As many of you will have noticed, the Sky Sports Fantasy Football game was officially launched earlier today, allowing us the opportunity for some early pre-season tinkering. We plan to analyse the player list in detail over a series of upcoming articles but for now, here’s a heads-up on some rule changes that have been introduced for 2013/14.
No Monthly Transfer Restrictions
Fantasy managers now have the opportunity to essentially wildcard a brand new team at any point during the season, providing they have an adequate number of trades left. Last season, we were, somewhat frustratingly, afforded a maximum of just five transfers per calendar month but this time round there are no restrictions – we can utilise our 40 transfers as we wish over the course of the campaign.
Save Points for Keepers
A crucial addition to the scoring system. Previously, stoppers were handed out points for clean sheets alone but their appeal is set to improve after Sky Sports decided to reward their endeavours between the sticks – for every five saves a keeper makes, he will now receive couple of bonus points; definitely something to consider when mulling over their merits. We will be adding save points bonus to our stats tables in the members area to allow analysis of how keepers would have fared over the past two seasons – we will update you when that’s available.
Captain Changes
A very significant rule change which offers the chance to accrue points from two captains in any given Gameweek. The Sky Sports game differs from the “stick or twist” scenario familiar to most Fantasy managers – you pick up double points from both your initial skipper and his armband replacement. If your first captain plays on a Saturday, you can, however, only switch the armband to someone with a match on Sunday or Monday – ie, a player with a fixture on a different day within the same Gameweek. You can change captain only once per Gameweek.
Other New Introductions
A “Shortlist” feature, similar to the Watchlist in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), allows to pencil in our potential targets for the games ahead. There’s also an Assistant Manager on hand to offer advice if required, where there will also be Awards on offer for our respective teams’ performances which could potentially lead to prizes – Sky Sports are looking to release more details later in the month.
It’s also worth noting that an app for Apple and Android devices is also available to ease those team changes whilst laden with supermarket bags. Handy.
The prizes have also be enhanced, with no less than £30,000 on offer for the winner this time around.
Scout Leagues
Thanks to our endeavours last season – which saw Fantasy Football Scout top of the Private League rankings – Sky Sports are now offering a £1,000 prize for the Fantasy manager who finishes in top spot in the FFS league this time round; enough motivation for most to get involved, surely.
The league name is “FFScout” and the code is 8000112 : we’ll get these posted in the middle column of the homepage.
Finally, we’re also considering the idea of an official money league this season. In another new feature, Sky Sports offer the option of £2, £5, £10 or £20 entry fee per person in a private league – we’ll have more on this if we decide to roll out an official Scout League. Give us your thoughts on this.
If you have any feedback on your early experiences with the game, be sure to post them in comments below. Already today we’ve passed on some issues regarding performance which have been examined and addressed due to feedback here.
As mentioned, we’ll be rolling out regular articles in the pre-season to guide your early decision making, including an appraisal of the player list and some position by position analysis.
10 years, 10 months agoSO IT BEGINS!