So a bit of a mixed bag over the kind Xmas and new year fixtures, as a long time suffering West Ham fan and season ticket holder one thing you can bank on is consistency, unfortunately we are consistently inconsistent. James did touch on this more from a Spurs dig perspective on the Podcast (lo)l but sadly is not wrong. After a good win away at Southampton we lost 2-0 away to Burnley and then drew 2-2 at home to Brighton, 4 points would have been acceptable but hoped for 6 of course. I think a combination of the busy period, tiredness and more injuries caught up with the players and team
Looking at the next fixtures these are as follows ARS, bou, wol, LIV, pal, FUL, not the easiest of games, we could get something against Bournemouth and Palace but are not easy games away, the home games need no explaining and Fulham is on paper the easiest of the fixtures.
Injuries
Ben Dinnery is the main man on twitter for complete injury updates but an update from last night off exwesthamemployee on last nights pod/radio via thewesthamway is that Balbuena may need an operation although not serious could be out for 2 to 3 weeks, Ryan Fredericks is back in training soon
Who to Buy sell or Hold
I have listed the main FPL players by ownership and summarised for most of the defence in the most part and given my reasons why, there are a few on the cusp but not too many I would invest in, not for this GW at least despite Arsenal’s defence I do fear the result and a pasting if we are not on it Saturday for the early kick off
Buy:
With those fixtures it’s hard to recommend to FPL managers any to buy, however I have put in Arnie.
Arnautoivic 6.9 FWD – would really only be for those who needed a budget striker, is a risk of not starting or precautionary withdrawals, he came off after 20 minutes against Birmingham but played 72 and 90 mins against Burnley and Brighton with only a few days gap so I think he is ok.
Hold :
Anderson 7.4M Mid – Is borderline but has some form and is averaging 5.4PPG on FPL official sites form so a possible hold for now and is still playing well and has confidence , near guaranteed starter
Snodgrass – 5.4 MID does not offer enough to keep but budget may mean he sits on FPL benches, he does take corners and was subbed on later through 2nd half so will be rested
Fabianski 4.8M – because of price rises not worth buying at present but I see no reason to sell or not play him, he is the 5th highest keeper by points in FPL despite only 3 CS and is joint top on 11 for bonus points for GK and top for saves on 80.
Sell:
Balbuena 4.3 DEF – out injured, this has dragged on and could be out at least 2-3 weeks, also given lack of CS and not the fixtures in next 6 is time to cut any losses here
Rest of West Ham defence as above
Finally a few words on Nasri, our latest recruit of a player with Arsenal on his CV as Adam P @ThreeFiveWho the Arsenal correspondent and @PlanetFPLPod kindly pointed out ?. He has signed till the end of the season, as I understand it’s an option to extend and I do think he is a good signing, he has been out due to a drugs ban which was not straightforward but I won’t go into the ins and outs. He has been training through most of December with the club so Pellegrini has had a good look and has challenged him to get fit to earn a contract which the more cynical of you will say that’s not difficult at West Ham. He played 58 mins against Birmingham in the FA cup and for the most part did ok, via fotmob app data he made 44 accurate passes ( 96 %), he didn’t have shots and it’s way to early to consider in FPL at 5.5M but do keep an eye on his minutes as I think he will get more over the fixtures so see how he performs by the time fixtures improve but price point may be an issue for some.
Summary
If selling and looking at the more budget friendly rather that premium players I would look at the next 6 fixtures and non top 6 teams so that brings in Southampton, Cardiff, Everton, Watford and Palace, although Man Utd still offer good value if you have not jumped on any yet
Personally, I sold Balbuena as that did not work out for me and currently sticking with Fabianski for save points and possible but unlikely CS, Anderson not sure yet is a slight dilemma as to whether to hold or bring in a player with better fixtures.
While West Ham players lack consistency at the prices there are some good value options as enablers, the biggest issue could be rotation, the most nailed are Arnie, Anderson, Fabianski, Diop and Rice, the latter 2 are not really good FPL options though in my opinion
Welcome any comments or suggestions or if help required I will try to answer prior to deadline on twitter. You can find me at @fpladdict123.