I’m getting so many questions at the moment that its difficult to answer all the questions as well as keep other articles coming. I am trying to get back to everyone but cant guarantee it. Here’s another batch of fantasy premier league queries which hopefully will benefit more than just the recipient of the question. These questions were answered on Tuesday 5th August in case youre reading them later and think the information is superseded or outdated
Q1
Hi. What’s your thoughts about Lallana?
A1
I’m a fan, he would definitely be my Southampton midfielder of choice. He plays high up the pitch, has a good all round game, creating chances and shooting. My dilemma at the moment is the large amount of high quality midfielders in the 9ish range such as Silva, Hazard and Walcott whcih make no room for the mid price midfielders. I probably prefer Lallana to most in that price range but if you compare his returns of 3 goals and 5 assists in 2230 minutes (a return every 275 minutes) compared to walcotts of 14 goals and 13 assists in the pretty much the same minutes (a return every 85 minutes) its a big difference. So at the moment I’m thinking 3 quality midfielders and 2 £5.0m midfielders that i rotate home and away if possible.
Hope that helps
Q2
Hi mate, good work on the site. Took my first proper look at the game this weekend and I’m not impressed with the strikers at all. Boring (Basically all the 7.0 and 7.5 ones), risky (Bony, Lukaku and Dzeko) or overpriced (Benteke and Sturridge).
My mates think everyone should start all three strikers, but I’m seriously considering playing 3-5-2. Cheap defence, RVP & Bent up-front (if the latter moves), 4.5m unused striker, and then load the midfield. Provisionally, Gerrard, Michu, Sessegnon, Silva and Hazard, but I’m still considering Walcott, Mirallas and Kagawa. What do you think? Is 3-5-2 ridiculous?
A2
Hi, thanks for the nice comments re the site. As far as attacking players are concerned I dont sart off with a formation set in my mind. To me the formation is a function of the players that I want on my team looking at form, value and fixtures rather than fitting players in to a pre-conceived view of what the formation should be.
At the moment the core of my team that I would like to fit is (assuming Bale leaves) Hazard Walcott Silva RVP and Soldado. Also Coutinho is desirable. So I’m going work my team around that if I can fit that core. I use rotations of players to save on team cost, so I’ll have 3 playing midfielders and then 2 at £5.0m that I rotate. This year I may extend the rotation pool to 3 with a cheap striker part of it but until the Bale situation is sorted I haven’t redone my team
So in answer to your question. 3-5-2- is not ridiculous. Get the right players and the formation will take care of it self. Finding a cheap bench striker is the main problem. Gayle or Chamakh if he joins Palace could both work, both being £5.0m
Hope that helps
Q3
Great site, lovely work! Very quickly, Gibbs or Sagna, Clichy or Nastasic? Cheers!
A3
Thanks for the comments re the site, appreciate it. Sagna, both are the same price but Gibbs is more prone to rotation from Monreal who is an excellent LB than Sagna is with Jenkinson who’s definitely 2nd choice. Sagna can also play CB so he may fill in with the Vermaelen injury issue.
Nastasic is injured for 4-6 weeks which makes the decision a no brainer. Go for Clichy as the safest rotation bet apart from Kompany who’s £0.5m dearer than Clichy. This is better than a temporary CB as Nastasic will come back in to the side in my view as he’s such a good passer of the ball
Q4
What’s your opinion on Schurrle? Also, isn’t Monreal a better choice on Arsenal defence that Sagna looking at how forward he goes and has more scoring opportunities? Which player between Anelka & Cornelius? Player between Soldado & Sturridge considering Suarez is not playing 1st 6 matche
A4
Hi I like the look of Schurrle, suits the Mourinho style. You’ll find a full article on him on the site. It’s just that there are so many attacking midfielders its a bit hard too predict who will play and those that do will be subject to rotation. I think Mata and Hazard will be starters (except Mata may be rested GW1 due to Spain playing Ecudaor on the Wednesday before GW1) and then it’s between a number of people for the 3rd midfield spot in 4-2-3-1. I’m going to wait to see how it pans out but my feeling at the moment is to stick with Hazard for the Chelsea DGW1.
I think Gibbs is still number 1 LB for Arsenal so I would go for Sagna as he is definitely number 1 over Jenkinson and can cover CB as we’ve seen in pre-season
Cornelius may not make the start of the season due to injury so I’m going for Anelka. I’m a little spooked by how Clarke rotated Lukaku last year which was ridiculous but wih Cornelius looking like he isn’t going to make it then Anelka is my choice
Either Soldado or Sturridge are a good option. Its more about how you want to cover those teams as they both have good fixtures. If Bale leaves, Soldado is in my team for Spurs coverage, great goal scoring record. Sturridge is a doubt for the start of the season at the moment. I probably edge towards Coutinho for Liverpoool over Sturridge. Just think he has such a strong overall game and that Coutinho will play centrally with Sterling on the left in a 4-2-3-1 or on the flank of a 4-3-3 up front. If you’re asking about a straight choice with Bale gone though and if Sturrridge were fit I would probably go for Sturridge but its very close. Slightly better fixtures, and better creativity behind him.
Cheers
http://www.fantasyfootballgeek.co.uk/andre-schurrle/
Q5
Hi John, had a rejig on the Sky Front ….
Mignolet
Rose Azi Figeuroa
Walcott Silva Hazard Leiva Cabral
RVP Solado
Thoughts ?
A5
Hi,
Like it, were obviously assuming Bale is leaving at this point. A few watchout’s. Its obviously preferable to avoid the lower teams in defence but I’m assming Figueroa is a money filler and if anyone can bring a tight defence to the league then Steve Bruce can. Rose was dreadful against Monaco but as this applied to the whole team then it may not effect his chances. Azpili may not play the first game due to Spain playing cudaor on the Wednesday before GW1 but i understand the saving and I think some Chelsea defensive coverage is essential for that game as it could easily be 2 clean sheets
Everyone else though no comments
ps saw your subseqent comment re Turner. is this Norwich or Cardiff. Norwich is an injury watch out and Cardiff is a gametime risk so both need monitoring
Q6
Would you please let me know your thoughts on how this team can be improved?
Mignolet, (Davis),
Mertesacker, Cole, Kompany, (Ward, Brayford),
Coutinho, Hazard, Dembele, Adam, (Quinn),
RVP, Dzeko, Lukaku
cheers
A6
Hi I think Brayford is still a bit of a gamble, Chester is probably still my £4.0m defender of choice.
I agree with the comment re Dembele, really like him as a player but plays too deep to get points. I personally would look to downgrade him and Adam and look to find enough cash for Walcott.
If there was a guarantee that Dzeko and Lukaku would play then they would be great options. They just need careful monitoring before they go into our fantasy premier league teams
The comment from another person about putting Sczcesny in for Mertescaker is interesting. Personally I’m not sure of Szczesny’s gametime security after last year and he’s also injury prone so to have him with a non playing GK is a little less secure than Mignolet in my mind
Cheers
Thats it, I’ll try and get more done overthe next few days
Here’s the link to my GW1 fixture ease schedule:
http://www.fantasyfootballgeek.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-fixture-ease-schedule-gw1/