It was a good Gameweek for most of our attacking assets, but retribution was swift for anyone who went off-piste with the armband. Those who planned ahead for their Bench Boost were equally punished, and with rigor-mortis setting in on the template, it’s difficult to know where to look next for an edge. I did at least avoid the Nicolas Jackson trap.
In the Fantasy Football Scout Head-to-Head Leagues, still having a Chip to unleash during the run-in could be key in individual match-ups; and a winning streak at this stage might be the difference between promotion and relegation. While that might be the prospect for most of us, I’m back to write about those who have already earned the best spots on the beach.
League One
Adam Ferguson (67) deployed his autosub to secure a Gameweek 36 victory which leaves him needing one more win to secure first place. Alex Tyc (63) and last season’s protagonists, Ignazio La Rosa (63) and Sameer Sohail (61), are the only managers still within range. The rest of the Top 10 will be more concerned about relegation, where the current safety threshold is 55 points.
League Two
Tim Hill (68) saw his lead in Division 1 cut to two points, but he has already done enough to secure promotion to League One. Carl Price (66) and Sakari Uutela, James Wong-You and Stewart Robinson (all 64) currently fill the remaining promotion berths. In Division 2, Dave Dolman (68) backed the wrong City asset this week, but promotion is already in the bag. Stig Hermansen (65) needs one more point to seal the deal, but Simon McNair and Aarush Mittal (both 61) and David Stanton (60) still have work to do.
League Three
Jorge Polo Carraminana (79) and Michael Dabrowski (75 ) have secured their passages from Division 1, leaving Ryan Gallagher and Aviinesh Kumar (both 61), and the 2020/21 H2H Leagues champion Ville Tuominen and Christopher Green (both 58) to battle for the remaining slots. Michael Scott (69) has clinched promotion in Division 2, but Gareth Milla and Amit Tailor (both 67) need one more point, and Al Black (64) and Neil Halmagyi (62) still have to reckon with further sorcery from The Magician (61). It’s happy days for Anoop K (75) and Billy Ketsu (74) in Division 3, and Paul Norris (65) needs one more win to join the party. Louie Kebakowski (61), and Oli O’Mahony and Jamie Cottington (both 58) are vying for the remaining two slots. John McHugh (70) and Nathan C (66) have secured their elevation from Division 4. Harry Vernon (64) only needs a point, but Chris Madely and Greg Wilcox (both 60) still have work to do.
League Four
Terje Balteskard (73), and Imran Hamid and Ishaan Bhatt (both 70) have sealed the deal in Division 1; as have Martin Bubak (73), Simon Smith (67) and Wendy Darlington (66) in Division 2. It’s congratulations to Tim Oldfield (78), Priyansh and Bruce Patterson (both 73), Christopher Betteridge (69) and EasyE ® (62), who have all clinched promotion from Division 3. It’s much tighter in Division 4, where Dom Richards (67) has secured his berth, but Josh Stickland (64), Socrates Olympios (63), Alex Lau (60), Steven North and Mark Pearson (both 59) are still scrapping over four slots. Alex Chennell (71) and Wayne Sturman (69) have daylight over the Division 5 pack; as do Grey Head and Aled Lewis (both 70) and Sam Trafford (68) in Division 6. Big Daddy (69) is the big Daddy in Division 7, but still needs a point to secure promotion, while one more win will do it for Will Evans (67). It’s a procession for Christian Larisch (76) in Division 8, but Peter Cooper (66) and Martin Felton (65) can celebrate with one more victory.
