With the finishing line in sight, things are getting fidgety at the top of the Scout Leagues as our top community players give chase for the overall crown. We namecheck the protagonists, check on the recent trends in the transfer market and check in with Fenners and Merse ahead of tonight’s fixture with the Fantasy Football Club.
The Scout League
Chris Pearce remains lodged at the top of the Scout League, although his lead has been cut considerably by Paul McAnulty, who closes in second. Chris’ “UtakaDefoeKingPearce” squad has a 13-point advantage over Paul’s “Housewives Favourite” lineup. Simon Davies’ “Nags Head Rovers” remain in third, although they are being chased hard by a twin Pascal Evans assault, as his “Covport” squads sit fourth and fifth.
As our leader, Chris Pearce is currently our biggest hope to threaten for the Sky Sports crown and the top prize of £25k. Chris sits in third place overall but is some 85 points behind Simon Ward, who has occupied top spot for months without looking likely to relinquish the position. It’s rapidly getting to the stage where some inspiration and armband risks look to be the only means of clawing back his advantage.
With six managers in the overall top 20 rankings, the Scout League remains the top Private League on show with a 10 point advantage over our nearest rival.
A reminder that if you’re playing the Sky Sports game and have yet to join our league, you can still sign up to the FFScout League with this Pin: 8004519. We have a home cinema system, worth £600, available to the winner.
Market Trends
The blank in the defeat at Southampton has instantly dented confidence in Luis Suarez. With the Uruguayan just one booking from a two-match ban, it seems that some Sky Sports managers are looking to trade in, turning their attentions back to United’s Robin Van Persie.
While Suarez was brought in as part of 22% of transfers this week, he was sold on as part of over 28% – a first ownership decline for several weeks. By contrast, Van Persie’s popularity has picked up over the last seven days, despite scoring just once in his last six league appearances. The Dutchman was transferred in as part of 31% of the trades made and sold as part of 24%.
Those two Golden Boot contenders continue to be critical to fortunes in this game, dominating the transfer activity and also the captaincy figures. Van Persie went into Gameweek 30 with the armband from 23% of the managers in the game, with Suarez claiming 9% – Eden Hazard was next on 6.7%, with Wayne Rooney on 4.4%.
While the forwards market remains volatile, the goalkeeper position continues to be problematic with the likes of Pepe Reina, Tim Howard and Asmir Begovic all amongst the top transferred out off the back of recent injuries, or a drop in form in Begovic’s case. Money is now being spent in this area, with David De Gea, Petr Cech and Joe Hart all enjoying increased transfer interest this week ahead of the run-in. The United stopper is the form player amongst this batch, earning 21 points in the last four Gameweeks.
The Fantasy Football Club – Tonight 10pm
Sir Trevor Brooking will honour the Fantasy Football Club dressing room with his presence tonight, the former West Ham pass-master will be joining Fenners and Merse from 10pm on Sky Sports One.
