Scout Reports

Wesley more likely to boost Villa colleagues than provide FPL value himself

The arrival of Wesley Moraes should dampen any remaining hopes that Tammy Abraham will return to Aston Villa this season.

In signing the Brazilian on Friday, manager Dean Smith broke the club’s transfer record, subject to a work permit and international clearance.

The fee is believed to be in the region of £22 million, in excess of the £18 million plus add-ons spent on Darren Bent in 2011.

For that reason, it seems likely that Wesley will slot straight into the vacancy left by Abraham after his return to Chelsea on loan, with 2018/19 impact substitute Jonathan Kodjia the only other real competitor for his place.

The Brazilian already looks to be a different type of player than Abraham, but there is a chance he could boost the Fantasy potential of his midfield colleagues more than the Chelsea forward could in 2019/20.

We’ve had a look at what the former Club Brugge man can offer and whether or not he will be worthing owning in FPL this year.

Given his history up until this point, we don’t have access to data as detailed as shots or key passes.

However, we can still analyse his goal-scoring record as well as anecdotal evidence.

The History and Statistics

Wesley was an important player for Club Brugge

After six years as a youth player at relatively small-time Brazilian club Itabuna, target man Wesley’s first senior appearance was with Slovakian side Trenčín in 2015/16.

During one season in the Fortuna League, Wesley netted six goals in 18 appearances, also contributing to a league title and Slovak Cup win.

All of that earned him a move to Club Brugge, for whom he scored on his debut against KVC Westerlo at the end of the 2015/16.

During his first full campaign in Belgium he scored just one league goal in 17 appearances but earned significant praise from then manager Michel Preud’homme for his contribution to the team.

“Wesley is a ball-solid attacker who can also play with his back to goal. He is a young player with a lot of potential who has already proven to be effective when needed. We already have several good strikers in our core, but with Wesley we get a profile that we didn’t have before.” – Michel Preud’homme, Club Brugge manager 2013-2017

The arrival of new manager Ivan Leko in June 2017 unlocked Wesley’s potential further and as Brugge won the Belgian league in 2017/18, he scored seven times in 28 appearances.

Half-way through the following campaign, Wesley’s impressive performances meant he was linked with a move to Arsenal, while other Premier League clubs were also interested.

His coach at the time confirmed how much raw talent the player had and insisted that a move to the top-flight of English football would suit him.

“In terms of talent, Wesley is one of the best players I have ever trained. I would be super proud if he went to Arsenal. Or to Tottenham or Liverpool. It does not matter whether it is today, tomorrow, in six months or a year. Wesley has everything to play at a European top club one day. Doesn’t everyone dream of such a transfer anyway?” – Ivan Leko

A move never materialised but Wesley still finished 2018/19 in decent form. He continued to hold together the Brugge attack and added 10 goals in 25 appearances.

He leaves Brugge with 38 goals and 14 assists in 130 appearances in competitions, and a host of awards to boot.

For a player of his age, he is already remarkably decorated, with a Slovak League title, a Slovak Cup, two Belgian top-flight titles, two Belgian Super Cup wins and two Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year awards too.

The Prospects

It’s hard to get too excited by Wesley as a Fantasy asset at this early stage

Despite all the promise surrounding Wesley, Fantasy managers hoping that he can be the sequel to Abraham’s 26-goal Championship campaign are probably destined for disappointment.

As already mentioned, the Brazilian’s style of play is markedly different from the Chelsea man.

He is not especially fast and finishing is not really his strong-suit either.

In fact, his former captain at Club Brugge Ruud Vormer was even recorded as saying that Wesley should probably record a 20/25-goal season in Belgium before stepping up to a higher level.

As we already saw, he never managed more than 10 league goals in a top-flight Belgian season.

“I think he can handle a tough competition, but I think he first has to make 20, 25 goals in Belgium before he takes that step. Then you will come in like a different man.” – Ruud Vormer, Club Brugge captain

Where Abraham was the all-round accomplished finisher at the forefront of Villa’s 4-3-3, Wesley is much more of a target man.

Naturally, that means his key attributes are his strength, intelligent movement, height and decent ability in the air.

These are not normally the main strengths of budget and mid-price forwards in FPL.

Perhaps the key Fantasy appeal of Wesley’s arrival will not be his own, but that of his colleagues.

By signing someone who plays with their back to goal and holds up possession in advanced positions, Smith will be hoping that options in the front-three such as Anwar El Ghazi or Jota will see more of the ball.

