It’s been Murphy’s law since the last update, and for those that ignored him during a vortex of double Gameweeks and chips, nourishment has been in short supply. The usual suspects underperformed; no one saw the KDB reboot coming, and now we have to worry about the tariff on his future minutes; and how many of our doublers will turn up when we need them. Looking on the bright side, the introduction of semi-automated disallowed goals should give us 31 seconds of our lives back.
The extra time could be important for Fantasy Football Scout Head-to-Head League managers as they apply the finishing touches to chip strategies and seek to second-guess Champions League and FA Cup rotation perils. Those getting it right will score big in the week’s ahead and, with the front-runners now starting to secure promotion berths, I’ll be on hand to make sure they get the credit. As always, this round-up supplements Red Lightning’s weekly updates on this and many other FFS community tournaments.
LEAGUE ONE
Liam McAllister (62) has extended his lead in League 1, but Alex Merchant and Alex Tyc (both 57), and James Wong-You (55) are still in contention.
LEAGUE TWO
Michał Dąbrowski (58) maintains a narrow lead over Michael Scott and Ville Tuominen (both 57) in Division 1, with Chris Madeley (56 and Anoop K (52) completing the Top Five. Craig Johnson (67) has consolidated his lead in Division 2, with Neil Methold (63) leading the chasing pack, and John McHugh (59), Richard Clarke (55) and Aviinesh Kumar (54) completing the podium places.
LEAGUE THREE
Terje Balteskard and EasyE ® (both 63) continue to rule together in Division 1, with Peter Tind (59) still the nearest challenger. Martin Buback (60) has come through the ranks in Division 2,with Mat Gilbert (58) dropping to joint-second alongside Andrew Blackwell. In Division 3, Carlene M’s lead over Magnar Nordtun (66) has been cut to three points; while in Division 4, Wendy Darlington (61) has taken over at the top, but will need to keep an eye out for Taymur Reza Hossain, Timo Laukkanen and Tim Ward (all 60).
LEAGUE FOUR
Richard Slaven (69) has a six-point margin over Andrew White in Division 1, and needs one more victory to secure promotion. Stuart Blakely (78) is already over the line in Division 2, and with a 13-point chasm over Alex Jones, his next victory will clinch the league title. Filip Suchta (63) is now being pursued by Andrew Garland and Gavin Souse (both 60) in Division 3; and Tom Nickalls (64) has a five-point advantage over Simon Rothwell in Division 4. Benjamin Arslangic (68) is eight points clear of the field in Division 5, and his next victory will secure promotion to League Three; and the same applies for William Elliot (69) in Division 6. It’s tighter in Division 7, where Hans Friedl and Robert Turner (both 63) are the joint-leaders; and in Division 8, where Alex Lau (66) has a two-point margin over Neil Clusker.
LEAGUE FIVE
Avishek Ganguly (63) heads a condensed field in Division 1; and David O’Flaherty (60) has leapfrogged Nick Palmer (58) in Division 2. Steven Schelk (67) is continuing to ward off Tom Houston (66) in Division 3; but Stephen Brady (63) is the new Governor in Division 4. Marin Vuletic (57) retains top spot in Division 5, but there are five managers within three points; whereas Bukola Atanda (64) only has Jamie Fitzgerald (63) for close company in Division 6. Cian McKenna (63) also has Danny Schifflers (61) on his shoulder in Division 7; and there’s nothing to separate Daniel Schallmayer and Budhi Nugraha (both 63) in Division 8. Jason Choi (66) has edged ahead of Stephen Burge (63) in Division 9; and Bilal Shaikh (63) is still a step ahead of Speedy (61) in Division 10. Manickam P (67) leads Peter Allaway by a point in Division 11; and Darragh Copley (66) is two points clear of Kunal Basu in Division 12. Jan-Erik Carlsen (60) maintains a four-point margin over James Pennington and David Lopez in Division 13; however, Ronin Rajan (66) has moved six points clear of Pavle Ziman in Division 14; as has Laszlo Nyiri (63) over Tom K in Division 15. Craig Ekedahl (73) is 11 points clear of the field in Division 16, and has already clinched promotion to League Four.
LEAGUE SIX
The top scorers in League Six are André Mærli (Division 8) and Andy Whiteley (Division 16) (both 76), and both can look forward to life in League Five next season. James Williams (74) has also clinched promotion from Division 22; as have Alberto Mangiantini (Division 11) and Sebastian Cornejo (Division 32) (both 73), Chris Hayes (Division 20) (72) and Whitney Baxter (Division 9) (71). There are four managers on 70 points who will secure promotion with one more win: Wojciech Lo∤akowski (Division 4), Richard Phillips (Division 10), Oliver Lanneberg (Division 18) and Turtle Bear (Division 19). Nigel Bolton (69) will escape Division 26 with one more victory; as will Philly Blacket (Division 2), Henrik Hammen (Division 15), Arnór Sindri Sölvason (Division 31) (all 68) and Jamie Luland (67) (Division 12).
Of the managers with more work to do, Kasper Keller (Division 13) and Tyrone Jacobs (Division 25) (both 67) lead their Divisions by eight and six points respectively. Four managers are leading their Division on 66 points: John Lloyd (Division 6), Dan Burge (Division 14), Jahn Oscar Staff (Division 17) and Henrik Palm Strand (Division 21). Jeff Oodian (64) has a four-point margin in Division 29; as does Rhys Morgan (63) in Division 28. Of the managers on 62 points: Tavish Bhagat has a four-point advantage in Division 23; Jamie Fraser leads by three points in Division 3; and it’s a two-point edge for Nigel Hadley in Division 30. Jorge Marques (60) has a one-point advantage in Division 7, and the same score provides a three-point margin for Darren Teague in Division 27. B B (59) is still aceing it in Division 1, but only by a point, and the same applies for Aaron Coleman in Division 6, and Colin Innes in Division 24.
