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4th paragraph should read *does anyone feel like we never got a straight answer ...

A lot of the time there is no definitive answer they are there to bounce ideas off each other and discuss the questions posed by the community.. If we knew all the answers there would be no need for a scoutcast at all

I'm not a fan of the scoutcast, so don't listen. Just want to point out... Nuance. In fpl, like life, there is rarely a yes or no answer.

I know I have been defending these guys a lot lately, but I have to say I think you are being a bit hard on them.

First of all I think they are answering a decent amount of the questions pretty clearly. But... Of course they can't/won't give a yes or no answer to every questions because 1) Usually these questions can't be answered straight without taking 10 other questions into account. You can't answer if Theo can "cover" for Sanchez without discussing each of those player's stats, what you can use the funds for, if other premium players are better to invest in etc. etc. etc. 2) The guys are getting a lot of stick no matter what they do. If they answer questions yes/no people will blame them for not taking every aspect of the questions into consideration. Or even blame them for giving the wrong advice... If they are answering questions "vaguely", people will blame them for that. 3) The Scoutcast, as I see it, isn't meant to be some godly guidebook with clear cut guidelines or directions on how to manage your team. It is meant as a discussion between passionate FPL managers trying to give sense of community along with decent general tips/views on what's going on in the FPL world. I am watching the scoutcast because I enjoy the banter and comradely just as much as I watch it for the actual help on my team. They are not oracles... Just look at their ORs from time to time 😉 Regular guys with families, jobs and whatnot doing a huge amount of work for this community and to keep it running.

I am not saying that you/we can't give suggestions on how to improve the scoutcast/articles/site, but I still think we have to stop holding them to these unrealistic standards.

The whole thing started as two guys arguing about FPL, not sure it needs to be more than that -- it's a talk show, not a forecast.

Because it's your job as a fellow punter to make your own decisions, they are no different. They do a great job of presenting information for you to consider and then final decision is up to you. Those who follow blindly are bound to fail.

I love getting feedback like this. Worst thing is getting ignored as a journalist.

Agree with many points raised here in that often there really is no yes or no answer as transferring in X player will depend on price and what you do with either money saved, or money you have to glean from another player. We bring our experiences into it but also try to present the latest research into players. But ultimately with Sanchez and Walcott there is no yes and no.

Yes Sanchez is better than Walcott in a straight shoot out. We describe how he has better stats - especially with Cazorla out. We also looked at how Sanchez has double his points in recent games.

But No, perhaps Sanchez isn't if you take that extra 3m in getting Walcott and use that to say upgrade Lukaku to Kane or Aguero. Then perhaps Sanchez and a cheap striker is worse than Walcott and a great striker.

Sometimes we do nail it down to a yes or no, like Kane being the best captain pick in GWK 14, but fantasy football is rarely as simple as that.

Hope that helps. And do keep the questions coming. We can't give our yes, no and most likely maybe views without such community questions 🙂

I'm probably at risk of repeating others points here but we'll go with it anyway 🙂

I don't think anyone on The Scoutcast won't make a decision just because it will put egg on their face - look at myself and Jonty taking Aguero out, me holding Ibra for ages, Mark getting rid of Aguero last season when no-one else was really considering it.

The problem with the questions is there's very rarely a yes or no answer, or a right or wrong answer and sometimes you're answering without any context.

For example, Sanchez v Walcott. What does that extra money let you do? Do you have other captain options or will Sanchez be your captain for the most part?

Most of the time when I see the final questions I always think "well that's actually quite hard to answer because of such and such" but you have to give an opinion on it one way or another and present your thoughts and research.

We got a bit of our wires crossed on Walcott I think (perhaps my fault) because I was arguing he wasn't a good pick versus other options in a similar price bracket whereas Mark and Granville were primarily comparing him to Sanchez.

All we can do is give reasoning behind our thoughts and then let the viewer take it from there, we're not there to give 100% yes or no answers to every question, there still has to be some decision making from the manager themselves.

Going back to Walcott I argued that his stats were on the slide and Jonty did similar, although said he was still probably the sensible move. Mark and Granville still think he's a good option. So you did essentially get a yes or no, it was just a bit split (which will almost always happen).

