Strikers - worth the money?

I always find picking strikers the hardest part of the fantasy game. The highest cost players, Rooney, Drogba and Torres are guaranteed to get you points but are they worth investing in more so than a midfield player of the same cost? They get less points per goal and are much more of a feast or famine type of investment. Add on top of that the fact that all three of them get injured from time to time, Torres more so than the others, and it gets to be a risky investment. Then again, some people live or die by these guys and if they’re the captain on a day they light up the scoreboard you’ll easily see yourself on top of your league. The simple fact is, when these three guys are in shape they are capable of running riot through any game.


If you can’t get any of these three you could always look for their strike partner to get a few goals or assists. Man United picked up the exciting Javier Hernández but whether or not he’ll start in front of Dimitar Berbatov. Both can score goals but who is likely to be on the pitch is anyone’s guess. Nicolas Anelka has proven to be a good deputy for Chelsea when Drogba’s gone to pasture in the past but after his primadonna performance at the World Cup who knows who will show up for Chelsea. And at Liverpool, really, you’re looking for Torres or Gerrard as N’Gog could play a part, but he’s still an unknown quantity in the fantasy game.

Once you move past the big three you’ll find a whole bunch of fun strikers to choose from. I, personally, find that Jermain Defoe starts the season’s really strongly. He may fade a bit after the first month or so, but he tends to come flying out of the gate. Last year, Sunderland’s Darren Bent was the man to have. He was affordable, and still is at 8.5 but was probably the most consistent performer all season long. It’ll be interesting to see if he can repeat even half that performance this year.

Man City gave its share of strikers to fantasy managers as well. Emmanuel Adebayor started strong, but had some injury trouble and was just not as impressive for the rest of the year. He’d show up and do well then disappear for ages. Craig Bellamy was a solid performer but unless he gets picked up by another club he could very well be dropped from Man City’s 25 player list. But without a doubt, Carlos Tevez was the man to have at Man City and remains so this year. He had an exceptionally strong season and carried it through to the World Cup this summer. There’s no reason to think he’d slow down when the ball drops on day one. His price has gone up accordingly, but he could definitely be the dark horse to have if everyone else is thinking of picking up Rooney, Drogba or Torres.

The last striker valued in the double digits is Arsenal’s Robin van Persie, who is again, worth the value. He still managed to place high enough in last year’s standings despite missing the vast majority of the season. He’s just a prolific player for the Gunners, but if you can’t afford the asking price you may want to try out Wenger’s newest young striker, Marouane Chamakh who will take over from Eduardo who left this summer.

There were a lot of value strikers last season, and they could very well be worth a run in your side to start the season. Wigan’s Hugo Rodallega was consistently getting points and at only 6.5 he’s remains good value as your second striker. So does West Ham’s Carlton Cole, Fulham’s Bobby Zamora and Bolton’s Kevin Davies. All three will play every game they are fit, even if you’re unsure about their team.

Then there are the consistent performers who are in the middle price range. While I find it amazing that Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) is always ranked highly, points wise, at the end of the season, there he is again. He just seems so inconsistent whenever I see him play but you might have to use cold blooded logic on this rather than follow your heart. Peter Crouch (Spurs) will also get you points whether he’s starting of coming off the bench. Kenwyne Jones at Sunderland can also produce long stretches of good form, but just as easily disappear from sight. You could always throw caution to the wind and try an injury prone striker like Everton’s Louis Saha. He’ll do well when he’s healthy, but that lasts about half a game it seems.

And if you’re looking to round out your subs bench, then either Kevin Doyle or Steven Fletcher, of Wolves, should be your go to players. If you’re tight on budget then any of the promoted sides could have a striker to take a gamble on, but who knows if they’d play or not.