A Few Thoughts On The Rule Changes

Our beloved Yahoo Fantasy Football game is a back and the powers that be have largely listened to their customers feedback transforming the game back into the beast we loved but with a couple twists.

Budget

Once again we have  100m british pounds to spend on our side.  When you combine this with the need to purchase a squad of 15 players it has made this perhaps the most difficult version of the game yet.  No more can we load our teams with all the big players with easy fixtures as we spent all of last season doing.  Players values have been taken down a little to suit the budget with the top player price being Steven Gerrard at 16.82m.  The logical ealy weeks strategy will be the textbook tactic.  Treat every  every week as a unique game picking the players in form with the best matchups.   Long term we have a possible banana skin, which brings me to the next point

The Bench

Last the bench wasn't pointless, it just was most of the time.  There was the odd week where due to injury, tactics or illness certain first 11 players found themselves out of the matchday squad and then the filler we all had popped into our team added a handful of points.  Either that or If I remember correctly there was a lot of red around the points my player achieved!.

The bench may still not be a factor this season.  Perhaps we can just spend 4M of the 4 players sat on it and continue with the normal tactics.  Or maybe we will need to play a little more thoughtful.  The question comes down to the player values and the notorious Yahoo changes to the values.

Lets take Robin Van Persie and his opening day fixture at Old Trafford against Swansea City.  Based on history should RVP go back to being RVP and score a 20pt plus game you would expect his starting price of 12.90 to shoot up to say 17/18m? Certainly should he score a hattrick he may go 19-20ish.  You also know that historically his value will not fall anywhere near as quick.  With such a tight budget would you therefore have to keep RVP week in week out regardless of form, fixture or rotation come Christmas?

RVP may be a bad example as he is RVP right. What if new gunners signing Alexis Sanchez does the same against Crystal Palace and  Daniel Sturridge the same against Southampton.  What do you do in week two where Diego Costa hosts Leicester City, wouldn't you want him in your starting team?  what do you do now?  Who do you drop?

A further point of interest when viewing the new site is that when searching for a player based on value you can select the low and high price limit.  The high price is currently set at 17m.  Could that mean our players maximum value could be 17m?  if so letting RVP, Sanchez or Sturridge  go at 17ish becomes an option as they are never quite too expensive to bring back.

Position corrections

Now we are talking.  Finally Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Robert Snodgrass for example are all finally set as midfield picks.   It will open up far more complicated choices for us managers with high scoring points potential in that position.  Not everybody is correct but it is a big improvement in this element.  Side thought, how many sentences will see me or anyone put Snodgrass in the same ballpark as Mata or Hazard, only in fantasy hey!

Corners won

Why does something as simple as the return of getting a 1pt for every corner won by my player bring so much satisfaction?  Watching games I'm often seen smiling to myself when an attacker hasn't made the most of his position in the box and has to settle for a corner.  It's like the UK education system nobody loses we are all winners even when we fail.

New players with calibur cost what they should.

I know I may be in the minority here but I'm glad Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Diego Costa haven't started the game at 6m or under. They shouldn't, they are proven players of international and big club level, they should cost you to pick them. The games balance is far better for it.

Captain

Perhaps the most popular of the changes has been the removal of the captain feature.  Maybe it was because after week 5 the correct player was just to stick it on the nibbler last season.  Maybe with a more rounded set of choices it could have worked this season.  However with Yahoo's scoring options so vast the far better option was to remove it and take away the chance you could pick a largely unsuccessful weeks team then outscore your rival by just getting the captain pick correct.

What do you think?  Are the rules changes to your taste?  Will you be using the bench from the start or like most adopt a wait see plan?  Will FL Girl ever be able pick a team?  Will Ken ever stop fiddling?  Will the good Professor use his awesome statistical skills and create the perfect formula to global success?  Will I ever figure out how I want to end this post?

Stall