Two
weeks ago saw the IEFSA Fantrax draft happen in Las Vegas (and China, and Greenland,
and Antarctica. It was online). Now that the dust has settled and managers get
a sober view of their picks, let’s take a look at all the big moves, and some
of the little ones. First up, let me explain the reasoning behind the four
players I decided to keep in my roster from the previous season.
Tom
Heaton was retained in goals. I didn’t want to pay much money for a goalkeeper
after spending far too much to get Courtois two seasons ago and enduring a year
where the Belgian only managed five clean sheets, sandwiched in between seasons
of 12 and 16 clean sheets. It`s just as good to keep a competent No.1 who is
kept busy, than a keeper from a top club where you become very clean sheet dependent.
If you can get a keeper for $1, and stay out of a scramble for the scraps to complete
a roster during the draft, all the better.
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| Can Keane handle Joe Allen on the opening day of the season? |
Steve
Cook of Bournemouth, $1, and Michael Keane now of Everton, $3, were both kept.
These are two defenders who averaged over 13 points a game and who should be
regular starters for their clubs. It`s vitally important to get a full roster
playing every week and I didn’t want to take any chances with my salary cap on
defensive players.
The
final player I kept was Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic for only $1.
He averaged a solid 13.5 points a game when he arrived in the Premier League in
January and even chipped in with a few goals. I kept Milivojevic over last
season`s player of the year Joe Allen purely because he was costing me less cap
money. Allen was $4. But then…. during the draft I brought Allen back into the
squad for $10 in some sort of Pogba-esque divine reclamation.
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| I would have paid double, nay triple, what he cost #bargain |
For
the draft itself I had my eye on a few players. Mostly new signings to the
league as managers had kept a hold of their best assets. I also didn’t want to
overpay for any players and had set myself a limit of around $50 because the
big signings of the last few years for my side were not runaway successes.
Paying over $50 for a player wouldn`t give you a huge advantage over a player
you could pick up for $1 in my eyes. Only a handful of players, the Aguero`s,
Hazard`s and Sanchez`s of the league are worth a big outlay in salary cap.
I
would also bid up any players that I had last season. If I picked them up
cheaper, then it was all good, as I had a pretty solid season last year. I was
just making sure no one underpaid for them. Mkhitaryan went for $82, which was
$11 up from last year, and I wasn`t too broken up to see him go.
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| The one that got away.... |
My
first selection in the draft was a Forward, but I didn’t end up getting him as
my phone had some early teething problems making bids. I was always frustrated
last year getting a consistent goal scorer, or even a forward who would get consistent
game time. I still wanted a way into an improving Man Utd side, Mkhitaryan I
was happy to let go, Lukaku was held by @RotoZdroik for $30, while Pogba (last year’s
biggest signing) was kept by @RotoWireAndrew for $125. With this in mind I
really wanted to sign Marcus Rashford, but thanks to my fat thumbs, (ProTip: don’t
draft on your phone) @jasonuk17 picked him up for a bargain $23. I would have
happily bid up to $50 for him. When this happened I felt I had to chase a
Forward because most of the goal scorers will be gone. As a result of this I
ended up paying $37 for Dwight Gayle. Gayle was the top scorer for promoted
Newcastle last season. As a backup, I took a chance of $19 on Swansea loanee
Tammy Abraham. These are my only two forwards as you can only play two on any
gameweek, but you must have one. It`s a waste of space holding too many
forwards, so I hope at least one of these guys works out so I don’t have to go
looking on the waiver wire in search of goals.
Gayle
was not my most expensive player though, as I went for another newly promoted
player in Tom Ince at $40. The Huddersfield midfielder has scored 25 goals in
the Championship over the last two seasons (playing for Derby County) and I’m
hoping he will have improved from his previous spells in the Premier League,
which were with Hull and Palace.
My
next big signing was $34 for Man Utd`s new defender Victor Lindelof. As I
already mentioned, I believe Man Utd will improve this year. I also think Jose
Mourinho is closing in on his preferred backline and perhaps Lindelof is the
final piece. If the Swede does find himself in and out of the Utd side, I
picked up Jose Fonte for $15 to fill in, providing that he cements his place at
his new club West Ham.
My
last big signing was in midfield where I paid $31 for Jonjo Shelvey. He proved
he can score at this level when he played for Swansea, and as a vital cog in
the Newcastle Utd team I know he will want to be on the ball a lot. To fill out
my squad I have a number of $1 signings. Marcos Rojo is currently injured, but
if he can fight his way back into the Man Utd lineup he could be a valuable
addition. And lastly Gareth Barry at Everton; he is the player most at risk of
being cast aside if I need to shake things up after gameweek one. Barry did
start 23 games last season, but I expect this to be reduced with all the new
signings that Ronald Koeman has made in the summer.
This
season the IEFSA league has been split into two divisions of ten teams each.
There will be promotion and relegation and of course a cup competition during
the season. I find myself in the Primary League battling for the title. I`ll be
honest though, I`ll be looking to avoid relegation. Looking through the squads,
the side I assembled is the only one that features no players from teams who
finished in the Top-5 last season. Every other team has at least three;
@TRKingston could play a whole outfield of Top-5 team players! I`ve pretty much
a shoestring side on a small budget, but I have kept a sizable salary in case a
big new signing enters the Premier League before the end of August, or failing
that, during January.
The
draft did see some managers’ splash the cash like never before (must be the TV
money). Eden Hazard went for $102. Lacazette for $113. Salah was snapped up for
$116. But the biggest deal, and now the most expensive player in IEFSA is
Alvaro Morata. The Chelsea new boy cost @SportsByGotti $126.
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| $126 doesn't mean he can take a penalty |
The
new season gets underway on Friday the 11th of August when Arsenal hosts
Leicester. So remember to get your fantasy teams sorted before then.
@IEFSA
preview coming later in the week. Good luck everyone.
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