We’re delighted to announce that Fantasy Football Scout are once again supporting Dugout FC ahead of the new season.
Not only have we reset our league from last year, due to the demand (we still have 69 divisions of active players), we’ve also created a brand new Fantasy Football Scout North league in preparation for the upcoming campaign.
If you missed the opportunity to get involved a year ago, we urge you to read on and see what all the fuss is about.
What is it?
Dugout FC and other draft-based Fantasy games take us back to our Fantasy Football roots; rolling back the years to a time when we played with a team consisting of unique players, dear to our hearts, over the course of the season.
If you fondly remember games where nobody but you could own Premier League goal machines such as Alan Shearer or Thierry Henry, then Dugout FC should provide you with some fuzzy warm nostalgia.
Having said that, the game is very much up to date, with all manner of technology in play: online matchday hubs for real-time updates and live chat; IOS and Android mobile apps; an Opta stats-based scoring model and the ability to run your draft night and conduct transfers in-game are all catered for.
You’ve got the option to go full old-school and gather a bunch of mates in a pub to take part in the all-important draft in your private league, although the mobile app essentially means you have the whole game in your pocket on the go.
You can log in to the virtual “draft room” and bid against friends or complete strangers by joining a public league. There’s even an option to draw up a shortlist of desired players to take care of your draft, in case you miss out on the night.
You can also set up games to run over the course of the season, or just for a month or week.
Why Should I Play?
First of all, it’s free to play. With that in mind, we really have been struggling to find a catch.
The appeal of draft games cannot be understated. There really is nothing quite like the drama and twists produced on draft night.
The plotting, the intrigue, the tactics, the highs of bagging your star pick and the lows of having to dip into the bin of rejects to complete your squad – it’s fair to say it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with Fantasy Football all those years ago.
Dugout FC takes the faff out of all the draft logistics, whilst claiming to have a unique Opta-based scoring system, taking over 2,000 events of every match into account, which they reckon is one of the best around.
Once the draft is complete, you’ll compete in a league of ten on a head-to-head basis – with three points for a win and one for a draw.
Each league can have multiple divisions and Dugout FC even takes care of the promotion and relegation up and down the ladder at the end of every season.
Your squad will consist of 18 players following the draft, although you can swap out assets to pick up free agents from the player pool at any time. You can also enter into negotiations for swap deals with other managers in your division – it’s all taken care of within Dugout FC’s tech.
The game takes this further by generating stories of transfer speculation on behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing in your division.
How Do I Start?
By registering here: https://www.dugoutfc.com.
As mentioned, it’s free to join.
You’ll then need to decide whether to join a league or set up your own. You can create leagues that run for the season, the month, or just for a week.
If you’ve got an odd number of players wanting to join, Dugout FC will provide a Caretaker Manager to play against one person each week for the three points. The Caretaker Manager scores the average of all other teams in the division for that week.
Once that’s sorted, arranging a time for your draft date is the main priority.
Bear in mind that, with the new app, you can log in to the draft night whilst on the go.
As we mentioned, we now have a Fantasy Football Scout South League with 69 divisions and a new North League, just waiting for you to enter your teams and be allocated into a division.
You can join the new Fantasy Football Scout League via this link.
It’s first come, first served, so the earlier you get involved, the higher the division of our new league you’ll be placed in.
Our default auction date for each division is currently Friday, August 5, at 8pm UK time. Don’t forget you can use the app to get involved.
We will be running our own draft at that time over in the top division of the Fantasy Football Scout South – a league made up of myself, Jonty, Granville and other staff members – and we may even launch a live Google Hangout for the occasion.
For more information about Dugout FC, visit their FAQ.
We’ll be following this article up with a more in-depth scan of Dugout FC’s scoring system and auction night strategies next week.
7 years, 10 months agoHere's what I don't understand about friendlies....
70% of the minutes go to players that will only make a handful of match day squads at best.
What's the point in sharpening the fitness of players you'll hardly use anyway?