Whether Wesley’s attributes will help the deeper options such as Conor Hourihane, John McGinn or Jack Grealish is harder to predict, but it’s certainly something to watch in pre-season as that trio have already been identified as the best Fantasy options at this early stage.

It is also worth pointing out that if Wesley is the regular starting striker, which seems probable given the fee paid for him, then Villa will be playing a different style of football in 2019/20.

While this seems fairly sensible given the step-up in quality from the Championship to the Premier League, it could mean that those around him take some time to get used to it.

The other thing to be aware of for Fantasy managers is Wesley’s aggression and temper.

Both opponents and colleagues during his time in Belgium admit that the Brazilian probably needs to work on keeping calm as he moves to English football.

In May 2017 he allowed an ongoing physical battle with AA Gent’s Stefan Mitrovic to get out of control, lashing out at his opponent and probably should have been sent off.

“For me, it is duels that are part of football. Because Mitrovic caused a lot of drama, it all looked much worse. I like to fight duels and I don’t think I did anything wrong today. ” – Wesley

“The only thing he needs to learn is to stay calm. It was continuous fireworks between Mitrovic and him. Get mentally stronger. Only then will he become much better.” – Renato Neto, AA Gent player and friend of Wesley

Furthermore, he caused some controversy and angered Leko back in January when he snatched the ball off designated penalty taker Hans Vanaken in a match against KV Oostende.

Thankfully for Wesley, he scored the spot-kick but given what we saw with Aleksandar Mitrovic and Aboubakar Kamara at Fulham last season, this sort of event will probably put people off owning him in FPL even more.

That said, Villa don’t currently have a penalty taker with last season’s designated man Abraham unlikely to return – so Wesley might be able to make the case for the spot-kicks himself.

“I was angry with Wesley. Hans is the designated penalty taker and everyone must respect the guidelines. Wesley too. Of course I understand that a striker wants to fuel confidence. But in football you have to respect the agreements. If the ball didn’t go in, Wesley would have had a problem.” – Ivan Leko

In conclusion, we shouldn’t expect too much value out of Wesley at this stage but it will be important to see what impact he can have on his attacking colleagues at Villa Park.

180 Comments Post a Comment
  1. SADIO SANÉ
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    'Thankfully for Wesley, he scored the spot-kick but given what we saw with Aleksandar Mitrovic and Aboubakar Kamara at Fulham last season, this sort of event will probably put people off owning him in FPL even more.' Sorry what?

    1. 32chickens
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      writer wants for himself in draft?

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

        😀

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

    I’m not convinced our play style will change. Abraham was a target man, simple as, and it sounds like Wesley has been bought in to fulfil a similar role.

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

      Grealish is the Villa player to get, imo. Could be an assists and BAPs magnet.

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

        I think you could be right Nomar. Should do well with key passes and dribbling, wins so many free-kicks too. 6 goals and 7 assists last season sounds bang average, but people forget he was out injured for 3 months, and Steve Bruce was in charge from August - October.

    2. Boyd to Sven
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Agreed. Excited to see what he might bring to the team. Tammy is a fantastic goalscorer at Championship level, he's proven that, but still a big leap into the Premier League for him. His inconsistent touch let him down at times with his back to goal, but it sounds like that's one of Wesley's big strengths so can see him bringing the best of out of the three behind him.

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

    Popular players in Fantasy Cricket World Cup today:

    AUS: Warner (44%), Smith (20%), Starc (20%)
    SA: Rabada (26%), De Kock (26%), Du Plessis (20%), Phehlukwayo (19%)

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

      Sri Lanka win the toss and will bowl first

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

        Tosses not going my way this round. Annoying

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

          What is your team makeup that that is the case here? Light on aussie batsmen? Or just aussies overall?

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

            Zampa starc(c) Cummins(vc) finch. Bowling chip active

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

      Stoinis, zampa and Roy, what a combination I've picked this week.

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

        Got zampa and Roy too plus evin lewis who has been as useful as stoinis this round

    3. Toblerone52 - Zlatan Ibra-H…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Smith (c), Warner(vc), Carey and batsmen for me. Bowling chip on only starc and Cummins as coulter Nile hasn't shown up!

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

      South Africa have won the toss and will bowl first

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

        Easy win for South Africa. Game against New Zealand has a lot riding on it for both teams now.

  4. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    When are player prices being released? Must be soon right

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

      3 weeks, maybe 4

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

      It's only June, so probably gonna take another month or so.

