We might be in the home straight but the key outcomes are already behind us. The champions have been crowned, the weak have been dispatched, and the only unresolved issues are allocation of European visas and who gets to fly first class. We also managed to lose a Double Gameweek somewhere along the way, so flat-track bullying and dodging rotation are the only sports left for thrill seekers. And apart from Trent, there’s always next season.
The beach will also be beckoning for the many Fantasy Football Scout Head-to-Head League managers that have already already updated their status, but some of us still have work to do, and this is my final chance to shine a light on the bloodletting. As usual, this update complements the excellent weekly reports provided by Red Lightning.
LEAGUE ONE
Liam McAllister (64) still leads, but his advantage over Alex Tyc has been cut to a single point. Alex Merchant (60) is still in contention but Adam Ferguson and Dave Dolman (both 59) probably have too much ground to make up.
LEAGUE TWO
Michał Dąbrowski (64) has extended his lead in Division 1, with a fast-finishing Anoop K (61) now the nearest challenger, followed by Michael Scott and Ville Tuominen (both 60). Chris Madeley (59) is competing with Chris Bristow (58) for the final promotion slot. Three successive wins in Division 2 has clinched promotion, and the league title, for Craig Johnson (76), and Neil Methold (66) needs one more point to join him. John McHugh (65) and Aviinesh Kumar (63) are also in good shape, but Richard Clarke (58) will need to resist The Magician’s sorcery to hang on to fifth place.
LEAGUE THREE
EasyE ® (67) and Terje Balteskard (66) are already over the line in Division 1 ,and Chaballer (65) needs one more point to join them. Six managers are still in contention in Division 2, with Andrew Blackwell (67) now leading the way ahead of David Walker (66). Magnar Nordtun and Carlene M (both 72) are the joint-leaders in Division 3, and have clinched promotion to League Two. Richard Jager (69) will join them with one more victory. Nothing’s settled yet in Division 4: Wendy Darlington (67) will secure promotion with one more win, but most of the top ten are battling on two fronts.
LEAGUE FOUR
It’s job done for Richard Slaven (75) and Andrew White (72) in Division 1, and one more victory will also seal the deal for Ben Lovell and Sam Bonfield (both 64). Stuart Blakely (84) has lapped the competition in Division 2, but Milan Pavlovic (71) joins him in clinching promotion. Andrew Garland and Filip Suchta (both 69) are over the line in Division 3, and Gavin Sousa (66) needs one more win to join them. Simon Rothwell (68) is the new leader in Division 4, and one more point will secure promotion. Tom Nickalls (67) will join the party with one more victory. Division 5 leader, Benjamin Arslangic (74), is already planning his League Three campaign, and Richard Allen (69) will join him on the beach with one more win. William Elliott (72) has Richard Sehgal (69) for company in the Division 6 departure lounge; and Hans Friedl (69) has a six-point lead, and a ticket to ride, in Division 7; as do Neil Clusker (70) and Alex Lau (69) in Division 8.
LEAGUE FIVE
Neil Allison and Avishek Ganguly (69) are a win shy of securing promotion from Division 1; and the same applies for Nick Palmer (64) in Division 2. Steven Schelk (71) and Tom Houston (69) are clear of the field, and over the line, in Division 3; but Pantera Cthulhu and Stephen Brady (both 66) need one more victory to seal the deal in Division 4. It’s a condensed field in Divsion 5, but Tony Asabi (64) will secure his passage with his next win. Jamie Fitzgerald (69) has overtaken Bukola Atanda (68) in Division 6, but both have clinched promotion; and Danny Schifflers (67) is the first over the line in Division 7; as is Daniel Schallmayer (72) in Division 8; and Stephen Burge (63) in Division 9. Speedy (67) is the front-runner in Division 10, and it will be cruise control with one more point. Peter Allaway (72) and Manickam P and Keith Walker (both 70) are already partying in Division 11; and one more point will do it for Darragh Copley (69) in Division 12; as it will for Jan-Erik Carlsen (66) in Division 13. Ronin Rajan (72) maintains a six-point advantage in Division 14, but Pavle Ziman and Nick Charlton (both 66) have also done enough to secure top five berths. With three successive wins, Laszlo Nyiri (72) has clinched promotion and the Division 15 title; and Craig Ekedahl (76) will secure the Division 16 crown with his next victory.
