Seven years of drafting, a “Draft We Must” league title, a “International Genie League” title and (most importantl) a Draft Community League Champions Cup title…it’s not often you get to brag about your Fantasy Football achievements so I’m grabbing this opportunity with both hands!
Why the (not so) humble brag? Well, my Togga/Fantrax experience has inadvertently landed me with my biggest and toughest task of all…qualification to the Draft Community Gold League and (in partnership with the Fantasy Football Community) I am tasked with writing about my experience. This is unarguably the toughest league and Twitter so I could genuinely finish dead last…hopefully not eh?
After a postponed Gameweek 7 fixture, we faced another very tough fixture in Gameweek 8 in a rematch of last year’s Champions Cup success…have I mentioned the cup win?
*Sigh*…here we go again! For the third time in seven weeks, we’ve come up against the league’s top scorer. With a very tidy score of 108.25, @YesTheQB exacted his revenge from last season’s cup final with a comfortable victory to ensure Team FF92 went into the international break with a negative win/loss record. Ouch. Time for another moany rant I guess…
It felt like I was in for a long weekend when @YesTheQB’s streamer forward Taiwo Awoniyi scored almost immediately on the Friday night. Although my own streamer in Jacob Ramsey got on the scoresheet on the same night to give me a narrow lead, it felt like the game was up once Kevin De Bruyne’s double assist ensured the advantage quickly disappeared.
Without Mo Salah’s firepower to call upon, it felt a long way back for us and even though the reliable Ivan Perisic and one week pick up Aaron Ramsdale produced handy returns, it wasn’t enough as the opposition raced away into the distance with a 32.5 point win to top this week’s Gold League scores and ensure I went into the break with a 3-0-4 record. Brutal.
It’s been the story of the season so far for me: a short but long, difficult season. Despite amassing the highest FPts in the league (largely thanks to three monster scores to secure the three wins), I’ve also faced the most, meaning I currently sit in an undeserved 7th position. The luck will turn!
League competitor and long time friend @ateamofcarras has put some handy graphics together to indicate the various levels of fortunes enjoyed/suffered in the league so far. It’s made me feel a little better. A very, very tiny bit…
Fantrax is the best way to play fantasy though, trust me. I mean it!
Trades and waivers
Moves have been made! One big one in particular. A few weeks back, I’d identified a need for a good forward or two. Having secured the Sinisterra signature for a low price, Aleksander Mitrovic was next on my hitlist from @DannyNoll after a ridiculously good start to the season and with excellent fixtures to come.
As an Arsenal fan, I knew Danny would have an interest in Martin Odegaard and although I pushed (and pushed) for a 2:2 deal, we shook hands on a straight swap in the end.
It feels as though I’ve given away a bit of value initially but Mitro’s goals away at Tottenham and Arsenal suggest to me he’s pretty much fixture proof while Odegaard’s numbers have been slightly inflated by his team’s kind start to the season. I also feel as though midfielders are slightly easier to stream this season while most other managers in the league are struggling for forwards more than they are midfielders. There’s trade value there in the future!
Do you feel like my trade was a good one? What other changes would you make to my squad below? Feel free to let me know!
Fantasy Football 92 