The impending double Gameweek 22 for Spurs and West Ham dominated much of the community discussion this week.
But with the third of four festive fixtures getting underway before that, our community writers and Hot Topic posters also find time to address more pressing concerns, including further analysis of the “KanExit” scenario.
Elsewhere, the concept of “effective ownership” was explored, while Eden Hazard’s ability to transfer his eye-catching performances into Fantasy points also came under scrutiny.
We look back on those chats, while dropping in on the work carried out by our members’ area number-crunchers who offer further insight into the optimum Spurs and Hammers assets to consider.
As ever, we complete our round-up with a look at those who have made the most of December’s busy schedule to claim top honours in our community competitions.
The Community Articles
The ‘crowd’ being tracked by Hutch_James are predicting strong attacking returns for Chelsea, Liverpool and both Manchester sides in a high scoring Gameweek 21, which may only see two clean sheets.
Meanwhile, Top Marx is back with another excellent breakdown of the progress of our Hall of Fame’s top five managers. This includes the latest appraisal of the ill-fated KanExit strategy. However, there’s better news for Jay Eggersdorf as the article also reveals some key analysis of his immediate rivals for the FPL crown.
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
Mohamed Salah’s ownership is becoming something of a problem, with the Liverpool winger sitting in almost all the top 10,000 Fantasy Premier League managers teams (96%) and six out of ten of all squads.
Our lessons learned from Gameweek 20 Hot Topic discusses why simply owning him is no longer enough to ensure his points bring a green arrow, while ChelseaGuy dropped by later in the week to explain more about effective ownership and why it can ruin the enjoyment of fielding popular players.
Another key issue gleaned from Gameweek 20 is that Eden Hazard is increasingly struggling to justify his 10.8m price tag. Gameweek 20’s blank means that he’s now failed to deliver an attacking return in four of his last five run-outs. But Irbox urges those thinking of showing the Chelsea midfielder the door, ahead of his home clash with Stoke, to think again.
KanExit proved to be a disaster for those brave enough to admit in our “rough with the smooth” round-up that they had ditched the Spurs striker. To add to their discomfort, Ludo was on hand to reveal Kane’s most eye-catching numbers over the year so far.
Kane had looked to be an essential pick for Gameweek 22, however, Mauricio Pochettino threw Fantasy managers a curveball on Friday by revealing that his striker is a potential doubt for Tuesday’s trip to Swansea as he is battling illness. We asked the community how this revelation had altered their double Gameweek plans and also canvassed opinion on the best Spurs midfielders to consider.
Looking further ahead, Bolivian Seaman sought views on which players they’d like to see find a new team, either permanently or on loan, when the January transfer window opens. Loan moves for Liverpool’s frequently benched squad players, such as Danny Ings, were among the dream trades discussed.
To view all our discussions please visit our Hot Topics page.
The Members Tables
Spurs and West Ham’s Double Gameweek 22 has been keeping our Members areas statisticians busy with FPL Virgin looking at Tottenham’s best goal scoring prospects, while I’ve been examining the Hammers’ key players.
Elsewhere, attacking defenders priced below 5.0 are the focus of Djdrewery’s latest table and Sucram has been looking at the latest expected goal involvement (xGI) statistics.
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
While Damir TeNay still leads our main Fantasy Football Scout League, the one time top player in the overall standings has now dropped to sixth in the world.
Elswhere, QPR Utd retains second spot in his Frequent Summer Posters competition, but has closed the gap on long time leader ZoumasBloomers to just four points.
I face a more daunting task in moving from second spot to first in the FFScout Moderators and Contributors league, where Az has extended his lead at the top to 24 points with an impressive 105 point haul in Gameweek 20.
There’s also no change at the top of Red Lightning’s Top 10K Any Season league, which Elvarus, who is the new leader of the FFS Members league, continues to dominate.
Also, a reminder that Red Lightning’s January to May League (757-419) will start scoring in Gameweek 22 and has already attracted 250 teams.
In Torres Magic’s Last Man Standing competition 102 managers departed in Gameweek 20 after the safety score was set at 68.
Finally, Speeedyboyz dropped by to reveal the latest developments in the Community Watch tournament.
If you are running a community tournament and would like the latest scores included in future Community Round-ups, please email us summary of the current leaders and a link to your league, spreadsheet or head to head competition, at jonty@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.