    3. EgyptianKing
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Probably FPL will provide us, via twitter, some official prices over the next weeks.

      But the complete list of players, probably only from early July onwards

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Thanks all, I know it's only June but it feels ages since the season finished lol

        1. Wrong Captain Choice - Ag i…
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Don't worry, you will be looking forward to the season after next around February/March 2020

          1. Big boy Bowen
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            Lol nah I'm determined this season! Learnt from my mistakes!

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

      I'm champing at the bit, too.

  5. el polako
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Kangin Lee - remember the name.

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

    lol @Adam West for thinking that a rubber fetish makes him a superhero. 😆

  7. Wrong Captain Choice - Ag i…
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    This gives a much better indication than any maybe might be article about Wesley.
    (from the updated version of championship manger 01/02)

    https://i.imgur.com/KZAWrPZ.png

    It is as good as any 'expected goals' theory anyway! 😀

  8. ZimZalabim
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11740961/premier-league-rules-var-handball-different-goal-kicks-and-more

    New rules in addition to VAR, apparently now opposition players can attempt to block goal kicks if they are still in the box
    seems like an unnecessary change and a disaster waiting to happen.

    even the new quick free kick rule sounds dodgy

    1. GREEN IS GOOD
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I saw that goal kick rule, I'm looking forward to some comical dawdling to get in the way of the goal kick.

  9. FPL Virgin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Good article on the opening fixtures: https://thesecondstriker.com/2019/06/15/premier-league-fixture-analysis/

    I think it makes a good point about not trusting the default season ticker. If only Doosra was still around 🙁

    1. Wrong Captain Choice - Ag i…
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I saw Doosra post a few days ago, he will appear again no doubt.
      With those tables of his!

    2. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Doosra’s system is rubbish (assuming he uses it himself) 😛

    3. Ginkapo FPL
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      In most cases averages are utterly misleading. The true information is hidden in the outliers. Fixture difficulty is no different.

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

        Do say more, are outliers not risky to rely on, eg would you expect palace to be rubbish at home again this season? Would you rest man city defenders vs Newcastle... Surely averages give a good basis for getting it right more often than not, but interested to hear other views

    4. Aleksei
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      season ticker was never meant to follow blindly, and you could adjust it to your valuation:)

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

    I'm doing some analysis around this at the moment in terms of objectively how different fixtures affect attacking and defensive returns for different tiers of teams which will hopefully share on here at some point. They largely support this articles assertions but with a bit more detail and numbers

  11. N00B
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Fancy some Euro U21 Fantasy Football?

    "Rules of Fantasy EURO U21 are very similar to well-known Fantasy Premier League."

    Join my mini-league on https://fantasypilkarzyki.pl/en with code: 522260159

  12. Aleksei
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    50 minutes and no post:) how is it going folks?:)

  13. Bada Bing
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Everton surely has to sign that Everton guy who plays for Brazil, right? It just has to happen. Any other players who have the same name as their club?

    1. Bada Bing
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      On a side note, why the hell are Brazil playing in white and blue even though they are playing at home? It just doesn't look right.

      1. Rude Dog
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Homage to the first/ original shirt they ever wore and the first they won the Copa America in. Should be back to yellow for the rest of the tournament..... Basically Nike trying to sell more shirts.

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

      We’ve never had a player called Utd as far as I can remember

      1. Bad Kompany
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Have had many with manchesthair

  14. Liverpool defence stats
    Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Just looking at the Liverpool defenders PP90 - TAA’s is utterly insane:

    - Player Points/Minutes/Appearances:

    - Robbo 213/3219/36 = 5.96 PP90, 5.91 PPA
    - VVD 208/3384/38 = 5.53 PP90, 5.47 PPA
    - TAA 185/2460/29 = 6.76 PP90, 6.38 PPA

    It will be very interesting to see how FPL price them given the fact that they all play the same position for the same team

    This should strip out any noise as to whether they prioritise points, points per 90, or points per appearance to set prices

    I was originally thinking/hoping 7.0 TAA, 7.5 VVD, 8.0 Robbo - but now i’m not so sure

    1. Big Ping
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      TAA is surely nailed now, and has away more attacking involvement. The pick of the bunch for me!

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

      Hoping for something like 7.5 TAA, 7.5 Robertson and 7.0 VVD. Anything less and I expect everyone and their dog will look to double-up. Alternatively, I can't see FPL pricing any of them as high as 8.0 (though I wouldn't be against it in the case of TAA or Robertson).

