It’s international break week, a magical time when all fantasy coaches wonder what to do on Saturday morning while praying nobody gets their legs broken on tour. There’s no better time than this to have a look at who the shining stars of the season have been so far. This week we’ll take a look at a side by side comparison of the highest scoring legal eleven man line-up in the first part of the season. But let’s make this interesting – we’re going to do a side by side between the team the official premier league site thinks is the best so far, and the highest scoring legal 11 working off our own points system, ruleset and positions here at Statr.
No surprises at the very high-scoring end, with Haaland and Salah absolutely outstanding in both formats. The first crucial difference is obvious here – we don’t consider Salah a midfielder.
In truth, the FPL site has over the past few years consistently reduced the number of attacking mids and wingers that are considered forwards, with almost everyone not in the traditional number 9 role being classed as midfielder. Why is this an issue? Well, because their site offers as many points for defensive work to a winger like Mo Salah as it does to an outright DM like Yves Bissouma. Nobody’s saying Mo doesn’t help his team a little out of possesion, but the idea that the attacking firepower is contributing significantly to the all-too-elusive clean sheets is pretty outdated, and points to old-fashioned 442 thinking. This in turn adds to the bloating of points in midfield and the limited viable options for strikers over at FPL. Luis Diaz makes the cut on both line-ups however this is unlikely to continue through the season. And speaking of unlikely to continue, Brighton attacker and veteran journeyman Danny Welbeck is almost certainly not going to finish the season anywhere near the top three strikers, but there he is making a huge impact on the first 3 weeks next door.
Looking at the midfield, a lot of overlap but again, there’s Brian Mbuemo getting away with being classed as a mid over on the FPL site. The Statr system, being less encumbered with disguised forwards, sees Kevin De Bruyne make the cut. De Bruyne represents another facet of Statr scoring that makes the game more well-rounded. Sure, he’s not getting assists, but he’s been absolutely critical to everything City have done so far, second only to You Know Who out front. But despite dribbles, key passes, dominating every opposition midfield he’s faced so far….no room for him over at FPL, must add more wingers.
Despite the absolutely disastrous start Everton have had to the season (when was the last time Pickford conceded 10 in 3?) , Dwight McNeil sneaks into our starting line-up, showing that a player can have value, involvement and impact far beyond what their team delivers. At least, when the scoring system is right they can.
At the back, Liverpool’s legends Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold had to be left out of the FPL 11 due to the rules around having no more than 3 players from any team. Over at Statr, we say you can have as many players from any club that you like….as long as you can draft them ahead of rival coaches (or trade for them later in nefarious deals). Antonee Robinson, long-term sleeper at Fulham earns his place in the Statr 11, like McNeil scoring beyond his team’s results.
And in news that will surprise absolutely nobody, Alisson is first choice keeper in both scoring systems. Earlier we touched on the lack of clean sheets. I must make a correction – they’re immaculate at Anfield so far this season. Three from three without anything conceded, with Arsenal on two clean sheets and no other team with more than 1. In fact, over half the clubs in the premier league – 11, to be precise – have conceded goals in every game so far. The three players making the defence for the FPL eleven have an average of 5 points per game per player so far. Keeping in mind that a CS on FPL nets you 6 points, well, you’d have to question the logic of losing premium club slots to defenders. And don’t forget, aerial wins, dispossessions, quality clearances, uninterrupted runs, key passes, tackles….these all mean points in Statr and nothing in FPL.
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Jimi Kavanagh
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