The Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham, Wigan and Wolves players to pick!
Whether you're competing against friends, family, workmates or a complete bunch of randoms, there's nothing quite like finishing top of the pile and claiming the bragging rights. Every season, we want to have the edge in our fantasy football game of choice and I've listed below some of the players worthy of consideration at this stage.
Sunderland
Will new manager Steve Bruce make the Black Cats a more exciting proposition? If his track record with Wigan is anything to go by, there could be some value to be had from the odd Sunderland defender, with Anton Ferdinand likely to marshal things in defence. Bruce will also aim to get the best out of the talented Kieran Richardson, a player who should score more than the four goals he managed last term. Andy Reid and Steed Malbranque also have potential as cheap midfield picks, although the star of the show could be Kenwyne Jones, who manages his fair share of goals and knock-downs in advanced areas of the pitch.
Tottenham
While Spurs players were flying out of people’s fantasy teams quicker than you could say Juande Ramos at the start of last season, they are once again an attractive proposition under Harry Redknapp. Indeed, dare I say that Tottenham defenders might be worth considering these days, with Jonathan Woodgate and Vedran Corluka certain to start most matches when fit. Perhaps David Bentley will turn over a new leaf and be a great pick this campaign, although I prefer Luka Modric, who is a class act and likely to rack up goals and assists at the cost of few bookings. Wilson Palacios and Aaron Lennon are also worthy of consideration, with Robbie Keane possibly the pick of the forward players.
West Ham
The Hammers did very well to manage a top ten finish last season, although there weren’t too many players that stood out FF-wise. Striker Carlton Cole had some purple patches, although the vast majority of their attacking gems were injured at various stages. Dean Ashton and Scott Parker have both been valuable picks in previous seasons, although the best bet could be cheap midfielders such as Jack Collison and Valon Behrami, ie midfielders who are going to pick up appearance points and the odd goal / assist. West Ham were defensively stout last term without being spectacular, so Robert Green, Matthew Upson and the youthful James Tomkins could rack up some points on the cheap.
Wigan
Roberto Martinez has a job on his hands at the JJB Stadium, with Palacios, Heskey and Valencia having all jumped ship in recent months. With a new manager at the helm, it’s perhaps wise not to bank on them defensively, although the likes of Scharner and Figueroa were good cheap picks last term. Charles N’Zogbia and Ben Watson arrived at the club in January and could be worth considering as ‘enabling’ midfielders, with Hugo Rodallega likely to be a livewire in attack. He started scoring the goals towards the end of the season, although Wigan do look short on numbers.
Wolves
Mick McCarthy’s team finished as champions last season and it was due to having some excellent attacking players. Although promoted teams are something of an unknown quantity, Sylvain Ebanks-Blake managed no less than twenty-five goals and should be on the scoresheet plenty of times this year. Although more players will surely arrive before the start of the season, winger Michael Kightly looks like a value proposition, considering he was too good for Championship defenders on several occasions last term. Midfielder David Jones didn’t get much of a chance for Derby in the top flight, but the former Manchester United player might flourish this time around.
