Gameweek 15 Reader Questions
@K0n0s Quick question for upcoming weeks, at 9.3 isn't Suarez the best buy now given his fixtures?
Suarez is a tough player to evaluate this year. He's obviously a talented player and his underlying stats (shots on goal) are excellent. However, he hasn't scored in 2 months and Liverpool aren't really a great attacking side at the moment. In a vacuum I do like him but if money is no issue I'd still much prefer to have Van Persie or Aguero and if money is tight, I'd go Adebayor over Suarez, especially given Spurs' great fixtures.
@SyncJS If you have Vorm and Schwarzer, who would you pick for next week? knowing Vorm is good at Home, still hesitating who to line up
Both are good options but in most cases I would side with the home side and that is certainly the case here. Swansea have been dominant at home and while you wouldn;t necessarily project that to continue all year, I'm happy to ride that bandwagon for now.
@MindOfANerd If you had to bench one of these players, which would you bench? Terry, Taylor R, Adam, Walcott, Sturridge, Jose Enrique? Also, what do you think of Lennon, Defoe, Yakubu, Long, Crouch and Helgulson?
I would bench R Taylor. I like Newcastle but they've conceded in their last 5 road trips and I don't think they are an elite, play-them-every-week kinda team. Terry would be the next casualty based on fixture alone but you never know with those top-of-the-table clashes, which can sometimes play out as low scoring affairs.
@iamnilov Donno about that.. I've been going with two elite fwds and 4 elite mids since last year its going rather well for me... [in response my admittedly facetious claim that you needed to have either 3 elite forwards and 1 elite midfielder or 2 of each]
Firstly, I wasn't being totally serious and of course there are a number of ways to succeed. Second, by elite I am talking about ~9m+ players. If you own 6 of them that means the rest of your team costs an average of 5.1m, which means you've done extremely well to find consistent value across the board. Those players exist (R Taylor, Jose Enrique to open the season etc) but there are very few of them in midfield and a reducing pool at the back, hence my presumption that you need to invest in at least one or two reliable defenders. You're right though, there are other ways to succeed.
@vinnycast27 Thinking Agbonlahor out Wellbeck in for the short term run of 3-4 games then reassess.Worry that Berba gets starts ahead of DW?
It's always a concern in the background but I'd be pretty confident that Welbeck plays the majority of minutes over the next month or so. Him and Sturridge are an intriguing pair and matching them with someone like Van Persie would free up a hell of a lot of cash to spend elsewhere. Of the two I like Welbeck more as he looks safer in Hernandez's absence but both have their merits.
@McShambles I have three players (Given, Hernandez and S. Taylor) injured and Graham doubtful for this weekend. Wildcard time?
You can probably just about get by providing your other keeper is okay and you weren't relying on Graham to play anyway. The focus of course should be freeing up the cash from Hernandez with Adebayor being the obvious replacement. You could of course go cheaper and then upgrade Graham, as we just mentioned in the prior answer.
@studs_up_tackle Read the forward thinking blog, where do I get the shots on target stat? Isn't on the fantasypremierleague site.
The stats are Opta stats and you can get them by becoming a member at Fantasy Football Scout, hence my reluctance to quote too many stats on this blog. It's very much worth it as you get access to the stats and members articles (though remember to keep reading here too!).
@Dafyddth Brilliant website! Do player prices fluctuate continuously as transfers are made, or just aggregated at the end of the week?
Thanks! The price system isn't too transparent but prices can rise midweek (sometimes more than once) if enough people buy them. I must admit I don't play the market too often to try and make money, but I believe that percentage change, rather than absolute transfers will have an impact on rises too.
John Fantasy With two free transfers for this week, I'm thinking about selling one elite mid (Silva, Nani, Van der vaart) and Graham, to buy Suarez (from who i expect points next gameweeks), and to buy some of budget mids (faurlin/gower). What would you suggest? Any other idea?
I'm reluctant to advise incurring transfer penalties unless you absolutely need to. However, to make these deals would involve leaving a lot of cash in the bank and you would have to drop a midfielder first and still have Graham out injured, so I suppose the 4 points might be worth it (though it still depends of your bench). As I mentioned above, I still like Adebayor more than Suarez but I do agree that Suarez will probably improve at some point. As for the midfielders, I like the pair you mentioned and I'd also throw Moses in there.
Raddz Currently I hold two elite mids in VdV and Silva as well as Bale, Pilkington and Dyer. I am trying to free up some room to bring in Richards and don't want to sell Aguero, and RvP so I was wondering if you thought that selling VdV made sense and who should I replace him with? (Walcott?) And which budget mids are good right now to replace Pilkinton as I am not sold on him right now and I already have Dyer. Would Farlin be good or gambling with Moses?
