Many of the Fantasy Football Scout community were looking at a root and branch overhaul of their teams this week, as the shine from last month’s Wildcards quickly began to wear off and the cruel reality of injuries and shifting fixtures began to kick in. We look back on the discussion that ensued, whilst also pondering the player of the season to this point and the likely top target for the remaining Gameweeks of the campaign. As ever, we also find time to catch up on all the ups and downs in our community tournaments.

The Hottest Topics

Strikers were again under the spotlight this week, with Phaze 1 coming out in full support of Robin van Persie, despite his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price tag of £13.6m. His post entitled “Is RVP Worth It” acknowledges that the United frontman represents poor value financially but, he said, this is outweighed by his captaincy potential. Has today’s strike in the 2-2 draw with Fulham strengthened his case?

The Fantasy Freak was less optimistic about the prospects of City’s strikers. With their tough schedule, involving an FA Cup clash with Chelsea and a Champions League encounter with Barcelona, he predicted rotation up front from Manuel Pellegrini. Instead he urged people to consider Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge or Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke, among others.

Meanwhile, our midfields were the focus of Innsie’s post looking at some key differentials in the centre of the pitch. Chelsea’s Willian and Cardiff’s on loan United winger Wilfried Zaha were among his top picks discussed.

Another of Innsie’s midfield picks was Norwich’s Robert Snodgrass, who also caught the attention of our resident Sky Game expert d1sable. He argued that his underlying attacking stats demand our attention – although Snodgrass will need to return from the knock that saw him sit out the weekend’s draw with City to help d1sable’s case.

Defenders were far from neglected in this week’s chatter as we asked the community for their thoughts on best back lines over the coming Gameweeks. Yome came forward to stress how he’s avoiding Cardiff defenders, despite the Welsh side’s kind fixture run – a shrewd move given the latest showing at Swansea, He favoured the value of Tottenham’s Michael Dawson and Aston Villa’s Nathan Baker – he was certainly spot on with Dawson following today’s shutout. Elsewhere, Yes the Sess! was among those backing the rock-solid Chelsea defence and Southampton’s re-emerging rearguard.

West Ham’s Winston Reid was the only defender who made d1sable’s list of best Fantasy Football assets from now until the season climax. He predicts a particularly great final four months of the season for West Brom’s Chris Brunt and Manchester United’s Juan Mata.

Meanwhile, Captain Shirokov quizzed the community on their favourite player pick of the season. Santi Cazorla was his choice, having notched him four goals in two matches after transferring him in over Mersut Ozil. S.Kuqi opted for Adam Lallana and Deicide has selected Chelsea’s ever-reliable defender John Terry – ever-reliable until this weekend, of course.

We also took time out to canvas opinion on the approaching Gameweek 28 blank – how will you cope with the missing fixtures from City, United, Sunderland and, err…West Brom?

Finally, Jesus Navas – Our Lord rocked up with some superb analysis of Luis Suarez and his flat-track bully statistics. Essential reading for all those pondering the merits of the Uruguayan flavoured armband ahead of the trip to Fulham.

The Community Tournaments

The Uefa Council’s Champions League and Europe League tournaments got underway in Gameweek 24. Following the first set of fixtures ENR, Super Zlatan, Champ, Athletico Timbo, Torres Magic, The Shadow, Billy Ketsu and Giggs Boson topped the Champions League groups. Those in pole position in the Europa League groups were DonTheSpecial One, BBG, The Tinkerman, NEIL, Archie, Rate My Username, SW6, AK, Louis9618, Snake Juice, Home Run Baker and Beavis.

In HeelsOverHead’s Worst to First – 2 Million + Club, for teams with an overall rank below 2,000,000 in the first five Gameweeks, YOLO Toure was leading the way with an overall rank of 11,824. In addition, there were six teams in the top 100,000 following Gameweek 24.

Torres Magic topped his own Last Man Standing league in Gameweek 24 with a score of 77 but waved goodbye to 24 managers. Qubit (The Irregular) leads the After Xmas League and Unbelievable Bentek-kers heads the seeding for both the FPL Open and Elite 64. Full details of his leagues can be found here.

Going into Gameweek 25, that chap Jonty held on to his lead in the FFS Old Farts Club league, the FFS Moderators and Contributors league and the FPL part of the Iron Man competition, for those taking part in multiple games. Gigging Order and In Like Flynn continue to top the Iron Man’s Sky Sports and Metro leagues respectively.

I’m still hanging to my lead in one of In Tommy We Trust’s AllThingsFPL leagues along with Bootsy, Billy Ketsu, Jambo17, Koneheads and Evs.