Scout Reports

Jota with plenty to prove as an FPL asset after Villa move

Aston Villa have swiftly moved to bolster their attacking options after securing promotion to the Premier League.

Anwar El Ghazi has joined Dean Smith’s side on a permanent basis after a season-long loan spell in 2018/19, while Spanish winger Jota – not to be confused with the Wolves midfielder-turned-striker – has been captured from rivals Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee.

Newly promoted sides can offer Fantasy managers some tempting bargains but for every Matt Doherty, there is a Tommy Smith or Ryan Sessegnon who doesn’t quite live up to the pre-season hype.

There’ll be the same reticence with Villa assets, no doubt, but we do know that we can expect some attacking football from Smith and his troops in 2019/20 whatever their limitations.

Jota’s move will pique the interest of Villa fans and bargain-hunting Fantasy managers but there a lot of question marks surrounding the former Brentford star, who played under Smith in west London.

Upon signing for the club, Jota said of Smith:

I know he likes me and I know how he likes to play – with plenty of the ball and with quality.

I’m happy to be working with him again. We had good times at Brentford and hopefully, there’s another good year ahead with him and his staff.

The Villa boss said of his new acquisition:

I worked with Jota at Brentford. He’s a superb, talented player and Birmingham signed him as their record transfer.

I’m really happy to have him back working with us. He’s got great ability, great balance and a great eye for both goals and assists.

The History and Statistics

Smith got the best out of Jota at Brentford

Born in June 1991, José Ignacio Peleteiro Ramallo – Jota for short – progressed through the Celta Vigo youth set-up and made 68 appearances in the Spanish third tier for the club’s reserve side before he had reached the age of 21.

Despite scoring 22 goals for Celta B, Jota only made four league appearances for the first team and was farmed out on loan to Real Madrid Castilla and then Eibar.

It was with the latter that Jota had his breakthrough season at senior level, scoring 11 goals and supplying three assists in La Liga 2 in 2013/14.

Jota matched those numbers in his first season in English football, making 42 Championship appearances for Brentford after joining the Bees in August 2014.

An ankle injury and personal problems meant that Jota only made five league appearances for the west London club in 2015/16 before he was allowed to rejoin Eibar on a temporary basis in January 2016.

Jota didn’t find the back of the net once in his second spell with the Spanish club, with the Bees cutting short his 18-month loan deal in January 2017.

Jota’s best campaign in English football was, curiously, only half a season long.

After returning from Eibar, Jota scored on 12 occasions (including hitting a hat-trick against Rotherham) and set up a further five goals in just 21 Championship appearances as the back-end of 2016/17.

It was under Smith’s stewardship that the Spaniard hit this purple patch, with Jota’s form on the right flank earning him a big-money move to Birmingham City the following season – the Blues breaking their transfer record to bring Jota to St Andrew’s.

It is fair to say that the Galician midfielder hasn’t since hit the heights of his half-season under Smith, having scored just eight goals in 72 league appearances for Birmingham since his move to the Midlands in August 2017.

Jota even dropped to the bench in seven matches earlier this calendar year as he struggled for form in an admittedly limited Blues side, although there were positive displays earlier in the campaign as Garry Monk’s side flirted with the play-offs before their nine-point deduction.

Three goals from 62 shots in 2018/19 represented a fairly dismal return, although he did claim 11 assists across the campaign.

Only eight Championship players registered more key passes than Jota (82), whose role at set plays was key to his creativity.

The Prospects

Jota will team up with Jack Grealish at Villa next season

The fact that Jota’s capture (a part-exchange deal that reportedly cost Villa £4m plus Gary Gardner) has been greeted with muted enthusiasm says much about the Spaniard’s output at Birmingham over the last two years and his questionable potential as a Fantasy asset.

The relatively short, two-year contract he has signed is also perhaps an indication that he has much to prove after his mixed performances at St Andrew’s.

What Smith and his board do in the transfer market over the coming two months will affect Jota’s Fantasy appeal in 2019/20 but there is a sense among Villa fans that the Spanish winger will boost the club’s squad depth, rather than walk straight into the starting XI.

Albert Adomah‘s 36 Championship appearances (22 of them starts) were mostly made on the right flank, with the Ghanaian winger also featuring in that position in the end-of-season play-offs.

