Fantasy Football 247 Team – Fantasy Premier League 2014/15
FF247 has finalised its selection for its squad this season. It was a long, heated meeting, full of opinion, argument, reasoning, debate, flirting, roast potatoes and furry hand cuffs. Yes it all went on, but finally the squad was chosen, difficult decisions were made, some top top players were left out, but as you all have found, we can’t choose everyone we wanted and sacrifices had to be made in all positions. The squad has changed quite drastically since our initial announcement a fortnight ago, as we’re sure yours has too. We have been able to see the club’s preseason friendlies, who is in form, who has nailed a starting berth and who has received favourable comments from their manager. We hope that, above all, our insight helps you to finalise your own team selection with just two days until kick off.
Formation
The biggest and most important decision was the choice to go with three premium strikers rather than a cheapie – in fact we were all quite agreed on that, which sadly wasn’t a sign of things to come! However, we felt that was an important first step because we wanted to maximise the potential of our strike force, which is, traditionally a big points contributor to any FPL squad. The three strikers have taken up almost 30% of the budget and it gave us clarity as to how much we had left to spend. On this basis, we are therefore looking at playing a 3-4-3 formation most of the time.
Goalkeepers:
David de Gea – we wanted United cover at the back. There were options in defence, but recent injury concerns over Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw took away those options. Phil Jones is an option, but with United actively looking for defenders in the transfer market, Jones’ injury record and the possibility of LVG rearranging his defence, we felt de Gea is nailed on to start, has little chance of being rested and at 5.5mln is cheaper than the keepers at the other big clubs.
Boaz Myhill – cheap 4mln keeper, we know he won’t be first choice at WBA, but budgetary measures ensured we go as “cheap as chips” – or roast potatoes. We are comfortable playing de Gea in every game. If the United keeper tweaks his hammy in the warm up, you have permission to shoot us!
[divider_1px]
Defenders:
Joel Ward – as we witnessed last season, Tony Pulis had turned Palace into a lean, mean, defensively stubborn, clean sheet machine. Whether that solidity continues to be a feature now that Pulis has left remains to be seen long term but regardless we all agreed some Palace defensive cover was essential and there was little argument in the choice of Ward, who established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet last season.
Steven Caulker – yep, we’re picking a Rangers defender and he’s not even the cheapest one. Caulker’s attacking prowess from set pieces fully justifies the extra 0.5mln investment over Rio Ferdinand, who may struggle to play every game anyway. With a decent set of opening fixtures, the appointment of Glenn Hoddle as coach alongside ‘Arry and good rotation with Palace, we feel Caulker will be a valuable and good point scoring member of our squad.
Erik Pieters – as we were reminded in Kop’s Tips, Stoke still boast a mean defensive record at home, so we wanted some cover here. With Bardsley fighting Cameron over the right-back slot, recurring worries over Huth’s fitness and Shawcross being that little bit more expensive, we plumped on Pieters. We will need to keep an eye on the claims of Marc Muniesa as he tries to displace Pieters as a starter, but we feel that right now, the spot is Pieters’ to lose and a decent preseason has probably affirmed that for Mark Hughes.
John O’Shea – with their late season form still firmly ingrained in our minds, Sunderland defensive cover was thought to be a decent option on a rotational basis with Pieters. We considered both Vergini and van Aanholt and we accept both these may offer more going forward than O’Shea – however, the thought was we needed a 100% starter and decided O’Shea is that, while the others may suffer rotation. With Wes Brown likely to be injured or suspended, O’Shea simply has to play!
Calum Chambers – bit of a punt this one and it may well be that we need to change it quite soon into the season. However, Chambers has made an excellent impression since his move from Southampton and with Mertesacker still lacking fitness and not due to play GW1, together with reports of Koscielny struggling with an Achilles injury, Chambers may well just get more playing time than first thought. An Arsenal defender at 4.5mln is too good to ignore – if after 2/3 weeks Mert & Kos keep Chambers on the bench then hopefully a decent cheap defender will have been identified from the early GWs.
[divider_1px]
Midfielders:
Cesc Fabregas – likely to sit in the heart of the Chelsea midfield, this is unlikely to stop Fabregas continuing his excellent record in the Premier League – his preseason form has confirmed this and Mourinho has been talking him up over the last few weeks. Budget prevented us affording Hazard and we felt that Fabregas and the extra cash elsewhere will prove a wise use of funds.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – an impressive preseason has seen Siggy settle back into life at Swansea. A proven scorer and assister at Premier League level, we expect the midfielder to prove excellent value at just 6mln, especially now he will not be benched as he was at Tottenham.
Aaron Ramsey – what needs saying? Massively stepped up to the plate last season, has continued that in preseason and has not lost his scoring touch. A goal vs the Champions in the Charity Shield should see him start the season in confident fashion and centred in the middle of a side full of attacking talent, we see chances aplenty for the Welsh international, who Wenger has always believed in.
