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Some players will flourish, some will flop. This article focuses on the players most likely to flop this campaign, including some new boys to the Premier League, as well as the trap players who performed well last season, but will fire blanks this campaign. Read more to find out who to avoid at all costs!
1. Harry Kane
Immediately a controversial pick, however the youngster has only had one successful season and may not yet have matured into a true goalscoring forward. Admittedly, he is the least likely to be a complete flop of any player on this list, however at a price tag of £9.5m he seems like too much of a risk when you consider the uncertainty of a good season.
Spurs lack a decent striker to aptly replace Kane with if he hits a run of bad form, however they are on the hunt to sign Berahino and will likely pick up at least one striker to replace Kane should be get injured or flop this season. If a new striker gets a chance to perform and plays nearly as well as Kane did in his breakthrough season, then the young Englishman may struggle for game time. If this is not the case, then Kane should still have a moderate campaign regardless of form, as there will be little to replace him.
2. Pelle
Pelle emerged onto the Premier League scene in an explosive manner, scoring 6 goals in his first 8 games. However this record quickly took a turn for the worse, as the striker scored only twice in his next 23 games in the league. This included a patch of 14 games without a single goal. This form is not what you want to see for a player that’s supposed to bang in goals consistently.
His form improved slightly towards the end of the season, scoring 4 goals in 7 games. This isn’t bad for any striker, but having small periods of good form isn’t ideal. If you have a crystal ball and can predict when his form will take a turn for better or for worse, then it may be worth sticking him in your squad for the times where he is banging in the goals, then replacing him with someone more reliable for the rest of the season.
3. Ings
The ex-Burnley man had a great first season in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals. This is very impressive for a debut season with a team that fell straight back down to the Championship. Over the course of the entire season Burnley only scored 28 goals, which is appalling for any team. This means that Ings scored 39% of his team goals by himself.
However, this season he is playing for a much better team and in a much more competitive front line. He is unlikely to even start games for Liverpool, with Firmino, Benteke and Sturridge (when fit) all above him in the pecking order. If he starts at all, he is unlikely to replicate the form of last term and even if he does, the general lack of games means he won’t be scoring many points for your fantasy teams this season.
4. Firmino
Liverpool fans please don’t shoot me. Firmino has had two decent seasons in the Bundesliga and scored an impressive 16 goals during the 13/14 campaign. However, the Brazilian only managed 7 goals in the Bundesliga last season, which is quite poor for a player who played as an out-and-out striker.
Firmino did manage to assist 10 goals last season however, which is promising. He would be better utilised as an attacking midfielder for Rodgers, instead of playing upfront alongside or instead of Benteke. Even still, 7 goals and 10 assists is not mightily impressive and doesn’t warrant the comparisons he is receiving to Luis Suarez.
Adapting to the Premier League will be no mean feat and could definitely see the Brazilian flop under the pressure of the big stage. He may not even get a place in the starting 11 after a few poor performances, as the likes of Coutinho, Markovic and Ibe could easily start ahead of him.
5. Southampton’s defence
The Southampton defence completely broke fantasy football last season, offering a cheap and highly effective way to score huge points from the back, allowing for a lot more money to spend on your strike force, easily affording players like Aguero or Costa.
This season however, with the departure of key players Nathaniel Clyne and Toby Alderweireld, the Saint’s will struggle to maintain the defensive record which saw them concede the second least goals of any team last term. They have Yoshida to replace Alderweireld and Cedric Soares to replace Clyne who are not bad replacements by any means. However, the defence will be unlikely to hold up to the quality of last season, especially with shot-stopper Frazer Forster injured indefinitely. Some said that he would be out for 4-7 months following the injury in March, however some sources say he may be sidelined for the entirety of next season.
The defence will not be terrible, but they will likely concede a lot more goals this campaign, staying around the average for their league position and will therefore not be worth putting in your defence over a player that will score/assist goals.
