Fantasy Football 247 team – Fantasy Premier League 2014/15
We are delighted to announce that FF247 will be running a site team this year, which will be competing in the FF247 Classic and Manager of the Month Leagues as well as taking its bow in the Banterbury Leagues. The main objective of the team however is to give you all an insight into our thinking and planning, which we hope will not only help you with your teams but also prompt plenty of debate, banter and advice along the way. Clearly with over a fortnight still to go until the season kicks off, plenty can still happen with any of the players we have selected – injuries, new transfers in or out, hell we may even have the odd bite to contend with! Therefore please treat this very much as a provisional squad for now and allow us to talk you through it and the thinking behind what we have come up with thus far.
Goalkeepers:
Tim Krul – as soon as the visit of the Champions in GW1 is out of the way, Le Toon face a pretty attractive run of fixtures. We feel Pardew has actually spent wisely this window (that could come back to bite us) and with Captain Coloccini fit and seemingly happy, we believe Krul is great value at 4.5mln.
Vito Mannone – this is one we need to keep a close eye on due to the summer acquisition of Costel Pantilimon from City. Both Sunderland keepers are priced at 4.5mln and once we have determined who is the no.1 they will come in to rotate perfectly with Krul, with our two keepers costing a total outlay of just 9mln.
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Defenders:
Filipe Luis – but what about rotation, we hear you cry? And you’d be absolutely correct to bring it up. However, we feel Chelsea’s opening fixtures are too good to ignore, they have the strongest defence in the league and Jose will be gunning for the Premier League title that he will feel his team threw away last season, despite him maintaining all year that Chelsea couldn’t win it. Can’t fool us Jose! New recruit Felipe Luis is, alongside Cesar Azpilicueta, the cheapest of the mainstream defenders and we feel that they wouldn’t have forked out €16mln to leave Luis on the bench on a regular basis.
Luke Shaw – United’s new left back has been deployed by LVG in the left wingback role in the 3-5-2 formation that United look like they are deploying this season. Therefore, as he will be given licence to join in the attacks we feel that he could benefit from a few assists, maybe the odd goal and could be a contender for bonus points, similar to Leighton Baines. Not only that, but with LVG breathing fire into the United dressing room, we estimate that they will be a more competitive force this season and clean sheets aplenty should be forthcoming.
Rio Ferdinand – cheap, experienced defender, who alongside Steven Caulker should make the Rangers defence more solid. Some attractive looking early fixtures make Rio a good option for us.
Adrian Mariappa – Palace left back and the only likely starter priced at 4.5mln. We need to keep track of Palace’s pre-season friendlies to ensure he retains his place but given the solidity they showed under Pulis at the latter end of last season we feel they are a good bet to continue that trend.
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Midfielders:
Juan Mata – now being played in his preferred and most effective no.10 position. Sat behind Rooney and RvP and with a sumptuous list of opening fixtures, we feel we may just see the Mata of old. If we don’t then he’ll be out of there quicker than you can say Yaya Toure!
Gylfi Sigurdsson – another with potential to be fantasy gold, but with the added bonus of costing just 6mln. A return to Swansea will see increased game time and two goals on his debut makes him difficult to ignore. He showed enough on the rare occasions Spurs did venture to utilise him to suggest he’s still the player that graced the Liberty a few short seasons ago.
Alexis Sanchez – everyone loves an out-of-position fantasy prospect and Sanchez is just that. Capable of playing up top, just off the striker or on the wing we feel he is hard to ignore, despite his 10.5mln price tag. Arsenal’s opening fixtures are mixed and they do face City, Spurs and Chelsea in the first seven matches but we feel, with the Gunners attacking talent, they are more than capable of scoring in all those matches. Whether they win them or not, we don’t care!
Cesc Fabregas – another world class midfielder down at the Bridge. Can be deployed just behind the striker or even deeper but has the ability to get involved in attacks, provide assists, score and it looks like he’s on set pieces as well. At 9mln we feel he’s good value and has the advantage of not being involved much at the World Cup.
