Intro
Welcome to the second in a four part series where I look forward to the 2024/25 Premier League season. In Part 2 we will be looking at forwards.
Thank you for all the feedback and responses to part 1 – Midfielders: it was great to get so many messages and interactions. If you haven’t already please give it a read.
So lets get into it – The aim of this blog is to look where the forward category On Stocks FC could land with the current players we have on the Stocks platform and which new forward could fair well in the 2024/2025 season.
Team of the season (TOTS) 2023/24 so far…
This seasons TOTS tables are hotting up. With players joining throughout the season next years tables could look very different with the majority of players starting on an even playing field plus some big IPO’s to come. The current TOTS table as of the 21.03.23 can be seen below kindly produced by the StocksFC discord legend Nobby Stiles:
Bruno F is a great example of how different TOTS could look next season with him on 850 points after on 19 games on the platform!
My Player Comparison Model
I talked through how my player comparison model works in the previous blog – Part 1 – midfielders so i wont go over this again in too much detail.
To summarise using the players stats so far this season it populates what i call their all around (AA) score made up of shots on target, Key passes, interceptions, tackles etc plus their games score which is made up of goals, assists, yellow and red cards plus the win bonus. The parameters obviously depend on position with GK and defenders having clean sheets, goals conceded factored in for eg.
Looking ahead to TOTS 2024/25
So lets start looking ahead. We already have some of the big Premier League big hitters on StocksFC but there are others to come who could be challenging week in week out for TOTW, Month and season.
When looking at the most anticipated forwards yet to be launched on Stocks there are some real stand out options such as Saka, D.Nunez, Haaland and D.Jota.
At the end of this write up i will share who i think could be the top performing forwards next season on Stocks according to my model and where the new players yet to be launched could slot in.
Bukayo Saka
There is no better place to start than Saka. I mentioned in part 1 that Saka was going to be great on stocks and his numbers really don’t lie. So far in the Prem this season he has 13 goals and 8 assists averaging a massive 2.5 key passes per game! 1.8 tackles and 1.4 successful dribbles per game are also very health numbers for a forward. Add in Arsenals impressive 20 wins this season in the Prem, Saka’s stocks scores are up there with the best forwards. Considering he is 22 with European football plus an England regular he is going to be a must hold on StockFC and I predict the new King of Stocks when he is launched!
Erling Haaland
It feels like Haaland has had a bit of a mixed season but with 23 goal involvements in the Prem alone at the time of writing this and he will be another exciting player to be launched on Stock most likely at the start of next season with no Euros for him and Norway this summer. His AA scores are a little behind the likes of Saka and Alvarez but he more than makes up for this with his game scores which can be seen in the table below. One I will definitely want to get involved in when he is launched on Stocks! Fun fact about Haaland he has missed 26 big chances this season in 22 Prem starts!!
Jota
Considering Jota has started only 16 Prem matches this season his 9 goals and 3 assists show how important he is to Liverpool but his fitness and injury breakdowns are a worrying trend. Averaging at 1 key pass per game I think Jota will be a very solid stocks hold as long as he can stay fit!
Darwin Nunez
Darwin Nunez is going to be another interesting player to join StocksFC in the future. His 17 goal involvements in 17 Prem starts cannot be overlooked and if he can reduce the number of big chances missed (currently at 22 this season so far) he will be another great hold. At only 24 with European and International games to come he will be one I will jump on without a doubt.
Current Forward big hitters
There wont be too many surprises in this section with Mo Salah leading my forward table and if he stays at Liverpool he will undoubtedly be challenging next season. Also high up in my forwards table is Alvarez who started the season in incredible form, then had a dip but seems to be getting back to his best. He is one I own and am looking forward to seeing how he develops.
Son is Mr consistent recently hitting 20+ Prem goal involvements for the 8th consecutive season for Tottenham which is an incredible achievement. His AA scores are right up there with the best forwards on StocksFC and with such a low supply (5110) he is a very popular hold. Recent rumours to Saudi started circulating again so will be one to watch as we head into the Summer.
Season 2024/2025 – Forwards
So what is my model saying for next season presuming we have Saka, Haaland, Jota and Nunez onboard and Salah & Son stay at their respective clubs. This can be seen below with each players AA, game and total model score:
As you can see above Saka slots straight into second place very close to Salah and there is a fairly significant gap to the next group of forwards. Haaland is right in the mix too with a very health game score only second to Salah’s. As mentioned above if Nunez can cut those big chances missed down he will see a decent improvement in his game score pushing him up the table.
Others to mention
There are a number of other forwards that we are missing on StocksFC that haven’t featured above yet! Specifically the young Manchester United duo of Garnacho & Hojlund who have both looked very impressive in 2024. I expect they will be huge IPOS and I will be watching how they and their Stocks stats develop going forward.
Conclusion
So to conclude: similar to the midfielders category we have the majority of the forwards on StocksFC that I think will be challenging week in week out next season and for the big prize pots in TOTM and season. However i fully expect the introduction of Saka and Haaland plus a level playing field will likely change the landscape in the forward category. The uncertainty around where Salah and Son could be playing next season will make it a nervous summer for holders too!
There are a lot of presumptions around transfers, player & team form, manager changes, when will the new IPOS land …. I could go on. I have tried to summarise my thought process but the great thing about StocksFC is there is lots of ways to play the game.
I hope you have found this blog useful and interesting especially if you are starting on your StocksFC journey. If you have read this far I appreciate your time and any help or feedback is appreciated.
Where do I sign up and start playing?
You can sign up using the link below and all new users will receive 3 loan players for free to test out the platform and you get to keep any rewards you earn. Drop me a DM if you are interested and i am happy to help.
https://app.stocksfc.com/signup?r=uvVWuP9HDMZp1BQka6HOGIri8UX2
If you have any questions please contact me on X @PJO09 or on discord PJ0009#1492
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