New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2016/17. West Ham
What a difference a year makes! Roughly 12 months ago, some bozo on here was ribbing this lot to the max, predicting a rough season and possible relegation due to the appointment of “woeful” Slaven Bilic as head honcho in replacement of the ever sturdy Sam Allardyce. An unknown French dude was supposedly the key to Hammers success but this bozo just didn’t believe it. Who was this character, you ask? None of your goddamn business, that’s who. Now, moving swiftly on; West Ham have been quite busy in the current window, snapping up some very interesting players, 4 of which we’ll cover in this here article. Two youth prospects (Domingos Quina & Toni Martinez) aren’t really expected to break into what is fast becoming a stacked Hammers team but they are worth a mention nonetheless. Quina, a 16 year old Portuguese attacking midfielder, has been highly touted as one for the future and West Ham have done well to nip in and take him on board. Martinez, slightly older at 19, was snapped up from the Valencia youth and is again seen as one for the future. Like Quina, he’s not expected to get much if any game time this season but as fantasy managers we’d be doing ourselves a service to keep an eye on the progression of Martinez and Quina as we may well be punting on them in a season or two. With those two now out of the way, lets have a peek at the Hammers signings that are more relevant to the upcoming fantasy season, shall we?…
For West Ham’s pre-season games, line-ups and general musings here is their link on the Pre-season hub we have created West Ham Pre-season info
Håvard Nordtveit – Defensive Midfielder / Center Back (£5.0m) Classed as a mid in FPL
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Signed from German outfit Gladbach, this defensive minded Norweigan has seemingly been drafted in to help plug the holes in a Hammers defence that was pretty porous at times last season. Despite playing an attractive, attacking style of football and finishing a more than respectable 7th, West Ham ranked 8th from the top 10 in terms of goals conceded – shipping a hefty 51 times over the course of the season. A reduction of 10 or so goals may have resulted in a top 4 finish, what with there being just a four point gap between themselves and Manchester City. Considering this, it’s not surprising that Bilic went after a solid member of a rather impressive Gladbach team and we’d expect Nordveit to do a job for the Hammers. Looking at his attacking stats there’s not a whole lot to whet the appetite, fantasy wise. Nordveit spent a full six seasons at Gladbach but only managed to find the net on 13 occasions and contributed few assists, making him an unattractive pick for us fantasy folk. It’s worth noting that he has been classed as a midfielder in FPL. We all know the value of an out-of-position gem in the game we love / hate so much so had he been classed as a defender then those goal scoring stats wouldn’t look all that bad really; 4 last season and 3 the season before. Decent, but only if there were clean sheet points to go along with the odd goal, which there isn’t!
Fantasy Prospect; 4/10
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Gökhan Töre – Winger / Attacking Midfielder (£5.5m)
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Now, onto the attacking side of things and first up we’ve got a loanee drafted in from Turkish side, Besiktas, a club most of you will know from their appearances in the Champions League down the years. The Hammers have dished out £2.5mln to bring Töre in for the season with a view to making the deal permanent next summer for a further £7.5mln should he do the business. The Turkish international (26 caps, 0 goals) started out as a professional in Germany with Hamburg, making 24 appearances before moving on to the Russian league of all places to ply his trade for Rubin Kazan. That venture didn’t go all that well for Gökhan and he was soon out of there, signing for Be?ikta? in 2013. During his three seasons in Turkey, Töre saw plenty of game time, making 111 appearances in total and finding the net 19 times; far from a spectacular return we think you’ll agree. Add 28 assists to that tally and we’re starting to look decent but we’d have to think that Töre will need to up his game considerably if he is to be effective in the Premier League. At just 24 years of age there is certainly time for improvement and it will be interesting to see if he gets into the starting 11 from the off but one thing is for sure; West Ham have a few players that could easily force Töre to sit out most games unless he hits the ground running. One to keep an eye on for sure.
Fantasy Prospect; 6/10
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Manuel Lanzini – Attacking Midfielder (£6.5m)
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Here’s a name we should all know from last season as he was on loan at the Hammers, and has now been added to the permanent squad for the upcoming season. Lanzini started the season off rather quietly, appearing here and there and not really showing much of anything. That was, until playmaker Dimitri Payet was ruled out for a couple of months through injury. Young Manuel burst into life in the absence of Payet and proceeded to become a heavily fancied fantasy option, scoring and assisting regularly before he himself picked up an injury that kept him out for a while. It seemed that by the time Lanzini was available again, West Ham had switched up their formation and he took time to settle back in but an okay tally of 6 league goals from 25 appearances may be a sign of what is to come from the young Argentine. How this talent ended up playing in the UAE Arabian Gulf League is anyone’s guess but now that he is on board at West Ham we’d be foolish to overlook what will likely be a much cheaper alternative to Payet, although maybe not quite as productive, but we shall see. At just 23 Manuel Lanzini has a bright future ahead of him and once he can nail a starting spot we’d expect him to continue to do well. The main drawback is the fact he is off to the Olympics with Argentina so he may not be available for the season start. Keep an eye on that one.
