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Friday, April 26, 2013

Scouting What Remains: Pressure, Motive, GOAAAL!


At this late stage of the season, performance is mainly affected by some factors that make it break the rules sometimes. In this article I'm going to suggest some scouted nominations for the rest of the season, but with a quite different eye.

The three main factors we are going to focus on are the motive, pressure, and the club's objective and strategic goal, with players' form in mind.
Speaking of a team or a single player, what really affects their performance at this stage is "their motive", be it a personal achievement for a player looking to catch the eyes, or a club goal of staying in the middle of the table or reserving a European seat or even fighting relegation.
A club's goal varies, and the urge for achieving it differs from one club to another, and that's what generates pressure, one of the factors we will consider in our choices today which is a double-edged weapon that could drive a team to glory or stress them to huge loss.

Today I'm going to focus on teams and players that got the motive either pushed by their own self or by their goal as a team, being under positive pressure or having no pressure at all, yet still have the potential or recently in form.

Manchester United is now pressure-free as they're crowned champions, however, it's common from Sir Alex Ferguson that he does rotations at this stage specially after claiming the title. With Van Persie's unearthly performance at the title winning game and looking to claim a personal record as the league top scorer for the second consecutive year, he could be allowed a more fixed place in the starting squad for the next few weeks, but still not invulnerable to sitting on the bench sometimes. He's still the best but he could rest for a couple of games out of their remaining games or play less regularly, specially when facing his old teammates at the Emirates stadium.

Manchester City are now less pressured as well, as they officially have no hope in the league title, looking to secure their second place, and already reaching the FA cup final. With a DGW in hand and relatively easier fixtures left, their second top scorer and first assist leader, Tevez, could prove value in the next weeks, keeping in mind they usually play two strikers in their squad out of a total of three in stock, with Dzeko the least favored to start.

The three rivalry London leaders in the table are in a heck of war in search for UCL seats, with motive and positive pressure to achieve an automatic club goal beside personal achievements for some players, the likes of Bale, Mata, and Hazard could play such an important role, beside Defoe who could be differential as well if only given more time on the pitch.
Cazorla also could be a firm choice in Arsenal's bid for a UCL place, driven by his own hard working character and outstanding stats for his first ever Premier League season, but the previous London choices are more likely as both Chelsea and Tottenham have a DGW in hand.

As Southampton and Norwich City are having a constant performance level during the whole season and relatively in a much safer place, the likes of Sunderland, Newcastle, and Wigan will look to bid for better fortunes in their fight against third relegation place. Some of their players seem to shine recently, with Wigan known for being a strong relegation denier from previous seasons, supported by their managing skills of Roberto Martinez, beside their recent confident mentality after reaching the FA cup final in style for the first time in their history, they will look to be a stubborn side in the next weeks, as their performance against Man City has proven lately. The likes of Maloney and Kone will be under the spot from the Latics side; Figueroa also could be a good choice from their defensive line for his price and regular contribution. They still got a bonus of a DGW too.

The other two relegation neighbors have lots of quality players that refuse to surrender and by all means disobey relegation calls. Newcastle United, previously trolled for becoming France national team, who were placed fifth in the last season, has suffered a lot this term, coming back from relegation a couple of seasons ago, they will refuse to return down there again. Hatem Ben Arfa's return from longtime injury could suit some who look to spot a differential, if only he's back to playing the full 90 minutes.
On the other side comes the red and white stripes. After his controversial reception at the Stadium of Light, Paolo Di Canio led his side to a great form with the full mark six out of six, two clean sheets, and four scored goals. Sessegnon, Mignolet, in addition to Adam Johnson are their best assets to rely on. With midrange prices, ranking pretty high in stats, and a proven recent form, they could be your Fantasy heroes when the curtain falls and everybody goes home.

Although Aston Villa and Stoke City don't look like strong nominees in the relegation fight, both Benteke and Begovic are players who could single-handedly make a difference.. at least a personal difference in their squads.

So, bottom line, beside your statistics analysis, make sure to pick those who have additional reasons to do their best.

As numbers could fool.. Beware of those without a motive or a GOAAAL!

I hope you enjoy my first article for Fantasy Transfer Tips, and Good Luck FPL managers!!

Author: Alterno

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