The Community Round-Up

The Fantasy Premier League transfer market is never far from the community’s thoughts.

This week was no exception as debates raged around whether points rather than pounds should motivate Fantasy managers’ decisions, and if premium midfielders can get the better of heavy-hitter forwards.

Our resident statisticians also had money on their minds, as they took advantage of the new price filter in our Members’ area.

Meanwhile, our community scribes focused on the wisdom of the crowd as they looked ahead to Gameweek 4 and we complete our round-up with news from the community’s most recently created competitions.

The Community Articles

Those backing Romelu Lukaku with the captaincy will be buoyed by Hutch_James’ latest look at what ‘the crowd’ are saying about Gameweek 4’s fixtures. This gathering of the masses think that his Manchester United side have the best chance of goals when they take on Stoke City on Saturday evening.

The Fantasy Eliteserien Norwegian top-flight game is back following a three-week break. Niemi dropped by with the latest injury, suspension and team sheet news ahead of Gameweek 21.

Congratulations to Top Marx for winning our latest community writer of the month vote on the back of his regular updates on the highs and lows of our Career Hall of Fame Top 5. A £20 Amazon voucher is on its way to him. His latest round up of this elite group’s trials and tribulations can be found here.

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 Topic

Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino is proving the most popular acquisition in the FPL transfer market this week, with many bringing him in as a third striker in an expensive frontline. We canvassed your views on whether the Brazilian is the best candidate for this slot, or if we should be looking at cheaper forward options.

Swansea’s Tammy Abraham is among those under consideration, although Dug Out wonders if the Chelsea loanee may be forced to share pitch-time and points with striker Wilfried Bony, who has returned to the club after less than successful stints at Manchester City and Stoke.

Ludo is unimpressed with any of the Welsh side’s attacking options in his analysis of the club’s season so far, but is far more enthusiastic about the points potential of their defenders. This prolific Hot Topic poster has also been considering the merits of the Premier League’s most successful corner taker, Burnley’s Robbie Brady, as well as whether our captaincy poll can be a good predictor of a success.

Many of those answering our Tot Topic on the Gameweek 4 captaincy will certainly hope it can be, with current poll leader Lukaku among those mentioned frequently.

Spurs’ Harry Kane is another popular armband option according to our poll, but with no attacking returns from his impressive underlying statistics, we pondered whether he is really an essential player to own.

Some of those considering ditching the Spurs talisman believe that selecting both of his team-mates Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen instead could provide more points, according to our discussion on the merits of a midfield double ups. Garlic Bread added to the debate with his Hot Topic canvassing your views on this dynamic Spurs duo.

However, Lucio’s Limelight is not convinced such a tactic is viable regarding Liverpool, although TimothyJS’s discussion on the merits of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane revealed that many are keen to have both.

A look at the FPL transfer market this season shows it is clear the mass ranks of managers are still uncertain on Salah’s potential. The Egyptian has already been subject to a price rise and a drop in value over the first three Gameweeks, prompting us to wonder whether the search for profit is overriding the quest for points.

Finally, Diva sparked a debate on how much of our Members’ area statistics should be shared.

To view all our discussions, please visit our Hot Topics page.

The Members’ Tables

Sticking with statistics, our Member table constructers have been busy this week, with Don’t Shoot looking at defences under pressure and They are lost casting an eye over the teams that excel at passing.

Pittas has been taking advantage of this week’s addition of a price filter to the Members area armoury to assess low budget midfielders. Meanwhile, FPL Virgin’s price-based latest tables take in budget strikers, midfielders and defenders.

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

The real football transfer window may have closed, but team managers taking part in the Community Watch tournament are now entering their busiest recruitment period, according to the latest competition committee update courtesy of AA33.

Elsewhere, Daniel Levy dropped by with news of an FFScout league being set up for Fantasy NFL.

If you are running a community tournament and would like the latest scores included in future Community Round-ups, please email us a summary of the current leaders and a link to your league, spreadsheet or head to head competition, at jonty@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.