Juan Mata – finally being played in his favoured no.10 position under LVG and with a lovely set of fixtures to begin with, we feel Mata will thrive this season as United attempt to hit back from last season’s disappointment. Having looked good on their recent US tour, Mata is enjoying life at Old Trafford and we see little risk with this selection.
Karim El Ahmadi – with 14 of our squad chosen, we were left with 4.5mln to spend. Half the selection committee were asleep and the others seemed distracted by something more interesting. Which was understandable, for there are little in the way of obvious contenders at 4.5mln in midfield. So we plumped with El Ahmadi, who should start for Villa and if he doesn’t we’ll find someone else but we intend for him to be on our bench all things being well each week anyway.
[divider_1px]
Strikers
Wayne Rooney (c) – a no-brainer for us, especially with RvP still not fit. Just been made club captain by LVG, Rooney knows this is his time to push on again and continue the incredible form that has seen him score or assist 132 times in the previous five Premier League seasons. A lovely set of opening fixtures should see him hit the ground running and he should also be on some set pieces and penalties until van Persie returns.
Diego Costa (vc) – Chelsea’s new striker has finally given Jose someone decent upfront to benefit from the chances the world class midfield will create. Known as The Beast, Costa has already scored four times in pre-season, has looked happy, hungry and at home and like Rooney, was a shoe-in for us.
Stevan Jovetic – there was plenty of debate on this one and many will disagree with the selection. We considered a few players, namely Lukaku, Giroud, Jelavic, Sturridge and Dzeko. The latter two created huge debate. Sturridge we decided was just too expensive alongside Costa and Rooney. End of. So it was down to Dzeko vs Jovetic and to be honest, we could have gone either, there are valid arguments for both and we feel that both will score similar this season. Pellegrini’s recent favourable comments about Jovetic, the player’s good scoring form in preseason and the extra 0.5mln saved pushed the scales Jovetic’s way.
[divider_1px]
Captain
Another debate, another argument, resulting in season-long blame being pointed if it all went belly up. We narrowly decided on Rooney as captain, with Costa as vice captain on the basis that Old Trafford on Saturday should be rocking for LVG’s first league match in charge. Swansea were thumped 3-0 at home last week so confidence is not likely to be high and Rooney will still be on penalties in RVP’s absence. Costa we also like and could do well and if Chelsea were at home, he may have won the vote, but a Monday night trip to newly-promoted Burnley may prove to be a tougher task than some expect.
So there it is – the FF247 team for the start of the season. Of course, if any negative news regarding any of our players comes to light in the manager’s press conferences, we reserve the right to change the selection, but fear not, we will announce any changes.
Guys, after much tinkering what do you think?
Begovic Fabianski
Terry Dubuchy Caulker O’Shea Coloccini
Ramsey Mata Sterling Sigurdsson Davis
Rooney Costa Bojan
Looks good all around. Although ime going Henderson instead of Sigurdson.
Thanks Ant. Who would you then replace Sterling with?
Big differential as every man and his dog has siggy
Looking good jaunjo.
Thanks NIN. Did have De Gea in goals before today’s team news & now don’t fancy Utd defence so moved things about but wanted good rotation. Would like Spurs coverage in midfield but need to raise £3m to upgrade Davis!
juanjo – I’ve gone with the same GK’s. The rotation is a season keeper, for me. Be safe in the knowledge that although it’s expensive, there isn’t a better combo. I hear you re Eriksen, would love to have him in my squad too but at 6m, Sigurdsson is more than fine.
NIN-10m is a bit too much on keepers. keepers scores the least points so you should spent least amount on them having said that if I have 10m id go for courtois and a 4m keeper..
CFC – For me, £10m is the max. Have a look through all the gwk’s and see how they fair every week. The fixtures they take in are incredible and well worth £10m i think.
Thanks NIN, that helps settle things on my mind. Always wanted strength & depth rather than going top heavy in one area. The flexibilty to move things around is also there. How’s your team looking?
NIN-rotation wise it looks good but I am not sure spending 10m on 2 keepers from average team is worth it.also not sure how solid Swansea will be this seaon.I would just pick coutois and just leave it as it is for the whole season.CFC should get around 17-20 clean sheets and hel get plenty of save points.
juanjo – This is finalized. Will only make a change if an injury happens to pop up before deadline tomorrow.
Begovic-Fabianski
Duff-Baird-Lovren-Terry-Caulker
Fabregas-Mutch-Sigurdsson-Mata-Ramsey
Costa-Bojan-Rooney
CFC – I’m already loaded up on the Chelski mate. My GK’s are set as season keepers.
Very nice team NIN. U Rooney for captain?
juanjo – Undecided as yet. It’s a toss up between Rooney, Costa and Ramsey, for me. Leaning towards Costa at the moment but that’ll be a last minute decision i think. It’s a tough call between the three.
