Election fever gripped the community this week in its search for a Scout Picks champion in what proved to be the closest contest yet. We look back on that campaign, whilst also checking in on the activity surrounding the frantic deadline day dash Ultimate Fantasy Premier League managers faced. Elsewhere, we revisit a love letter for Leighton Baines and consider the balance of perception versus reality. As ever, we throw in all the latest members tables, hottest topics and hear news of a new team-based quiz taking place soon.
The Community Articles
Gameweek 4 proved was pivotal for those playing the Ultimate Fantasy Premier League (UFPL) game as the transfer window closed and managers made their final squad changes before January. Loans are still available up to then, but may not be needed if managers can get their selection right. Luckily QPR Expects Glory was on hand with this excellent guide to picking the right UFPL players for the next few months.
This weekend’s matches were also important for those looking for key differentials. The Puntmaster is proving quite the soothsayer with his regular trio of gambles and this week Southampton’s Graziano Pelle was among those coming into sharp focus in his crystal ball for Gameweek 4. Arvin-ation is another regular “punter” and offered up a trio of midfield options ahead of Gameweek 4.
With 15 % ownership in the Fantasy Premier League game, Leighton Baines is hardly a differential. Christina argued, though, that his ownership ought to be higher. Here’s his passionate defence of the Everton man who repaid the faith with a strong haul in Gameweek 4.
Meanwhile, AZ took a look at the promoted teams’ defences to see if any budget friendly differential defenders had emerged as enticing prospects.
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
As British Prime Minister David Cameron and Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond took part in some frantic last-minute campaigning in the Scottish independence referendum, we had our very own dramatic battle on the hustings. In our tightest contest yet to find a community champion for our Gameweek Scout Picks, Arvin-ation prevailed over rival Doosra by a nail-biting 105-104 votes. This was our biggest poll yet, with the community offering up 20 candidates to choose from. Watch out on Monday when the morning’s daily hot topic will launch the search for a Gameweek 5 community champion.
There was more campaigning against homophobia in football this week by the charity Stonewall. It has been urging footballers to show their support for their campaign by wearing rainbow laces. Thanks to the efforts of Tinkerman, our community also showed their support for the campaign by adopting a range of brightly coloured Gravatar images.
Facer chipped in with another of the week’s popular posts – our resident injury expert correctly assessed that Aaron Ramsey would shake off his injury and start.
Diego Costa was, of course, another player to recover from an injury doubt for Gameweek 4 – with devastating effect Pepin pointed out that, with such a high ownership, his hat-trick this weekend presents the season with its first game-changing moment, particularly for those that captained the Chelsea striker. Why is Pardew for Kinnear took this issue further, showcasing how a raft of highly owned, high scoring players, also including Cesc Fabregas, have the potential to ruin the season.
Impressed by QPR Expects Glory’s guide to the UFPL transfer day, 7 Shades of Smoke consulted his abacus to come up with this detailed look at where the smart money should be invested in the game. This will be worth looking back on in January when the transfer window reopens.
Finally, we asked to what extent perception clouds our sense of reality over a player’s potential. Inspired by a raft of posts critical of Danny Welbeck’s goal-scoring ability, despite statistics showing he is one of the Premier League’s most accurate strikers, we asked which other players cause a blind spot. For Goonerbyron, Yaya Toure remains a no-go zone, while for Athletico Timbo, Mario Balotelli is a player he remains reluctant to recruit; the showing against Villa certainly backed his stance.
The Members Tables
My goals imminent table, which seeks to predict potential goal-scorers based on goal attempts so far, claimed a couple of notable victories this weekend after correctly anticipating strikes from Kevin Mirallas and Pelle. Members are urged to keep a close eye on this table during the week to gain an insight into Gameweek 5’s under-the-radar potential high scorers.
Elsewhere in the members area Saintkeratinsins constructed this interesting look at the most attacking midfielders so far this season based on attempts on goal. Goal threat was also a focus for Burdinho in his look at the key performance indicators for forwards, midfielders and defenders.
Shots in the box remains the key criteria for assessing attacking potential for Banana Shaquiri, meanwhile Sk42ers looked at more negative attributes of strikers by delving into indicators such as bad touches and big chances missed.
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 Fantasy Freak dropped in to bring us news of an intriguing new team-based quiz competition he has planned. More details can be found here. Meanwhile, to take part in discussion on another team-based competition, the FFS UEFA group’s Hockey World Cup, please visit their dedicated competition article here.
