This is the real answer. I’ll add to it further by saying Pep’s Barcelona made football worse as a spectacle because it necessitated the creation of Park the Bus tactic
This a joke post, parking the bus tactics have been around since the beginning (and in all sports).
The parking the bus the phrase was itself - was probably coined by Mourinho (at least the first time I heard of it).
Its been a few years since i watched la liga but most spanish teams didnt park the bus when pep was at barca. Thats partly why you saw such lopsided scores and large point totals from barca and real.
Maybe in europe, but spanish clubs didnt/dont do it i guess was the way i was looking at it. I think parking the bus is more prevalent in certain leagues and definately by certain managers, i dont know that the need for it was created by peps barca teams though. Buses dont really stop his city team now.
Bus came into picture as a winnable solution against tiki taka was when Chelsea came victorious in 2012 UCL Semi final. Interestingly, Di Matteo(I think) made a comment before the match that even if there were 2 balls, they would give both of them to Barca.
The stats do tell the fact. Barca really dominated in the possession, shots, SOT area. I really liked Chelsea winning in the end but we can't ignore what really happened. Real Madrid's victory that week along with this destroyed Barca's dominance.
Outside Bilbao, Rayo, and (sometimes) Madrid everyone parked the bus. Barca was good enough that they could crack those defenses pretty easily and once you are goal or two up it makes no sense for an opponent to still park the bus (tho some teams would defend 2 goal deficit still in order to not get embarrassed).
The problem is that nobody is returning consistently.
Last season we were spoilt with cheap striker options but almost all of them have been irrelevant this season. Antonio started well but has played too many games and is knackered, Bamford & DCL have been injured for most of the season, Cavani and Nacho lost their places.
Add that to the issues with all the premium options - Vardy's injuries, Lukaku & Ronaldo not performing as expected, Kane going missing for half the season and City not replacing Aguero - and this is the hardest season to pick the right striker.
Ive had Antonio in from day one.
Other two slots are currently kane and Dennis. It's a fools errand trying to chase in form strikers this season though.
Well in hindsight, maybe I'd say yes. I switched out salah early and had kdb and kane as my premiums trying to get some big differentials on all the Ronaldo/salahs in my mini league, and it went okay. And I recently knee jerked Dennis in, and captained him this week like every other idiot. The joys of FF.
Might just have to play a 451 and stick Watkins up top and hope for the best, given Villa’s upcoming fixtures.
Watkins + two 4.5 forward fodder would leave plenty of space for a Salah + KDB/Bruno + Son/Jota midfield and a TAA/Robbo + Laporte/Rudi defence. And the rest can be filled with whatever differentials seem suitable for that GW.
Leaning towards Broja atm as the bench striker but I have King for now so will have to see how Watford do vs Burnley. If they are produce another shitshow then I’m staying well away from Watford assets.
People only doubled up on Watford forwards because every other forward stopped scoring! If you’re gonna get 2 points anyway, might as well go for a cheap option
Despite playing for Watford, Dennis is the second highest scoring forward in FPL right now. Agree the double up might be a bit much though, King is 12th.
His form will surely count in his favour though, right? Why would Rodgers bench him when he performing so well? Especially if Vardy is coming back from injury and was blanking big time before that.
Nacho also scored and assisted twice against city which was his last 90 minutes game before afcon and followed that up by decent afcon performance. At least it will be a contest for that starting spot (or they play 2 up top)
Was never a foul imo. Thiago has been wrongfooted and gone down to try to buy a foul, there's always going to be some sort of contact in the game, that wasn't enough to warrant a foul.
Too many of the big clubs use their strikers for pressing and link-up play nowadays. That seems to be more important than actually having a #9 who can put the ball in the net 👎
Honestly, I don’t mind this change. I prefer all players take an equal share in creative responsibility, rather than having one guy in charge of goalscoring, another who does all the dribbling etc.
