End of Season Awards – Goalkeepers

Earlier today, we rolled out the first end of season poll as the Fantasy Football Scout awards get up and running. To kick off, we focus our attentions on the goalkeepers and have released a poll in the right column of the homepage to collect your opinions.

For this poll you get just a single opportunity to vote for your top keeper of the season from an overall Fantasy perspective – points, price, performances and value across the various games you play should all be considered.

Although our selections are mainly weighted towards the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, when it comes to the nominees we’ve also factored in performance in other games where clean sheet points alone are essential to points output.

We begin by taking a look back at last season’s team of the season and, in particular, the previous choice for top stopper:

2014/15 FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT TEAM OF THE SEASON REVIEW

Goalkeeper – Fraser Forster
Defenders – John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Nathaniel Clyne, Ryan Bertrand
Midfielders – Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez, David Silva
Forwards – Charlie Austin, Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero

Honoured as the premier Fantasy keeper in the previous campaign, Fraser Forster was precluded from retaining his crown by virtue of a serious knee injury in this campaign. Following over six months of rehabilitation, the England international would finally return between the sticks in Gameweek 21, usurping stand-in Maarten Stekelenburg.

Forster served as an immediate fillip for Saints’ rearguard upon his reinstatement, inspiring a run of six successive clean sheets – doubling Southampton’s tally for the season. Since that streak ended, however, Saints have failed to record a shut-out in nine outings, limiting investment in the 5.0-priced keeper.

Regardless, only two teams (Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur) have conceded fewer goals than the south-coast club (13) from the point which Forster made his comeback. Moreover, Southampton have conceded 0.86 goals per match with the former Celtic recruit gracing the pitch compared to an average of 1.2 in his absence, underlining how central he is to the Fantasy appeal of Saints’ back line next season.

While Forster missed out on a nomination this season, here are our list of the top Fantasy Football keepers for the 2015/16 campaign.

David De Gea

Although Manchester United rank top this term for clean sheets (17), David De Gea only charts sixth among his counterparts in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) rankings. Nonetheless, the Spain international has proved invaluable for those managers that elected to exploit the Red Devils’ exceptional resolve at Old Trafford, given that they’ve accrued three more home clean sheets (12) than any other team.

De Gea’s greatest asset this season has been his security of starts. Owing to Louis van Gaal’s propensity for rotation at the full-back berths and Daley Blind’s unfortunate classification as a midfielder, the Atletico Madrid academy product and Chris Smalling have acted as the only safe routes into Man United’s defence. Considering that the former boasts a superior points-per-game average than the latter (4.4 to 4.1) and can be snapped up at 0.6 cheaper (5.9 to 6.5), De Gea emerged as the choice pick for their recent double Gameweek.

De Gea’s excellence is reflected by his points haul (148) in the Sun Dream Team, which places him top in the keeper rankings, whilst he also claims a marginal lead over Kasper Schmeichel in the Daily Telegraph Fantasy Football rankings.

Jack Butland

Tantalisingly priced (4.5) from the offset, Jack Butland became Stoke’s new number one after former stopper Asmir Begovic moved to Chelsea over the summer.

The youngster struggled to initially pick up the points, with his failure to secure a clean sheet in the opening seven Gameweeks somewhat kept afloat by eight save points. A reversal of fortunes found the Potters chalking up eight clean sheets in their subsequent 11 match-ups, however, rendering him the most popular shot-stopper on the Fantasy market.

The upshot was that Stoke ranked joint-second for clean sheets (eight) through the first 18 Gameweeks, furnishing us with a budget source of defensive returns. The Potteres have somewhat disintegrated since that point, though, mustering the joint-fewest shut-outs (two) since Gameweek 19.

Butland’s season-ending injury whilst playing for England in late March hasn’t helped either, with Stoke conceding 14 goals across four matches in his subsequent absence. Having peaked at a price of 5.3 in the FPL, Butland looks set to rise to 5.0 next time out as a result of his heroics.

Heurelho Gomes

Heurelho Gomes has enjoyed a renaissance with Watford this term, erasing memories of a final full season at Spurs that was pockmarked by errors. The charismatic Brazilian currently ranks top of the FPL rankings for total score (152), which – by way of his initial pricing (4.5) – makes him the most valuable shot-stopper by a clear margin (30.4).

Delving deeper into the statistics, Gomes has currently amassed 10 more saves (115) than any other keeper and places joint-top for bonus points (14). Furthermore, his points-per-game average (4.5) is only bettered by Petr Cech (4.6) when factoring in just regular starters. Clearly, Gomes’ mammoth haul (19 points) against West Bromwich Albion – which resulted from two penalty saves – skews the perception of that average slightly.

Ultimately, Gomes – who is also top keeper in the Sky Sports game – has profited from Quique Sanchez Flores’ regimented approach to management in the top tier. Having surrendered the fourth-fewest goals (15) and eight-fewest big chances (205) on home turf, the Hornets established a solid foundation for their survival bid. With question marks remaining over Flores’ future, though, it remains to be seen whether Watford’s number one will prove such a profitable pick next time out.

Hugo Lloris

Despite ranking fourth in the FPL rankings for total score (5.4), Hugo Lloris has operated on the periphery of our thinking this term. This can mostly be attributed to the fact that the likes of Toby Alderweireld (four goals, three assists), Eric Dier (three goals, one assist) and, more recently, Danny Rose (one goal, seven assist) possess superior points-per-game averages because of their attacking returns and knack for scooping bonus points.

