Sky Sports Focus

Swiftly on the heels of this week’s glance at our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) community, it’s now time to turn our attentions to our second supported league, with the Sky Sports game coming into focus. As always, we list our top managers, assess the transfer trends and this week report back on those offering the best value amongst the player list…

The Scout League

Charles Mouzon continues to reign in the Scout League – his “Geordie Boys” are holding off Chris Tuck’s “Vuvuzela Symphony” by six points going into this weekend, with Paul Hennessey still sits snugly in third spot; his “Hennessey’s Heroes” are some 17 points off the top now.

Hennessey also keeps the company of two others tied on 731. Tony Senior and Lewis Nicklen both ensure that we have five names in the overall top 20 in this game. In the race for the £25k top prize, Charles Mouzon is now 35 points off the chase, closing the gap from last week as we edge towards the hectic Christmas programme. Our top five stretched their lead in the Private League rankings this week, we now sit a full 22 points ahead.

A reminder that if you’re playing the Sky Sports game and have yet to join our league, you can sign up to the FFScout League with this Pin: 8004519. We have a home cinema system, worth £600, available to the winner.

Market Forces

Mirroring this week’s popularity in the FPL transfer market, Luis Suarez dominates the transfers in this week: the Liverpool man has been party to almost 38% of the trades made in the last seven days, a stat that is no doubt fueled by shock sales of Robin Van Persie at the other end of the spectrum. The Dutchman was moved on by over 20% of his owners this week off the back of his blank at Carrow Road; only West Brom’s injured stopper, Ben Foster, suffered more trades out.

Bizarrely, over 20% of Sky Sports managers brought in Marouane Fellaini this week, despite his impending ban this weekend for the Norwich clash at Goodison. Goalkeepers remain a popular trade, with both Asmir Begovic and John Ruddy enjoying heavy traffic this week, picking up Ben Foster’s owners off the back of their recent form.

Both Ruddy (9.13 per million) and Begovic (9.02 per million) have offered oustanding value of late but still trail West Ham’s Jussi Jaaskelainen in that respect for the season as a whole. The Hammers keeper has returned 9.21 points per million thus far.

A West Ham man is also top of the defender value rankings. Joey O’Brien’s goal in the 1-1 with Stoke means that he has now offered 10.52 points per million so far this term, with team-mate Winston Reid clocking up 10.25 in second. Given the Hammers schedule of fixtures, it seems unlikely that that pairing can go on delivering strong returns in the short-term, however.

In midfield, Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla is now, pound for points, the top midfielder on offer. The Spaniard has delivered 13.88 points per million so far in his first season in the top flight. The likes of Fellaini, Michu and Raheem Sterling rank behind him, all presenting outstanding returns for their price tags.

Up front, the value is more limited but Luis Suarez’s recent form has seen him ascend to the top of the rankings. The Uruguayan has delivered 9.79 points per million going into the weekend, comfortably ahead of Demba Ba in second on 8.44.

The Fantasy Football Club

The cheeky Dennis Wise will scurry into the studio for tonight’s episode Fantasy Football Club, no doubt with plenty to say on Rafa’s appointment at Chelsea. Tonight also sees the draw for the Qualifying Round of the Fantasy Football Club Cup apparently – intriguing. Join Fenners and Merse from 10pm tonight on Sky Sports One.