TFF 2018/19

[Ernie1982]

Thanks, had a feeling that was the case but couldn't find it in the rules.

[happyhoppy]

How do you create an excel download from the player list?

With columns?

PLAYER TEAM PRICE

[12345678]

the most damning thing i have seen is the facebook group i am a member of has a king of kings comp (that i dont play, dont do fpl) proposed for sdt, sky, fpl, tff. tff has been dropped due to lack of interest!!!

the transfers at 40x is ridiculously too many and won't appeal to many.

i'm pleased they have reduced some of the daft prizes, the superleague where only 1x score from each member is allowed has basically made it a fiso prize but now only £100 each instead of say £1000. starting XI & golden boot are a joke of wasted cash, how many have any interest in these?

against that reduced headline prize and a ridiculous 2nd is pretty naff.

the scoring isnt a disaster but defenders at 7 per c/s will only encourage block switches with a surfeit of trannies, this ain't fantasy footy and may explain my first line!

i can't see this game surviving too long so enjoy it whilst you can.

the one leagues are a return to roots but having trashed the original idea they found it hard to contemplate other entry levels, £1/£2/£15/£20. fixed prizes wouldn't have been needed for £50 level.

i will likely play this year but like hoppy can't get too much motivation in a long hard slog where the game has been progressively trashed. the maintenance level has simply become too much at 40 transfers, thank gawd they didn't do league cup/CL. i will however probably half my entry having already reduced it a bit. sdt is a much better game with better prizes so will concentrate on that this year.

[brencarr]

Thanks.

Still too subjective for my liking, to many "may be given" remarks in the terms. So basically down to one person's interpretation, could be fixed.

Rubbish how someone doesn't get a KC if the ball rebounds off the woodwork, or gets fouled before a freekick.

Welcome to the usual weekly chat as to whether or not KCs should/shouldn't have been given .... honestly, I still don't quite get it after many years

[Darkish]

the most damning thing i have seen is the facebook group i am a member of has a king of kings comp (that i dont play, dont do fpl) proposed for sdt, sky, fpl, tff. tff has been dropped due to lack of interest!!!

the transfers at 40x is ridiculously too many and won't appeal to many.

i'm pleased they have reduced some of the daft prizes, the superleague where only 1x score from each member is allowed has basically made it a fiso prize but now only £100 each instead of say £1000. starting XI & golden boot are a joke of wasted cash, how many have any interest in these?

against that reduced headline prize and a ridiculous 2nd is pretty naff.

the scoring isnt a disaster but defenders at 7 per c/s will only encourage block switches with a surfeit of trannies, this ain't fantasy footy and may explain my first line!

i can't see this game surviving too long so enjoy it whilst you can.

the one leagues are a return to roots but having trashed the original idea they found it hard to contemplate other entry levels, £1/£2/£15/£20. fixed prizes wouldn't have been needed for £50 level.

i will likely play this year but like hoppy can't get too much motivation in a long hard slog where the game has been progressively trashed. the maintenance level has simply become too much at 40 transfers, thank gawd they didn't do league cup/CL. i will however probably half my entry having already reduced it a bit. sdt is a much better game with better prizes so will concentrate on that this year.

Since the 40x transfers is the same in both Sky and Fpl (and in many ways more in those comps as you have wild cards) Isn't really a reason of the lose in interest. It seems people hate 40 transfers as they want to have loads of teams and transfers make it more difficult. For the casual who may have two teams transfers make the game more engaging.

The 7 points for a c/s is fine once put into context. All defenders where basically given an extra point which stops people having non playing defenders.

The block defensives are a pain but should limit the number of players from a team. I expect the simple scoring system (no bonus or captain) and adverts make the game dwindle in numbers

[johnmc]

I think having the 2 one league games, with a reasonable prize, is a very good idea. With the entry costs at £10 and £5 and only one team entry allowed, per player, in each. As this gives everyone a fair chance NOT the large multiple entrants.
Some might think I'm a multi entrant but, I only normally do the initial offer, and then an extra £20 for another 8 teams. I tried a few years ago with about 30-40 teams and could not keep track of what I was doing. I might also invest a few quid for the odd manager of the month attempt, if I have the sudden urge of transferitous. As this normally seems to remedy the illness.

This world cup I have 6 teams in the top one hundred and the other 5 in the top 1000 but I only did the initial season ticket offer, for £9.99.

So I think we can all look forward to the One League, playing on even terms with each other, and the rest of the entrants.

