FF247 Fantasy Football Site Team; The Season Wrap Up
Welcome to FF247 Fantasy Football Site Team; The Season Wrap Up.
GW39…. What’s the opposite of teambuilding?
We’ve all been there; be it at school, at Cub Scouts, at work or as part of a sports team. Some bright spark decides it’s raft building day in the naive hope that this somehow will strengthen bonds and ties and bring you all together into some sort of seamless unbeatable unit. Cue 11am on the edge of a freezing river and there are two distinct schools of thought already at play. The alpha males are out in force with their lofty ideas, staring one another down whilst some others stand back shrugging their cold shoulders with indifference and some others are cowering under the trees hoping nobody notices that they are even there. Some begrudged give and take occurs and an hour or two later a hybrid version of the plans is seemingly under way. Or so it appears anyway, planks are placed, planks are sneakily replaced, ropes are tied, ropes are deviously untied. Eventually the thing looks seaworthy and is pushed out on it’s voyage. Half way across the lake it looks like falling apart and casting it’s entire occupancy to the depths but ultimately the crew see the bigger picture and finally begin to work together to ensure they make it to the other side.
GW38 Round up
We shall begin as ever with our usual analysis of last week which saw us finish on 67 points, 16 above the overall average of 51. But without boring you to tears with the detail, 4 players performed (TAA, Mane, Kun (c) and Zaha), with a total of 52 between them, you can do the math and probably fill in our swear words to describe how the other 7 fared.
GW38 Team In Full;
Final Standings
The above resulted in our 15th green arrow since GW19, which may sound fantastic but it was a slow and steady rise to say the least! We were 84,654th prior to that and ended up at 5,757th come the end, with 2,406 points overall. We achieved our highest season rank in GW38 itself which is always a good point at which to peak, and we beat our best ever overall rank, albeit by just a couple of hundred places. Anytime you set off on this journey the hallowed (for whatever reason!) Top 10k seems to be a reasonably accepted aim for success, we prefer to think that to beat your own personal best, be that 5k or 50k or 500k is a more reasonable target to set yourself. To that end, and with that excuse placed conveniently in our pocket, we achieved our goal.
Mini-league wise we don’t play in many, in fact the only two we even look at are the FF247 Contibutors League (the writers / wider team) and the Ryder Cup (GB&I vs the MLS lot). We won the former which is always pleasing, as it keeps them all in their place and we came 2nd in the latter, which was a bit disappointing but we beat the Yanks as a team so every silver cloud and all that.
Apparently we won the FF247 Division One Head-to-Head league too, gaining promotion in the process. Although we must admit (sorry Elle!) we hadn’t even noticed we were in it!
See you next season!
We appreciate it’s a bit of a pointless article, but who cares and all that, we just wanted to give you the final synopsis given as we know that many do follow it with interest along the way, and we are grateful to everyone who does.
We have an interview article in the offing with Pele (not that one!) who won the FF247 Regulars League and then after that we shall probably take a small but well earned break as we recharge our FPL batteries ahead of next season.
See you all soon!
You can follow how the site teams progressed all season by clicking here
Thanks to everyone for another great season. Next season I’m planning on being more sensible in an attempt to get a better OR. To that end I pulled out the PPM and end of season cost, to look at the overall PPM/£. After all, with £100m to spend you want to get the most PPM/£100m! Obviously there’s a million other things that need to be taken into consideration, with the fact that prices will rise being only one of them. As you can imagine, doing it this way you end up with a 532 with Pool/City defence, the likes of Brooks and Tielemans in midfield and the likes of Wilson and Jiménez up front. You also get Travers and Walker-Peters in the starting lineup which hints at why this is only one shaky tiny little viewpoint on which to gaze at the fantasy landscape. Plus see Kralin’s inflexibility comments above.
But anyway, this is Day 1 of BoringBen.
Not boring at all. PPM/£ is something I have never really taken into consideration. I’ve never been able to build a team – or, more to point, bring in a player, based on that. I should probably pay far more attention. I’d be interested to hear of people using this method successfully. I am aware though that defenders offer phenomenal value for money, and for my side this season:
Kralin – interesting bar chart. Someone who did really well said he used a similar method. Can’t remember where I heard it and exactly how he worked it out, but it was something like: if you want a very good OR you need to be averaging 60 points per GW, with 11 on the pitch (12 if you count captain as 2) a quarter of your budget on the bench, etc., etc., and he ends up asking himself (when building a team AND when bringing a player in) can that player in this GW get me the number of points that they cost me in £s?
It is essentially a PPM/£ analysis. You can certainly envisage a £6m defender getting you 6 points. You can’t necessarily always count on a £10m forward getting you 10 points.
It always gets you back to what everyone already knows: defenders are good value.
It’s a good and interesting way to look at it. 63 points per week on average is always my aim. Fell short this season and only achieved 60, which would explain the poor rank somewhat.