League Five
Matt Cherng and Dylan McCullough (both 72) are now over the line in Division 1; as are Doncho Georgiev and Mattias Rabbia (both 75), and Przemyslaw Rutkowski (64) in Division 2. James Bambridge (70) has sealed the deal in Division 3, and Lance Pridham (64) will join him with one more point. James Cresswell (73) has clinched promotion from Division 4; and Tony Wilkins (78) has hoovered up all the honours in Division 5. Daniel Wilcher (73), Vasanth M (72) and Nigel Hunnisett (71) can celebrate their elevation from Division 6; as can Eugene Heng (74), Steve Church (72), Tristan Maw and George Petrou (both 69) in Division 7. Tin Nguyen (69) is the only manager over the line in Division 8; but both Graham Langley (67) and Shrikant Verma (65) have clinched in Division 9. Sirakhun Kawatkul (69) is the first to secure promotion from Division 10; and Matt Smith (75) joins Moray West (76) in the Division 11 departures lounge. Georgi Georgiev and Dan Byrom (both 65) are over the line in Division 12; as is Andy Spratt (73) in Division 13; and Gavin Sousa (69) in Division 14. Daniel Cleghorn and Pratham Batra (both 67), and Alex Jones and Vasu Shan (both 65) have co-opted four of the promotion slots from Division 15; but nothing is decided yet in Division 16, where Benjamin Arslanagic (68) leads FPL Ted and Matt McLachlan (both 64), with Adam Bell, Luke Yorke and Mike Harrison all a further point adrift.
League Six
Marcus Baptiste (84) is the top scorer in League Six, and his Division 2 competitors, Zaid Mahmood (73) and Magnar Igland (66) will join him on the promotion podium. Colin B (81) continues to set a fast pace in Division 7, and James Pennington (74) has benefited from his slipstream; and Tom Houston (71) has joined Tim Worboys (80) in the Division 16 Departure Lounge. Jonathan Fletcher (78) has moved up the rankings in Division 5, and has secured promotion together with Atang Bingana and DjŠhąhrûkh Šrk (both 73). Alex Tremble (77) has already clinched promotion from Division 1, but is now joined by Tanya Sharma (67) and Rishaad Khan (66), who is enjoying an impressive season. The South African manager is currently ranked 8th in the world and second in the Fantasy Football Scout open league.
In Division 9, Fritz Zangenberg joins Thomas Morris (76) on the podium; Ken Davies (76) has Daniel K (69), Hiten Shah and Todd Hellman (both 67) for company in Division 14; but Jamie Gamble (76) is out on his own in Division 24.
Sean Killick (75) is leading the way in Division 17; but Nenad Bozic (75) is joined by Abraham de Villiers (70) and Matt Lawrence (69) in Division 22. Marcus Hamrin (Division 8) and Ben Reeves (Division 12) (both 74) have company from Ivo Georgiev (68) and Abheek Chatterjee (66) respectively, but Josef Rusiecki (74) is the only manager with an exit visa from Division 15. Of the managers on 73 points, Rohit Mateti (Division 29) is joined on the Podium by Josh Bembridge (69) and Matthew Howe (63); however, Dušan Ušjak (Division 30) and Tom Clark (Division 31) are the only clinchers in their respective leagues. Jervis Sheil (72) is the only manager from Division 11 who can plan for life in League Five; but Tom Kelly (72) is joined on the Podium by Michiel Eykens (69); and Joseph Fitzgerald (72) has Jake Thorne (67) for company in Division 32. Arup Mandal (65) will be joining Paul Reilly (71) on the ascent from Division 10; Alex Baresi (70) is out on his own in Division 4; but Mrinal Mohit (70) has Neil Allison (69) on his shoulder in Division 23.
Of the five Division leaders on 69 points, Bart∤omiej Ostrzechowski is joined on the Podium by David Parker and Vladan Mandic (both 67) in Division 20; Joseph Skelley has Ade Harris (68) for company on the Division 21 Podium; Jon Xanthos (Division 25) and Gary Hughes (Division 26) are out on their own; while Ken Davies still needs a point to secure promotion from Division 28. There are three further promotion clinchers on 68 points: Linda Parkes (Division 3); Chris ‘League Admin’ Doran (Division 13); and Matthew Goh (Division 18). Lukas Dirzys and James Van Roose (both 64) are joint leaders in Division 27, but still need one more point to secure promotion. Michael Dodd and David Sneddon (both 63) are also joint leaders in Division 19, but they still have work to do to clinch promotion.
League Seven
The over-performers in League Seven have long since booked their passages to the next level. Uppermost is Mark Cahill (88), who continues to tear it up in Division 9; and Sachin Surapeneni (82) is also self-distancing from his Division 46 competition. Simon Linford (82) is being pushed all the way by Stephen Brogan (79) in Division 35, but both have gotten the main job done. Uday Das (Division 28) and Øyvind Emblem (Division 53) (both 81) have also breached the 80-point barrier.
