Draft 4-14

[Ruth_NZ]

This is a chat thread for our small draft league if anyone is interested. Please note that any admin questions should be sent to me by PM rather than being posted here.

DavidLloydIsAHero [FPL Cricketer] made use of 1st pick by taking Ronaldo, Sterling and Rashford early. He'll have to wait for points from Rashford though.
Dino1980 [Dino's Draft] had 2nd pick and went with Salah, Son & Bamford. Unfortunately he now has an injured player too.
Jok57 [Bada Bing] went 3rd and took Kane, Jota & Richarlison but left his defender picks late and missed any premium defenders.
Malrom [Lodgepole Pines] had 4th pick and somewhat surprisingly took Fernandes rather than Lukaku. He then took two more midfielders (Greenwood & Torres), resulting in a somewhat anaemic-looking set of forwards.
Ted_Striker [Hertford Hotshots] will have been surprised and pleased to get Lukaku from 5th position in the snake and also took TAA and Pogba in what looks like a strong, balanced squad.
Morrison Dullforce [Dullta-Force] went 6th and took KDB, Mané and Jiménez early on. He'll be hoping KDB is up and running sooner rather than later.
RNZ [Musique concrète] had 7th choice, just to prove that admin has no privileges. Am modestly pleased with my squad, with Vardy, Antonio, Raphinha and Sancho as early picks and a fairly strong collection of defenders.
Pipolinus [Sumol FC] went last but managed to produce a strong all-around squad featuring Aubameyang, DCL, Grealish & Jesus as well as a very solid defensive line.

Looks set to be an interesting contest over 11 weeks and I don't see that there has been any great advantage to having an early slot unless one of the big premium attackers has an extremely productive couple of months ahead. Might be as much a matter of which key players stay fit and which don't as anything else. Good luck to all.

[Jok57]

The league looks Very bunched after 3 gameweeks played. Only 30 points between top and bottom.
Saka was my top scorer this week with 13 points.
Disappointingly only got 1 point in total from Soyuncu and Vestegaard my 2 Leicester defenders at home to Burnley.
Richarlison remains injured in my squad.

[Ruth_NZ]

OK, we are 4 weeks in now so more than a third of the way. Time for a review.

There are now 51 points between 1st and 8th. Not a huge gap considering we have seen an average best-to-worst swing of 25 points per week so far; a couple of good weeks and those bringing up the rear could easily be back in contention.

Current 1st is RNZ [Musique concrète] with 199 points. Starting with 7th pick, I chose quite fortunately so far with Vardy, Antonio & Raphinha, while hopefully the double City defence will now come into its own. Sancho was my early pick that hasn't fired and he is now gone.

Close behind in 2nd is Dino1980 [Dino's Draft] on 197 points. Dino had 2nd pick and capitalised on it by taking Salah & Son but Bamford has disappointed and is now injured. He has the fixtures to do well if he can get fit, whilst Sarr has been the star of the show so far. Dino has a punchy midfield and will be hoping it can carry him to the win.

Jok57 [Bada Bing] went 3rd in the draft and is currently 3rd in the league with 187 points. This is all the more impressive as his primary picks (Kane, Jota & Richarlison) have all disappointed. Marko left his defender picks late and missed any premium defenders but has managed to use the market to great effect here, including the inspired acquisition of Chalobah this week.

There's then a bit of a gap to Morrison Dullforce [Dullta-Force] in 4th, on 166 points. His primary picks of KDB, Mané and Jiménez (from 6th place in the snake) have been slow to fire but things are looking up for them now with KDB fit again and Jimenez among the recent points. The addition of Zaha on waiver could prove to be a cute one too.

Ted_Striker [Hertford Hotshots] is 5th on 162 points. He has Lukaku, who has the fixtures to do a lot of damage, plus TAA who should be fit again in GW8. Will he get enough points from his somewhat weaker midfield? That could be the critical factor for his prospects.

Just behind on 161 points is Pipolinus [Sumol FC] in 6th place. Joao has a solid defensive line but will be keenly awaiting the return from injury of DCL and hoping that Aubameyang, Grealish & Jesus can deliver some consistent attacking points for him.

Malrom [Lodgepole Pines] is 7th on 159 points. He had 4th pick and somewhat surprisingly took Fernandes rather than Lukaku but it has made little difference thus far and he will be happy to see Werner starting the last 2 games. Unfortunately his main City attackers (Torres & Mahrez) seem to be out of favour but signing Townsend on waiver was inspired and maybe he can pull the same trick again.

DavidLloydIsAHero [FPL Cricketer] is 8th on 148 points, not what he'd have expected after having 1st pick in the draft. Ronaldo just hasn't delivered enough for him so far, while Sterling hasn't been starting and Rashford has been injured. He does have Foden, though, and Rashford could well be back in GW8.

