2017 IEFSA Fantrax Draft Recap

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

$126 doesn't mean he can take a penalty

The new season gets underway on Friday the 11^th 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.

IEFSA Fantasy League 2016/17 Draft Recap

Recently the draft for the IEFSA Fantasy League for the upcoming season was held on Fantrax. I was determined to assemble a better squad than the one I saddled myself with at the start of last season. Even though I claimed a respectable midtable position, I was constantly battling with injuries, out of form players, players not making it into their teams starting elevens, and of course, fixture bias against my team.

Things get a little more complicated with this year’s draft though, as there are more teams involved, and some players can be held over from last year’s game. For my part I held on to Marko Arnautovic for his salary of $1. The Stoke City top scorer was one of my best performers last season and I hope he can keep up that form into 2017. Let me explain the make up for the rest of my squad after the draft was completed.

In goals I went with Tom Heaton of Burnley. I got burned badly last year after spending $31 to get the Chelsea goalkeepers and didn`t feel like over spending in this area again. Burnley did not have a bad defensive record in the Championship and I’m hoping Heaton can emulate someone like Gomes, who gained lots of points for Watford in their first season back in the top division. With all the fantasy teams taking a team each, if things go wrong then he will be very hard to trade away. I could very well be stuck with him.

I`ve coupled Heaton up with his teammate Michael Keane in defence. Keane is a regular at the back and could perhaps be fancied to get three or four goals this year. I only spent $3 and won`t be too hurt if I have to jettison him later in the season. I put most of my money into two other players to make up my defence. Arsenal`s Bellerin cost $25 and is one of the highest scorers in the game, while Leighton Baines cost $19 and is looking to bounce back this year after an injury hit 2015/16. Everton should improve at the back under new man Ronald Koeman, plus I’m hoping Baines' frequent attacks forward can bring some joy too.

Last year my marquee signing was Memphis Depay…….. This year I spent even more money on another Manchester United player. I ended up in a bit of a bidding war for the services of Mkhitaryan and when the dust had settled he was in my squad for $71, which is way more than I had planned to pay. But I felt I had to secure a signing after seeing a number of other big names slip away. I will need the Armenian to play every game and to continue the form that saw him score nearly once every three games in the Bundesliga last season.

 

If he's half the player Tom Cleverley was then my money was well spent.

To compliment him in midfield I picked up two (currently injured) Arsenal players, Wilshire and Cazorla. I`m banking on them breaking into the Arsenal team sooner rather than later, and they are definitely an upgrade on the two Arsenal players I had last year in Welbeck and Coquelin. To round out the midfield I brought in Kevin Mirallas for $12, again this is a player I expect to be rejuvenated with the arrival of Koeman at Goodison Park. The last midfielder I took a punt on was Joe Allen. If he had stayed at Liverpool I would have never touched him, but at Stoke he will surely be given more game time. He likes to keep possession and I hope he will be able to set up a good few chances for my other Stoke player, Arnautovic.

All that`s left is to look at are the players who will supply the goals in my squad, the forwards. Arnautovic has already been mentioned. The two other Forwards did not have great seasons last year in the Premier League, but under the guidance of new managers maybe it will be their time to shine. Pedro was signed for $9 and as he is not a guaranteed starter at Chelsea, he will probably occupy a bench spot on my team. The main Forward I have will be Fabio Borini.

No, hear me out! Borini got five goals last year in a largely hopeless Sunderland side. This year they should be a bit tighter and more organized under David Moyes. If Moyes can get goals out of Jelavic and Anichebe, he can surely get goals out of Borini.

 

Borini is due a goal, and I'm due a huge slice of luck!

I still have some money to dabble in the free agent market if there are any transfers to the Premier League before the end of the month. I will probably look for a defender to rotate into my side, or perhaps a more consistent midfielder if my Arsenal players end up spending most of their time on the treatment table.

The opening matchup is fast approaching. Look out for a preview before the weekend. And to keep up with all the goings on in the league, follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter.

Fantasy Football: IEFSA draft overview

 

The new Premier League season gets underway in a few short days, which means most people should have their fantasy teams complete with only a few injury doubts and late fitness tests really impacting on final selections. That is, unless you`ve entered yourself into a drafted league. In which case, you pour over the football news websites for info on the members of your squad with an obsession only Captain Ahab in Moby Dick could understand. If Martin Olsson is your third defender, it`s probably a good idea to follow him on Instagram to see if the pictures he takes give you any insight into that shoulder injury he`s carrying…… right?

The premier Fantasy Football draft league this year is run by IEFSA over at Fantrax. Some of the top names in Fantasy Sports writing on the web are competing for charity over the coming season, and you should follow them all on Twitter here -> @EPL_MOstradamus @RotoWireAndrew @BenDinnery @FantasyYIRMA @GalinDragiev @SportsByGotti @TomSunderland_ @FuzzyWarbles @cjradune @nealjthurman @Ben_Jata @RotoZdroik @nikarg @DanRiccio590 @wrigavin @DFS_hambazaza @Smokey_Loogy

Check out the IEFSA website and for up to the second news and updates follow @THE_IEFSA on twitter. If you fancy giving this fantasy draft game a go, you can enter a qualifier league here too -> First Qualifier League

The draft was completed just over a week ago and I thought it was about time to explain how the ragtag members of my squad came together. The overall theme of my squad was `Out with the Old, In with the New`. In most other fantasy games, a lot of teams will have the old reliables as bedrocks of their teams. Aguero, Baines, Ivanovic, Silva, etc. But in a drafted league, it`s very rare that one team would be packed with such players, and in a draft where everyone knows their Jordan Ayews from their Andre Ayews, it`s even rarer still. So rather than getting caught in lots of bidding wars over players, I felt it was better to just pick out a few players and concentrate on landing them. And the players I wanted to land were all new faces to the EPL. The reasons I will go into individually, but at the outset of the draft I knew this season I wanted to take a chance on these type of players to propel me up the league table, rather than blowing my budget to outbid people on Costa and Hazard. Of course they could all flop, get injured, be loaned off to the championship, etc, and my team will end up propping up the table, but let`s see what happens.

