Fantasy Football Is Back

Good news! The 2015/16 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game has officially launched!

We will be diving straight into the details on the new scoring perks and my take on some of the players and prices that were released on Thursday.

Chips

Or crisps? Regardless, there are new bonuses which can be applied to your fantasy teams once throughout the season, and they are as follows:

  • All out Attack – This perk allows you to play in a 2-5-3 formation, which could be used to either compensate for bad defensive match-ups, or to capitalise on great attacking match-ups.
  • Bench Boost – When this chip is applied, you will be rewarded points for all 15 players in your team, not just your starting eleven. This perk will be less effective for players who use their bench as a price-dump, but those who like to keep balanced squads could really do some heavy damage with this perk enabled.
  • Triple Captain – Would be much cooler if you were able to select three captains, but this chip triples the score of your captain. This one seems a bit dangerous as, of the three, it could be easily wasted by an early injury or just a bad day at the office.

The addition of these ‘chips‘ to the classic FPL game has been met with some resistance, but I do think it is an interesting addition to what many viewed as a stale game.

As for when to use your chips, waiting seems to be the consensus in the fantasy community as it would allow you to capitalise on the double match weeks late in the season. While I think this is an excellent strategy for more experienced players, there could be merit in using them earlier to establish a lead in your league(s) from the off.

Now that we have finished with our administrative appetiser, let us move on to the main course – the new player prices were released!

These are just some initial thoughts on some of the more prominent players in the game. One of the biggest traps we can fall into as fantasy players is paying for names. That having been said, let us look at some of the bigger names in the Premier League and see which ones are worth having and which ones should be avoided.

Must Have Players

In the traditional FPL format you can be punished more for not having players than you are actually rewarded for having them. You should try to own at least one, if not two, of the following:

Eden Hazard – Chelsea (MID) £11.5 million

The Chelsea talisman is the most expensive midfielder for a reason. His ability to both create (9) and score goals (12) makes him virtually match-up proof. Add to that the free point he will get for every clean sheet the stout Chelsea defence earns and you get, for me, the best value in fantasy football.

Sergio Aguero – Manchester City (FOR) £13.0 million

The Argentinian striker set the Premier League alight (again) earning himself the golden boot with a league leading 26 goals. He leads the line for a team that both scored the most goals last season (83) and created 532 chances (62 more than second placed Arsenal). The only slight knock on Aguero is his health, but frankly 30 games of Aguero is better than most other options playing 38.

Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal (MID) £11.0 million

With 16 goals and 8 assists, Alexis immediately established himself in the Premier League. He proved reliable earning 34 starts and looks likely to blossom even further in 2015/16. The only reason Alexis will not have an insane ownership percentage, despite having better counting statistics, is the relative affordability of Chelsea’s Hazard.

Branislav Ivanovic – Chelsea (DEF) £7.0 million

How can a defender be a must have I hear you all say? Well, when you pair 4 goals and 5 assists with 17 clean sheets, you have yourself a dominant force in fantasy football world. Ivanovic is an absolute workhorse playing all 38 of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures and, with little threat to his job, has an excellent chance of repeating that again this year.

Expensive ‘But Worth It’ Players

Despite their prices being high, these players are definitely worth having in your side:

Wayne Rooney – Manchester United (FOR) £10.5 million

Wayne Rooney looks set to lead the line for Manchester United once more with Falcao, Chicharito and Robin van Persie all likely to be gone come match week one. The addition of Memphis Depay to an already potent United attack should help Rooney re-establish himself among the fantasy elite.

Cesc Fabregas – Arsenal (MID) £9.0 million

One of the benefits of Fabregas is that he plays deeper than the flashier attacking midfield options, and as such will be less hampered by strong defensive teams. The former Arsenal man led the league with 18 assists and that was with a mediocre second half! I would take last years performance at £9 million, and would not be surprised if he is even better this season.

Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur (FOR) £9.5 million

Some think Kane is a risky pick, but he finished last season with the second most goals, third most fantasy points, yet is only the fifth most expensive striker. Kane’s scoring did slow at the end of the season which is a mild concern, but with the continued development of Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli, and Erik Lamela, Tottenham’s attack looks its most threatening since that Welsh guy left.

