A frantic festive schedule has left many in the Fantasy Football Scout community in need of a break and the chance to take stock of their squads.
Moving funds out of midfield to pay for the plethora of premium defenders is among the issues considered, while there are also some contentious debates around assists and the dumping of this season’s runaway Fantasy star.
Our community writers are inviting Fantasy managers to test out their playing skills on the pitch, and our Members’ area statisticians have been analysing attacking defenders and the most resolute goalkeepers.
We end this week’s round-up with a look at how the congested fixture list affected the top spots in our community leagues.
The Community Articles
My Pretty Pony is inviting the community to snap back to reality and put their own footballing skills to the test at the inaugural Fantasy Football Scout charity football event in London next month. The fundraiser is being staged in memory of FFScout regular Simon Humber (Absinthe), who passed away following a battle with ocular melanoma in 2015.
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
With four Gameweeks taking place over the festive period, Zoumas Bloomers is among those to welcome the chance to catch a breath during this weekend’s FA Cup.
The final fixture in this run, featuring double fixtures for Spurs and West Ham, proved taxing according to our “Rough with the Smooth” round-up of your recent scores. This was particularly the case for those who trusted the Triple Captain chip on Spurs striker Harry Kane, who was benched against Swansea through illness, only to blank in Thursday night’s Wembley clash with West Ham.
Numb dropped by with some words of comfort to those who wasted their chip on the erratic striker, while Kings of Lyon has been attempting to work out why Kane seems to struggle so frequently against ‘easy’ opposition at Wembley.
Double Gameweek 22 also saw a flurry of Free Hit chips deployed, but Pierce34 believes they may have been better used for upcoming blank fixtures caused by FA Cup commitments. Meanwhile, Sanchez took a look at how many points FPL’s chips should realistically bring in, and Tamagotchi Massacre has been examining the best time to use another potentially lucrative chip, the second Wildcard.
The pause in proceedings also gives the community an opportunity to ponder some long-term changes. This includes tapping into the emerging source of strong value midfielders, such as Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard, according to our Hot Topic on Gameweek 23’s key issues.
West Ham’s Marko Arnautovic, who is still in less than one in ten FPL sides, is another value middle man being considered, particularly in our discussion on top differentials for 2018. After missing his side’s 1-1 draw with Spurs through injury, those coveting the Austrian are advised to keep a close eye on team news updates from the Hammers’ camp.
Defence is likely to be the destination of the funds liberated by those midfield bargains, with our discussion on latest trends at the back looking at how the strong form of expensive rearguard stars has coincided with a lack of convincing budget options in this area of the pitch.
Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso is unquestionably the most wanted defender heading into 2018, after he scored his sixth goal of the season against Arsenal this week ahead of a kind run of fixtures (LEI bha BOU wat WBA).
Manchester City’s John Stones (5.4) is another player under scrutiny. He made a midweek return from an injury lay-off to tempt owners of his more expensive centre-back partner Nicolas Otamendi into a money-saving swap. Ludo dropped by to compare the prospects of these two Sky Blues assets, with a special focus on their goal threat.
But as Samaael points out, rather than focusing on defence any spare change may be better spent on attack, with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero now seemingly rotation-free due to a long-term knee injury to his team-mate Gabriel Jesus.
Jigger and Pony is another interested in the Argentine and canvassed the community on the best way to accommodate his 11.7 price tag.
Aside from his 13 goals and four assists, another factor in the community’s interest in Aguero is the lack of reliable forwards. Mkhi Magic is among those who hope that Everton’s new striker Cenk Tosun, who is set to sign from Besiktas, may provide a strong option up front at a fraction of the cost.
Among the most controversial posts this week was 30DaysOfHa(C)ard’s assertion that FPL’s highest scoring player Mohamed Salah may be surplus to requirements during the second half of the season. Already around half a million FPL managers have ditched the Liverpool winger, who is currently nursing a groin injury. However, according to this lively discussion, the jury is still out as to whether he can be safely swerved after an outstanding opening 22 Gameweeks.
Another contentious issue tackled by the community was whether one of Kevin De Bruyne’s two assists should have been awarded in their home victory over Watford this week. Gunner2727’s suggestions on how FPL could alter its rules around such debatable awards attracted more than 100 comments.
To view all our discussions please visit our Hot Topics page.
The Members Tables
For those on the look out for a new goalkeeper, Matty_Floyd has been taking a look at those most likely to deliver save points.
Unsurprisingly, Alonso dominates my attacking defenders table, which also features a raft of other rampaging full-backs as well as attack-minded centre-backs.
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
Elvarus has increased his lead in Red Lightning’s Top 10K Any Season league, but has lost top spot in the FFS Members league to Heroes and Villians, who has rocketed to 37th in the overall standings.
Ian Manion is the new leader of the FFS League and is in 17th position overall, but he has now played all his chips except for his second Wildcard.
With a Gameweek 22 score of 87, Stefan Stamenic is the early leader of Red Lightning’s January to May league. Mei You Shagua is hot on his heels with the same score, but has had to settle for second place after making more transfers.
Az continues to dominate the FFScout Moderators and Contributors league, with Jack Wain moving up to second.
In QPRUtd’s Frequent Summer Posters League, ZoumasBloomers is another league-leader proving difficult to unseat as I continue to chase him in second, while QPRUtd remains in third.
In TorresMagic’s Last Man Standing, the safety score was 42, which saw 102 players depart and 783 remain. Entry is currently open, with more details on how to join available here.
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.
