The search for value took centre stage this week as the community looked back on 2017/18’s best buys and ahead to next term’s potential bargains.
Our community writers focus on how the shopping habits of elite managers affected their campaign, together with a look at how strikers have declined as Fantasy assets.
Financial matters spilt out into our Hot Topic posts, where newly promoted budget gems and the return on investment of transfer hits were among the issues discussed.
Our latest round-up also reveals a raft of new recruits to our moderation team, and we even find time to go misty-eyed for the glory days of the FA Cup, with a look back at some of the competition’s greatest finals.
The Community Articles
Our community scribes’ analysis of 2017/18 continued into this week with WesManTooth’s excellent feature on the best value players.
Elsewhere, TopMarx dropped by with his end-of-season review on how the top five in the previous season’s Career Hall of Fame fared last time around. Part one focuses on a season of contrasting halves for two of this elite group, while part two concentrates on their player selections.
Top targets are also the subjecg of Mr Klin of Norway’s preview of the next set of fixtures in Norwegian top flight game Fantasy Eliteserien, and Niemi‘s follow up discussion on the best captaincy and transfer choices.
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
One of the key findings to emerge from WesManTooth’s analysis was the poor value strikers offered last season. This prompted us to ask whether the popular 3-4-3 formation may be doomed and if Fantasy managers are best served by focusing on fielding more defenders and midfielders.
Jacky Boy added to the discussion with his Hot Topic on whether premium goalkeepers are worth the outlay.
But those interested in Aston Villa’s John Terry as a defensive gem, should the midlands side gain promotion, may want to swerve him for fixtures against Chelsea. As Berbinho’s Forehead points out there are strong rumours that the former Blues captain will be able to excuse himself for clashes against his ex-employers.
Chelsea got a further mention from Deulofail in his look at the value of two of their players, Marcos Alonso and Willian, to see who offered the best returns for their initial £7.0m price tag.
But neither of those players earned a mention in PVA‘s discussion on next season’s top scoring Fantasy asset, with Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang an early favourite according to those active in the chat.
The immediate return on investment involved from transfer hits was the focus of Triggerlips’ latest Hot Topic, as he looks to assess whether an aggressive approach in the market can reap the rewards.
Among the best value players was West Ham midfielder Marko Arnautovic, who produced 11 goals and seven assists. A price hike on his modest starting valuation of £7.0m looks inevitable. But he could be worth it given that the Hammers have recruited former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini, according to Big P’s discussion on the Chilean’s potential impact at the London Stadium.
Arsenal are another London side with a new manager after Unai Emery was appointed this week. Geoff dropped by to assess the former Paris Saint Germain boss’s priorities.
The promoted sides, Cardiff, Wolverhampton and one of this weekend’s play-off finalists Aston Villa or Fulham, look set to deliver a raft of potential budget gems next season. With this in mind TheRumour Mill sparked an interesting discussion on how well Championship form translates to the top flight.
Elsewhere, this week we looked beyond the Fantasy Premier League to find out what other Fantasy formats the community plays and which they most enjoy. We also looked at broader footballing matters when we asked the community for their favourite FA Cup final memories.
Finally, Geoff, who from next week will be taking over the community round up, welcomed G-Whizz and Gregor, as well as Legomane and Rainy to his growing team of moderators.
To view all our discussions please visit our Hot Topics page.
Also, if you are running a community tournament around the World Cup 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 geoff@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.
