New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2016/17. Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp rolled into Anfield last October on a wave of optimism and because of the work he’s previously done with Mainz & Dortmund that air of optimism still exists around Anfield. He brought Liverpool to two finals last season but lost both and has a win % of slightly over 44%. After finishing 8th last season lesser managers might already be under pressure but not our Jurgen. When Liverpool performed poorly last season it was often said that it wasn’t Klopp’s team but that excuse will not cut the mustard this season as he has already been backed in the transfer market and will be backed further. One thing is already clear and that is that if Liverpool are to succeed this season a lot of it will be down to Klopp as Liverpool’s signings do not currently appear to be of the calibre of their rivals although this is to be expected. But that’s enough about Klopp, let’s take a look at three of his four signings to date.
For Liverpool’s pre-season games, line-ups and general musings here is their link on the Pre-season hub we have created Liverpool Pre-season info
Loris Karius (£5.0m)
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[/three_fourth]Any team which harbours top 4 ambitions cannot expect to finish there having kept just 11 clean sheets and conceding a total of 50 goals over the course of the past season. Little wonder then with stats like those that Liverpool finished 8th! So it came as no surprise when Jurgen Klopp returned to his homeland to bring in 23 year old Loris Karius from Mainz. With Simon Mignolet having penned a new 5 year deal only back in January it is not a guarantee that Karius will go straight into the starting XI but anyone who witnessed Mignolet’s performances last season will not be surprised should Karius start against Arsenal in GW1. Indeed he has even revealed that Klopp has persuaded him to miss the Olympics so that he is available for Liverpool’s opening games.
So what do we know about the German? At 16 he joined Manchester City and at 18 moved on loan to Mainz before making that a permanent move in January 2012. Last season he kept nine clean sheets which might not sound like a lot but only the top 3 clubs had a better defensive record, Mainz finished 6th. He’s said to possess good composure with the ball at his feet, is adept at dealing with crosses and shows a good command of his area. Three things which Mignolet struggled with last season! With it being unclear as to whether the German will start the season there is every chance that he will be priced reasonably and could yet end up being the cheapest route into the Liverpool defence. He’s certainly one to keep an eye on over the course of pre-season.
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Joel Matip (£5.5)
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[/three_fourth]Liverpool’s defensive stats from last season make for such depressing reading that Jurgen Klopp was always going to bring in reinforcements. In fact he started his rebuilding work back in February when Cameroonian international Joel Matip signed on a pre-contract from Schalke. While there were plenty of individual errors made by the Liverpool defence last season a bigger worry was the fact that there was no obvious centre back partnership with Dejan Lovren making 24 league appearances, Mamadou Sakho making 21 and Martin Skrtel also making 21. With Skrtel set to depart for pastures new, Matip will compete with Lovren, Sakho and youngster Joe Gomez for a starting spot. Liverpool have been linked with a number of other centre backs since the season ended and with the news that both Sakho & Gomez are set to miss the start of the season I suspect we will see another centre back arrive at Anfield, the quality & experience of this individual may be determined by how long Sakho & Gomez will be out for. So what do we know about Matip? He made his first team debut for Schalke back in November ’09, scoring an equaliser against a Bayern Munich team managed by Old Trafford favourite LVG. He made a total of 20 appearances in the 2009/10 season the majority of which came as a midfield anchor. His versatility saw him play a variety of roles the following season. However don’t let this versatility fool you as he has unquestionably been bought as a centre back. At just under 6’ 4” he should have no issues adapting to life in the Premier League, while he’s also quite pacey which means he should work quite well in a high line. From a fantasy perspective he’s clearly got an eye for goal scoring 17 times in 194 league appearances. Will he start against Arsenal? Obviously we’ll learn more about him over the course of pre-season but I suspect he’ll start particularly as Sakho will miss the start of the season.
