FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City F.C.

The Potters new away kit in conjunction with the club's 150 years celebration.

 You can download the full analyzed squad data here.

Password: http://p-fplz.blogspot.com/

Last Season: Quiet
Compared to the time where they have just joined the Premier League, Stoke City really looked anonymous last season. They played boringly, and had always been in the "unfocused" region of the league table (they finished the campaign 14th). Their trademark long throws were not as "fresh" as before as well.

This Summer: Quiet
The Potters signed Michael Kightly from Wolverhampton Wanderes and 21-year-old former Rangers midfielder Jamie Ness joined as a free agent, but otherwise things have been very quiet at Britannia, with no other new signings going in and only fringe and young players heading out. Ricardo Fuller is possibly the only man that Premier League fans may know in Stoke's exit list.

Upcoming Season: Quiet?
There aren't any big changes happening at Stoke City, so it's really hard to expect something special to happen there next season. With more and more midtable clubs spending money like nobody's business, the Potters have to be careful to not fall into the quicksand of relegation.

Walters' historical stats.

Gun In the Hole: Walters (FI: 0.506)
Being just a semi-starter two seasons back, Jonathan Walters (£6.5m) was fully entrusted by Tony Pulis to play in the hole last season. He did not disappoint, and went on to become the team's second top scorer with 7 goals, behind Peter Crouch (£6.5m).

With Crouch remain to be the only reliable striker they have, Walters should continue to play at his best position behind the towering lad. He may be the next Dempsey in the making - the American also start his career at Fulham from zero to hero.

Bright Start: Kightly (FI: N/A)
Michael Kightly (£5.5m) was tipped by FPLZ as the next fantasy hot pick during when Wolves first promoted to the Premier League, but things had gone oddly and he failed to shine, registering not even 2000 minutes over the last 3 seasons.

He only needed 134 seconds on the pitch to declare himself as a Stoke City player though, as he scored his first goal for his new club against SpVgg Greuther Furth in pre-season friendly. It's still hard to say how he will do in the league this season, but as one of the Championship best player seasons ago, he surely has the quality to shine.

Source of Creativity: Etherington (FI: 0.475)
Although not showy, Matthew Etherington (£6.5m) has been very consistent in FPL for the last 3 seasons, thanks to his high quality passing especially in set pieces. In fact, becoming the primary set piece taker of the team is a big factor for him to score for at least 120 points for the last 3 seasons.

With not much of good firepower upfront, the Potters will need to continue to rely on him to deliver. A dependable man who can deliver a good amount of fantasy points.

Tough Man: Shawcross (FI: 0.443)
Ryan Shawcross (£5.0m) was a hit when Stoke first joined the Premier League, but his price surge have made him a less popular figure in FPL.

The English defender is an tough man to beat, and is good at winning headers to score goals. Stoke will need to better their defensive record though, to make Shawcross a good fantasy defender to own.

Towering Presence: Crouch (FI: 0.467)
Peter Crouch (£6.5m) has always been a iconic figure in the Premier League ever since his time at Southampton, thanks to his height. Though not at a very prolific rate, the lad has a dependable goal record at every club he has played for, which is what Stoke sickly need.

Crouch ranked 10th last season in terms of fantasy points in the list of forwards. Not too bad with his price, but with the front pack of forwards all scoring crazy amount of points, fantasy managers may not feel comfortable to satisfy with a budget performer in their line-up.

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Kick-Off: Gameweek 6 Fantasy Preview

Stuart Holden back to Bolton's rescue.

Overview
There are plenty of actions in Carling Cup on the midweek as we saw fellow benchwarmers like Owen and Oxlade-Chamberlain shone. The more important news are of course the return of Stuart Holden (Bolton) and Hatem Ben-Arfa who both recovered from long-term injuries. Two fantasy players to watch.

Game of the Week: STOKE CITY v MANCHESTER UNITED

Phil Jones is a versatile beast.
Strong and determined.