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Strikers
Wayne Rooney – seemingly happy with life under LVG at Old Trafford, we consider Rooney a must for our team. Has been in good scoring form on United’s tour of the US and LVG has already stated he sees Wazza as a no.9 or 10. With RvP having spent pre-season on the beach, we expect Rooney to hit the ground running in the league and like Mata and Shaw, will benefit from no European competition this season.
Diego Costa – Jose has been courting Costa for some time and sees the Brazilian Spaniard as the cure to his striking problem. With just Fernando “Row Z” Torres and Chelsea Pensioner Drogba as competition, Costa is the no.1 striker by a long way. With a supply line of Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Schurrle and Fabregas behind him, expect Costa to be one of the stars of the league. Now fit again and with an injury plagued World Cup behind him, Costa scored 27 times in 35 games for Atletico Madrid last season and will be eyeing a similar return this term.
Blanks!
You will have noticed that we have left three spaces blank – one defender, one midfielder and one striker. This is where you, our community, come in. We have 14.5mln left in the bank to fill these spots and would appreciate your thoughts and ideas as to who should be added to the FF247 squad. Do we fill them according to what we have left as of now or do we sacrifice a big name elsewhere to provide more balance? These are the questions we will be asking ourselves over the coming days and weeks ahead of the season and hope you will help us decide as you continue to discuss your own teams on the boards too.
Hi everyone!
I could use some comments on my team.
Mannone (Krul)
Not much here. I’ve always liked two cheap goalkeeers.
Simpson, B.Davies, Cameron (Mariappa, N.Taylor)
My defence is really weak but I’m thinking about rotating. QPR,Palace,Swansea and Stoke rotate quite nicely. Maybe Simpson->Ferdinand? I like B.Davies if he is a definite starter. I have £1.0M in bank so might upgrade him to Shaw or Luis. Or maybe get one £4.0M def on the bench so I could upgrade two defenders and only rotate one pair.
Mata, Fabregas, Silva, Siggy (Albrighton)
So many good mids I would like to have in my team. Maybe I should tweak my team so I could get Sanhcez for Silva? Would like to have Eriksen too but I don’t think there is room right now. Also Tadic is very interesting but need to see him deliver in EPL.
Rooney, Costa, Dzeko
I’m a bit worried about Dzeko. Will he start? Would like to have a definite starter for that prize. Maybe Giroud? Or a cheaper 3rd forward so I could improve my defence?
Any comments much appreciated!
SOover: nice looking outfit. Your defensive strategy is similar to mine- at this point it’s anyone’s guess what’ll work but you’ve gone with sound defensive teams. Unsure if B. Davies will start- consider Debuchy in his place? Cameron may not be first choice, so keep an eye- Pieters offers the same (for more cost) but is nailed on. Mariappa and N. Taylor are also not super-nailed, so keep an eye on them too.
I like the midfield though might be tempted to leave out Silva initially until City’s fixtures improve. You could get Eriksen in and then have more cash to spend. 0.5m could get you Davis (Saints) who I think is a good improvement on Albrighton, but I guess 3-4-3 this doesn’t matter. Forwards are great- Dzeko is the main ‘classic striker’ at City- he seems very likely to be playing no 9 at the start of the season
Thanks for your reply Pippin! It helped me a lot!
All the time I was thinking how I could upgrade Silva to Sanchez but Eriksen for Silva is actually a great idea! That would give me much needed money to spend on defence and get those super-nailed defenders instead of those who may be benched. Because rotating pairs doesn’t quite work if your players don’t play
Hi So, I think I would do as you say with trying to get Sanchez in there from the off. A couple of early goals from him and his price will rocket quickly with him being a newbie whereas Silva would be slower in that respect. Really not sure what’ll happen with Dzeko so at the very least formulate a plan without him. I have the same issues with Eriksen and Tadic – not enough space and not enough money! Nice team you have going there.