Adomah was released by Villa at the end of the campaign, leaving youngster Andre Green as the only real option available to Smith on the right flank – although El Ghazi and Ahmed Elmohamady have sporadically featured in that position in 2018/19.

Reinforcements were desperately needed in the wide areas, then, and Jota’s signature will surely not be the only one Smith secures between now and transfer deadline day.

Fond of a dribble and heavily reliant on his left foot, Jota is an inverted right-winger who will cut inside rather than hug the touchline – although he has previously played in other positions across the frontline.

Smith got the best out of the Spaniard in 2016/17 and Villa’s attacking mindset is surely a better fit for him than the football he experienced at Birmingham: the Blues having been bottom of all 24 Championship clubs for average possession and second-bottom for pass completion.

Jota’s assist potential would seem greater than his goal threat, with only two Championship players having registered more accurate crosses last season.

As we alluded to earlier, however, Jota’s dead-ball responsibilities at Birmingham contributed majorly to his underlying creativity and it is questionable whether he would oust Conor Hourihane and Jack Grealish from their roles at free-kicks and corners.

With Hourihane, Grealish, El Ghazi and John McGinn all budget Fantasy midfield alternatives already on Villa’s books and, at present, seemingly more assured of regular starts, it would take a prolific pre-season and a quiet transfer window for Jota to enter the FPL radar ahead of Gameweek 1.

122 Comments Post a Comment
  1. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Jota (Villa) looked rubbish to me when I saw him play for Birmingham. But then again Birmingham were an average Championship team and got a points deduction for financial mismanagement. Maybe he will do better at Villa, but it will be a big step up to the PL.

  2. hysteria
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    the more articles i read on promoted teams and their players the more i am agreeing with fpl general's strategy of starting the season without these players

    1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Pukki and Henderson interest me a lot (and Abraham hopefully if villa get him) not so much other than those two/three - but two or three from newly promoted teams is more than enough in a squad anyways

    2. Miniboss
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I think Pukki could be a great bargain up front, if the first fixtures are kind to Norwich. Just scored a brace couple of days ago against Bosnia. Agree with MBP that two or three fellas from promoted teams is enough though.

      1. Baps hunter
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Well, he will be in 50-70% teams in our national league. Yet he won't be as good fpl prospect as Salah was for Egyptians. I believe he will be okayish against lesser sides. We shall see the fixtures soon and whether he could be used as rotated fwd.

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

      3 of the favourites for relegation and you will probably be able to get tried and tested players from the likes of Burnley and Southampton for a similar price. Go without initially and if they do catch fire, just transfer them in.

      1. Geoff
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Depending on fixtures, yeah.

    4. avfc82
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      There is no right and wrong answer, but I usually start with a couple of newly promoted players as they're good enablers, and if you have a bit of knowledge about the teams starting 11's, it gives you an opportunity to get ahead of the masses. I'll definitely be monitoring Pukki, Buendia, O'Connell, Stevens, Grealish, McGinn etc in pre-season.

  3. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Round 4 of Fantasy Cricket World Cup begins today. There are 6 fixtures in total and both Australia and Sri Lanka have two fixtures this Round. In this Round you only get 5 free transfers with each additional transfer above this costing 10 points. The transfer deadline is 10.30 am UK time. The weather is likely to have an impact with some games expected to be interrupted / washed out by rain.

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      BAN vs SL: High chance of disruption from rain. May clear up after 14.00
      PAK vs AUS: Medium chance of disruption from rain. May lose overs.
      NZ vs IND: High chance of disruption from rain. Potential washout.
      ENG vs WI: Low chance of disruption from rain. Full day's play expected.
      SL vs AUS: Low chance of disruption from rain. Full day's play expected.
      SA vs AFG: Medium chance of disruption from rain. May lose overs.

    2. shirtless
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Real shame all this rain coming in! Might have gone yesterday otherwise. Still tickets available for WI-Eng on Friday on the ICC site.

    3. Nightcrawler
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Transferred evin lewis in without realizing he was dropped for the SA game. Rookie error

      1. diesel001
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        With Australia having two games this Round at least we can wait to see when is best for us to play the chips on their players i.e. we can look at weather on the day and we can see what happens at the toss.

