Awards

The lessons learned from Sterling’s personal best FPL season score

Raheem Sterling (£11.7m) is the second midfielder to confirm his place in the Fantasy Football Scout team of the year.

While the Manchester City man was only the third-highest scoring FPL asset of the season, he came second in the midfielders poll.

Sterling pulled in 19.51% of the vote, only just shy of the 19.73% support enjoyed by Sadio Mané (£10.3m).

The statistics

Sterling broke his all-time best-ever FPL score this season

Despite being involved in fewer goals than last season, Sterling actually set a new personal best total score in 2018/19.

The 229 points accumulated from 18 goals and 17 assists in 2017/18 was the England international’s previous best-ever FPL season score, but he beat it by five this year.

Despite scoring one goal fewer (17), and providing two fewer assists (15), Sterling managed 234 points as Manchester City successfully defended their Premier League crown.

That increase looks to have been entirely reliant on more minutes on the pitch.

The 2770 minutes Sterling recorded in 2018/19 was actually the most he ever enjoyed for Manchester City in the top flight, 186 more than last year.

Even though some Fantasy managers continue to have concerns over the winger’s role in Pep Guardiola’s team selection roulette, Sterling was one of the most consistent starters this season.

In fact, only Ederson (£5.7m) and Aymeric Laporte (£6.3m) were started more times than him this season (38, 34 and 31 respectively).

Other marginal increases for Sterling included four more clean sheets (17) and six more bonus points (25) compared to the 2017/18 campaign.

However, it could be easily argued that Sterling did not offer the same level of value as he did last season.

The fact that his attacking returns dropped despite more game-time ensured less desirable minutes per goal and minutes per assist statistics.


2017-18 2018-19
Minutes per goal 143.6 162.9
Minutes per assist 152 184.7

A price hike from £8.0m at the start of last season to £11.0m for 2018/19 shifted Sterling’s roles within our teams.

For example, Paul Pogba (£8.6m), Ilkay Gündogan (£5.4m), Rúben Neves (£4.9m), Eden Hazard (£11.0m), N’Golo Kanté (£4.9m), James McArthur (£4.9m) and Mané all boasted better points per million spent than Sterling (20.0).

That’s not to say that he did not perform well as a premium option for his owners.

Sterling’s ability to explode attacking points meant that no outfield player managed to equal his 6.88 points per match in 2018/19.

That was marginally more than Mohamed Salah’s (£13.2m) 6.81 and ahead of both Hazard (6.43) and Mané (6.42).

Such an impressive statistic in this area was obviously underpinned by his nine double-figure hauls.

Let’s not forget that Salah and Mané, who both shared the Golden Boot trophy, were the only midfielders to score more goals than Sterling this season.

Furthermore, no player recorded more than his 16 assists either. 10 of those were the traditional kind, for a pass setting up an opponent, the other six going down as Fantasy assists.

Season Recap

Raheem Sterling scored in Gameweek 1 despite many thinking the World Cup would dent his early-season impact

Sterling took a little while to flex his Fantasy muscles in 2018/19 as he fell foul of the infamous ‘Pep Roulette’ early on.

After scoring in the Gameweek 1 win at Arsenal, the winger was then an unused substitute as Manchester City demolished Huddersfield 6-1 in Gameweek 2.

A blank at Wolves the following week had many questioning Sterling’s Fantasy value following his huge price hike, but from Gameweek 4 onwards he began to prove his worth.

Between then and Gameweek 8, he scored three times and added a further two assists, making for 41 points in five matches.

Gameweek 9 served as a reminder of Guardiola’s tendencies, as another home match against favourable out-of-form opposition, Burnley this time, led to a benching for Sterling. He watched from the sidelines as his team-mates put five goals past the Clarets.

However, the ongoing cycle continued straight afterwards as Sterling recorded 54 points in the five matches before his next benching, from four goals and five assists.

One of those outings, the Gameweek 11 mauling of Southampton by a 6-1 scoreline, proved to be Sterling’s joint-highest round score of the campaign (21 points).

Sterling went through something of a dry patch when Manchester City began to struggle in defeats to Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leicester.

Between Gameweeks 16 and 22 he scored just once and only reached a round score of six on two occasions.

A 3-0 win at Huddersfield in Gameweek 23 was the start of a hit-and-miss period for Sterling.

Between then and Gameweek 30, he recorded four double-figure hauls but also blanked on as many occasions.

They were largely dictated by the venue as three of the double-digit scores were recorded at the Etihad Stadium, while all but one of the blanks took place on the road.

Despite enjoying his strongest ever FPL season, there was also a bit of disappointment surrounding Sterling during the Double Gameweeks at the end of the campaign.

When Manchester City enjoyed matches against Fulham (away) and Cardiff (home), he blanked in the first and was benched for the second.

Despite playing 90 minutes against both Spurs and Manchester United in Double Gameweek 35, Sterling managed just one assist.