    3. Doubter2Believer
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      TAA - 6.5

      Robbo - 7.5

      VVD - 7.0

    4. FPL Virgin
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      The stats back this up as well. TAA blows Robertson out of the water.

    5. Legomané
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I suspect they'll all be priced equally. 7.0 or 7.5.

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

        The thoughts of only having to spend 14.0 to get Robbo & TAA - that would be a thing of great beauty and i’ love It to be true (even though their ownership would surely be colossal)

        But I can’t see it, I think 15.0 for the pair, and hopefully not 16.0

      2. FPL Virgin
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        7.5 Robertson.

        7 VVD.

        6.5 TAA.

        Bookmark this.

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

    If West Ham sign Uruguayan Maxi Gómez as suggested in latest press could he be “the Jimenéz” for this coming season?

    1. Epic Fail
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Yeah.

    2. Ginkapo FPL
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Is being "the Jiminez" just a case of being south american? Cause your post seems to suggest thats all it takes.

      1. Supersonic Marv'
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Jiminez is Mexican. Sorry to be pedantic.

        1. Ginkapo FPL
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Fair point. The connection makes even less sense in that light.

          1. GreennRed
            • 12 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            They're Latino.Wait and see how well set up West Ham are for Gomez' strengths like Wolves are for Jimenez.

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

          Jiménez is Mexican. Sorry to be pedantic 😈

          1. Supersonic Marv'
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            Touche.

    3. Ramboros
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      There's no chance that Maxi Gómez is priced at 5.5.

  16. Bad Kompany
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    How would you rank the following teams opening fixtures?

    Spurs
    Chelsea
    United

    1. Brosstan
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Not looking at players from any of those teams except if Son is underpriced.

      1. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Son banned for first 2 games

        1. Bad Kompany
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          What did he do? Hadn’t heard this before

          1. Ramboros
            • 12 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            He got sent off against Bournemouth for pushing Lerma.

            1. Bad Kompany
              • 6 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              Cheers! Remember this now

              1. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
                • 7 Years
                4 years, 9 months ago

                Lucas Moura could be a decent punt

                1. Bad Kompany
                  • 6 Years
                  4 years, 9 months ago

                  Agree. They should easily beat villa and he normally is among the goals when he plays. And when son returns there will probably be a good bandwagon to jump on

      2. Bad Kompany
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Spurs has a few I’m interested in.

        For Chelsea it depends on their prices. Maybe pulisic or RLC or Abraham/bats if he isn’t loaned out again.

        Not too interested in Man U as of now but could be if they sign somebody

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

          Bats is definitely interesting to me. Looking to see what happens there.

          I’m half hoping he’ll go back to Palace. He has the useful trick of actually scoring goals - and he was cheap as chips last time out.

  17. GreennRed
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Ukraine 2 South Korea 1

  18. circusmonkey
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    West Ham are signing Joe Jordan's Mrs (Joan Jordan).

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

      If they get Maxi Gomez then West Ham have the squad to cope in the PL. It is a question of whether Pellegrini can get the best out of them

      GK: Fabianski, Roberto, Martin
      LB: Cresswell, Masuaku
      RB: Fredericks, Zabaleta
      CB: Balbuena, Diop, Ogbonna, Reid
      DM: Rice, Noble, Obiang, Sanchez
      AM: Fornals, Lanzini
      LM: Anderson, Snodgrass
      RM: Yarmolenko, Antonio
      FW: [Gomez], Arnautovic, Hernandez

      Get rid of: Adrian, Nasri, Wilshere, Byram, Hugill, Carroll

      1. Brosstan
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Why did they even buy Nasri? Baffling transfer

        1. Ask Yourself
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Free agent for 6 months to fill in for injured lanzini. Was too expensive and injury prone to extend

      2. Ask Yourself
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Will be:

        Fabianski
        Fredericks Diop Balbuena Masuaku
        Rice
        Fornals Lanzini
        Yarmolenko Arnie Anderson

        Gomez will go to Valencia he won’t want to join us. We will sign rondon as Arnie back up I think

        1. Ask Yourself
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Also obiang is leaving and wilshere is staying

        2. Rude Dog
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          If Gomez has a good tournament their maybe bigger fish sniffing around

          1. Poseidon.
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 9 months ago

            Bids already accepted

            We will be looking at bigger fish anyway - Dybala, Griezman etc

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

        I think they’re suffering from a bit of squad bloat personally

        Can’t see them keeping those 21 outfield players (closer to 39 including the “sells”) happy with a meagre diet of 38 league games plus maybe a couple of domestic cup matches - but then again Pelegrín i is a decent manager so i’d Always give him benefit of the doubt

        But honestly could possibly see it all going belly up very fast for them with a cliqued & fractured dressing room - there couldn’t be too much English (or any common language) spoken in there

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

          *30 not 39

        2. Ask Yourself
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Hernandez is going. None of the others except the stars such as Fornals, Anderson, lanzini etc expect game time. It’ll be very positive for us this season

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

            Is Arnie staying put? No offers from China this time?

