Oh, it’s just a sweet, sweet fantasy really
With only 13 rounds left, things are moving along nicely as we enter a weekend devoid of any Premier League action. Whether your team is nicely perched among the top-six or fighting for survival, there will certainly be no waning of interest as the definitive month of May approaches.
Back at The Citizen office, things are tightening up as the bottom log dwellers make a move on the more seasoned pros in the Fantasy League. Our soccer editor, Jonty Mark, just about had his paws on the prize edging ever closer to mounting an unassailable lead, but matters have since got a whole lot stickier, and dare I say quieter.
As the only member of the fairer sex entered in The Citizen League, I have been lucky enough to top the standings in recent weeks. Even though I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to overall position, I think, unlike the Foxes, I’m bound to escape the bottom three at this rate.
With double points up for grabs for captains picked, the choice for any given game week always garners a lot of debate come Thursdays as the weekly deadline approaches. Shaun, a fellow layout artist, got really lucky last week when he for once, happened to pay absolutely no attention to his team, and lo and behold, accidentally left Romelu Lukaku as his captain. Much to our horror and dismay, the Everton striker scored four goals and my ever competitive colleague went on to score a century, well almost, 99 points. That is also the highest weekly tally so far this season.
Spurs’ Dele Alli has also been a source of plenty of points especially with his double against Chelsea last month, but has faded a bit as his team struggles to keep up with the Blues. Alexis Sanchez is another popular choice although his form had dropped somewhat amid two losses to Watford and the log leaders. As a result, thousands of managers ditched the Chilean only for him to score twice last weekend, 30 points in the bag, thank you very much.
If there’s something in common the 10 of us shared last week, it was the absence of Liverpool’s Sadio Mane. No one had the guts to put him back in their lineups since returning from Gabon where he did duty for Senegal but his brace against Spurs worked out well for more than 80 000 wannabe soccer bosses. Mane, who now costs 9.2 million, also jumped to No 4 in the Fantasy midfield rankings. To get him into my team for example, I’d have to either sell Sanchez or Diego Costa.
Looking at the upcoming fixtures it would make sense to maybe lose Sanchez considering Arsenal recent run-in against the Saints, but that would mean sacrificing the League’s top striker. The Reds have an easy game against Leicester so getting Sadio on board remains rather alluring.
Choices and budgets aside, all I know is that the gap is closing at the top.
These boys better watch out.