Pretty surprised to feature here? Too bad but this is the most anticipated one in my opinion as the sentinel of Britannia will try to hold the trident of Red Devils.

Stoke suffered a 0-4 defeat away to Sunderland last week, but at Britannia Stadium it's going to be a different story. The Potters are still yet to concede any goal at home in local fixtures including the Carling Cup tie against Tottenham where they won by penalties.

On the other hand, Man Utd continued their to record their best league opening for tens of years as they beat old-time rival Leeds 3-1 in the Carling Cup encounter. Michael Owen scored a brace but it will be too much for him to knock both Chicharito and Berbatov out to start with Rooney.

A classic sword and shield encounter. Tony Pulis' team might be able to shock us, but most probably it will be Sir Alex Ferguson's side to extend their record run of 6 straight league victories. United players will continue to shine.

Prediction: STO 0-1 MUN
Pick: Rooney, A Young, Jones
Drop: STO defence except Begovic


Fantasy Game of the Week: CHELSEA v SWANSEA

Hopefully not another
miss of the century.

Manchester City are facing tricky Everton, while both Arsenal and Liverpool are not in their very best form despite racing rather easy oppositions. So let's stick with Chelsea - the team who host themselves at Old Trafford even though they lost it.

Scott Sinclair will face his old club but it will be too much for him to lead Swansea sinking Stamford Bridge. Maybe a surprise goal, but certainly not a victory.

Another sign for Torres resurrection - he's spectacular last week despite the miss of the millennium. I believe this time it's not false positive though compared to the first gameweek - as long as it's the pack of fast players like Ramires, Mata and Meireles who will be pairing up with him.

Shouldn't be too hard for Chelsea, so start your Torres, Mata, Meireles, Ramires and Bosingwa if you own them.

Prediction: CHE 3-0 SWA
Pick and Captain: Torres
Pick: Mata, Meireles, Ramires, Bosingwa
Drop: SWA defence except Vorm


Pick and Drop
Pick and Captain:

1. Suarez - Liverpool are more consistent at Anfield. Perhaps the last chance for Suarez to prove himself.
2. Van Persie - The Gunners will learn from their mistake and improve on.
3. Adebayor - On fire and cannot be stopped.
4. Best - A differential captain pick if you're willing to risk.

Pick:

1. Man City players - Not an easy game against Everton, but home advantage should bring them through.
2. Wright-Phillips, Barton - Should be able to get something at home.
3. Gervinho - Should get a lot of chances.
4. Van der Vaart - Returns to take set pieces.

Drop:

1. WIG defence - I can't see a clean sheet against Adebayor and Van der Vaart.

Transfer Traffic

Green light (buy):

1. Adebayor - Expect huge bandwagon soon.
2. SWP, Barton - Two productive players from QPR.
3. Aguero, Agbonlahor, Best - Productive players at different tiers.
4. Jones - Can play everywhere in defence and hence less rotation fears.

Yellow light (watch):

1. Torres - Looks like he has discovered his form...
2. Ben Arfa - Returned and should be under your radar.
3. Holden - Will provide good supplies for Bolton in the center of midfield.
4. Enrique - Short of clean sheets and you should be prepared for a contingency plan to sell him.
5. Gerrard - Might bring direct impact to Liverpool's play.

Red light (sell):

1. ARS defence - Too mistake prone.
2. EVE players - Tough series of fixtures.
3. Klasnic - 3 match ban.
4. Moses - Not performing.

