PLFantasy

Looking back at last season One of the worst defensive teams in the league, conceding 1.79 GPG at home and 1.42 on the road.  They managed just 7 clean sheets all season, though strangely their 4 zeros on the road actually ranked ahead of teams like Everton and Spurs. Also struggled somewhat at the other end of the field, failing to score 13 times and managing just 40 goals all season (only Birmingham fared worse). Their keepers and defenders didn't deliver good value last year with only Al-Habsi being ownable all year.  The midfield didn't generate a load of points (12th in P90 ) but their low value helped them to be rather valuable (3rd in P$ ). With N'Zogbia gone and not replaced though, expect some regression among this unit. The front line was a similar story, providing poor returns in pure points (20th) but good value for money (8th in P$ ). The team did show a marked improvement in the second half, going from just 15 to 25 goals after a dismal first 19...

Looking back at last season By far the worst team in clean sheets, managing just 2 all season, including zero on the road. Those two came in GW2 and GW37 with a 34 game drought in between. Road defense (2.16 GPG ) was 19th, better than only Blackburn. At home (1.58 GPG ) they ranked 17th. Their goal scoring power was one of the pleasant surprises of the year, adding 1.58 GPG at home (10th) and 1.37 GPG away (4th). It's that consistency which makes some of their outfield players good value for the season. Closed the season with the longest streak of games without being shutout (12) and were only shutout twice at home all year (bettered only by Man Utd and Blackpool). The numbers for the 'keepers last year were not pretty. They ranked 20th in total points, P90 and P$ , averaging just 2.3  PPG . Foster is an upgrade but he seems massively overpriced at 5.0m. It's a similar story for the defensive unit, managing just 1.8 PPG on their way to last price ranking in ...

Looking back at last season Reputation as a high scoring team is not totally justified ranking just 10th at home with 1.58 GPG and 6th on the road (1.32 GPG ). They did however only fail to score 8 times, a mark that tied for 4th best in the league Just 8 clean sheets on the season ranked 12th, without much dominance at home (5) or on the road (3). The defense substantially improved in the second half though with 7 clean sheets compared to just 1 in the first half. This was despite conceding the same number of goals in total, so it could be someone of a statistical trick rather than a marked improvement in tactics. Their 'keepers gave decent value last year ranking 11th in P90 and 8th in P$ . Some of this value was derived from Cudicini's cheap minutes which will be gone this year with Friedel's arrival.  Defensive unit was actually more valuable on the road, ranking 8th in P90 (13th at home) and 3rd in P$ (11th at home). This is encouraging as it suggests Sp...

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...

Looking back at last season 9 clean sheets last season tied the Potters for 8th in the league. 6 of these came at home, where they conceded less than a goal per game.  Failed to score 13 times, tied for most in the league. This included a league high 10 times on the road. This inconsistency (somewhat fueled by Pulis' tactics) really limits the ability to start Stoke players every week and possibly limits them to spot start status. Stoke keepers provided good value last season ranking 7th in points, 5th in bonus points and 6th in P$ . Begovic is well priced again so there is hope that this will continue this season. Unlike the keepers (who were bailed out by high save totals on the road), the Stoke defense only contributed great production at home. At the Brittania Stadium they ranked 6th in P90 and 2nd in P$ , while on the road they managed marks of just 14th in each category.  The midfield also saw significant splits, leading the league in P$ at home whi...

Looking back at last season Provided decent value at the back with 9 clean sheets, evenly spread between home (4) and away (5). Failed to score in 10 games, though only 3 of these were at St James' Park where the Magpies are deadly. 2.16 GPG at home was second only to Man Utd Not a great deal of production from the 'keepers (2.8 PPG ) though they did deliver decent value as Harper and particularly Krul came at a very low price. The defensive unit provided decent value for money (9th in P$ ) and made useful spot starters. Whoever solidifies there place in the side alongside Coloccini and Jose Enrique should provide decent value again, particular is it's any of the 4.0m options. The midfield was also fairly average (13th in PPG and P$ ), especially when you take out bonus magnets Barton and Nolan Amazingly, the front line gave the best value in the league with a P$ of 1.33. The problem was that the points were widely dispersed between 4 or 5 players, without muc...

Looking back at last season Averaged an incredible 2.58 GPG at Old Trafford, a full half goal more than everyone else. Their 1.53 GPG mark on the road was third behind Chelsea and Arsenal Failed to score just 5 times, all of which came on the road. This just in: don't play your defenders at Old Trafford With 0.63 GPG conceded at home, United had the best record in the league but yet finished behind both Chelsea (11) and City (12) in clean sheets (10).  Rattled off 5 clean sheets over the final 11 gameweeks  Defensive unit ranked 3rd in total points and P90 and despite their relatively high price tags managed a useful 8th ranking in P$ . Aside from Evra and Vidic this unit is fairly well priced with potentially sky high reward. The midfield was incredible at home averaging 5.6 P90 as a team. Only Chelsea (5.0) managed to even get into the five point range. They struggled a bit on the road (8th in P90 ) and thus delivered poor value when away from Old Trafford. The fr...

Looking back at last season Led all teams with 18 clean sheets including 12 at home. Only six other teams have 12 clean sheets in total. The final 13 gameweeks of the seasons saw City rack up an impressive 7 clean sheets including 3 straight to end the season. Their 0.63 GPG at home and 1.11 GPG away ranked 1st and 3rd in the league respectively Failed to score a surprising 9 times though 5 of these came in the first 13 weeks of the season. Through the first 13 gameweeks they managed to score just 15 goals (1.15 GPG). The remaining games saw them up the pace to 1.8 GPG . Led the league in goalkeeper points but ranked just 12th in P$ thanks to Hart's price tag Defensive P90 ranked 2nd at home with the unit coming in 5th in P$ . Thanks to the uncertainty around most positions the unit's prices haven't risen too fast making the unit very useful again this year. Up front the team amassed the third most points, which is incredible considering it was pretty much Tevez...

Looking back at last season Finished 4th in clean sheets (14) despite notching just 2 in the first 9 gameweeks (Chelsea already had 7 at that point). 8 clean sheets over the final 15 games suggest the team may be ready to become an elite defense once again under Dalglish Better defensively at home (0.74 GPG ) but still serviceable on the road (1.58 GPG ) making defenders playable virtually every week. Failed to score just 7 times all season and only twice under Dalglish (the final two games of the season with little to play for). Scored 23 goals in 20 games under Hodgson then 36 in 18 with Dalglish at the helm.  Boasted the 4th best home offense (1.95 GPG ) but were only okay away (1.16 GPG ). Defensive unit ranked 5th in total points and 6th in P$ . Part of this is based on the successful usage of some cheaper youngsters but it's an impressive record nonetheless. The midfield did well in total points with 706 (4th) but this translated into poor value for money with a P$ o...

Looking back at last season 14 clean sheets last year ranked third overall yet the team averaged over a GPG conceded at home and on the road. Their home ranking was just 11th in that category. Led the league in GPG away from home (1.05) and were one of three teams to have a better road record than home (with Everton and Wigan). Racked up 9 clean sheets in the second half of the season, with just 5 in the first Managed a solid 1.58 GPG at home but disappointed on the road with just 1.0 GPG including six zeros. Keepers racked up 151 points, the league's best total, representing the best value for money around ( P$ 1.067) at home. This was greatly helped by Stockdale's production for a budget price. The defensive unit was also a great investment, with the 6th most total points delivering a league best P$ mark of 0.727.  Four midfielders (Dempsey, Davies, Murphy and Duff) all topped 90 points with the unit ranking 9th in points and 4th in P$ . Front line struggl...