LEAGUE SEVEN
Chris Lord (73) has stepped off the gas since the last update, but still has a healthy lead over the opposition in Division 47, and one more point will secure promotion. Sunny H joins him on 73 points, and is also on the brink of promotion from Division 4, as is Mark Foley (73) from Division 37; however, Md Amaan ur Rahman (72) has already booked his elevation from Division 11.
Of the four managers on 71 points, Ben Gould has already stamped his exit visa from Division 15; Colin Catt needs just one point to secure his passage from Division 41; and it won’t be long before Dean Verma (Divivision 54) and Chris Sparrow (Division 63) join them in the departure lounge. A further five managers are leading their Divisions on 70 points: Alex Galbraith has already clinched promotion from Divsion 24; Len Håvar Thomassen (Division 32) needs one more point; and it’s only a matter of time for RAJ Kashyap (Division 31), Alex Masters (Division 36) and Max Norton (Division 58).
LEAGUE EIGHT
Jamie Record (81) continues to set the standard in League Eight. Promotion was clinched some time ago, and he leads his nearest challenger in Division 90 by 15 points. Filip Johansson Bahar and A Kwok (both both 78) are also maintaining a fast pace, and have secured promotion from Divisions 12 and 128 respectively. Ian Roberts and W F Smith (both 75) have secured their passages from Divisions 8 and 102, but Vinait Thorat (also 75) needs one more victory to see off the opposition in Division 74. Nishant Bhide (Division 43) and Romeu Fernandes Junior (Divison 120) (both 74) have also booked their elevation to League Seven.
Of the five managers leading their Divisions on 73 points: Mike Shires (Division 32), Mohsin Rizvi (Division 42), Joel Brand (Division 66), Habtu (Division 75) have all clinched promotion; however, Thomas K (Division 99) needs one more win to join them. A further four Division-leading managers are on 72 points: Ben Tomes (Division 4) and Dougie Forbes (Division 11) have already secured promotion to League Seven; Peter Willis (Divisions 41) needs one more victory; and that might also do the trick for Kamil Pometlo (Division 124).
LEAGUES NINE AND 10
With 82 points from a maximum of 96, Jackson Coker is still the top scorer across all H2H leagues, and has long since confirmed his promotion from Division 104; however, he has been joined at the top by Emmanuel Fatoyinbo, who has made short work of the competition in Division 196. Virinder Gupta (Division 28) and K Y (Division 243) (both 81) can also start planning for life in League Eight; as can Rowan Smith (79) from Division 197. Mandar Karandikar (League 10, Division 2) is also on 79 points, and needs one more point to secure promotion; however, based on the current structure, that would be to League Nine.
Of the managers on 78 points: Amr Thabet (Division 57), Edomyas Solomon (Division 182); Toon Heylen (Division 187); and Mo Elmelegy (Division 254) have all clinched promotion, as has Adam Harriot (77) from Division 38. A further seven managers are leading their respective Divisions on 76 points: Bob Windmill (Division 18), Budiono Sirear (Division 21), Keith Emilson (Division 103), Roar Andreassen (Division 134), Matthew Grant (Division 205) and Vukadin Veljković (Division 223) have all secured promotion, but Dan Hardy (Division 172) still has work to do.
TOP 100 HALL OF FAME
I am continuing to monitor the progress of our elite FPL managers as they seek to rise through the FFS H2H League ranks, and this is traditionally the part of the season where astute strategic planning can provide an edge. @elevenify (53 points) has been in the top five in League 6, Division 6, from the outset, but has slipped to fourth following a fallow run. He has fellow Top 100 Hall of Fame manager, Dan Furneaux (52) for competition, but Dan has dropped to seventh after back-to-back defeats. Colin Innes (58) has risen to first in League 6, Division 24; and James Harrison (60) stands second in League 6, Division 26. Two wins out of four leaves Tod Modisette (49) outside the promotion berths in League 7, Division 34; but for Ómar Olgeirsson (45) (12th place in League 7, Division 47), and Timo Riekko (39) (17th place in League 6, Division 5), the battle is to avoid relegation.
BEAT THE SCOUTS
I’ve also been keeping an eye on the Scouts. Torres Magic (51) is still in the mix for promotion to League One, but he’ll need to find another gear in League 2, Division 2. Greyhead (47) has won three in a row in League 3, Division 1, which gets him back to midtable, and Neale Rigg (46) will need a similar run to avoid the cut in League 3, Division 2. Sam Bonfield (55) has been around the promotion slots in League 4, Division 1 all season, and currently sits in fourth; as does Rainy ~ (52) in League 7, Division 2. With one win in four, Red Lightning (51) needs a spark in League 6, Division 8; as does G Whizz (46) who is off the pace in League 8, Division 44. Hibbo (58) is still in line to add promotion from League 9, Division 225 to his SKLW tournament honours; but top billing once again goes to Marc Jobling (69), who retains top spot in League 9, Division 189.
I’ll be back after Gameweek 35 to hand out even more garlands, and moan about my bench boost, but In the meantime, you can keep track of your performance, and plot the demise of your opponents, via MIR’s Head-to-Head Leagues page.
I’m off to hire a good Spin Doctor. Stay safe.
