FREDDY KRUEGER, Michael Myers, Leatherface… these villains have got nothing on this tale of Dream Team horror.
When Kasper Schmeichel left Leicester to join Nice in August it opened the door for Danny Ward (£1m) to take up the mantle and become the Foxes’ first-choice goalkeeper.
Having been a back-up option virtually his whole career, it seemed as if the 29-year-old was to be rewarded for his patience and professionalism.
And this shift in the pecking order at the King Power presented an opportunity to Dream Team gaffers.
Originally priced at £2m, Ward suddenly looked like an enticing bargain upon Schmeichel’s departure.
Leicester may not have had the best 2021/22 but they still finished 8th and, generally speaking, they’ve been one of the league’s better sides under Brendan Rodgers stewardship.
A starting keeper for a top-half team at £2m looked to be a potentially savvy Dream Team strategy that would open up some additional budget to invest elsewhere.
Plus, most fans would have been impressed by Ward’s efforts between the sticks for Wales in recent years – he’s earned 26 caps for the Dragons, 14 of those coming in 2021.
However, this punt could not have worked out any worse.
After seven Game Weeks, Ward has -15 points to his name – yes, that’s minus fifteen.
Leicester’s No1 is quite literally the worst player Dream Team has to offer at this stage of the season.
Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi (£0.9m) is the second-worst asset currently but he’s four points better off than Ward on -11.
Some readers may be thinking that this is the nature of being a goalkeeper in the realm of Dream Team since they incur minus points whenever they concede two or more goals in a game.
And yet Ward is the only player in his position on minus points right now.
Dean Henderson (£2.2m) of 19th-placed Nottingham Forest actually has 19 points to his name, a tally bettered by only seven other keepers.
Occasionally, assets can be reduced to the doldrums of minus points because their team is performing badly rather than through their own individual form but in this instance it’s a bit of both to be brutally honest.
Leicester’s defence has been embarrassingly porous but Ward has also been at fault for several goals himself.
The Foxes have conceded 22 goals in seven Premier League games this term, giving them the worst defensive record among the 20 teams.
Even Bournemouth have conceded fewer goals and they were thumped 9-0 by Liverpool.
Perhaps most concerning is that Ward’s worst two performances came in his two most recent outings when he conceded five goals to Brighton before shipping six to Spurs.
This disastrous pair of fixtures cost him minus points alone.
Leicester actually have two relatively favourable games first up after the international break in the form of Forest and the Cherries but they’re currently such a mess at the back that further minus points seem more likely than clean sheets.
It goes without saying that Dream Team bosses shouldn’t touch Ward or any Leicester defenders with a barge pole.
In fact, with Halloween coming up it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few a little scamps dressed as the Foxes’ goalkeeper – what a horrifying sight that would be for any self-respecting Dream Team manager!
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
