FPLZ 2012/13 Season Preview: The Promoters

The Promoters: Reading, Southampton and West Ham

The promoters with their new kit this season.
From left: Mikele Leigertwood (Reading), Rickie Lambert (Southampton) and Kevin Nolan (West Ham).

Overview

It's good to see them back, honestly. Reading, Southampton and West Ham are all old brands in English football and have large fan bases. Southampton fans will be extremely happy after being away from Premier League since 2005.

Survival will definitely be their primary objective this season, but it is hard to see the likelihood of each of them so survive with so many new faces around, though West Ham are still mainly composed by old faces such as Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Carlton Cole.

Reading: Pogrebnyak, Le Fondre, McAnuff, Guthrie
Reading have acquired some interesting players this summer, and one of them is Pavel Pogrebnyak (£5.0m). The Russian joined Fulham last season and recorded an astonishing record of 6 goals in just 943 minutes of action. With his ridiculously low price of £5.0m, he is definitely a steal.

Adam Le Fondre (£5.0m) is Pogrebnyak's partner upfront, and was the key in bringing Reading back to the top-flight league with 12 goals last season. A value for money forward, though I believe he is more susceptible to rotation especially when Brian McDermott decides to play 4-5-1, since Pogrebnyak is a more natural lone striker.

Jobi McAnuff (£5.5m) is another key man who brings the Royals to the premiership this season, contributing 5 goals and 11 assists in the process. His price seems a little bit pricier than his Pogrebnyak and Le Fondre when their fantasy value seems similar, though he is the best Reading midfielder to get in my opinion.

Danny Guthrie (£4.5m) did not get a lot of playing time at Newcastle, but I think he will get it at Madejski Stadium. Though not flashy, the midfielder is dependable, and can deliver goals and assists occasionally. A good choice as your fifth midfielder.

Southampton: Lambert, Lallana, Clyne

Scoring 25 goals last season, Rickie Lambert (£6.0m) is the ace of the Saints, and has scored 78 goals in 132 appearances for Southampton. The lad has great physical build and exceptional penalty taking ability (he still has 100% record with the club), so one would expect him to deliver some good value from his price.

Adam Lallana (£6.0m) is the second most important man behind Lambert for Southampton's return to the Premier League, recording 11 goals and 10 assists. Nothing too impressive, but a good figure nonetheless, although his £6.0m valuation doesn't seem like a good bargain compared to Lambert who is valued at the same price.

Named as a member in League Championship 2011/12 Team of the Year, Nathaniel Clyne (£4.0m) has shown great talents in the age of just 21. Though he has no great goal and assist statistics, but he is still very young, and the price of £4.0m fits perfectly as your fifth defender.

West Ham: Nolan, Vaz Te, Noble, McCartney, Maiga, Cole
We have a lot of old-time fantasy favourites at West Ham. Kevin Nolan (£6.0m) hit his prime when he was Newcastle, and was then bought by West Ham, which relegated during the time. Nolan is a great attacking midfielder - 12 goals last season at the Championship shows that.

Ricardo Vaz Te (£5.5m) has shown great efficiency last season, scoring 12 goals in just 18 appearances for the club. A good budget forward to get, though he threatens to quit the club should the right offer comes as he is unsatisfied with his wage.

Mark Noble (£5.0m) is a good candidate for 5th midfielder, with a track record of 8 goals and 9 assists last season. He played consistently under Sam Allardyce last season, you need not to worry about him rotting in the bench.

The Hammers acquired the service of George McCartney (£4.0m) this summer, and you can acquire his service too at a bargain price of £4.0m. One of the best £4.0m defender you can get in FPL this season.

Forward Modibo Maiga (£5.5m) is another man that Big Sam landed this summer. The forward has a decent track record at Sochaux (24 goals in 59 appearances), you one would expect him to challenge for the forward spot at Boleyn Ground.

Carlton Cole (£5.5m) is an old name in fantasy, and has a decent goal record, though not really impressive. His playing minutes is hindering him from getting good fantasy scores, but to include him in your fantasy team can be beneficial when the time is right.

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Goodbye West Ham

Avram Grant
Relegates for two consecutive years.

