Fantasy Football 247 Team – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16
FF247 has finalised its selection for its squad in this our second season. Coming off a strong showing last season with a final ranking of 5921, we hope that we can go a bit better this time as we had a strong season and looked good for a top 1k finish for so long but just ran out of gas at the end! After seeing how our discussions went last season over transfers and team selection we were naturally more prepared. It was smooth as heck…well, more like long as heck. We started discussions several days ago and only came to a conclusion after the knives came out. Let’s just say the one with the biggest knife seemed more logical to the rest of the group. So with the season upon us, have a gander at the official FF247 team and our reasoning behind our team selection and captain choice.
Formation…
Goalkeepers
Thibaut Courtois
With Cech gone to Arsenal there is no longer the doubt over the starter that was hanging around at this time last season. With Chelsea being the best defensive team over the last couple of seasons, Thibaut fit in like a glove on a cash strapped side. We know we wanted some sort of CFC defensive cover and thought at 5.5 why not take the cheapest route in.
Wayne Hennessey
Price was the biggest factor in this selection, as we don’t expect to be sitting our number 1 Courtois anytime soon. However with Speroni being injured and a presser that some of us interpreted as Pardew leaning towards Wayne as his starter, we decided that he might actually be a 4.0 playing keeper. With that information in hand he became the stand out back up keeper to hopefully never see a game for us.
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Defenders
Per Mertesacker
Every decent FPL side needs a slow German. And if he plays for an Arsenal side with nice fixtures to start off with, well even better. Looking for a safe cheap-ish way into the Arsenal backline, we decided Per was our man. We would love the Frenchman Koscielny, but the 0.5 matters a heck of a lot when only working with a 100m budget.
Cedric Soares
The Saints are a canny lot – they build a star and then hitch their skirt and the scousers can’t resist. And then just go out and buy a replacement for a fraction of the price who looks better. So whilst young Cedric has a year to house-hunt in the suburbs of Kirby he will in the meantime be causing havoc down the flanks in Southampton much in the same way as his predecessors have. That’s the theory anyway as he looks an exciting prospect with assists in his locker and hopefully the odd goal. That allied to playing in one of last seasons best defences made us go all bleary eyed and well… scouse.
Robert Huth
Having helped Leicester stay up last season after a successful loan spell (they won 7 of their last 9 after his arrival) Huth looks like a mainstay in that defence and to help matters it was new boss Ranieri who originally signed him for Chelsea. Their opening 6 games are relatively kind so we are happy to find a German companion for big Mert.
Sebastian Coates
Bit of an odd one this as in all honesty anytime we’ve seen him in action previously he’s looked like the rear end of a pantomime donkey but apparently he’s found his feet a bit at Sunderland and we wanted a piece of his teams attractive looking opening fixtures.
Reece Oxford
Let’s call young Reece our ‘enabler’. He’s £4.0m. That’s pretty much all you need to know really but to expand slightly – there aren’t many (if any) in that price bracket that look like starting. He’s started a few pre-season and Europa games and actually played out of position in midfield so whilst we won’t hang our hat on a 16yr old getting game time there is an outside chance, especially as West Ham fielded a weakened team in the Europa last night and he wasn’t a part of that farce. If he looks like starting then happy days come GW2 & 3 given the fixtures. If not then he’s back to being an enabler.
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Midfielders
Eden Hazard
Not sure we have to explain this one. It’s fairly route one. Best player on last seasons best team. He will be one of, if not THE top fantasy scorer this season. Ignore at your peril!
Santiago Cazorla
We probably need to explain this one. Not in terms of us grabbing Arsenal cover but simply ‘why him over the others’. Simple answer is we’d have happily gone for Ramsey. Or Ozil. Or Walcott. Cazorla is on penalties and some free-kicks and he’s pretty good at both. We observed the Community Shield too and he interchanged positions with Ramsey with one going forward and the other holding.
Raheem Sterling
We wanted City cover from the off. The fixtures aren’t perfect but this is City and they usually produce regardless. Silva was considered and is a great choice. We just felt that Raheem’s pace would suit their style of play perfectly and with Aguero possibly still out for a week or so, there is a chance he may get pushed forward but either way we are happy to go with him. Plus he’s already showed in pre-season what he can do with the likes of Silva providing the ammunition.
Sadio Mane
Given his previous stats we expected a strong start to his Southampton career and Sadio duly delivered, culminating in ‘that’ hat-trick and we expect him to continue in a similar fashion this season as he looks hungry for goals as 11 of those and 4 assists in his virgin season would suggest. Their fixtures look good and we hope he will prosper accordingly.
