Kevin De Bruyne. We need to talk about Kevin

[Notned]

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that as a Sanchez and KDB owner, seeing them being transferred out by others is great to see.

The more the merrier I say.

This.

[liquidfootball2]

tbf I think most good players will be keeping them at least for another gwk or two. Kane at home to Newcastle could be the first mass sale.

[Le Red]

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that as a Sanchez and KDB owner, seeing them being transferred out by others is great to see.

The more the merrier I say.

This.

With so many good options in the attack and midfield between 8.0 and 9.5 I say Aguero + Sanchez + KdB is overkill. And going without Aguero in the long run is foolish until proven otherwise.
I don't have a crystal ball but there's no evident reason to hold onto KdB and even Sanchez right now. I might as well say enjoy your patch of 2,3 and 5 pointers with KdB, the way he's been playing didn't make me too optimistic. The reason why I sold him instead of Sanchez is that Sanchez is more of a known quantity and offers an additional captain option. But I seriously doubt Sanchez will keep quiet for much longer...
Wenger's arrogance made him set up the team without Sanchez as the main star. He doesn't want to give more credit to a player than to his tactics. It's an illusion though... Arsenal needs Alexis' brilliance to challenge for the title and Mr. Arrogant will have to revert him to a role where he's more effective sooner than later.

[NoEyeDeer]

It may sound foolish to you, but I'll very much enjoy my front 7 of Kane, Lukaku, Aguero, Ozil, Sanchez, KDB, and Mahrez for the long run thanks.

Maybe it's overkill, but damn it looks good!

[PitchBookMaker]

It may sound foolish to you, but I'll very much enjoy my front 7 of Kane, Lukaku, Aguero, Ozil, Sanchez, KDB, and Mahrez for the long run thanks.

Maybe it's overkill, but damn it looks good!

Precisely...

[Bao]

It may sound foolish to you, but I'll very much enjoy my front 7 of Kane, Lukaku, Aguero, Ozil, Sanchez, KDB, and Mahrez for the long run thanks.

Maybe it's overkill, but damn it looks good!

I think Coutinho with his current form may outscore KDB/Sanchez in coming fixtures. My front 7 are the same as you except for Coutinho instead of KDB.

[NoEyeDeer]

I think Coutinho is also a great choice, I'm just not buying into the claims that Sanchez or KDB may not be now.

It's all personal preference, but saying both KDB and Sanchez are now all of a sudden overpriced and less desirable, seems to stem more from those trying to convince themselves that transferring either out is the correct decision rather than an honest account of the players.

There may very well be better options available, but both players high prices will pose a huge problem should you decide you want them back in at a later stage.

Whilst a few blanks can be frustrating, players of their calibre don't tend to stay quiet long.

[liquidfootball2]

It may sound foolish to you, but I'll very much enjoy my front 7 of Kane, Lukaku, Aguero, Ozil, Sanchez, KDB, and Mahrez for the long run thanks.

Maybe it's overkill, but damn it looks good!

That has all the bases covered, you have the three main strikers already, there is no real need for you to look for funds elsewhere. Others do need to make choices you don't. Of course you should stick with that front seven, it looks foolish not to.

The need to sell players and look at cheaper viable options is driven at least in part on the need to use available funds more wisely, so of course for the most part Kdb/Sanchez and Kane is better than anyone else and Kane - but having aguero already AND needing funds for that front three something has to give, Kdb and vardy may not be better than Coutinho/Barkley and Kane up to 25.

You have your seven already so don't need any cash, but because you have that seven doesn't mean that others who need to make choices look better keeping Kdb, I don't think they do but it's a choice you don't have to make.


KdB may look a lot better with Kun and David Silva in the team and I'm giving him a couple more, but I think having Kane is much more important. I can't afford that front seven without making a choice and as the premium player I am least likely to captain, KdB is now in pole position to be the fall guy by gwk16.

[Stemania]

You've done extremely well to be able to afford that front 7 NED.

[Incrediblewoody]

I decided on getting rid of KDB to enable the Aguero transfer, I figured that if City are going to score goals I would prefer Aguero to be captain over KDB.