[12345678]

i don't play fpl but gather there are a few transfer eating oddities there. in sky i would say 40 transfers is also too much, some are eaten up by the needs of captain requirements and the motm & bonus point system all help to reduce the block effectiveness that is so damaging to tff.

the 40 transfers is a surfeit because it increases the transfers available for non injury requirements, once defenders are favoured too heavily on a PPM basis then it makes sense to move them rather than other positions as you get hits from runs of +35 for a 5x block which is hard to get from strikers (see previous wc discussions). it's the bore factor of block switches plus not needing to think too hard about injuries - with all those extra transfers you just move on out. the other issue is that anytime transfers compared to daily lockout in sky & lockouts in sdt make the game more time consuming to monitor.

it certainly is not the issue of making transfers harder, just more boring and time consuming!

the problem with the extra point for defenders is twofold, one you increase the effectiveness of a block switch, making it a more boring 5x tranny switch, secondly whilst making defenders scoring more on a par with mf & str they haven't increased their prices, so have made them boringly more valuable, surely ff should be about goals and assists primarily?

i don't think bonus points or captains are great, if tff had 24 or even 30 transfers the block switches become less effective as there are less 'free' transfers available as many are needed for injuries etc. however you are right that they would save the game in its current near disastrous format, the point is that those forms of scoring mean you need premium mf & str. if you have them you can't afford the premium blocks! the issue with a surfeit of tranny's in tff is that you don't need the premium players so much and thus can play premium blocks. it wouldn't be such a disaster without the extra trannies as a premium block switch costs 4/5 trannies each time but with extra trannies it becomes easier to do. this isn't as pronounced as the crazily defence biased WC & CL games as there is a far longer run. this will however be the first season ever that i will consider defensive block/partial block switches. if someone like an alonso or preferably 3 of them manage to hold down a first team place they may offer a resistance to full block switches.

in my view the structure of the game favours c/s over goals. this has never been popular and in my view is what has resulted in dwindling interest. tff have made changes for instance to make defenders more attractive rather than dumping grounds but have completely failed to think through the real effect of the changes on their game.

i'm not sure players have either, see the blocks discussion on the international game, however they are leaving because they simply find the game not enjoyable.

[johnmc]

Does anyone else have a problem that it won’t let you submit your team?

I’m getting caught in an endless loop of confirming my linked telegraph account ...

Nope, not me, went straight through.

Thanks - just made a new account and it worked.

So straight away it’s a 10 player game for £44m budget
Reckon most savvy players will have similar starting teams - up to 5 or 6 no-brainers. Forgot this about TFF.

Also - don’t want to say it out loud but 60 seconds on bramernic site and 5 mins looking at the player list and I reckon its pretty obvious what the best formation is!? It’s one that I think most (certainly not the masses) will not use??

As they're no- brainers, could you help me out.
I'm having a nightmare at the moment trying to set up even my first team, at the prices, and the best formation will help, too. I'm really struggling to set up a decent looking team.

Are others finding it difficult Or am I overlooking something really obvious

[12345678]

obviously this year is already fouled up! my own view is that with this year on top of the past looking very grim saving the game will be very difficult.

it's all very well and good making broad brush statements but what of the figures? am i talking rubbish?

lets look at the top 3 scorers for each of the clubs that qualified for europe on a PPM basis

citeh : 4.6 sterling 46.74, 3.6 moraes 43.33, 3.7 otamendi 41.08
utd : 3.9 de gea 42.31, 3.6 smalling 41.11, 4.1 valencia 36.59
tott : 3.4 davies 45.29, 3.9 vertonghen 40.26, 5.0 son 40.20
liv : 4.5 salah 62.00, 5.7 firmino 34.21, 2.7 gomez 33.23
che : 4.3 alonso 42.79, 4.5 azpilicueta 40.89, 3.9 rudiger 39.74
ars : 3.2 xhaka 32.19, 3.8 monreal 31.58, 4.2 bellerin 30.24
bur: 2.1 tarkovski 52.86, 2.3 pope 50.00, 2.3 ward 45.22

so 21 players, 2 strikers, 3 midfielders, 13 defenders! 3 goalkeepers. 16-5 in favour of defensive players!!!

(figures credit brams site)

i think it is pretty clear where the value is!

this doesn't completely tell the whole story but it does give a very good idea of where this game has gone badly wrong and why players are not enjoying it as much and leaving!

[Spinynorman]

What bothers me now that TFF is so easy is how badly I do at it.

[littlefeller]

Does anyone else have a problem that it won’t let you submit your team?

I’m getting caught in an endless loop of confirming my linked telegraph account ...

Nope, not me, went straight through.

Thanks - just made a new account and it worked.

So straight away it’s a 10 player game for £44m budget
Reckon most savvy players will have similar starting teams - up to 5 or 6 no-brainers. Forgot this about TFF.