            1. Ask Yourself
              • 7 Years
              4 years, 9 months ago

              No he is staying. We realised there was no one better for the price and his attitude is getting sorted now he knows his place

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

                That’s good news FPL-wise.
                I’m also considering Lanzini from GW2 if he’s fit and the price is right

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

            It could be tricky to integrate and keep happy Anderson, Yarmolenko, Fornals, Lanzini, Snodgrass, Antonio, Diangana, Arnie, Maxi - I think you could start 3 or 4 of them, but any more and it starts to look very unbalanced

            Same with the 4x centrebacks - there’s about 10 games for each of them to go around...

            Obiang, Rice, Noble, Sanchez have 2 positions between 4

            Two of Fredericks, Masuaku, Cresswell, Zaha are benched every week...

            On paper it has loads of quantity (too much imo), and a bit of quality (Rice, Arnie, Lanzini) - but I think in practise it will prove difficult to keep that type of group motivated, on such a thin diet of games

            They also need to find homes quickly for the likes of Nasri, Chico, Wiltshire, Carroll etc as they’ll just be even more bodies dossing around the training ground on big wages without playing any more than a few games in a season

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

              I agree in parts that the bedding in process of new players is always tricky but the majority of these guys have been together for a while now. Squad depth can’t be a negative & should bring the best out in players, not always the case I appreciate.

              The areas being looked at in the market are thankfully the ones we DO need to improve rather than historic signings where we just panic buy, a holding midfielder (Sanchez is 32 & poor along with Rice needing some rest), a LB (Masuaku/Cresswell aren’t up to scratch) & obviously striking options are a must this season.

              The Wilshires, Carroll’s, Nasris etc have had their contracts terminated so won’t play a part at all. Frees up huge wages just those three.

              I’m quietly confident.

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

                I think Pelligrini is the one big positive they have there - he is a decent manager so should be given the benefit of the doubt... but I can’t help looking at that roster of players and thinking there’s just too much fat for a mid table side

                They’ll either have too many players who are happy to sit on the sidelines (not a good thing) or too many players who are not happy at not playing (also not a good thing) - the lineup of creative attacking mids is particularly unbalanced imo - but perhaps they are planning on a big money sale of Felipe, or know that Yarmolenko/Lanzini have chronic injuries etc

                I don’t see them finishing ahead of the Top 6, and also can see Wolves, Everton & Leicester finishing ahead of them again, with Newcastle, Watford, Palace and bourenmouth all pushing ahead of them - Southampton will also be ones to watch under hassenhutl now - but you never know, it could work out well... I’m skeptical though & can see alarm bells ringing & a possible bottom third of the table finish for them to be honest

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

                  See your concerns but I fancy them ahead of Everton - as I rate Pellegrini over Silva and this is now his squad.

                  One big proviso is that they sort out the defence. The other is that Arnie stays fit and on board and/or they get a Rondon in. More bloat!

                  Very mixed for FPL. Arnie I guess must be an option. Fanderson might look more attractive too if he’s nailed. I understood part of his issue in the back end of last season was being used as the out from defence all the time - hence his getting the ball in all the wrong positions.

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

      West hams's transfer policy has improved markedly since Pellers took over - transfers targeted and done early. Very pleased with his approach versus the sullivan scattergun in recent times.

  19. FPL Virgin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    I come back to FFS several hours later and the comments and posts are all the same. I've never known it to be like this in the off season. Have huge swathes of people just not renewed this season?

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

      No World Cup and no Euros. Not even much transfer activity. So what is there to post about football wise?

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

      Always going to be slow on a Saturday... and most probably use the summer to bring variety to their life...

      1. GREEN IS GOOD
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        What summer?!

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

          True!

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

          Heat wave is on its way

        3. el polako
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Rain was slightly warmer yesterday, I guess that means summer...

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

      This is normal if there isn’t a big summer tournament (World Cup, Euros) and before new season’s prices are released. You’d wish it was this quiet when you start seeing a swarm of casual RMTs from mid-July

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

    Issa Diop to Man Utd for 60m - I’ve seen it all now.