Overpriced Players

Daniel Sturridge – Liverpool (FOR) £10.5 million

I would love to talk about Sturridge’s ability or value as the front man of a pretty threatening Liverpool attack, but unfortunately that is not the talking point here. It would be hard to claim Sturridge was the fourth best player in fantasy even if he was fully fit and, guess what? He is not. Maybe harsh to say, but you cannot score points from the physio room.

Pablo Zabaleta – Manchester City (DEF) £6.0 million

Unfortunately, Zabaleta is more name than game at this point. Both he and Kompany (also £6.0 million) had a difficult time last season due in large part to each other. When Kompany’s form started dropping Zabaleta was asked to make up the difference, which prevented him from getting in the devilish crosses that made him a top notch fantasy defender. It is possible that both bounce back this season but I would not hold my breath.

Any Goalkeeper priced at £5.5 million

Joe Hart, David De Gea, and Thibaut Courtois finished 3rd, 4th and 7th respectively among keepers last season. Every season a few keepers break through and surge to the top of the rankings, yet people keep paying extra for the big names. Do not be one of those people.

Juan Cuadrado, Adam Lallana, Samir Nasri, Andros Townsend, Kevin Mirallas (MID) £7.0-£7.5 million

All of these midfielders are priced as though they are starting every match … and they are not.

Avoid

Manchester United players not named Rooney. Think I am crazy?

Let us play a little game …

  • Pick 4: Di Maria, Depay, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Carrick, Blind, Young or any potential new signings.
  • Pick 3 or 4 or 5: Jones, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Evans, Valencia, Rojo, Darmian or any potential new signings

That is what Dutch manager Louis van Gaal is going to have to do every week in both the Champions League and Premier League and, as a fantasy owner, that is terrifying. It is likely that at least four of those players score 150+ points but good luck trying to figure out which ones.

Tottenham Hotspur Defenders

A lot of people are excitedly adding the likes of Alderweireld, Trippier, Vertonghen and Rose to their squads. The lack of much midfield protection is still an issue that needs to be addressed, and if Spurs do not keep 10+ clean sheets (8 last season) there is little value to be had here. Rose could be the exception but I would recommend waiting until after Spurs’ first week trip to Old Trafford.

Bargains

Gylfi Sigurdsson – Swansea City (MID) £7.5 million

It is reasonable to think ‘Siggy‘ will be less effective without Wilfried Bony in front of him, but Gomis has shown he is more than capable of putting chances away. Beyond that, Sigurdsson is always a threat from freekicks and corners and is developing well in a crucial role for the Swans.

Benjamin Stambouli – Tottenham Hotspur (MID) £4.5 million

Despite coming to Tottenham with a fair amount of promise, Stambouli struggled to break into a starting role. So why is he on this list? Because he is likely to be on his way to Watford along with former Spurs teammate Etienne Capoue. Combined with the attacking threats of Deeney, Vydra and Ighalo there may be more fantasy points in this Watford team than people realise.

Troy Deeney – Watford/Callum Wilson – Bournemouth (FOR) £5.5 million

I always like to pick the best forward from one of the recently promoted sides (Danny Ings last season). Broadly speaking, recently promoted sides often find themselves behind in matches and have to throw men forward to catch up. It worked well for Charlie Austin and Ings last year and as such I am more than willing to play the promoted striker lottery once again!

Ki Sung-Yeung – Swansea City (MID) £5.5 million

I honestly do not know what Ki could do to earn the respect of the pricing committee. Coming off a great season, the South Korean has established himself as the second best midfielder at Swansea. There is some fear the goals will dry up, but I think even more chances will be created with the addition of Andre Ayew. On the whole Swansea is a great source for fantasy value.

Want to tell me how wrong I am? Which players are you targeting or avoiding this season? Let me know by commenting or tweeting us at @TheEaglesBeak or @Kevrov.

So what are you all waiting for? Get on over to the Official Premier League site and enter your team in our fantasy league for the 2015/16 season. Our league name is The Eagles Beak League (code 5948-2227).

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