They are good value, yes. They can’t half break your heart though (clean sheets vanishing in front of your eyes like a broken dream).
With a lot of talk, however, of VAR and penalty takers being the new defenders, perhaps the latter will come under more scrutiny for the wrong reasons: they could well be the ones committing the fouls that lead to penalties.
We need to find the new Baines. Defensive and attacking chops plus penalties. Oh my.
Watch them go and introduce negative points for conceding a pen….
Mili will be the first name on my teamsheet next season regardless. Plus whoever takes pens for who Zaha end up with. Then again I guess he could be counted against if they’re actually checking his dives properly. Or it’s deemed a dive on VAR I assume they can produce a yellow.
It may mean that King (6 pens, 83.3% conversion rate) will be preferred over Wilson (2 pens, 50% conversion rate) next season. But difficult to tell until you know the new prices. King was £0.5m more at the start but ended the season £0.5m less.
Take him because he takes pens in general, but not because VAR will help a player get more pens, because it is not likely to do so, saw this image floating around.
Saw that myself Mito. People seem to forget that a number of penalties that were given this season possibly wouldn’t have been had VAR been around.
Not worth skewing your team with just penalty takers. Probably worth hedging and getting a couple.
No transfer so far…looks like nothing will happen in MAY. From June onwards some concrete news will start coming – now its all rumours.
As usual Arsenal has been linked with whatever wingers and defenders are there in the market.
Would love to see Ziyech, Pepe, Sarr etc. players in EPL and some unknown heroes. Any big gun would be coming?
Not sure, Spurs don’t spend money, United is in the Europa so who knows what players would be willing to go there. LFC and City might not feel the need to add a player that would make big waves, perhaps more depth at Liverpool would be good. Arsenal….well. And Chelsea might not be able to. This window doesn’t have the feel of other windows. Having said that, some teams will spend and the money that the EPL teams offer by comparison is ridivolous. The 20th place team in the EPL gets about the same money as the 3rd or 4th place team in LA Liga.
Liverpool will buy cover at LB and possibly a forward capable of playing across the front 3.
So depth then by the sounds of it. Assuming they can keep all their core players, I think that be the way to go for them. They are a relatively young side, mids are slightly older, but Fabinho is young despite his appearance and Keita seemed to start clicking at the end, so their is younger players there.
We have a relatively young squad. I think Milner is the oldest. He’s got 12 months left on his contract and I’d happily give him another 12 months.
There’s talk that Adam Lewis may be promoted to provide cover for Robbo. But I have no idea if this is true. Liverpool seem a pretty settled squad.
I’m more hoping one or two relics are (finally) shown the door this summer. Not Milner, obviously.
No idea who’s being thought of in terms of front 3 cover. Though again, Brewster seems highly regarded. I’d much prefer to see people coming through. But we’ll see.
Brewster and one or two of the other youngsters have apparently been told they will be more involved next season. I hope that’s true as it’s a perfect scenario really. It’s basically what Spurs need for Kane cover but don’t seem to have. It’d be brave given the fine margins but as a fan I’d rather see that than another £50m player from abroad come in. Far less disruption to an already settled squad too.
Do think you need another mid though. I think resurrecting the Nabil Fekir deal would be wise, he seems a perfect fit.
Fekir was all but signed, I think, but for a dodgy knee. But we’ll see. Liverpool were commendably brisk in their transfer business last summer so hopefully we’ll get some idea after the CL final.
Could get James cheap, if they want him. Something to think about…
David James? That time has passed.
He was signed to the point of having done pics in a Liverpool kit. They (Lyon) claimed it wasn’t the knee that did for the deal, but then obviously they would. I’d grab him from what I’ve seen of him this season.
Mito, love James but does he have the Klopp work ethic in him?
He can be, he does it when he plays for Colombia. Think that play style of the team matters in what you can get out of him. At Madrid and Bayern there is some pressing, but it is a lot more relaxed. I have seen some monumental games of him running up and down for Colombia and I am not just talking about the World Cup. If he played consistently he be great in fpl. The thing is, if you really want to get the best out of him, you probably need to run something like a 4-2-3-1 with him at cam or some other system that gets him in the right spot. His debut season for Madrid and the one for Bayern were very good so much so that he made the starting xi for team of the season in each league, no shabby feat for someone in their first year in a country and new club.
I do expect to see Brewster involved next season. He’s highly thought and from the clips I’ve seen of him, he can certainly play. If we assume that the front 3 will remain the same next season, is Origi & Brewster enough back up?
As for Fekir, I’m convinced that something went on there that was never made public. Ever since Michael Edwards arrived at the club we’ve become extremely good at ensuring there are very few leeks surrounding our transfers. That said, I’d like to see Fekir at the club but I doubt we will.
Possibly but that’s leaning largely on the assumption that the main 3 play the majority and are lucky with injuries. Lose one and you’re ok as you’ve proved, lose 2 for any length and it’d be an issue.
