Trends From the Top- What Are the League Leaders Doing? A look to Gameweek 33.

After a small bit of a hiatus, I welcome you to this week’s edition of Trends From the Top.  For Gameweek 32, the trends demonstrated that the popular picks were not necessarily the fortuitous ones. While 100% of the top managers had Chelsea’s Hazard on the field, only 30% gave him the armband.  Let’s take a deeper look at what our leaders did for Gameweek 32.

Who was the most captained player by the top ten for Gameweek 32?

This week, 70% of top managers selected Kane as their captain pick.  With a hat trick in GW 30 (17 points) and 2 goals in GW 28 (13 points), Kane did indeed seem to be the logical choice but unfortunately, as we know, Kane only yielded 4 points altogether as captain.

Who were the most popular players chosen by the top ten for Gameweek 32?

Goalkeepers:  40% of the top selected Pantillimon (0 points) while 30% played Myhill (1 point) followed by Hart (1 point), Guzan (9 points) and Mignolet (7 points), each with an ownership of 10%.

Defenders:  As usual, we saw a plethora of defenders played by the top ten; a total of 12 different players.  Terry was the most popular as 8 of the 10 managers selected him.  Terry was followed by Dawson (50% ownership), Ivanovic (40%), Bellerin, Fonte and Alderweield (20%).  The remaining defenders were the following all with 10% ownership: Wollscheid, van Aanholt, Moreno, Rose, Scott and Clyne.

It is interesting to note that while Dawson was selected by 50%, he only has an ownership rate 1.4% and for £4.6 he may be a good differential should he manage to keep clean sheets.  It is important to note however that his remaining fixtures are not easy ones as he’s up against Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester United, (Newcastle), Chelsea and Arsenal.  He would therefore not be on my list of folks to transfer in.

Midfielders:  When you look at midfielders, the top 10 managers had 9 different picks with several getting only 10% of the vote such as Cazorla, Mane and Waters.  100% of managers selected Hazard followed by Silva at 90%, Eriksen at 80%, Sanchez at 70% and Boyd at 20%.

Forwards:  This week, the front line consisted of only 6 picks among the top managers.  90% had Kane followed by Aguero at 90%, Murray at 30%, and Giroud Benteke at 20% and Ideye at 10%.

Here again we see something interesting;  Murray from Crystal Palace was selected by 30% of top managers and one can only suspect that this is in anticipation for GW 34 which has only 14 teams playing.  With an impressive record, 38 points in the past three gameweek’s, he is clearly in form and a super differential.  He is currently priced at £5.2m and has an ownership of only 2.4%!

In summation, the Must-Haves for top managers for Gameweek 32 were Terry, Dawson, Sanchez, Eriksen , Silva, Hazard, Kane and Aguero as they all had an ownership rate of 50% or higher.

How many players do the top 10 have for GW 33?

Knowing that we have an interesting gameweek in which only 14 teams play, I wondered the following:  “How many players will the top managers play for GW 33?”  Clearly one would want a full 11 but knowing that GW 34 could potentially yield great results for Cheslea, Liverpool, Hull and Leicester, I decided to take a look.  All top managers will have a full team of 11.  While 80% of them already have a team of 10 or higher, the remaining two players currently have 9 (along with free transfers).  As a manager with a team of only 7, I am somewhat concerned.  The challenge for many managers will be sorting through these next two gameweeks…good luck!

What do we know about our #1 fantasy football leader?

Our current leader, Atletico Marchid**(Simon March) of Singapore has NOT deployed his wildcard.  This is huge and with a current lead of 25 points, I definitely see this as a secret weapon (although this is no secret).  He has the upper-hand and I do predict that he will come out victorious.  Simon also has a rather impressive fantasy football track record.  In 2011/2012 he finished 6436 and in 2012/2013 he finished 3,833.  Simon has maintained the #1 position for 9 weeks and has been in the top 10 for 15 weeks.

Other interesting facts:

• The average score for Gameweek 32 among the top 10 was 56.1 points which is only 10.1 points above average for the week.
• Red Star Donetsk of the USA and currently in the 9^th position also has his wildcard available.
• England has made a comeback as they currently represent 40% of the leader board.
• The remaining countries represented in the top 10 are Singapore, Algeria, Australia, Pakistan, USA and Germany

Hope this was useful!

Best of luck in Gameweek 33!

@bekachan

Trends From the Top- What are the League Leaders Doing? A look to Gameweek 29.