        1. VanDijksToWatchOutFor
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          I like this point on the coin toss. Hadn't considered that

    4. Vobinho
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Gone big batting on Eng v WI, probably use bowling chip in Aus v SL, and Rabada for the TC :

      Hope
      Root Roy Gayle Morgan
      Stokes
      Starc Cummins Coulter-Nile Zampa Rabada

      1. diesel001
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Interesting choice. Coulter-Nile in particular. Hasn't bowled that well and can see Behrendorff or Lyon coming in for him.

        1. VanDijksToWatchOutFor
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Got a little flexibility on my batting chip. Had to take a hit this week unfortunately with weather:

          Pooran
          Roy, root, Warner, Smith, finch
          Stokes, stoinis
          Cummins, starc, zampa

        2. Vobinho
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Yeah, him and Zampa are doubts - but on the other hand, they would have lost v WI without his batting.

      2. VanDijksToWatchOutFor
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        I'm a bit wary of the WI pace but think it's conducive to fours. Could work out very nicely.

        1. Vobinho
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Thats why I went Morgan instead of Bairstow - WI seem to be explosive with their bowling at the start of innings.

          1. VanDijksToWatchOutFor
            • 6 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            For sure. That's a good call I think.

    5. VanDijksToWatchOutFor
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Good to see that in a week I took a hit in order to avoid washed out teams that stoinis has been ruled out an hour after deadline. What excitement. A side strain. And they're flying in a replacement. Groan.

    6. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka has been abandoned

  4. Botman and Robben
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Only Jota I would consider is a wolf.

  5. Lovren an elevator
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Anyone think origi will be given more game time next season?

    1. Peter Ouch
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      No, Sturridge left so I guess there is a plan for replacement.
      Origi will play as much as he did this year with less success of course

    2. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      He’s surely earned it after the Everton, Barcelona & spurs matches alone... sturridge leaving looks to have paved the way for him to be “first sub”?

    3. Conor1
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      He will get plenty of sub appearances but starts will be limited if the front three stay fit.

  6. avfc82
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    The article sums it up well, Jota will be a squad player. His versatility is a big plus, and if Grealish were to suffer an injury, I can actually see him operating on the left a midfield three. Not an option for now tho.

  7. Majestic Chanka
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    We need to come up with an easy separation for the two Jotas. Like how we have Dilva & Bilva

    Suggestions please?

    I’m thinking Dota for the Wolves lad though I believe there is a video game called DOTA!

    1. Pras (FPL)
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Not needed. No one will consider this Jota.

      A bit like Mendy at Leicester and Sterling at Chelsea from last season.

  8. Whose price are you looking forward to seeing?
    Geoff
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Whose price are you most excited to see for next season?

    Three of the players I'll be looking for are Rashford, Wan-Bissaka, and KDB.

    1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Attackers - Salah, Sterling, Vardy
      Defenders - TAA, Robbo, VVD, Digne, Mendy, Laporte

    2. RedLightning
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I'm more interested in who gets a positional reclassification.

      1. RedLightning
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        As for prices, I won't be doing any serious planning till all the prices come out on FPL launch day.

        1. Geoff
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Yeah, and the question is which of those will you be interested in seeing!

          Who do you think gets reclassified?

          1. RedLightning
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • Has Moderation Rights
            • 13 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            Players who might be reclassified include Zinchenko, Jota, Ritchie, Zaha, Perez, Doherty, Jonny, Salah, Son, Redmond and Deulofeu.
            The most interesting ones are probably Salah, Zinchenko, Zaha and Perez, Jota, Doherty, Redmond and Deulofeu.

          2. RedLightning
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • Has Moderation Rights
            • 13 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            Also interested in the prices of the Liverpool defenders.

    3. Bury94
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Hudson-Odoi, Jimenez, Vardy, KDB, Liverpool defence

      1. Geoff
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Jimenez I think will be priced at something higher than I'm willing to pay, unfortunately

    4. BRKFCTrueRover
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Wan-bissaka? He'll be overpriced and lose all potential if he goes to united! KDB for sure, maddison and TAA

    5. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      KDB, Dele Alli, Rashford, Vardy, Emerson, Redmond, Pulisic, RLC

      1. Geoff
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        At what price do you think you'd consider Alli?

        1. Shatner's Bassoon
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          8, maybe 8.5.

          He went so far off the boil last year though, he'd have to turn up to pre-season in red hot form for me to seriously consider him for GW1.