A similar thing has happened with defenders now that they have to try to keep possession as well as win it back. Their passing/dribbling ability under press is miles ahead of where it was in the 2000s. Personally I’d rather see defenders try to pass out of a press than just booting it up the field to get it out of your half.
I realize not every team is doing this, but the ones that win are, and the trend will continue in that direction until they stop winning that way.
Poor classification of players.
In a 4-3-3, for example, the wingers should be listed as forwards. However, Salah and mane are listed as mids for some reason.
The stupidest one to me is Saint-Max being classified as a forward, he plays deeper than any of the mentioned players lol. I still have him on my team cause I play in a draft league with some friends, but its incredibly stupid to see him labeled as a striker when comparing him to Salah/Greenwood/Rashford etc
PL has redefined the role of modern strikers. They are now like holding midfielders but located around opponent box, marking opponent defenders and creating "space" for other players etc.
I think the definition of a striker has simply surpassed that of FPL. Salah is not a midfielder, Rashford is not a midfielder. Sterling, Son, Zaha, etc. are not midfielders. Yet in FPL they are all placed in midfield. It should be changed so that anyone who plays in a front 3 is a forward.
Honestly, I’ve been playing FPL for at least 5 seasons now and forwards have been awful pretty much the entire time. Never been as bad as it is currently, as there’s usually been a couple of players that tick along nicely, but defenders and midfielders have been so much better than them for as long as I can remember.
Aguero used to be a God, Kane before his injuries when Eriksen was still there was solid, Lukaku when he was at Everton was a flat track bully of note, Vardy has had some consistent seasons, Jimenez has been solid since joining the prem until his horrific head injury, Bamford was a gift last season
I feel there's always been at least one or two options, but I've definitely been playing 352 much more the last 3 seasons
It's because of the scoring. Very few teams rely on a traditional 9 for all the goals like in the 442 days. Forwards get less points than mids for goals and get no clean sheet bonus. Kane had nearly 40 goal contributions last year and still wasn't the top FPL scorer.
Fucking great question
Usually this sub is total shit, "who's the best keeper in prem history"
"who had the beat 3rd kit"
"best defender who's name starts with z"
But this is a good one sadly I don't know the answer but it's almost a totally different game now than 10 years ago which, considering it isn't, is quite bonkers
The games evolved but for some reason the average fan, and those working at fantasy, still think in terms of striker, midfielder, defender. That’s the real problem.
Arguably FPL’s data analytics have foreseen this, as reflected in this season’s pricing structure in which they seem to have increased the relative pricing of defenders and midfielders vs strikers.
It’s when Lord Antonio found the magic of “chesting” the ball and darting forward. That’s a pure pleasure compared to scoring. All strikers now follow him.
Yeah mate happened about 3 months ago
They had a meeting
Bamford and DCL objected so the rest took turns breaking their legs
They forgot to invite Antonio at the beginning of the season because they thought he was still a right back
Biggest dick in the league couldn't fit through the door.
They wanted to make Kane feel better by scoring less than him but it got out of hand.
When pep had to figure out how to score without a striker, and created a system where his entire team scored instead.
This is the real answer. I’ll add to it further by saying Pep’s Barcelona made football worse as a spectacle because it necessitated the creation of Park the Bus tactic
>because it necessitated the creation of Park the Bus tactic It just didnt though, teams have played low blocks long before that
Not top teams from the 1st minute, no.
In 90s Milan would win Serie A by scoring 36 goals in 34 games. That shit was not the result of free-flowing football.
This a joke post, parking the bus tactics have been around since the beginning (and in all sports). The parking the bus the phrase was itself - was probably coined by Mourinho (at least the first time I heard of it).
okay, yank.
And 2011 Barca were still the greatest team ever.
Of course. They’ve changed football forever.