How much money do you need for Richards? Pilkington to Gower will save you 1.0m which could be enough? If not, then I would try and save money elsewhere in defense as the drop off from VdV or Bale to the ~7.0m options is massive. If you pickup 1.0m from Pilkington then I would consider moving any ~5.0m players you have to a Danny Simpson or Neil Taylor which should then free up enough cash to grab Richards (who I agree is still very desirable despite the lack of clean sheets of late).
Grounderz Hi Chris, my starting lineup for the gameweek is - Vorm, Richards, Jones, Vermaelen, Jose Enrique, Mata, Silva, Bale, Adebayor, Van Persie and Morison. Bench - Given, Williams, Dyer and Reo Coker. Which of these players do you think will most likely perform and which won't, given the fixtures?
Firstly, that's a great looking team. I do like Swansea this week so I'd consider giving Williams a game but I'd understand if you were reluctant to double up on Swansea defenders. Of your starters, Morison would of course be the obvious choice to miss out, though he's a decent play too. It's a close call.
Moe Vawda - whose a good keeper to rotate with Vorm? I have Al Habsi and I want to avoid Krul as I already have Simpson.
According to the stats, the best partners for Vorm are Krul, Given and Westwood. As you want to avoid Krul I would probably roll the dice with Westwood, especially given Martin O'Neil's history of having defensive success with his teams.
bigbang I have Hernandez and Tiote who are both injured with 0.4m in the bank. What transfers can I make? My full team can be found here.
Hernandez to Adebayor makes the most sense. Or, you could opt for Welbeck and then reinvest the funds in strengthening in midfield (though you probably wouldn't get enough to buy the truly elite options).
Ratchet What do you think of Smalling? yay or nay?
Not as a right back as I think Jones will slide back there and Carrick, Fletcher and co will retake their positions in the middle of the park. If I had to bet I would say Evans plays the most games in Vidic's absence but I would wait until the weekend to see what the situation is going to be here. Needless to say, if Evans is going to be a long term starter for United, he becomes pretty much a must own asset.
Amtosh Would you rest any City or Spurs players this week considering the matchups or just leave them in?
Probably not, though if you're defense is very strong you might consider dropping a City defender. Offensively these sides have dismissed better sides than Chelsea and Stoke and I wouldn't ever drop Silva, Aguero, Adebayor etc unless they were injured. City have obviously been disappointing at the back these past few weeks so I could see a scenario where you would drop them but I'd only do for another good option.
Shugobot What do you think is happening with Michael Turner? Do you think that his benching is a one game thing? I had picked him up recently as a slightly cheaper Sunderland defensive option to Wes Brown. With a new manager, maybe the Black Cats will be facing some rotation until they get something to work. Should I cut him loose the next chance I get?
The reporting was mixed but the Sunderland Echo suggests Turner missed last week's game with a slight injury and is a doubt again for this week. While Sunderland might face some rotation under O'Neil, you would expect Turner to start the majority of their games. It's a shame to not have anyone this week given the great fixture so if your squad is otherwise set I would consider doing Turner to Brown this week just to be sure.
Raddz Hey Chris thanks again for a great post! I was wondering what your opinion of Monk was as he is the Swansea captain and since he came back from injury he has played 90 mins in each game for a pretty good defense and he only costs 4 mill.
Thanks! I still prefer Taylor due to his assist potential but it's pretty close as to whether that's worth the extra 0.2m or not. So yes, Monk is a good option for the foreseeable future.
Jwch88 Should I replace vdv for a.young? Man Utd fixtures seem favorable in the next few rounds, however they aren't scoring many goals lately. Any suggestions?
I wouldn't make that move as right now, Spurs are a better outright offensive team than United. The fixtures are pretty close but Van der Vaart tends to be more involved in Spurs' goals (when fit) and I need to see more from Young and co before I rush back into that side.
I asked for some suggestions for the kind of info people would benefit from getting, and the below some of what I got back, so thanks for all those who mad suggestions. I will try and tackle as many of these as possible over the next few weeks.
Suarez is a tough player to evaluate this year. He's obviously a talented player and his underlying stats (shots on goal) are excellent. However, he hasn't scored in 2 months and Liverpool aren't really a great attacking side at the moment. In a vacuum I do like him but if money is no issue I'd still much prefer to have Van Persie or Aguero and if money is tight, I'd go Adebayor over Suarez, especially given Spurs' great fixtures.
@SyncJS If you have Vorm and Schwarzer, who would you pick for next week? knowing Vorm is good at Home, still hesitating who to line up
Both are good options but in most cases I would side with the home side and that is certainly the case here. Swansea have been dominant at home and while you wouldn;t necessarily project that to continue all year, I'm happy to ride that bandwagon for now.
