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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try me
Valdes (Jakupovic)
Terry Baines Wimmer Shaw Friend
Capoue Miki Townsend Downing Alli
Ibra Kun Gray
Midfield could be stronger I think but yeah it looks okay to me.
Any thoughts on my team?
DDG, Hennessey
Azpi, Dann, Fuchs, Dawson, Mee
HazardC), Firmino, Townsend, Redmond, Maloney
Ibra, Vardy, Gray
Defence is probably too strong, mids are probably to weak and you’ve got no City players at all. It’s a good squad but at the same time it could go horribly wrong, too. Just my opinion though.
I changed Dann, Fuchs and Dawson for Wollscheid, Cathcart and McAuley. I also changed Redmond for Payet and DDG, Hennessey out for Butland and Jakupovic
I think Townsend will do great, reason why i picked him also only City player I really like is KDB but I can’t afford him and I am going nowhere near their defense
Chris – Palace need a striker to make use of their wingers
Fair point. I think Benteke going
Seems to have gone quiet on that front Chris
Does anyone know anything about Sanchez? He’s flagged and not seeing him in many teams. Cops America finished ages ago and yeah he had ankle bruising but he played every Chile game and always wants to play
I think he has a knock
Even if fit i wouldn’t buy him. Scores have been too sporadic, although usually monstrous, to be spending 11 big ones on him. He’s about the bottom of the pile for premium mids to me until he shows proper consistency in fantasy returns. Same could be said fo Aguero i suppose but when was the last time Sanchez scored 4 or 5 goals in one game? That’s my thinking anyway, be it sound or otherwise. Hazard is my 10+ mid, no changing that.
Yeah that’s a good point. When Sanchez got most of his points ages ago it was when a lot of the Arsenal midfielders were out injured.
Yes last season he was to inconsistent. Hazard for me
indeed. I kept hi in my squad for ages waiting for him to blow up. He seems to be good for short, 3 or 4 game bursts but overall blanks more often than not. Class player though.
Yeah I did the same. Did pay off for triple captain but not much more than that. Just not sure who is the best for Arsenal coverage
Same here, he cost me big time
Totally agree, when Hazard, De Bruyne and Payet are all cheaper there is no reason to pick Sanchez!
Who scored more points out of Sanchez and hazard last season?
P.S I know the answer……;)
Ozil and he’s cheaper than both. Ain’t it about time you bought a striker he can feed
We all know the answer and we all know Hazard had issues last season of some sort or another. We also know that when he’s back in form, which he clearly is, he’s a consistent beast. Fancy a wager on who finishes this season with the most points then? I’ll take Hazard obviously. Any bad injuries and bet is null and void… what say you?
One of them doesn’t have to play in Champions or Europa league. 😉
I’m game if you are NIN?
Are you looking for another bet NIN are we talking MF players & what shall the bet be :smiling:
Hey guys, who are you liking for 4th midfielder options under 6.5? Cabaye, Bolaise, Townsend, Noble, Drinkwater, Redmond, JRod, King, Shaqiri, Feghouli, etc.? Anyone else in contention in that price range? Who do you like?
How about the mid-priced mids under 8.5? Eriksen, Alli, Ayew, Arnautovic, Siggy, Barkley, Tadic, Firmino, Willian, Fabregas, Coutinho, Toure, Ramsey, etc.? Who do you like in that range? Anyone else that should be considered?
Hey there Red, when you list them out you realise what a huge pool we have to choose from this season!
For me Firmino is a shoe-in for the season – no European football is a massive help.
I’ll be interested to see if Cesc is favoured.
For the cheapies, Foghorn at West Ham is interesting me, while i’ll be keeping a very close eye on J-Rod preseason.
Saying all that, you can easy make a great case for all the ones you have listed!
Hey Cookie, good to see you on the boards. Thanks for reply, the only Foghorn I’ve ever heard of is the cartoon guy on init’s avatar. I’ll have to look into him. I like J-Rod too, he used to be a budget gem until he got injured.
Not sure what to do about Liverpool players. They have some tricky fixtures to start and I’m worried how much rotation there will be after the end of last season. Coutinho and Firmino should be pretty nailed you’d think though.
Cesc seems a bit of a bargain if he can regain his fantasy form from 2 season’s ago. Guess we’ll need to see a few more pre-season matches to find out what the new managers are going to do and where all the new players will slot in.
It’s so nice to be back in the hunt though, I missed this shit!
Well you missed the Euros Red so I guess you must be getting “fantasy moist” – so to speak!
I don’t understand why people are bothered about Liverpool’s fixtures – they scored vs everyone last season and did better away from home. I wouldn’t be ruling Firmino out.
Cookie, how you guys can play the MLS and Euro/WC fantasy stuff year round I’ll never understand! By the end of FPL I’m frazzled and I think my wife would kick me out of the house if I didn’t take a break and get off the computer.