Hello lads, just popping in for a quick question:
A: Terry/Cahill + Arnautovic + Costa
B: Luis + Hazard + Remy/Pelle
Appreciate iiiiiiiiit
A for me, though I’ve cut Chelsea defence out my last few teams as I’m uncertain exactly who’ll play…
Hey Tekno, A for me, with Terry.
Don’t forget to join the site’s leagues.
Classic League Code: 14923-10423 ( you should be automatically entered if you were in it last season and you are using the same account, but check anyway )
Manager of the month : League Code: 957-52334 ( this is a new league and you will need to enter to participate)
If you are participating in UFPL
Classic League Code: 1564-257
And UFPL head-to-head League Code: 1564-258
If you are interested in a doubles league, find a partner and email elleffcee@gmail.com don’t be shy, it’s ok to admit you want to be with another man ( in most cases ) in a fantasy world.
And last but certainly not least if you want to partake in the crazy world of Potty here are some of the leagues he is running
Next Stop The Priory = 31944-10858….Classic
10 Months 10 Prize’s = 31944-10970….Classic
Potty Loves Me = 31944-11044….h2h
Tweet and your In = 31944-10996….h2h
1 to 38 Its a FACT = 31944-38604….h2h
Elle have u seen stmct on recently I’ve tried to get onto him with no reply
Hazardo, nope mate.
My first RMT for 2014/15! I tried to put it off as long as I can but I’m really stuck atm so I’m gonna ask you guys for help. My team:
Courtios (Mannone)
Rosenier, Ferdinand, Mariappa, (Blank, Blank)
Mata Sterling Sigurdson Sanchez (Blank)
Costa Rooney Jovetic
I have 13m in the bank for the blanks (not enough), and definetly not happy with my team (especially my defence). Any suggestions? Also, please join my league: 37374-182770
I wouldn’t be having Courtois as my starting GK, Cech’s already seen more game time in pre season and he’ll more than likely be the CFC keeper this season, Mannone’s also been an unused sub in both of Sunderland’s last two friendly games as well so your at the high end of keeper value scale (10.5) with neither being nailed to start.
Veer – Sterling out for de Jong / Tadic / Eriksen in my opinion. +1 on the keepers.
Jamesimmo- dont you think Sterling’s been in top form this pre season though?
If Liverpool had better inital fixtures I might’ve considered him. I also think he’s been somewhat overpriced in what is a very fluid Liverpool midfield. He’s not for me but I can see why you’d pick him.
Evening guys, I hope you’re all well. Please can I get some thoughts on this?
De gea (Gilks)
Luis, Rio, O’Shea, Coloccini, hooiveld
Fabregas, Mata, Ramsey, Siggy, Albrighton
Rooney, Costa, Dzeko.
Is it worth changing Fabregas to Eriksen/Lamela and using the extra money to beef up Albrighton and a defender?
Yes, I wouldn’t triple up on chelsea. Maybe consider upgrading Ramsey to Sanchez instead of upgrading Albrighton?
Thanks for the advice Veer.
Evening Fergie mate,
Your other option would be to make Dzeko into Jovetic and use the 0.5mln to upgrade Albrighton or Hooiveld?
I don’t see much between Dzeko and Jovetic to be honest
Evening Cookie. I’m unsure ion Dzeko right now. He and Yaya really dragged City over the line last season- would think he would get the starting place for gameweek 1.
Fergie- to my mind, Dzeko is the ‘out-and-out’ striker, and Jovetic/Aguero the scurrying second forward in behind him. Surely he is the nailed on one? (Unless they play 1 up top…)
I agree Pippin. He delivered big time for them when the Glass man kept getting broken and Jovetic was constantly missing with his own problems. I’m not as certain as I was but he deserves the chance to start the season as Aguero’s strike partner.