Season Preview: FPL – You are ON THE AIR
The time has come once more, fellow fantasy managers, to put our brains to the test. The official FPL game for the new season has launched this week and we have a chance once again to chase football glory. There are many versions of fantasy Premier League on offer and I enjoy playing every one of them, but this one, for me, is the granddaddy of them all. I simply love the FPL format.
Last season was unlike any other in FPL history and that was due in large part to the success of Leicester City. Most seasons, we are scrambling to piece together a strong and balanced squad using our £100 million budgets, but, with the unexpected magic from players like Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Christian Fuchs, along with other rising stars who could be had for a small price like Dele Alli and Charlie Daniels, success was determined on what one did with their surplus of cash. Many were cursed by the likes of Eden Hazard or Wayne Rooney, players who, in past seasons, acted as pillars of one’s fantasy teams and could be relied upon as captaincy material. We may never see the likes of a season like that again. Seemingly everything went topsy-turvy on us.
Now, the great players who came at little expense last season are carrying hefty price tags. Mahrez and Vardy will now cost you £4 million more than they did last season. The key to success for the coming term is to find the next batch of breakout stars and to get them into your XI as quickly as possible. It will be no easy task and neither will be the challenge of selecting the premium players from big clubs because so many of those clubs – Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea – are now under new management. New philosophies can change the landscape in a hurry. For example, those three big clubs that were mentioned are all capable of taking a giant leap in defensive returns. We were given the luxury of not having to roster defenders or keepers from these clubs to find success for much of last season. Players like Jack Butland and Heurelho Gomes at keeper were better options than Thibault Courtois and Bournemoth’s Steve Cook ended with more fantasy points than Branislav Ivanovic. It truly was a bizarre outcome in 2015/2016 but, with the slate wiped clean, we cannot expect everything to stay the same.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve | Ben | Rob | Andrew
Speaking of staying the same, to some surprise, that is actually the case with the FPL game itself for the most part. In pretty much every season before this one, there would be at least one major change in the rules, whether it be how an assist was defined, how bonus points were allocated or, as was introduced last season, the use of “chips” to enhance one’s team in select weeks. We do not have to worry about digesting any new strategies this time around. The rules have stayed the same and the chips are still in place. The minor differences to the experience from a season ago are mostly in presentation. The site has a new look to its interface. You now have to confirm each time you move a player into your squad on the transfer page, then confirm a second time when you want the transfers to go through. It seems a bit unnecessary and tedious when everyone is tinkering with a brand new team ahead of Week 1 but it should not cause much annoyance once the season gets rolling. Each player’s profile has incorporated an additional measuring tool to that player’s potential – influence, creativity and threat. Combining these three attributes gives one an overall ICT score. This can be quite useful as FPL is weighed so heavily on simply goals and assists. Some players are doing all the right things to get themselves on the score sheet but end up with a “2” score and, unless you looked closely at every match report, you would never know that a certain player looks to be on the verge of exploding. The ICT score may be completely ignored by casual FPL managers but could provide that extra edge for those looking for the next smart transfer. Allow it to be your friend.
One other change this season that will impact fantasy managers is the weekly deadline. As usual, the deadline for a gameweek will almost always occur one hour before the first match of the round. However, managers will have to make their decisions a bit earlier periodically throughout the season as the Premier League will be showcasing Friday night matches. There will not be matches on every Friday night but, when they do happen, managers will need to lock their teams in by 7pm UK time on Fridays. No doubt, at least once this season, this moved-up deadline will have a negative impact when a rumor of a player being dropped or not on the team bus Saturday morning will not be able to help us with our teams already locked. Suffering is a part of this game we love and the Friday deadline will no doubt add that experience.
So now is the time to sit back and tinker to your heart’s content for the next three weeks. Do yourself a favor though, and try to take it easy for the first week or two. So much has yet to be decided. Chances are, what looks like a perfect squad you put together today will be a complete mess 48 hours before the first deadline. It is a good idea to monitor all the transfers going on in the summer window as well as looking over match reports in preseason friendlies to get an idea of which players look to be cementing a starting role and which players are showing form leading into the Week 1 of the season. You can also be lookinng at comparing the fixtures for every club and determine some possible rotation pairings, most helpful in the goalkeeping and defensive positions.
Also, in the meantime, the staff here at Rotoworld encourage you to join our official mini-league. A league has been set up already and we would love to see it grow to a healthy size over the next few weeks. Join up today and pass the code on to a friend or two.
The code for our Rotoworld PL league is: 108499-65163
Enjoy the coming season, fellow managers, and be sure to check in with us here at Rotoworld for the latest injury news, transfer rumors and done deals, as well as player analysis to help you on your path to success this season. I will be focusing my coverage on the FPL game but we will also have staff members dedicating content toward the Fantrax game, the Playtogga game and DFS games.
Good luck, and may your arrows be green.
