Fantasy football managers woke up to some disconcerting news today with confirmation of the Van Persie to Man United transfer. Fantasy football gold has been turned into something far less certain. The impact we'll be severe across the fantasy football landscape. Here's why:
Last season, Van Persie and Rooney were essential names on any fantasy teamsheet. RVP finished with 269 points, Rooney had 230 points. That's 499 points between them. They both managed to cover most of the goalscoring for their respective teams, and averaged around the same goals per game ratio. The only real question for you as a manager between them was who was going to be the captain. Now fate has thrown two fantasy juggernauts onto the same team. The big unknown is this: how long it will take the two players to adapt to each other? We saw how badly RVP fared when he played beside another top scoring alpha dog in Huntelaar at the Euros. Rooney seems more versatile, but Van Persie doesn't seem like a player who'll naturally complement Rooney as a scorer. It's hard to imagine that there'll be 500 points between these two players at the end of next season.
Given the competition for points and the expense of the players in question, only a United fan or a foolish owner would own both Rooney and RVP, so whom do you play? RVP, who destroyed fantasy last season in a contract year and was a dead cert captain every week, or Rooney, who we presume will still take penalties for United? My own hunch is to pick Rooney in a non-captain role and give RVP a few months to bed into the United system. His game seemed way off in the Euros and something tells me he won't make the instant fantasy impact that Aguero made last year. The bravest play is to own neither of them and hope that Nani, Young, or Kagawa become assist machines. With Cleverly back, I expect another lights-out start from United.