I also feel that Sanchez will outscore KDB over the next 8 weeks or so due to Arsenal's fixtures.

[Dragon!Mullet]

KDB is currently the best performing player in Man City IMO. It's the lack of Aguero and Silva that put an end to his returns.

Ozil is more effective than Sanchez right now, but the latter isn't playing badly at all and is a certified goal machine. Arsenal have great fixtures and I still consider Sanchez to be a great captain choice in the weeks to come.

[PitchBookMaker]

For what it's worth, Lampard was interviewed on Sky Sports and shared his thoughts on City and, in particular, De Bruyne. He argued that despite the bad loss and positive impact that Kompany has when he plays, KDB has actually played really well and is one of the bright sports for the team:

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/ ... nt-kompany

[Le Red]

I'd love to see what your defence looks like though NED and what your OR is because you've been saying about how much effort you put into building value so I have to assume you took more hits than most.
May I add spending some extra cash in defence has been a successful strategy so far and I don't like the idea of having a poor defence just to afford what I believe to be a very expensive front 7 and unachievable for most players.
I'm not saying it's wrong to have Aguero+KdB+Sanchez, but for most players the most viable way will be to choose 2 out of those 3, and in my case KdB was the one who drew the shorter stick.
I'm a fan of his, but the way M. City is set up right now, I believe there's more score potential in Coutinho or even Barkley to be honest.

[Notned]

KDB is currently the best performing player in Man City IMO. It's the lack of Aguero and Silva that put an end to his returns.

Ozil is more effective than Sanchez right now, but the latter isn't playing badly at all and is a certified goal machine. Arsenal have great fixtures and I still consider Sanchez to be a great captain choice in the weeks to come.

Exactly where I'm at, on both players. No immediate plans to ship either. The KDB point is particularly prominent I think; his output should increase dramatically now that Aguero is back hopefully. It's easy to forget that he was the foundation that Aguero's five goal haul was built on, so hopefully it can be replicated to some extent.

I kind of understand the quandary for anyone without Coutinho who is looking to free up funds though. Makes the call much tougher, and as ever each set of circumstances needs to be judged on individual merit. Luckily I now have all three, but it is at the expense of not having Kane. I guess I am essentially backing Vardy+KDB over Kane+7m mid, which may seem madness to some, but is probably a closer call right now than is being suggested.

[liquidfootball2]

KDB is currently the best performing player in Man City IMO. It's the lack of Aguero and Silva that put an end to his returns.

Ozil is more effective than Sanchez right now, but the latter isn't playing badly at all and is a certified goal machine. Arsenal have great fixtures and I still consider Sanchez to be a great captain choice in the weeks to come.

Exactly where I'm at, on both players. No immediate plans to ship either. The KDB point is particularly prominent I think; his output should increase dramatically now that Aguero is back hopefully. It's easy to forget that he was the foundation that Aguero's five goal haul was built on, so hopefully it can be replicated to some extent.

I kind of understand the quandary for anyone without Coutinho who is looking to free up funds though. Makes the call much tougher, and as ever each set of circumstances needs to be judged on individual merit. Luckily I now have all three, but it is at the expense of not having Kane. I guess I am essentially backing Vardy+KDB over Kane+7m mid, which may seem madness to some, but is probably a closer call right now than is being suggested.

How I wish Coutinho was 7m, an extra 1.5m would be very handy - realise he went up 0.1 recently

Tbf Notned i'm only really splitting hairs and can see the benefits with both approaches, to keep a strong midfield or sacrifice something to give a potentially far stronger front three.

There's no saying at this point which is best as that's really the game.

If you keep the midfield intact then you're hoping that the extra points from Kdb (or other) compared to Coutinho or other if you already have him, more than make up for Kane over Vardy. It is a calculated gamble as the fixtures now massively favour Spurs all the way up to gwk25 - I also think Spurs are a much better side than Leicester anyway.

Alternatively If you sacrifice a mid then captaincy considerations and the difference between actual and selling prices have to be crucial in choosing who, and i think the likelihood of captaining a player or not is by far the most important.