Fantasy Prospect; 7/10
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Sofiane Feghouli – Winger / Attacking Midfielder (£5.5m)
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Last, but most certainly not least, a player who has been making waves for a number of seasons in La Liga for Valencia; Sofiane Feghouli has been and still is an excellent player and is currently West Ham’s most exciting summer signing by far. Four seasons at Grenoble was enough time for Los Murciélagos to realise his talents and snap him up, and there he has stayed, bar a brief loan spell at Almeria, steadily improving as the seasons go by. Deployed mainly as a wide player, although at times shifted to a central attacking role or even the odd time as a central midfielder, Feghouli has almost always done what was asked of him to a high level and we’re expecting him to continue improving in a more free flowing attacking West Ham team. Work rate is the first noticeable trait in Feghouli. The Algerian has no issues with helping out on the defensive side as well as providing a skillful outlet at the other end of the field. 31 goals in five seasons at Valencia, a club who are almost always chopping and changing due to financial issues, is a decent return, considering. Feghouli is a good creator also, ticking another box for us fantasy managers. At international level, Feghouli is second only to the mercurial Riyad Mahrez in terms of importance to the team and even that is debatable. 11 goals in 40 appearances for Algeria is an excellent return, we think you’ll agree. All in all there’s no real downside to this signing and once priced reasonably he could well be one of the gems of the upcoming FPL season. Of that there is no doubt, even less so if the Hammers manage to snag one of the top strikers they are currently trying to sign. Watch this space people, Sofiane is an excellent player and should suit the fast pace of EPL.
Fantasy Prospect; 8/10
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Fixture Tracker – the first 6 games
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What forwards at 9.5 are people looking at? I can’t see that many except for Lukaku I think the forwards at 6.5 are better options. Or am I missing something?
Rooney, Lukaku or Tekkers at 7.5 if he gets a move. after that it’s down to 6.5’s. Batshuayi could be interesting but i have no clue if he’ll be a starter.
That’s assuming Costa leaves Chelsea. If not then him at 9,5 could be a good deal.
Ah yeah I forgot about Costa he could be decent if he stays. I think Rooney will have to show he can play well again before I bring him in. Tekkers needs to move and Palace would be the best place for him if he did move I’d bring him in but it all depends on whether players move or not.
Can you scrape together .5 more somehow Matty and get last year’s top scorer? I’ve got Vardy in my current draft along with Kun and one of the 6.5 options. That may change if Mahrez leaves though.
If I downgrade Valdes to Jakupovic then I can afford Vardy but like you said if Mahrez goes Vardy loses all appeal in my mind.
Hey guys, how’s it going? Had a few same team player comparisons to ask you about. Who do you like from these groups and why would you go with them?
– Baines vs Coleman vs Funes Mori
– J-Rod vs Redmond
– Alli vs Eriksen
Funes Mori and Redmond are both .5 cheaper than their teammates so I’m giving them some consideration.
Hey Red.
I’d go with Baines because he’s on Set prices and only 5.5
I prefer J.Rod but we need to keep an eye on him to see if he stays fit.
This is possibly the hardest question because Alli has shown what he can do but Eriksen is on set pieces and usually gets the most assists. That one is probably a coin toss.
I’m +1 for these 3 options, currently on Redmond in my latest draft but could get an extra .5m for JRod depending on the next 3 weeks.
Thank you Matt and Rambo, I appreciate the feedback fellas. Last year I remember Baines being benched for a stretch. Are we certain he’s nailed on? And when is he going to grow a pair and push that selfish showboating little prick Mirallas off the ball when there’s a set piece near the goal??
Hi Red, blue here as you know, Baines got a long stretch out because he was injured and then Martinez kept saying he didn’t want to rush him back and so kept him out. Also took him off pens and then FK’s. Eventually Baines broke rank and said the players had lost it with him. Reading between all those lines then – Martinez clearly had personal issues with Baines for some reason. I’d expect him back as first choice LB, first choice on pens and to have a fair share of all other set-pieces, including corners. He’s well worth the 0.5m if pre-season shows all this to be the case.
+1
That’s exactly what I needed to hear init, thank you!
