The Community Round Up

The end of pre-season is nearly in sight for the community as they fine-tune their Gameweek 1 sides and eagerly await the start of the new Premier League campaign. This week we ramped up our support for those needing their teams rated and also took an in-depth look at player value. Meanwhile, in our hot topics, the community was full of advice on midfield heavy hitters and rotation strategies. Elsewhere, one of our most prolific Members table creators has been paying close attention to the attacking intent of defenders.

The Community Articles

Our support for those struggling to construct a Gameweek 1 side picked up the pace this week with the launch of our first live Rate My Team surgeries, where our team of moderators, along with the community, were on hand to answer the key questions ahead of the season’s start. The first session on Wednesday also featured a live Scoutcast where Mark and myself looked in detail at your draft teams. Keep an eye out next week when we have further surgeries planned.

Finding value is key to securing the best initial 15 in Fantasy Premier League and Why Always Mesut was on hand with some number crunching to find the best bargains in the game.

For those looking to construct the more complex 25-man squads needed for the Ultimate Fantasy Premier League (UFPL) game Djenzio opened up a community surgery to help out. Meanwhile, for those playing in a draft league, The Cisco Kid‘s top three tips for surviving draft day will prove key reading.

Don’t forget, if you’ve got some analysis, scout reports or features brewing, be sure to visit our community section to submit your article.

The Hottest Topics

To construct the perfect Gameweek 1 side, each Fantasy manager has their own dos and don’t list, as we discovered in our discussion on getting the best start possible.

There were further tips for taking pole position in the race for Fantasy football glory from Enzo the Baker and for those submitting RMTs, Innsie offered this must-read set of rules to ensure you get the help you need.

Sticking with RMT support, Giggs Boson was on hand to sum up the key questions that need answering before we perfect our starting XIs. He also attempted to quell some of the enthusiasm amongst the community that Raheem Sterling is generating after his move to Manchester City.

There is also plenty of enthusiasm for the wealth of options in the Arsenal midfield, with our discussion on the Gunners revealing that many are happy to double up on their attacking assets.

With more than half of FPL managers owning Eden Hazard, the Chelsea midfielder is another much-heralded prospect for 2015/16. Opinion was nonetheless divided in our discussion as to whether going without the Belgian enhances or ruins a Gameweek 1 side.

Another issue to consider when searching for the best Gameweek 1 side is home and away rotation, particularly when picking your cheaper players. But, asked Smurf, are we too quick to put our faith in this strategy?

Another popular strategy is to focus on penalty takers. No Money took the role of naysayer in the debate on this issue, as he unearthed a lack of spot kicks amongst minnows in particular. For those sticking to this policy, our hot topic on the latest set piece takers to emerge during pre-season will prove vital reading.

This season’s introduction of ‘chips’ has the potential to transform FPL. When we asked what other ‘chips’ you would like to see Waitinginthelonggrass revealed he would like to see all points doubled, while Andy85wsm would like to see a top up chip, to guarantee 60 points in one week, for better or worse.

Finally, Gameweek 1 can be the trickiest of weeks to predict, with the unexpected frequently destroying our carefully-laid plans. Demi dropped by to spark up this lively discussion on your wild and wonderful 2015/16 predictions.

The Members Tables

One of our regular table constructors Vougiedipond has turned his attention to offensive defenders for his latest set of figures. Southampton fans are advised to pay close attention to the second best defender in this list.

If you’re a member and are yet to get to grips with the custom statistics tables, you can view this movie for an explanation of how they work. Also, remember to tag them so that people can find the tables with ease.