After a few weeks of being offline but certainly not away from the television, it’s great to be back with another edition of Trends From The Top- What Are The League Leaders Doing? Last week was certainly interesting as QPR and Tottenham had a double gameweek. Folks either fared well if they captained Kane or fared poorly if they selected Aguero. The Top Ten players all selected Kane and all brought home a score of 85 points or higher. This week we’re back to the usual 10 matches. So, let’s take a look at the current trends. Who were the most popular players chosen by the top ten for Gameweek 28? Goalkeepers:  This week Pantillimon (3 points) and Foster (2 points) were the popular picks as each had an ownership of 40%. Lloris (5 points) from the Spurs was selected by 1 top manager along with Green of QPR (5 points). The best choice for GW 28 was in fact, Forster of Southampton as he brought in 7 points. Defenders:  As usual, we saw a myriad of defenders chosen by the top ten. A total of 12 different players were selected with some more popular than others.  Terry was the most popular pick as he was selected by 70% of top managers. Dawson was the next popular choice coming in with 50%. Bellerin and Cylne were the next popular as each were selected by 40%. Ivanovic had an ownership rate of 30% followed by Bertrand at 20% and Wolischeld, Fonte, Lescott, Walker and van Aanholt each with 10%. The best picks for GW 28 came from Stoke and Arsenal with Bardsley collecting 12 points, Wilson with 8 points and Gibbs with 11 points. Midfielders:  When you look at midfielders, the top 10 managers had only 8 different picks with several getting only 10% of the vote such as Puncheon, Coutinho and Moses.  100% of managers selected Hazard and Silva while 90% had Erikson and 60% had Sanchez. Cazorla captured 30% of the pool. Forwards:  This week, the front line consisted of only 4 picks among the top managers.  100% had Kane (and 100% gave Kane the armband due to double gameweek) and 100% also selected Aguero.  Austin was chosen by 70% and Giroud by 30% In summation, the Must-Haves for top managers for Gameweek 28 were Terry, Dawson, Silva, Hazard, Erikson, Sanchez, Kane, Aguero and Austin as they all had an ownership rate of 50% or higher. 50% of the top 10 have indeed initiated their wildcard! With a double gameweeks for Chelsea and Southampton followed by Arsenal and West Ham, it will be curious to see how these top 5 fair at the end of the gameweek and if they jump ahead. Other interesting facts:

• The average score for Gameweek 28 among the top 10 was 87.9 points, which is a whopping 29.9 points above the overall average for the week.
• Singapore takes the top spot followed by Pakistan, England, Serbia, (more folks from England), Australia (2), Algeria and India.

Best of luck in Gameweek 29! @bekachan

Trends From the Top- What are the League Leaders Doing? A review of GW 11 as we enter GW 12.

100% of the top managers had Aguero on their team.
80% had him as Captain for GW 11.

Trends From The Top- What Are The Leaders Doing?

Welcome to this week’s edition of Trends From the Top. With nearly 2 weeks off, it feels as though the last round of matches was eons ago and with that came our share of injuries and red cards.  While we can reflect to see what top managers did, it will be interesting to see what they do with players such as Baines and Fabregas.

Who was the most captained player by the top ten for Gameweek 11?

For gameweek 11, choosing the correct captain was key to the success of your team.  80% of the top managers chose wisely and selected Aguero thus bringing home 26 points while the remaining two managers selected Pelle.

Who were the most popular players chosen by the top ten for Gameweek 11?

Goalkeepers:  For this past gameweek 40% of managers had Krul.  20% had Foster and 10% selected Forster, Heaton, Guzan and Begovic.

Defenders:  This week we saw only 8 defenders make the cut for top managers.  Baines and Clyne were the most popular picks as they were selected by 80% of managers while Chambers came in at 50%.  Duff had 30% ownership, Naughton (will be back Dec. 3^rd) 20% and Bertrand Coloccini and Chester at 10%.

Midfielders:  When you look at midfielders, the top 10 managers had 9 different picks. Sanchez had 100% ownership while Downing and Chadi were the next most popular picks with 50% ownership.  Hazard, Fabregas and Sigurdsson each had 40% while Tadic had 30%, Di Maria 20% and Sterling 10%.

Forwards:  This week, the front line consisted of 7 picks among the top managers.  Aguero had 100% ownership followed by Pelle at 90%, Costa at 40%, Welbeck at 30%, Lukaku at 20% and Berahino and Sakho wrapping up the group at 10% a piece.

In summation, the Must-Haves for top managers for Gameweek 8 were Baines, Clyne, Chambers, Sanchez, Downing, Chadi, Pelle and Aguero as they all had an ownership rate of 50% or higher.

Other interesting facts:

• The average score for Gameweek 7 among the top 10 was 80.6 points which is 27.6 points above average of 52 for the week.
• Our top manager is from Hong Kong and 2 players from Hong Kong led the leader board as they placed in the top 10.  The remaining three countries were England (30%), Bulgaria, India, Australia, Norway and Poland.

Will Baines still remain?  What will the midfield look like for GW 12 among top players?

Have a great fantasy football GW 12!

@bekachan

Trends From the Top- What are the League Leaders Doing? A look to GW 11.

9 of the top 10 fantasy managers had Sanchez for GW 10. 8 of them gave Sanchez the armband.

Trends From The Top- What Are The Leaders Doing?

Welcome to this week’s edition of Trends From the Top. What are the leaders doing and what will they being doing?  One outstanding occurrence from GW 10 in regard to the top managers is that their average score was twice as much as the overall average of the entire population!  I personally have never seen this.  The overall average was 46 points while the average of the top 10 managers was 95.1!

Who was the most captained player by the top ten for Gameweek 10?

