This afternoon saw another three player prices released by the official Fantasy Premier League (FPL) twitter stream. Southampton’s Rickie Lambert has been valued a little more than we anticipated, Kevin Nolan seems a decent mid-price option, while the news on Michel Vorm was – after last season’s heroics – as we feared:
Michel Vorm is no longer a cut-price option for our consideration. The Swansea stopper started the previous campaign at a mere 4.0 and racked up an incredible 158 points, thanks to 15 clean sheets and 143 saves – second only to City’s Joe Hart in the goalkeeper standings. As a result, he is now valued at 5.5 in FPL for the season ahead, with his appeal now substantially diminished. Such a valuation is surely set to see his popularity plummet; the Dutchman finished last season with over 33% ownership but the vast majority of Fantasy managers will now be looking for other alternatives between the sticks as we go about balancing budgets. Bearing in mind that Brendan Rodgers has now departed the Liberty Stadium, there’s no guarantee that Vorm will mirror those returns under new boss Michael Laudrup – the price is also a likely reflection of how FPL perceive the Swans’ defensive assets next term, forcing us to look elsewhere for our cheap keeper rotation and cut-price backline options. Sky Sports have been a little kinder; Vorm comes in at 5.2 and is the ninth most expensive option between the posts, with the first-choice goalkeepers for last season’s top eight sides all priced higher.
Kevin Nolan comes in at 6.0 this term – the same price as QPR new boy Ji-Sung Park and just 0.5 less than Stoke’s Jonathan Walters, though the latter’s classification is yet unknown. Certainly, Nolan should be listed as a midfielder in the FPL game and brings a history of strong Premier League returns with him; the Hammers captain has notched double figures in each of his previous two campaigns in the top-flight, with 17 and 12 goals in 2009/10 and 2010/11 respectively – a decent mid-price offering, then. Nolan’s price makes Mark Noble’s all the more intriguing in the Hammers midfield now; the latter’s spot-kicks and majority of set-pieces saw him have a hand in 18 goals last term (eight goals and 10 assists), the same number as Nolan (13 and five respectively) and, if he comes in cheaper, could interest plenty Fantasy managers, bearing in mind the Hammers’ strong start. The Sky Sports game have Nolan down as the pricier of the two; he comes in at 4.9 to Noble’s 4.7.
Rickie Lambert has also been slapped with a 6.0 price tag by FPL after his exploits in the npower Championship produced 27 goals and 14 assists for the Southampton forward last season. Despite such statistics, it’s perhaps a little surprising, bearing in mind that Grant Holt and Heidar Helguson were the costliest frontmen from the promoted sides at the start of 2011/12 at a cost of 5.5, while Swansea’s Danny Graham came in at just 5.0. Many had earmarked Lambert as a potential cut-price option up front, with his spot-kick duties furthering his appeal but, dependant on other players’ valuations, this could cause us to have a re-think. It’s a full 1.0 dearer than Reading’s Pavel Pogrebnyak, for example, and, while the Saints outscored the Royal by 85 goals to 69 last season, Brian McDermott’s investment in top-flight experience could boost the Russian’s appeal. Lambert’s valuation may now have us assessing Adam Lallana instead – the winger produced 11 goals and 10 assists in the previous campaign and could pick up plenty of investment if he comes in cheaper in the midfield area. Looking at the Sky Sports game, Lambert is substantially dearer than Lallana, by 6.8 to 4.9.
