I have to admit that I got very lucky this week and managed to save a draft team with six of the double game players from NYCFC and Philadelphia. I was planning on changing my team, but found upon returning to my lineup that the transfer window had already closed, more than 24 hours ahead of tonight's kickoff.
This is unprecedented for Yahoo. The deadline for selecting a team has been an hour before kickoff in the first match of the week for the entirety of the new version of the game. I tried contacting Yahoo to see if they could provide any reasoning behind their decision to close the transfer window a day early, but as has always been the case, I've received no response via their official Twitter account.
I guess the lesson learned for future team selection is to keep an eye on the countdown timer on the fantasy home page, although even that has issues keeping time properly. Make sure you refresh the page to see the actual remaining time if you've spent any time away from the window.
I'm truly sorry to all of you who will have to suffer through this week without a team, or with a team full of players who may not get off the bench. For those of you who were able to save a lineup, the team news is in for the first match of Week 7:
New York City FC Starting Lineup
#NYCFC Starting XI vs. @PhilaUnion pic.twitter.com/DZB612Mudm
— New York City FC (@NYCFC) April 16, 2015
Philadelphia Union Starting Lineup
Lineup vs. @NYCFC: McCarthy; Gaddis, Vitoria, Edu, Williams; Wenger, Lahoud, Nogueira, Ayuk; Aristeguieta, Le Toux. pic.twitter.com/UykysOgFsp
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) April 16, 2015
It looks like there are a few surprises on both sides, with Fernando Aristeguieta fit enough to start for Philadelphia despite playing with a torn quad muscle, and Javier Calle lining up in Jeb Brovsky's fullback spot for New York. As hinted at in my Player Picks post, Khiry Shelton has earned the start, but Cristian Maidana is only fit enough to make the Union bench.
As mentioned above, I was thanfully able to save a team for this week. Here's where I ended up:
Saunders
J. Hernandez, Vitoria, Grana
Sam, Ayuk, Maidana, Perez Garcia
Villa, Rivero, Keane
How did your team shape up this week? Were you able to get your changes in ahead of the deadline? In any case, I hope things turn up for you, whether that's this week or in future matches. Let's chat!