As someone who used to watch the show religiously I like the format we're currently at (although I'm sure there's improvements that can be made and we'd love to hear everyones feedback), as both a viewer and now Scoutcaster (not really sure what to call it!), I don't think there's a need to get a 100% definitive answer but to keep discussing different views and arguments.

I like the Scoutcast more because it shows how experienced players are thinking when looking at issues FPL throws up.
More about thought processes than specific answers.

I would argue you can't have definitive answers on many questions like these for 2 reasons.
1. It's never more than an educated guess. The whole point of FPL is its unpredictability. This last GW you've got a lot of good sides that on paper should be racking up big points with the fixtures but didn't.
2. You can't answer definitively does Walcott cover Sanchez because the key to it is how you invest the cash difference rather than how the 2 players concerned perform.
It becomes an open question as each side has its own requirements. It becomes too big a question will an extra 3 million invested in my defence + Walcott equal/better Sanchez and a cheaper defence.

Scoutcasts just provide guidelines & tips but it isn't there to pick your side for you otherwise what's the point of playing FPL in the 1st place.

I don't watch the Scoutcast for them to spoon-feed me 'Yes' or 'No' answers. I watch it to hear other good FPL managers discuss the weeks talking points i.e Sanchez vs Walcott. Then I can make my own decision whether it is a 'Yes' or 'No'.

This reminds me of a really good film, Lone Survivor.
Special forces on a covert mission in Afghan are compromised by local farmers, this leaves the unit with two options;

A) Kill the farmers and carry on.
B) Let them go and almost certainly be discovered.

What (according to the guy the film is based on) is the right answer?

Well he said it makes him laugh when he reads people on the internet adamant that either A or B is right, truth is there is no right answer, you just have to do what you feel is best at the time, every situation is different.

Thankfully the stakes are a lot lower for us fpl managers but the point stands.
Ps it's the banter that makes the scoutcast good not definitive answers, if those were available I'd be writing this from a beach in Barbados.

Can Can allow you to go Firmino-less? 🙂

I never expect a definite Y or N.
The Scout Picks & Captain Poll are sufficient in my opinion and as for player analysis, forecasts & comparisons, it's the discussion that counts as far as I'm concerned.
There's just far too many permutations.

I enjoy reading all the comments & opinions on here as much as the Scoutcasts as, whilst I do some research myself - I don't have the time (or patience) to do as much as many folks on here do. I'll almost always overlook factors that the SC or comments here bring up. For that I'm grateful, but I take it all as general opinion only, nothing more, nothing less.

Mate, the fact that you've decided these guys are the 'experts', and you so badly want yes or no answers on player choice, makes me suspect strongly that you basically want them to pick your team for you.

I know you will/have been slated a bit for this but I see his point. IF you hold sway in what they decide a quick yes/no poll at the end of each question would be a good idea, and also drive further discussion.

Unless they are foolish people know this is a variable game and people can't be held accountable if their opinions don't become facts.

I like the idea

Do your own homework.

Maybe as a compromise they could start by saying their overall answer, e.g. Yes / no or the name of a player, etc and then do the discussion as normal in order to explain or justify their answer and add any caveats.

It does frustrate me a bit that most discussions seem to end with Mark saying "we'll see" - which does rather defeat the object as FPL is all about making decisions in advance, as once we've "seen" it is too late - Captain Hindsight and all that

wow you've really copped it here.

i see your point though, as someone who is on the other side of the world and doesn't have a lot of time to do research i perhaps rely too heavily on the guys to keep me in the loop and help me pick my team.

But yes i do also see what everyone else is saying and agree their points are valid (although perhaps harsh on you!) its a tough one.

the guys do a great job i love the scoutcast for information and for banter 🙂

No this is a terrible idea. People already place too much emphasis on what the scout cast guys say.

The most valuable part of the scout cast is the discussion and thought processes behind making a decision on what is the best route.

I think they go too far already recommending one thing over another. I don't think spoonfeeding should be their remit, they give so much information that if you can't make a decision you maybe should look for a different game to play.

Straight answers shouldn't be given. The scouts provide you with information letting you decide for yourself based on what they provided you with, otherwise we'd all be like sheep with the same teams, which is already a problem here.