Back in August I posted about my diabolical fantasy football draft night.

On one of the increasingly common sleepless nights I am incurring as a result of my team racking up record low scores such as 7 and 11 points on a weekly basis, I decided to have a root around the FA Premier League website at some of the statistics they publish and the subsequent fantasy football points.

Following on from yesterday’s piece on the underrated and underappreciated, I thought I would post some of my findings and observations from the fantasy football data so far this season.

Before I do, I would just like to reiterate that in no way do I feel that the following analysis is an accurate assessment of the relative worth and contributions of the players in question.  The basic football statistics such as goals and clean sheets so heavily favoured in fantasy football tell us very little about an individual’s overall contribution to his team.  Even penalties are awarded the same number of points as a goal from open play.  Check out this old article of mine for more on the weaknesses inherent in using such basic statistics.

And don’t even get me started on the subjective use of the penultimate touch “assist”. Although using statistics which involve subjective decision making, using generic hard and fast rules such as the penultimate player to touch the ball being the only player credit with an assist actually results in an even less useful dataset.

All this considered, in the absence of more relevant and useful data, I still decided to play around with the data  for a while anyway.

I know the common maxim “shit in = shit out” springs to mind at this point, but I do feel some of the conclusions I have drawn are worth discussing.

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First up, fantasy football statistics work on a counting basis i.e. the more goals you score, assists you are credited with and appearances you make, the more points you accrue.  I know, that is pretty obvious.

However, when comparing individual players can be difficult on this basis.  Some players may have played a lot more than others due to injury, squad rotation or general competition for places.

As a result, comparing players using a “rate” rather than “cumulative” basis can be quite useful.

After a little playing around with Uncle Bill’s green and white toy I figured that 19 players are currently averaging a point every 16 minutes or better (minimum 40 points).

A number of the perennial points scorers are performing well again, with Nani (3rd), Tevez (7th), Drogba (13th), Fabregas (15th), Arshavin (16th) and Cahill (17h) chalking up points at a rapid rate.

A number of London based midfielders have also had strong starts to the season. Spurs new boy Rafael Van Der Vaart, although boosted by his set piece dominance, currently sits in a lofty 2nd place.  He appears to be an absolute bargain at £8 million.

Also starting well are Arsenal’s Sami Nasri (10th) and Chelsea’s Florent Malouda (11th).

Not surprisingly, the hot strikers in the league are scoring well.  After his 5 goal haul at the weekend, Dimitar Berbatov (5th) has shot up the rankings and the inspired Johan Elmander (9th) is also up there.

New boys Asamoah Gyan (4th), Andy Carroll (12th) and Marouane Chamakh (19th), who have all been a pleasue to watch so far this season, also feature.

So that is 14 of the 19 down with no real surprises.

Any guesses for who anyone else would expect to see on this prorated list?  Including the current rate leader?

Here are the surprise/undervalued players who have got off to cracking starts to the season.  In reverse order…

Luke Varney (18th)

The Blackpool forward has been in great form early doors as Ian Holloway’s men have taken to top flight football like ducks to water.  Ducks that like to attack.  Varney has scored 5 goals and has been credited with 4 assists.

The former Crewe starlet has flattered to deceive throughout his career, but is finally fulfilling all that early promise and potential that saw Charlton splash out a couple of million on him a few years back and with a direct hand in 40% of the Tangerines goals so far this season he is a legitimate challenger to Charlie Adam for their player of the year award.

Park Ji-Sung (14th)

We all know how I feel about PJS (if you don’t, click here).  With Antonio Valencia out for an extended period, many United fans wondered how we were going to get sufficient creativity and attacking prowess out of our midfield.

Well although PJS doesn’t get credited with many direct assists, his positional ability and dynamism create opening all over the field, often for others rather than himself.  And he has chipped in with three goals in recent weeks, including the last gasp winner against Wolves.  Time will tell how valuable that will turn out to be.

Patrick Barclay repeatedly (and ignorantly) likes to state that Bolton’s Lee Chun-Young “is the best Korean to play in the Premier League” in some sort of petty attempt to be derisory to PJS and wind up Man United supporters.

I am a big fan of Lee’s and he is having a fantastic season in his own right.  However there is no doubt in my mind which of the two players is more effective and more valuable to a top four side.

