2018-2019; The year of the 4.0m defenders

At the beginning of the season I did a Hot Topic previewing the 4.0 defenders. Here’s a review on how they faired.

I mentioned all those who played pre-season minutes in the preview so (perhaps unsurprisingly) Benalouane, Malone, Schelleto & McQueen got no action and/or are no longer on their respective squads! The others, however, featured well enough and a couple of additions also came into play.

Wan-Bissaka, 3134 mins, 120 pts, 3 assists, 12 CS, 3.4 PPM. Possibly the greatest 4.0 defender of all time? He got points in 34 games, scored two 0s and had one minus score. He is a rarity and I imagine it’s doubtful we’ll see this again next season.

Bennett, 3060 mins, 89 pts, 1 gl, 9 CS, 2.6 PPM. Got points in 30 games and scored four 0s. Battled pre-season for game time with Saiss but emerged as first choice and a somewhat unlikely consistent source of points. Another rare 4.0 player who was a first choice starter for one of the season’s top teams. I’d take Bennett as a 4.0 defender every day of the week!

Valery, 1709 mins, 54 pts, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 CS, 2.3 PPM. Got points in 21 games, scored one 0 and had one minus score. Quite a few opted for Valery in late WCs and he played in all but 2 games since his introduction in GW 14. Outscored his buddy Bednarek with a lot less minutes even though ownership was 200,000 less.

Bednarek, 2150 mins, 49 pts, 1 assist, 3 CS, 2 PPM. Got points in 21 games but what let him down was the four 0 scores. I’d hotly tipped him at the start of the season to maybe even give Wan-Bissaka a run for his money but Hughes didn’t fancy him and the SOU defence ended up being weak. Still, you’d probably take him and Valery as squad players at 4.0 – more than 50% chance either’d get you something if they came off your bench.

Peltier, 1542 mins, 43 pts, 5 CS, 2.1 PPM. Scored in 15 games but, like Bednarek, was let down by his scores of 0 (he had 5!). Injuries halted Peltier early on but he (and CAR) scored better than I’d anticipated defensively since his reintroduction to the team from GW 23 (he only missed 2 matches after that). His decrease to 3.9 at one point was an added bonus too! (The greatest 3.9 of all time?! 😉 )

Kelly, 1110 mins, 26 pts, 3 CS, 2 PPM. Scored in 11 games, had one score of 0 and had minus points once too. A player with much experience but has found himself down the pecking order. Due to injuries, however, got more playing time than expected and again was a good WC option for end of season when he played last 7 games in a row.

Stankovic, 715 mins, 24 pts, 1 gl, 2CS, 2.2 PPM. Scored in 7 but also had four 0 scores. Had seemingly more potential than he got to show as was also an OOP option as a DM. Came into favour from GW 28 onwards but the perils of being a HUD defender meant not much to write home about in the end.

Simpson, 401 mins, 10 pts, 1 CS, 1.7 PPM. Scored in 4 and had one minus score. Included here for two reasons: (a) was touted in the preview because had played a lot of pre season and (b) at a stretch could be the only one mentioned here that comes back as a 4.0 with good potential for next year. BOU usually poor defensively but only conceded 2 goals in the 3 home games he played in (including games vs TOT & MCI).

Conclusion

The reason I’ve included how many matches they scored 0 or minus points in is because, obviously enough, we tend to get 4.0 defenders to perhaps come off our bench when someone else misses out. This isn’t much use if they score a big fat 0 and block someone else’s points coming on. This happened 7% of the time with this crew which I imagine is a far higher % than your average price point.

I love a good bargain and will always have a 4.0 as my 5th defender if they’re a first choice player. It’s important to note, however, that they come with a relatively high risk of blocking other players with a 0 or minus score because of their teams’ generally precarious defences.

This season was IMO the year of the 4.0s as usually there is only 1/2 players who are first choice in that bracket. This season, on the other hand, we had a multitude who could match most 4.5s for starts. Wan Bissaka was immense but Bennett, Valery, Bednarek and Peltier were all first choice starters and Kelly became that due to injuries. If we get even 1 who comes close to the likes of Valery, Bednarek or Peltier next season then I’ll be very surprised. A Wan-Bissaka or Bennett, however – be happy they happened as their like is a valued rarity!