Also - don’t want to say it out loud but 60 seconds on bramernic site and 5 mins looking at the player list and I reckon its pretty obvious what the best formation is!? It’s one that I think most (certainly not the masses) will not use??

As they're no- brainers, could you help me out.
I'm having a nightmare at the moment trying to set up even my first team, at the prices, and the best formation will help, too. I'm really struggling to set up a decent looking team.

Are others finding it difficult Or am I overlooking something really obvious

It is a fair challenge this year. The no brainers mentioned are Salah and Sanchez in midfield. Those two essentials take up a fair whack of budget and that's why it feels a little tighter than previous years. Still a great game though.

[12345678]

look at the top scorers PPG (10+ appearances)

citeh: 6.8 aguero 6.75, 4.6 sterling 6.14, 5.7 de bruyne 5.10
utd: 6.6 lukaku 5.43, 3.3 shaw 5.40, 7.0 samchez 4.63
tott: 7.0 kane 6.15, 3.4 davies 4.81, 5.5 eriksen 4.73
liv: 4.5 salah 7.54, 5.7 firmino 5.oo, 3.5 robertson 4.96
che: 4.3 alonso 5.11, 3.9 rudiger 4.70, 4.5 azpilicueta 4.49
ars: 6.3 aubamayang 7.00, 4.2 ramsey 5.08, 6.00 lacazette
bur: 3.7 wood 4.00, 2.3 ward 3.71, 2.1 tarkovski 3.58

so 21 players again 13 x str, 5 x mf, 13 x def, 0x gk.

maybe doesnt look quite as bad but look at the prices of the premium mf & str!!!

you simply can't afford all the top scorers offensively but you can defensively!

my point is that the scoring potential of block defenses is no longer negated by the premium offensive players due to the huge price differential.

the game has therefore become boring and about c/s, i short run comps with too many transfers i.e. WC/CL it has become almost ALL about defensive points.

fantasy players have never wanted this, the fun about fantasy games is the immediacy of goals and assists. if you want to play that way you can but in short run games your chances of winning are almost NIL, in the longer run game you have a little chance but are handicapped.

that's my view on tff and the way the game is now and my best guess as to failing interest.

you can agree or disagree but them there is the numbers!

[12345678]

What bothers me now that TFF is so easy is how badly I do at it.

time, effort and skill play a part

what i am really saying is that they have made the game more boring by increasing too sharply the value of defence vs offence.

i actually think the good players if they take on board the current state of play actually have MORE chance as most casual players will still aim for goals and assists as the be all and end all rather than the clean sheets they need!

they will however be completely bored out of their brain's come season end

[Jameselaprendi]

look at the top scorers PPG (10+ appearances)

citeh: 6.8 aguero 6.75, 4.6 sterling 6.14, 5.7 de bruyne 5.10
utd: 6.6 lukaku 5.43, 3.3 shaw 5.40, 7.0 samchez 4.63
tott: 7.0 kane 6.15, 3.4 davies 4.81, 5.5 eriksen 4.73
liv: 4.5 salah 7.54, 5.7 firmino 5.oo, 3.5 robertson 4.96
che: 4.3 alonso 5.11, 3.9 rudiger 4.70, 4.5 azpilicueta 4.49
ars: 6.3 aubamayang 7.00, 4.2 ramsey 5.08, 6.00 lacazette
bur: 3.7 wood 4.00, 2.3 ward 3.71, 2.1 tarkovski 3.58

so 21 players again 13 x str, 5 x mf, 13 x def, 0x gk.

maybe doesnt look quite as bad but look at the prices of the premium mf & str!!!

you simply can't afford all the top scorers offensively but you can defensively!

my point is that the scoring potential of block defenses is no longer negated by the premium offensive players due to the huge price differential.

the game has therefore become boring and about c/s, i short run comps with too many transfers i.e. WC/CL it has become almost ALL about defensive points.

fantasy players have never wanted this, the fun about fantasy games is the immediacy of goals and assists. if you want to play that way you can bust in short run games your chances of winning are almost NIL, in the longer run game you have a little chance but are handicapped.

that's my view on tff and the way the game is now and my best guess as to failing interest.

you can agree or disagree but them there is the numbers!

Is the simplest solution maybe to limit the number of players per team to 3? (to stop block defences)
Also - I actually think block defences might be a bit tricky at the start of this particular season

I feel your frustation. I am a single entrant, get most enjoyment out of 1 team per person superleagues
Don't even look at the leaderboard, even when I sneak onto it, just depressing

[muffler]

One free team
Then either 2 more for £5 or 5 for £10
Then blocks available for between £2.50 and £5 per team.

