I'm strongly considering getting Sanchez (C) in with my 2 FTs.

Madness?

Big thanks to the guys for going ahead while I was nursing my connection. Andy hosted brilliantly I thought and they weren't too harsh on me.

Good morning all.

What would you do with this lot?

2 FTs. £0 ITB.

Foster - Elliot
Davies - Cedric - Daniels - Naughton - Long
Salah - Willian - Ramsey - Fraser - Carroll
Lukaku - Kane - Jesus

1) Jesus and William > Sanchez and a cheap striker
2) William and Daniels > Alonso and a 4.5 mid
3) Daniels and Fraser > Dunk and Brady
4) Something else?

Evening all,

Not-so-quick question regarding the sustainability of a 'Big 3' up top. I imagine I'm not alone in currently possessing a front 3 of Lukaku, Firmino and Kane (or a combination of expensive assets akin to this). Unlike some, perhaps, I have held this front 3 since the beginning of the season and put simply, it hasn't worked, yet. Whilst it is possible to attribute some of Kane's lost points to a bit of bad luck and the notorious August curse, I am left wondering whether (even if Kane does begin to score) this 'Big 3' is the way to go.

After briefly scanning some statistics on the members area and crunching the numbers, it became apparent that even if Kane had scored in 2 of his 3 previous games, garnering an extra 10-15 points, I believe I still wouldn't have had a blistering start to season. Bearing in mind the fact that I have a fairly 'template' defence in place (the Foster - Elliot pair combined with Stephens, Jones, Davies, Mee and bench fodder Rangel), it is clear that any points I have lost out on have come primarily as a result of my top heavy formation preventing me from spreading the wealth in midfield. This is not to say my team is without error; the selection of KDB being the most notable, but in relation to so-called 'hardcore' players, I have lost out as a result of being unable to fund more 8-9.5m midfielders, which has so far punished me with midfielders at Liverpool, Spurs and United in particular, scoring heavily.

Whilst I do not expect United to keep running over teams late in matches, or Liverpool to play Arsenal at Anfield every week, it appears that the expensive midfielders from the aforementioned teams should score consistently well for the duration of the season. This is before Hazard and Sanchez dare to complicate matters. Additionally, whilst it appears there may be value to be had below the 6.0m mark in midfield, the 6-8m bracket appears worryingly barren for anyone who possesses a 'Big 3' like myself. Early injuries to Zaha and Lallana, combined with Pep's reluctance to consistently feature Sane or Sterling, did not help in this regard leading many to question whether Alonso (at similar price) is better value than comparable midfielders.

The only saving grace for my current situation appears to be the conundrum of captaincy. Whilst midfielders have scored well, I do not believe an 'explosive' captaincy option, akin to Kane or Lukaku, has emerged. And yet in spite of this, I have only captained Harry Kane once to date, with Lukaku successfully delivering in Gameweeks 1 and 2 before missing out on a golden chance to do so again in Gameweek 3.

In sum, I share the views of those on the Scoutcast who suggested that long-term, a 'Big 3' up top is unsustainable. However, I struggle to see when I might be forced to make this change in the next 5 Gameweeks. The fixtures appear kind enough to Kane, Lukaku and Firmino, and Morata is beginning to create a sizeable shadow looming over my team. This is before some inevitable Lacazette points roll in over the coming weeks and assuming Gabriel Jesus or Sergio Aguero does not become a consistently reliable source of points in Pep's city minefield.

My question(s), long-winded as it has been, is whether fellow 'Big 3' owners foresee a point on the horizon when they have planned to remove one of their big 3? If not, is this the most effective way to garner points if the sub-8m range in midfield remains unpredictable?

With so many exciting forward options available, I find myself heavily reliant on successfully nailing a Harry Kane captaincy hat trick to justify my faith. Exciting as this season is from a striker-perspective, I can't help but miss the security of a trickling stream of goals assists coming from premium midfield assets.

Best 4.5 defender other than Mee and Naughton?

Dele Alli: Fifa open disciplinary proceedings after gesture at Wembley - http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41199525

Alli ban incoming?

Vincent Kompany did not train on Thursday and is a major doubt for City vs. Liverpool with his 15th calf injury in five years. [Daily Mail]

Repost for the late folk -

I've written another article - this time, it's a comprehensive analysis to get an answer to the Eriksen vs Alli dilemma, followed by a comparison of three budget strikers in Abraham, Vokes and Mounie. In-depth with all the stats, heat maps and average positions. Do give it a read.

http://the12thman.in/fpl-analysis-alli-vs-eriksen-budget-strikers/

Revealed: Joe Hart has one significant weak spot and opposition players are starting to notice

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/09/08/revealed-joe-hart-has-one-significant-weak-spot-opposition-players/

He's shit?

Or just go low and left with Joe.....

So its pretty much:

Pogba
- Similar to Alli
- More nailed than Mkhi
- 0.1 cheaper
- Lots of goal threat and some assist potential
- On direct FKs and could be on pens

Mkhi
- Similar to Eriksen
- Hasn't blanked yet
- Fantastic assist potential and some goal threat
- On corners
- Further up the pitch than Pogba

I can feel it, this is the week ma boy Tom Ince nets me 12+ points.

Predictions for:

Man City v Pool
Stoke v United
Southampton v Watford ?

Where is my mate Virg? Did he come up against Mark's ban hammer? 🙁

The 'people' of British territory Anguilla have labeled the governments response to the Hurricane Irma as pathetic & disgusting.
A task force has been sent but will take 2 weeks to arrive.
Pathetic is not the word.

Ramsey or Antonio long-term?

4.4 Defenders

Wimmer - MH says “Obviously this deal was with a view to the future because we know that Kurt is a Chelsea player, but Kevin is our player now and we knew that this deal wouldn’t have been available to us this time next year."

Yedlin - Local press says Rafa prefers 1 attacking FB and 1 defensive FB

Lejeune - Perhaps the more likely because if Rafa doesn't risk both Manquillo & Yedlin then Clark could go LB making Lejeune a shoe-in to partner Lascelles. Even if M & Y were to start Lejeune would appear ahead of Lascelles based on v TOT gw1

Holgate - Played the last 180', numbers not great but looks like it's his spot to lose given both games were v very tough away opponents in mac & che.

On balance Lejeune's rotation w/Naughton edges it for me but all a bit iffy tbh

How's she looking?

I've got Carroll coming in for Sterling this week, which I'm not unhappy about. Perhaps Sterling becomes someone else in a week or two, let's see. Ben Davies coming in for PvA next week for the Spurs - Swansea fixture.

Foster
Cedric - Jones - PvA
Mané - Pogba - Alexis - Sterling
Firmino - Morata - Chicharito

(Elliott - Carroll - Mbemba - Wimmer)