Fantasy football: Are these the most disappointing players in the Premier League this season?
That’s another Premier League season over and out.
But we’re not quite done with fantasy football just yet, with Dream Team points still up for grabs in the upcoming FA Cup final, Europa League final AND the Champions League final.
So don’t give up on your mini-league ambitions just yet.
But while we’re gearing up for the last few Game Weeks ahead of that long, desolate summer ahead, we decided to review some of the campaign’s low points by looking at the most disappointing players on Dream Team this season.
David De Gea (61 points)
Man United’s season was so bad that even the usually reliable De Gea managed to underachieve.
The goalkeeper made a series of uncharacteristic mistakes throughout United’s difficult year, notably against Barcelona, Everton, Man City and Chelsea.
In the end, he finished the campaign on just 61 points, with the likes of Nathan Etheridge and Vicente Guaita scoring more.
Why we picked him: De Gea reached 163 points last season – over 100 more than his total this time around – and was the best goalkeeper on the game. This year, he’s not even in the top 10.
Harry Maguire (83 points)
After his sensational run out for England at last summer’s World Cup, much was expected of Leicester’s large-headed centre-back.
He was even linked with a move to Man United at the end of the summer transfer window.
But he was one of the player’s who seemed to really suffer from the notorious ‘World Cup hangover’ and was nowhere near his best during the campaign.
Shame really, as he started the season as one of Dream Team’s most-picked defenders.
Why we picked him: 12.2% of managers ended the season with Maguire in their team – making him the most-picked defender on Dream Team who failed to reach three-digits for points scored.
James Tarkowski (80 points)
Tark was a Dream Team darling last season, finishing Burnley’s awesome campaign with 118 points and a place in England’s reserve-list for the World Cup.
But it’s been a different story this year, as the former Brentford defender struggled to live up to his hype.
Why we picked him: Burnley’s brilliance last season made the likes of Tarkowski and goalkeeper Nick Pope Dream Team stalwarts, but only 2.4% of managers opted for the defender this term.
Kieran Trippier (128 points)
Trippier absolutely peaked at the World Cup, didn’t he?
We were all well-prepared to see him boss it on the right flank of Spurs’ title charge this season and he instantly became one of the most-popular picks on Dream Team at the very start.
And while 128 points isn’t a particularly bad end-of-season haul – in fact, it’s just one-point short of his of points total from last season – we really did expect so much more from him.
Why we picked him: Trippier has ended the season as the fourth-most picked defender (19.2%) on the game, behind only Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Kyle Walker.
Benjamin Mendy (66 points)
It was another stop-start season for the Premier League’s most frustrating full-back.
We can all agree that Mendy is perhaps the best left-back around on his day, but his injury problems have made him a Dream Team nightmare.
Why we picked him: At £4.8m, Mendy remains one of the most-expensive defenders on Dream Team, despite only playing FOUR times in 2019.
Kevin De Bruyne (122 points)
It was a season to forget for Man City’s playmaker, as KDB suffered a seemingly endless stream of injury layoffs.
In fact, we’re probably being a little harsh on him, as he still managed to take home a decent points total.
Why we picked him: In total, De Bruyne missed a staggering 17 Game Weeks through injury this season.
Naby Keita (53 points)
It’s been another strong season for Liverpool players on Dream Team.
So perhaps Keita’s underwhelming first year at Anfield has gone somewhat unnoticed.
Not only has the Guinean struggled to score regular fantasy football points, he’s even been somewhat of an outsider in the Reds’ starting XI.
Why we picked him: There was a real sense of expectancy when the Guinean arrived from Leizzig over the summer, but he’s hardly lived up to the hubbub.
Jorginho (60 points)
Much like Keita, we expected so much more for Jorginho in his first season in England.
The Italian was the driving-force behind Napoli’s brilliance in Serie A last season, after all.
But despite being a constant-regular in Chelsea’s line-up under Maurizio Sarri, Jorginho has failed to capture the imagination of fans and has barely done anything towards the team’s attacking play.
Why we picked him: Jorginho has completed more passes than any other player in the league, but has failed to record an assist with any of his 3,118 passes.
Alexis Sanchez (36 points)
You knew this was coming, didn’t you?
Sanchez has now had a full season to get to grips with life at Man United, but the Chilean has barely done a thing.
True, he’s spent large portions of the campaign on the sidelines with various injury problems, but even when he’s played’s he’s looked a shadow of his former self.
Why we picked him: Just two years ago – at the end of the 2016/17 Dream Team season – Sanchez topped our points chart by some distance with 340 points, having notched 31 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Arsenal.
Romelu Lukaku (148 points)
This is perhaps another instance of us being a bit overly-harsh.
All in all, Lukaku has enjoyed a decent campaign for United, netting 12 times in the Premier League and ending the term as one of Dream Team’s most popular attacking options.
But considering he scored 254 points last year, we perhaps wanted a bit more from the towering Belgian.
Why we picked him: Lukaku failed to score against any of the Premier League’s top-half this season, with the highest-placed team he’s scored against being 11th-placed Watford.
Roberto Firmino (183 points)
It must be difficult being a striker at Liverpool, especially with Mane and Salah as your teammates.
The exploits of the Reds’ African duo has perhaps put Firmino’s tally to shame this term, with the Brazilian netting 16 goals in all competitions.
Why we picked him: Firmino was on-par with the goalscoring exploits of Salah and Mane last season and finished up with 280 points on Dream Team – just under 100 more than his total this time around.