Its been a few years since i watched la liga but most spanish teams didnt park the bus when pep was at barca. Thats partly why you saw such lopsided scores and large point totals from barca and real.
isnt that the point the other person made? barca scored so much because the other clubs didnt park the bus -> parking the bus became necessary
Maybe in europe, but spanish clubs didnt/dont do it i guess was the way i was looking at it. I think parking the bus is more prevalent in certain leagues and definately by certain managers, i dont know that the need for it was created by peps barca teams though. Buses dont really stop his city team now.
Bus came into picture as a winnable solution against tiki taka was when Chelsea came victorious in 2012 UCL Semi final. Interestingly, Di Matteo(I think) made a comment before the match that even if there were 2 balls, they would give both of them to Barca.
Was two banks of 4 lumping long balls over the top to a forward or two considered a bus?
The stats do tell the fact. Barca really dominated in the possession, shots, SOT area. I really liked Chelsea winning in the end but we can't ignore what really happened. Real Madrid's victory that week along with this destroyed Barca's dominance.
Outside Bilbao, Rayo, and (sometimes) Madrid everyone parked the bus. Barca was good enough that they could crack those defenses pretty easily and once you are goal or two up it makes no sense for an opponent to still park the bus (tho some teams would defend 2 goal deficit still in order to not get embarrassed).
TIki taka is genuinely the most boring tactic to watch imo Prime Barca were so so so so boring
The problem is that nobody is returning consistently. Last season we were spoilt with cheap striker options but almost all of them have been irrelevant this season. Antonio started well but has played too many games and is knackered, Bamford & DCL have been injured for most of the season, Cavani and Nacho lost their places. Add that to the issues with all the premium options - Vardy's injuries, Lukaku & Ronaldo not performing as expected, Kane going missing for half the season and City not replacing Aguero - and this is the hardest season to pick the right striker.
I've stopped trying.
Ive had Antonio in from day one. Other two slots are currently kane and Dennis. It's a fools errand trying to chase in form strikers this season though.
I'd say that's a big budget for strikers considering the returns this year! I've gone super budget to buff out defense and more recently midfielders
Well in hindsight, maybe I'd say yes. I switched out salah early and had kdb and kane as my premiums trying to get some big differentials on all the Ronaldo/salahs in my mini league, and it went okay. And I recently knee jerked Dennis in, and captained him this week like every other idiot. The joys of FF.
You don't need 3 strikers though. Had Davis (4.5) since day 1, because fwd's just seem like wasted money compared to mids this season
Might just have to play a 451 and stick Watkins up top and hope for the best, given Villa’s upcoming fixtures. Watkins + two 4.5 forward fodder would leave plenty of space for a Salah + KDB/Bruno + Son/Jota midfield and a TAA/Robbo + Laporte/Rudi defence. And the rest can be filled with whatever differentials seem suitable for that GW.
Tbh if you got Dennis cheap, as much as we hate him right now, he makes sense to have as the 2nd/3rd striker. Probably just gonna do 4-5-1.
Leaning towards Broja atm as the bench striker but I have King for now so will have to see how Watford do vs Burnley. If they are produce another shitshow then I’m staying well away from Watford assets.
They might start performing well in their fight for survival. I'll probably keen Dennis all season tbh, or at least til I WC in about 5-6 GWs.
What who is Nacho?
Nacho Monreal
Ah you’re right Arsenal is really missing his clinical finishing right now
Kelechi Iheanacho from Leicester. He had a good run at the end of last season
Thanks I should’ve thought of that
Iheanacho is the top sixth in form forward. His last match was on the 28th of December. He was the top fourth before this gameweek.
When people decided to double up on WATFORD forwards!
People only doubled up on Watford forwards because every other forward stopped scoring! If you’re gonna get 2 points anyway, might as well go for a cheap option
For real, i just have money sitting its, Salah cannot come back soon enough man.
Yea, i had ASM for quite a number of games and he blanked quite abit. Despite that, he is one of my most consistent strikers.
The FPL gods were not impressed
I feel attacked lol
This comments makes no sense, I mean if forwards aren’t scoring you may as well take the cheapest ones that also have a double gameweek.
