The Community Round Up

With less than a fortnight to go before the big kick-off, Fantasy managers and our community writers and posters are continuing their mission in search of quality budget options and prosperous heavy-hitters, whilst sifting the crop of new top-flight talent.

We look back to soak up the highlights of the week’s community submissions and drop in on the key Hot Topics to contemplate Southampton’s exodus, the potential starting XIs and the case to select a certain Manchester City full-back.

The Community Articles

The community section is simmering nicely as we near that August 16 deadline, with rotations and predicted teamsheets earning some keen interest over the past week.

ForzaInter was the latest community writer to tackle the issue of defensive rotation, putting forward a compelling new angle. His strategy is to focus on heavy-hitting, premium defenders from top sides and supplement them with a cheap defensive pair that can drop in when tricky fixtures rear their heads.

Defence was also the focus of Bowstring The Trout’s budget balancing article in which he lays out some furtehr cheap rotation options, in addition to a handful of mid-priced stoppers.

Meanwhile, The Puntmaster returned with another of his excellent player analysis updates focusing on the new arrivals to the Premier League. This time around he presented a useful summary of the key acquisitions to this point, including links to his new player spreadsheets, which will be particularly helpful to those catching up on his series of must-read updates.

Saniul, is another community writer who has been compiling a series of illuminating spreadsheet analysi. He’s focused his attentions on the potential starting XIs, based on the latest injury, transfer and friendly fixture news and events.

Don’t forget, if you’ve got some pre-season analysis or lengthy opinions and foresight to share, be sure to visit our community section to submit your article.

The Hottest Topics

While I was away on my family holidays this week, Fantasy Football Scout’s moderators and contributors kindly stepped up to take over our daily Hot Topics, covering a range of issues from differentials, to the continuing quest for individuality as we seek to avoid the template team.

Mark posed a pair of differing posers during the week, firstly asking how many new players to the Premier League we will be considering and just how far we should go with our punts on the likes of Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and Chelsea’s Diego Costa?

Meanwhile, Mark also chirped up to ask whether Fantasy managers are being duped into a defensive template by the recent transfers involving the likes of Ben Davies, Dejan Lovren and Andre Wisdom.

Manchester City was a focus for moderators Spencer and Applebonkers’s Hot Topic contributions. Spencer pondered just how much the World Cup will affect the pitch time of those players involved in the latter stages of the tournament, with Sergio Aguero a particular concern.

Ironically, one of those players who could well benefit from late returning World Cup players is the much-maligned Aleks Kolorov. Applebonkers asked whether the defender, who is often referred to as ‘Lolorov’ due to his bandwagaon cameos and frustrating knack of letting us down, could be in for a sensational early start to the campaign. Applebonkers certainly volunteered some compelling statistics to back up investment in the Serbian. Personally, I think this is a blatant attempt to lure Mark into the Kolarov honey trap from the get-go.

Elsewhere, the community’s most experienced Fantasy managers such as Triggerlips and Rasping Drive, were quick to respond to moderator Athletico Timbo’s excellent Hot topic asking for the top tips for success. Efficient short-term planning and watching as many games as possible, were among Rasping Drive’s nuggets of advice. Meanwhile, in a separate Hot Topic, Triggerlips wondered, with so many unknowns in the game, whether Fantasy managers would be better off carrying out minimal planning and seeing how the early season unfolds.

Another experienced campaigner, Torres Magic, also helped out with our daily Hot Topics. His focus was on differential players and proved one of our most discussed posts of the week. Inspired by this thread, Squeaky Bum Time decided to look specifically at some of the best mid-priced differentials available in the Fantasy Premier League game.

While holidaying in Hampshire, the local news inspired my first Hot topic on my return, as I pondered the fate awaiting Southampton following the exodus of their crown jewels in July. Some of the responses demonstrated faith in their remaining players to step up and replace the likes of Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw. Among those who could be destined for a great season is young full-back Matt Targett. Be sure to check on Lucy’s thorough analysis of his prospects here.

While investing in Targett and other Southampton players could be a risk, there was a cast of more reliable sources discussed this week.

Arsenal’s rejuvenated midfielder, Aaron Ramsey, stands out in particular according to the aptly named Aaron Ramessi, who predicts another stellar season for the clinical Welsh playmaker. Elsewhere, Beavis nominated Romelu Lukaku as an asset who could offer us a decent level of assurance, while Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas is said to be another dependable points scorer, particularly before January, if Dandec’s analysis rings true.

Finally, Innsie was on hand to provide this excellent summary of all the key questions during the week, including the demise of Southampton’s squad and the conundrum surrounding Chelsea’s tempting defensive assets.

The Community Tournaments

Torres Magic’s Last Man Standing is returning for the 2014/14 Fantasy Premier League season. The code to join is 52587-7172.

Xward has also set up an open FPL league, called “Naughty Filthy Punters” (3079-201991), while Narenda Wicaksono has a league (67393-21769) and a cup (67393-21807) in FPL that is open to the community.

Elsewhere, Zep has set up a dead team challenge, where teams stick with the same squad selection until the end of the season. Full details can be found here.