[Malrom]

That's a great review, Ruth-NZ !!!! Thank you!

[Ruth_NZ]

There are now 51 points between 1st and 8th. Not a huge gap considering we have seen an average best-to-worst swing of 25 points per week so far; a couple of good weeks and those bringing up the rear could easily be back in contention.

And so it proved in GW8. The best-to-worst swing was 33 points this week and the big winner was Tim's FPLCricketer whose 69 points took him from 8th to 4th, courtesy of an unlikely 20-pointer from Firmino and good contributions from his West Ham defenders. His #1 pick - Ronaldo - has been dismal recently with 11 points in the last 4 weeks but if he can start firing anything could be possible as Tim's team is now only 31 points behind 1st place.

Nick [Dino's Draft] reclaimed top spot thanks mainly to Salah's continuing brilliance. Salah has now racked up 53 points in the 5 weeks the league has been running, that's 21% of his team's total points from one player. It's probably fair to say that if Nick's team ends up winning then it will be the Salah/Son combo that gets him there.

[Ruth_NZ]

GW9 took us past the halfway point and as predicted, Salah has now taken Dino's Draft into a huge 30-point lead. His cute signing of Hudson-Odoi helped as well and went some way to neutralising Mount's points for 2nd-placed Musique concrète. The other big riser was Tim's FPLCricketer, which has now gone from 8th to 3rd in 2 weeks with Tielemans, Foden and the two West Ham defenders once again providing a push. Tim's team is now only 15 points back from 2nd place.

Next update will be during the international break, at which point there will be 3 weeks left and we will be entering the final straight.

[Ruth_NZ]

8 weeks gone, 3 to go and we are entering the final straight. Time for another review.

There are now 133 points between 1st and 8th. It might be thought that this puts some teams out of contention but in truth, we probably all are. Nick's team is 48 points ahead and barring something of a miracle he'll surely be the winner, leaving the rest of us to play for 2nd place.

So, in 1st place Dino1980 [Dino's Draft] is on 425 points. Nick had 2nd pick in the original draft and capitalised on it by taking Salah, Son & James. It would be easy to put his success down to that; Salah in particular having contributed 87 points in 8 weeks. But that wouldn't do justice to how well Nick has played the waiver/free agency market. Cucurella gave him +5 in GW8; Hudson-Odoi +11 and Rodrigo +8 in GW9; Rodrigo +6 in GW10; Emerson Royal +6 in GW11. That's 36 points gained in the last 4 weeks from players added since we started.


Current 2nd is RNZ [Musique concrète] with 377 points. Starting with 7th pick, my key picks of Vardy & Antonio have dried up in the last weeks, unfortunately for me. Raphinha has continued to contribute and my double City defence (including Cancelo) came good last week, while the pickup of Bernardo in GW8 has helped to the tune of 25 points in the last 4 weeks. But my waiver/free agency picks outside of him have not delivered enough to keep anywhere near the leader and in actual fact I am more looking over my shoulder.

Ted_Striker [Hertford Hotshots] has improved from 5th to 3rd over the last 4 weeks and even reached 2nd after GW10. He has TAA, who has contributed 29 points in the last 4 weeks, and Chilwell's run of goals has helped him as well. Some of his recent waiver additions - Cornet, McCarthy, Ramsdale - have also made a big difference, certainly enough to make Carl a strong contender for 2nd place from 5th pick in the draft. He is currently on 368 points.

DavidLloydIsAHero [FPL Cricketer] has been the biggest improver since the last full review, moving from 8th to 4th on 345 points. Tim had 1st place in the draft but his primary picks of Ronaldo, Sterling and Rashford have been a disappointment. Foden has helped recently and the early waiver signing of Tielemans has been very useful but it looks as if he'll need a big one from Ronaldo - perhaps against Watford in GW12? - to push him over the line.

Morrison Dullforce [Dullta-Force] has fallen from 4th to 5th (338 points) over the last 4 weeks. Rob had 6th place in the draft and his primary picks of KDB, Mané and Jiménez have done OK but nothing exceptional. The waiver addition of Zaha has proved a boon over the last couple of weeks but Rob has not been that active in adding new players.

Jok57 [Bada Bing] went 3rd in the draft and was the biggest faller over the last 4 weeks, from 3rd to 6th with 318 points. Marko has been perhaps the most active manager of all in the waiver/free agency market but that has sometimes meant removing players (Bernardo, Ramsdale, Bowen) that he'd be better to have kept. The relative failure of his primary pick (Kane) has been costly and he has also made some unsuccessful benching decisions (notably having Jota as 3rd sub with his 11 points in GW9).

