A new signing by Stoke that might have slipped by without being noticed is Stokes signing of Ibrahim Afellay from Barcelona. Once one of Europes brightest prospects he didn't get much game time at Barca and spent last season on loan at Olympiacos. The 29 year old attacking winger loves to dribble past opponents and cut inside where he can potentially rack up a lot of points. He is not the most defensively minded player and if he starts could reduce the number of clean sheets Stoke will get. Potentially a bargain at 5.5.
that and deeney from watford, 2nd highest goal scorer from championship (21 goals). he wont score that many. but for 5.5m its not bad. my team, feel free to critisize/give tips, its my 2nd year at it. more then likely doing 4-5-1, 3-5-2 formations
Traditionally teams with very expensive defenses don't do too well and be aware of the importance of captaincy double points so its important to have a top class striker that can potentially score 2 or 3 goals when you give him the armband.
Also neither of your goalkeepers are guaranteed to be first choice.
I would wait to see how Falcao fits into the system before giving him a starting place, he will be easy to work into your team if he looks like he will rediscover his Atletico form.
I missed Wojciech Szczęsny going to Roma. Cech is definitely first choice but at the same price as Courtois I will take the Chelsea goalkeeper every time as Mourinho will close up shop against the mid table teams when they are winning 2-0 with 20 minutes to go while Arsenal continue to attack and leave gaps at the back.
Of the premium attacking players , considering injuries and fixtures, it looks like Hazard, Walcott and Rooney may be the best three in that price bracket to start the season.
Poor opening gameweek where I was lucky to break the 40 point mark... Good news is that i have a lot of different players to the league leader who also used his bench boost on the first week so he might not be around for the full season...