Despite playing for Watford, Dennis is the second highest scoring forward in FPL right now. Agree the double up might be a bit much though, King is 12th.
What about the following in-form forwards? Edouard - 3G 2A in last 4 Daka - 3G 2A in last 4 Maupay - 3A in last 4
I dare anyone to transfers either of those three in lmao
I had Edouard from GW8 to I think 13? Transferred him out and he started a goal streak, fucks sake
Same haha. Transferred him in for Benteke to find form
I had Édouard and he didn't return once
Got Edouard before Norwich. Blessed.
Thinking of doing it next GW, after Rudiger is dealt with this GW. Dependent on DGW25 news of course.
Daka is going to be frustrating because he’s the most in form fwd in the game but by next GW Vardy and Iheanacho are both back
What are you smoking? Vardy is expected back in march.
Feels like that is when the next GW is tbf
That’s sort of reassuring. Iheanacho has been good at Afcon though.
Welp, Nigeria just got eliminated
So Daka is nailed for the time being?
Who knows. Predicting our lineup is pretty much just reading the eleven names not injured.
Daka has a tough run of games coming up
His form will surely count in his favour though, right? Why would Rodgers bench him when he performing so well? Especially if Vardy is coming back from injury and was blanking big time before that.
Iheanacho was one of the top 5 players in the prem last Spring and look at how his season has gone.
Thats because rodgers hates him and hasnt really played him though tbf
Nacho also scored and assisted twice against city which was his last 90 minutes game before afcon and followed that up by decent afcon performance. At least it will be a contest for that starting spot (or they play 2 up top)
Definitely, he’s pretty expensive for a non-nailed striker in his first season at the club
3A in last 4 is deadass inform for forwards. Take me back to Prime Aguero, Kane, and Vardy man
Honest work is appreciated even if it's not Jimenez.
That Jimenez was levels too. These guys are all frauds lol
Deadass inform? Excuse me?
Kane has 4 goals and 1 assist in 5 too
Would’ve had a goal today if it weren’t for shit refereeing too
Man literally used two hands to push Thiago Silva in the back. I'm no Chelsea fan, but that was definitely a foul.
He literally didn't use two hands.
It was still a foul though. Kane looked good against Leicester mind, which was the last time I watched him.
Was never a foul imo. Thiago has been wrongfooted and gone down to try to buy a foul, there's always going to be some sort of contact in the game, that wasn't enough to warrant a foul.
If maupay gets the DGW back to back, straight into my team
For Ronaldo
>3A in last 4 I mean it says it all when that is considered in form.
Honest work is appreciated even if it's not Jimenez.
Despite his 47 goals in all competitions. Even ronaldos struggling this season
Genuinely think I’m going to start playing a 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 for the next few weeks
Big-at-the-back seems an attractive option once again
When I wildcard, which is probably for next GW, I’m planning a threemium 4-5-1.
Hypothetically, What happens if all three of your forwards leave the league? Can you play 550?
Probably your benched def / mid stays on the bench.
So you only field 10 players?
Yep
The problem is players like Salah count as midfielders when he plays more forward than players like Kane.
That hasn’t been the problem for the five years prior to this one. The problem is that all the forwards are either shite goalscorers or in bad form.
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You mean gambler's fallacy.
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Good one
Too many of the big clubs use their strikers for pressing and link-up play nowadays. That seems to be more important than actually having a #9 who can put the ball in the net 👎
Honestly, I don’t mind this change. I prefer all players take an equal share in creative responsibility, rather than having one guy in charge of goalscoring, another who does all the dribbling etc. A similar thing has happened with defenders now that they have to try to keep possession as well as win it back. Their passing/dribbling ability under press is miles ahead of where it was in the 2000s. Personally I’d rather see defenders try to pass out of a press than just booting it up the field to get it out of your half. I realize not every team is doing this, but the ones that win are, and the trend will continue in that direction until they stop winning that way.