Marcus Bexell (Division 10) and Melvin Tromö (Division 56) (both 79) have won three in a row since the last update to secure promotion berths; and Harry Tennant (78) has been equally impressive in Division 29. Ski House is carving through the field in Division 11; as is @elevenify in Division 42, Ben Watts in Division 44 and Oleksiy Pawlowsky in Division 54 (all 78). The standard has been universally high in Division 15, where James Harrison (77), Lovro Hamer (76), Ankit Chitnis (73) and Bill Halet (72) have all clinched promotion. Andy Green (77) and Paul Kaye (74) have similarly impressed in Division 59. Garry Murray (76) and Johnny Nguyen (75) have secured their slots in Division 31; as has Sean Elvidge (76) in Division 47.
League Eight
Danny Messer retains his position as the top scorer across all nine H2H Leagues with his 94-point haul in Division 33, but is being pressed by Aaron Houston (93), who continues to devour the competition in Division 19. Mykhailo Granik (Division 40) and Ernesto Busche (Division 127) have impressive 88-point hauls; Cal Stoffel (87) is out on his own in Division 41; and Thanasis Kritharellis (Division 2) and Michael Silva (Division 23) have both notched 85 points, although the latter is still being chased by Phillip Smith (81). The Top 10 is completed by Christopher Dunlop (Division 51) and Jonathan Pacey (Division 60) (both 84), and James Cain (83) in Division 34.
There are seven managers on 82 points: Samuel Chong (Division 11), Jørgen Grønneberg (Division 20), Shakeen Shetty (Division 49), Dan ©The FPLWay (Division 61), Matt Thompson (Division 64), Elliot Pearce (Division 100) and Abdellah Boukhaifa (Division 104). A further 10 managers have exceeded 80 points: Kareem Kahil and Gavin Cochrane (both Division 8), Marco ‘Pep’ Purves (Division 13), Issam A (Division 44), Keelan Jaram-Patel (Division 48), Helge Martens (Division 108), Johannes Åker∅y (Division 110), Nguyên Ðύc Viêt (Division 114), David Cosgrove and Jon Arnason (both Division 119).
League Nine
With three successive victories, Andrew Calverley (Division 30) takes over as the highest scorer in League Nine with 90 points, but Steffan Caines (Division 13) is only one point adrift, and Victor Oh (Division 65), Sean Edwards (Division 89) and John Erik Torsteinsen (Division 211) are all tied on 88 points. There are a further nine managers on 87 points: Graeme McCarthy (Division 6), Brandon Witton (Division 38), Mohammed Matin Sororian (Division 83), Mohammed Maki (Division 115), Alex Babut (Division 124), who has Scotty Boy (85) in close pursuit, Pierce Barwick (Division 161), Benedikt Bjarnason (Division 174), Edward Young (Division 220) and Mohammed Seif Allah Slimani (Division 225). A further eight managers have reached 85 points: Ray Lund (Division 8), David Allen (Division 41), Femi Ogunfowodu (Division 99), Jonathan Swarbrick (Division 112), Ellie TMGB (Division 117), Connor Jackson (Division 128), Shafin Shoaib (Division 188) and Pranjal Bhawal (Division 222).
Top 100 Hall of Fame Managers
I am continuing to follow the progress of six managers who are ranked in the Hall of Fame Top 100 as they seek to climb the H2H League ladder. Five of them are competing in League Seven and, as already reported, Garry Murray (76) is over the line in Division 31, and is well placed to hold onto the top spot. Colin Innes (64) has climbed to fourth in Division 38, and needs one more victory to clinch promotion; while in Division 30, Pete Richards (61) is tied for fifth, but is currently falling short on tie-break. With a run of three defeats, Stephen Browner (57) has dropped out of the Top Five in Division 4; and Ómar Olgeirsson (52) is battling relegation in Division 12. Turning to League Eight, Widi Susanto (63) remains four points shy of the promotion berths in Division 123.
That’s all from me for another season, but you can keep track of developments via RedLightning’s excellent weekly round-up of community competitions, or get into the details via MIR’s Head-to-Head Leagues page.
I’m off to check on Jonny Evans’ fitness for the weekend. Stay safe.
