Welcome to the first in our series of Rate My Team Surgeries. These articles will look at initial Fantasy Premier League squads and will be published ahead of Gameweek 1, with one of the FFScout moderator and contributor team putting forward their selection for scrutiny in order to start discussion.
The aim is to highlight some of the key concerns we have faced in constructing their squads, which hopefully will chime with other FPL managers’ issues.
In addition, we want the comment section to provide a useful opportunity for you to submit your own RMTs. Please also be helpful to those asking for advice. The key to successful rating of teams is to give advice as well.
I have drawn the first straw to start off this series with my fixture-led initial FPL squad.
My Team
Heaton (BUR) Foster (WBA)
Shaw (MUN) Walker (TOT) Friend (MID) Francis (BOU) Robertson (HUL)
Mkhitaryan (MUN) Ayew (SWA) Tadic (SOU) Townsend (CPL) Capoue (WAT)
Gray (BUR) Aguero (MCI) Ibrahimovic (MUN)
Team cost £100m
Key Issues
Fixtures
The fixture schedule has been my guide in the absence of any form at the start of the season. A strong set of early fixtures for West Brom (cpl, EVE, MID, bou, WHM, sto) makes a defender or keeper a must for me. Ben Foster gets the nod due to his 4.5m price tag.
Middlesbrough have a strong early run too (STO, sun, wba, CPL, eve) which makes George Friend a good bet. Nailed on and with impressive underlying statistics last season, which FPL’s Bonus Point System favours.
Manchester United are another with good early fixtures (bou, SOT, hul, MCI, wat) and I’ve gone to town on their players with three lining up in my initial squad. Luke Shaw looks good value at 5.5 after an injury-hit 2015/16. Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be tricky to draft in at 11.5 if I didn’t have him immediately, whilst Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s 9.5 price and early pre-season form have also guided my thinking.
Questions: Am I relying too much on fixtures? Is tripling up on Manchester United too much? Am I foolish for ignoring Chelsea’s excellent early fixtures?
Value
My goalkeeper combination is all about value. Two nailed on stoppers, with a great track record of saves, all for 9m. That looks too good to turn down. Also their fixtures dovetail nicely early on for rotation.
I’ve also gone for players I think will outperform their price tag. Kyle Walker at 5.5, when his team-mate Danny Rose is 6m, looks a steal. Attacking points and clean sheets should follow especially with a strong early start (eve, CPL, LIV, sto, SUN, mid).
Dusan Tadic and Andre Ayew also look well priced considering the attacking role they play for their teams.
I’ve also ensured I can afford the likes of Sergio Aguero by opting for budget bench players. Etienne Capoue (4.5) will rarely play for me, but I’m happy to call on him particularly as he appears to have license to bomb forward under Watford’s new manager, Walter Mazzarri – already in pre-season, he has scored twice.
Hull’s Andrew Robertson is nailed on, and due to poor fixtures is likely to be benched each week. He could do well, though, if called upon. Likewise, Simon Francis may not have good fixtures but is a player I’m happy to rely on when needed.
Questions: Have I selected the best 7.5 midfielders? Have I got the right 4.5 defenders in place? Are there any 4.0 defenders I should consider?
Flexibility
This is key for me and has meant I’ve gone for players that are not necessarily my preferred picks in each position, but allow me to downgrade if required.
For example Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino is a player I like, particularly for 8.5, instead of Mkhitaryan, but it is far easier for me to downgrade from the Manchester United midfielder to Firmino than vice versa. Ideally I’d have the more expensive Eden Hazard in my team for even greater flexibility, but I struggled to find the extra 0.5 needed.
Burnley’s Andre Gray is not ideal. He faces Swansea in Gameweek 1 but fixtures are mixed afterwards, with Chelsea and Leicester away over the first six. At 6.5, though, I can easily swap him to cheaper options or the wealth of forwards at the same price, most notably Saido Berahino should he move from West Brom. Opting for Jordan Rhodes (6.0) makes it tough to upgrade, for example, particularly with Alvaro Negredo now on board at Middlesbrough.
Questions: Am I being too sensible here? Should I just go for the best players that I can afford regardless of whether I can change them for emerging stars?
Captains
Finally I have invested heavily in ensuring I have two great options in Ibrahimovic and Aguero, who alternate perfectly home and away. Both can easily be downgraded as well for other expensive players, such as Chelsea’s strikers. Getting them in if they are not in my initial squad may require wildcarding.
Questions: Can I rely on just two players for the armband? Should I be looking for a third premium option from among Arsenal, or Chelsea’s ranks?
