01/23/08/2014

EPL Fantasy 2014/15

The Diminishing Value of the Star Defensive Midfielder
The role of the defensive midfielder in modern football has never been more
important. The recent high value transfer of Fernando from Porto to Manchester
City and Nemanja Matic from Benfica to Chelsea in last seasons winter transfer
window highlights the importance of the role for title challenging teams. Experts
and fans alike also believe that both Arsenal and Manchester United will face
difficulties in their title challenge due to their lack of a dominant defensive
midfielder, although Louis Van Gaals shift from Uniteds traditional 4-4-2
formation to a 3-5-2 should in some ways combat this issue.
However, in fantasy football, the star defensive midfielder is lowly valued
compared to their more attacking counterparts. The aforementioned Fernando
and Matic only cost 5 and 5.5 while their midfield partners Yaya Toure and
Cesc Fabregas cost 11 and 9 respectively. The question then is; should you go
for a defensive midfielder because of their low cost?
An important distinction needs to be made before we go on between the role of a
dominant ball-winning defensive midfielder and a deep-lying playmaker. To
fantasy football team owners who are not too familiar with the nuances of
football, these two positions can be easily confused. There are a number of
teams in the Premier League using a double volante 4-3-3 formation or a 4-2-3-1
formation where there are two midfielders lying deep. However, one of them will
be tasked with the ball winning and defensive duties while the other will be
entrusted with initiating an attack. The best example of this is Liverpool, where
Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva both play deeper in midfield with Lucas carrying
out the yeomans work while Gerrard is free to launch his 50 yard Hollywood
passes with less defensive pressure on him. The player that will be examined
here is the ball-winning defensive midfielder and not the more offensive deep
lying playmaker.
Being a ball winner, this type of midfielder usually has the highest number of
tackles over the course of the season, comparable to fullbacks. Last season, 4
out of the top 10 tacklers per game are defensive midfielders, the same number
as fullbacks. The only outliers are Arsenals Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey who

are classified as central midfielders. This can be easily explained as Arsenals

central midfielders also have the added responsibility of covering the defence
and hence their high number of tackles. However, the official Premier League
fantasy football scoring system do not include tackles and the side effect of a
high tackle rate makes defensive midfielders less valuable in fantasy football.
This side effect is that of the propensity of defensive midfielders to earn more
yellow cards than their counterparts. While the top defensive midfielders are
skilled in tackling, the fact that they have to put themselves in positions where
there is a high possibility of giving away fouls and receiving yellow cards make
them a less valued commodity in fantasy football. Cheick Tiote of Newcastle and
Fernandinho of Manchester City are perfect examples of this where they both are
featured in the top 20 of yellow cards received and tackles per game.
By virtue of their position, defensive midfielders also tend to achieve lesser
points in terms of creating or scoring goals. Rarely do teams allow their
defensive midfielder to go high up the pitch to be in a dangerous attacking
position. Instead, teams generally ensure that the defensive midfielder is behind
the attacking play to prevent a counter attack from happening. They would also
cover the side where their own fullback is coming forward to provide defensive
cover. When their team loses possession of the ball, the defensive midfielder
might also be inclined to commit a professional foul. This is done with the intent
of stopping play and allowing their team to get back on defense. The result of
this is usually a yellow card for the player. And as all good fantasy football team
owners know, yellow and red cards should be avoided.
Generally, star defensive midfielders are also are not as skillful on the ball. Very
few of them are the teams main set-piece taker or penalty taker. The only ones
who do so on a regular basis are Mile Jedniak of Crystal Palace and Ki Sung-Yeung
of Swansea City. They should be players that fantasy owners might want to
consider due to their relatively low value and the higher possibility of point
scoring compared to other defensive midfielders.
Teams with star defensive midfielders however, should be highly valued for their
midfield counterparts as well as their defenders and goalkeepers. The defensive
midfielders would play a vital role in getting their teams clean sheet points and
smart fantasy football team owners should be cognizant of this. This is especially
important for defenders and goalkeepers as a clean sheet would give your player

4 points while for midfielders, it is only worth 1 point. Hence, the value of the
star defensive midfielder is only insofar the value that they give the team that
they are from and rarely from their own inherent value. New fantasy team
owners should try to avoid picking these players for their teams even though
they may have a bigger name or be from more prominent teams.