New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16. Sterling
Manchester City have been relatively busy over the last couple of weeks bringing in Fabian Delph & Patrick Roberts, although it remains to be seen if they join the likes of Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell on the list of players who have ruined their careers by moving to the Etihad. One player who is highly unlikely to join that list is Raheem Sterling. Having had their first two bids rebuffed by Liverpool they finally got their man, breaking the transfer record for an English player in the process. In all likelihood there will be another couple of arrivals at The Ethiad but even if there’s not, the arrival of Sterling and his hippy crack has significantly improved the City squad.
Raheem Sterling
Manchester City
Age: 20
Signed From: Liverpool
Fee: £49m
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It has been suggested that young Raheem would have been better served staying at Liverpool for at least one more season because this would have helped his development as he was assured of playing every week, unless he was feeling tired! However City have not spent £49m on him for him to sit on the bench and therefore I expect him to play a significant role over the coming months as City endeavour to reclaim the title. Despite what some might say, they haven’t signed him just because he’s English, the lad can play.
Having signed for Liverpool back in 2010 at just 16 years of age, he came to the attention of the masses in the 2012/13 season making 24 league appearances, scoring twice and picking up six assists. The following season saw him link up to devastating effect with Messrs Suarez and Sturridge, finishing the season with nine goals and seven assists. Much was expected of him last season, but like his teammates he struggled without Suarez and endured a rather disappointing season. However he still finished the season seven goals and 10 assists and was probably Liverpool’s best player over the course of the season.
There’s no denying that at £49m Sterling is overpriced but he has improved season on season, the problem he faces now is that he’ll be expected to do it every week. So where will he fit in at The Etihad? At Liverpool he played everywhere from right wing-back to centre forward so he’s certainly versatile and while he’s unlikely to be played as a wing-back at City his arrival undoubtedly provides Pellegrini with options. With more arrivals likely at the Etihad I expect City to play a 4-2-3-1 system this season with Sterling on the right of the 3, cutting in to support Aguero. Although he could also play in a more central role closer to Aguero.
As I’ve stated above I expect Sterling to be a regular in the City side with his dribbling and pace complimenting the vision and technique of David Silva and the firepower of Sergio Aguero. This should see him improve on the seven goals and 10 assists in registered last season, and with a starting price of just £9.0m he could very well offer some early season value.
Finally, it’s worth noting that young Raheem’s City career got off to a great start this morning scoring inside three minutes of his debut. It was a typical Sterling goal as he ran onto a pass behind the defence before slotting past the keeper, I suspect we’ll see plenty more over the coming weeks and months!
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Man City are ‘homing in’ on Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, claims the Manchester Evening News.
Their attack would be scarily good if they get their hands on De Bruyne. Sterling, Silva, De Bruyne, Aguero :shiftyeyes:
Yeah they would score a lot of goals
NIN did you get my e-mail? Was about 3 days ago.
Replied mate.
So, for the past week I have been reading the articles in haste so i can get to the comments section and see other peoples’ teams and I have to ask…why are people avoiding COSTA? Is there something I should know? He is relatively cheap and has some good suppliers in his team, any ITK people here?
Nothing but a budget balance issue I’d assume Paddy. So many good mids to pick from and most seem to be going for 1 premium striker so it’s basically him or Costa I guess. Personally I’ll be trying to fit him in I think. Trying being the operative word.
Saw this earlier, so no issues with fitness etc…
@BenDinnery: Azpilicueta insists team mate Diego Costa is “looking sharper than ever” following an injury hampered 2014/15 campaign #CFC
Thanks Init, good advise, and I have to admit this season’s mid picks are just a jigsaw puzzle, too many combination. I’ll hold on to Costa hoping his temperament and possible 2nd season syndrome allows me to
Sorry meant *him or Rooney
Him not getting any bonus points ever annoyed me last season.
Hi Smash, that’s the one thing with him and keeps recurring to me also. If he scored 1 it was basically a 6 point game for him whereas if Hazard did you were looking at 9 plus usually.
Yeah if it weren’t for that Nin I think I would have him.
Oh god sorry I just called you Nin
:say-what:
Also, last season Mourinho played a lot of mind games with Costa injuries around international breaks. I remember that a lot people benched or sold Costa right before his best performances.
Alright folks,
long time viewer and occasional poster but hoping to get more involved this year.
First draft done but am sure it will change many times before KO.
Silva – Sterling and free up a million to upgrade elsewhere ?
Cech / Krul
Cedric / Huth / Azpi / G Johnson / Mariappa
Silva / Depay / Milner / Ozil / Anya
Costa / Rooney / Defoe
nothing in bank
I like this. Cech is good. Could probably downgrade Krul if needed.
I prefer Mertesacker over Azpilicueta, as I think he will score better this season. That’s just me though.
Nice midfield. Again, I prefer Hendo over Milner, and Cazorla or Mata over Ozil.
Nice frontline. Very good
do you reckon Courtois and Mert is a better option than Cech and Azpi
going to change the midfield many times I’d imagine. sure I’d read that Wenger was going to play Ozil as a ’10’ but I could downgrade Krul and get Walcott instead. too many decision and its still 3 weeks away…
I think Courtois/Mert will do better.
