VAR-sity Blues
I am not anti-VAR, but I am not pro-VAR either, right here however, gameweek 9 gave me my biggest reason possible to damn VAR and everything it stands for, as I was defeated by just a point....yes 1 point! And goodness me I am feeling very bitter. Now, after a promising start, I have suffered back-to-back defeats in the head-to-head league, and my next game is against my long-time friend Rian, who currently lies in second place...'so get ready to hear me venting again!', because this particular week cut deep...real deep.
The first match after the international break, saw Everton entertain West Ham at Goodison Par. I left the radio studio in a hurry after doing the October 19th edition of the '#FootyOnTop' show on OnTop FM, 95,5FM, (you love the product integration don't you!), hoping to see a great game. The match was not as good as I thought it would be, as West Ham did not really turn up, and they fell to a 2-0 defeat. This of course meant that Felipe Anderson made no point-worthy contribution. To make matters worse he was pulled by manager Manuel Pelligrini at half time for Andriy Yarmolenko, that extra point would have given me a damn draw this week! I was not to know this at the time of course. Anderson, is a very good player, always involved in the action, but at £6.9m, I need more from him sooner or later, as I have £1.2m in the bank and may have to draft someone in within the coming weeks.
The 3pm games saw my first discrepancy with the use of VAR. First of all, Aston Villa had a Conor Hourihane goal ruled out against ten man Brighton, this goal would have given me an assist for John McGinn had it stood. Despite Villa were to end up winning 2-1, McGinn was not to get any major points for me, he has already had at least 2 goals that have been disallowed thanks to VAR this season and imagine what his points return could have been looking like.
Now, a game that had huge implications for me at the Vitality Stadium, between Bournemouth and Norwich. Two of my forward line featured here, as I had Josh King and Teemu Pukki on opposing sides, as well as Diego Rico at the back for the Cherries. I thought this would be a goal fest, so really I should have known that the game would typically end up being goalless. King, started the game on the bench to my bemusement, and Pukki who I had given one more life, ended up not scoring and getting booked again, 'thanks mate!'. Pukki, had banged two in for Finland in the week in European qualification, both were composed finishes, so it was even more frustrating that he was not able to find the net again for the Canaries, I really need to get rid of him now don't I? Norwich, play Manchester United next, which means if I do let go of him, in true FPL style, he will find the net won't he? Pukki's price has dropped to £7m also, meaning if he continues to have a barrel spell, his value will decline even further, so it is looking sensible to call it a day. Though my ownership of Josh King has not been for long, I am considering letting him go too, he has been deployed in a wider role recently, as Eddie Howe has been starting Dominic Solanke up top with Callum Wilson, despite Solanke not scoring in the league yet this season. King, may have only been on the bench as a precaution because of his involvement with Norway, but I am not sure I want to take the risk of him being on the bench again away at Watford. The only positive in this game, of course was that Rico got me clean sheet points and bonus points in this stalemate.
VAR tried its best to redeem itself at Molineux, as Wolves drew 1-all with Southampton. Raul Jimenez had two goals rightfully disallowed, but he scored a late penalty to deny Angus Gunn of a shutout. The late match was to let me down even further as Sergio Aguero was not in the starting xi for Manchester City, as they won 2-0 at Crystal Palace, as Pep Guardiola did his usual rotation that causes nightmares for fantasy football players. When the only guy you pick outside of Liverpool from a top 6 side does not play, it leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth I must say.
So, to Sunday at Old Trafford; where Liverpool travelled to their bitter rivals Manchester United. It was here where I gathered VAR was definitely out to deny me an FPL victory. My opponent was an old friend Gary and whatever he paid the officials watching over the action at Stockley Park, it worked. United took the lead, through a goal that should not have stood, as there was a foul on Divock Origi. VAR pointed out the foul, but the goal still stood, the referee Martin Atkinson decided not to look at the monitor either, so there was no overruling. The monitor has actually not been used by any referee since the Premier League season started, and it completely defies the objective of having it at pitch side. There was further controversy, as Sadio Mane (my captain), was denied an equaliser for handball. The handball was clearly accidental, but under the new rules, they now are looking to give any incident that strikes the hand as a handball, regardless of whether it was intentional or not. Liverpool did salvage a point later on, which was clearly the most important thing for me, as they remain unbeaten, but it could have been even better with a Mane goal, which would have carried me to a gameweek 9 FPL victory.
The last game of the week was on Monday night, and Sheffield United beat Arsenal 1-0 at Bramall Lane, which of course meant clean sheet points for John Lundstram, who plays midfield, but is registered as a defender in FPL. Gary haD Lundstram in his team, so we just cancelled each other out there. So, I lost by just one point, in a horrible scoring week for us both, a combination of VAR, premature substitutions and bookings, left me with consecutive defeats. I have fallen adrift for now, but there are 29 weeks left I suppose. There are big decisions to make for week 10 with my two transfers.
@DubulDee
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