UTCIAD have every right to feel aggrieved after some surprise exclusions cost valuable them points.Both Antonio Valencia and Stephen Ireland failed to feature in their matches. So preventing a good round becoming an excellent one.
The Chelsea duo of Florent Malouda and Didier Drgoba were the teams highest scorers with 76 and 71 points respectively. Drogba was named as team captain and as such his contribution was doubled to a very significant 140points.
A last minute change of heart saw the manager included both Brad Friedel and Darren Bent in the starting line-up. This proved to be a master stroke (or a terrific piece of luck) as Fridel recovered from conceding six at Newcastle to play an absolute blinder in Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Everton, and Bent was the only man to score past Manchester City’s Joe Hart – so fa this season.
Had Ameobi and Hart been selected, as was expected prior to the weekends fixtures, it would have resulted in a meagre 18points return. As things stand the Bent, Friedel combination scored 114points.
Andrey Arshavin’s winner against Blackburn won UTCIAD 60points. Patrice Evra’s topped this with 67points, achieved as Manchester United dominated West Ham in a 3-0 victory.
Going forward UTCIAD stand on 1124points and should be hopeful of overtaking their nearer rivals – just 80points more from this week would have moved them up to 79th. It was always going to be an up hill struggle to achieve a respectable finish this season. Consistent weeks such as this will ensure steady progress but it will take scores approaching 700points in order to sustain a more determined challenge.
Goalkeeper: Friedel 54pt. Defence: Evra 67pt, Cahill 39pt, Bale 54pt, A. Cole 56pt. Midfield: Malouda 76pt, Arshavin 60pt, Ireland 0pt, Valencia 0pt. Strikers: Drogba* 71pt, D. Bent 60pt. Week2 Score: 608
Overall Season Top Three: Carroll 261pt, Drogba 253pt, Bale 252pt. Week’s Highest Score: Luke Young 98pt.
