Gameweek 30 was reduced to only five games due to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals and as we expected the veterans took advantage. While many managers overall and in the top 10,000 struggled to field eleven players, our veterans were well prepared, with the majority only needing one transfer to ensure they had a full compliment. This bunch of Fantasy management stalwarts, who are made up of previous winners, FFScout moderators and contributors and those riding high in the Hall of Fame, also continued their investment in Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane. After Gameweek 30 both have 100% ownership among the veterans.
TRANSFERS
After averaging 1.47 transfer per team last week, the veterans were less active in Gameweek 30, averaging 1.03 transfers.
Transfers by positions (% of all transfers in bracket)
– Goalkeepers: (8.57%)
– Defenders: (34.29%)
– Midfielders: (51.43%)
– Forwards: (5.71%)
Veterans were mostly focused on midfielders. All three most popular strikers (Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy) didn’t have a blank, so only 5.71% of veterans changed their strikers.
Transfers In:
– Gylfi Sigurdsson (SWA): 20.59%
– David Silva (MCI): 14.71%
– Marko Arnautović (STO): 11.76%
Gylfi Sigurdsson continued his outstanding form with another well-taken strike, Marko Arnautovic scored his third goal in four outings, while David Silva’s new owners came away without reward.
Transfers Out:
– Yaya Toure (MCI): 29.41%
– Mesut Ozil (ARS): 11.76%
– Dimitri Payet (WHU): 11.76%
All three players above didn’t play in Gameweek 30.
CAPTAINS
– Sergio Aguero (MCI): 82.35%
– Harry Kane (TOT): 14.71%
Sergio Aguero drew his eleventh blank of the campaign, his eighth away from the Etihad and disappointed the more than 80% of veterans who gave him the armband. Second most popular captain pick in Gameweek 30 Harry Kane scored his second brace in last seven matches. It is most likely that he will be the most popular captain choice in Gameweek 31, especially as in Spurs’ previous game against Bournemouth he scored his only hat-trick this season.
MOST POPULAR PLAYERS
(Top starting players)
* stats for top 10,000 teams and overall can be found here.
For managers overall, three out of five of their top starting midfielders didn’t even have a game in Gameweek 30, underlining both a lack of planning and that, according to fpldiscovery, 53% teams overall are ghost ships.
OVERALL RANKINGS
After Gameweek 29, the average overall position of all 34 veteran teams was 76,672, but now, their overall position is 57,251 – 19,421 places better than last week. This means that the bulk of the veterans (88.24%) gained a green arrow in Gameweek 30. In addition, the veterans’ average Gameweek 30 score was 64.38 points. This compares exceptionally well against the average score overall (36.20 points) and is also better than the top 10,000 managers’ average (54.70 points). This was another great week for the veterans that shows how long-term planning and managing the blanks and double Gameweeks will be key to their ascent.

