New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2016/17. Chelsea
Oh how we chuckled last season when Chelsea stumbled from one embarrassing defeat to another. It really was hard to believe that this was the same team who had won the league in the previous season by 8pts losing just three games. It turned out that Jose wasn’t so special after all and he departed in mid-December having lost nine out of 16 league games. Guus Hiddink was appointed manager until the end of the season and he somewhat steadied the ship with the club finishing the season in 10th position. Roman Abramovich didn’t hang about in appointing yet another manager and appointed the then Italian international boss Antonio Conte back in April, with the Italian taking over after the Euro’s. Given his chequered past Conte should fit in well at the Bridge and he’s bound to get on like a house on fire with Roman. Whatever you think about Conte he’s undoubtedly a manager of the highest quality although all of his successes have come with Juventus. He is known to be obsessed with tactics and is not afraid to change his formation until he understands which system best suits his players. Roman has once again been quick to open the cheque book with the signings of Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kante for a combined fee in excess of £60m!
For Chelsea’s pre-season games, line-ups and general musings here is their link on the Pre-season hub we have created Chelsea Pre-season info
Michy Batshuayi (£9.0m)
[three_fourth padding=”0 20px 0 0″]
[/three_fourth]Having scored just 59 goals last season it came as little surprise that Conte’s first signing was a striker. Not only did Chelsea struggle for goals last season they had no backup to Diego Costa with neither Loic Remy nor Radamel Falcao impressing during their limited opportunities. Having scored 26 goals for Marseille over the last two seasons the Belgian had become one of Europe’s hottest properties and had offers from West Ham & Crystal Palace but in the end opted for Chelsea which was hardly a surprise. Standing 6ft tall and weighing in at 78kg he’s no shrinking violet and comparisons have already been drawn with Didier Drogba who also moved to the Bridge from the Stade Velodrome. So is the youngster likely to be a fantasy option? That all depends on Conte and how he sets up his team. Should he decide to play with one up top you would have to assume that Costa will be given first crack. There are however growing rumours that Costa will be on his way back to Atletico and if this happens Batman will become a far more intriguing prospect. Should Costa remain and Conte choose to play two up top it will be hard to pick Batshuayi over Costa as the Spaniard is only £0.5m more expensive and is a proven Premier League striker. For now I’d suggest you take note of how Chelsea line-up in pre-season as well as keeping an eye on the Costa situation.
[divider_1px]
N’Golo Kante
Leicester paid just over £5.5m for the French international last summer and he turned out to be one of the signings of the season. Chelsea have in turn paid Leicester a fee reported to be in the region of £32m and once again he could prove to be one of the signings of the season. Last season he scored just the one goal and picked up four assists, and he is highly unlikely to significantly improve upon these returns this coming season. Therefore I wouldn’t see him as a fantasy asset. However he is likely to have a significant bearing on the Chelsea defence. Last season he made more tackles and interceptions than any other midfielder and this saw Leicester keep 15 clean sheets. Chelsea fans and FPL managers alike will be hoping he has a similar impact on the Chelsea defence. Should this prove to be the case Terry & co are likely to become quite appealing. So to speak!!
[divider_1px]
Fixture Tracker – the first 6 games
[divider_1px]
[alert style=”2″]
We are running the main public FF247 League which anyone is welcome to join by using the following code 1147-701 (auto-link below). This one has a prize pool of £250 which is sponsored by @FootballFanager and will be paid into your account on their website. The top 5 places are paid out.
Join Our League – Quick Link
League Code: 1147-701
View league standings – COMING SOON
[/alert]
[alert style=”3″]
New for the 2016/17 we are delighted to announce we are running a Regulars League which has a cash prize pool of £300 paid directly to the winners from the FF247 management team.
To enter this one you need to be an active and recognised site member and you need to e-mail us for the league code – Elleffcee@fantasyfootball247.co.uk *terms and conditions apply and are available upon request. Management reserve the right to review membership of this league on an ongoing basis.
[/alert]
[divider_1px]
Vote on our Captain Poll Now
any thoughts on my team?
Hi charl, looks like your keepers and defenders rotate ok, the rest looks good. The only thing which jumps out is any lack of Man Utd attacking cover but that’d mean losing say Silva for Miki or Lukaku for Rooney. I’d keep an eye on the Lukaku situation and probably think about bringing Rooney in if it’s unresolved one way or another.
I had Mik in but right now do not know if he is a odds on starter for Mo from the offset, do you recon Rooney is a good choice?