    1. Poseidon.
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      That would be a bargain

      Come to Utd Diopy

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

        In all seriousness, how good is he?

        1. Poseidon.
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Just checked whoscored.com and he’s got a rating of 6.89. Dont want him actually

    2. George Sillett
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Why on earth would he want to go to a mid table side ?

      1. Syd.
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        The allure of playing under a world class manager

        His track record is second to none.... Not many have managed Cardiff and Molde

    3. Fred54
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Sounds like a made up name from Football Manager season 2031...

    4. Ask Yourself
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      He isn’t leaving

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

      He’s very, very good. Capped French international which speaks volume considering their options at CB. He’s young, quick & some of the recoveries he makes are ridiculous. If Maquire is being touted for £90m, then Diop is worth every penny of £60m.

      I’d be very sad to see him go although that money could easily be reinvested for a partner for Balbuena for us who is also impressive.

  21. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Anybody else think they should make the initial pricing more precise, like rather than a whole million/half million. They start with some players at 6.7 etc.

    Might make team building more interesting

    1. Ask Yourself
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Yes but that would be a lot of effort for the price makers

      1. Big boy Bowen
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        True

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

      Would make budget options more interesting with the raft of players valued between 4.5 and 7.5

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

      That’s a big yes from me. That 0.5m rule at the start of the season makes it easier for casuals who don’t have the expertise to squeeze each 0.1 out of the budget the way we would

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

      It’s a “no” from me Clive

      Of all the things they could improve I wouldn’t have this on the list, or at least near the top of the list - I think they’re currently ok on initial player pricing, and baps calculations

      Where they’re not ok imo - I would like more transparency on price changes after the season starts - many examples in many seasons of inconsistent methodologies to changes - it really randomises that aspect of team planning & penalises (or at least takes away the edge from) the manager who’s willing to put the time in to study & plan only for a price change to happen/not happen unexpectedly

      I’d also love to see the ability to carry more than 2 FT’s to facilitate even more short/medium term non-wildcard planning & wouldn’t shed any tears if chips were abolished altogether - they are very gimmicky & de-emphasise the pure management aspect of the game imo in favour of introducing way more single gameweek variance/luck

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

        I like a lot of what you’re saying.

        Would you like captaincy abolished too in order to diminish the luck factor further or do you see it as an element of skill?

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

          Yeah the captaincy is generally fine I think - it definitely does have a large element of chance to it in an individual gameweek - but conversely you have 38 shots at it throughout the season (or 37 now with TC lol) so it’s not like a bench boost or a triple captain etc which is just a one week punt - and you can set your team up to deliver a good conveyor belt of weekly captain options to dovetail with whatever form/fixture/big hitter strategy you want

          I could live without the VC though - again it takes away the edge from managers who always plan to ensure they have a reliable captaincy option where possible!

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

        you're not meant to know which players are changing price, that's kinda the point - I'd rather they just randomise it completely, people shouldn't get an advantage from going on third-party price change sites multiple times a week

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

          imo obviously

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

          I think managing your budget is a huge element of managing your fantasy football team though, and if the budget is randomised, it just again pushes that weighting away from “skill” and towards “luck” imo

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

            yeah I can see how it makes it more hands-on, I'm likely in the minority here, but I just don't like people getting an advantage from being hands-on during the week - it also drives early transfers which is annoying for people who like to wait

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

              Honestly I think it’s a fairer game with transparency - release the information - make it freely available and let people do what they want p/what they can with it

              If a manager is willing to put in a bit of extra research to tee up an early/late transfer they should be able to and to gain whatever benefits/risks come with it

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

        Actually when I say they’re ok on baps - this is generally true but with one crucial exception - the striker

        The striker is dying out as an FPL option due to mids & defenders having so many extra ways to score points

        They need to relax the requirements on baps for forwards imo to close that points gap a bit

        Look at Kane the season before last - 31 attacking returns yet only 217 points - the season before he got 36 attacking returns yet only 224 points

        That says a lot about how difficult it is for a striker to hit 250 points these days imo, let alone 270/280

        1. Brosstan
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Strikers are criminally overpriced. No point in owning them when they offer terrible value and there are midfielders who basically play as strikers yet get more points for goals and clean sheet points too.

