West Brom have started well, but will it last?
3 gameweeks down, 35 to go. That’s 92% of the Premier League season left, then. Plenty of work for fantasy managers to do. Let us help you a bit as you wait out the international break this week and we get ready to return to league action next weekend.
There are certain players, who are ‘under the radar,’ undervalued, and worth jumping on early in the season due to their performances. We’ve written about many of them on this blog – Michu, Eden Hazard, Funny Feeling Friday Steven Fletcher, Carlos Tevez, and more. It’s obvious that there are great bargains and in-form players to be had out there, and don’t worry – we’ll continue to monitor the statistical trends and unearth gems for you.
But sometimes, there are false promises, and West Brom’s Gareth McAuley, is one of those. He’s owned by nearly 5% of fantasy managers and has already seen his price increase from 5.0m to 5.1m this week on the back of a goal and clean sheet this past weekend against Everton.
But we are a community of seasoned fantasy veterans here, not amateurs. We’ve been playing the game for nearly 10 years. We aren’t jumping on McAuley as a long term transfer despite his price ascent and early season attacking rewards.
Here’s why:
- The second highest scoring defender in the game, he’s picked up 2 clean sheets in the first 3 games of the season – but this pace is unsustainable at West Brom. 10-12 clean sheets for the entire season would be amazing, while 8-10 [or only 6-8 more in 35 games] are more likely.
- McAuley has already scored a goal and grabbed an assist, as well as 4 bonus points this season. Last season in nearly 3,000 minutes he scored 2 goals and grabbed 1 assist. This pace is unsustainable.
- 5.1m is a bit pricey when Arsenal’s Jenkinson [4.7m] and Gibbs [5.5m] play on a Top-4 contending side and are in a similar price range. Even teammate Ben Foster is cheaper – at 5m, and will rack up save points while being able to be rotated with other goalkeepers.
- He’s not historically an attacking / goalscoring defender. Only 2 goals in 35 games for Northern Ireland. 5 goals in 117 games in the second tier at Ipswich. And he turns 33 years old in December.
Nothing against Gareth McAuley personally – he’s just a nice analogy early in the season to bring us back down to earth. A 5m rated defender at West Brom with not much upside other than perhaps a few more clean sheets this season and probably 1 more goal.
As Fantasy Premier League managers, we need to keep a cool head. The international break is one of those times where we can tinker with our teams – play the wildcard, search for new blood, etc. But we need to take the first 3 weeks with a grain of salt.
It’s only 3 weeks. We have 92% to go. Trust me, by this time in May, you won’t even remember the name Gareth McAuley.
Stay focussed. Good luck to all fantasy managers.
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No! Trust me, by this time in May, you will remember the name Gareth McAuley! He was a late starter as a Pro so has a fair few good years in him and each season he gets better and better. If you are still having doubts, go watch the Everton game and see how well he did against Fellaini!!!!!
Written by a monumental pillock!! If you d actually watched west broms matches so far and look how much strength in depth they have in all areas of the pitch then maybe you d realise what a plank you sound like.. Blatant disregard just because west brom are a smaller team does not mean they ‘have to get a maximum of 12 clean sheets’ at all!! I hope they exceed all expectations just to show arrogant idiots like you up!! This is coming from a Newcastle fan as well.. You could of said the same about us last year but look!! This article has really irritated me
What a disparaging and dismissive “article” [and I use the term loosely]. These are indeed early days in the season, but I have seen enough of the Albion over the last 40-plus years to recognise a team of good quality when I see one, and I reckon this is our best since the days of the Three Degress, Bryan Robson et al.
