Intro
Welcome to the third in a four part series where I look forward to the 2024/25 Premier League season. In Part 3 we will be looking at defenders.
Thank you for all the feedback and responses to part 1 – Midfielders and part 2 – forwards: it was great to get so many messages and interactions. If you haven’t already please give them a read.
So lets get into it – The aim of this blog is to look where the defenders 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 15.04.23 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 1075 points after on 24 games on the platform!
My Player Comparison Model
I talked through how my player comparison model works in – 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.
I feel the defender category is slightly different to the other two I have already reviewed and I believe the majority of the big hitting defenders are already on StockFC compared to the forwards where we are still waiting for stand out options such as Saka, D.Nunez, Haaland and D.Jota.
The biggest difference in the defender category for the 2024/25 season will be most players starting with a level playing field. However we are still missing some big names such as Trent Alexander-Arnold (TAA) and Akanji for example.
At the end of this write up i will share who i think could be the top performing defenders next season on Stocks according to my model and where the new players yet to be launched could slot in.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
What better place to start than the much anticipated arrival on StocksFC of TAA. Averaging 2.5 KP per game which is the joint highest for any defender so far this season in the Prem. He has 2 goals and 4 assists which is slightly lower than previous seasons but he has been struggling with injuries. Trents tackles, interceptions and successful dribbles are all solid and at still on 25 years old I believe he will be one of the top defenders challenging for next season. One thing to consider is what will the new manger effect have on Trent and the wider Liverpool teams output?!
Current Defender big hitters
As i mentioned earlier from my model i believe the majority of the defenders that will be challenging for those TOTW, month and season are already on StocksFC. Tottenham look likely to be playing European football next season which will be a great boost to Porro especially, who is a very exciting hold and is one i expect to be right up there. His AA scores are almost on par with TAA in my model. Closely behind is Andrew Robertson who loves a KP averaging 2.5 per game in the Prem this season. If he stays fit and Liverpool’s new manager settles well he is surely going to be challenging in 2024/25.
The Arsenal duo of White and Gabriel have been having a great season and they will be strong candidates for 2024/25. Their games scores have been huge this year conceding only 23 goals and with 21 wins in 30 matches which has already been bringing in the bacon for holders.
Two of the more senior defenders that have been in the mix for TOTS due to early releases are Trippier and Walker. Trippier’s stats have been impressive this season and with Newcastle looking like they have European football next year he is one to watch. However both could be risky holds at 33 years old and struggling recently with injuries plus Walker had strong links away last summer hence his very low supply on StocksFC.
One player who i need to mention is A.Robinson of Fulham. His AA scores are up there with the best. 51 goals conceded and only 6 CS in 30 games hurts his scores but he if definitely capable of picking up some wins across the season for Fulham and the USA.
Season 2024/2025 – Defenders
So what is my model saying for next season presuming we have TAA, Akanji, and Van de Ven added to StockFC. This can be seen below with each players AA, game and total model score:
As you can see in the table above TAA slots straight in at the top of the table unsurprisingly. I need to mention Connor Bradley who is actually on the top of my model projection but this is only based on 9 games worth of data and the uncertainty around him being a starter going forward makes him a very intriguing IPO when he drops.
Porro, Trippier and Robertson make up the other top defender positions followed by White, Gabriel and VVD who are tightly grouped.
Further down the list there are some very impressive AA scores from Robinson, Ait Nouri, Dalot and Gusto but these 4 are really let down by their games scores at present. Any improvement in this category and their output could really improve.
Conclusion
So to conclude: I believe we have the majority of the defenders on StocksFC that 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 TAA plus a level playing field will likely change the landscape. The uncertainty around where VVD could be playing next season will make it a nervous summer for holders, plus 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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