Is John Utaka the top forward in the Premier League? Admittedly, not a question even Portsmouth's most ardent supporters are asking of their £7 million signing but PlayTheGame managers are taking notice. The Nigerian has made an impression in the opening weeks of the season and wasted no time in opening his Goals and Assists accounts. But even more eye-catching are his other statistics. He is ranked among the top forwards in the Successful Passes category, enjoys a respectable placing in the Average Goals For metric and thanks to Portsmouth's solid start to the current campaign, he also rates well in the team-oriented Points category.
As the considerable sum Portsmouth paid for him suggested, many PlayTheGame managers saw potential in Utaka. On average, he was the 63rd player allocated in the game, though the group ahead of him includes 15 other forwards.
So does all that make the Portsmouth the top forward in the game? Not quite. That honour goes to Antoine Sibierski. A few weeks ago, the French forward told the Manchester Evening News that he intends to become a Wigan legend. While competition for that honour may be on this side of scant, he is quickly becoming a PlayTheGame legend.
Sibierski was, on average, the 202nd player allocated, representing even better value than his Portsmouth counter-part. Shame that most managers disagreed with our pre-season ranking that slotted Sibierski in 127th place, but the fact remains that we were not even close. The Frenchman is among the top forwards in all five scoring categories and while his points may suffer if Wigan's form dips, he is well-placed to continue his dominating form. Then again, the likelihood of a Wigan legend having played with a round ball may suggest that this is the time to sell high and look to transfer the Frenchman.
Comments (2)
And who sold him the moment he was allocated? Yes, that's right..to buy Shay Given..who was injured.
Quality management skills
Posted by Phil Martinez | August 29, 2007 7:42 PM
Posted on August 29, 2007 19:42
I wish I had either Sibierski or Utaka in my team !!
Have I missed it, or have players like Kenwyn Jones, who has recently signed for Sunderland, not yet been added to the players that I could add to my team ?
Posted by Ian Taylor | September 1, 2007 1:01 PM
Posted on September 1, 2007 13:01