@MindOfANerd If you had to bench one of these players, which would you bench? Terry, Taylor R, Adam, Walcott, Sturridge, Jose Enrique? Also, what do you think of Lennon, Defoe, Yakubu, Long, Crouch and Helgulson?
I would bench R Taylor. I like Newcastle but they've conceded in their last 5 road trips and I don't think they are an elite, play-them-every-week kinda team. Terry would be the next casualty based on fixture alone but you never know with those top-of-the-table clashes, which can sometimes play out as low scoring affairs.
@iamnilov Donno about that.. I've been going with two elite fwds and 4 elite mids since last year its going rather well for me... [in response my admittedly facetious claim that you needed to have either 3 elite forwards and 1 elite midfielder or 2 of each]
Firstly, I wasn't being totally serious and of course there are a number of ways to succeed. Second, by elite I am talking about ~9m+ players. If you own 6 of them that means the rest of your team costs an average of 5.1m, which means you've done extremely well to find consistent value across the board. Those players exist (R Taylor, Jose Enrique to open the season etc) but there are very few of them in midfield and a reducing pool at the back, hence my presumption that you need to invest in at least one or two reliable defenders. You're right though, there are other ways to succeed.
@vinnycast27 Thinking Agbonlahor out Wellbeck in for the short term run of 3-4 games then reassess.Worry that Berba gets starts ahead of DW?
It's always a concern in the background but I'd be pretty confident that Welbeck plays the majority of minutes over the next month or so. Him and Sturridge are an intriguing pair and matching them with someone like Van Persie would free up a hell of a lot of cash to spend elsewhere. Of the two I like Welbeck more as he looks safer in Hernandez's absence but both have their merits.
@McShambles I have three players (Given, Hernandez and S. Taylor) injured and Graham doubtful for this weekend. Wildcard time?
You can probably just about get by providing your other keeper is okay and you weren't relying on Graham to play anyway. The focus of course should be freeing up the cash from Hernandez with Adebayor being the obvious replacement. You could of course go cheaper and then upgrade Graham, as we just mentioned in the prior answer.
@studs_up_tackle Read the forward thinking blog, where do I get the shots on target stat? Isn't on the fantasypremierleague site.
The stats are Opta stats and you can get them by becoming a member at Fantasy Football Scout, hence my reluctance to quote too many stats on this blog. It's very much worth it as you get access to the stats and members articles (though remember to keep reading here too!).
@Dafyddth Brilliant website! Do player prices fluctuate continuously as transfers are made, or just aggregated at the end of the week?
Thanks! The price system isn't too transparent but prices can rise midweek (sometimes more than once) if enough people buy them. I must admit I don't play the market too often to try and make money, but I believe that percentage change, rather than absolute transfers will have an impact on rises too.
John Fantasy With two free transfers for this week, I'm thinking about selling one elite mid (Silva, Nani, Van der vaart) and Graham, to buy Suarez (from who i expect points next gameweeks), and to buy some of budget mids (faurlin/gower). What would you suggest? Any other idea?
I'm reluctant to advise incurring transfer penalties unless you absolutely need to. However, to make these deals would involve leaving a lot of cash in the bank and you would have to drop a midfielder first and still have Graham out injured, so I suppose the 4 points might be worth it (though it still depends of your bench). As I mentioned above, I still like Adebayor more than Suarez but I do agree that Suarez will probably improve at some point. As for the midfielders, I like the pair you mentioned and I'd also throw Moses in there.
Raddz Currently I hold two elite mids in VdV and Silva as well as Bale, Pilkington and Dyer. I am trying to free up some room to bring in Richards and don't want to sell Aguero, and RvP so I was wondering if you thought that selling VdV made sense and who should I replace him with? (Walcott?) And which budget mids are good right now to replace Pilkinton as I am not sold on him right now and I already have Dyer. Would Farlin be good or gambling with Moses?
How much money do you need for Richards? Pilkington to Gower will save you 1.0m which could be enough? If not, then I would try and save money elsewhere in defense as the drop off from VdV or Bale to the ~7.0m options is massive. If you pickup 1.0m from Pilkington then I would consider moving any ~5.0m players you have to a Danny Simpson or Neil Taylor which should then free up enough cash to grab Richards (who I agree is still very desirable despite the lack of clean sheets of late).
Grounderz Hi Chris, my starting lineup for the gameweek is - Vorm, Richards, Jones, Vermaelen, Jose Enrique, Mata, Silva, Bale, Adebayor, Van Persie and Morison. Bench - Given, Williams, Dyer and Reo Coker. Which of these players do you think will most likely perform and which won't, given the fixtures?
Firstly, that's a great looking team. I do like Swansea this week so I'd consider giving Williams a game but I'd understand if you were reluctant to double up on Swansea defenders. Of your starters, Morison would of course be the obvious choice to miss out, though he's a decent play too. It's a close call.