        2. diesel001
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Less than 9.0m

          He is not a bad player just because he had an average season interrupted by injury.

        3. Man Getting Hit By Football
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          He should be 0.5 less then Son I think.

          Competitive prices:
          9.0 Son
          8.5 Alli
          8.0 Lucas

    6. Baps hunter
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Liverpool defence and Mane (Salah) are probably key when deciding team structure. KdB is interesting also should his price drop. Yet having injury prone players is a risk.

      1. Baps hunter
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Diego Jota is on my watchlist supposing he is cheaper than Jimenez. One million difference would make it is easy to choose him over Raul.

        1. Geoff
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Yeah that'll be interesting. Forward or midfielder?

          1. Shatner's Bassoon
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            I think he'll move to a FWD given how Wolves set up for the second half of the season - he was basically in a two with Jimmy.

            1. Geoff
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • Has Moderation Rights
              • 11 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              Agree with this

        2. Man Getting Hit By Football
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          I suspect it will be 0.5 difference between them, both forwards.

          7.0 Jiminez
          6.5 Jota

          Personally Jimenez would be too expensive for me at 7 (I'm gutted because I kept him & Robertson all season), but Jota would be competitively priced for a team that finished in the top half.

          1. Flaming Flamingo
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            I'd be amazed if they were priced that generously myself.

            1. Man Getting Hit By Football
              • 6 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              Do you think they could have another +0.5 onto them? Could be possible, the higher they go, the less I'd consider them.

              I think the entire Wolves side could be too expensive to consider once we factor in our 3 Liverpool & City players.

              1. Flaming Flamingo
                • 7 Years
                4 years, 9 months ago

                I think so, but then again I have overestimated prices in the past. I do hope FPL set more challenging prices this time around though, particularly with regards to Liverpool defenders.

                1. Man Getting Hit By Football
                  • 6 Years
                  4 years, 9 months ago

                  I agree, I would like to see the Liverpool defenders priced at least 7.0, probably 7.5 is fair. What will be really interesting is if a nailed fourth defender establishes themselves (Gomez, Matip) and if they are priced at 5.5/6?

          2. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            I think Jiminez could be 8.5 or possibly even 9.0 - not sure we’ll be lucky enough to get him at 7.0 personally

            Remember - of all the variables taken into account when setting a player’s price for the upcoming season - their price last season is surely not a factor - if they scored the points they get the price tag - and Jimmy scored the points, more than every other striker in the game bar Kun/Auba

            1. Man Getting Hit By Football
              • 6 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              I've had a proper look & realised how out of touch my prediction was. Jota will most likely be dragged well above 7 as well.

          3. Ghost Gooner
            • 10 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            He'll be closer to 8.0 unfortunately

    7. Ghost Gooner
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Auba

      1. POLSKA GOLA
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        This, Gabon not in African Cup so he could be gold if fixtures are good for us

    8. avfc82
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Zinchenko as a defender, De Bruyne, Hudson-Odoi, plus the newly promoted teams - there will be a bargain in there somewhere.

      1. TLF
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Hudson-Odoi could be a great pick next season.

      2. Geoff
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Nice reply 😉

        Yeah, agree with Hudson-Odoi that'll be really interesting

    9. Shatner's Bassoon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Son, Sterling, Liv DF, Southampton attacking assets (could do quite well this season under Ralf I think).

    10. TLF
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      In addition to those already mentioned I'm interested to see how Fraser & B.Silva are priced. The latter didn't do enough FPL wise to warrant a high price tag next season yet has huge potential in that City team. With Fraser I'm equally interested in where he ends up playing next season !

    11. FPL Pillars
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      No one in particular really, I want win to see them all 🙂

    12. SweepaKeepa
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Travers (serious / not serious depending on replies).

    13. pingissimus
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Vardy, KdB and Siggy.

    14. Gnu
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Kane, Auba & Sterling and hoping for a surprise.

      On the 'nice potential' side of things Bilva, Richarlison, Willian & Alli will be interesting.

    15. I Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Bernardo Silva. Wonderful player and pretty much nailed on now. If he can up his FPL output a bit he would be superb value at the right price.