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Sadio Mane (£9.0m)
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[/three_fourth]Had someone asked you at the end of last season to name the one position which Liverpool did not need to strengthen I suspect there’s an excellent chance you would have said attacking midfield. So what do Liverpool do? They go out and spend a reported £34m on Sadio Mane, an attacking midfielder. I’m not one to question Jurgen Klopp but was Mane really needed? Only time will tell but I suppose they had to buy at least one Southampton player! Mane made his professional debut with Metz back in 2012 before moving to Red Bull Salzburg in August of the same year and it was during his two years in Austria that people began to take notice of his performances. He scored 45 goals from 87 appearances in all competitions. This saw him move to Southampton and while his stats in England were never going to match his Austrian stats they have still been quite impressive. In his first season in the Premier League he finished up with 13 goals and nine assists in all completions and improved on that last season with 15 and nine assists. While there is clearly an argument that Mane wasn’t needed at Anfield that’s not to say that he won’t make them a more dangerous attacking force next season. His pace and directness will add something to the team that was clearly missing last season. Klopp is likely to adopt either 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 depending on the opposition and Mane should fit comfortably into both systems. If I were a betting man my money would be on Firmino, Coutinho & Mane operating behind a lone striker. Which of the 3 proves most popular in FPL is likely to be dictated by price, at least in the beginning. As we saw at the back end of last season Klopp is not averse to rotation but with no European football to contend with this season I don’t see rotation being a major issue this coming season.
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Fixture Tracker – the first 6 games
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Oh ok thanks kop.
Afternoon all anyone watching the golf should be a good contest today.
Looking fwd to FPL getting underway nk wk , already have some players in mind I feel this is going to be harder this season with so many great players joining the PL which should make it all the more interesting.
Brilliant Silvers, what a fantastic last round by both players!
It really was a masterclass in golf by the two lads!! I read that it’s the lowest score of a golfer to get and end up losing the open just shows how great they were. Also happy that McIlroy finished with a good round.
Delighted for Stenson. As for McIlroy, I’ll keep my opinions on him to myself!!
Haha yeah there are parts of his character I don’t like, like this while Olympics shit but anyway they all seem to be at it.
Kop, not another Irish national treasure which you dislike?! Or is he from the other part? I have no idea. You’ll be impressed I’ve even heard of him anyway #taylorswift
As for his take on the Olympics I kind of agree with him. He said he’d rather watch the diving and I agree with that as I don’t think the Olympics is or should be about professional golfers, tennis players or footballers.
He’s from the other part Init haha
I don’t mind about him pulling out of the event because I agree golf shouldn’t be in it. What I mean is the whole represent Ireland or Britain crap that pissed me off.
What was all that about Matt? Kind of rings a bell. Surely if he’s from the North then he should represent GB?
I agree that golf shouldn’t be in it, but it is. Therefore I feel they shouldn’t disrespect other athletes by belittling it. If he or the rest of them don’t want to play it they should be upfront about it from the start. Zika my arse.
You’d be quite surprised at the amount of Northern athletes who compete for Ireland at the olympics. Mainly because their associations cover the 32 counties rather than the 26. McIlroy has also represented Ireland at the World Cup of golf.
Yeah basically everything Kop said! Basically he has represented Ireland at every age level but as soon as the big Olympic stage came along he decided Ireland weren’t his country so it just pissed me off! He was probably be offered more money by the GB team than the Irish team.
I agree Kop. A convenient excuse but the real reasons then also come out later as seems the case here. I’ve got no issue with them simply saying they don’t want to partake in it but hiding behind something else is poor. Just say it and move on. It’s the pinnacle of most others careers, albeit in more minority sports, as such.
I don’t really understand the Irish / British representation bit so I won’t comment other than to say I figured it would be based upon nationality as per qualification to play for say England at football. Maybe this isn’t the case then.
I don’t really know what the representation thing is either all I know is that McIlroy qualified for both nations somehow and was unsure who to represent even thought he had previously represented Ireland so I was a bit annoyed with him for that.