Moe Vawda - whose a good keeper to rotate with Vorm? I have Al Habsi and I want to avoid Krul as I already have Simpson.
According to the stats, the best partners for Vorm are Krul, Given and Westwood. As you want to avoid Krul I would probably roll the dice with Westwood, especially given Martin O'Neil's history of having defensive success with his teams.
bigbang I have Hernandez and Tiote who are both injured with 0.4m in the bank. What transfers can I make? My full team can be found here.
Hernandez to Adebayor makes the most sense. Or, you could opt for Welbeck and then reinvest the funds in strengthening in midfield (though you probably wouldn't get enough to buy the truly elite options).
Ratchet What do you think of Smalling? yay or nay?
Not as a right back as I think Jones will slide back there and Carrick, Fletcher and co will retake their positions in the middle of the park. If I had to bet I would say Evans plays the most games in Vidic's absence but I would wait until the weekend to see what the situation is going to be here. Needless to say, if Evans is going to be a long term starter for United, he becomes pretty much a must own asset.
Amtosh Would you rest any City or Spurs players this week considering the matchups or just leave them in?
Probably not, though if you're defense is very strong you might consider dropping a City defender. Offensively these sides have dismissed better sides than Chelsea and Stoke and I wouldn't ever drop Silva, Aguero, Adebayor etc unless they were injured. City have obviously been disappointing at the back these past few weeks so I could see a scenario where you would drop them but I'd only do for another good option.
Shugobot What do you think is happening with Michael Turner? Do you think that his benching is a one game thing? I had picked him up recently as a slightly cheaper Sunderland defensive option to Wes Brown. With a new manager, maybe the Black Cats will be facing some rotation until they get something to work. Should I cut him loose the next chance I get?
The reporting was mixed but the Sunderland Echo suggests Turner missed last week's game with a slight injury and is a doubt again for this week. While Sunderland might face some rotation under O'Neil, you would expect Turner to start the majority of their games. It's a shame to not have anyone this week given the great fixture so if your squad is otherwise set I would consider doing Turner to Brown this week just to be sure.
Raddz Hey Chris thanks again for a great post! I was wondering what your opinion of Monk was as he is the Swansea captain and since he came back from injury he has played 90 mins in each game for a pretty good defense and he only costs 4 mill.
Thanks! I still prefer Taylor due to his assist potential but it's pretty close as to whether that's worth the extra 0.2m or not. So yes, Monk is a good option for the foreseeable future.
Jwch88 Should I replace vdv for a.young? Man Utd fixtures seem favorable in the next few rounds, however they aren't scoring many goals lately. Any suggestions?
I wouldn't make that move as right now, Spurs are a better outright offensive team than United. The fixtures are pretty close but Van der Vaart tends to be more involved in Spurs' goals (when fit) and I need to see more from Young and co before I rush back into that side.
I asked for some suggestions for the kind of info people would benefit from getting, and the below some of what I got back, so thanks for all those who mad suggestions. I will try and tackle as many of these as possible over the next few weeks.
- Look at acquiring team value by playing the transfer market (James)
- Impact of double gameweeks (Gummi)
- When, if ever, to take a 4 point transfer hit (Ben)
- How to deal with the inevitable upcoming bad weather. Are some teams more susceptible? Are there more clean sheet over the winter period (Prongs/Gummi)
- Short review of each game every week, and players to select from each (Moe Vawda)
- Update on attacking defenders and whether they are worth the extra investment
Comments
I wondered if Vermaelen deserved adding to the player pool? Pricy, but picking up regular points right now.
Regards,
James
Which would you recommend going forward?
PS. Fantastic blog, read it every week.
Don't you think the United defence is less reliable with Vidic out?
They seem to concede regularly with Evans in the side; consequently, I would think hard before labeling him a must-buy.
My current team is Vorm ,Enrique, Jones, Kompany,Silva, Nani, Ramsey, Gower,RVP, Aguero, Suarez, Subs: (Krul, BJohnson, NTaylor, Simpson). Who do you think I should drop in favor of Cleverly, once he comes back, Gower or BJohnson?
vorm,krul..
taylor(swansea),jones,vermaelen,mcauley,barnett..
vdv,bale,mata,walters,moses..
rvp,adebayor,ba..
possible suggestions and changes for the coming gameweeks..looking forward to you..
Prices adjust every night, but the actual formulae are behind the scenes. That being said, there are two sites that have a lot of info/insight into this. TotalFPL and FISO Crack the Code. Check them out. They show potential price rises and falls, along w/ explanations, thus adding great clarity to the situation and can help you make decisions.
PS: Chris, leaving my first comment. Great blog; I read it along w/ FFScout every week. Hope to see more posts time permitting!