Goodbye, the Hammers. They looked good to drag their relegation at least until next week by leading 2-0 by half-time, but a stunning comeback from Wigan has confirmed their drop in advance.

So now five teams are still on the fear of relegation - Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan. What's your opinion? I believe the bottom three will stay as what it is currently.

Also featuring today is Liverpool's shocking defeat to Tottenham. They are certainly playing bad, playing without luck, and playing with the ref against them. All their hard work since Dalglish's takeover may end up with nothing.

Remember to climb back soon, West Ham, for I will miss you...

Ill-Mouthed Rooney Faces Two-Match Ban

Wayne Rooney
FA rewarded his hat-trick with match-bans.

Looks like there won't be a transfer bandwagon for Wayne Rooney as the FA has decided to award him a two-game ban after his misconduct on the game against West Ham United.

He scored a marvelous hat-trick to give Manchester United a spectacular comeback victory, but this ban has effectively halted fantasy managers' decision to buy him in.

Fortunately enough though, he will only miss one Premier League game as one of the ban is scheduled on the FA Cup game against Manchester City. Those who have already owned him can afford to keep him.

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.

Sunday Shockers

Robin Van Persie
Wenger lost what seemed to be a free trophy. The worse part is, he might even have to lose the Dutchman again for some period of time.

Not an anticipated Sunday as all teams who looked better on paper lost. The focus of course is on the League Cup final. Arsenal, who was set to break their six year title drought, continues to wait for another chance to end the embarrassment as they was sentenced to death by Obafemi Martins injury time winner. Humiliation.

Thomas Hitzlsperger
Just came back from injury, but his impact for the team is obvious.

West Ham won comfortably against Liverpool. The Reds weren't at their best in my opinion, but the Hammers deserved the credit. Hitzlsperger's return continues to provide the fluency in midfield that West Ham lacks, and new signing Demba Ba continues to dominate the front line of Hammers. Survival in Premier League shouldn't be a problem to Avram Grant's side with them around.

Damien Duff
Equalised.

On the other hand, Manchester City can only earn a draw against Fulham at home. Balotelli provided a fantastic strike for the lead, but that was later cancelled with Duff's quick goal in the second half. Their solid third place certainly don't look solid now.

A strange Premier League Sunday, after all.

Sunday Sparks

Daniel Sturridge
Made it three out of three at Bolton.

A not so crazy weekend as compared to last week's record-breaker 43 goals, but a couple of amazing goals made this week a memorable one. Here are some highlights:

• As mentioned on my last post, Rooney's fantastic overhead kick is really too enjoyable. Could be easily the goal of the season.
• Nani continued his show his consistency on the Manchester derby victory with a goal and an assist. That makes my decision to bench him a very awful one.
• Van Persie! Ten goals in seven games, he is really the most terrorising striker in premier league currently.
• Walcott and Fabregas are also on good points this week. It should be a great gameweek for those who invest heavily on Arsenal players.
• Birmingham got a clean sheet and I am more than happy about it. Labelled as flop for so long, Zigic's towering existence finally shows great importance.
• 0-0 between Blackburn and Newscastle was the last thing I expected.
• Aston Villa failed to take down Bloomfield Road as they shared a draw with Blackpool. Bent once again was pivotal; a quick and clean pass and he sent Agbonlahor to a one-on-one and scored a goal.
• Liverpool failed to make it five wins out of five, as opposed to what I expected. Meireles made it five goals out of six games with yet another stylish volley. Luis Suarez was pretty unlucky with one shot on bar and another on post, but two bonus points has justified his hard work.
• West Ham made a superb comeback after trailing for three goals to earn a point from West Brom. Worth noticing is Demba Ba who scored two goals.
• Niko Kranjcar gained my respect as he scored yet another victorious goal to make Tottenham escaping from two draws.
• And of course, Sturridge remains incredible at Bolton as he scored his third goal for Bolton in as many number of matches.

Robbie Keane Joins Hammers on Loan

Robbie Keane
Needs to change weapon from rifle to hammer.

Great news from fantasy managers: one of the most prolific striker in the premier league, Robbie Keane, has made a move to West Ham.

The Irish is just £4.8m in terms of fantasy price and is a proven goalscorer in EPL. A move to Hammers should ensure an immediate starting position for him, as opposed to his days at Tottenham or Liverpool.