Although Mauricio Pochettino’s side have conceded fewer goals than any side (26) this season, Spurs’ territorial dominance limits Lloris’ capacity for racking up saves (80 – eighth in FPL rankings) and hence his general allure. It’s worth noting, however, that with Alderweireld’s price set to rise, Dier facing a change of classification in the FPL and the inevitability of rotation at the full-back slots, Lloris’ affordability and security of starts could come into play.

As a result of the defensive diligence that has seen Spurs concede just 26 times – less than any other side – Lloris sits atop the summit of the Fantasy League keeper rankings.

Joe Hart

Joe Hart kicked off the season in auspicious fashion, recording five clean sheets in as many outings before Vincent Kompany succumbed to the first of a litany of niggling calf complaints. From Gameweek 6 to 18, Manuel Pellegrini’s troops failed to silence a single team in the nine match-ups without the Belgian on board, forcing us to abandon their high-priced assets.

In the latter stages of this campaign, Hart’s security of starts has thrust him back into relevancy: Kompany’s ongoing travails created instability in central defence and the full-backs have been routinely rotated, so investing in Man City’s backline has proven to be a risky exercise. Given that they’re still fighting on two fronts, this caveat will persist until their potential exit from the Champions League.

As the custodian for a defence that ranks joint-second for clean sheets (16), Hart places second among his counterparts in the Fantasy League and sits third in both the Sky Sports Fantasy Football and Sun Dream Team games.

Kasper Schmeichel

Considering that Leicester City failed to earn a single clean sheet until Gameweek 10, it’s fair to say that Kasper Schmeichel made little noise on the Fantasy market through the first half of the season. Something clicked for the East Midlanders beyond Gameweek 18, sparking an exceptional run of defensive form that’s seen them register 12 shut-outs in 17 outings, with Schmeichel rising to third in the FPL keeper rankings (138).

Bearing in mind that he lays claim to a lower points-per-game average (3.9) than Christian Fuchs (4.8), Danny Simpson (4.2) and Robert Huth (4.1), it’s perhaps surprising that the Dane is the most popular source of Foxes defensive coverage (17% ownership) in FPL.

With the Foxes set for Champions League football next season, however, it remains to be seen just how much Claudio Ranieri will look to rotate his first-team regulars to cope with the busy schedule. Whilst that may place question marks over the likes of Fuchs’ and Simpson’s pitch time if Ranieri shuffles his full-backs, Schmeichel looks an assured pick under the Tinkerman regardless.

A price hike is inevitable across the Fantasy games next term as a result of the Foxes’ recent resilience and whilst a cost of 5.0 looks more than likely, the possibility of a jump to 5.5 would price Schmeichel out of most managers’ plans.

Charting second only to De Gea in the Telegraph rankings, Schmeichel served as a great facilitator in that game. The ex-Man City player also occupies the bronze-medal berth in the Fantasy League rankings.

Petr Cech

Backed by 25% of all FPL managers, Petr Cech currently possesses the largest ownership of any shot-stopper. Save for Gomes’ spot-kick heroics, the former Chelsea stalwart would be riding high at the peak of the FPL rankings. As it stands, he’s justified his prohibitive price by placing second for total score (144) and sixth for value (24.4).

Even though he’s played behind a rearguard that’s allowed the fourth-fewest shots inside the box (223), Cech ranks fifth for saves and joint-top for bonus points (14), meaning he has the best points-per-game average (4.6) of any regular keeper. Training our focus on the Gunners’ defence, Laurent Koscielny and Hector Bellerin (both 4.7) have fared a little better on that front but offer less value due to their heftier price points.

Having started this season at 5.5 as Chelsea’s back-up stopper, the Czech international is likely to remain around the same price in 2016/17 but, as such, offers less appeal to those who are keen on rotating cut-price stoppers.

Elsewhere, Cech charts second among keepers in Sun Dream Team and Sky Sports, highlighting the consistency of his performances across the Fantasy games as a “fire and forget” option.

Wayne Hennessey

Wayne Hennessey is the only keeper with a starting price of 4.0 to find a place in our assessment.

Consigned to bench duties at the start of the campaign, with Alan Pardew favouring Alex McCarthy in lieu of the injured Julian Speroni, the Welshman was finally afforded his chance in Gameweek 7. Hennessey immediately strengthened his grip on a starting berth with three clean sheets in five outings and has missed only two league matches – due to minor injuries – since.

In truth, Hennessey’s points-per game average (3.4) has plummeted in the wake of a 12-match spell that harvested zero clean sheets, yet his security of starts at a budget price tag has been his main selling point for those looking to free up the funds.

Now established as a regular starter, there’s no question that Hennessey will be handed a price rise across the Fantasy games next time out. Although he’s likely to be no more than 4.5 in FPL, Palace’s overall lack of resilience may struggle to persuade us that the Welshman is worthy of investment, though his save point potential – having earned at least one in 12 of his 27 outings – may yet keep him in the frame.

Indeed, bearing in mind that Scott Dann averaged just 3.8 points per game to Hennessey’s 3.4, the Eagles number one may yet represent stronger value, particularly with Dann set to remain a more expensive option on the back of five goals and two assists this term.