The Burning Question – Is a Three-Man Attack the Way to Go?

This morning, we publish the fifth and final instalment in our series of Burning Questions articles, focussing on some of the main dilemmas facing Fantasy managers for the season ahead. Having quizzed our contributors on Alexis Sanchez, Defensive Heavy Hitters, Robin van Persie and Daniel Sturridge, we now take a look at formations.

This season, the player price list has been notably kind in the midfield area, with some potential big-hitters all coming in at no more than 9.0. As we’ve seen on the site over the last few weeks, Fantasy managers are varying their approaches, with some determined to opt for a 3-5-2 formation and stock up on attacking options in the middle of the park.

With this in mind, we ask the Burning Question – Is a three-man attack the way to go or is there reason to reconsider?

Applebonkers says…
I view formations how I assume real life managers view their own – first assess the players at your disposal, then decide on the best system. The concept of formation ceases to exist in my mind; I reckon that by selecting a formation first, you risk unnecessarily narrowing down your options in a juicy area.

It’s simply putting out a best XI driven by all the usual factors. This could be a 3-4-3 one week, 3-5-2 the next, then 5-2-3 the week after. As it stands, the player list is certainly hinting towards spending more than ever in midfield, meaning cuts elsewhere. I don’t necessarily view this as a 3-5-2 set-up though; due to Sunderland’s fixtures, I’d start Steven Fletcher in seven of the first eight Gameweeks, for example. Above all else, having a flexible squad to deal with the ebb and flow of fixtures is key for me; to me, it’s like having a lava lamp, my own blob that unpredictably swells and contracts in different areas throughout the season.

Roscola says…
You only have to listen to the old-timers in the community to learn the lesson that, in Fantasy Football, three strikers always wins the day. Quite simply, the scoring system favours them and hence we see, year after year, that the top scorers are strikers. A quarter of a season where the “power five” performed well is just a tiny aberration on an otherwise clear record. And yet, for the start of this campaign, a lot of managers are finding it hard to get excited about three affordable strikers. A raft of mid-price, goal-scoring midfielders is making it look like a temporary opening gambit of 3-5-2 while we wait for the form strikers to emerge isn’t completely mad. Three up-front will win out in the end though.

D1sable says…
It’s definitely tempting to look at 3-5-2 isn’t it? It seems we have so many good “number 10s” and/or box-to-box midfielders in the Premier League and less quality forwards who are nailed-on, especially from the bigger teams, that it seems a viable tactic. Add in the fact that midfielders score more points for goals and benefit from clean sheets, then there is a reasoned argument for it. It’s just whether we can live with ourselves and go against our instincts to want three good forwards – it feels a little like parking the bus and, being a United fan, that makes me feel dirty.

7shadesofsmoke says…
There has always been a reason to reconsider the three-man attack, until three big strikers find a bit of form. Last season we had the ‘lowest scoring season of all time’ during the first few Gameweeks and the new Bonus Point System (BPS) was dishing out defensive returns left right and mostly centre. Five-man back lines were like the Teletubbies in their prime: a monster fad, infiltrating every corner of the Fantasy psyche and pouring into new-look RMT’s.

Then Luis Suarez returned from suspension, Wayne Rooney got it going and Sergio Aguero held his fragile frame together long enough to blast points home all over the league. The SAR frontline became the beast to ride up the Fantasy rankings and those managers who failed to jump on board were simply left in the dust. SAR won my mini-league, and I bet a few others too. This season we have a plethora of 9.0 or less options up front, and some red-hot prospects in the premium bracket. Will we romance the idea of a stoker on the bench? Of course! (that’s what the early wildcard is for 😉 ). Will we all end up scrambling for three forwards as soon as the big guns emerge? Most definitely. This is Fantasy Football, people!

Gavigan says…
I’m actually thinking the opposite, since there are so few heavy hitting forwards compared to midfielders and defenders that will score highly. Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Daniel Sturridge and Sergio Aguero are all guaranteed big points if they stay injury free (which is a huge IF), but below that there isn’t much to choose from.

EVS says…
I don’t see any reason to reconsider moving from the standard, and in my opinion best, formation of 3-4-3. There are some plum midfield options to get such as Cesc Fabregas, Aaron Ramsey, David Silva, Juan Mata etc for a decent cost plus some good mid-priced options, too. If that allows you at least two big guns up top with a decent mid-priced forward option then that’s the way to go. Remember, strikers tend to score the most goals and get the most assists so….that’s where you should concentrate your efforts.

Jonty says…
Each season pricing, early fixtures and the formations for each teams conspire to alter the way we think about formation. Last season was one of the closest we have come to a break up of the traditional 3-4-3 formation in favour of having just two players up front, due to a lack of striking options at Manchester United and Chelsea, in particular. This season we have more choice in attack, which makes 3-4-3 inevitable. Chelsea have handed us Diego Costa as an option, Manchester United look full of attacking verve in pre season, making Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie better choices. With Daniel Sturridge, Manchester City’s strikers and the potential of a promoted side’s attacker to do well, investment in a strong front three looks to once again be the best option.

Tom Fenley says…
I think at first it is always best to play it safe and wait for midfield options to emerge. With the new bonus points system as well, a striker scoring a goal will almost certainly get in the bonus points. This means goals are actually worth five to seven points for strikers and their job is to score. I think it is also easier to downgrade an expensive forward to improve the midfield rather than the opposite. There are a lot of promising midfield options this year so I think there will be value there in the mid-price range. Up front it is incredibly rare to get a cheap to mid-priced forward who is consistent enough to take up one of those three spots. I can understand why people are going for the 3-5-2 but for me it’s 3-4-3, especially as it will also most likely give you an extra captaincy option.

Spencer says…
A five-man midfield certainly looked the way to go with Sturridge being so expensive and some great scoring midfielders added this year. As we get nearer to the start of the season, however, some doubts have arisen. Will Gylfi Sigurdsson be played out wide? Will Siem de Jong be fit? Is Aaron Ramsey playing too deep? What will Fabregas’ number seven role actually be? Whenever doubts set in, we all like to go back to what’s been tried and tested. And that’s playing three up front.

Paul Says…
Due to the player pricing, I’ve probably tinkered with my 15-man squad more times this pre-season than any other. Particularly in midfield, it certainly looks temping to load up on high-calibre options from the off – Raheem Sterling, Juan Mata, Aaron Ramsey and Cesc Fabregas all approach the season in strong form and arguably hold more appeal than any forward in the same 8.5-9.0 price bracket.

Over the opening few weeks, though, the mid-price midfielders should begin to reveal themselves. The likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jason Puncheon, Marko Arnautovic and Siem de Jong all have a keen eye for goal that could spark their bandwagons and I feel that, amongst the mid-price options, midfielders have greater season-long potential than forwards – certainly, freeing up the budget looks crucial when we have Wayne Rooney, Diego Costa, Daniel Sturridge and Sergio Aguero all capable of devastating defences up front.

For as much as my squad looks convincing onscreen in a 3-5-2 right now, deep down I know, that by the time Saturday’s deadline arrives, there’s every chance I’ll have banished the Bojan punt and juggled my budget enough to ensure I have a trio of strong options leading the line.