In previous years, Fantasy managers have been spoiled with bandwagons that proved to be strong, season-long sources of points.
From Harry Kane’s 21 goals for Spurs last term, to Grant Holt, who scored 15 goals for Norwich in 2011/12, these often-cheap players have that rare ability to help define a Fantasy season. With the likes of Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson and Swansea’s Bafetimbi Gomis and Andrew Ayew currently attracting points and owners we ask the burning question: which early season bandwagon has the most potential for the long haul?
Jonty says…
Looking at previous seasons’ three key criteria for success emerge. The first is that they play for a good, top four or thereabouts team.
The second is are they central to the attacking play of their team, irrespective of the team’s chances of Premier League success. In short will they be the next Grant Holt or Charlie Austin?
The third is are they nailed on, the first rule of Fantasy management.
Judging the current bandwagons’ prospects for longevity against these three critieria, I am not convinced that the game’s most transferred-in midfielder, Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, can maintain his form.
Leicester are not a top four side, so will have dips of form and have yet to face any top sides at the top of their game. Can they beat Manchester United again this season? Can they defeat Chelsea or Manchester City? I’m not convinced.
Also, Leicester do not rely only on Mahrez, with Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy among other strong prospects in a team managed, after all, by a man with the nickname “The Tinkerman”. Nathan Dyer’s deadline day move to the Foxes from Swansea also places further question marks over the pitch time of Leicester’s widemen.
The most transferred in defender, Aleksandar Kolarov, is another that fails my test.
Sure he plays for a top four side but while important to Manchester City’s play, he is not integral. This is a team with Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and now Kevin de Bruyne. In addition, when Gael Clichy recovers from injury he will offer a strong rotation threat, particularly when Champions League congestion strikes.
This season I believe the longest lasting bandwagons will be the game’s most transferred in striker, Bafetimbi Gomis, who is rotation-free and the focal point of his team’s attack. Swansea also look strong this season, beating Manchester United and drawing with Chelsea already. I think they could easily finish in the top six on current form, which bodes well for Gomis.
Andy85wsm says…
One of the reasons I and many others earmarked Harry Kane for bandwagon success early on last season was because he played for Tottenham Hotspur. Being good value for money and in one of the better Premier League teams is always going to help with prolonged bandwagon success in my view.
For that reason I have to look towards Andre Ayew or Bafetimbi Gomis as the players who have the potential for the long haul. Swansea finished 8th last season and I would bet on them finishing similar if not better this season.
The other candidates, like Riyad Mahrez, are obviously great value right now but I don’t see Leicester providing this kind of consistency throughout the rest of the season.
With Ayew and Gomis priced at £7.2m and £7.4m respectively they’re strong early additions to your team and are providing excellent value for money. If Ayew keeps dropping in as a second striker then he will continue to provide excellent returns at a decent price. While Gomis might not have had a double figure haul yet, he’s currently producing points at more than six per game and that is fantastic returns for the price.
Ultimately I have to make a decision, and I hate to come to the same conclusion as Jonty but I do think that Gomis has the biggest potential for being a long-term bandwagon success.
He’s the main man up front for a side likely to finish inside the top eight and I don’t see him losing too much game time to the likes of Eder. Couple that with penalties and we could get many happy returns far into the season. He’s already in my FPL team, the Ultimate game and was my first striker in a draft game I’m playing. Unless something goes horribly wrong he’ll probably be there for a good while longer.
Dufflinks (aka FPL 2014/15 champion Simon March)…
One thing I really subscribe to is idea of looking at the team first before the player, the logic being that the qualities of the overall team can either limit or amplify the output of an individual player.
Along with identifying value, I feel this process is also useful for sense-checking form and forecasting the long-term potential of talent. Any player can explode in a given Gameweek but, for scoring to be sustainable, that player needs to be in a team that will help accentuate and not restrict his output.
The next thing I like to look for is how involved a player is in the overall play of that team. Are they a key attacking outlet? Are they positioned as a central source of creativity? Are they on set-pieces or penalties? These are solid, tangible factors which help to transcend team or player form and help to identify long-term value.
Applying these criteria to the current ‘bandwagons’, Riyad Mahrez stands out as a player who not only has individual ability but, also, in the likes of Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton, team-mates with the quality to help him to sustain his output. Mahrez also appears to top the order for penalties and free kicks at Leicester and looks a strong candidate to maintain a solid return of points.