      1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        That’s proving to be quite a popular opinion - I see a lot of folks with similar sentiment

        Bilva is a player I just can’t get on board with for FPL though - I think his Man City shirt, and the fact that he is an absolutely superb footballer, blind a lot of people to his (FPL) average-ness

        He played 1000 minutes more than Alli for example and managed 6 extra attacking returns... Fanderson, Mili, Fraser, Siggy all cheaper and outscored him (without restricting a Man City slot)... an even longer list of players who outscored him on value (without restricting a city slot) including Richarlison, Jota, Maddison, Townsend, Deulofeu etc

        No doubt he could do well but it’ll be against the grain of what he’s done to date in FPL - not a runner for me at all in FPL

        1. avfc82
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Agree with this. Love him as a player, but he's frustrating to own in FPL. Will need to nail down the RW position, rather than CM, for me to consider him again I think.

          1. I Member
            • 8 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            He was completely nailed in that position towards the end of the season. A fit De Bruyne only increases the likelihood of Bilva playing on the wing.

            1. avfc82
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • Has Moderation Rights
              • 14 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              Yep, agreed, KDB's ongoing injury issues are a concern tho.

        2. I Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          I agree but that's why I said "if he can up his FPL output" which I do think he's capable of. He's still only 24 so I think there's further improvement from a footballing and FPL standpoint to come from him. I can see Pep pushing him to add more goals to his game.

          1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            No doubt he needs to increase his FPL output... but I do think he fools a lot people into FPL optimism because of that sky blue shirt (and obvs the fact that he’s a very talented footballer)

            On the list of players to look forward to I think there are around a good solid 10-15 attackers who either outscored him for less budget, or offered better value, and the same would apply to them in terms of upping their FPL output making them even better prospects... and none of them have Bilva’s key disadvantage of restricting a city slot either

            I think he’s got all the hallmarks of the dreaded “coverage pick” i.e. the old “let’s cover some of Man city, he’s bound to get some returns”

            There possibly could be a time & a place for him, but not near the top of my list at the moment (watch him come in at 7.5 and score 2 + assist 4 in the first 5 weeks now lol)

            1. I Member
              • 8 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              It just comes down to whether you think he will add more attacking returns to his game or not. I think there's a good chance he will.

              1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
                • 14 Years
                4 years, 9 months ago

                True, albeit I think he probably needs to not only add more attacking returns, but add more attacking returns than those 10-15 other mids competing for an FPL attacking slot, also avoid a price rise, and also hold down a nailed attacking role - lots of ifs but for sure if all that happens he’d enter the equation

    16. SADIO SANÉ
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      although not exciting, be interesting to see what they price United/Arsenal defenders at, bet they won't be as cheap as they should be.

      Basically most of the no.9s Giroud/Vardy/Jimenez. Bilva/KDB, Willian/Pedro/CHO. Moura/Son. Zaha back as a midfielder?

      1. Ghost Gooner
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        United and especially Arsenal don't deserve to have a 6.0 defender or gk next season imo. Fpl would be taking liberties if they had a 6.5 defensive asset from those 2

    17. DaisyDaisyDaisyDaisy
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Tielemans

    18. GertJan
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Excited is a big word, but I'm curious about Pascal Gross' price. 🙂

      Could be decent value with good fixtures and possibly on penalties.

      1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        If he sorted his fitness issues he’d be a potentially very useful FPL player - 6.0 or below would be gold

    19. Conor1
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      TAA, VVD, Andy Robertson, Laporte and AWB. I am going to quiet possibly own all those players for lengthy periods next season so their prices will be interesting and I am hoping that some will be lower than expected.

    20. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Also mildly interested in the price of Fabian Schar (if Benitez stays)

      He seemed to be a bit of a monster at times in FPL 4.5 - 5.0 could make him very interesting... 5.5 probably a bit too steep but he could easily justify it

    21. Axle11
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I'm looking forward to see Ritchie's (as defender) price, especially if Benitez stays.

      1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Penalty taking, set piece taking, 10 attacking return getting FPL defender playing for a notoriously cagey defence?

        He’d be gold at 5.5 or below - not sure we’ll get lucky enough for him to be reclassed though - we live in hope

        1. Axle11
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          • I'm personally confident we'll get him reclassified.

          1. Axle11
            • 11 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            Wait, where are the rest of my comments, it's disappeared.

