It’s that time of year once again. The game? MLS Fantasy Soccer Manager. What's at stake you ask? Pride and prizes!
Everyone likes new beginnings but the decisions you make today could impact your entire season. Hopefully I can provide some small insight in maximizing your Fantasy team’s points right out of the gate. By the way, if you haven't already done so there’s still time to sign up for the Official Whitecaps Fantasy League HERE but you have to act now before the March 2nd cutoff.
Let’s kick things off by weighing in on two of the most popular pickups in the game so far…
Chris Wondowlowski ($10.5m), San Jose Earthquakes – There’s a reason why 39.2% of Fantasy players have him on their team. Wondowlowski has been the top scorer in the league for three seasons running and is poised to continue his trend. This year the Earthquakes play their home season opener against Real Salt Lake whom he onion bagged 5 times in just 3 games last year. He may not have the media star power of other players in the league, but he's a consistent performer who's well worth the hefty pricetag.
Robbie Keane ($10.5m), LA Galaxy – Along with Wondo, Keane was the only other striker to break 200+ Fantasy points last season. Can he do it again? The Irish international will be needing service to maintain his goal scoring prowess and whether his current roster of teammates can deliver remains a question mark. With Beckham gone to Paris Saint-Germain and Donovan delaying his return until late March, we've decided to take a buyers beware approach and will keep an eye on him for week 3.
Team of the week (Round 1), Sporting Kansas City –Out with the old and in with the new is the story upfront for Kansas City. Roger Espinoza and Kei Kamara have both traveled across the pond and are already making waves in the English Premier League. As a result Kansas City have brought in forward Claudio Bieler ($9.5m), the team's only designated player, to fill the gap. We don't anticipate it will be very long until Graham Zusi ($9.5m) welcomes Bieler to the club with a nice through ball assist...or two.
Sporting also only conceded 27 times last season (16 clean sheets) and there's a reason why! How does a backline consisting of Aurelian Collin ($6.0m) and MLS' Defender of the Year Matt Besler ($6.0m) sound? If opposing strikers are fortunate enough to get through those two warriors then all they have to do is beat the Goalkeeper of the Year Jimmy Nielsen ($6.0m), no big deal right?
All I can say is good luck to anybody with a Philadelphia player in your starting eleven. You're going to need it.
For more information on prizing and how to sign up for the Official Whitecaps Fantasy League click: HERE