LEAGUE SIX
The top scorer in League Six is Alberto Mangiantini (82) who is joined by Sharavanan Shanmuga Sundamam (73) in securing promotion from Division 11. Richard Phillips (79) continues to impress in Division 10; as does Wojciech Lo∤akowski (79), who has also dragged Andres Sigsgaard-Rasmussen (70) over the line in Division 4. Whitney Baxter (77) has Patrick Zrebiec (72) and Harald André Løvland (69) for company in the Division 9 departure lounge; and James Williams (77) is joined by Figo Saxa (69) and Naom Jacobi (65) in securing promotion from Division 22.
The promotion clinching managers on 76 points are: Andy Whiteley (Division 16), who is joined by Andrew Green and Emmanuel Ackah (both 72); Lennox Desborough (Division 19), where Turtle Bear (73) and Sanjay Lalwani (67) have also secured top five berths; and Sebastian Cornejo (Division 32), who is joined on the podium by Simon Linford (75) and Luke Jones (67). Six managers on 75 points have secured promotion: John Lloyd (Division 5), André Mærli, who is joined by Rahul Mohnani (70); Jahn Oscar Staff (Division 17); Chris Hayes Division 20); Nigel Bolton (Division 26); and Arnór Sindri Sölvason (Division 31), together with John Ryan Mackenzie (69).
The other promotion clinchers are: Philly Blacket (74) and el timbo (68) (Division 2); Garry Murray (74) and Jamie Luland (Division 12); Oliver Lanneberg (Division 18) and Tyrone Jacobs (Division 25) (both 73) the latter of which is joined by Ankit Chitnis (70); Henrik Palm Strand (72) (Division 21); Jamie Fraser (71) together with Pedro Segurado (68) from Division 3; Tavish Bhagat and Nigel Hadley (both 71) from Divisions 23 and 30 respectively; Rhys Morgan (69) from Division 28;Tony Mawson (67) from Divison 6; and Pontus Eccleswing (64) from Division 7.
Of the Division leaders with more work to do: Henrik Hammen (68) needs one point to clinch promotion from Division 15; Kasper Keller (67) needs four points in Division 13; Dan Burge and Robert Adams (Division 14), Darren Teague (Division 27) and Salvador Leong (Division 29) (all 66), all need one more point to secure their promotions; and John Samoryk (65) needs one more win to escape Division 24. Finally, it’s all to play for in Division 1, where Russell FPL (63) is currently leading the way, but the top six is separated by just four points.
LEAGUE SEVEN
With perfect records since the last update, Sunny H (Division 4) and Chris Lord (Division 47) remain the top scorers in League Seven on 82 points, and both have long since confirmed their promotion berths. Md Amaan ur Rahman (81) has maintained the same pace in Division 11, and can also look forward to life in League Six.
Mark Foley (79) has a six-point lead and an exit visa from Division 37; as do Fabian Broeker and Jimmy Ong (both 78) from Divisions 60 and 62 respectively. Michael Silva and Len Håvar Thomassen (both 76) are contesting the bragging rights in Division 32, but promotion is already in the bag; meanwhile, Max Norton only needs a point to secure top spot in Division 58. A further seven promotion-clinching managers are leading their Divisions on 75 points: Andrew Rink (Division 14), Mohamad Abou Salem (Division 19), Stephen Flett (Division 29), Daniel Moses (Division 42), Rob Hartley (Division 46), Dean Verma (Divivision 54) and rafa (Division 59).
Ben Nasrallah (Division 39), Colin Catt (Division 41) and Chris Sparrow (Division 63) (all 74) have healthy leads in their respective Divisions; as do the following managers on 73 points: Alex Galbraith (Division 24), Daniel Sailer (Division 30), RAJ Kashyap (Division 31), Alex Masters (Division 36), Mo Cherri (Division 49), Oskar Larsson (Division 55) and Rumi Achije (Division 57). A further eight managers are leading their Divisions on 72 points: Jack Austin (Division 9), Jesper Rydh (Division 12), James Long (Division 16), Johan Gustavsson (Division 23), William Yip (Division 33), Julie de Noronha (Division 44), Henrique De Oliveira (Division 51) and Oliver Pearce (Division 64).
