It was a weird weekend in Fantasy, with only two Premier
League matches taking place (the third, between Manchester
City and Blackburn
is tonight).
Frustratingly, the West Ham v Wolves game was called off one
minute after the noon Saturday deadline, leaving managers in the lurch.
Points from rearranged games count towards the week when
they are played, so if your stars had their matches postponed, hard luck. What
it does mean is plenty of double weeks coming up.
Even for those managers who managed to fill their team with
players from the handful of active clubs, points were hard to come by.
Only five players reached double figures - Leon Osman (17pts),
Denilson (14.5), Cameron Jerome (14), Tomas Rosicky (11.5) and Steven Pienaar
(11) - and big guns like Wayne Rooney (6) and Andrei Arshavin (5) misfired.
That could change, of course, if Carlos Tevez finds the net
for City tonight.
Regrettably, Everton new boy Landon Donovan was not entered
into the game in time for his debut on Saturday, but he will be available this
week.
Likewise Patrick Vieira, whom The Fantasist loves as an
actual footballer but confidently tips for a negative Fantasy points total.
All this was played out against a backdrop of uncertainty
about the African Cup of Nations. The tournament is going ahead, but it looks
like Togo will not be
allowed to return to Angola.
Crass as it seems to speculate on the Fantasy implications
of a terrorist attack, it seems that Emmanuel Adebayor and Moustapha Salifou
will soon be back with their clubs.
The postponements are great news for bosses who chose to
stick by Didier Drogba. By the time all these extra fixtures are played, he may
well be back in action.