New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16. Milner, Ings, Firminho
Liverpool were poor last season, actually they were worse than that but for the sake of our younger readers let’s stick with poor! Their defenders made a catalogue of errors over the course of the season, while up front they struggled for goals. It therefore comes as no surprise that Brendan Rodgers has been busy in the transfer market, although as we’ve seen in the past this is not necessarily a good thing! They’ve replaced Brad Jones with Adam Bogdan whom unsurprisingly we won’t be covering in one of these articles, 18 year old centre back Joe Gomez has arrived from Charlton and as he’s likely to be one for the future we won’t include him either. We took a look at Nathaniel Clyne in an earlier article and today we’ll focus on James Milner, Danny Ings and Firmino.
James Milner
Liverpool
Age: 29
Signed From: Free agent (previously Manchester City)
Fee: Free[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]
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Why has James Milner left Manchester City? A club with whom he won two league title and will challenge again this season, and who offered him a four year contract worth up to £165k a week. It is likely that he has been assured of his game time at Anfield, but where Brendan Rodgers will play him is not immediately obvious, although reports have suggested that he will be handed his preferred role in central midfield. One possible scenario would see him played alongside Jordan Henderson with a more defensive minded player behind them or they could form the defensive base of a midfield three with a more attacking player ahead of them. Should he be offered a somewhat attacking role from central midfield position he could prove to be an interesting fantasy option, particularly as he’s priced at just £7.0m. During his time at City he spent most of his time operating in a wide role, a position from which his influence is limited and his lack of pace exposed. However in his final season at Villa, the last season in which he was a consistent starter he chalked up 184 points thanks to seven goals, 12 assists and 35 bonus points. One thing is for sure and that is that wherever Rodgers chooses to play him Milner will give everything for his new club and while he should not be viewed as a replacement for a certain Steven Gerrard his experience will help fill the leadership gap which Gerrard’s departure has created. Finally, while Milner has been handed Liverpool’s famous no.7 jersey, I wouldn’t expect him to hit the heights of those who have worn the jersey in bygone years!
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Danny Ings
Liverpool
Age: 22
Signed From: Burnley
Fee: To be decided by tribunal[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]
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Is Danny Ings the next Rickie Lambert? Liverpool fans will certainly be hoping that the answer is no! In the two seasons prior to joining Liverpool Lambert scored 28 goals in 75 Premier League appearances for Southampton, while in his only season in the Premier League Ings scored 11 in 35 games for Burnley. Both Liverpool fans and FPL managers will be hoping that Ings has more of an impact at Anfield than Lambert managed last season. I’m not going to compare the two but one big difference is that Ings is only 22 and will surely continue to develop as a player, whereas Lambert was 32 when he joined the club. So what can we expect from Ings? It will all depend on how he himself handles the move. While Liverpool can no longer be considered a top 4 club there will be still be an awful lot more pressure placed upon him at Anfield than there was at Turf Moor. Currently Liverpool have five forwards (I use the term loosely!) in Sturridge, Lambert, Borini, Balotelli & Ings himself, actually there’s six, how could I forget Divock Origi. With Lambert, Borini & Balotelli all likely to leave the club over the remainder of the transfer window and Sturridge unlikely to be fit for the start of the season, Ings could find himself as the clubs only recognised striker come August 8th. Obviously the club continue to be linked with Christian Benteke, and it seems highly unlikely that another will not be brought in before the window closes. One thing is for sure and when he is given his opportunity he will work endlessly for the good of the team. He can hold the ball up well, win aerial duels and can finish with both feet. He has the ability to link up with the midfield and wide men which would see him fit into either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 system, both commonly used by Rodgers. Should Rodgers choose to play two up top Ings could also be effective. Just like Lambert last season Ings has been priced at £7.5m. Is this good value? I would advise you to wait & see how Ings settles into life at Anfield, this will also allow you to assess how Liverpool’s new signings gel together.
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Firmino
Liverpool
Age: 23
Signed From: Hoffenheim
Fee: £29m[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]
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Let’s be honest, Firmino is one of those players who the vast majority of us had never heard of back in May. It wasn’t until the papers linked him with a move to United that most of us took any notice of him. He began his career with Figueirense in the second tier of Brazilian football before moving to Hoffenheim in 2010. It’s said that he initially struggled to adapt to foreign climes, which is good news for Liverpool, and he took three seasons for his talents to emerge. Since the start of the 2013/14 season he has weighed in with 23 goals & 21 assists, and has been one of the stand out performers in the Bundesliga. It remains to be seen where Brendan Rodgers plans to play the Brazilian, at Hoffenheim he spent most of his time playing directly behind a striker in something of a free role, although he is also capable of leading the line. He is a great dribbler, has excellent technique and as his recent stats demonstrate, he can finish. In 2013/14 Liverpool adopted a high pressing approach but the loss of Luis Suarez meant they struggled to press teams last season. Firmino is not only a flair player, he is also known for his work rate and his arrival could see Liverpool get back to playing on the front foot. Liverpool will be hoping that he and his compatriot Philippe Coutinho form an immediate understanding on the pitch and if this is the case, Firmino could very well prove to be an interesting FPL prospect, particularly if Liverpool have a striker knocking in the goals on a regular basis.