So to me its strong midfield including KdB and do without having both Kun and Kane but keeping Vardy through more difficult fixtures.

OR sacrifice KdB to Coutinho, Özil or lower (Barkley?) but have Kun for the City captaincy role anyway and Kane for that amazing run of fixtures all the way to gwk25.

Kane over Vardy is massive imo overriding a second expensive City man who i just won't captain anyway.

[Le Red]

His output will increase with Silva and Aguero, sure enough, but we can't be sure it will be dramatically... A reflection: how many points in average do we expect from a 10.something midfielder? I'd like something around 6 points per GW, but 5.5 is the minimum I think.

[hayesag]

It may sound foolish to you, but I'll very much enjoy my front 7 of Kane, Lukaku, Aguero, Ozil, Sanchez, KDB, and Mahrez for the long run thanks.

Maybe it's overkill, but damn it looks good!

where's your team link? or are you talking gash

[Carlos Kickaball]

It may sound foolish to you, but I'll very much enjoy my front 7 of Kane, Lukaku, Aguero, Ozil, Sanchez, KDB, and Mahrez for the long run thanks.

Maybe it's overkill, but damn it looks good!

where's your team link? or are you talking gash

I believe him, though he has taken a few hits.

For a start KDB is certainly not 'in a slump'!

+1

[Paul_Football]

KDB can only benefit from the return of Aguero as he was being heavily marked as City's most dangerous player. He'll have a lot more space to create/shoot now defenders will be wary of Aguero.

[Notned]

KDB is currently the best performing player in Man City IMO. It's the lack of Aguero and Silva that put an end to his returns.

Ozil is more effective than Sanchez right now, but the latter isn't playing badly at all and is a certified goal machine. Arsenal have great fixtures and I still consider Sanchez to be a great captain choice in the weeks to come.

Exactly where I'm at, on both players. No immediate plans to ship either. The KDB point is particularly prominent I think; his output should increase dramatically now that Aguero is back hopefully. It's easy to forget that he was the foundation that Aguero's five goal haul was built on, so hopefully it can be replicated to some extent.

I kind of understand the quandary for anyone without Coutinho who is looking to free up funds though. Makes the call much tougher, and as ever each set of circumstances needs to be judged on individual merit. Luckily I now have all three, but it is at the expense of not having Kane. I guess I am essentially backing Vardy+KDB over Kane+7m mid, which may seem madness to some, but is probably a closer call right now than is being suggested.

How I wish Coutinho was 7m, an extra 1.5m would be very handy - realise he went up 0.1 recently

Tbf Notned i'm only really splitting hairs and can see the benefits with both approaches, to keep a strong midfield or sacrifice something to give a potentially far stronger front three.

There's no saying at this point which is best as that's really the game.

If you keep the midfield intact then you're hoping that the extra points from Kdb (or other) compared to Coutinho or other if you already have him, more than make up for Kane over Vardy. It is a calculated gamble as the fixtures now massively favour Spurs all the way up to gwk25 - I also think Spurs are a much better side than Leicester anyway.

Alternatively If you sacrifice a mid then captaincy considerations and the difference between actual and selling prices have to be crucial in choosing who, and i think the likelihood of captaining a player or not is by far the most important.

So to me its strong midfield including KdB and do without having both Kun and Kane but keeping Vardy through more difficult fixtures.

OR sacrifice KdB to Coutinho, Özil or lower (Barkley?) but have Kun for the City captaincy role anyway and Kane for that amazing run of fixtures all the way to gwk25.

Kane over Vardy is massive imo overriding a second expensive City man who i just won't captain anyway.

Yeah all of that makes perfect sense mate. I'm not saying I am ignoring Kane as an option, as he is clearly a great one. I guess in a way I'm just trying to justify the fact that he isn't currently an attainable one for me Would require a minimum of two moves to get him in, and having taken an 8 point hit already this week that kind of strikes him out. Happy enough to go without for the next two in any case, giving me chance to assess all viable options before GW16 at home to Newcastle, when the fun could really start. Who knows, a couple more blanks for Sanchez or KDB, or a big injury somewhere could make the decision for me, but for now I'm going to stick with what I have (Sanchez, KDB, Coutinho, Bolasie, Aguero, Lukaku, Vardy) and hope for the best.