Hard to imagine me doing more than 6

Ive just had a quick look and its 8 extra teans for £9. 99 then the same as last year

Just re read it and there is a different figure in "the game" section, 8 for £9.99 early bird compared to the terms and conditions which says 5.

I'm going to hang back after the free team as it has the hallmarks off a cock up regarding the early bird.

Quite right. I've just now paid the £4.99 for three additional teams but have received just two. I've contacted TFL to request the additional team....

[12345678]

[/quote]

Is the simplest solution maybe to limit the number of players per team to 3? (to stop block defences)
Also - I actually think block defences might be a bit tricky at the start of this particular season

I feel your frustation. I am a single entrant, get most enjoyment out of 1 team per person superleagues
Don't even look at the leaderboard, even when I sneak onto it, just depressing
[/quote]

players per club has been looked at before, it never really caught on, personally never liked it.

think the issue is say you go 3 per club and a key player gets injured you need 2 transfers, one to take him out and two to bring in another from the club.

it can be sorted by pricing the defenders higher as they should be or reducing the opportunities for block transfers by reducing the number of transfers.

in the short run WC/CL games obviously you would need to do a lot more than that. on the surface the games seem similar but that simply isnt the case!

[12345678]

One free team
Then either 2 more for £5 or 5 for £10
Then blocks available for between £2.50 and £5 per team.

Hard to imagine me doing more than 6

Ive just had a quick look and its 8 extra teans for £9. 99 then the same as last year

Just re read it and there is a different figure in "the game" section, 8 for £9.99 early bird compared to the terms and conditions which says 5.

I'm going to hang back after the free team as it has the hallmarks off a cock up regarding the early bird.

Quite right. I've just now paid the £4.99 for three additional teams but have received just two. I've contacted TFL to request the additional team....

i had this happen when they stopped the WC offer early.

the lack of competence is a real worry in a game where you rely on honest and accurate scoring, as others say issues over the lack of definition of KC also remain.

[Maldini]

Don’t suppose a moderator can move Mr Luckhurst’s annual whinge to its own thread? Season doesn’t start for a month and I’m bored of him already.

For all his moaning, I’ll bet my bottom dollar that he’ll appear on the leaderboard come the business end of the season.
Don’t allow yourselves to get drawn in by him. If he really disliked the game that much, he wouldn’t play it.

And I suspect that as good at the game as he is, if he gets a few managers to take their eye off the ball by muddying the waters, he’ll be very pleased with himself.

[12345678]

Don’t suppose a moderator can move Mr Luckhurst’s annual whinge to its own thread? Season doesn’t start for a month and I’m bored of him already.

For all his moaning, I’ll bet my bottom dollar that he’ll appear on the leaderboard come the business end of the season.
Don’t allow yourselves to get drawn in by him. If he really disliked the game that much, he wouldn’t play it.

And I suspect that as good at the game as he is, if he gets a few managers to take their eye off the ball by muddying the waters, he’ll be very pleased with himself.

i get this kind of response now and again, no facts or figures no debate, just straightforward unpleasantness.

if you actually bother reading it and engaging your brain you will see what i am actually doing is trying to help casual players by explaining how the game needs to be played differently these days to try and have a chance of winning and suggesting to tff how they might make the game better and avoid falling entries, as i have done before.

so your last sentence is rude and incompetent and completely wrong and without basis that you have failed to back up with reasoning because you simply don't have any!

[wandacatvenus]

Nice to see Mr Luckhurst back on FISO.

You might not agree with all his views but at least he lays the grounds for a Constructive debate, which has been sadly lacking recently in the FISO TFF forum.

[Maldini]

In the world I live in, gamesmanship is far worse than calling somebody out for it but hey-ho.

My memories long enough to remember what you’ve done in the past Mr Luckhurst so please don’t try and come across as some virtuous soul who’s only trying to help people.

[Spinynorman]

I quite like to hear the various thoughts and approaches of everyone on here and particularly the thoughts of folks many of whom do a lot better than I do. (I would put many of the previous posters on this thread in that category) It's not everyone that comes on here and provide thoughts and info as some play things very close to their chests.

We all have a whinge from time to time but it will all pan out more smoothly if we agree to disagree where necessary.

[12345678]

In the world I live in, gamesmanship is far worse than calling somebody out for it but hey-ho.