          2. Axle11
            • 11 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            Glad I copied my comments before posted... Here are the rest: Ritchie became their first choice LWB since GW16 onwards, 1 game from bench, 1 game not in squad (total 23 of 38 games) https://www.transfermarkt.com/matt-ritchie/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/92469/saison/2018/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/762 *transfermarkt listed him as LM in 3-4-3 and LB in 5-4-1. | The best similar case of wing-back reclassifying example is Victor Moses 16/17, he played in RWB since GW7, missed 3 games (total 29 of 38 games) and he got reclassified as defender. https://www.transfermarkt.com/victor-moses/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/59866/plus/0?saison=2016&verein=631&liga=&wettbewerb=GB1&pos=&trainer_id= Also with that, I think the likes of Doherty or Jonny should be safe.

            1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
              • 14 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              Lovely stuff

              We have a serious selection headache on our hands now:

              TAA, Robbo, VVD, Laporte, Mendy, Digne, Matt Ritchie

              That is a quite frankly ridiculous lineup of FPL defenders

              Can I play a back 7 this year??

    22. Jafalad
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      The 4.0 ubers. The great enablers.

  9. Limit80
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Ahhhh, that warm fuzzy feeling from an unlocked members area. Thank you FFS for not deleting my tables after a year of absence 🙂

    Remind me again how frequently the RMT tool is updated after injury/presser/etc updates? Is it possible to have a 'last update date/time' at the top of the RMT page? Not a major problem if not.

    1. Geoff
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Glad to have you back!

      The RMT is updated through the week and I try to add major news in all the time, so I try to tweak it every day. And then major updates come at least twice a week (where I look at every player), with usually one coming Friday midday and one on Monday by 5pm.

      I've considered timestamps but for various reasons it isn't something I'll be getting added. Part of that is because most of RMT is pretty close to up to date at all times, and also because there are so many small tweaks I do. Each of those would trigger a timestamp, but that wouldn't actually tell you about any increase in general accuracy.

      One thing I'd like to do more often next season though are Members Only Hot Topics or comments that look at the data in RMT - that will give everyone a chance to ask questions about specific players, share the projected data with other members, and it might help ensure that RMT is kept up to date to an even higher standard

      1. Limit80
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Thanks that makes sense!

        Would you consider having different stickied articles/threads (public or member) for each team or by position? Not sure exactly how it would work best but the idea is if say Newcastle have a good run and I want an expert to give me advice on one or more of their players, I'll go to the "Newcastle" section and know my question will get the love and attention it deserves as the area isn't polluted by endless RMTs... there were many occasions last season where I saw posters have good questions ignored due to the deluge of RMTs.

        Maybe your "members-only" area idea will solve this problem in a different way already...

        1. Geoff
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          There are some site redesign things that are getting underway now and hopefully those will be ready for next season. They should go quite a way towards successfully separating comments out so people can find what they want.

          But also, if ever you (or anyone else) thinks there's a gap where something needs to be talked about more, you can write a quick post and use the 'flag' under the post to make mods aware of it. Write 'potential Hot Topic?' or something like that and we'll take a look, and can make it a Hot Topic. Hot Topics are a good way to have directed conversations about a topic and really should come from the Community, ideally. So everyone should feel free to flag whatever they think needs to be highlighted!

          And also, people should know that they can write Community Articles if they have a bit more to say than would fit in a normal Hot Topic - they don't need to be hugely data focused or anything but can instead just be separate places to give users a chance to talk about important, and specific topics 🙂

      2. Markus
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Geoff - would love more discussion and interactive stuff around the projections for members - this is some of the depths of fpl geekiness that I, and am sure many others enjoy and for me, is key to fpl success, as we're all doing this implicitly or explicitly. And the projections in themselves is one of the big reasons I've signed up in previous years to provide an objection view against hunches or gut feelings.

        Obviously there's now several projection models out there, and would be interested in some community (members) engagement under the hood at assumptions etc rather than it just being a black box (understand this is part of the ffs product though).

        I've started pulling together my own data for team level projections initially but even at that level there's lots of decisions of what is factored in (what weight do you give actual or expected data, over what period etc) and that's before you get to player level data or variability with fixtures. Would be good to bash around things around this as a community.

        As part of this, I always feel I have to temper slightly a stronger historic element in the rmt than I would account for - eg sanchez, and sometimes a cautiousness over an emerging starters season game time... The tool as it is is sufficient tbh, otherwise it really is spoon feeding, but some discussion on this element or even better ability to tweak custom underlying assumptions would be outstanding.