Good point about Liverpool scoring goals. We all know they leak goals like mad but they usually score a fair few as well. Still concerned about how they’ll set up with everyone Klopp’s got at his disposal now though!
Red, I would only normally restrict myself to some leisurely summer cricket fantasy, but that didn’t occur this year so I played the Euros, which was ok.
I don’t play MLS – tried it once and couldn’t raise my interest levels past a couple of weeks!!
Re Klopp and Liverpool, I was chatting to Kop and Matt on here earlier about how they will set up. No-one really knows of course but with Sturridge & Coutinho in there, an injury is never far away! What I really don’t understand is them buying Wijnaldum – Lord knows where he fits in.
Oh, you mean Feghouli! lol. Haha, I get jokes!!
Keep up Red!
Hi Red – not Cabaye, JRod, King or Feg. Any of the others are fair enough. I havent really looked at anything properly to give proper advice. How you doin?
Hey Dreamers, how’s it going? All is well here, just trying to absorb as much as I can from FPL players that are much smarter than me!
Hope you had a nice ‘off season’, really looking forward to getting back into FPL. My wife’s probably not, but she’ll have the rest of her life to get over it!
Doing well Red. Not sure why your talking to me if looking for smarter
Ya I thought the wife would get it by now but not so. She still thinks the match starts when the games starts :shakeshead:
Evening Red. I like Townsend, Feghouli, Shaq, Arnie, Siggy and Firmino. Probs wouldn’t start with Firmino though but he’s high on the list once we get a few gw’s in i’d say. If Mata leaves United then i’d certainly add him to the list. Cant think of any more off the top of my head
Hey NIN, great to see you mate and thanks again for the article. With Townsend out on the right wing and Zaha pushed over to the left, there’s talk that Bolaise could play in behind the striker. I’m wondering if Bolaise may be the best choice for CP cheapos.
Do you think Townsend is a better option than Cabaye, Zaha, and Bolaise?
Thanks Red, much appreciated mate. My pleasure. As for Townsend, yeah, i think i would pick him over the others to be honest. That could change as preseason trucks along of course but for now i think he looks a very good deal. The addition of Tekkers would help all of them produce more points you’d think, not sure if that deal is going through though. He becomes a serious option himself if it does.
Red, one’s that everyone seems to have missed so far are the Boro boys, namely Adomah / Fischer / Ramirez. Downing also too maybe but I’m not sure if he’ll see much game time.
Looking at Boro’s fixtures I’m fairly set on going in with one of them… Ado seems the safest, with Fischer the gamble, and Ramirez the flare option.
Hey james, good to see you on the boards man! I was asking about Ramirez yesterday but instead of updating the player list the management at FPL headquarters would rather balls up the graphics and format and make the site so ugly we all go back to writing out our teams instead of posting screen shots for RMTs!
How much do you think Ramirez will cost when they get around to adding him?
Stop whinging about colours
I reckon they’ll plonk him in at 6.0m but not really sure at all… if he’s 5.5m then I’ll probs take him over Adomah. If not – well – money’s tight!
I wonder how much Negredo will be?
Have you seen the new kit options Cookie?? One sponsor logo to choose from for our jerseys now. ONE LOGO!!!
Red, is this going to last until next May?!
Haha, nah I’m pretty much over it Cookie. I just don’t do well with change I suppose! Liked the old layout just fine, not sure why they’d want to mess with a good thing. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it and all that. 😛
Lol – only pulling your plonker Red. I don’t mind the new set up and I usually hate change! Freshens it up I spose.
Hey Red, I actually made a team this morning, albeit very quickly but I’d resolved to start early and add players in as I go along whenever they catch my eye whether that be pre-season or just someone making a valid argument for them. I’ve got a watchlist behind that too to build up preferences. Anyway point was that JRod made it in from your first group and Townsend is his alternative. I like both really especially if JRod gets a spot up top or as one of the three, depending on how they line-up.
From the 2nd lot Arnie and Siggy made it in. Firmino is the other on the watchlist. Arnie is most likely to lose out but I’d be gutted to do so as I’d kind of resolved to have him last season, didn’t pick him initially and never got round to doing so and it hurt every time he got a point. That was all based upon seeing him in pre-season and him looking really dangerous. I know it wasn’t a massive season but if you said to people now he’d finished 34 points ahead of KdB, 36 ahead of Coutinho and just 1, 2 and 6 behind Alli, Sanchez and Payet they’d probably be surprised.
Hey init, thanks for your thoughts. I’m (pleasantly) surprised to hear you mention Arnie actually as I haven’t seen him in many drafts nor heard many people talking him up.
I’m definitely going to need a good player from each price bracket mentioned in order to get the strikers I want so I’m loving everyone’s ideas and feedback. I’ve always liked J-Rod and had him in my initial team when he was injured. And if CP get Benteke then all of their cheapo mids get more interesting.