James Milner
Oh, James! We hope to be repeating the infamous 007 saying a few times in the opening fixtures. He’s looked great in pre-season – scoring, assisting and being generally all over the place. It was a close call between him and Henderson and we could have gone for either. Hendo may have pens, we don’t know for sure. He certainly doesn’t look natural at them. Milner was the king of all set-pieces when at Villa. Either way we’ve opted for James and if he gets the set-pieces then all the better but his new lease of life and the fact that he has a target man in Benteke to work off suggests he may well once again start to deliver the returns he did at Villa.
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Strikers
Wayne Rooney
Back up top where he belongs. Last time he played a full season as an actual striker he got something like 34 goals. Hopefully that trend continues as we are putting faith in him to deliver something similar. Well ok, at least until Kun returns and United sign another striker and he’s shunted back to midfield to cover for the perrenially injured lot there!
Jermain Defoe
This is the one that may raise a few eyebrows. We get that, but bare with us here. Leicester, Norwich, Swansea, Villa and Bournemouth in the first 6 games hardly looks frightening. Defoe had half decent returns last season and much of that was from wide positions as he was forced to ‘do a job for the team’. With Wickham gone he should be instilled as the main striker and with his eye for goal and the addition of Lens to supply ample support we feel he is worth a small punt to begin with.
Diafra Sakho
This is where the forward planning comes into effect! We don’t want Sakho for an away game at Arsenal, but we are more than happy to have in come in for GW’s 2 & 3 with some decent home games in those and a strong midfield 5 in place for GW1. We will let him ride our bench and then decide who else sits in GW2 as that one looks like a nice headache that is building up already!
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Captain
HAZARD
He won a 4-1 vote amongst a 6 man committee. Don’t ask! Either way he’s our main man this week. Probably on the strength of what Chelsea did to the Swans last season in their two meetings. Out of interest the ‘1’ vote was for Rooney and he was our choice as Vice Captain.
Forward planning
We feel this is key and as such didn’t just pick a team for GW1. We picked a team / squad that we felt was good to compete for at least the first 3 GW’s but also with a plan in place for Aguero at the very least. Our plan for him is to downgrade a midfielder with a saved transfer in GW3 and upgrade a forward.
Thanks for reading Fantasy Football FF247 Team Game-week 1.
Don’t forget to vote in this week’s Captain Poll
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Hey guys, great looking site team! Glad to see I’ve picked some of the same players as you guys definitely know your stuff! This is where I’m at right now, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated with the clock ticking!
Pants Hennessey
Azpi Mert Huth Francis Oxford
Hazard Sterling Ramsey Mane Fletcher
Rooney Benteke Defoe
.5 ITB
*Bonus questions: does anyone think going with a 2nd Arsenal midfielder instead of Sterling would be wise until it’s Aguero time?
Red
Hi. Have you voted on the Community Team line-up? Head over if you haven’t . . .
I’d say you are good to go and having Sterling is a good idea. I’d leave it as is. No second Arsenal midfielder needed.
Thanks Gallant, on my way now! Any gut feelings on the Defoe/Wilson/Deeney conundrum? Been on the fence about that one for days! How are you doing, you all set for tomorrow?
Hey Red,
FWIW I’ve gone with Defoe on the basis of his PL experience.
Red
Defoe might be safest but it depends on how ‘safe’ a character you are. I like Deeney so I’ve gone with him.
Cheers Kop, that’s exactly what I was thinking, along with him playing more centrally now. I guess we can always switch over to Deeney or Wilson if they start off with a bang. How’s your team coming along, you just about set?
Same as Kop for that reason
I think I’m happy with it Red, I’ll take a final look at it tonight.
Okay guys, here a dilemma. Already have ummmmm Rooney but I really think Depay will excell sooner or later in the second striker role. If I also want Mane I have to drop either Wally or Depay. Leaning towards the Arsenal mid, which would mean I have no Arsenal mids. Bad? :p
Raz
You WILL want Arsenal coverage I know that. I’d keep the Arsenal and drop Depay (at least to start with!)
What is your attack at the moment? Maybe consider Chamberlain for Arse coverage
Yeah, but will Ox start every game? 😉 Don’t think so. Safest option in the Gooners mid is probably Cazorla, with all the speed and everything he might actually be a really good option since I think they will get a lot of penalty kicks. Sighs.
Hi! I’m also considering Cazorla, Özil, Walcott or Ramsey. I don’t believe that Walcott will play 90 minutes, and Ramsey doesn’t take any penalties, corners or free kicks. So I have to choose between Özil and Cazorla. Right now Özil is on my team, but many things can happen with my team before tomorrow….
First, here are the reasons for choosing Özil. I’m thinking that if Cazorla and Özil plays the same amounts of games, Özil will collect more points. He plays in a more attacking role and will produce more assists and goals. Cazorla may take penalties, but Özil takes many free kicks and corners. And when Sanchez is back, who will be placed on the bench? If all attackers are fit, I fear Cazorla may be placed outside the starting 11.
