Wednesday, August 10, 2011

2011/12 Fantasy Season Preview - Chelsea


Chelsea FC
Last Season Summary
League ranking: 2nd (71 pts)
Points per game (home: away): 2.37: 1.37
Goals scored per game (home: away): 2.05: 1.58
Goals conceded per game (home: away): 0.68: 1.05
Number of clean sheets: 15
Top league scorer: Florent Malouda (13 goals)
Top league assister: Didier Drogba (13 assists)

Transfers
In: Oriol Romeu, Lucas Piazon, Thibaud Courtois, Romelu Lukaku
Out: Thibaud Courtois, Jeffrey Bruma, Michael Mancienne, Michael Woods

Pre-Season Results
1-0 Portsmouth
1-0 Malaysia XI
4-0 Thailand All Stars
4-0 Kitchee
2-0 Aston Villa

Predicted Season Finish: 2nd
Pretty much the same mould as last year, the Blues now march under the leadership of Andre Villas-Boas. So far the performance by "Mourinho v2" has been good, with Chelsea winning all the pre-seasons. However, with the squad continues the ageing process, and key player Michael Essien out for a big part of the season, there are big mountains for them to climb and reach the summit again.

Defence - 10/10
Unarguably the most complete defence, the Blues' defenders are capable of doing big damages at the front third too. Their best four (A. Cole, Terry, Luiz, Ivanovic) on the back are also relatively much fitter than their closest opponents.

Midfield - 8/10
Chelsea houses one of the most stocky midfielder combinations in the league. Ageing and lack of speedy players are concerning, but they are not expected to surface yet this season.

Attack - 9/10
Drogba and Torres remain the most exciting player to be seen in this line, but their compatibility is worrying. The presence of Anelka and Sturridge keeps the front line deep.

Fantasy Ace: Didier Drogba (£10.5m)
There are plenty of uncertainties that make me hard to decide on which one is the fantasy ace of the Chelsea this season, but I guess I will stick with one of the most fantasy proven player of the team who comes with a good amount of discount. Drogba, currently 33, is still the most important Chelsea player who can strike terror into opponent's defence with his monstrous body strength and clinical finishing. His age doesn't stop him yet; instead, it gives him the maturity to become even more threatening, as shown by his 15 assists last season. Do expect rotation threat for Drogba with the presence of Fernando Torres, but at the moment, it is believed that Andre Villas-Boas will favour him over the Spaniard.

Powerhouse Picks: Florent Malouda (£10.5m), Marinho David Luiz (£6.5m)
Being the only midfielder at Chelsea who's naturally a wide player, Malouda (pix) has shown a lot of consistency in these recent seasons. Double digit goals for two consecutive seasons, coupled with lack of competition on the sideways, should guarantee the Frenchman yet another productive season with Chelsea.

The cheapest of Chelsea's expected starting back four, David Luiz is good at both ends. 56 points in only 953 minutes of league appearance suggests that he can break the 150 target in this coming season. He's currently injured, but is hopeful to make his start at gameweek 1.

Solid Picks: Ashley Cole (£7.5m), Frank Lampard (£12.0m), Branislav Ivanovic (£7.0m)
Dubbed as the best left-back in the Premier League, Cole is renowned for his surging runs to the front. The premium paid for him is quite high compared to Luiz or even Ivanovic, but his position at the left is extremely solid.

Lampard is one of the fantasy legends who has hit the 200-point ceiling for three times in the last five years. He shares free kicks, penalties and corners with Drogba, so scoring fantasy points is not a problem for him as long as he plays. But his age might just make him a little bit overpriced.

Being another member of Chelsea's back four, Ivanovic can play at both right and centre back position. He is a potent threat at corners too, which makes him as productive as Ashley Cole in terms of fantasy points.

Worth Scouting: Fernando Torres (£11.0m), Salomon Kalou (£7.5m), Yossi Benayoun (£7.0m), Romelu Lukaku (£?m)
Torres' price is judged based on his name more than his stats. Still looking a good distant away from his best form, it is still not wise to get him now. But that might change in near future.

Kalou is a decent and cheap fantasy player at Chelsea, but his playing time is not enough to make him a good bargain. He will do good if there's injury crisis around at Stamford Bridge.

Yossi Benayoun has made his name at Liverpool, yet his time at Chelsea is limited. That might change with the arrival of Villas-Boas, especially when he's looking sharp currently.

Lukaku is expected to join Chelsea shortly. Tough competition occurs at Chelsea's strike force, so he will need to wait for his chance.

1 comment:

  1. You missed the rangers game which Chelsea concede their first goal under AVB

    ReplyDelete