No new signings. Rumours, later confirmed, that the new ground would be delayed meaning an extended stay at Wembley. A potentially tricky away trip with a team made up of fringe players and a sprinkling of youth. Our talisman isn’t ready and can’t score in August even if he was. These were some of the thoughts that were going through the minds of some when the transfer window closed at 5pm on the 9th of August. I’m sure I wasn’t the only Spurs fan who was a little worried about the season ahead.
Well, what a difference a couple of weeks makes! Currently all is looking rosy in the Tottenham garden, well it was until the Watford game and a tough looking CL group!
Putting all that to one side, what have we learned from an FPL prospective?
Trippier (6m 24.8% owned)
Alonso and Mendy are getting most of the FPL attention this season while Trips goes mainly under the radar, or so I thought. I haven’t noticed as much chit chat in the community about him as I have some of the other high scoring defenders. So, I was surprised to see he is selected but nearly ¼ of all managers. Now that I’ve looked at his stats I don’t know why it isn’t more!
His 30 crosses and 10 accurate crosses are not bettered by any other player in any position so far this season. His 7 attempted assists ranks 3rd for defenders and he ranks 2nd across the game for the accuracy of his corners. Still not convinced? Ok I’ll continue. He has 37 penalty area actions, this is the second most of any player in the game and is the same as Alonso, Mane, Arnautovic and Lukaku combined!
The only thing letting him down is his lack of clean sheets so far.
Davies (5.8m 4.3% owned)
It hasn’t been a great start so far from Davies. He has featured in all 4 games so far (coming off the bench in place of Rose at Old Trafford) and has actually played more minutes than Trips but had far less of an impact. 6 shots, 6 attempted assists and 14 crosses are not bad stats at all but they are just not cutting it so far in a season where so many defenders are scoring big. He’s currently winning the battle with Rose but with Trippier fit and firing there’s no contest at the moment.
Rose (5.9m 0.9% owned)
1 start and a 1 minute cameo so far this season for Danny. From a football perspective he looked good against United, far from his best but good. From an FPL perspective he just isn’t an option until we see him getting more starts.
Alderweireld (5.9m 2.7% owned)
Its great to see Toby back in the side. It gives Poch flexibility having 3 fully fledged CBs. That’s a flexibility he has fully utilised on more than one occasion this season as he switches between 4 and 5 at the back. Toby has started the last 3 games but they have only seen 1 clean sheet so far. When talking FPL, Toby’s underlying stats far from stand out. There are currently many players who are better priced and are performing better. The clean sheets will come and so will a goal or two. As we all know FPL is all about timing.
Vertonghen (6m 10.2% owned)
I could just copy and paste what I wrote about Toby and that will pretty much cover all that needs to be said about Jan. An absolute colossus at the back for us and a certain starter when fit. He’s scored a goal already this season but if you’re hoping for another you may have a wait. After scoring 5 in his first season at the club he has since scored just 1 more in the next 5 seasons. Nothing in his underlying stats suggest that he will add to his tally anytime soon. When you sign a Tottenham CB you sign him for 2 reasons, security of starts and clean sheets. With Jan you have the first, the second will come.
Alli (9.1m 6.9% owned)
Dele is being Dele. Sparkling in one game and invisible the next. On the face if it that may seem a little harsh, after all he has had more shots on target that any other Spurs player this season (6) and his minuets per total shots is only bettered by Kane. He played well against United and should have scored at least 1 and there were also a couple of selfish moments when other players were in better positions. The Watford game typified the frustration with Alli. Headed over the bar from a cross from Toby and could have had an assist had Lucas managed to reach his through ball in the first half. However, he struggled to get the final ball away too often. When considering that he’s another of our players not to have any real rest and that he’s been playing with a bit of a knock, 9 shots with 6 on target does bode well for points in the coming weeks.
Eriksen (9.4m 9.9% owned)
The Postman (as James likes to call him) is one of the most consistent performers in all of FPL, averaging 189 points per season. While he hasn’t been playing as far forward so far this season as in pervious years it is interesting to note that he is currently ahead on goal attempts this season (3.2 vs 2.6) and minuets per attempt (27 vs 33) compared to last season, so he continues to be a threat going forward. His other underling attacking stats remain strong and he ranks high for attempted assists and successful final 3rd passes
A couple of words of caution though. While I can’t see him being dropped, It’s still not clear just yet how we will line up now that Son is back and his deeper role could be a more permanent thing. He is now sharing set piece duties with Trips. Not the biggest problem in the world as his record from direct free kicks is quite frankly woeful but it does lessen his appeal a little further.
Lucas (7.3m 17.4% Owned)
This is promising to be a real breakout season for Lucas and could well see him being the best OOP option of the season. Currently the second highest scoring midfield after Mane and already looking like a must own. Nearly 600k brought him on the back of 2 goals against United and it’s easy to see why. No midfielder has had more FPL involvements and only Salah has had more big chances. Lucas also boasts a 50% goal conversion.
There are some things that should be noted though. His 3 goals have come from his only 3 shots on target. His 6 shots on target also ranks low when compared to other midfielders. Finally, beware of the man below!
Son (8.3m 1.4% owned)
There isn’t really much I can say about Son. After starting in GW1 he has been away with South Korea successfully defending the Asian cup. 26 goals and 17 assists in the last 2 seasons proves his worth as an FPL asset but it will be interesting to see where (and if) he lines up given the strong start to the season Lucas had made
Kane (12.5m 27.8% owned)
You just can’t keep a good man down. He not only played when he should have been relaxing but he’s now scored not 1 but 2 goals in August.
Should we be a little cautious of his early goals though? It’s plain to see that Harry is far from at his best and this isn’t better demonstrated than in his shot stats. Harry is currently averaging just over 2 shots per game. Last season it was 5
He is so far averaging 5 points per game. On the face of it that’s nothing to be alarmed about as his best average return over a season was 5.9 points per game. You can never bet against the big man and he is a player that we will all own at some point this season, we just have to pick the right moment.