Ownership

Raheem Sterling’s popularity fluctuated a lot this season

Much like last season, the Fantasy community took its time to cotton on to what Sterling could offer in 2018/19.

Having gone deep into the World Cup’s advanced stages with England, just 95,000 managers were in possession of him for Gameweek 1.

That figure nearly doubled to 185,000 with Huddersfield coming up at home the following week but the benchings in Gameweek 2 and 9 ensured that no more than 500,000 managers owned Sterling until Gameweek 13.

He spent five Gameweeks owned by more than one million, peaking at 1,306,839 owners just in time for Manchester City’s shock 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace in Gameweek 18.

As the Citizens began to slide, and with team selection largely a factor, Sterling lost owners in each of the next four Gameweeks, only gaining them again with Double Gameweek 25 on the horizon.

Sterling was a man in demand for Double Gameweek 32 as he earned 877,578 new owners following the end of Gameweek 30, taking his price to £11.6m for the second time this season.

This was the Gameweek which saw the England international at his second-most popular, sat in 1,506,193 squads.

That number slowly dipped in the closing stages of the campaign, before he found himself in 1,576,105 squads for the final match of the season – triggering his most expensive price of 2018/19, £11.7m.

The Prospects

Whether Sterling can offer similar value next season could depend on what his colleagues are able to achieve

At this stage, it is difficult to tell if Sterling will see his price rise for 2019/20.

The £11.0m mark is definitely more suited to a man of his talents than the £8.0m we were handed at the start of 2017/18.

If Sterling were to remain at the same price point next year, that would not be a huge surprise.

He may have broken his personal best record, but doing so by just five points and with fewer attacking returns does not necessarily feel a strong enough mandate even for an increase of £0.5m.

However, the fact that Sterling’s popularity took him to £11.7m by the end of the season just gone could play into the minds of those determining 2019/20’s prices.

There is definitely a case to be made that Sterling has been unpredictable this season.

There are Fantasy managers out there who aren’t suited to owning assets who seem just as likely to blank as they are to score 20 points. This can be especially difficult for those owning Sterling with a view to captaining him.

Whether he will be worth the cash next season could depend on what his colleagues can offer.

For example, it looks unlikely that Kevin de Bruyne (£9.7m) will see his price rise in 2019/20, in fact, it could even drop, and if he is able to get back to his best then he could arguably dwarf Sterling’s consistency levels.

Also, either one of Leroy Sané (£9.3m) or Bernardo Silva (£7.8m) have the potential to enjoy consistent time on the flanks of the attacking front-three next year. If they do so, they could also undercut Sterling in terms of value.

57 Comments Post a Comment
  1. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Guardiola has been the making of Sterling.

    Walcott and Sterling had very similar numbers at similar stages of their career. But whereas Walcott stalled, Sterling under Guardiola has improved.

    In the season just gone Sterling put up numbers similar to Ronaldo at Man Utd before Ronaldo exploded and became dynamite. I don't think Sterling will be as good as Ronaldo, but there is still some improvement left in him.

    1. Geoff
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I agree, there's improvement still in him. And I definitely agree that Pep has been huge for him!

      I don't think Pep would have done the same thing with Walcott, he wouldn't have been as good, but it just seems that Pep gets the best out of almost every player

      1. Gooner Kebab
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Que Nathan Redmond

    2. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Yep
      After scoring hattrick against Watford in FA cup final, Pep was still scolding Raz for something & asking for more precision (i guess)
      One word to describe Pep, RELENTLESS !!

      1. McEwan
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Was a good insight caught on camera but you would hope these types of things happen with all coaches and manager at your own club. No point focusing on the things players are doing right.

        1. Christina.
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          you have mail...

          1. McEwan
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            Magic, will jump on the now

        2. Amey
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Yep
          Need some headmaster type personality to clear out that dressing room tbh.
          If i can bring back any one player from the previous teams atm it'd be Roy Keane !!
          He'd eat few of them alive 😀

          1. McEwan
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            A lot comes down to the players aswell. Do they want to get better. Ability takes you along way but you can’t rely on that if they have the wrong attitude. Can sometimes carry a couple but seems there are more than that in the current utd set up.

  2. Piggs Boson
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Thanks David. Awesome number porn 🙂

    I think I prefer Sterling to Aguero next season. He has the higher ppg, and plays more minutes. And although he has been an unreliable captain compared to Kun, he was unlucky not to get points in many fixtures.

    You can only justify a high-ppg yet poor-value player if you captain them, but I think Sterling will reach reliable captain status next season. He just keeps getting better.

    1. FPL Pillars
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      That’s a disturbing way of describing it 😀

  3. Baines on Toast...
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    His PPG and reliability mean he’ll come in at 12.0 I think. Weirdly I think could help his ownership.

  4. Zambian FPL Addict
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    first in my team!

  5. Amey
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Lessons learned.
    Mane Sterling Aguero will be the big hitters in my team.