LEAGUE EIGHT
Jamie Record (87) is continuing to smash it in League Eight, and has opened up a 15-point chasm over competition in Division 90. Filip Johansson Bahar (85) has similar daylight in Division 12; and Vinait Thorat (84) has been almost as impressive in Division 74. Romeu Fernandes Junior (83) has seen off the competition in Divison 120, and Thomsz K (82) is almost there in Division 99. Of the managers on 81 points, Ben Tomes (Division 4) and Ian Roberts (Division 8) have clinched top spot; however, Joel Brand (Division 66) and A Kwok (Division 128) still have work to do.
Nishant Bhide (80) has taken care of business in Division 43, and success is imminent for Stephen Morrow (also 80) in Division 108. Chang Siu (79) has a seven-point lead in Division 1, but the same score provides a four-point lead for Shivansh Kapoor in Division 69, and a two-point lead for Jaydden Stratford in Division 122. Eleven managers are leading their respective Divisions on 78 points: Dougie Forbes (Division 11), Sean Edwards (Division 32), Stephen Aiken (Division 33), Graeme MacPhee (Division 37), Peter Willis (Division 41), Eoin Scanlon (Division 50, Les Mcqueen (Division 52), Adel Albassam (Division 93), W F Smith (Division 102), Tung Nguyen Thanh (Division 112) and Kamil Pometlo (Division 124).
LEAGUES NINE AND 10
Three successive victories has established Virinder Gupta (90) as the top scorer across all H2H Leagues, as well as generating an unassailable lead in Division 28. Toon Heylen (Division 187), K Y (Division 243) and Mo Elmelegy (Division 254) have also made short work of their competition; and Bob Windmill (Division 18), Jackson Coker (Division 104), Emmanuel Fatoyinbo Division 196 and Mandar Karandikar (League 10, Division 2) (all 85) have been keeping up with this breathless pace.
Six managers are leading their respective Divisions on 84 points: Hatta Dah (Division 19), Victor Wilkman (Division 48), Arnaud Lev (Division 137), Jason Underhill (Division 161), Thomas Gabrysiak (Division 176) and Samuel Gitthinji (Division 192); while Adam Harriot (Division 38) and Roar Andreassen (Division 134) are leading the way on 83 points. A further eight Division leading managers are on 82 points: Budiono Sirear (Division 21), Gary Armstrong (Division 87), Keith Emilson (Division 103), Dan Kelly (Division 143), AnDy O (Division 172), Matthew Grant (Division 205), Vukadin Veljković (Division 223) and John Swarbrick (Division 236).
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 the pace is hotting up as we enter the championship rounds. Dan Furneaux (61) and @elevenify (59) are still slugging it out in League 6, Division 2, and both are currently in the top five, but there’s no room for slip-ups. It’s more comfortable for Colin Innes (64) in League 6, Division 24, who should clinch promotion with one more victory; and the same applies for James Harrison (66) in League 6, Division 26. Tod Modisette (55) remains on the fringe of the promotion berths in League 7, Division 34; but it’s a relegation battle for Ómar Olgeirsson (48) (12th place in League 7, Division 47), and Timo Riekko (48) (14th place in League 6, Division 5).
BEAT THE SCOUTS
The Scouts have also been at it in their bid for H2H League glory. Torres Magic (57) remains one point shy of the promotion berths in League 2, Division 2, so now would be a good time to deploy his box of tricks. Greyhead (56) has won six in a row in League 3, Division 1, but is still four points adrift of the top five. Sam Bonfield (64) needs one more win to secure promotion from League 4, Division 1, so avoid picking Spurs players and it should be job done. It’s relegation battles all round for Red Lightning (51) (11th in League 6, Division 8), G Whizz (53) (12th in League 8, Division 44, and Neale Rigg (49) (13th in League 3, Division 2), with Neale being close to needing snookers. The outlook is brighter for Rainy ~ (58) who sits fifth in League 7, Division 2; and extremely promising for Hibbo (67), who will clinch promotion from League 9, Division 225 one more win; but it’s the sunny uplands for Marc Jobling (74), who has a four-point in League 9, Division 189, and a confirmed passage to League Eight.
I’ll be back after Gameweek 38 for an end of season wrap-up and to highlight the FPL managers to watch out for in the new campaign. In the meantime you can conduct your own post-mortem via MIR’s Head-to-Head Leagues page.
I’m off to buy Cole Palmer … again. Stay safe.