Hey Red, Matt nailed my answers, no more to add!
Well hello all! It’s good to be back and wasting all of my free time on Fantasy Football again!
Here is the first team I’ve actually been able to fit into the budget that I am even mildly happy with. Thoughts on this first draft?
Hey Pancho, good seeing you back mate. I would upgrade midfield mate. Downgrade one of your premium defenders and upgrade Rodwell. I would also look for a more attacking 4.5 mid than Capoue.
Hey Matt,
I guess i could raise .5 by doing Bellerin -> Monreal. Any recommendations on 2 mids that add up to 9.5?
At 4.5 there Hojberg. But at 5.0 I’m not too sure would have to have another look.
If you downgrade Alderwiereld to Walker you could start looking at 6.0 Mil mids which is better
Hi there Pancho, welcome back my friend. Hope you are well? That’s a very different team to mine right there! Which is no bad thing. Did someone say earlier that Payet may have a few weeks off? I’ll have to check on that one as I’m not sure.
I said that Init but ignore me my brain was fired after the match reports I’m probably wrong.
Apparently it is still fired or fried. 😉
Damn autocorrect!! :big-lol:
All is good Init. And yourself? The Euros definitely helped the off-season to pass quickly!
Yeah, this is a tough one. I think that with all of the quality added to the league it will leave us without a template. Should be a really good thing for this FPL season. I’ll have to keep tabs on the Payet situation. Any thoughts other than him?
Yeah all good thanks. I’m zoned in on my own team this year and feel good about it, rather than worrying about the site etc but that’s because everything is in place and ready now in that respect. More me time basically!
I don’t like your midfield mate if I’m being honest. I’m not a huge fan of your forwards either but I could at least live with those, the mids not so much. I’d change at least 4 of those myself.
@Pancho, that seems like very heavy on defence, if you feel like you want to have those teams covered, perhaps dropping to cheaper options on their same team could be an option? Of course you could make the case that Toby and Bellerin are like having two more mids on the team. I don’t think I be completely comfortable with starting with that midfield, but if you are confident in your returns form your defenders and you expect Bojan and Cesc to do well it could work out.
Very different team…good to see something thinking a bit different.
Hey Pancho, good to see you on the boards man! Hope all is well with the family. As far as that draft goes, on quick glance it seems a bit heavy in defense and light in midfield for my tastes.
I’d look to free up some money in defense and beef up that midfield. There are some decent mid priced players you could stretch Rodwell/Bojan to if you trimmed those 6.5 defenders down to a couple 5.5 guys, of which there are plenty to chose from this season.
You could drop Kane down to a less expensive forward and get Alli/Eriksen in midfield for Tottenham cover also.
That’s a great answer Melania Trump. 😉
I blame the speech writers!
+10
Inspired by NiN’s hate towards Zlatan, I’ve decided to post some of the players or scenarios I hate for FPL.
1. Stones at Everton (rather have Baines or Coleman for .5 more) with those fixtures is not a terrible idea, him at City is not an attractive situation to me unless Pep guarantees he will start. If the City team is fully healthy, he is not a starter in my opinion. He might however get some time if Kompany is out until September as I have seen said. Well that is if he starts over Mangala, which depending on how quickly he is actually transferred becomes less likely every day.
2. Feghouli, as has been mentioned before on this site by the esteemed Mito21, he had 4 yellows last season and that was double of his combined goals and assists. Not sure he is a guaranteed starter from week to week and if even if he does start he is a great candidate to come subbed off.
3. Leicester defence, If their defenders were cheaper than 5.0 or Schmeichel is sold and the 4.5 Zieler becomes the starter, I probably invest in them. They have some decent fixtures that would rotate well with another partner. But at 5.0 you are already reaching the ‘too much money invested to bench’ category for a defender. They play 6 fixtures in the first 10 that I wouldn’t be very confident in playing one of them.
4. Swans defence, unless your plan is to have one of their defenders for the first 2 GWs and then ditch them that is the only way you might be able to justify having one of them. If you are only investing 4.5 in Taylor or something I can understand that, that’s a lot easier to bench consistently. They have arguably the worst fixtures in the EPL to start off with over the first 2 months.
5. Kante and Dier ownership, Don’t get it, they are holding mids that don’t cost 4.5 million. I know Dier had a good year, but that was due in part to him getting credited with clean sheets as a defender. For players 5.5 in price or lower he was top in points, once you take away his clean sheets and account for them as 1 point as a mid and not 4, he is only 8th best. All of sudden it gets harder to justify paying 5.5 for a player who is barely any better than a 4.5 mid. Kante is 5.0, if he was 4.5 I be happy to have him and only use him in case of emergency. No reason to use up an extra .5 on a player you don’t intend to use.