So the reasons for choosing Cazorla. He is not too often injured. The same can’t be said about some of his attacking team mates, so probably he will play almost all the time. Maybe he plays in a deeper role than Özil, but still he gets his chances. Last year he played 2990 minutes, most of the midfielders at Arsenal. I’ve seen som “suggested lineups” around the web. Many of them suggest that Cazorla will play on the left wing/side or in a deeper role behind the attacking line together with Ramsey. But he is selected in every lineup I could find. Özil is more phrone to injuries, and he was not himself last year despite a promising start.
I feel this is almost a 50/50 call and would like some other comments on this case.
(Sorry for my bad english, I’m from Norway and we don’t have any sites like this to discuss FPL…)
Hi Ladsar. Sorry for the late answer. First of all, your English is fine. Secondly I think that’s some good reasoning, but in the end you never know what will happen. I don’t see how Wenger can drop Caz to the bench this season, ever. But he also really likes Ozil. Walcott could explode. Ramsey will have good games but he’s injury prone plus he’s not as consistent as for instant Cazorla or Walcott when he plays. Ozil had a really good preseason so he could excell. This is how I see it:
Cazorla is the safest bet, Ozil a slightly bigger risk but it could pay off, Walcott is the biggest risk player but also the one that could grab the most points out of all 3.
Why not downgrade Wally (I am guessing you want him because he may be the striker) and get rid of Depay. My reasoning being whatever ManUnited does will go thru Shrek so you’re covered there and get Mane as well.
If you already have Rooney, then you do not need Depay.
Who should fill the final spot on the defenders bench?
Defenders
1. Cedric
2. Huth
3. Koscielny
4. Franics/Ming
5. ???
Recommendations much appreciated
5.0 left in the bank
O’Shea for Sunderland coverage. Their fixtures look pretty decent.
O’Shea in doubt for startXI, his age is catching up to him.
Coates from sunderland 4.5m
OR
PvA if you want to spend 5m on a sunderland defender
Coates/Oshea/PvA
Is this too much attack?
Is Aguero going to play?
How many more Sleeps?
I think so, weak defence.
But thats the only way if you want Kun and Rooney
bundeena
No
Yes
1
Goody
We were told that Aguero had a virus in midweek, so maybe not.
Thats my attack 😉
I play in a draft league and this is my team. Am I starting the right players? Put in Kolarov or Morgan for Janmaat? Thanks and good luck to all.
Courtois
Janmaat Bellerin Clyne
Lallana Ozil Payet Cabaye
Pelle (C) Aguero Defoe
Bench: Myhill Kolarov Ki Morgan
bob
Kolarov for Janmaat I think.
Thank you.
Too much money sitting on the bench at any one time in the GW. Maybe use one or two of your current benchers and upgrade your defense. Also may want to take a look at the midfield. This is the most different team that I have seen so far; so may work out wonders for you. Cheers
It’s difficult to upgrade because this is a draft league, so only one team can have any one player.
Who would you put next to Schmeicel? Hennessey or the safest bet Schwarzer? Hennessey could rise in value the first 3 gw’s but the question remains if that will be enough.
Definitely Shwarzer. Wasting a transfer on GKs sucks, so play it safe.
Yeah was thinking the same. The most he can do is win me 0.1m but that would only help if use the WC in the first few gw’s. If things go my way, that’s not the plan. Love the Schmeichel/Schwarzer combo to be honest, 8.5m for 2 goalies and you will be certain 1 will always play. Plus if you look at their fixtures, they are awesome. Thirdly, I think they bought Huth, some Italian and a lot of other defenders, so the Italian coach might actually play more defensive.
Even when Speroni is back, I think Hennessey will play..
You’re the first one saying that…………………………………………………. 😉
Taking a screen shot of this, to burn you later in the season.
Hennessey or Mccarthy will start for Palace until Speroni comes back, not sure which one is nailed thought. Schwarzer is safer as you will always have a playing keeper but i imagine he will only play in FA cup or if Schmeicel get’s injured.
Yip. You never know though. So it’s good to have 2 goalies. Loved the fact Hamer left Leicester for a season loan, he made this combo even more interesting.
Only problem is Leicester themselves, they only kept what 5 clean sheets in the league last year? Don’t know how much that will change. Different coach so hard to predict i guess
Okay guys, got a few good ones for you, here we go:
1. Merte + Wally or Kos + Caz?
2. Benteke or Depay? (——————— don’t plan on having Milner/Henderson
3. Mane or Depay?
1. Mert + Caz
2. Bentekke, dont trust Depay just yet, because I havent even seen his face yet.
3. Mane, but Im biased here, like in 2.
Depay will most def. become one of the stars in the EPL. Just wonder if it will take him time. He could explode in the first GW though.
By the way dude. I said Merte and Wally or Kos and Caz? Do you rate Merte higher than Kos?
1- Most people will say Kos+ Caz but i say mert + Wally
2- Tekkers
3- Depay is better but if you have Rooney i would say Mane