 

I ended up with eight new signings to the Premier League, and a player who is playing with a new club this season. A very untested bunch. This meant that between the sticks I wanted a more proven performer. My first selection of the draft was the Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois. I had hoped to get him at less than the $31 I was eventually bid up to, but I was happy to have him keeping goal every week. Chelsea had the fewest goals conceded last year and 17 clean sheets (11 at home), I realize other keepers gathered more points last season, but if Chelsea get near to less than a goal conceded a game and almost half a season of clean sheets again this year, I’ll be doing okay. Also if the defence falters, I think Courtois is good enough to pick up the slack, plus Begovic is not a bad replacement if Courtois does get sidelined for any reason.

 

 

The most expensive member of my squad ended up being Memphis Depay at $49. Another player I had earmarked for selection. With RVP leaving and Hernandez and Di Maria looking towards the exit door, I thought the goals would fall to Rooney and Depay to collect, with Mata chipping in too. He had a great record for Dutch side PSV last season, 28 goals in 40 appearances. I`m hoping he`ll take to the premier league from Dutch football more like a Ruud Van Nistelrooy rather than like a Jan Vannegoor of Hesselink. Depay was to be my main forward and I would have preferred to have paid something nearer the 31m Man Utd did for him, and paying $49 probably hampered the money I wanted to spend on my defence later in the draft.

 

 

Next up was the midfield, and a player I had my eye on was Newcastle`s Wijnaldum. In Holland he averaged a little under a goal every three games. I`m also hoping that Steve McClaren`s knowledge of the English and Dutch games means he`s fairly confident he`ll adapt quickly to the Premier League. I paid $22 for Wijnaldum and would have probably paid a little more. The other midfielder I wanted was Swansea`s new Ghana international Andre Ayew. At 25 he should be coming into the best football of his career, and what has come before wasn`t too shabby as he averaged around one goal in four games playing in France. He plays more of a forward than a midfielder, and I expect him to shine at Swansea.

 

As a back-up forward I had hoped to get my hands on Leicester City`s Shinji Okazaki, but when @GalinDragiev brought his value up to $12 I felt I had to back off. Okazaki is one of Japan`s most prolific goalscorers and easily got to double figures in goals at Mainz in each of the last two seasons.

My most expensive defensive purchase was West Ham`s Carl Jenkinson at $10. He averaged more points per game in Fantrax last season than both Trippier and Janmaat, who went for $20 and $12 respectively in the draft, so I`ve got to be happy with that. Rounding out my defence I have two players who have joined Watford this summer and a new signing at Aston Villa.

 

Of the three promoted sides Watford came up with the leakiest defence and new manager Quique Flores has moved to shore things up at the back with a few new faces. Jose Holebas comes in from Roma, while Allan Nyom was signed from Udinese (though played in Spain with Granada) and with Flores having been a right back during his playing days, I’m banking on him having an eye for a defender or two. At Villa, Tim Sherwood has brought in Jordan Amavi as left back. He may be only 21 but the Frenchman looks a class act and should hopefully cement his place there. He was my next biggest defensive signing at $5.

 

Back to midfield and another big signing was the $25 I spent on Man Utd`s Bastian Schweinsteiger. He may have a `possibly injured` little red flag beside his name every week and with United`s heavier schedule this season there is always the risk of rotation in a crowed Man Utd midfield, but I thought he would have went for a bit more than $25. He had one of his poorer seasons last year at Bayern where he only managed 28 games and five goals. I actually consider Schweinsteiger the biggest ‘gamble’ of my draft.

 

Rounding out my midfield I have Fabian Delph to come in if a couple of my main midfielders are not firing. People often ask why certain players go to big clubs when it looks like they will struggle to break into the first team and could end up sitting on the bench for prolonged periods, or worse, just forgotten about as their once bright career disappears. But every player backs themselves to compete at the top level and they convince themselves that they can be the main man at any side. If Delph is willing to back himself to be a fixture at Man City, I can back him for a $5 bid. He`s clearly a talented young player and I see no reason why he can`t get at least the same amount of game time as players such as Milner, Fernando, or Navas even!

 

I also added new Villa midfielder Idrissa Gueye for $9. The Senegalese arrives from Lille for 9m and scored 4 goals last season in Ligue 1. As a late addition post draft, I obtained the services of Villa`s Scott Sinclair, just as an extra body as players sit on the Injured Reserve list. He has been in good form in preseason and with Tim Sherwood brining an attacking style to the club, that means possible fantasy points at the right end of the field.

 

To complete my trio of forwards I have Danny Welbeck of Arsenal and Jonathan Walters of Stoke. Welbeck has yet to get a decent run in the Arsenal team, but with the Euros coming up I’m hoping he can force himself into some of Arsene Wenger’s plans and knock in a few goals. He is currently out injured. Walters on the other hand is never very far from Mark Hughes’ plans at Stoke City. He had his most prolific season scoring-wise last year, and something similar would be much appreciated from the $1 acquisition.

 

So that was the thinking behind my squad. Let me know what you think on Twitter @GarryIrwin, and look out for upcoming articles posted on The Notebook. For a breakdown of how each team drafted, Galin Dragiev covers all the bases over at Rotoworld in his comprehensive IEFSA draft review. Until next time, remember to join the qualifier league and to follow @THE_IEFSA on Twitter.