6. Negredo, a quick review of his season at Valencia last season will make you quick to pause and not get over excited by him. His price seems fair for a guy who has had some success in the EPL. Because despite him having to leave City for lack of goals, his numbers were not that bad when you break it down. Boro won’t give him the service City did, in fact, Boro might easily be the most defensive team in the EPL this side of any Pulis led team. They scored the least of any of the 3 promoted teams in the Championship. I expect that Negredo won’t have loads of service and when he does, he might not be up for it if his time in Valencia is any indication. By the end of his stint in Spain he was playing about 10 minutes a game.
Mito cheers for this mate. I agree with you on every one of your points. Personally won’t be getting any of them. Taylor may be considered but I think Friend and McAuley are better options at 4.5 mil.
7. Antonio, yes he was a great goals scoring mid at 7 first part of last season.
But he it looks like he will be playing fullback this season as he did end of last. & tho he will be looking to fly up the wing more than Cresswell he wont be getting the +4 CS
That’s OOP the wrong way round.
8. No love for Sou defence.
Still nearly the same players that smashed it end of last season.
New manager would need to be aright plum to change their play.
Great additions Tiger.
+1
Number 2 is archived.
He is my biggest hate.
How come?
Because many are getting high on him without looking at his past. I don’t think he is a terrible player, just not that good for fantasy. Time will tell, my taking sides has certainly come back to bite me in the past.
That just inspired a new emot, if only we could find Rich :fence:
I have my doubts too.
A 5.5 who racks up points like Lanzini & Payet(-fks & corners) would be gold.
But.
Likely Bilic has chosen him because he doesn’t score that much. As in defensive minded.
If as seems likely Antonio is Full back, he bombs forward a lot. Overlapping, becoming the winger, getting in the box.
In which case whoever is winger needs to be minded to cover for him.
Great for Whu, bad for us fpl Alli/Mahrez searchers.
Sheeet if only Antonio was classed as a def
Much appreciated Mito, this is bookmarked!
Liverpool are in talks with Bournemouth over the possible transfer of Brad Smith. Do people think he’ll start because if so he’ll be nailed on in my team. Only 4.0 mil and a brilliant young attacking left back could get plenty points and the odd CS.
Find it a weird one Matt since Daniels was such a good performer last season and they had paid 8mill for Mings before the start of the season too. I reckon one of them two may be leaving if they’re spending that much on Smith, certainly one to keep an eye on, would be in my back 4 100% if he was too be.
Find it good news for Liverpool to as now a new LB is a priority, hopefully Hector but anyone bar Moreno will do
Yeah I was thinking one of them will be sold but I think Mings is still injured so maybe that’s why Smith’s coming in. Do you know how much he’s going for SSN don’t mention a figure at all?
I would love Hector or Rodriguez but I don’t know what Klopp is planning.
£6m! Hopefully that’ll fund either of the two you mention or again, just anyone bar Moreno
6 Mil?!! Damn that’s a lot more than I expected but I won’t complain
Matt, he is that brilliant that he can’t take Moreno’s place and Klopp is looking to sell him?!
So that’s Flanagan and Smith offski – guess Milner, Henderson and La Llama can fill in at full back as they’ll have nothing else to do with your array of midfielders 😉
Kop and Cook, maybe brilliant is too strong a word but promising is one I would use. I feel that he is a bit smarter than Moreno if you know what I mean. Hopefully Klopp does bring someone in now because I don’t think we have another LB apart from Moreno unless he plays Randall at LB but I don’t fancy that either.
I’ll admit I haven’t seen a huge amount of him but what I did see never instilled a huge amount of confidence in me. His positional sense was/is quite poor.
Yeah that is true. I feel he just seems to be there more often than Moreno who disappears and doesn’t work back. Smith gets forward but does try and get back more than Moreno would.
Matt, he could prove me wrong in years to come but I wouldn’t consider Smith anywhere near brilliant.
Same Kop, I feel £6m is a very good deal as long as someone is brought in to at least challenge Moreno!
I’ll be very surprised if we don’t bring someone in. However it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s someone that hasn’t been linked with us.
Evening all
Trying to balance the team now. Ibra and Kun is too much imo
Thoughts?
I’m guessing you like the colour blue? 😉
I like this team. One or two things I’d look at is the double Chelsea attack. Conte isn’t the most attacking of managers I think so maybe just go with one Chelsea player there. I would consider Cuadrado if you decide you want midfield cover from Chelsea, supposedly Conte loves the guy so could feature a lot.