Gameweek 6 Dream Team

Krul

Bosingwa -- Kompany -- Enrique

Arteta -- SWP -- VDV -- Mata

Suarez -- Adebayor(C) -- RVP(VC)

Subs: Kenny -- Cabaye -- R Taylor -- Jones

2011/12 Fantasy Season Preview - Stoke City

Stoke City FC

Last Season Summary

League ranking: 13th (46 pts)

Points per game (home: away): 1.79: 0.63

Goals per game (for: against): 1.21: 1.26

Number of clean sheets: 9

Top league scorer: Kenwyne Jones (9 goals)

Top league assister: Jermaine Pennant (7 assists)

Transfers

In: Jonathan Woodgate

Out: Abdoulaye Faye, Matthew Lund, Carl Dickinson

Predicted Season Finish: 11th

Just the right amount of strength and depth to sustain in the Premier League. The Potters have always been solid since they climbed to the top-flight league. As long as Britannia Stadium continues to be a  stronghold, they will have no fear of relegation.

Fantasy Ace: Robert Huth (£6.0m)

Being a typical German centre-back, Huth exploded last season with an impressive 6-goal, 3-assist record, making him the best mid-priced defender last season. You will need to appreciate the fact that he's a Potter too, as the club is renowned for resolute defence especially at Britannia Stadium.

He's quite expensive now, but the competition for places thanks to the purchase of Woodgate will motivate him to perform better.

Decent Picks: Matthew Ehterington (£6.5m), Kenwyne Jones (£6.5m), Jermaine Pennant (£6.0m), Jonathan Walters (£6.0m)

Etherington has always been the engine of Stoke. Being the main man to take set pieces and also a bonus magnet, you will never be short of fantasy points from this man.

Bought expensively from Sunderland, Jones's performance has been satisfying so far. A pretty decent third striker with great support from midfield.

Pennant's career is far from impressive thus far, but a season at Stoke have ignited his form. 3 goals and 7 assists certainly don't look bad for a budget midfielder.

Frequently featured as sub, Walters can be very explosive at times. More of his goals were scored at cup games last season, and hopefully he can produce more of them at league this time around.

Worth Scouting: Ryan Shawcross (£5.0m)

For some reason Shawcross somewhat reaches a bottleneck at Stoke, with Huth surpassing him as the best performing defender. The former Manchester United youth might just need some fresh air with another club. He can't be bad when several big clubs have approached him.

A Day (Year) for Manchester

Giggs, Ferdinand and Vidic
Celebrate the day in history for United.

Balotelli and Yaya Toure
Celebrate for the latter's trophy-lifting goal.

It must be a year for Manchester. Manchester United, after securing a 1-1 draw against Blackburn, has officially claimed the 19th top-flight league trophy for the club and become the most successful club in England's history. Chelsea must have thought that they still have chance when Blackburn led by 1-0, but a late penalty has ensured that the Red Devils take what that's required to drive the trophy back to Old Trafford.

On the other hand, Manchester City claimed a must needed victory against Stoke in the FA Cup final after quite an exciting game at Wembley. This ended their trophy drought for 35 years. Coupled with a ticket to UEFA Champions League, this is such a fantastic year for the Manchester Blues.

It's all but Manchester. Congratulations for both sides and celebrate the day!

Gameweek 34 Fantasy Preview

Gareth Bale
PFA Player of the Year. Even Dirk Kuyt has better statistics than him on the league.

Raul Meireles
PFA Fans' Player of the Year. Well deserved.

Scott Parker
Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year. What a great year for a great leader.

Congratulations to all three of them for winning their awards respectively. This season has gone pretty far isn't it? Still, there are three horses running for the title and five clubs struggling on the quicksand of relegation. Excitements continue...

Back to this gameweek. Four more teams on a double this week, with Fulham having the best fixtures among them. Will you invest heavily on double gamers given that the top clubs are having relatively easy fixtures this week? A big gamble to be honest.

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PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES

Daniel Sturridge
Can he continue his magic in this gameweek double?