    1. Christina.
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Together with TAA, Laporte and Robertson no doubt.

      1. Amey
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Definitely

    2. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Fabianski
      TAA Robertson Laporte ????? ?????
      Mane Sterling ????? ????? ?????
      Aguero ????? ?????

      1. Amey
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Digne 4.0
        Redmond Jota 4.5
        Vardy Pukki
        😉

        1. Christina.
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Unless Pukey costs 4m you wont be able to afford it.

          1. Amey
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            😮
            Really ??
            Aguero to cheaper Striker then.

            1. Christina.
              • 14 Years
              4 years, 10 months ago

              ...well what do you expect those players to cost?

              1. Amey
                • 5 Years
                4 years, 10 months ago

                Yeah. I think you're right.
                Cheap Striker for Aguero should work though.
                Only two big hitters though 😕
                That Defense will cost a lot of money for sure. Might have to let one go for a cheap one

        2. Duffy Dunk
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Not so confident to start with Jota, due to their summer Europa duties

    3. Jafalad
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      The lesson with Mane was his points per million. The best value big hitter in the game. A point worth remembering for next season.

      1. Amey
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Absolutely. Also, good home player too, ( © candidate )

    4. McEwan
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Boxing yourself into a corner straight away. At this stage, not one person is a given for my teamsheet.

      1. Amey
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        😀

  6. Ragabolly
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Does anyone remember roughly when FPL site closes (and all data gets deleted) for the new season's update?

    1. Jafalad
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Second week in July usually in the same week of opening.

      1. RedLightning
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        2018/19 FPL launched on 5th July.

    2. Baps hunter
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Are you going to download (how much) data before that? A lot of important player info is lost then 🙁

      Comparing who did well this spring compared to last autumn for example becomes difficult. So there are two possibilities, study everything now or get the data and work with it later.

  7. Cash'nBurn
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Is there a list of PL players involved in the summer tournaments anywhere?

  8. FPL price manipulators are …
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    This is our team for next season. All the players are available I think

    DDG
    AWB Ramos Lascelles Moreno
    Pogba Longstaff
    Robben Mata Ribery
    Rondon

    Subs: Sturridge, Martial, Dummet, Suarez, Dybala, Bale, Jovic, Sane

    1. SUPER 11
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      WHAT IS THIS?

      1. FPL price manipulators are …
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Arab billionaire shake buying Newcastle United. Hopefully he gets in before Brexit

        1. Wild Rover
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Vanilla or strawberry? 😉

        2. fclackless [Brazil Nuts]
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          🙂

        3. SUPER 11
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Schar is better than Moreno

      2. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        A loud shouty post?

    2. SUPER 11
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Y u missed out Zaha and Hazard? hahahahaha

      1. FPL price manipulators are …
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Oh yeah. Forgot about them. Although I think Hazard might prefer Real Madrid

        1. Now I'm Panicking
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Would be less of a transition moving from London to Spain, as Madrid has better English-speakers than Newcastle does.

  9. cravencottage
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Harry Kane seems like a difficult one to price for next season. Coming off an injury and some average form, yet still the focus of Spurs attack. Hard to see him as the most expensive , yet probably deserves a price reduction of .5 or even 1.0 .

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Should be 11.0 or 11.5 IMO. Can't be more expensive than Salah, Sterling, Aguero or Auba.

    2. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      12m i guess.
      Should be 11m though

    3. luv4rotties
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Could remain same like last year given that on average he scored well; main reason for fewer total points was the injuries...

      1. luv4rotties
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Specifically, according to 'fplAnalytics' his Pts/Game was 5.7 this year vs. 5.9 last year. However, total points were 160 vs 217, respectively.

        To provide some data to support a bit above statement 😉

        1. Annie
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          points per minute dropped more than that. I think he'll be 12 though you could argue 11.5 would be more appropriate.

          1. luv4rotties
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            Agree that 12.0 would be more logical. Especially if Aguero rises in price!

            Also, ...the geek in me had to check 😛
            Points/min 2018/19: 0.066
            Points/min 2017/18: 0.070

    4. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      12m cheapest sadly

  10. pingissimus
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    There’s going to be a winter break this time around no? I suppose that could theoretically mean less Pep roulette for Sterling. This may just be a a coincidence but from memory the City hiccups to Palace et al also fell around the time a winter break would kick in.

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Yes, but the break comes in February

      So does not change the hectic schedule around Christmas.

      The issue for English football is the EFL Cup IMO. Don't see why England needs two cup competitions.

  11. Duffy Dunk
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    I feel like starting the season with KDB as my MCI attacker.
    Will probably have Laporte too, and Ederson could be there as well.

  12. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    What is happening with the World Club Cup? One of Spurs and Liverpool will be playing in it?

    1. Now I'm Panicking
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      The usual crap annual one has gone and is supposed to be replaced by a bigger 24-team tournament in 2021 (in the old Confederations Cup time slot, which is also now defunct) which would feature this year's UCL winners, but the European Clubs are against it and the last I heard were likely to boycott it.