Breaking news; Liverpool have signed young Ukrainian prospect Igor Shaftitch. Reports suggest Klopp is looking to pair Shaftitch and Woodburn up front.
Haha sounds like a nightmare for John Terry!! :dance: :dance: :dance:
Morning all great day of golf yesterday well done to Stenson.
Ok need to start planning who do we thk Che back four will be I thk they could still bring in a CB & RB yet so I know things could change but who out of the others should start.
Silvers
It could be a back three! Think of who the manager is.
Morning GP yes was thinking that with 2 wing backs , but has he got any one who can play WB maybe Ivan.
Rahman and Azpi with the latter reverting to being a RB which he is. Ivan slots into the back 3 then.
Yes as Init mentioned could be
Azpilicueta Ivanovic Terry Cahill Rahman
Zouma could potentially take any of those three central places when he’s back.
Let’s assume they do play 3 at the back. Would you guys then envisage a midfield 3 of Kante, Cesc & Hazard with Costa & Batman up front?
Sounds about spot on Kop
Sounds about right this need a way into Che def
Humm, I don’t see this happening here. He may have 3 good CB for this system (which he doesn’t actually, given that all 3 are slow, except maybe Cahill, which says it all, and of course Zouma), but it doesn’t fit his attackers. The 2 wingers in this system need to be good attackers and we may have that in Azpi but Babah is untested at this level. Also, the 3 mids need to be combat mids, which isn’t the case of haz and or fab. It would have to be matic and willian, no? Perhaps Haz could then join Costa in the front 2 as in Dybala/Morata at juve, hazard being dybala, but I can’t see a place for hazard in this system in any other position…
I think you’re probably right DMC
If they sign another cb, which they probably will, they could transition to a 3 back in my opinion. Conte is an admirer of Cuadrado, he can most certainly play wing back down the right. He was a right back in the early years and plays winger now,so he seems a natural RWB. Kante and Matic/Cesc in the middle. I assume he would start Matic if he played a 3 back. Haz plays off Costa. Having said all that, I can see them playing a 4 back, but if they do, Iva needs replacing, he can’t hang with average wingers, much less top ones.
Wow, just wow. The new FPL site is pretty awesome. So many changes made.
It looks good doesn’t it Raz? Loving the changes
Yip, glad they made Brexit changes, no European or Africans can enter.
Quite rightly so in my view. We can play our own game though mate
Owww wait.
Yes, fantasy champions league has always been so f-ing awesome. 😉
By the way, have done zero research. You already got players in your mind for the start of the new season?
How will Mane and Firminho work?
Not done any research Raziel, though I think Kop mentioned that Coutinho, Mane and Firmino would likely play as a 3, behind Sturridge or Origi – don’t take my word for that though!
Hazard impressed me at the Euros so would like him, Firmino seems a no brainer with no European footy, while United’s new Miki man seems decent, but all depends on price of course.
Wow, the fact anyone could impress you at the Euros (apart from the Iceland fans) is pretty damn awesome. I noticed a lot of players were too tired, to look like anything. KdB was just terrible. It’s always either Hazard or KdB that’s good, never at the same time.
http://www.espnfc.com/european-championship/74/blog/post/2911368/euro-2016-was-not-a-success-as-negative-football-takes-hold-in-france
Maybe he just impressed me in relation to his performance in a blue shirt last season!! I’d agree with you though – not many others impressed me – when Nani strikes me as one who had a good tournament, that tells you all you need to know really!
Punani > Nani
Thought site would be up & running today , lots of good players to pick from this season I fancy City & UTD doing well & both have reasonable starts , depends on prices of course.
I wonder if it is smart to take on players that played at the Euros, all looked so tired.
Raz if their English it wont matter they weren’t there that lg I must admit Kane looked really tired so I thk its worth keeping an eye on friendlies.
Yeah, will be a hard one this season.