Mkhiataryan is Man Us version of KDB, he will be starting every game IMO. And if he isnt then Mo is stupid,
Morning all starting to get excited now not far off I could have done without Captaining a def in 1st GW but hey a bet is a bet still bring it on seeing a lot off teams now without Ibra & they look fairly decent. Interested to see all the line ups this wknd some minor changes then we are ready 😉
Hey Silvers I remember you said you had found a loophole to your bet and I think I’ve just realised how you intend to loophole it haha
NIN is not having any of it , I thought it was a cracking get out so I will just bite the bullet just a shame Kun plays Hull :smiling:
Who were you thinking of? Kun plays Sunderland Leicester play Hull.
Get Fuchs Silvers
sorry meant Kun plays Sun , its a def for me I’m afraid
now , now Cookie you will get me in trouble :smiling:
Haha I’d get Schlupp.
I was being serious Silvers!
My second team
Not seen many Arsenal defenders picked so far but if Gabriel looks like a starter then he may be one to stash away on the bench until the fixtures improve. You’ve got decent options there to go either 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 for a few weeks without using him I suppose.
Morning all
Risky this one but i like it!
I like this Mad but as you say there are some risks the 1st 11 all good picks GK a risk & Hoj will probably pick two points per wk up , its still one to consider 😉
Hi all, this is what I’ve managed to come up with so far:
Not usually a fan of the single keeper tactic so that may change (just keen to have Spurs defensive cover). Also not a fan of triple United but not sure who to replace Rooney/Martial with. Happy to punt on Aina.
Thanks in advance.
Oops, old team posted. Back when the team screen was screenshot friendly!
Let’s revert back to the old-fashioned way then:
Lloris
Shaw – Aina – Souare
Hazard – Martial/Mkhi – Ayew – Deulofeu
Aguero – Rooney – Gray
Jaku Hojbjerg – McAuley – Friend
That’s more like it AT this is a good team I have Spurs cover at the back so I can see why you have Llois , Aina is a risk but could be a good one , thk I would go Martial don’t like Ayew but a punt for the 1st two GW is ok cant argue with the font 3 plus all your bench should start cant ask more than that good effort.
Hey Silvers, Ayew would be a 2 week punt only (unless he bagged braces in both haha) but not entirely convinced either; they are not a decent side at the moment.
What makes you choose Martial over Mkhi? Played in the PL before + a real eye for goal with three decent creative players around him made me think he was the better pick for now.
I’m considering Souare and Rooney to Baines and Musa (+0.5m) – thoughts? Part of me thinks it is too big a punt but then I think it is a punt not picking any of last season’s champions.
Yes I thk Martial will do well this season after a season under his belt I thk Swa will struggle this season to be honest Souare & Roo are good options& so are Baines & Musa wait for the Community Shield we will know more then.
Silvers, it does look like a WHU move is imminent mind. If they don’t sign a striker he could be gold for £7.5m.
aina and hojberg need to be close monitoring since we have no idea whether there will be in 1st 11
Hey AT if Townsend is paying Villa then he’s no good to you 😉 and double GW at the start off the season your bound to get of to a good start.
Shit, didn’t notice that Silvers, will change it. Cheers! 😉
It took me a few weeks to hack the game but think it will be well worth it 😉
Hey AT I want all those players on DGWs, want to switch teams?
I like your proper team though. Only thing I’ll say is would it be better to not double up on Utd attack but it could work out.
Hey Matt you have unlimited transfers so just change tot he DGW players 😉
Yeah that is my main concern. Thoughts on a punt on Musa? Is he likley to play up top or on the wing? Seen speculation that they will put Okazaki and Vardy up top with Mahrez and Musa on the wings.
Haha looking at that team you probably wouldn’t be able to afford those players this season
I seen someone say that yesterday but personally I’m waiting till the Community Shield to make a few decisions, Musa being one of them.
I think we all are: Mkhi/Martial, Ibra, Musa and Mahrez to name a few!
Them exactly!!
Hey guys, I’ve noticed a lot of Rooney hype over the last couple of days, which has seemingly come out of nowhere. I’m wondering why he is being hyped up so much? Is he going to be playing up front alongside Ibra or something??
Cookie started it blame him!!!! Haha
In all seriousness Shrek is playing in the no.10 role and is 2 Mil cheaper so people are leaning that way.
2.5mln actually 😉
Haha :winktongue:
ROONPIG FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Afternoon Raz!
What are you talking about Cookie, it’s the evening!
I know our timezones don’t correspond, but this is just crazy.