Of the bandwagons currently in motion, others who could qualify by this criteria might include Gomis, Kolarov and Ayew. Despite their obvious ability, I feel I need to see more of Callum Wilson, Dimitri Payet and Ross Barkley and the overall form of their respective teams to feel totally convinced by these players as long-term options.
Spencer says…
Andre Ayew has the potential to remain a bandwagon for the long haul due to three key factors. Firstly, Swansea may be a small club but it’s well run and has always seemed comfortable with its Premier League status. This offers Ayew the perfect building block to carry on his good early season form.
The second is his manager, who favours an entertaining and fluid style of football that has typified the Swans since their rise up the divisions into the top flight. This enables players like Ayew, who are attack minded, to shine.
Thirdly, we can look at the past, where former Swansea favourite Michu finished the sixth best midfielder in terms of Fantasy Premier League points in his debut season. Ayew looks primed to emulate his success based on Swansea’s track record of nurturing attacking talent.
With goals already against Chelsea and Manchester United, I can see this bandwagon rolling for a long time yet.
Paul says….
From an editorial perspective, I’d love to differ from some of the above answers purely for the sake of variety but I have to go with Andre Ayew.
For me, there are a number of reasons.
As I mentioned in the recent Big Numbers article on Midfielders, Ayew arrived with an 18.3% goal conversion record for Marseille last season – a clear sign of his capability in and around the box.
In part, this was down to the creative endeavours of Dimitri Payet, who served up chances aplenty for the Ligue 1 side, with Ayew scoring ten times. This time around, he has Jonjo Shelvey, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jefferson Montero all chipping in – Shelvey is second for midfielders with 14 key passes, whilst the latter two have created eight scoring chances apiece. So far, this has seen Ayew’s minute per attempt jump from last year’s 43.2 to 27.5 minutes in his first four outings for the Welsh club.
Having scored against Chelsea and United, he’s already passed the fixture-proof test.
As we saw against United, Ayew will also benefit when Garry Monk rolls out a midfield diamond and is clearly the default partner for Bafetimbi Gomis when Swansea move to two up front.
When comparing him to Gomis, two factors fall in his favour from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective. Ayew has outscored the Frenchman by six bonus points to one so far – that’s despite the latter finding the net in all four of the first Gameweeks. With his midfield classification offering more points for goals and helping him benefit from clean sheets, the Swans summer signing is the standout candidate for me.
Mark says….
I make no apologies for getting carried away by this season’s bandwagons. I’ve been stung before by doubting the credentials of players who stand out early on, only to find that I’m then reluctant to back down and pay considerably more for their services than many other, less hesitant FPL managers. I think this clouds my judgement somewhat.
Reluctantly I have to admit that I have doubts that all the current bandwagons in my squad – Wilson, Mahrez, Gomis, Ayew and Kolarov can sustain their current output levels. However, with the heavy-hitters yet to fire, I don’t regret jumping on board.
Who will I hold over the season? In truth, I’ll probably cling to all of them for too long and this will likely be my downfall. However, I do believe that each one has the potential to go on presenting strong value.
Both Gomis and Mahrez have penalties to smooth out the rough patches of form and both are integral, first choice components in teams that put emphasis on good attacking football.
The same could be said for Ayew who, unanimously, appears to be the selection singled out by the writers above. I’ve just acquired him – I’m not going to argue with his potential to go on delivering.
Then there’s Kolarov and Wilson – these two are the most fragile.
The Serbian is well known to me and, while he’s cemented in City’s XI, he’ll go on delivering returns at one end of the pitch, if not both. Clichy’s return to fitness will change that, however.
As for Wilson, his hat-trick at West Ham and flashy finish against Leicester underlined his potential but it would be naive not to expect him to suffer a barren run given that even Kane endured a severe dry spell last season. Even so, having snapped him up for 5.4, I can afford to ride that out and turn to my fifth midfielder for potential cover.
That’s the real appeal of this season’s bandwagons – many of them – Mahrez, Wilson and Kolaorv in particular – come in at such a low price point we can afford to get on board without fear that we’re being taken for a ride. They don’t restrict investment elsewhere in our squads and if we supplement them with performing heavy-hitters, they’ll do their jobs as budget/mid-price assets.
The trick is to know if and when to get rid.
I fear that I could one of the many managers who stay on board just that little bit too long and miss opportunities elsewhere but I’m hoping that it will be our strategy with the heavy-hitters, not the mid-price bandwagons, that decides this campaign.