        1. Geoff
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Agree with all of that 🙂

          I think having a few Community Members (or even one who wants to semi-lead it) who look at RMT and try to do a weekly HT would be a good way to approach it. Not just because I have quite a lot of small tasks like that which sometimes fall away when big projects come in but also because I'm interested in how users see RMT and want to hand as much of discussion-leading over to the Community as I can

  10. FPL_Hazards
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Great news for supporters of Premier League clubs ahead of the new season.

    The days of scrambling around trying to find different ways to watch your team in action on a Saturday or bank holiday - if you're not one of the fortunate ones able to make the game live - will soon be a thing of the past.

    It has been announced that Amazon will show 20 Premier League matches a season for three years from next season, after winning one of the final two broadcast packages.

    The way it works out is that the US company will exclusively livestream all 10 matches over one bank holiday of Premier League games and another 10 during one midweek fixture programme.

    This will be the first time ever in which all 10 top flight games will be shown live in the UK and any Boxing Day fixtures will also be shown.

    Given that broadcasting rules demand a blackout for all 3pm games on a Saturday this is still a major breakthrough for supporters - especially for the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur - as all their games will almost certainly be able to be watched live legally.

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      It is rubbish though that you need 3 subscriptions to watch all the PL games - Sky Sports, BT Sport and now Amazon

      1. Vobinho
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Especially when the Sky prices don't come down considering they're showing less games than they used to...

  11. Bury94
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Manchester United are interested in signing Norwich City defender Max Aarons if their move for Crystal Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka is unsuccessful.

    1. The Rock
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Yikes. Someone has also updated his Wiki page to say he already plays for Utd!

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Aarons

      Is he any good?

      1. Piggs Boson
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        2 goals, 6 assists in 41 apps last season. He won EFL Young Player of the Year award last season, which includes the Championship, League 1, League 2.

        Yeah he's good. Lightning quick. He plays for the England U19s.

        1. Vobinho
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Do you think he has more potential than AWB?

  12. Piggs Boson
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    So Jota used to get more goals than assists then? Wonder what happened to him.

    He seemed to be a winger last season (inverted) who made lots of crosses and key passes after cutting inside. I noticed he fed through the overlapping full-back a lot, which could be great for Elmo. Shooting didn't seem to go well for him last season.

    That RW position seems ready made for him. Last season when Elmo overlapped, McGinn stayed a bit deeper to cover Elmo's flank (fouling a lot 🙂 )That leaves space in front of McGinn for Jota to cut into.

    Smith seems to like Jota a lot, and although Birmingham fans didn't warm to him, Adomah's departure does leave the ideal spot for Jota to slot into. Not a player I'd start with, nor am I expecting him to be a good FPL player, but he may make players like Elmo or El Ghazi more appealing. We'll have to see who else Smith buys...

    1. avfc82
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Playing for Blues last season, it's hard to gauge where he's at. There system isn't designed for players like Jota to thrive. Smith clearly likes him tho, but I see him as a squad player, expect another wide player to be signed soon.

    1. POLSKA GOLA
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I love it. Boxing Day is my birthday and I’m usually out of the UK for Christmas. Now will be able to watch games on iPad through my Prime subscription. Perfect!

  13. Black Panther
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    I've bought a membership but i haven't had an email to set my username and password to log in to the members area, what do i need to do?

    Any help is appreciated.

    1. Oscar Slater
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Small claims court.

    2. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Same login as you used to login here.

  14. BobbyDoesNotLook
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Are fixtures coming on Thu?

    1. I Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Yes they are.

    2. Tony Moon
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Indeed

    3. SAY MY NAME
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      0900 BST I think (on Thursday)

  15. Queenofthestoneage
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Questions

    1) PL winner 2019/20?
    2) Golden boot 19/20?
    3) Most FPL-point player 19/20?
    4) Team w most clean sheets 19/20?

  16. Freshy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    1) PL winner 2019/20? - Poole
    2) Golden boot 19/20? - Sala
    3) Most FPL-point player 19/20? - Sala
    4) Team w most clean sheets 19/20? - Poole

    MC-Kun to make the season a fun one
    Harry will keep the Salafest close