Player Profile: We Need to Talk About Tarkowski as an FPL Asset

One of the biggest lessons from the last season of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) was the importance of defenders capable of getting defensive contributions (DefCons). 

They aren’t flashy picks, but they’re steady. And somehow, we’ve already started to drift away from that.

It makes sense; it’s human nature. The new game launches, and we’re all chasing explosive attackers and exciting picks. But I think the pricing changes have made us lose sight of how valuable those defensive contribution points can be. 

That’s why I think James Tarkowski deserves more attention than he’s getting. I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts since the game launched and barely anyone’s mentioning him. 

Tarkowski is nailed

First of all, reliability. If he’s fit, he plays. Over the last five seasons, he’s played 37, 33, 33, 38 and 38 games. That’s rock solid. 

Everton’s defence isn’t elite, but it doesn’t need to be. Last year, they kept 11 clean sheets and finished kind of bottom of the mid-table on underlying numbers. 

But outside of the promoted teams, the defences aren’t as far apart as we think. 

Tarkowski is the DefCon King

The big thing is DefCons. 

In four of the last five seasons, Tarkowski would have been the best scorer of defensive contribution points if the metric existed all those years. And the other year (last year) he was second. That is unbelievably consistent. 

Over these five years he would have qualified for DefCon 103 times in 180 games – that’s a return 57% of the time. You’re basically banking on a defensive contribution return every other week. 

DefCon Uncertainty for the Rest of the League

We know that our overlords at FPL towers did not expect DefCons to make as much of a difference as they did last year. And, I think most of us expect that overall DefCon points will go down. Check out Gabriel’s underlying DefCons per 90 over the last four years if you want proof:

Plus, with all the new managers and transfers of players like Senesi, van Hecke, Lacroix – we don’t know if these guys will get similar DefCon numbers in new teams.

We don’t have that fear with Tarko – this season he is in the same team with the same manager. And, when he has changed teams or had a new manager, that has not affected his DefCon returns.

Weak Attacking Numbers

Tarko’s not an attacking threat most weeks, he’ll chip in now and then. 

Last season, he matched his career best with five attacking returns. Usually, it’s a goal or an assist here and there. 

When you add it all up, last season he hit 170 points. Previous years with DEF CON included, he’s consistently around 150 points – apart from when he played for Burnley.

He basically has a 150 point floor. And that’s very high. 151 points last year was the 10th best defender.

But hardly anyone’s treating him that way. 

Fixtures

The fixtures aren’t a problem either. They’re fine to start, And from game week five they have Ipswich and Hull back-to-back. 

The Most Reliable Defender

Look, I’m not saying Tarkowski’s gonna set the world alight. He won’t give you big, explosive hauls, but he will play every week, he will tick over on DefCon points, and quietly build a strong total across the season. 

Sometimes boring wins FPL mini leagues, and Tarkowski is boring in the best possible way.