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Looks like Rooney will be striker this season doesnt it?.
For now it certainly looks the case Ant.
Absolutely. Maybe he will swap with depay too
Matt / Ant if you’re still about…. #AtomicWebBrowser 😉
You mean me mate??
Yes mate. This is my site view now on my iPhone… Above was a subtle hint as to how to go about it
Oh you got the old website back!! I hope I can get it on Android!!
ill have a look now cheers mate.
Wasn’t an easy fix Matt and had to play around with a lot of the settings and trial and error a lot of stuff but quite frankly I was as happy as a pig in shit when it finally worked
Ye I can’t seem to find an atomic web browser is it an app on the iStore??
I’d be delighted to I miss the old site
Yeah it’s an App via there. No idea if there’s an android version but I’d be surprised if there isn’t. They were the most highly recommended and mentioned when I searched google for how to make your phone browser think it was feeding into something other than a phone. And the only one that worked.
Ye all I can get is Firefox so I’m not sure if thats it for not.
Init, get your arse round here and sort my i-phone please. Promise your wheels will stay on your car.
If anyone bumps into Colriles on site, could you tell him i haven’t received an e-mail off him yet, cheers.
What did your last slave die of?
Mine kept pestering people about e-mails
😉
Haven’t seen him online in awhile mate but if I do I’ll let him know.
Any news on Lloris injury
He’s fractured his wrist and you’ll not see him until the end of August probably.
Good news for united
Is this making anybody consider Vorm??
Not really. I have Courtois, so if I sold him for Vorm I’d just have to use the 1.0m to upgrade Alder to Azpi – completely sideways. People who have starting 4.5 keepers should definitely consider him though.
I learned the hard way last season. No Spurs defence for me
Mind refreshing my memory NIN? Don’t really remember much about Spurs’ defensive performance last season and currently have Alder in my team so I’m curious.
Ye I don’t tend to get Spurs defence only had Rose for a few weeks last season and got rid off him quickly. Just thought it could have been tempting.
Burnley kept more CS’s than them. They have bought two good defenders, but still, i’d be very wary of picking any of them up until wee see they can keep it tight. I had Rose last season for a while and if he wasn’t getting assists or scoring, it was a 1 pointer or 2 maximum.
I briefly looked through their results from last season – what stood out was how many goals they conceded at home against weaker teams. 6 CS at home and 4 CS away. Will take a look at other options.
Does a rotation between Richards and Jenkinson – assuming he goes to West Ham on loan – sound better than keeping Alderweireld?
I don’t know mate. How well do they rotate and what sort of fixtures do they pick up? A Sherwood led Villa defence sounds like a nightmare to me.
They rotate well until GW 9. Very skeptical towards Villa defense myself, but Richards always loves going forward…
Bou A
Lei H
Bou H
Sun H
New H
WBA H
Nor H
Sto H
Cry A
West Hams fixtures are fairly difficult mate so I’m not too sure about that rotation.
Not bad at all. I would rather have a go at that then rely on Spurs.
Depay and Costa or Rooney and Fab?
Depay and Costa
+1
As of now Rooney and Fab, plenty could change until the season kicks off proper.
Any fancy to RMT? Constructive criticism is appreciated. Note: self – imposed restrictions do not allow any players from last season’s top four clubs.
Panti Mannone
Coleman Cresswell Alderweild Ward Clyne
Henderson Manu Payet Cabaye Siggy
Benteke Lukaku Ings
ATF! Who let you in mate?
Long time no speak.
I haven’t started my research so I’m not best placed to give anyone advice, but you’re a brave man to have 3 Pool!
Long time, mate, I didn’t even have to knock. Hope you’re holding up well. Ings is on my radar as I might opt for one of the 2 WH / WB blokes. I’m sure I’ll change it numerous times…
ATF, me old mucker, welcome home!!! Hope you’re all ok, my friend.
No love for Chadli in there?
Cheers CM. Hope you’re well. I’m good and grateful overall – enjoying the journey. I had Chadli in my initial draft, looked at the fixtures and scratched my noggin. Who might you have given the boot to?
ATF, is that Mane, your 2nd midfielder there? If so, I’d keep him and Chadli…..From what I remember I seem to recall Palace’s fixtures aren’t that great so I’d probably lose him.
Indeed, it’s Mane. Cabaye or Siggy are the 2 I’m considering for Chadli.
Yes ATF just had a look at fixtures and I’d defo lose Cabaye. Mane is a good addition I think.
Hey Anti, have you got a league for this Anti top four team ? I’ve got a spare team doing nowt, could join you.