The problem isn't so much that people don't think Van Persie has lost his goalscoring touch. It's more that there are now a handful of viable alternative who have all come out the blocks firing. And they are all considerably cheaper. Sturridge, Giroud, Benteke or Soldado would all release over £4 million to spend on the rest of your team.
With this extra money in hand pre-GW1 it would be have been a simple task to add a few elite defenders to your team, most of whom have scored some very big points this season thanks to the new bonus system.
We've just looked through the top 10% managers in the InsideFPL minileague and only 2 of these 26 teams own Van Persie despite his game ownership being almost 1 in 2. It's clear to see that owning Van Persie has really restricted the ability of your team to score well so far.
It's high time for Van Persie to repay the faith. A trip to Man City in GW5 does not look good but around this and up until GW10 United have home games with Crystal Palace, West Brom, Southampton, and Stoke and will travel to hapless Fulham and Sunderland. Also, as mentioned yesterday, Van Persie is placed 3rd for expected points in our xPt rankings despite those two tough games with Chelsea and Liverpool.
But, as already alluded to, it doesn't matter how well Van Persie actually does himself if players like Giroud and Sturridge can match him and come at a whopping £5 million odd discount. Both Arsenal and Liverpool have equally attractive fixtures. Our Fixture Analyser actually rates both as better than United.
The decision on whether to stick with the Manchester United man may be the biggest decision you have to make this season. Last year, not owning him would have most likely have cost you your minileague, this time around it looks to be the other way around.
P.S. At InsideFPL we are currently inclined to sell him after the WBA game (GW6), if not after Palace. Double captain points from the season's first hat-trick may steady our hands :)