Albion don’t spend big money, are not in debt and consequently, are deemed unfashionable. Even their achievements in their opening three games, which were tough by anybody’s standards, have been pretty much overlooked by the media. Instead, it seems it’s more worthy news when a manager tells his team to “man-up”, than it is to highlight the impressive start made by a team with no discernible big money to spend and with one of the lowest wage bills in the Premiership. I suspect the media don’t like this particular success story. The club is run incredibly well, with a renowned [to those who can be bothered to find out] scouting network which helps unearth hidden gems [Mulumbu cost £150 grand; Yacob was free! Etc., etc...]. All this has been paid for by our first promotion a decade ago and the subsequent relegations and promotions, so no headline-grabbing stories about superstars for the press to get hold of. Just a team that plays passing football, and which is stocked with talented players with a point to prove, including Gareth McAuley.
Cheers
This guy is a thundering idiot! He’s talking out his hole! I just pooped on my manservant!
The tirade of abuse coming from the four people who have posted above me is ridiculous. There are many things I can say right now to defend NCNB but I am not going to waste many words on such narrow minded sods.
All he is saying is it is a fantasy bandwagon to be aware not to jump on. The masses know very little the goal stats tells us he is not going to get forward often (he did score a couple in WBA nice run in last season though).
With 92% of the season left it is very tough to pick what is going to happen all this article is alerting to is the fact that there are better options at 5.1 (Gallas, Mertesaker for instance in the long term).
It was nothing personal against the defender I think he is an excellent defender in the premier league BUT this website is about FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE not the real thing.
Closing note: Newcastle finished 5th with 15 clean sheets and had defenders cheaper then 5.0 last season (Simpson, R.Taylor 4.0, Collo, S.Taylor 4.5)
Enough has been said in the comments above, however one point I must add is that Gareth McAuley is one of, if not the best centre backs in the premier league, fact! If he was playing for a so called “Bigger” team the reporters comments would be far more favourable. Just a bit of advice for the reporter, get your facts right and do your research thoroughly across the whole of the premier leagues teams not just the top six clubs! Your reports will be far more accurate, and you may even get a promotion in your job. Good luck in your career!
I have enjoyed watching West Brom’s first few matches as it has been a bit unexpected. They were underrated by more than not on the lead in. And I do believe McAuley has played quite well. However I agree with NCNB on this, in terms of the traditional FPL understanding and idealism that comes from nearly a decade of playing. I do not see McAuley ending the season as an “elite” defender (fantasy point wise). Elite being around 135-140+ in general for me.
Now, I see no reason that he wouldn’t equal his total of 110 last year and think he could get into the 120′s as he’s already 1/5 the way there. and priced at 5.1, that’s actually pretty good return on per mil. There’s always has and gonna be some decent 4.5-5.5 defenders that buck the odds and pull pretty good season point hauls and it is still early in the season to tell. And this is where I will disagree with NCNB, at this point I don’t see McAuley as being a bad pickup. He has upside, West Brom’s upcoming schedule thro gameweek 12 isn’t too difficult outside of City. He seems like as decent defender as any to have as long as you’ve got a good enough defense to have him ride bench during Brom’s toughest opponents.
Tho most the posts here are of those thinking with their hearts more than fantasy knowledge. Sometimes (most times) you have to leave your heart behind to succeed in FPL.
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Even as a West Brom fan I can see where the author is coming from in terms of a fantasy league perspective, even if his article seems to display little knowledge of the subject. However I do find it amusing that he puts forward Jenkinson as a more valuable alternative when Barcary Sagna is on the verge of returning from injury. That’s it guys, get Jenkinson in your team, who’ll score you 0 points from the bench from October onwards rather than McAuley who will get you 2 points a game (as he’ll play every week) with a few additional bonuses in there………
I take the point that a good start does not mean that McAuley will maintain this form. However, it does seem as if those who *currently* have McAuley in their team have done well out of it, and given the Baggies upcoming fixtures they should hang onto him for a while. They might even be able to move him on at a profit just as the tough games come along…
This article is a little too one-sided. Yet, I can’t it’s totally wrong. He’s a player to be monitored, but I have Ben Foster in my fpl team, so I wouldn’t need him.