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

            Yep - if they’re keeping the scoring system hey need to reduce their prices... or if they’re keeping he prices they need to change he scoring system imo - it’s becoming too much of an obvious gap now -wouldn’t be surprised if they addressed it somehow (could be prices as you say, or perhaps relaxed baps requirements)

        2. el polako
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Very valid point re-strikers.

          +1

      4. GUNNERINHO
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Chips were introduced to add single gameweek variance/LUCK in an effort to keep the interest of the casual majority for longer and to break the dominance of the top 10K managers, who are willing to put in time for research and planning. The result is that approx 6.3 million played the game last season.

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

          No idea about the answer here.

          Is the proportion of dead teams falling? By the time most got to play their chips from 32 on there wasn’t anything like 6.3 mill involved

    5. Old Man
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Interesting suggestion but it would also make it more difficult for us to pick good value players. With the current system where FPL are forced to round up or round down to the nearest 0.5 we have a clearer impression of whether a player is cheap for his price, about right, or overvalues.

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

    Anyone playing Fantasy cricket WC what is your plan for round 5- load up on England bowlers v Afghanistan and India’s batters v Pakistan ?

  23. EgyptianKing
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    In what concerns the Liverpool triple-up, are you leaning towards 1 defender and both Mo and Mane, or 2 defenders and one of Mo or Mane?

    1. Eytexi
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Salah & TAA at minimum. Hopefully Robertson too.

      1. EgyptianKing
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Yeah, I am looking at Salah and TAA as crucial to the first GWs.

        Roberston vs Mane is a good debate...

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

      TAA, Robbo, Salah + Laporte, Sterling + Vardy is what I’m hoping will be the backbone of my team

      It I’m starting to get worried about pricing - particularly where TAA is concerned

      As pointed out above - his PP90 is just coconuts:

      - Player Points/Minutes/Appearances:

      - Robbo 213/3219/36 = 5.96 PP90, 5.91 PPA
      - VVD 208/3384/38 = 5.53 PP90, 5.47 PPA
      - TAA 185/2460/29 = 6.76 PP90, 6.38 PPA

      I was originally thinking/hoping 7.0 TAA, 7.5 VVD, 8.0 Robbo - but now i’m not so sure

      1. EgyptianKing
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Thank you for your answer, inputs and insights, first of all.

        TAA stats are really amazing, no doubt, and I am looking at him as a crucial piece to start the season.

        Tbh I think we will not see any defender at 8m. FFix predicts Roberston at 7.0, and both TAA and VVD at 6.5, I honestly think we should add 0.5 to all three of them.

        It is difficult to choose between something close to this:

        A) Ederson Laporte Sterling (2 defs 1 mid), TAA Mo Mane (1 def 2 mids)

        B) Laporte Sterling Bernardo (1 def 2 mids), TAA VVD Mo (2 defs 1 mid)

        Going without Mo seems too risky, so TAA and Mo seem to have a guaranteed place in my team, for now. Sterling and Laporte seem to still offer significant upside as well, clearly considering both. The 3rd choice (if any) from any of the sides (Pool and City) will be a difficult choice and highly depends on pricing

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

          FFFix had Robbo at 67% ownership at the time of his hammy injury last week. That to me shows he is a bit too affordable. I'd like him to be 8.0m to break up the template that will form around Pool and City

    3. Thomas Jerome Newton
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Any love for Firmino if he's under 9m?

      1. Supersonic Marv'
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        I love Firmino.

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

        I was thinking the other day if you picked your FPL team on randomness or superstition - it could be Firmino’s year:

        2017/18 - Salah breakout season
        2018/19 - Mané breakout season
        2019/20 - Firmino breakout season?

        Of course due to the way both he & Liverpool play this is very unlikely to happen. You never know though- but he’s not even on my watchlist at the minute

      3. 32chickens
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        marvellous player who makes liverpool tick,the fpl points dont seem to reward him well enough imo-is it he who will lose minutes to the developing origi?

        1. EgyptianKing
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          He is a very important piece for Klopp imo. I think he’ll get very very decent gametime

      4. EgyptianKing
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        In FPL terms, I think other Pool options still provide a better risk-return ration than Bobby. Obviously we have to see the prices, but I’ll probably still prioritize any of Mo, Mane, VVD, TAA and Robertson over him

      5. 32chickens
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        so in answer to the question
        -loads of love for bobby
        -but not sure ppl will fpl pick him

    4. BoleynWin
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      I can’t see Pool having anywhere near the defensive stats that they had last season but could be wrong, I can however see them easily hauling huge scores week in week out so I think I’ll opt for the attacking option.