I agree it’s between those 3 this week:
– Rooney the ‘safest’ option (popularity wise)
– Ramsey the most reliable option
– Costa the explosive option
…that’s how I view it. Want to captain Costa but…
Indeed, jamesimmo. I don’t think Burnley will know what the f**k is happening when Chelsea rock up on Monday night. It really could be an all out massacre. Same with gwk with Leicester (h). Carnage.
Yep I agree with all that. Rooney for me, playing safe for the first week!
Juanjo,
Very strong team mate. Superb defence.
Thanks Chins … u think too strong a defence?
Juanjo, I did think so slightly but I couldn’t downgrade it enough to significantly improve elsewhere so I’d leave it how it is.
Cheers Chins. You all set?
Ok, RMT bitches:
DDG – Gilks
Pieters – Chambers – Terry – Baird – van Aanholt
Ramsey – Mata – Fabregas – Siggy – Albrighton
Rooney – Costa – Pelle
Not much has changed these past few weeks. Just Debuchy to Chambers, Aanholt, Luis to Terry, Eriksen to Ramsey (Ramsey seems a must) and dowgrade Hazard to Fabregas.
Looks good to go Raz, once you’re happy with it of course…
Raz
Looking good, you’ve probably already been asked but why pelle?
Here we go, essay incoming 😉
Not worth swapping Albrighton to another 4.5 starter for now?
Sorry, was away guys. Tnx for the feedback… I think… or should I call it pats on the back? 😛 Bwahaha.
I’m starting to doubt the Pelle move, sighs. The last 2 years in Holland he was prolific.
Hey gang, how goes the tinkering? Does anyone think upgrading Fletcher to Remy is worth the 2 million it would cost? Or would you stick with Fletcher or figure out a way to get Remy up to an 8.5 striker? Here’s how I’m sitting right now, not definite on my keeper situation, Fletcher, or Barton really. Any ideas?
De Gea Gilks
Terry Pieters Debuchy Taylor Duff
Ramsey Sterling Mata Siggy Barton
Rooney Costa Fletcher
I think Bojan is a better option.
Howdy Red. I’d like to have Remy myself but as you say, it’s 2m up from Bojan which isn’t easy to do. I actually like your team the way it is to be honest.
Hi Red,
I’ve got Barton and Fletcher too, and am happy to stick with both for now.
I think Remy could bang a load of goals in this year but i’d hold fire for now to see a) if he’s fit and b) what team he’s playing for at the end of the window.
Thanks Chins, NIN, and Ant. Are any of you guys going with De Gea because of United’s fixtures (even though they have some injuries) or is everyone doing the rotation thing? I’m torn between the two options and not knowing who will start for Sunderland in goal isn’t helping things!
Red – Begovic and Fabianski for me.
Red, yes I am. And without a playing backup.
I’m not convinced the news today really changes things that much.
Right on, thanks Chins and NIN. Best of luck to you guys this season!
Same to you mate.
join my league buddies head to
head league code is
163308-426837 .and the
Classicleague code is 163308-106339 …..
Afternoon everyone. Excitement building I hope
My plan is to prepare a team that has as little rotational risk as possible and would hopefully see me OK for the season.
Any thoughts?
GP – We share 11 players so naturally I think your team is great
Kop,
Thanks mate. That’s quite a lot. Have you gone with Rivière?
Don’t come out and say it just blink once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘no’
Hey TGP, nice looking side. Did you switch out Mata for Eriksen since the last draft I saw to get Bojan up to Riviere? That’s an interesting choice, haven’t seen too many teams with Riviere in them. What’s your plan with Forster, is he just holding a spot for someone else or is he stayting?
Red
Exactly mate. A bit apprehensive in leaving Mata out but I do really like Eriksen and I have Rooney anyway.
Forster should play and hence will stay in my team. To be rotated with Krul depending on fixtures.
Nice TGP, I’ve been considering something similar to try and get Fletcher up to a stronger 3rd striker. I really like Eriksen too. I think you’re looking pretty good to start, good luck!
Red,
Thank you. And good luck to you my friend.
Looks good GP. Interesting choice with Riviere. I watched some video’s of him last night and he does look good. He could be a super addition post gwk 1.
NIN,
Thanks. I’m just going to go with him from GW1 because he is at home and would save me a transfer to bring him in week 2
GP – Right on. I kinda fancy the Toon to score against City anyway. Hopefully it’s Riviere and he makes a nice few quid while he’s at it eh?
NIN,
I think Newcastle will scare City on Sunday. I will not however ditch Riviere based on that game if he doesn’t score.
I may have a pound or to on him to score first as well. . . .
GP – Heh heh, sneaky 😉 He could be a really good pick and i’d fancy him more than i would the likes of Pelle.
Thoughts on my current team?
Solid team – I’d probably opt to play Bojan instead of Siggy…best wishes!
How is your team going ATF :B Any surprises you could share.