The high cost of excelling in Fantasy Premier League was laid bare by our community scribes this week, who take a look at the contrasting values of this year’s and 2015/16’s best players.
Our hot topics go in search of the secrets of success this season and also assess whether our frontlines are set for a revamp when Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero returns from suspension over the festive fixture schedule.
Players with the highest involvement in their respective team’s goals are the focus of our Members Table round-up, while we also find out who has achieved a strong return on investment at the summit of our community leagues.
The Community Articles
FPL managers were spoiled last season, with budget picks like Jamie Vardy, Dele Alli and Riyad Mahrez providing the game with consistent performers and value.
According to TM245’s latest community article, 2016/17 couldn’t be more different. This provides a comparison between 2015/16 and this season’s FPL dream teams to reveal some startling contrasts in terms of price and ability to produce returns over a long period.
Good strikers are particularly pricey this time around, but Bobby F has come up with a strategy to help ensure you can own all the heavy-hitters in attack, although admittedly not at the same time.
At least there is still saving to be made between the sticks this time around, says Bowstring the Carp. His analysis of the best cheap goalkeeper combinations from now until the end of the season will be particularly useful to those considering using their second wildcard as soon as it becomes available next month.
There’s further value for those who feel like taking a risk with the captaincy in Gameweek 18, according to YMA‘s latest look at the best armband options based on form, fixtures and clean sheet odds.
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
Swift spotting of the fluctuating form of premium players and careful maneuvering in a volatile transfer market are among the key strategies to emerge from our discussion on the secret of success in 2016/17.
For Pochetinno, overthinking has been a major barrier to getting the better of this season, as he recounted how many points have been lost through unfounded fears around suspensions and international commitments.
Favouring form over fixtures is another successful strategy, according to our Rough with the Smooth look back at your Gameweek 18 performances. This features some justifiably smug stories for those who decided that Harry Kane was not captaincy material against a travel-sick Burnley side last weekend.
The Spurs’ striker’s failure to score against the Clarets will have dented many Fantasy managers’ armband average for the season. To see how good you are at selecting such sources of double points Fusen has relaunched his FPL Statistico tool to offer a wealth of information about your team’s successes and failures. This is a must see.
Looking ahead to the festive fixtures, we canvassed your views on which premium attackers to draft in, while later in the week we also asked whether you will be looking to draft Sergio Aguero back as soon as his suspension ends in Gameweek 19.
Diego Costa is among other forwards the Manchester City player has to compete against. But KTK Interista wonders whether Chelsea’s 3-4-3 formation is focusing increasingly on defence and leaving their attackers unable to muster meaningful attacking returns.
Elsewhere, mid-price forwards also came under discussion when Mr Maverick sparked a debate on whether Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke (7.7) is worth the extra outlay over Salomon Rondon (6.6).
Finally, Athletico Timbo has launched what we hope will be a regular feature where he assesses the latest transfer moves and the wisdom behind them.
The Members Tables
Columbo’s latest table takes a look at those who are most involved in their side’s goals over the last four Gameweeks.
For those looking to get ahead of the curve this Christmas my goals imminent table has a new collection of players on the cusp of a points haul.
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.
The Community Tournaments
In TorresMagic’s Last Man Standing the safety score was 36, which saw 116 players depart and 1124 remain.
Meanwhile, Torres Magic takes the Christmas number one slot in the FFS Moderators and Contributors league, two points ahead of long-term leader Facer.
There was good news for another of our moderators team, Spencer, who is among those to progress to the knockout stages in Jaffaclicious‘ UEFA Champions League tournament.
Raul Seleccion continues to top Red Lightning’s Top 10k Any Season mini-league.
Red Lightning’s January to May mini league (1441-820) is available for entries, ahead of Gameweek 20’s start. More than 150 teams have entered so far.
In my Millionaires Club, for those managers with a rank below the one million mark in Gameweek 12, Krak Krak is in top spot.
If you are running a community tournament and would like the latest scores included in future Community Round Ups please email me a brief summary of the current leaders and a link to your league, spreadsheet or head to head competition, at jonty@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.