In saying that, I have Guzan and Speroni, but both Mert and Azpi. That’s the way I’m rolling haha.
I would play Caz over Ozil, but if you can fit in Wally I think he has potential to have a really good season, especially if he plays up top and gets some goals. Will have to wait and see. I currently have Sterling, and will see if he or Wally does better.
I know. Too stressful! I keep chopping and changing. I think I’ll leave it for a few days… Focus on something important, like school!
Hey guys, how’s it going? Thanks for the article, Kop! Think I’ve settled on grabbing Sterling instead of Silva and investing that 1 mil elsewhere. Same goes for Azpi and Ivan, money’s just too precious at the start of the season until we can build some team value. So what are people’s thoughts on having Benteke and Hendo/Milner in their squads? If JRod doesn’t look likely to start I’ll probably try to stretch to Benteke, but as a Liverpool supporter I’m weary of having too much Liverpool coverage, ha! Might have to go with Bolasie/Cabaye/Chadli instead for a budget 4th mid.
How are everyone’s teams shaping up? How many ‘new to the EPL’/promoted players are you gambling with in your initial squads? Right now I’ve got 5 (Ruddy, Cedric, Francis, Abdi, and Wilson). Feels a little risky but it’s tough coming in under budget!
Hey Red. I’m going w/ Sterling over Silva (although this pains me as Silva is prolly my favorite player) and Azpi over Ivan (although Ivan scored a few at the start of last season) for $$$ reasons as well, w/ also Benteke and Depay (this guy should light up the BPL and FPL). Hendo/Milner could work well also based on last season though who knows how Liverpool will do w/ Brodge again. Cabaye will prolly work but I’m gonna wait and see. I feel he does/will do better after the season gets going rather than straight off the bat. He is priced rather nicely if he starts scoring/assisting. This season might be more about investing in attack than in defense looking at all the new signings, preseason friendlies and in-form players so although my team might be lighter at the back, I’m not too concerned, at least not yet!
Hi Sanchez, what you said toward the end there reminded me of a graph I saw recently on PL goals per game and how they’ve increased a lot since 5/6 seasons ago. I’ve posted it below but it’s from an article by Matt Martyniak (former FPL champ) and it’s only right to credit it so here’s the link too. It’s a good read…
https://matthewmartyniak.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/play-the-fantasy-football-game-the-way-it-is-set-up-to-play-in-relation-to-premier-league-itself/
Nicewon, init! I follow MATTHEW MARTYNIAK’s twitter (especially to see who he captains each week [he really has the game sussed out if you look at his rankings and how he climbs it during the season]) but missed this one. Hmm, might have to reinvest a bit more on defense (esp. center backs). What’s your defense and GK situation looking like?
I haven’t got that far back yet! I’m working out the mids and fwds first and in all honesty that’s proving tough enough. Off the top of my head I’m thinking Courtois plus a cheapie (one that plays but never has to unless Courtois is out for some reason) and then probably Kos, Cedric plus 3x 4.5’s who rotate well. One of those may have to be a 4.0.
Nice one init, thank you!! Will definitely check this article out in detail later this evening, it looks really good at first glance.
Great stuff init, many thx mate.
I caught this up online: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057459386
Accordingly to the author the changes are:
Save is worth 2 BPS instead of 1
2 CBIs is 1 BPS instead of 3 CBIs
Net successful tackle is worth 2 BPS instead of 1
70 to 79% pass completion (at least 30 passes made) down from 3 BPS to 2
80 to 89% pass completion (at least 30 passes made) down from 6 BPS to 4
90%+ pass completion (at least 30 passes made) down from 9 BPS to 6
Note: the BPS in the article is from last season; this season’s can be found on rules http://fantasy.premierleague.com/rules/
Hey Sanchez, thanks for your thoughts. I think we’re pretty much on the same page. Good to see you on the boards, hope you’ve had a good summer/off season, really looking forward to things getting going again!
Hey Red, all is well here, how have you been?
Milner+Benteke could work really well. I fancy both to do well this season. As for new players to the league, i think i’ve got just one (Wilson) but that could easily change. I’m nowhere near being settled so we’ll see how preseason goes.
Hey NIN, things are going well here, thanks for asking. Glad to hear you’re well, and thanks for all your FPL advice for everyone over the past few weeks. I’ve learned a lot from just reading the boards and trying to keep up with everything! Glad to hear someone else is on WIlson with all the Deeney love going on. I think his pace may unlock a few defenses!
Cheers mate, i’m glad to hear it has been of some use. Yeah i had a look at Wilson and thought he looked pretty good. Other than GW 2 -and that may not even be a horrible fixture for an attacker- their fixture list is very nice until October. Could well be worth a shout.
When Kun is fit enough to start are members considering going with Kun & Sterling ???
I am Silver. I think there will be lots of goals in this City team and I want in on that!
Liverpool are eyeing a return for midfielder Xabi Alonso, according to reports (Echo)
Again!
Class act, was then and still is.
Would love to see him back at Anfield.