Double Gamers

• Stoke City (Aston Villa @ away, Wolves @ home) - Fantasy managers won't be enjoying too much from this double with two tough opponents. The Villans had regained their long lost form and will give a hard time to Bolton at their home ground. Wolves on the other hand are still distance away from survival and will again fight their best for points. Still, start your Begovic, Huth and Etherington - they are all great in collecting fantasy points. Prediction: AST 2-0 STO, STO 1-1 WOL.
• Wolves (Fulham @ home, Stoke @ away) - Interestingly both of their opponents this week are double gamers. They should at least salvage a point at Molineux given Fulham's inability to win an away league game since 2nd of February. Stoke at away is a tricky one, but with nothing else to lose, they will fight out their best. Jarvis is the best Wolf, but those who are willing to take risk may stock Ebanks-Blake or Milijas as well. Prediction: WOL 2-1 FUL, STO 1-1 WOL.
• Fulham (Wolves @ away, Bolton @ home) - The Cottagers are quite on fire now with the return of Bobby Zamora, and it's quite possible to take four points from these two games. Dempsey and Zamora are worthy for your captain armband this week. Prediction: WOL 2-1 FUL, FUL 2-1 BOL.
• Bolton (Arsenal @ home, Fulham @ away) - First, they have neither European spots to pursue for nor relegation crisis to fight for; Second, one of their opponents is Arsenal (I know the Gunners have been quite unreliable recently, but still). Don't put too much on hope for them except for one - Daniel Sturridge! Prediction: BOL 1-2 ARS, FUL 2-1 BOL.

The Rest

• Man Utd v Everton (1-0) - The Red Devils are not as slippery the Gunners, but you never know.
• Blackpool v Newcastle (2-1) - The Magpies are quite safe. Will they lend a helping hand?
• Liverpool v Birmingham (3-0) - The Reds now have more than enough weaponries to kill any team who park their buses.
• Sunderland v Wigan (2-2) - One point from last nine games for the Black Cats. I'm quite sure they will not win this time as well.
• Tottenham v West Brom (2-0) - It's VdV's time again.
• Chelsea v West Ham (3-0) - Expect complete demolition by the Blues (if Torres doesn't start).
• Blackburn v Man City (0-1) - City needs to win to protect their Champions League spot.

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PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS

Didier Drogba
Another scoring spree for the Ivorian?

Captain Picks

• Drogba - On his peak currently.
• Suarez - They will be plenty of opportunities for him to strike.
• Zamora/Dempsey/Sturridge - Double gamers with fantasy excellence.

Buys-In

• Drogba/Malouda - Back to their prime.
• Van der Vaart - Starts his scoring engine again.
• Dempsey/Zamora - Fantasy proven.

Sells-Out

• Man Utd players - The toughest period of their season is coming soon.

Squad of XV

GK: Schwarzer

DF: Huth, Hangeland, Luiz

MF: Malouda, Dempsey, Etherington, Van der Vaart

F: Drogba, Suarez, Zamora

Subs (in order): Begovic, Jarvis, Flanagan, Gary Cahill

Captain: Drogba

ECS: Value

Game of the Season: Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool @ Emirates

Lucas Leiva
Conceded two important fouls which helped Liverpool to equalise.

Unbelievable DRAMA.

The game didn't promise much in the first 80 minutes. But it started to get crazy after that with a van Persie's one-on-one parried by Reina, and then the longer than usual eight minute stoppage time due to Carragher's time dragging injury. Now that's where the great drama started.

96th minute. Fabregas dribbled into the box and was continuously challenged by Spearing. The ref whistled! Penalty! Van Persie took it with a great angle and power and sent Pepe Reina the wrong way. 1-0! The Dutch took off his shirt and celebrated, but he would never believe what happened next...

98th minute. Lucas was challenged on the edge of penalty box, with the ball inside the box already but not him. Just a free kick. After a long set piece preparations, Suarez fired the ball and it was well deflected by the defenders. But the story didn't end...

Lucas took the ball and tried to maintain the possession, but Eboue made a silly push on the Brazilian. A payback penalty! Kuyt again took it in the absence of Gerrard. 1-1 and the whistle signaled the end of the game! Great game!

