Many A-League fantasy players, including myself, fixtured in former Slovenian international Robert Koren before round 1 as a key cog in their side, and with good reason. The new franchise's international marquee player certainly has proven qualities, including 45 goals in his 7 years within the top two English divisions as well as 61 appearances for his country.
News has surfaced this week of Koren being out for another 6 weeks with a calf injury, a cruel blow to Melbourne City, who were also hit with the news that Villa will be leaving the club after their game against Adelaide United, both players certainly fantasy relevant.
News has surfaced this week of Koren being out for another 6 weeks with a calf injury, a cruel blow to Melbourne City, who were also hit with the news that Villa will be leaving the club after their game against Adelaide United, both players certainly fantasy relevant.
Koren missed the first two weeks of the A-League season, but many chose to hang on to Koren, with Van't Schip teasing owners that the former Hull City captain would play the following week when news was released that he would miss the games against Sydney and Newcastle respectively.
Koren is currently at the value of $269k after dropping $6k in the first two weeks. This will continue to drop as the 7.6% of users who currently own him drop him with his consistent 0 scores while he is absent from the Melbourne City lineup.
How do we fix this problem? There are a few options which are as always dependent on your team structure and trading plans, but it certainly needs dealing with as competing in the upcoming rounds with that much money sitting on the bench will certainly leave you severely disadvantaged. Here are a few different plans I recommend :
A sideways move in the midfield : I'd recommend this if you are content with the rest of your team, particularly if you only have 1 free trade for this game week. Options within the price range of Koren are : Burns (280k, 8.8%), Nichols (277k, 8.4%), Brattan (250k 12.2%) and Flores (249k 8.9%). The currently free-scoring Perth makes Nichols the best option for me, as being the creative player in the one of the most functional attacks in the league will give you plenty of assist and goal points.
Upgrading to a premium : Best option to keep a solid midfield, only if you have money in the bank or downgrade elsewhere. Options include Broich (350k, 48.3%), Finkler (326k, 17.6%), Carrusca (325k, 9.8%), McGlinchey (304k, 10.2%) and Hersi (300k, 4.9%). Any would be relatively reliable in scoring points, but McGlinchey as the top scoring midfielder so far would have to be the best bet.
Downgrade and upgrade elsewhere : If your midfield is already quite strong, it may be worth getting a cheaper option to sit the bench and upgrade to a premium striker or any other position that needs strengthening. Montgomery (151k, 16.6%), Goodwin (202k, 11.1%), Dimitrijevic (178k, 6.3%), Cernak (125k, 4.4%) and Khalfallah (199k, 4.0%) are the players I picked out as the best options, but there are many in this price range to consider, although personally I like the value of Cernak but Khalfallah, if he can break into the starting XI of the Victory could prove to be a great POD.
Retaining Melbourne City cover : It may be worth your while to replace Koren with another player from Melbourne City in the midfield, Mooy (230k, 28.3%), Murdocca (177k, 13.2%) and Paartalu (225k 7.8%) are all decent options to replace Koren, although I'd say the pick of the bunch would be Mooy as he is the chosen set piece taker and has potential to get plenty of assist points.
Of course, make your decision with a view of a long term plan in mind, particularly in this case, take into consideration the effect of David Villa's early exit from the country.
Koren is currently at the value of $269k after dropping $6k in the first two weeks. This will continue to drop as the 7.6% of users who currently own him drop him with his consistent 0 scores while he is absent from the Melbourne City lineup.
How do we fix this problem? There are a few options which are as always dependent on your team structure and trading plans, but it certainly needs dealing with as competing in the upcoming rounds with that much money sitting on the bench will certainly leave you severely disadvantaged. Here are a few different plans I recommend :
A sideways move in the midfield : I'd recommend this if you are content with the rest of your team, particularly if you only have 1 free trade for this game week. Options within the price range of Koren are : Burns (280k, 8.8%), Nichols (277k, 8.4%), Brattan (250k 12.2%) and Flores (249k 8.9%). The currently free-scoring Perth makes Nichols the best option for me, as being the creative player in the one of the most functional attacks in the league will give you plenty of assist and goal points.
Upgrading to a premium : Best option to keep a solid midfield, only if you have money in the bank or downgrade elsewhere. Options include Broich (350k, 48.3%), Finkler (326k, 17.6%), Carrusca (325k, 9.8%), McGlinchey (304k, 10.2%) and Hersi (300k, 4.9%). Any would be relatively reliable in scoring points, but McGlinchey as the top scoring midfielder so far would have to be the best bet.
Downgrade and upgrade elsewhere : If your midfield is already quite strong, it may be worth getting a cheaper option to sit the bench and upgrade to a premium striker or any other position that needs strengthening. Montgomery (151k, 16.6%), Goodwin (202k, 11.1%), Dimitrijevic (178k, 6.3%), Cernak (125k, 4.4%) and Khalfallah (199k, 4.0%) are the players I picked out as the best options, but there are many in this price range to consider, although personally I like the value of Cernak but Khalfallah, if he can break into the starting XI of the Victory could prove to be a great POD.
Retaining Melbourne City cover : It may be worth your while to replace Koren with another player from Melbourne City in the midfield, Mooy (230k, 28.3%), Murdocca (177k, 13.2%) and Paartalu (225k 7.8%) are all decent options to replace Koren, although I'd say the pick of the bunch would be Mooy as he is the chosen set piece taker and has potential to get plenty of assist points.
Of course, make your decision with a view of a long term plan in mind, particularly in this case, take into consideration the effect of David Villa's early exit from the country.