PLFantasy

Looking back at last season One of the best defenses in the first half last season with 9 clean sheets through the first 18 gameweeks. They had just 4 over the next 20 though, serving as a perfect example of why it is important to know when to cut ties with an out of form player. Despite the late season decline, their 6 clean sheets on the road still tied them with Man City for first in the league. Conceded 20 goals in the first half of the season then 36 in the second. Which defense shows up early on for Bruce's men will dictate whether they have any value. Failed to score 12 times, 4th worst in the league. Again, much of this failure came in the second half including 6 zeros in the final 11 gameweeks. Keepers provided good value last year (2nd in P$ ) after ranking 7th in P90 . It looks like Mignolet will get his chance between the sticks to open the season and if the team can return to early season form, he should provide good value again. The defensive unit also pro...

The third segment of the squad filler series will focus on midfielders, a vital position in fantasy football and one which can make or break any team's fantasy season. The unquestioned bargain last season was Stephen Ireland, who at 5.5m, finished as the 5 th best midfielder, ahead of the likes of Ashley Young, Cesc Fabregas and Deco. As we are looking for squad fillers I have set the maximum price at 5m, and it is therefore unlikely we will find such a fantasy stud within. However, the value of Danny Murphy or the first 4 months of Geovanni last year cannot be underestimated and many-a- championship was won with these bargain studs on board. With that in mind, the top squad fillers for the upcoming season are below: Phil Neville (5m) This one is totally inexplicable to me, and apparently to many of the early registered players (of whom 27% have selected Neville). Neville is the Everton captain and so should be a lock to feature in 35 games+ save for injury. Granted, the f...