Now some of my reflections from this game:

• A very very fantastic display from the Reds' two youthful full backs. Both John Flanagan and Jack Robinson have contained the Gunners' flanks very very well. This is indeed totally out of my expectations. Liverpool need not to worry about the future of their defence with them and Martin Kelly.
• On the other hand, the men in the middle, Skrtel and Carragher, were much more vulnerable to attacks.
• How respectable is Jamie Carragher? It was totally shown on his injury. The claps were so loud, even when it's not Anfield. Salute.
• Van Persie again showed how important he is for Arsenal to challenge for the title. Numerous golden chances he has today, only to be denied by godly Reina. Bad luck. Five pre-bonus fantasy points weren't too bad for his fantasy managers anyway.
• Another man on bad luck was Koscielny. If his attempt on the first half hit the net instead of post, things would go very differently.

Drama of the season. Do you agree?

Also featured on today was Stoke's 5-0 humiliation to Bolton in the FA Cup semifinals.

Sunday Sparks

Luis Suarez
Steals the headline with his zero angle goal.

Another interesting Premier League weekend as Arsenal slipped unexpectedly. Here are some highlights:

• Berbatov once again showed why he deserved to be nicked Berbatop as he decided the game from the bench. Johnny Evans's red card once gave Bolton the light of winning the game, but the Bulgarian acted as a black hole and sucked all the hopes away.
• On a side note, Nani continues to provide great value to his fantasy managers with nine points in total. Really a bad fortune for those who sold him earlier.
• Arsenal collapsed like nobody as they dropped another two points to West Brom. In fact, they were lucky to snatch one from the Hawthorns after trailing 0-2.
• A good thing to note though, Van Persie continues to show his imperialism at Arsenal. Still one man is not enough to save a team from failing.
• Green's godlike show has helped West Ham to salvage a point from White Hart Lane. His actions were well rewarded with 11 fantasy points.
• In addition, Bale was looking good with his return and you might need to him to finish off your season with a good result.

Charlie Adam
The commander is back to lead the show.

• Charlie Adam's return is so pivotal for Blackpool as the skipper took the Tangerines two goals ahead only to be drawn by Blackburn. Still great performance by him with 15 fantasy points.
• Stoke got a solid solid win against Newcastle. The best thing about it? Clean sheet of course!
• One thing note mentioning: Walters, Pennant and Higginbotham scored 40 points in total from this game!
• Cleverly made himself the man of the match as he led Wigan to reverse Birmingham's one goal lead.
• Coleman and Baines continue to become the main fantasy force of Everton as both of them picked up eight points in their win against Fulham.
• Still it's a good result for Dempsey's fantasy owners with his goal.
• Aston Villa lost surprisingly at home to Wolves. Without scoring any goals. Shameful.
• Luck was totally against Sunderland just now as Steve Bruce used two of his subs in the first thirty minutes and another before the 60th for all his injured players. And Mensah was even sent off for a soft challenge.
• Great work for Suarez anyway for his incredible zero angle goal as he continue his great Liverpool record, both in reality and fantasy.
• After a hat-trick, Kuyt continues to provide great fantasy returns as he scored another double digit today.
• The Chelsea-Man City encounter is going on now and let's see what Tevez-less City can do. UPDATE: David Luiz scored his second goal for Chelsea to further embarrass Torres's goal drought.

Did Van der Vaart Kicked Your Ass?

Rafael Van der Vaart
"Didn't start me? Well done!"

Tottenham's ace, Rafael Van der Vaart, who was doubtful for yesterday's match, played a full game and scored a goal!

That's such a pain for those who benched him, including me.

On the other hand, Stoke v Birmingham, which I predicted to be a boring game, turned out to be very exciting. Huth who's listed on my Squad of XV, scored!

There will be eight games today, good luck.

Fantasy Pit Stop 1: Part Three

To start reading from PART ONE, click here.

