Miles Reucroft is undertaking a different way of playing the ever popular Fantasy Football this season. To understand his methodology, read part one here. The Week 1 review is here, Week 2 transfers & preview here, Week 3 preview here, Week 4 preview here, Week 5 preview here, Week 6 preview here, Week 7 preview here, Week 8 preview here, Week 9 preview here, Week 10 preview here, Week 11 preview here. Week 12 preview here. Week 13 preview here. Week 14 preview here. Week 15 here. Week 16 here. Week 17 here. Week 18 here. Week 19 here. Week 20 here. Week 21 here. Week 22 here. Week 23 here. Week 24 here.
There are some lonely days in this job. Days when you have a good look around the place, examine the people you’ve surrounded yourself with and just, for the life of you, cannot work out a single area that could be improved. Then the over thinking kicks in and you try to distract yourself. You watch a few videos of past performances. You re-watch them. You re-fill your glass. You scour the statistics of other players. You re-fill your glass. You look at formation after formation. You re-fill your glass…
Harry Kane contributed points again. I’d be concerned that he’d be getting frustrated with his lot here, carrying the team from week to disappointing week. I look into his eyes and see nothing, though. He’s a goal scorer. He scores therefore he is.
KdB hasn’t been contributing as I’d have hoped, but how can you drop a player like that? He’s the full package, but this game doesn’t recognise his quality. Same with Eriksen, whose returns have been disappointing since he replaced Dave Silva.
Those were some big shoes to fill and Christian knows it. I think the pressure has got to him.
I know the defence is suspect, but I simply don’t have the money to repair it. Besides, Nicolas Otamendi and Daryl Janmaat were two of our top performers last week.
It is tempting at times like these to reach for the nuclear option. I have £1.2m in the bank and I could bring in one stellar replacement to shore things up. I mull over all the options, setting my mind on a million different options and combinations, to the point of total obfuscation of the task at hand.
I step outside and inhale a deep lungful of the bracing icy breeze. I glance up to the heavens, searching desperately for divine inspiration.
Maybe I do actually have a decent side? We’re down in 1,542,991st at the moment, but we’ve surely got the tools to claw our way back towards the top one million? Kane, Firmino, KdB, Otamendi, Eriksen… these players are lions and it’s time for them to roar!
At least that’s what I convince myself as I drag my tired, drunken carcass back into the office. There will be no call to Gary, our player agent. I’m drinking solo in the last chance saloon and putting my chips on the current squad.
We’re going 3-4-2-1 this week. A back three of Otamendi, Maguire and Cresswell (David Moyes has deployed him like this and I’m sure Moyesesy’s luck is about to turn…) will play behind two anchor men in Milivojevic and Xhaka, who has earned a re-call. Desperate times and all that.
KdB will be pushed further out right, with Eriksen towards the left. Both will be encouraged to come inside to crowd the middle, with Milivojevic and Xhaka expected to do some defensive work out wide as and when required.
Firmino and Niasse will be supporting Kane. I’ll be asking Niasse to float wide, looking for opportunities to utilise his pace, with Firmino handed a freer role in the middle of the park, dropping deeper to get in on the action when required.
It’s all a bit haphazard and hit-and-hope, but it has been that sort of week. We need a miracle and it we need it now.
3-4-2-1
Schmeichel – Otamendi, Maguire, Cresswell – KdB, Milivojevic, Xhaka, Eriksen – Niasse, Firmino – Kane
Subs
Gomes, Shaqiri, Hegazi, Janmaat