This week, 80% of top managers correctly selected Sanchez  as their captain and in doing so, brought in 32 points on him alone.  Due to their correct analysis and correct selection, many of these managers rose to the top to claim new top positions in the league.  Welbeck and Costa were the remaining two captain picks.

Who were the most popular players chosen by the top ten for Gameweek 10?

Goalkeepers:  40% of the top 10 played Krul while 30% played Foster, 20% Begovic and 10% De Gea.

Defenders:  This past gameweek we didn’t see much variety along the backline as only 10 defenders made the cut.  Chambers was the most popular pick with 90% selection (and bringing in a whopping 18 points) followed by Baines and Clyne with 60% , Bertrand at 20% and Wisdom, Naughton, Taylor, Duff, Gibbs and Alderwereld each at 10%.

It is interesting to note that 9 out of 10 managers had enough insight to select Chambers.  While he has a 90% ownership rate from the top 10, his overall % of managers is only 14.6%.

Midfielders:  When you look at midfielders, the top 10 managers had 11 different picks.  Sanchez was the must-have as 90% had him onboard followed by Tadic and Hazard at 50%, Sterling and Di Maria at 40%, Downing at 30%, Chadi, Fabregas and Sigurdsson at 20% and Oscar and Barkley at 10%.

Forwards:  This week, the front line consisted of only 7 picks among the top managers.  90% had Aguero and Pelle while Costa had 40%, Berahino 30%, Welbeck 20%, and Lukaku and Ulloa each with 10%.

In summation, the Must-Haves for top managers for Gameweek 17 were Chambers, Baines, Clyne, Sanchez , Tadic, Hazard, Aguero and Pelle as they all had an ownership rate of 50% or higher.

Other interesting facts:

• The average score for Gameweek 10 among the top 10 was 95.1 points which is an amazing 49.1 points above average for the week.
• Managers from Hong Kong currently hold the 1^st and 10^th place spots of the leaderboard.
• England came back to grab control once again of the leader board.  40% of the top managers were from England followed by Hong Kong at 20%, Namibia, India, Australia, and Singapore each with 10%.

Best of luck in Gameweek 11!

@bekachan

Due to tech issues, the poll was posted late,  A thousand apologies!

 

Trends From the Top- What are League Leaders Doing? A review of GW 9 ahead of GW 10.

Sigurdsson was selected by 100% of the top 10 fantasy football managers for gameweek 9.

Trends From The Top- What Are The Leaders Doing?

Welcome to this week’s edition of Trends From the Top.  This week, the trends are rather interesting as they rapidly evolved to include new players not previously selected in the top lineup of prior weeks.  Tadic and Sanchez were two such examples who literally rose to the top without warning (at least when you track the stats of the highest performing fantasy managers).  Will they remain top choices for top managers or were they just flukes which allowed new managers to rise with their performances?  Let’s take a look…

Who was the most captained player by the top ten for Gameweek 9?

This week, few leaders reaped the benefits of picking the “correct” captain as 80% of the leaders had Aguero as their captain choice.  The remaining managers had Sanchez and Pelle which were clearly better picks than Aguero for this particular gameweek.

Who were the most popular players chosen by the top ten for Gameweek 9?

Goalkeepers:  For GW 9, Krul, Mannone and Foster were the top choices as each had 20% ownership.  Heaton, Guzan, DeGea and Lloris each came up with 10%.

Defenders:  When we look at defenders for Gameweek 9, we see 3 popular picks.  Baines who was represented last week with a 50% ownership picked up another manager this week thus being the most popular at 60% ownership.  Taylor and Clyne was also popular options with 50% followed by Chambers and Bertrand at 40% and Wisdom at 30%.  11 players made the list and Ivanovic, Vlaar, Jagielka, Coleman and Coloccini rounded off the group with 10% ownership a piece.

Midfielders:  When you look at midfielders, the top 10 managers had 11 different picks.  Sigurdsson was the most popular pick with 100% ownership followed by Sterling with 90%, Tadic with 60%, DiMaria and Sanchez with 40%, Eriksen and Fabregas with 30%, Boyd with 20% and Gerrard, Silva and Davis each with 10%.

Forwards: This week only 6 forwards made the list which is indeed a very low number.  Aguero and Pelle selected by 80% followed by Welbeck with 40%, Berahino at 20% and Bony and Lukaku with 10%.

In summation, the Must-Haves for top managers for Gameweek 15 were Baines, Taylor, Clyne, Tadic, Sigurdsson, Sterling, Aguero and Pelle as they all had an ownership rate of 50% or higher.

Other interesting facts:

• The average score for Gameweek 9 among the top 10 was 50.5 points which is only 12.5 points above average for the week. With 80% of the managers selecting Aguero as their captain, many fell short this past weekend and our current leader only brought in 38 points.
• Serbia is represented as being in the top position followed by Hong Kong, Portugal, Finland and India.  England represents only 30% this week and Namibia and France round off the top 10.

This was certainly a week for picking a differential as your captain and yet, the top leaders chose to stay with the popular pick, Aguero.

Will knowing any of this information, impact or influence and fantasy football trades?  Let us know in the comment section below and as always, best of luck in Gameweek 10!

@bekachan