As a reminder, for this pit stop I am going to write about:

1. Some major news/events related to the team;
2. Predicted season finish; and
3. Top three rated fantasy players along with their ratings.

The arrangement of teams will be according to current league rankings, in reverse order.

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Currently in 10th

Fulham

News
Zamora aiming a February/March return - The usual glass feet. All the best for him.

Predicted Season Finish: 10th

Mark Hughes has indeed changed Fulham for better. They are more adventurous going forward now, while maintaining their trademark defence. The thing that the new Fulham manager has really impressed me is that Fulham now really work as a team and there is no specific reliance on any players.

As a low budget team, I think the rank of 10th is rather great and reasonable for the Cottagers.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Bobby Zamora (7/10) - The target man of Fulham is fantasy wise effective but constantly plagued by injuries.
2. Clinton Dempsey (7/10) - One of the best American footballer currently.
3. Brede Hangeland (6.5) - The chief commander of Fulham's defence is quite expensive now.

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Currently in 9th

Blackpool

News - N/A

Predicted Season Finish: 18th

Blackpool fans may be ecstatic about their ranking currently, but the football season has still a long way to go. I particularly aren't that surprise for their current ranking. They have the gift of luck in terms of fixtures for facing Wigan and Liverpool in the right time.

For me Blackpool is like Burnley of the last season - they come with a thick layer of mystery, but as the pages of the calendar are tore, they are slowly dissected. Their performance gets poorer and poorer and eventually the team may relegate.

Nevertheless, I can't deny how great Charlie Adam is as a leader. It is not exaggerate to say that he single-handedly took Blackpool to the Premier League.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Charlie Adam (8.5/10) - Cheap, has good scoring and assist record, and is the primary bonus scorer of the team.
2. Matthew Gilks (6.5/10) - Definitely one of the busiest keeper in the league.
3. N/A

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Currently in 8th

Aston Villa

News - N/A

Predicted Season Finish: 6th

Martin O'Neill's early exit does brought some little "chaos" to the club, but fortunately now there's Gerard Houllier - a more credible, more experienced manager than the former. I believe the French manager will be able to take the team to greater heights, especially in European match-ups.

As the squad has more or less the same strength as last year, I think they will end the season in more or less the same ranking.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Marc Albrighton (7.5/10) - A winger less than £5.0m from a upper half team. Certainly a valuable addition to your squad.
2. Ashley Young (7/10) - The ace of the team with some great free kick skills.
3. Luke Young (6.5/10) - The cheapest defender of the team with a guaranteed starting spot.

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Currently in 7th

Stoke City

News - N/A

Predicted Season Finish: 16th

Defence has been the main ingredient for Stoke's survival in top-flight league, but I don't think that will last long. The defenders have been far from their best for a long time, while Delap the grenadier is losing his effectively as teams start to understand their tactics.

But well, I think Tony Pulis himself knows that and therefore splashes £8m for the Potters' record buying Kenwyne Jones. I believe Brittannia will remain as one of the Premier League stadium next season because Mr Jones will use goals to cover Stoke's defence.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Matthew Etherington (7.5/10) - The commander of the team who has been superb since last season.
2. Kenwyne Jones (7/10) - He will have all the time to prove himself at Stoke.
3. N/A

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Currently in 6th

West Bromwich Albion

News - N/A

Predicted Season Finish: 14th

The Baggies had been in the Premiership-Championship elevator over the past decade, but I expect them to stay this season mainly because of Odemwingie. He has been great until know and is a constant threat to any defenders.

Combined with Brunt, Olsson and Scharner who all has Premier League experience, West Brom should undergo a very nice season under Robert Di Matteo.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Peter Odemwingie (9/10) - He's still new at West Brom, but he's already the star.
2. Chris Brunt (7/10) - He has good experience in the league and decent attacking capabilities.
3. N/A

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To be continued in PART FOUR.