Let’s get this going… Our league code is 986651-240656
You’ve a grand colour, were you away?
Just two and a half months ago we saw Liverpool thrashed 6-1 by Stoke, a Theo Walcott hat-trick and the barnstorming 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Hull.
And now we’re raring to go as we compile our Fantasy Football teams for the 2015/16 season, wondering if Brendan Rodgers has finally got his philosophy right on the pitch, whether Hazard can continue to improve and how long Arsenal can go without derailing.
While we’ll be reporting back every Friday to let you know the three players to sign and three players to sell for optimum points that gameweek, this week is a little different.
Considering this is the start line and you can’t exactly sell players, we bring you the three must-haves and the three must-avoids as you look to get your season started the right way.
Three must-haves
Theo Walcott
First fixture: Arsenal v West Ham
- Price: £9.0m
- Selected by: 9.8%
Could this be the year that Theo Walcott finally becomes Thierry Henry? Of course not, don’t be so stupid. But if he is to become a proven goalscorer for Arsene Wenger then this is the season for him.
With Olivier Giroud an untrusted frontman, Walcott could flourish if Wenger decides to use him centrally which he could well do if the end of last season is anything to go by.
The winger’s finishing has come on leaps and bounds and at £9.0m he’s a bargain considering the fact that he’s listed as a midfielder but is expected to be as among the goals as most forwards.
Memphis Depay
First fixture: Manchester United v Spurs
Value: £8.5m
- Selected by: 25.2%
It’s always a risky one bringing a new signing into your fantasy football team but having watched a game and a half of Eredivisie action last season, we’re pretty sure that Memphis Depay is the best player in world football.
He scored 22 goals last season and if he can manage just half of them in his debut year in England then he will have beaten the return of every United player in 2014/15, bar Wayne Rooney.
Van Gaal knows him well and the trust he puts in him means that Depay is expected to start week in, week out plus, at £8.5m you don’t have to Depay through the nose for him. (That’s right we made that pun and now you just have to live with it).
- Branislav Ivanovic
First fixture: Chelsea v Swansea
- Value: £7.0m
- Selected by: 33.1%
We’re going to go ahead and say that anybody that doesn’t have Branislav Ivanovic in their team is a raving lunatic who shouldn’t be allowed around sharp objects.
The Serbian was the top pointscoring defender last season with 177 and he’s quite pricey but his consistency means that he’s probably the most must-have of all the must-haves in must-have-ville.
Three to avoid
Daryl Janmaat
First fixture: Newcastle v Southampton
- Value: £5.0m
- Selected by: 7.9%
Newcastle are bad at football, that’s all.
Perhaps the Magpies will be different this time around now that they don’t have the club wrecking ball known as John Carver at the helm but we wouldn’t bet our house on it.
Newcastle conceded 63 goals last season with bottom side QPR the only team to have let in more and it’s not like Daryl Janmaat is a goalscoring defender whose defensive frailties can be forgiven because of his attacking threat.
Why almost 8% of you have him in your team is an unsolvable puzzle.
Troy Deeney
First fixture: Everton v Watford
- Value: £5.5m
- Selected by: 8.9%
Listen, we love ourselves a bit of Troy Deeney but we don’t like the fixtures that await Watford upon their return to the Premier League.
You’d expect Everton to recapture some of the defensive solidity shown in the 2013/14 season now that they don’t have that pesky Europa League to be worrying about. And the subsequent fixtures include ties against West Brom who have the “keep it tight” Tony Pulis in charge and Southampton who conceded just one goal more than eventual champions Chelsea all season. Tough start indeed.
We hope he proves us wrong but we quite simply don’t think he has the pedigree to become the surprise package of the 2015/16 season and your £5.5m would be best spent elsewhere.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
First fixture: Chelsea v Swansea
- Value: £7.5m
- Selected by: 9.3%
This is very much a case of holding out for a week before introducing good ol’ Gylfi into our fantasy football team because he’s become something of a stalwart for us over the years.
With 7 goals and 10 assists last season, he truly is the standout player for Garry Monk but that comes with a caveat… The Icelandic midfielder simply doesn’t turn up against Chelsea.
He started both the 5-0 and 4-2 defeats last season and was overrun in the centre of the park by the Blues’ central trio of Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic and Oscar on both occasions.
Don’t worry, Sigurdsson will be a part of our fantasy football side this campaign but let’s just keep him on the shelf for gameweek one, eh?
To join our illustrious league and prove us wrong on a weekly basis, this is the code you’ll need… 986651-240656