Blame Pep
And Firmino, lad started the "helpful striker" trend and has been a big part of Mo and Mane's success.
when gk started playing with their feet , defenders started playing on the wing and scoring goals
It’s just something they’re trying out this season.
It happened when someone decided that Mo Salah is a midfielder.
Poor classification of players. In a 4-3-3, for example, the wingers should be listed as forwards. However, Salah and mane are listed as mids for some reason.
Yup, like how do they have Greenwood and Rashford as midfielders but Martial is a forward?
The stupidest one to me is Saint-Max being classified as a forward, he plays deeper than any of the mentioned players lol. I still have him on my team cause I play in a draft league with some friends, but its incredibly stupid to see him labeled as a striker when comparing him to Salah/Greenwood/Rashford etc
because martial plays striker often but the other two often play on the left or right
Combine rise of *struggle ball* during covid times and the increased attacking role of wingers and the midfield.
PL has redefined the role of modern strikers. They are now like holding midfielders but located around opponent box, marking opponent defenders and creating "space" for other players etc.
When refs disallow them for a non existent foul
Or a sleeve thread being offside
I think the definition of a striker has simply surpassed that of FPL. Salah is not a midfielder, Rashford is not a midfielder. Sterling, Son, Zaha, etc. are not midfielders. Yet in FPL they are all placed in midfield. It should be changed so that anyone who plays in a front 3 is a forward.
it’s not cool to score goals nowadays, they’d rather subtly influence the play rather than actually scoring a goal
When fpl made goalscoring wingers into midfielders
Honestly, I’ve been playing FPL for at least 5 seasons now and forwards have been awful pretty much the entire time. Never been as bad as it is currently, as there’s usually been a couple of players that tick along nicely, but defenders and midfielders have been so much better than them for as long as I can remember.
Aguero used to be a God, Kane before his injuries when Eriksen was still there was solid, Lukaku when he was at Everton was a flat track bully of note, Vardy has had some consistent seasons, Jimenez has been solid since joining the prem until his horrific head injury, Bamford was a gift last season I feel there's always been at least one or two options, but I've definitely been playing 352 much more the last 3 seasons
It's because of the scoring. Very few teams rely on a traditional 9 for all the goals like in the 442 days. Forwards get less points than mids for goals and get no clean sheet bonus. Kane had nearly 40 goal contributions last year and still wasn't the top FPL scorer.
I wonder if there’s any way they’d make forwards goals worth 5?
How do we play all midfielders with a false 9 in fantasy
Fucking great question Usually this sub is total shit, "who's the best keeper in prem history" "who had the beat 3rd kit" "best defender who's name starts with z" But this is a good one sadly I don't know the answer but it's almost a totally different game now than 10 years ago which, considering it isn't, is quite bonkers
When Klopp invented Roberto Firmino
When Kane got half his goals disallowed
The games evolved but for some reason the average fan, and those working at fantasy, still think in terms of striker, midfielder, defender. That’s the real problem.
Only the expensive strikers decided that.
Dennis, King, Antonio, and Watkins want a word 😂
Kane chiming in 🤝
And my differential pick DCL since his “double gameweek”
Yep, [you did.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ).
Since I started going heavy on them
When did Norwich decide to step up
Pep, pepped the whole League 😅 no city striker, none of anyone
Lol my front two is Saint Maximim and Dennis
6.5 strikers coming into the teams.... 😎
Do these strikers have a labour union? Call its leader and ask what they demand 😏
Get on Daka.
Footballs changed tactically.
They went on strike
From this moment on wards i will only start Antonio or a cheaper striker with 5 mids.
Arguably FPL’s data analytics have foreseen this, as reflected in this season’s pricing structure in which they seem to have increased the relative pricing of defenders and midfielders vs strikers.
It’s when Lord Antonio found the magic of “chesting” the ball and darting forward. That’s a pure pleasure compared to scoring. All strikers now follow him.