As the final Gameweek came and went, the community was in thoughtful mood, looking back over this season’s highs and lows and ahead to the 2014/15 campaign. We recall these nostalgic and forward-thinking posts and take in discussions ranging from T-shirt slogans to improvements to Fantasy Football game rules. We also showcase the first articles in our newly-launched Community Submissions section and there’s also time to catch up on the thrilling conclusion to the community’s tournaments and the array of impressive prizes being dished out.
The Community Submissions
This week saw the launch of our new Community Submissions section, offering the community the chance to show off their writing and research skills. The first to successfully submit an article was Bowstring the Trout, who presented an excellent early look at key World Cup options ahead of this summer’s tournament. If you would like to submit an article click here.
Guy Demel’s Shaved Head‘s offered a hugely impressive review of West Ham’s season, likewise, Kosteevo’s round up of Chelsea‘s campaign was presented a thorough analysis.
PeMiai was also looking ahead to the World Cup and the options among Portugal‘s ranks. ENR and the rest of the FFS UEFA team are also looking ahead to the World Cup and gave us this teaser for their forthcoming summer tournament based on the event.
We’re keen to showcase more of your writing. Feel free to submit your article via the form here.
The Hottest Topics
Sunday’s finale brought joy and heartbreak in equal measure for those looking to improve their rank or win their mini-leagues. As Kings of Lyon’s hot topic shows, there were some significant mini-league prizes up for grabs to reward those high up in the rankings. He revealed he was going into Gameweek 38 hoping to win £320 in his mini-leagues this season, meanwhile Tatty Bojangles already had £1,400 worth of mini-league winnings under his belt before the final kick.
FPL debutant Tommidee raised a pertinent question on behalf of the game’s other new managers – just what is a respectable rank in a first campaign? Irish Madridsta pointed out that this term had been particularly tough for seasoned veterans, let alone new managers, meanwhile Avishek T stated that a placing of around 100,000, which was his debut rank, is something a newcomer can be rightly proud of.
Acquafresca was on hand to discuss ways to improve next season. La Roja announced that he is to avoid early transfers after being caught out by unexpected injuries this season. Meanwhile, Mark has vowed to be more liberal with hits when needs must. Wakey’s forthcoming research on hits will prove interesting reading for him. Wakey revealed this week he is planning extensive analysis on whether double points hits are effective: we will keep you posted on his progress.
Investing in Yaya Toure, who has, of course, been a sensation this campaign, looks set to be another popular tactic for those searching out an improved rank next season. Ryan expressed the need for caution, however, questioning whether the Manchester City midfielder can be relied on next season. He also pondered whether a conservative approach to the game, by opting for safe bets, can be a valid long-term strategy. TheFantasyFreak had no doubts: he revealed that he had little hesitation in swooping for Toure for his 2014/15 team sheet in his discussion on next season’s must-have players.
Taking coverage to new levels could be another way to improve next season, suggests Shifty. His hot topic detailed how those who trebled up on attacking players from Liverpool and Manchester City’s ranks this season may have struck upon a mini-league winning formula.
Taking advantage of the extra bonus points offered up by expensive centre backs is another tactic identified from this campaign. We asked where this shift in points leaves the so-called “uber-cheap” strategy, where inexpensive defenders can be rotated based on fixtures. Carrick Deserves More Mata believes that rotation of cheap players still has a place but perhaps should focus more on midfield, while MJ6987 was adamant that the tactic will re-surface in 2014/15.
MJ6987 was also discussing potential rule changes to the FPL game this week, raising the issue of tinkering with position classifications. He argues that defenders and defensive midfielders should be placed in one catch-all defensive category, with a similar single category applying to strikers and attack-minded midfielders. CPTCrunch11, however, favoured the less radical tweak of boosting the appeal of defensive midfielders with extra clean sheet points.
The Scoutcast this season has seen a number of changes with the addition of video interactivity and guests. Next year, Mark and Granville’s jointly-managed Scoutcast FPL team will also get an overhaul with the pair asking for the community’s thoughts on how they should pick players. While this term their tactic was to avoid players from 2012/13’s top four teams, suggestions for next season include Moin’s call for a total ban on hits.
Granville’s display of a Fantasy Football Scout branded t-shirt during this week’s Scoutcast also prompted Damo to start this discussion on good Fantasy Football themed t-shirt slogans. Among suggestions were Leaf’s ‘RMT-shirt’ and Marr’s ‘Never bench, never captain’, which has become synonymous with Leighton Baines in recent years.
Finally Granville has started the traditional summer sport of guess the player prices in the FPL game early. He reckons Luis Suarez could be priced as high as £14.5m next season. Surely not?
The Community Tournaments
In Torresmagic‘s leagues, Nice To Finally Michu won his Last Man Standing competition outlasting 1127 competitors. Altidemps won the FPL Open and Jopa won his Elite 64 competition.
D1sable, who achieved the incredible feat of finishing fifth in the Sky Game, topped this year’s Fantasy Football Scout moderators and contributors league. D1sable will surely be a force to reckon with if he joins Teddy’s Ironman league next time out: a tournament for those playing multiple Fantasy games. This season’s Ironman victor was Jonty, who topped the Fantasy Premier League component and came second in the Ironman’s Sky and Metro leagues. In Like Flynn topped the Metro game, while Gigging Order was victorious in the Sky league. Jonty also won Gnu’s Wigan to Me H2H competition and its top prize of a Barbour jacket.
In Innsie’s DZ draft and Graveyard Shift H2H, Nice to Finally Michu emerged the winner. Innsie also did well, coming second in both competitions.
The final Gameweek of the Puffinboy Memorial Cup proved a formality with Don the Special One claiming first place with a 19 point margin. Meanwhile, Agata won Saheen’s Premier League as well as the 8th Pizzerina League.
The “It’s a Long and Winding Road” league victor was ENR with Tangerine Weems scooping top spot in the FFS Old Farts Club league, for our more senior community members.
It was better late than never for RabMac, who topped the FPL’s Gameweek 3 competition, for those that missed the first two Gameweeks. He finished with an overall rank of 16,142, despite missing the start of the season.
In Heels Over Head’s Worst To First – 2 Million+ Club, for teams with an overall rank below 2,000,000 in the first five game weeks, Teltzham Hotspurs takes first place with 2,449 points and an overall rank of 2,348. In total seven teams managed a top 100,000 rank.
Elsewhere, in FFS UEFA’s Europa League Thomass was the winner, while Dogba emerged victorious in their Champions League competition.
