffering, there was always a chance for celebration with my fantasy team, and vice versa. But for some reason, despite Tottenham winning this week and now only two points off the top four with plenty of season to play, I could not enjoy the result as much as I would have had I not featured Harry Kane in my FPL team.
I have now held Kane for six gameweeks and he has yet to deliver a single attacking return, has yet to score more than two points and even missed a game entirely being involved in the lone fixture so far this season to be postponed. I was looking at the six points collected by Mousa Sissoko stuck on my bench this week and did a comparison with Kane for these six miserable weeks. Kane has ten total points in that time while Sissoko has 15. My midfielder minimum-priced, permanent bench fodder enabler has scored 50% more points than the league’s most expensive forward.
I realize I am beginning to get ahead of myself here so allow me to deliver an awkward segue and officially declare this the jumping off point for this Week 15 edition of Captain Obvious.
No Kane, No Pain
This is supposed to be the week. This is the fixture we all looked ahead a month or so ago and said, “right, if there is to be a challenger to Mo Salah in the armband debate, this is the person and this is the matchup.”
I am of course referring to Harry Kane set to play in the most coveted fixture for just about any opposing player, a home game against Norwich City. We have seen the Canaries get lit up several times this season and we have seen it accomplished by sides that may have been in poor attacking form leading into their respective battles with Norwich. The Canaries have been the perfect medicine for many an ailing attack, so despite what has been a lackluster goal-scoring display from Spurs so far this season, this is the game that one would expect at least a couple of goals, with three or four a legit possibility.
So, with that being the case, naturally you have to shake off the poor form Kane has shown in the FPL game and back him with the armband this week, right?
Look, I am not going to flat out tell you that you would be foolish to captain Kane. To sit here and pretend like I can predict that a striker of his quality is guaranteed to blank would be irresponsible on my part, even if it turned out to be correct. What I will say though is that, other than the fixture itself, there really are no positive signs to point to that Kane should earn your trust with a captaincy.
He really showed very little in terms of influence in the attack last night in the win over Brentford and has yet to look very sharp under Antonio Conte. That said, it would be foolish to disregard the distinct possibility that his big wake up call could be one game away. However, if I am attempting to exploit Norwich by captaining a Tottenham player, it would have to be Heung-Min Son. Despite a turbulent season, Son has been a steady supplier of returns and coming off a goal last night, he seems much likelier to score if only one were to find the net between he and Kane.
Mo-Cap
So we return to the same old Song. My lack of desire to think about Kane as a captain has very much to do with his lack of form. However, what carries more weight in the thought process is the same factor that has been in play for months now - there is simply no good reason to gamble against Mo Salah.
Week 13 was a classic example of why sticking with Salah is the way to go for the time being. Yes, in recent weeks, we have seen some bigger returns from premium defenders and some other attacking options, but here was a week where not a single player in the league outscored Salah. If you bet against him, you lost. If you bet against him and netted a few extra points a week or two previous, well you have now broken even if you ignored him in Week 13.
The one thing that has to be considered which is a risk regarding Salah is, as we navigate through this busy month of fixtures, there has to be some concern that he will be due a rest. It was easy to count on him for this recent midweek round because it was the Merseyside derby. Liverpool’s best side was always going to play that one. Now, we get into some matchups that are not as significant or potentially challenging, starting with Wolves this weekend.
My thinking here is, Salah’s chances of starting are still extremely high, simply because he was so sharp scoring the brace against the Toffees. Had he at all looked sluggish or simply did not get on the scoreboard, it could have given Jurgen Klopp an excuse to work a rest in against Wolves. It is complete conjecture on my part but I think Salah has the highest chance of a rest following the next game in which he does not score a goal. That does not necessarily equate to a blank in FPL, he could get an assist or two, but simply as a window in which Klopp can rationalize the decision.
Long explanation short - the one thing to worry about regarding Salah is probably not worth worrying about this weekend.
Mr. 801
Right, so as is typically the case whenever Manchester United win in exciting fashion, a massive reaction, and in some people’s eyes, an overreaction, is natural to take place around the FPL community. Last night, Cristiano Ronalo immediately returned to the conversation, not only as a player to bring in, but as a potential armband option this weekend with a home game against Crystal Palace.
We will have to wait and see if Ronaldo will be starting every league game under new management, or if he will get rotated some in games where high pressing will be the focus of concentration, but what we do have an understanding of is that Ronaldo has apparently usurped penalty-taking duties from Bruno Fenandes, which provides a massive spike in the legendary talent’s captaincy appeal.
I still think Salah is the conservative and wise move for the armband until further notice, but I would say that Ronaldo is the closest to being a challenger there is this weekend. Playing again at Old Trafford and coming off such a positive result, I am certain he will be in the Starting XI again and I believe the Red Devils are in line for at least a couple of goals against a Palace side that has been struggling lately.
Feast or Famine with the Citizens
Manchester City travel to play Watford this weekend and there are bound to be goals galore, certainly from City’s side and perhaps even the Hornets will break City’s clean sheet with at least one in the net based on their positive attacking displays as of yet.
Because of Watford’s attacking form and despite City’s great defensive record, I do not think Joao Cancelo should be looked at for the armband. Kyle Walker got rested in the midweek game, with Cancelo shifting to play right back. So it would stand to reason that in the near future, it will be Cancelo’s turn to sit on the bench. The best area for a captain has to be from one of the attacking positions.
That said, take your pick. Bernardo Silva has clearly been the most steady and dependable source for returns, week in and week out, but he does not seem to possess the explosive ability to notch multiple returns that could see his score well into the double digits. This is why, despite such a great chance for City to score at least three goals here, it is truly a gamble to pick a player who may provide more than one attacking return, and if you are attempting to counter all those who will captain Mo Salah, you are definitely hoping for more than one return and a double digit score. I simply cannot justify a single candidate from that talented side like I could, say, in the heydays of Sergio Agüero or Kevin De Bruyne.
And that is just about it for the debate this week. Naturally, if you have Sadio Mané or even Diogo Jota, that is again a matter of betting on one to outproduce the teammate Salah. But look at it this way - Mane and Jota have COMBINED for 152 points so far while Salah alone has 146.
Just go with Mo. Unless you really want to go with someone else. Then, by all means, enjoy the thrill of high-stakes gambling.
That’s about all I have for Week 15. Good luck to all, and may your arrows be green.
