The Offside Fantasy League: Above and Beyond

By: Daryl | November 8th, 2007

Nyron Nosworthy above and beyond There are certain players in The Offside Fantasy League scoring way more points than envisioned at the start of the season. Some of these guys were clearly very talented, but there were doubts about how they’d adapt to the English game. Others had spent their entire careers in the English game with little distinction, but have found some real form this year. Here’s a quick rundown of five players who’ve gone above and beyond performance wise, why no one expected much of them and why we probably should have known better…

Clint Dempsey (Fulham) £5.5m, 125 points so far this season
Why we didn’t expect much: He had a fairly anonymous start to life in the Premiership last season after joining Fulham from New England in the January transfer window. A goal against Liverpool’s B team late in the season hinted at his nose for goal, but there was nothing to suggest he was going to do it consistently. Also Chris Coleman, the manager who signed him, got the boot in the summer, and there was no guarantee Lawrie Sanchez was going to pick him, especially as he wasn’t Northern Irish.

Why we should have known better: Goals. Often playing just behind a striker, Dempsey has shown a knack for arriving in the box at just the right time to score four goals this season. His in and out form from last season can be attributed to being out of action since the previous October (when his MLS season finished) and so having to simultaneously acclimatise to the Premiership and rediscover his match fitness.

Nyron Nosworthy (Sunderland) £5m, 121 points
Why we didn’t expect much: The last time Nosworthy was in the Premiership he was playing right back for Mick McCarthy’s Sunderland, maybe the worst team ever to grace the top flight. And he was dreadful.
Why we should have known better: Roy Keane has been playing Nosworthy in his preferred position of centre-half, and “Nuggsy” has responded with some all action displays. He makes an average of 4 tackles per game (well above the 2.51 average for a defender) and with a success rate of 86.36%, also well above average. He’s also made a clairvoyant 28 interceptions so far, great value at two points a pop.

Martin Laursen (Aston Villa) £5.5m, 186 points
Why we didn’t expect much: Laursen has a dodgy knee. A persistent injury has consistently interrupted his career, including keeping him out for the entire 2005/6 season.
Why we should have known better: He’s now back from injury and hungry for both goals and interceptions, with 20 of the former, and three of the latter, as well as the decent amount of clean sheets you’d expect from playing in a well organized Martin O’Neill team.

Elano Blumer (Manchester City) £7.2m, 185 points
Why we didn’t expect much: Seems all but one Premiership manager thought the Brazilian would struggle to adapt to the Premiership, particularly given the list of players who’ve done exactly that (Emerson, Branco, Kleberson etc.) Kia Joorabchian was on The Game podcast this week saying he recommended the Brazilian to all kinds of Premiership managers, but none had faith. Except Sven, who’s rubbish anyway isn’t he?
Why we should have known better: Sven is proving everybody wrong, and Elano is doing exactly the same with his class and creativity. He’s contributed and impressive four goals and five assists so far, and common sense now says that if a player is an established Brazilian international AND can cope with playing in Ukraine, then playing in Manchester probably isn’t that tough.

Glen Johnson (Portsmouth) £7.5m, 152 points
Why we didn’t expect much: 23 year old Johnson made the move to Chelsea far too soon. The right back would have been much better off staying at relegated West Ham in 2003/4 and getting some regular football in the second tier. But instead he took the big money transfer to Chelsea and never really established himself. That trend continued when he blew his big chance to be Cheslea’s right back, allowing Olivier Kapo to make a fool of him before scoring. A permanent move to Portsmouth was his punishment.

Why we should have known better: Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is an absolute genius at repairing damaged goods. When he brings in a player who’s struggled somewhere, low on confidence or just plain unwanted, there’s a very good chance that player will get it together under Harry’s guidance. And that’s exactly what’s happened to Glen since he made the move to Pompey permanent, with an incredible average of 4.56 tackles per game (though only a 70.45% success rate) plus that goal not so long ago where he coasted through the Wigan team before scoring.