The Community Round-Up

With the next international break imminent, many of those still with their Wildcard to play are getting itchy trigger fingers.

Our Hot Topic posters consider the merits of using this chip ahead of Gameweek 8, but also reveal how doing nothing may actually be a sound strategy for success.

For our community scribes, the improving fortunes of elite managers as well as the views of the masses come under scrutiny, while budget options are among the issues considered by the statistical boffins in our Members’ area.

We finish off with a look at those who may not need to overhaul their side after already excelling at the top of our community competitions.

The Community Articles

After a torrid start to the season, the Career Hall of Fame top five had reason to be cheerful this week with a strong set of scores, according to Top Marx’s latest analysis of their performances so far.

Meanwhile, Hutch_James has been canvassing the views of the masses on where this weekend’s points hauls may be found and AceKn1ght has been delving into players’ underlying statistics to add to the crystal ball gazing.

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

The season’s second international break gets underway after this weekend’s fixtures and is set to herald another spell of Wildcard fever among the community.

Danielsson dropped by to point out the benefits of Wildcarding at this relatively early stage of the season.

Those taking the plunge are advised to read Red Lightning’s Hot Topic on the best strikers to recruit and our formation discussion takes in the optimum strategy for success.

Sadly, Wildcarders will be deprived of Sergio Aguero, who looks to be unavailable for selection for a number of weeks after being involved in a car accident in Holland on Thursday. We asked how his absence is likely to affect future transfer plans.

Regarding rearguard targets, Jimmzzz’s look at the best Burnley defenders should help those looking for a cheap enabler, while Ludo has been considering the value offered by Chelsea’s pricier options at the back.

Before players jet off to represent their country, there’s the more pressing issue of navigating Gameweek 7 to deal with.

We canvassed your views on the best one-week punt for this weekend’s matches for those looking to overhaul their squad during the break, while Hokey Cokey Whizz revealed what the bookies are saying about Gameweek 7’s clean sheet and goal scoring potential.

The merits of Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku as captaincy options this weekend also came under scrutiny.

Elsewhere, Twisted Saltergater is proposing radical action for those looking to climb the rankings this weekend, by deploying the Free Hit chip to take advantage of strong fixtures for Manchester United and Arsenal in particular, who face striker-less sides Crystal Palace and Brighton respectively.

Those considering this move can take comfort from Lorenzo’s successful use of this chip during Gameweek 6. In our “rough with the smooth” round-up of your latest points tallies, he revealed that using this chip to take advantage of easy fixtures for Chelsea and Manchester City earned him 105 points, a full 30 point profit.

But as Knowledgeable Meerkat has found out, sometimes inactivity can bring greater rewards, after discovering an online gadget that can calculate our team FPL totals if we made no changes or transfers since Gameweek 1.

Finally, we are on the look out for proficient writers with experience of using social media to join the FFScout team. Mark posted this Hot Topic with full details of how to apply.

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

The Members’ Tables

For those on the look out for a budget midfielder, I’ve created a table featuring players priced at 4.5 or below.

FPL Virgin has also been seeking out value, via the Burnley backline, as well as showcasing the latest baseline bonus magnets.

Defenders come under the gaze of Jcrosbie, with his table examining their key performance statistics, including attacking potential.

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

Fabio Borges is the new leader of the FFS Members league and Red Lightning’s Top 10,000 Any Season. This is his fourth season, and he already has two top 5,000 finishes under his belt.

In TorresMagic’s Last Man Standing competition, Lorenzo hit the top score in Gameweek 6 with 105. There are over 3,100 teams left after 212 were eliminated when the safety score was set at 53.

Evs has reclaimed the lead in the FFScout Moderators and Contributors league, with last year’s overall FPL runner-up Uwais Ahmed in second. Meanwhile, in the moderators and contributors draft league Andy is in the lead with 12 points, with six others in hot pursuit all on nine points.

Goldman is on the look-out for EA Sports Fifa players to join the FFS community team.

Elsewhere, QPR Utd stays top of his own FFS Frequent Summer Posters league, closely followed by Urchin and Jallegere.

The bidding is now complete in the Community Watch tournament with squads ready to do battle, according to AA33’s latest update on behalf of the organising committee.

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.