Do you think Townsend will score the most fantasy points out of that crew, even if Bolaise ends up playing behind the striker?
What about Alli vs Eriksen? Both cost the same and play in a good, attacking side.
Hi Red, Townsend may benefit most from Benteke with him being a winger and given the strengths of Benteke being balls into the box. Pardew will set up to play to this as well. He’s fairly no nonsense and astute in that respect, despite what people (Cookie mainly!) may say about him.
As for Alli and Erik who knows. Again though ask people who scored more points overall given the publicity and acclaim Alli got last season…
Pretty sure I have never commented on whether Pardew is a good manager or not, but rather that he is an arrogant twit.
Saying that, if ordering one’s wingers to ping balls into a guy like Benteke is considered astute, then I consider myself a genius.
Rodgers never quite figured it out…. yeah, lame argument
morning!
Great list mate!
For me it would be Drinkwater, Feghouli and J Rod out of the first group. Second group is a lot closer, hope Arnautovic can smash in some goals this season but a lot of those are brilliant picks. Swans have a few difficult fixtures after their first two otherwise I would have Siggy straight in the squad. Also keep an eye on Cazorla who could be a cheap (7.5m) first team player for Arsenal!
Sorry, yes Cazorla is on my watchlist too. Good price and probably back on pens. Hopefully another who gets overlooked like JRod because he was absent for so long. Won’t pop up on the ‘points scored’ last season radars of the casuals who go by the FPL stats alone either.
Got a good feeling about those two! Too many midfielders I like…
Hey Karlis, good to see you on the boards. Thanks for the Cazorla mention, hadn’t considered him and if he’s getting regular minutes could be a nice little bargain at 7.5.
Like Liverpool though I’m really at a loss with how Arsenal will set up this season. And what ever happened with Iwobi?? Dude came on the scene at the end of last season and was stomping shit at like 5.0 or 5.5, super bargain! Anyone think he’ll get in the starting 11?
Yes, tough one to guess… Got Iwobi on the watch list just in case, keep an eye out through preseason! As for Cazorla he started last season in the first XI until he got injured for pretty much the rest of it so I fancy him to start but who knows as he will likely be battling it out with Wilshere and Ramsey for the more attacking role of the two central midfielders with Xhaka being more defensive
so who you fancy as the Liverpool first team this season? Lots of comings and goings.
Hi Dreamers, hope you are well mate.
May as well have a bash at this . . .
All being fit
Karius
Clyne Matip Lovren Moreno
Wijnaldum Can
Mane Firmino Coutinho
Sturridge
Any decent team will score a hat full against us!
Hey TGP, doing well. You?
I’d have Sakho over Lovren.
Grujic might play ? Hard to see where. Wijnaldum surely must play but again where? All these “10’s” are hard to figure out really.
Think Sakho has been ruled out for the first few? May have read the timeframe wrong though.
I reckon Lovren is first choice CB and could possibly be made captain.
Hi Init – I believe he is. Was thinking a more “when everyone is fit” team
Kop. Really? Captain?
Still think he is one game away from capitulation or 15 mins. I’m not sure Hendo plays. Can? Maybe but very much a maybe. Matip have leadership qualities? Havent seen him play.
Dreamers, if Klopp decides that Henderson is unlikely to start every week I think there’s a good chance that Lovren will be given the armband.
I’d have thought Hendo alongside Can?
Then where does the £25M new boy go Init?
And Sakho is out yeah. Those diet pills have obviously taken their toll :say-what:
I don’t know GP. Maybe you should have thought about that before splashing £25m on a player who only plays at home and has no obvious place in your team which needs filling
Rotation player for £25mill, guess that’s just how the premier league is these days…
Maybe I should have thought about it?
I haven’t got 25 quid let alone 25 million!
Rumour – Everton bidding for Siggy
This would be brilliant, about time he moved on to a bigger club than Swansea… Wanted him at Liverpool when we were rumoured to be interested under Rodgers. Think he’s got potential to play for a Champions League club.
Strange one Cookie. Would have thought he was a level below what they were aiming for. Will they hold on to Lukaku?
Don’t know mate I think he’s class. What he did last in the second half of last season with that pretty dreadful Swansea side sealed it for me!
Karlis – isnt that really the Barkley position though?
Yeah I guess that’s the only problem with it really… Perhaps one of them at CM or on the left side of the 3? Strange one but would be a brilliant signing if Koeman can make it work!
Barkley could learn a lot from Siggy, mainly about being more direct and incisive. He (Barkley) can also play in any of the 3 behind slots or even in the 2 behind those. He may even be thinking of Siggy up top if Lukaku goes.
Wow that would be a fantastic signing for them. Koeman seems to know what he’s at these days.
Here’s a good question that will affect how many people pick him (And Baines) – If goes to Everton does he take the pens and corners. I’m guessing he’s definitely on Free Kicks because he’s up with the very best at them…