      Hoping that City have more nailed options in defence such as Zinchenko

      1. EgyptianKing
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        I think Pool will still have many CS and the probability of Roberston and TAA continuing to provide consistent attacking returns is still high imo.

        However I am leaning towards the attacking option for Pool, as well.

        Ederson, Laporte, Sterling
        TAA, Mo, Mane

        I am looking at this lot. According to FFix it may be possible to fit them all in a squad and still have decent players as Brooks, Digne, Deulofeu there... Let’s see the real prices

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

      Got this draft in fantasy football fix costing 100 m with 3 Liverpool (2 defenders plus Salah) and 3 City but probably fix prices not accurate

      Ryan Button
      TAA Laporte Robertson Valery Diop
      Salah Sterling Brooks Redmond Foden
      Vardy Deeney Calvert-Lewin

      1. EgyptianKing
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        I built two drafts on FFix - one has 2 defenders and 1 mid from City as well as 1 defender and 2 mids from Pool, while the other 1 defender and 2 mids from City and 2 defenders and 1 mid from Pool.

        The Liverpool attacking draft is something like:

        Ederson
        TAA, Laporte, Digne, Dunk
        Salah, Sterling, Mane, Brooks, Deulofeu
        Bat

        (Weak bench)

      2. George Sillett
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Cannot understand the point of creating a squad based on speculative prices at all.

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

          I know- withdrawal symptoms kicking in!

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

          I understand your point.

          I guess it is just to start building some guidelines to the team and definitely not something “confirmed”. I personally think they underestimated the price of some players, in fact

      3. EgyptianKing
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        The other is something like:

        Fabianski
        TAA, VVD, Laporte, Digne
        Salah, Sterling, Bernardo, Brooks, Richarlison
        Deeney

  24. George Sillett
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    How many weeks into the new season will OGS be sacked ?

    1. 32chickens
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      well i'd like him to stay the whole season,likely to do a wonderful job

      just like he did at cardiff,
      city fan

      1. George Sillett
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        That would be marvelous.

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

        Wtf - how come you dont support utd anymore?!

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

      Soon hopefully. We’ve been too loyal to him as it is

      1. Wild Rover
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        It’s the players they have been too loyal to.

        1. Poseidon.
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Dont get me wrong some of them arent fit to wear the shirt either but ole does need to go and that was what the post was about

    3. noquarternt
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Hopefully he stays for a long reign.

      I guess it depends on how bad he is, would've thought he's got a lot of goodwill and Woodward doesn't care as long as Man U get a lot of hashtags and likes online.

  25. Bada Bing
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Under 10 weeks and he's gone, never to be seen again.

    1. Bada Bing
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Reply fail, meant to respond to when Ole will be sacked...

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

      Fingers crossed. Worst thing to happen to this club in a while!

  26. George Sillett
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Interesting to see who wins the battle for 6th in PL. Everton and Wolves seem the 2 to focus on with Man U and Leicester scrapping it out for 8th.

    1. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      Chelsea won’t finish Top 6, they are gonna have a shocker if this transfer ban stays in place

      1. GREEN IS GOOD
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        If Chelsea click under the new manager they will still finish in top 4.

        Too many quality players, even without Hazard.

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

      Be bitter all you want. We’re Utd at the end of the day. You cant write us off

      1. el polako
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        Didnt ypu celebrate Hazard's move to Madrid as Real fan ?

        1. Poseidon.
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          Loads of people have a 2nd team bro

        2. GREEN IS GOOD
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 9 months ago

          He supports Man Utd and Real Madrid?!

          Why am I not surprised.

  27. Poseidon.
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Shall we sign Lo Celso? Lol

  28. Scratch
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Wow, the BBC are really pushing this women's world cup. Went on the site to check the Copa America Argentina vs Colombia result and couldn't see it anywhere, women's WC stories everywhere.

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

      One with an English team involved vs one that isn't?

      1. Scratch
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 9 months ago

        England didn't even play earlier I don't think. It's crazy you have half a dozen WWC stories but nothing visible for 2 of the best 3/4 south american teams playing one another

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

          About 5 people care about the Copa America reading the BBC site.

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

            can either of u explain why qatar and japan are in the groups for the copa america ??

  29. Emiliano Sala
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Sofascore is great
    Is there a better app for scores, stats etc?

  30. Witty Pun: Not good at this…
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 9 months ago

    Villa are going to be a more successful Fulham next season.

    1. el polako
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 9 months ago

      They gonna go down sooner ?