Projected Starters - Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, ACole, Mikel, Essien, Lampard, Malouda, Benayoun, Drogba
In the Rotation - Ramires, Anelka, Carvalho, Bosingwa (once he's healthy), Ferreira, Kalou, Zhirkov, Sturridge
Kicks - Frank Lampard will get the majority of the opportunities with Drogba, Essien, and Malouda getting the occasional chance.
Newcomers
- Ramires, M - He plays primarily in a holding role for Brazil and is capable of both brilliance as well as the occasional lapses in judgment/effort despite his legendary stamina. With the way Chelsea plays in midfield (mostly pinched in) and his tendency to be more of a holding player than an attacking one, I have a hard time seeing him making a major fantasy impact. Throw in the fact that the players he was brought in to replace - JCole, Ballack, Deco - never made much of a dent in fantasy and the only reason to play him is if his price stays low;
- Benayoun, M - I like this move much better from a fantasy standpoint. Benayoun is a solid fit out to the right (but not too far right) of Lamps in the role that JCole and Deco did poorly in last season. Benayoun makes nice runs cutting in from wide will play well with Bosingwa who will likely re-emerge as the RB once he's healthy. He's a bit over-priced for my tastes right now but if he's in the 7s or 8s and/or the match-up is a good one for Chelsea then I'd definitely consider him.
- There really isn't any youth rising at Chelsea with Mancienne and Sinclair likely to be loaned out again or even sold permanently. van Aanholt is getting some press but he's much more likely to make an impact away from Stamford Bridge than he is to sniff the first team at Chelsea.
- Best - Drogba has easily supplanted Frank Lampard as the best fantasy player Chelsea has to offer assuming that both are healthy;
- Best Value (non-newcomer) - The characters at Chelsea are fairly well known at this point so there aren't a lot of value picks to be made here with Drogba at pre-season pricing the best value among the established squad. That said, once Bosingwa makes his return from injury (and assuming he regains his spot as a starter) he is excellent value at his current price (6.70) so watch for that;
- Best Projected Value - Until we see where Ramires lines up and how regularly Benayoun starts, it's hard to say how much "new" value there is in the Chelsea line-up - I'm betting that Benayoun ends up being the right pick in this category but with so many points taken up by established stars, it's going to be hard to have a real winner emerge here;
- Worth Considering With Good Match-ups - Pretty much anyone in the starting line-up depending on how they're priced - no "stay away" guys here;
- Worth Knowing If He's Starting - Zhirkov (listed as a D this season), Anelka, Bosingwa, Sturridge, Kalou, Ramires (pending some information on where he's playing)
benayoun already did good numbers being in and out of liverppol XI...thinks a more consistent run of games and a better suited style of play will only boost his total performance.
ReplyDeleteRV
Chelsea started two forwards (Drog, Anelka) pretty much all last season, with the exception being injuries to either.
ReplyDeleteactually, I thought chelsea played with a 4-3-3 most of the end of last season? wasn't it typically anelka-drogba-kalou?
ReplyDeleteLast year for Benfica Ramires had 4 goals, 1 assist, 6 shots on target. Only 2 yellow cards and 4 fouls committed in 23 starts is promising if he were to be a super cheap defensive midfield filler like Mikel.
ReplyDeleteramires plays right midfield for brazil and benfica
ReplyDelete@bean sometimes Kalou, mostly Malouda near the end up with the forwards in the 4-3-3 at points during the game. But the team mostly lined up in a 4-4-2, Ancelotti does a lot of shape changing during the game though.
ReplyDeletei think this is the year for malouda to step and start taking over this team. lampard and drogba are going to feel it this season. john terry has no influence anymore, so i think it is malouda's turn. he was more consistent than lampard.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Chelsea score more goals than any other team last season? Doesn't seem like so much of that 2-1, 1-0 grind. I think the attacking players are good value to score a few goals.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately you've fallen foul of the rumour mill as well as the likes of Paul Parker over on Yahoo. Ramires still hasn't signed for Chelsea, yet everyone seems to talk about him as a first team regular, or in this case, in the rotation. He might not even get signed. How stupid will people look then?! (I'm aware this might make me look stupid if he signs in the next couple of days!)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Anon poster, Chelsea scored record goals last year, so I think characterizing them as low goal scorers is a bit off. In fact probably worth noting that more goals = more points in general to be had here.
ReplyDeleteSturridge has been phenomenal all preseason and will become a regular substitute, if not starter ahead of bennayoun and kalou (Although Kalou finally looks like he's becoming more consistant). At 4.87, sturridge wont be so cheap for long and will pay back a greater than 1point/price ratio (100 point weeks are good). I like how sturridge and kakuta and aren't considered youth players either lol
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