[Aldershot Rejects]

Exactly where I'm at, on both players. No immediate plans to ship either. The KDB point is particularly prominent I think; his output should increase dramatically now that Aguero is back hopefully. It's easy to forget that he was the foundation that Aguero's five goal haul was built on, so hopefully it can be replicated to some extent.

I kind of understand the quandary for anyone without Coutinho who is looking to free up funds though. Makes the call much tougher, and as ever each set of circumstances needs to be judged on individual merit. Luckily I now have all three, but it is at the expense of not having Kane. I guess I am essentially backing Vardy+KDB over Kane+7m mid, which may seem madness to some, but is probably a closer call right now than is being suggested.

This, In the form games that KDB and Aguero played together before the injury, KDB actually outscored Aguero despite his 5-goal haul. Maybe he is live Sanchez without Walcott Seriously though he could easily have had one or more assists on Saturday and I'm hoping the returns will come soon.

I think a fit Coutinho will score big over the next few weeks. Any news on his injury, I read something somewhere about him having a scan today?

[Aldershot Rejects]

Exactly where I'm at, on both players. No immediate plans to ship either. The KDB point is particularly prominent I think; his output should increase dramatically now that Aguero is back hopefully. It's easy to forget that he was the foundation that Aguero's five goal haul was built on, so hopefully it can be replicated to some extent.

I kind of understand the quandary for anyone without Coutinho who is looking to free up funds though. Makes the call much tougher, and as ever each set of circumstances needs to be judged on individual merit. Luckily I now have all three, but it is at the expense of not having Kane. I guess I am essentially backing Vardy+KDB over Kane+7m mid, which may seem madness to some, but is probably a closer call right now than is being suggested.

This,

In the form games that KDB and Aguero played together before the injury, KDB actually outscored Aguero despite his 5-goal haul. Maybe he is live Sanchez without Walcott Seriously though he could easily have had one or more assists on Saturday and I'm hoping the returns will come soon.

I think a fit Coutinho will score big over the next few weeks. Any news on his injury, I read something somewhere about him having a scan today?

[liquidfootball2]

KDB is currently the best performing player in Man City IMO. It's the lack of Aguero and Silva that put an end to his returns.

Ozil is more effective than Sanchez right now, but the latter isn't playing badly at all and is a certified goal machine. Arsenal have great fixtures and I still consider Sanchez to be a great captain choice in the weeks to come.

Exactly where I'm at, on both players. No immediate plans to ship either. The KDB point is particularly prominent I think; his output should increase dramatically now that Aguero is back hopefully. It's easy to forget that he was the foundation that Aguero's five goal haul was built on, so hopefully it can be replicated to some extent.

I kind of understand the quandary for anyone without Coutinho who is looking to free up funds though. Makes the call much tougher, and as ever each set of circumstances needs to be judged on individual merit. Luckily I now have all three, but it is at the expense of not having Kane. I guess I am essentially backing Vardy+KDB over Kane+7m mid, which may seem madness to some, but is probably a closer call right now than is being suggested.

How I wish Coutinho was 7m, an extra 1.5m would be very handy - realise he went up 0.1 recently

Tbf Notned i'm only really splitting hairs and can see the benefits with both approaches, to keep a strong midfield or sacrifice something to give a potentially far stronger front three.

There's no saying at this point which is best as that's really the game.

If you keep the midfield intact then you're hoping that the extra points from Kdb (or other) compared to Coutinho or other if you already have him, more than make up for Kane over Vardy. It is a calculated gamble as the fixtures now massively favour Spurs all the way up to gwk25 - I also think Spurs are a much better side than Leicester anyway.

Alternatively If you sacrifice a mid then captaincy considerations and the difference between actual and selling prices have to be crucial in choosing who, and i think the likelihood of captaining a player or not is by far the most important.

So to me its strong midfield including KdB and do without having both Kun and Kane but keeping Vardy through more difficult fixtures.

