A modern Dream Team tragedy: The heartbreaking tale of Dominic Solanke vs Sheffield United

MOVE over, William Shakespeare, this tragedy tops the lot.

Dominic Solanke (£3.8m) was the third most-recruited player in Dream Team ahead of Gameweek 27 and with good reason.

Bournemouth’s double header of Sheffield United and Luton (both at home) appeared to be heavily pregnant with potential.

After all, the Blades have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season with the Hatters third on the same list.

Backing the Cherries’ in-form striker seemed a perfectly logical strategy on paper.

Getty

It was supposed to be a smart ploy…[/caption]

And it seemed like everything was about to fall nicely into place when Solanke won himself a penalty early on against Chris Wilder’s beleaguered troops at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Then everything fell apart.

The 26-year-old confidently addressed the ball but slipped at the worst possible moment, scuffing his spot-kick over the bar as a result.

Midway through the second half, it seemed as if Solanke had partially atoned for his miss with an opportunistic poke from close range.

But Lady Luck once again stuck two fingers up to all the Dream Team managers who had used a transfer to pick up Bournemouth’s No9 when the goal was disallowed by VAR – rightfully so it should be stated.

Andoni Iraola’s side came from 2-0 down to snatch a draw but Solanke wasn’t involved in either of the goals and so he ultimately finished the game on ZERO points.

Dream Team

A nightmare weekend[/caption]

The combination of a penalty miss and a disallowed goal meant his backers were so near and yet so far from a healthy double-digit return.

5.8% of Dream Team bosses are now crossing their fingers in hope of a miraculous turnaround in midweek when Luton travel down to the south coast.

If Solanke is able to get on the score sheet on Wednesday night then he may end up justifying his Gameweek popularity after all.

However, it should be noted that Bournemouth are one of six teams without a fixture in Gameweek 28 and so most of the gaffers who recruited Solanke last week will probably end up replacing him before Saturday’s deadline regardless of his performance against Rob Edwards’ mob.

As great as this game is, it can be so cruel sometimes.

---