Just behind on 317 points is Pipolinus [Sumol FC] in 7th place. Joao has a solid defensive line but unfortunately not the wingbacks that have been scoring the big points. DCL's injury was a big blow and he has also suffered with Aubameyang (I know how he feels!). Maybe Lukaku - who he picked up on waiver - will deliver well for him over the last 3 weeks but he's probably too far back to make the frame this time.

Malrom [Lodgepole Pines] is last on 292 points. He had 4th pick but an over-reliance on Manchester United appears to have wrecked his chances this time around.

Good luck all for the last 3 weeks.

[dino1980]

Thanks for the write ups Ruth. I’m moving house this week so it’s fair to say my priorities lie elsewhere and I won’t be following FPL as closely (especially as my FPL’s team transfer is one 4m GK out and one 4m GK in).

Whilst I’d like to think I can hang on, my team is in bad shape this week. Triple Wolves vs West Ham, quadruple Chelsea vs Leicester. It’s certainly not over yet.

[Ruth_NZ]

GW12 was fairly even among the leading teams but the best performance came from Carl's Hertford Hotshots, who edged back into 2nd place thanks to TAA, Chilwell and the very cute waiver signing of Cornet. Dino's Draft didn't have the best week but still holds an invincible-looking 44-point lead with 2 weeks to go. Meanwhile, my Musique concrète fell to 3rd and only managed to field 10 players thanks to Raphinha's illness.

[Ruth_NZ]

GW13 saw Dino's Draft suffer badly from the Spurs postponement, meaning Nick's lead has shrunk to 28 points. Still looks pretty impregnable with only 1 GW left to go. Musique concrète edged back into 2nd place but only by 4 points from Carl's Hertford Hotshots in 3rd. All to play for in GW14 then.

Performance of the week came from Marko's Bada Bing with 69 points despite the absence of Kane that saw him rise to 6th. Looks like too little, too late this time, unfortunately. GL all in the final GW and I will post a last review at the end of the week.

[Ruth_NZ]

Final Review

That's 11 weeks done and dusted, it seemed to fly by. I have enjoyed this format and would be interested to know if others have liked it also.

The final table has 164 points between 1st and 8th, meaning the winner scored 15 points per week on average better than the 8th placed team.

Dino1980 [Dino's Draft] took 1st place on 567 points, averaging nearly 52 points per week over 11 weeks in an 8-team draft - a pretty outstanding performance. Nick had 2nd pick in the original draft and capitalised on it by taking Salah, Son & James. It would be easy to put his success down to that; Salah in particular having contributed 116 points, more than 20% of the team's total. But as noted before, that wouldn't do justice to how well Nick has played the waiver/free agency market. This week he benefited from the recent additions of E. Royal, Dier and Adams and actually extended his margin of victory in the final week. Well done!


2nd place went to RNZ [Musique concrète] with 519 points. Starting with 7th pick, my early picks of Vardy & Raphinha did well for me, though I chose the wrong Chelsea defender in Azpilicueta. The pickup of Bernardo Silva in GW8 helped to the tune of 45 points over the last 7 weeks and was probably my biggest difference-maker in a closely-fought race for 2nd place.

Morrison Dullforce [Dullta-Force] made a great late run to finish in 3rd place on 508 points. Rob had 6th place in the draft and played a patient game with relatively few excursions into the transfer market. His good finish was basically a case of solid selections like Lloris, Dias, Robertson, Reguilon, Mané, Jimenez and Toney accruing points at a steady rate over the 11 weeks. A strategy based on the class of the players he had rather than chasing fixtures.

Ted_Striker [Hertford Hotshots] dropped to 4th in the final standings, having been in close contention for 2nd place going into the final week. He had TAA and also Chilwell for his run of goals and he did very well by picking up Ramsdale at just the right time. Unfortunately, Carl's key draft pick of Lukaku (from 5th place in the snake) was injured early in the piece and failed to deliver what might have been expected. He finished on 501 points.

Jok57 [Bada Bing] went 3rd in the draft and had a very up-and-down season, from 3rd after 4 weeks to 7th after 9 weeks before making a strong late charge to finish 5th. Marko was the most active manager of all in the waiver/free agency market and made some astute additions in the later weeks (Mount, Maddison) but the disappointing performance of his primary pick (Kane) was very costly and he sometimes let players go too soon, only to see them do well in other teams. His final score was 484 points.

DavidLloydIsAHero [FPL Cricketer] was 6th on 466 points from 1st position in the draft. Ronaldo let him down really - or maybe OGS did. Further behind on 413 points was Pipolinus [Sumol FC], who finished 7th from 8th place in the draft. Joao had a very unlucky draft with DCL injured early on and Aubameyang managing some serious points-dodging. And bringing up the rear was Malrom [Lodgepole Pines] on 403 points. He had 4th pick but unfortunately placed too much trust in Manchester United just as they were about to enter a big slump.

Thanks all for the good competition and am looking forward to Season 2 which begins in GW16.