Here’s a few fantasy premier league questions people have sent to me and some thoughts. I try to answer all the questions but it is difficult and I can’t guarantee to do everyones. I’ve put them as a post as it gives the opportunity for everyone to benefit from the thoughts. Again its a bit early to be making final judgements on players but not too early to be weighing up the options.
Q1
please give your comments on my team:
GK-Jääskeläinen
DEF-Zabaleta, Luiz, Baker
MID-Snodgrass, Mata(c), Johnson (norwich), Coutinho, Bale
FOR- Berbatov, Sturridge
SUBS- Manone, Garrido, Campbell (cardiff), Parr
A1
here’s a few comments.
GKs. Mannone and Jass seem to rotate reasonably well I just dont think Jaas is the best value way into the West Ham defence. I think Collins at £4.5m is the best value . West Ham rotate well with Hull who I think will be solid defensively. MacGregor is the GK of choice here. Personally I think that Mignolet at £5.5m with a cheap GK as backup is the way to go at GK. He’s just such good value.
Defence
I’m a little worried about Zabaleta now that Richards is back. I still think he will start as he will give better back up to Navas than Richards. For the same money I think Clichy is more secure or you could pay the extra £0.5m for Kompany to be totally secure. Chelsea is a difficult one to pick at CB and for me Cole at the same price is more secure. Chelsea defensive coverage is a must for DGW1
I dont think Baker will play. I would look at Clyne for Saints who I think is good value as well and I think Turner, providing he recovers from injury, is more secure than Garrido who lost his place last year. Taylor of Cardiff is the best pick for Cardiff at the moment. Parr is a little bit of a gamble as he didnt play much last year but should play this year. I think Ward is a better bet. Wilson of Stoke is an interesting one as at £4.5m he could play in midfield. Brown of sunderland is another to keep an eye on at £4.5m
midfield
Coutinho and Bale no problem athough I think Bale will leave and Coutinho is a bit over priced. Spain are playing in Ecuador the Wednesday before GW1 so Mourinho has cast doubt over whether the Spanish connection will play so I would go for Hazard rather than Mata unless Mourinho gives clear confirmation that Mata will play both.
Johnson and Snodgrass, you like Norwich dont you? The mid range midfielder is a bit tricky so I’m not sure there is value there. Nolan with good fixtures is a bit of a punt although inconsitent and a little expensive. In the £5.0m range my best pick at the moment is Garvan of Crystal Palace who I think will be a CAM and maybe even take pens. Keep an eye out for Barkley of Everton who could be a real steal if he can establish gametime security. Redmond has shown good form for norwich in preseason so he’s also an option but needs monitoring for gametime security
forwards
No issue with Berba, good fixtures. Needs Ruiz played behind him and if Bent joins and Berba plays as a number 10 then he’s a no go. Campbell isnt the best choice I think he will be shunted to the flank. Corneliuis the new boy is a far better option. Good goal scoring record
General
2 things, youve got no United player and no City attacking player. A City attacking player is essential given their fixtures. I’m recommending Silva at the moment but if the striker situation becomes clearer in terms of game time then one of them is an option. For United if you dont want RVP then Kagawa is my next choice if he can establish a role behind RVP. However this may depend on the Rooney situation. City coverage with their fixtures at this stage is more essential than United so I would down grade Snodgrass and save up for Silva by sacrificing elsewhere
Hope that helps
Q2
here is my team, how is it?
Cech
Cole/Collins/Johnson
Wilshere/Bale/Hazard (c)/Garvan
Lambert/Van Persie/Gayle
bench
Davis/Colback/Whittaker/Figueroa
A2
Here’s a few comments
I believe in embracing the DGWs but I think 2 chelsea defensive players is a bit much as they have tricky fixtures after the DGW. If it were my team I would probably go for Mignolet. I’m not sure Davis will play for Saints. He played the last game of the season but Boruc held his place most of the year. However as Davis is £4.0m I agree if you pick someone like Cech or Mignolet then I agree on gambling with a £4.0m keeper. I get a lot of stick for it but I think that there’s little chance of a GK injury or him being rotated or dropped so if I lose a transfer if he’s injured so what.
I”m a huge Johnson fan in defence but Toure at £5.0m is potentially great value given that Skrtel seems totally out of favour, so keep an eye on that situation to save some cash.
Unfortunately I think Wilshere will play in the 2 of 4-2-3-1 so while I was hopeful early on, what I’ve seen of the pre-season it doesnt look likely he will play behind the striker. If he does he will be gold. Like everyone I think Bale will go so that should free up some cash.
I’m not sure about Lambert. He has free kicks and pens but I think in that price range Berba with no Bent and Ruiz behind him is a better choice. Dzeko given positive comments by Pellegrini is worth keeping a eye on as is Lukaku if no one else joins to establish gametime security.
On the reserves Colback has played LB last game so I would be wary unless a signing happens. Go for Quinn of Hull if you really want a £4.5m mid or Jedinak if you can stand 2 Crystal Palace players. cabral of Sunderland maybe another option at £4.5m. However, the £4.5m midfield punt to look out for in pre-season is Barkley of Everton. I think Turner if he’s fit is a better bet than Whittaker although Whittaker did appear to play LB last game and is £4.0m so if youre willing to take the gamble if it works its great value.
Only other thing I think is you somehow need to get a City player in the team. The fixtures are too good to ignore. Bale going should sort that.
Cheers
Q3
After Pellegrini said this ”I consider [Dzeko] the main striker of the team” for 7.5m if he is to lead the Man City line he could be an absolute bargain. Few gambles with Anelka scoring a lot in pre season, Kagawa growing in to the AMF position.
Also Thoughts on the team below would be appreciated.
Mignolet /(Given)
Coleman/Luiz/Dawson (Toure & Clyne)
Hazard/Kagawa/Coutinho/ Bale (Bellamy)
Dzeko/Kone/Anelka
A3
Not much I can comment on about your team, I agree with most of it. A few things though
Chelsea is a difficult one to pick at CB and for me Cole at the same price is more secure. Chelsea defensive coverage though is a must for DGW1. Toure and Dzeko need monitoring gametime wise and Kagawa position wise. Also rather than 2 Liverpool defenders you may want to play De Gea at £6.0m instead just to de risk the Liverpool situation a bit. I think Bellamy is a little expensive as a reserve. Garvan at £5.0m will save some money or go for Jedinak at £4.5m. Redmond if he is picked looks good value as well.
I’m not totally convinced Kone is the best choice in this price range. Berba with no Bent and Ruiz behind him maybe a better choice.
Hope that helps
Q4
What do you make of Kim in midfield? Had him earmarked for a few assists and a pretty solid place in the starting line-up.
A4
It’s interesting one this. 2 goals and 3 assists from 20 starts and 1641 minutes isnt anything to write home about in the Championship and I dismissed him in my write up. Has done well in pre-season so far scoring in the last 2 but it was against Cheltenham and Brentford so at £5.0m I’m still holdng on to Garvan as my best pick for that price range. Interestingly Whittingham has started the last 2 games. He had a good goal record and took pens last year but lost his place. Will keep monitoring
Q5
Bale’s off, surely… what to do with the extra 2-3m once he’s replaced by Coutinho or the likes? If you’re an RvP team, it must make sense to invest in the strikers. Time for an assessment of Soldado?
A5
Just did an article on Soldado if you go to the site. Looks good to me plus good fixtures for Spurs
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