Preamble

The Pre-Match Preamble – Gameweek 31

Nothing quite revives our hopes like a double Gameweek. The pleasure of scanning your squad and seeing those two fixtures nestled under each name. The promise of double figures next to each player come the final update. A potential three-figure haul and the prospect that your selections would have given you an edge on rivals and transformed the mini-league landscape. It’s a giddy time.

When such scenarios arrive with eight Gameweeks to go, they also heighten a further dilemma – whether to use them to drive up your overall rank, or take some gambles in order to differentiate your lineup from rivals.

As I’ve mentioned in recent ScoutCasts, it’s very difficult to do both. In a season where clear “essentials” have emerged and are still in place thanks to some extraordinary consistency, the Fantasy manager left making up ground is continually struggling with the prospect of being forced to take a gamble against his better judgement. Either that or settle on the fact that the mini-league status quo will remain intact.

Personally I’m left wondering if somehow rescuing a respectable rank should always be priority. I’m still outside the top 400,000 – many would consider that a “shameful display’ given previous seasons and the fact that Fantasy Football consumes much of my headspace.

My prospects of bettering that position look fairly decent this week – I’ve nine double Gameweek players in place, with three Chelsea players to plug the gaps and maintain momentum following Gameweek 31. But do I gamble with the armband?

There’s little doubt that Luis Suarez is the “gimme”. A truly explosive Fantasy asset, Suarez has broken out of his recent drought to deliver double figures in his last two outings. Over the season no player can match the Uruguayan’s consistency when it comes to delivering big rewards. Despite that run of blanks, he remains the clear captain contender of choice, this week and almost every week.

Give him the armband and I’ll almost be assured of keeping pace with the masses. That will leave my few differentials to help me climb the ranks. However, that plan is unlikely to make a dent on my present mini-league position.

The 90-point gap between myself and Granville has been yawning for months. I’ve been unable to make any impression – I’ve made errors but so has he; the reality is, the opportunities to differentiate my score from my rival have been few and far between.

This morning offers the opportunity to change that. I could overlook Suarez. It would be completely the wrong decision for the preservation of my rank and perhaps my sanity. However, in terms of “playing” my present mini-league scenario, there is some logic and certainly the temptation of reward.

Should there be a freak pair of blanks from Suarez and an explosion of points from another candidate, the prize for those brave enough to gamble could be huge. It’s clearly risk versus reward. An uneasy situation in a season where taking risks has rarely paid dividends.

Double Gameweeks deliver excitement and expectation. Do I really want or need to add another layer to that? Can my existing differentials do a job for me or am I forced to expose myself to such risk?

So many questions. Here’s another. Am I even wrong to consider mini-leagues over rank?

I’ve asked this before and many have barked that it’s the case but, by chasing an improved rank, what do I really achieve? Is it pure vanity – kudos amongst my Fantasy Football manager peers that, when I consider that my rivals will always rank above me, amounts to very little?

Mark Mark created the beast. He's now looking to tame it.

1,199 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Arvin-ation
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 8 days ago

    Ended up with a last minute hit to make it -12.

    Did Hazard ---> Yaya(Bringing him back in next week/2 weeks later)

    Hope I don't regret it. Anyone else do this?

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    1. Granville
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      Sounds like a crazy thing you would only do in a panic.

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      1. 4-4-who?
        • 14 Years
        10 years, 8 days ago

        Rank Granville?

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        1. Granville
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 14 Years
          10 years, 8 days ago

          Dead easy to check for yourself. 103k

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      2. Arvin-ation
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        10 years, 8 days ago

        It was a crazy thing. I agree 🙂

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    2. 4-4-who?
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      Yes, hazard out allowed me to bring in both Yaya and Silva for two DGWs. #nobrainer.

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      1. Debauchy
        • 11 Years
        10 years, 8 days ago

        did exact same GL.

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  2. Godfather Bandit 42
    • 11 Years
    10 years, 8 days ago

    MANNONE

    COLEMAN - ZABALETA - Cahill (BRUCE,Ward)

    Hazard - YAYA - GERRARD - NOLAN (Noone)

    SUAREZ (C) - STURRIDGE(VC) - LUKAKU

    Bring it home boys!!!

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  3. Whitman2013
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 8 days ago

    @tm / any other mod
    why is the word "shit" a perfectly acceptable word to say here?

    ive asked it before.

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    1. Billy Gilmore
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      Because nobody gives a shit.

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    2. Plymouth
      • 11 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      jokes?

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      1. Whitman2013
        • 10 Years
        10 years, 8 days ago

        haha its fair enough... i just dont want to get banned if i ever say it :P/

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        1. TorresMagic™
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 14 Years
          10 years, 8 days ago

          The word will get banned before you would.

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  4. HNI
    • 10 Years
    10 years, 8 days ago

    Just saw that FFS hosts the OFFICIAL fpl site 'scout page'!They have been doing it since start of season or few GWs ago??.

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  5. New Post
    1. Goaldigger
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      EVERY TIME

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  6. Goaldigger
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 days ago

    That awkward moment when you get a big fat greenie but still can't be pleased because you spent weeks planning for that one dgw.

    Wont be happy unless I cut my rank in half... at LEAST.

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  7. Zep
    • 13 Years
    10 years, 8 days ago

    Oh god... I just took a shot of Absinthe...

    Needless to say, I regret it...

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    1. RÏɠBY
      • 12 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      haha.. Now suck on a boiled sweet 😉

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    2. Alan The Llama
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      Well it's making you post on an old post, so good start.

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    3. The Mighty One
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      10 years, 8 days ago

      Hey Zep...I've always wanted to try it but cannot get it in the States. Why do you regret it? How did it actually make you feel?

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  8. RÏɠBY
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 8 days ago

    nice article Mark.. i ended up bottling it and switched c & vc to suarez and carroll in that order
    hopefully the carroll points will be enough of a diff to make a dent

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  9. Maxi_Mawoofingtons
    • 12 Years
    10 years, 7 days ago

    Any one hit a century of points 🙂 What a week for goals. I am on 109 points with 10 to play haha. It would be awesome if someone in the league gets 200, I dont think I have ever seen that

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