The international break has prompted a number of community members to deploy their Wildcards in the hope that new faces can trigger a charge up the rankings.
Our community articles focus on the main issues for those Wildcarders, while our Hot Topic posters offer a wealth of advice for those keen to refresh their squads.
Players who carry a strong aerial threat are the focus of our latest Members’ tables and we finish off with a look at the Fantasy managers currently leading the way in our mini-leagues ahead of Gameweek 12.
The Community Articles
Greenwindmill and Andy launched our latest Rate My Wildcard Team Surgery by revealing their draft plans. In the ensuing discussion, the best budget defenders and preferred quota of premium strikers were among the topics of concern for many.
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 Wildcard chatter also dominated many of our Hot Topics, with Hurricane Gilbert canvassing views on the best differentials to acquire. Sanchez delivered a warning that a strong 15-man squad will be needed to cope with heavy Christmas rotation.
Plenty of you without a Wildcard, or resisting the urge to play it, are still looking to overhaul their squads in preparation for the busy winter period, even if it means spending points. Foley200 asked for your views on how many hits we should be taking across a season.
Among those being ushered out at pace is Spurs’ Christian Eriksen, who has been ditched by more than 58,000 FPL managers this week. Andy85wsm wondered whether the Dane should be retained given his strong upcoming fixtures, including home encounters with West Brom, Stoke City and Brighton and trips to Leicester City and Watford following the derby clash at the Emirates.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is unsurprisingly the top target in midfield, with more than 138,000 FPL managers recruiting him this week following his brace and 15-points against West Ham last time out.
The Egyptian’s growing influence in Fantasy football was among our lessons learned from Gameweek 11 and also for many of those who responded to our rough with the smooth round-up of your latest highs and lows, as well as those flying high in Live Hall of Fame update. As Kun Tozser pointed out, drafting in former Chelsea players such as Salah has proved canny this season, with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne joining the list of ex-Blues on the scoresheet.
Another player who is arguably surplus to requirements, according to Royal5, is Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, who has been dumped by more than 44,000 FPL managers following just a single goal from his last five outings.
There were plenty of community members keen to put forward alternative options, with Hymie delving into headed goal attempt statistics to unearth a number of kindly-priced forwards.
Meanwhile, Pirlo’s Pen believes that Everton’s Oumar Niasse could be a potentially lucrative third striker.
The 4.9-priced Toffee enables a strong focus on midfield, which is an issue Pariße discussed in his look at two-striker formations. Limiting premium priced options up top was also deliberated by Andy85wsm.
Ensuring that your strike force offers compelling captaincy options is a key consideration, with We Will Klopp You urging Fantasy managers to leave the armband on City’s Sergio Aguero, who has attacking returns in all but two of his eight appearances, including a pair of double-digit returns.
Romelu Lukaku is another being considered for the captaincy after the international break, with the Manchester United frontman taking on Newcastle then Brighton at Old Trafford.
Berbinho’s Forehead urges caution due to these promoted sides boasting strong defensive numbers on the road, although the potential return to the Red Devils’ line-up of long-term injury victim Paul Pogba could yet ensure that the Belgian prospers in front of goal, argues Boc610.
When to captain Harry Kane is proving season-defining for many, with the Spurs striker’s blank against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 11 the fourth time he has failed to find the net against “easier” opponents at Wembley Stadium this season.
We considered whether the possession statistics of the teams that Kane is facing could be worth monitoring more closely when considering him for the captaincy again.
Whether Wildcarding or not, many of the community believe their defensive line-ups could do with a spring clean. We asked who was top of your defender watchlist and Half space also canvassed views on the best rearguard options.
West Ham are also ringing the changes, with the Hammers deciding on David Moyes as the successor to the ousted Slaven Bilic. Deano wondered whether the former Everton, Manchester United and Sunderland manager can revive West Ham’s fortunes, while Doosra penned some verse in ode to the departing Croatian.
Finally, AceK1ght has used the break to invite the community to assess how they are faring in terms of their targets for the season and we asked for your views on the best solo performance of all time on the international stage.
To view all our discussions please visit our Hot Topics page.
The Members’ Tables
Ambergmbler has been investigating those who are “due” to find the net among our expected goals statistics, while imax123 has been exploring the best budget midfielders (priced at 5.5 or under) from Gameweek 12 onwards.
Third strikers come under scrutiny in my latest table and Hymie has added two tables to compliment his Hot Topic on headed goal attempts, looking at the players who are the most dangerous in the air and the defences they should prosper against.
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
In TorresMagic’s Last Man Standing competition (44937-13340), Espanyolo and Ria Breeze hit the top score in Gameweek 11 with 84. There are over 2,200 teams left after 174 were eliminated when the safety score was set at 34. Entry is currently open over the break.
Stewart Latham is top of Red Lightning’s Top 10k Any Season league, displacing Elvar Mar Sigurdsson, who remains at the summit of the FFS Members League.
Damir TeNay still leads the main FFS league and is still second in the overall standings, 12 points behind overall leader Joe McFadden.
It’s all change at the top of the FFScout Moderators and Contributors league, where Jack Wain takes over from Uwais Ahmed at the top.
Joga Bonita V is in first place in HeelsoverHead’s R U Smarter than top 10K club, for those who have yet to finish the season with such an illustrious rank.
Meanwhile, it’s tight at the top of QPR Utd’s Frequent Summer Posters League, for the community’s chattiest members over summer – ZoumasBloomers is level on points with FC Lackless, but takes top spot on transfers made.
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.