Shoala Ameobi (8th)

Of all the players in this list, Ameobi is probably the least deserving of being lavished with praise.  Although the undoubtedly talented but oft injured striker has managed to chalk up 3 goals and 3 assists so far despite limited action, he actually recorded a brace of goals and assists in the Toon Army’s 5-1 destruction of Sunderland last month.

That said, if he can stay fit and get a run in the team, he has shown what he can do and Newcastle might end up with more than one striker in and around the England squad…

Marlon Harewood (6th)

Big Marlon is another player that has come up trumps from Ian Holloway and Blackpool.  His 5 goals in 11 games have already matched his total from his 29 games for Aston Villa from 2007 to 2009.

As an interesting aside, the big man also currently tops the “point per million” list, for those playing in budget restricted leagues.

Sterling stuff.

Salomon Kalou (1st)

Again, I have discussed the effectiveness of Salomon Kalou before.  This post comes with a health warning mind.  I was not in a good mood!

Kalou has chalked up 6 goals and 2 assists in less than 600 minutes of action so far this season, which sees him comfortably clear at the top of the table.

Although the small nature of the sample is such that he should certainly see some regression in the second half of the season, I would add that his numbers do not benefit from a single set piece of penalty.

He has also scored only one brace all season, meaning he has scored in 5 of Chelsea’s 15 games.  Unlike a particular Bulgarian, his contribution has be felt consistently through the season.  Which is even more impressive considering he has only started 5 games and feature in 11.

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For those that care,  the table below shows the full and condensed list:

Premier League players ranked by “Minutes Per Point”

Player	Position	Value	Mins	Goals	Assists	Points	MPP
Kalou	MID	7.3	595	6	2	59	10.1
Van der Vaart	MID	8.5	857	6	5	75	11.4
Nani	MID	9.2	1171	5	10	100	11.7
Gyan	STK	7.2	494	5	1	42	11.8
Berbatov	STK	8.8	1047	11	2	89	11.8
Harewood	STK	4	507	5	1	40	12.7
Tevez	STK	11.1	1171	9	4	86	13.6
Ameobi	STK	4.2	565	3	3	41	13.8
Elmander	STK	6.4	1219	8	5	88	13.9
Nasri	MID	7.7	936	6	1	67	14.0
Malouda	MID	10.2	1161	7	1	82	14.2
Carroll	STK	6.1	1265	9	4	89	14.2
Drogba	STK	12.8	1178	6	6	80	14.7
Park	MID	4.9	595	3	1	40	14.9
Fabregas	MID	11.9	748	2	4	50	15.0
Arshavin	MID	9.3	1122	3	7	74	15.2
Cahill	MID	8.9	1231	8	1	80	15.4
Varney	MID	4.6	919	5	4	58	15.8

As an aside, I would just like to point out that this list does not contain a single defender. That is indicative of the quality of the scoring system, and exactly why I choose not to be part of a weekly fantasy football league.

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Whilst we are onthe subject of “fantasy football” a very brief note on the epic “El Classico” from Monday night.  There have been more than enough column inches devoted to the game already, so I don’t plan to linger on it.

If you didn’t see this game, I strongly recommend that you hunt it down somewhere online.

Messi, Xavi and the gang put on a footballing masterclass.  It was the most impressive footballing display I have seen in years and also a great advert for the game of football.

Although a little more one sided that expected, it was a pleasure to watch.

But don’t write off Madrid just yet.  Beware a wounded Jose Mourinho and look out for a dire 1-0 “revenge battering” at Santiago Bernabau in the Spring.  He has proved he can set up his teams to deal with them before and I wouldn’t put it past him doing it again.

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One final, final thing.  Digesting Monday’s footballing feast in the office today, myself and a colleague started reminiscing about our own teams respective Champions League encounters with Barcelona and Madrid.

Here are a couple of  my more “memorable” moments from Man United’s past encounters.

Something for the United fans, the neutrals and the ABU supporters here:

The original Ronaldo – At his peak, the most dangerous striker of all time

Rivaldo – Pure Genius

Forgotten magic from Fernando Redondo

Paul Scholes – This goal still gives me goosebumps

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