Amazingly cheap for an experienced forward.

Fantasy Pit Stop 1: Part One

Since there's a two weeks break for internationals, it will be no harm for me to write some short fantasy reviews for now. 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 20th

West Ham United

News
Bid to take over Olympic Stadium - A good thing for the club's finance.

Predicted Season Finish: 17th
Despite an awful start, I think West Ham will stay in the Premier League for at least another season. The early run of four defeats with three goals conceded each may just be an adjustment period for their new coach Avram Grant.

Of course, it can't be helped  that they have Robert Green, one of the silliest goalkeeper in England's history and also a group of under-par defenders, but that weakness can be made up by their offence. Scott Parker is quite a spiritual figure of West Ham who plays the same character as Steven Gerrard in Liverpool, while the partnership of Obinna and Piquionne is looking better and better. It will only be even better when Carlton Cole finds back his touch.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Victor Obinna (6.5/10) - There must be something inside a player loaned from Internazionale and he's slowly showing it.
2. Scott Parker (6.5/10) - A superstar look-alike midfielder who is indeed the star of the team.
3. Frederic Piquionne (6/10) - He has become more decent recently. Still not a good buy though.

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Currently in 19th

Wolverhampton Wanderers

News - N/A

Predicted Season Finish: 20th

It's quite a mess for Mick McCarthy's team. The Wolves are yet to win since their season opener and I think this kind of form will sustain throughout the season. The return of Stephen Hunt might help a bit, but still, I think it's the end of their fairytale.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Stephen Hunt (5.5/10) - He's a creative talent, but Wolves is quite a reserved team for him.
2. Steven Fletcher (5/10) - He was quite influential for Burnley last year but has a limited playing time currently.
3. Matthew Jarvis (5/10) - Occasionally collects bonus.

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Currently in 18th

Liverpool

News
The court battle between RBS and Hicks and co - A crucial fight for Liverpool's future.

Predicted Season Finish: 8th

A big club in a big trouble. It's not a surprise, as this is the long term effect of ownership by the notorious G&H.

However, I expect things to start to turn around after the takeover by NESV, which is owned by another American but has passion in sports. This will at least provide a stable financial platform for the Reds and the players should be able to concentrate more on the pitch.

Still, Hodgson will need to revise his tactics. Fulham tactics certainly doesn't suite Liverpool at all. Glen Johnson is all the while clumsy with his more contained position, while Poulsen's Italian approach is totally unsuitable in England. Liverpool needs to be more offensive in order to make out the best from Torres, Gerrard and co.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Steven Gerrard (8/10) - He steps out every time the team needs him. The team needs to get better though before you buy him.
2. Fernando Torres (7.5/10) - He is a better choice than Gerrard if he can stay out of injury.
3. Joe Cole (6.5/10) - He will need to communicate with his mates better on the pitch in order to fully utilise his creativity.

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Currently in 17th

Everton

News - N/A

Predicted Season Finish: 7th

Everton repeated their poor season start, but we all know they will bounce back into the upper half when the season ends. They have too much of quality to stay at the relegation zone and the likes of Arteta, Cahill and Pienaar won't fail them for too long. Their strikers will need to buck up though, as they are still goalless in the league currently.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Mikel Arteta (8/10) - I'm surprised why he is still without any assists although his passes are very good this season. A superb bonus magnet as well.
2. Tim Cahill (7.5/10) - The header king has already trademarked himself in the Premier League.
3. Seamus Coleman (6.5/10) - He's securing his position on the right back. Comes at a surprisingly cheap price.

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Currently in 16th

Birmingham City

News - N/A

Predicted Season Finish: 12th

As one of the clubs with the most solid defence, Birmingham should be free from any relegation threats. There's no Joe Hart at the back this season but Ben Foster at least does a decent job. With the same tough team added with some new faces in the offence, they will finish the season with a good position again.

Top Three Fantasy Players:

1. Ben Foster (7.5/10) - Unarguably the best keeper under £5.0m in FPL.
2. Scott Dann (7/10) - One of the cheaper choice of Birmingham defenders.
3. Barry Ferguson (7/10) - Still as mighty as ever in collecting bonus points.

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To be continued in PART TWO.