But again that then comes back to the Spurs / Kane conundrum. City tackle it slightly differently in that they simply go all in and literally cover every position twice with almost equal talent.
I think we’ll bring in cover. Not a star player, maybe someone around the £20m mark.
Who is the kid that plays for Derby? I watched them vs Leeds and I am sure I heard he was a LFC loanee, he looked really good in that game.
Harry Wilson. Seen him a few times for Derby and he looks good. I’d like to see Derby come up and give him another year on loan with them.
Yeah, why not, let it be Derby instead of Villa. Although, judging by how young their team is, I suspect they be in and out of the Premier in a hurry.
via GIPHY
Agreed.
The cover for the Liverpool front three is thrown into focus by the Africa Cup of Nations next month.
And given that Liverpool will probably need 150 points to make sure of the league, we may need a bit more than Brewster and Origi. But who that lucky chap will be, I haven’t the foggiest.
Brighton……
It’s an interesting appointment. One of the reasons they sacked Hughton was apparently because the fans & therefore the board didn’t like his style of football any longer. Potter will certainly try and get them to play football. It remains to be seen if the squad is capable of that.
Hughton led teams can be difficult to watch, but considering the level of talent Brighton has, think he did the best he could.
PL survival is no longer good enough for many fans & clubs. They want sexy football!
I’ve seen quotes from fans along through lines of, “I’d rather be in the Championship and play good football than watch that rubbish at The Amex”!!
I just want to win. If they happen to play well doing it, that’s great, but I will take 3 points any day.
Brazilian fans are like that. They will turn on you faster than a Game of Thrones character.
Exactly. It’s all about winning.
I’ve never seen Game of Thrones!!
I am not surprised, when I wrote that reference it did occur to me that you probably never watched it.
I think he did really well, all things considered. Brighton haven’t been up that long so are not exactly CL material just yet. And I’m not sure if we’re going to see a Wolves II coming our way soon from the Championship (Norwich promotions rarely end well). So Brighton seem relatively safe.
Shame it’s not the Stoke gig he’s picked up.
Leicester
Probably funded by Maguire to City from what I’m hearing. Which I sort of get, from both parties. Rodgers was refreshingly candid and mature with what he said about the situation and I know Pep will be keen to fill the Kompany gap.
That said I’d like to see him just go Stones / Laporte as that’d complete the set really. I know he needs / wants the more robust CB for certain situations but it’s not as if the other two are wall flowers in terms of penalty box aerial presence.
He’s never rated Stones vs a long ball or set piece side – loves to play him vs a footballing side.
Mourinho wanted Maguire in the summer and the board didn’t back him….great,
How is Maguire on the ball? Haven’t paid that much attention to him, but I could swear I saw him dribbling up the field well several times in one game, kind of shocked me. Of course, I can’t remember if it was him or some other big headed CB.
It was Maguire.
https://twitter.com/FutbolEden/status/1100532394937982981?s=19
Maguire was a revelation at the WC in that respect. Probably why Pep wants him, best of both worlds. He can bring that ball playing side out of him to great effect as he knows it’s in there already. Could be a master stroke. For both.
Yeah think so, good on the ball and really strong in the air seems like a perfect fit, hopefully it doesn’t go through then.
See Sane is being rumoured to leave. Hate to see him go, think the kid is super talented.
No idea why they’d let him go, unless there’s an underlying attitude issue. His lack of starts and the omission from the Germany squad last time may suggest there is though. He really should check himself though if that’s the case as he’s in the best spot possible right now.
Maybe he’s refused Pep’s doctor’s special drugs or knows too much about dodgy payments to Pep.
Allegedly, of course.
Evening guys,
Someone please clear my confusion.
Are wolves granted a spot on Europa league?
What happens if Arsenal won the title? Will the spot go to Everton?
I think Wolves are definitely in the EL (Watford would have been there had they won at the weekend).
It will put Wolves’ squad under a bit of strain.
If Arsenal win they go into the CL.
Everton have (arguably) dodged a bullet as it seems most of the Prem will be in Europe next season.
MHD, yes Wolves have qualified for some Thursday fun.
Not sure on the Everton part but am guessing most fans will be hoping its not a possibility!
On your rank expectation – I think top 10k is a good and realistic target for you. Its what I aim for, but sadly never reach
bar one lucky season!!
Wolves are in. Everton aren’t regardless. If Arsenal win they go to the CL. If Chelsea win they still go to the CL but the other spot goes to France, oddly enough!
To be even more precise, if Chelsea wins EL, then Lyon goes directly to CL group stage instead of the 3rd round of qualifiers for which they’ve already qualified!
I want that Lyon 15 year old for Madrid, think we have a chance to get him when he turns 16. Also, there is a lot of rumours about Mendy their LB and a possible move to Madrid this summer. He looks really pacey, I hear he doesn’t defend that well, if true it sounds like we could find the perfect replacement for Marcelo then.