My memories long enough to remember what you’ve done in the past Mr Luckhurst so please don’t try and come across as some virtuous soul who’s only trying to help people.

well hopefully some more open minded players will see it for what it is and have the figures to work on and to see it backs up my suggestions as to how the game should be played.

i already stated my view re the game and that my entry will be reduced.

just because you think a game has gone the wrong way doesn't mean you don't play an ff game having done the basic research on epl teams for other games anyways.

you clearly are simply sticking to the old psychological trick of trying to blacken someone's name rather than offering examples and figures and reasoning to back it up.

if that's the way you roll thats your call, i am sure others can read the posts and see them for what they are,

some will agree with me some won't, some will reason some won't. some will finish toward the top of leaderboards some won't.

what you won't be able to do is point toward any areas where i have deliberately tried to mislead others. if you want to accuse me of sometimes playing with my cards close to my chest thats fine and sometimes true, but accusing me of deliberately trying to mislead others with no reasoning is simply contemptible.

[blahblah]

lets look at the top 3 scorers for each of the clubs that qualified for europe on a PPM basis

citeh : 4.6 sterling 46.74, 3.6 moraes 43.33, 3.7 otamendi 41.08
utd : 3.9 de gea 42.31, 3.6 smalling 41.11, 4.1 valencia 36.59
tott : 3.4 davies 45.29, 3.9 vertonghen 40.26, 5.0 son 40.20
liv : 4.5 salah 62.00, 5.7 firmino 34.21, 2.7 gomez 33.23
che : 4.3 alonso 42.79, 4.5 azpilicueta 40.89, 3.9 rudiger 39.74
ars : 3.2 xhaka 32.19, 3.8 monreal 31.58, 4.2 bellerin 30.24
bur: 2.1 tarkovski 52.86, 2.3 pope 50.00, 2.3 ward 45.22

so 21 players, 2 strikers, 3 midfielders, 13 defenders! 3 goalkeepers. 16-5 in favour of defensive players!!!

(figures credit brams site)

Are those this season's prices?

If so, can you give a link, as I can only see Bram's last season stuff.

[Kentish Womble]

Personally I like the idea of limiting the amount of players from one team to stop the blocks. Perhaps the multi teamers might have to use their nous and it'll mix the game up a bit.

[12345678]

lets look at the top 3 scorers for each of the clubs that qualified for europe on a PPM basis

citeh : 4.6 sterling 46.74, 3.6 moraes 43.33, 3.7 otamendi 41.08
utd : 3.9 de gea 42.31, 3.6 smalling 41.11, 4.1 valencia 36.59
tott : 3.4 davies 45.29, 3.9 vertonghen 40.26, 5.0 son 40.20
liv : 4.5 salah 62.00, 5.7 firmino 34.21, 2.7 gomez 33.23
che : 4.3 alonso 42.79, 4.5 azpilicueta 40.89, 3.9 rudiger 39.74
ars : 3.2 xhaka 32.19, 3.8 monreal 31.58, 4.2 bellerin 30.24
bur: 2.1 tarkovski 52.86, 2.3 pope 50.00, 2.3 ward 45.22

so 21 players, 2 strikers, 3 midfielders, 13 defenders! 3 goalkeepers. 16-5 in favour of defensive players!!!

(figures credit brams site)

Are those this season's prices?

If so, can you give a link, as I can only see Bram's last season stuff.

last season's. figures were lifted from brams site. reasoning was that i think you need to look at it on an a priori basis as you would be looking at this season's players based on this years figures.

as far as i can see not much has substantively changed re scoring or pricing, albeit stand to be corrected.

[12345678]

Personally I like the idea of limiting the amount of players from one team to stop the blocks. Perhaps the multi teamers might have to use their nous and it'll mix the game up a bit.

whilst i don't like it for reasons previously stated i wouldn't have any real problem with it happening, as you correctly say it would reduce the block effect (which would be a good thing).

i've just found it a bit stultifying in practice & an injury to a city player may cost you two transfers instead on one depending on who it is and their position and length of injury.

just a gut feel from experience that it doesn't work very well in terms of the even flow of a game, that's all.

[blahblah]

I tend to prefer this season's prices and last season's points pre-season, which I'm sure Bram does - but could be wrong....

[12345678]

well its easy enough to sub them in, but then you wouldn't be looking at what a bargain like salah (ok salah was an exceptional case) might score. you would have him as premium.

for this season you are looking at this season's prices and what you might be getting out of players, but i would have thought the comparison is to roll it back a year to prices back then and then look at what players did score. obviously that is what you are trying to project now rather than having 'actual'.

just the way i do it and look at it, not saying there are not other or maybe better ways of doing it.

[mindcrush]

So what are people's thoughts on blocks for early in the season? Everton seem a prime candidate with their schedule and the fact none of Thier defence went to the WC (only Pickford). Only issue is who starts next to Keane at CB.