Jermain Defoe’s outstanding start to the season sees him move to the top of the Actim Index in week two with a superb haul of 84 points. The Tottenham and England striker has come out of the blocks in style and had a fine week, bagging a brace in the 5-2 demolition of Hull and following it up with another strike in the 2-1 win over West Ham. Spurs are currently on top of the Barclay’s Premier League, winning their first three games, and Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon feature at third and fourth respectively in the overall index.
When Burnley cast their eyes of the fixture list for their first ever season in the Premier League and saw that Manchester United and Everton would be the first two teams visiting Turf Moor, not even the most optimistic of supporters would have predicted a maximum points return. However, Owen Coyle’s men unbelievably upset the odds by claiming 1-0 wins over last season’s champions and the side who finished fifth, inside the space of five days. And as a result, their players have been duly rewarded as they dominate the Team of the Week, with Brian Jensen, Clark Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Wade Elliott, Tyrone Mears and Chris McCann all making the top 11 players.
The top 10 in the Index is top-heavy with attacking players and there is currently only room for two defenders. Glen Johnson is the highest defender, and Liverpool player, ranked eighth and despite scoring in both games that Arsenal have won, William Gallas can only make number nine.
As ever, young talent is thriving in the Premier League and Aaron Ramsey is the youngest player to appear in Actim. The fresh-faced Arsenal starlet is only 18 and he opened his account for the season with a 20-point haul for his performance in the Gunners’ 4-1 win over Portsmouth. At the other end of the scale, there is no-one older than David James to appear in the index. Portsmouth and England stopper James is still going strong aged 39, while Burnley’s Graham Alexander is the oldest outfield player, aged 37.
Two of last season’s front runners in the index are noticeable by their absence in the opening few weeks. Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka were jostling it out for the top position for much of last season, but they have yet to fire and don’t feature anywhere in the top 15. Anelka, boosted by his goal and assist in the 2-0 win at Fulham, is 16th, while Lampard, playing a different position in Carlo Ancelotti’s new formation, drops to 54th position.
With England heroically regaining the Ashes, it has been a pretty bad week for Australian sport and the four players representing the former colony in the Premier League have done little to rectify that, making a less than impressive impact. Fulham’s Mark Schwarzer is the best of a bad bunch, coming in a 157th in the index, while Tim Cahill, Vince Grella and Brett Emerton fall comfortably outside the top 250. In contrast, English players are having a good time of it, with five of the top 10 players hailing from Blighty.