OR sacrifice KdB to Coutinho, Özil or lower (Barkley?) but have Kun for the City captaincy role anyway and Kane for that amazing run of fixtures all the way to gwk25.

Kane over Vardy is massive imo overriding a second expensive City man who i just won't captain anyway.

Yeah all of that makes perfect sense mate. I'm not saying I am ignoring Kane as an option, as he is clearly a great one. I guess in a way I'm just trying to justify the fact that he isn't currently an attainable one for me Would require a minimum of two moves to get him in, and having taken an 8 point hit already this week that kind of strikes him out. Happy enough to go without for the next two in any case, giving me chance to assess all viable options before GW16 at home to Newcastle, when the fun could really start. Who knows, a couple more blanks for Sanchez or KDB, or a big injury somewhere could make the decision for me, but for now I'm going to stick with what I have (Sanchez, KDB, Coutinho, Bolasie, Aguero, Lukaku, Vardy) and hope for the best.

Agreed Notned that sounds sensible to me and its not too far away from what I'm thinking of anyway. Spurs travel a ridiculous amount of miles for their Thursday Europa tie (hope they enjoy it) and back for Chelsea on Sunday and WBA at the Hawthorns the week after. Gwk16 at the Lane v Newcastle looks ideal.

[gallus]

I will sell KDB when I get Aguero. Eriksen, Firmino and even Barkley can easily outscore him in the next 5.

[liquidfootball2]

There's just another small note to this too. This gwk13 50% of the top 10k played Sanchez and 36% KdB. Completely irrelevant for some players as its just who will score the most going forward that counts, but for me I hate dropping someone who's in half of the top 10k's teams.

[Carlos Kickaball]

A reflection: how many points in average do we expect from a 10.something midfielder? I'd like something around 6 points per GW, but 5.5 is the minimum I think.

Depends how many the alternatives score, he might be worth picking with 170 points, or might not be essential even if he scores 195.

If André Ayew scores 17 goals this season, Sánchez rips it up like we know he can, Coutinho looks key in Klopp's set up, Hazard and Chelsea start playing well, Barkley has his biggest ever FPL season, then KDB is going to have to score an awful lot given Agüero is most player's captain for when Manchester City have a good fixture.

[Le Red]

A reflection: how many points in average do we expect from a 10.something midfielder? I'd like something around 6 points per GW, but 5.5 is the minimum I think.

Depends how many the alternatives score, he might be worth picking with 170 points, or might not be essential even if he scores 195.

If André Ayew scores 17 goals this season, Sánchez rips it up like we know he can, Coutinho looks key in Klopp's set up, Hazard and Chelsea start playing well, Barkley has his biggest ever FPL season, then KDB is going to have to score an awful lot given Agüero is most player's captain for when Manchester City have a good fixture.

Out of those examples, I believe Coutinho and Sanchez look like they can outscore KdB. Barkley probably won't, but he can score enough to make the cash saved worth it.
Hazard, only if Chelsea gets it together, and it doesn't look like to be soon.
But there's also some other names to consider: Ozil, Silva, Eriksen, and even sleepers such as Mata, Depay, Pedro etc. can all become options.
If I'm going to pay 10.5 for a midfielder that won't be captain, he must be certain to score well above other midfielders in a lower price range. Otherwise, I'd rather have Barkley and a monstrous defence instead of a scary front 7 and getting 6 points from my 4 defenders most of the time.

[Carlos Kickaball]

Spot on Le Red, I agree that the likes of Barkley and Ayew are unlikely to outscore KDB, but if they're only 20 (or even 30) points behind him, the extra money should be easily utilised in a better fashion.

[Dragon!Mullet]

Hazard, only if Chelsea gets it together, and it doesn't look like to be soon.

After last season my guess is that you will never hear from him again. The greatest trick Hazard ever pulled was convincing us he did not exist. And like that... he is gone.

[gallus]

Hazard, only if Chelsea gets it together, and it doesn't look like to be soon.

After last season my guess is that you will never hear from him again. The greatest trick Hazard ever pulled was convincing us he did not exist. And like that... he is gone.

haha I love this movie!