Star Players
Rafael van der Vaart – Tottenham – midfielder – 17.8m; 18 points Rafael returns and Rafael delivers. There’s no doubt he’s one of the must-haves in the fantasy football world. Van der Vaart’s double against Aston Villa was decisive in the 2-1 win and that made up the bulk of his points. Fine value, consistent points-gatherer, get on.
Dimitar Berbatov – Manchester United – striker – 20.5m; 17 points The Bulgarian is a man in form right now after three goals in United’s past two matches, not to forget his five against Blackburn a few weeks ago. Berbatov is pricey at 20.5m but if he can maintain this form (which is a big if) then it might be worth getting on.
Mario Balotelli – Manchester City> – striker – 20m; 16 points The enigmatic Italian found some special form over Christmas, grabbing a hat-trick to destroy Aston Villa. Unfortunately he hasn’t found the consistency needed yet, and his score of two on Boxing Day tells that story after his infamous ill-discipline crept in and he picked up a yellow card.
Disappointments
Brad Friedel – Aston Villa – goalkeeper – 9m; -8 points Villa did face two tough assignments over the Christmas period in Tottenham and Manchester City, but you probably wouldn’t have expected them to cop six goals. Friedel, owned by two per cent of fantasy coaches, naturally posted a rather poor score.
Ashley Cole – Chelsea – defender – 7.5m; 3 points It’s got to the stage where many fantasy coaches are giving up on Chelsea so maybe the regular appearances of Blues players in the disappointments section should be rendered pointless. But the 3-1 loss to Arsenal hurt the defensive line, especially Cole who picked up a yellow against his old side. The 1-0 win over Bolton, with a clean sheet, helped repair the points tally though. Faith restored? Not just yet.
Charles N’Zogbia – Wigan – midfielder – 11m; 6 points At 11m, N’Zogbia is one of this section’s favourite players but he’s made us look silly with a needless red card in the dramatic 2-2 draw against Arsenal. Still N’Zogbia accumulated six points over the Christmas period but why did he have to get that red.
Special mentions
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart – Manchester City – 9.5m; 8 points (continues to represent the best value for a goalkeeper, 17% of coaches agree)
Heurelho Gomes – Tottenham – 10.3m; 8 points (one goal conceded in two games, solid)
Edwin van der Sar – Manchester United – 10.7m; 8 points (consistent but expensive)
Defenders
Gareth Bale – Tottenham – 7.1m; 15 points (outstanding, get on if you haven’t already)
Chris Baird – Fulham – 5.7m; 14 points (rare double against Stoke)
Joleon Lescott – Manchester City – 6.9m; 13 points (grabbed a goal in two solid wins)
Midfielders
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