To see which fans are unlikely to be happy about the sale of their players, we looked at the Beat Your Manager! Fantasy Football data for all players that have been transferred from the clubs they played for during the 2013/4 English Premier League.
Beat Your Manager! Fantasy Football is a game which is similar to “Football Manager”, but applied to live football, where you manage your favourite Club and pick lineups, bench, formations and substitutions, all in real-time. When fans play the game, the Beat Your Manager team can measure the popularity of different players, by looking at how frequently they are selected for the lineup.
So far, over 180 players have been transferred (sold, on loan) or released, so we have limited our choice here to the most popular starting 11 transfer targets, in a 4-4-2 formation.
Most Clubs kept their goalkeepers from the 2013/4 season
Sunderland’s sale of Keiren Westwood to Sheffield Wednesday is unlikely to trouble Black Cats fans, as the reserve keeper rated a poor 28 per cent popularity, easily the most unpopular player in our starting 11.
Defenders: Manchester United shore up Italian defences
Manchester City’s big summer signing of Arsenal’s right-back Bacary Sagna is unlikely to have gone down well with Gunners fans – he received an impressive 92 per cent over the season, making him the most popular defender in our list.
Closely following behind was Manchester United ‘s Patrice Evra, who makes his move to Italian giants Juventus with a 90 per cent endorsement from United fans ringing in his ears. Our third and fourth-most popular defenders were similarly grouped: West Bromwich Albion’s fans rated MLS-bound Liam Ridgewell a resounding 80 per cent, while Manchester United ‘s Nemanja Vidic is also Italy-bound, having registered a solid 80 per cent from Red Devils’ fans
Lampard: A Premier League Midfield gift to the MLS?
Chelsea’s Frank Lampard is also headed for the MLS, joining new franchise New York City on a free transfer. It is likely that Frank’s release is a gift from the club, as his 2013/4 performances rated an impressive 82 per cent with Blues fans, making him our most highly-rated midfield transfer target.
Gareth Barry’s 2013/4 performances on loan from Man City earned him a solid 74 per cent rating with Everton fans and a permanent move to the club this summer. Newcastle United’s Mathieu Debuchy scored a similar rating with Toon fans (73 per cent) before his recent move to Arsenal and Liverpool’s summer acquisition of Southampton ‘s Adam Lallana comes with an endorsement of 71 per cent from Saints fans.
Strikers are the big transfer target topics of the summer
Strikers are almost always expensive and in popular demand, so it is no surprise that our two most popular transfer targets are forwards. The most talked-about transfer of the summer involves every tabloid’s favourite shoulder-munching forward, Luis Suarez, moving to Barcelona after an season with Liverpool, recording an astonishing 98 per cent rating. What might help balm the wounds of Pool fans is their acquisition of Southampton’s Rickie Lambert, who arrives at the Anfield club with a staggering 96 per cent popularity with Saints fans.
Most popular 11 Transfer targets from the 2013/4 EPL season:
Most popular 11 Transfer targets from the 2013/4 EPL season:
