Since the last round-up we’ve had four Gameweeks in 22 days, plus a couple of cycles of European fixtures and the 3rd Round of the Carabao Cup. No wonder Harry Kane’s looking forward to going to the World Cup for a break. Talking of breaks, it’s fair to say that FPL Managers have not been well served lately, but I have to give FPL Towers, and Pep, credit for shaking up the template. As is the norm, this update supplements RedLightning’s excellent weekly round-up of Community competitions, and aims to look beyond those at the pinnacle of the H2H Leagues, which MIR will cover in a separate article, and seek out the talent hidden in the darker recesses. Maybe Gareth Southgate should try it.
League Two
In Division 1, Richard Clarke (43 pts) continues to put up Haaland-like numbers, and now has a 14-point lead over Mark Craig, with Alex Merchant, The Magician, Milan Mihajovic, Ville Tuominen and Bruce Savage all tied on 28 points. Talent Scouts will be descending, but they should also check out Division 2, where Michael Giovani (43 pts) is also tearing it up. Harry Vernon (31 pts) trailing in 2nd place, while Owen Walker, Paul Machin, Al Black and Qian Hao Ong are a further three points back.
League Three
In Division 1, Andrew Blackwell (34 pts) continues to impress, although Connelly (30 pts), has made up some ground since the last update. Chris Morén (28 pts), and Alan Clyne (27 pts) are also in contention, and four Managers are tied on 26 points. Richard Gibbs (33 pts) is the new leader in Division 2, and has a four-point margin over Alan Deluce, with Simøn Stevens and Derek Moore a further point back. Simon MacNair and Daniel Hooper (both 33 pts) are the new joint leaders in Division 3, with John Daviddson (30 pts) dropping to 3rd, while Stig Hermansen (28 pts) and Constantinous Gabrielides (27 pts) fill the remaining promotion slots. The musical chairs continued in Division 4, with Ted Maw and Daniel Murray (both 31 pts) leading the way, while Mark Mews, Richard Jagger, and Bob Woby (all 28 pts) vie for the minor places.
League Four
With Dave Spooner (34 pts) hitting the skids, Alan Robertson (37 pts) is the new leader in Division 1, with Mathias Ammon and Jamie Fraser trailing on 31 points. It’s a three-way tie in Division 2 with Ben Ashworth, sebastian kromberg and Gary Bell (all 31 pts) leading the way, and Jack Clark (29 pts) at the head of the chasing pack. Michael Casterns (37 pts) has consolidated his position in Division 3, with Johan Webster and Sagar Manohar six points back. Ivan Leshtarov (37 pts) also has breathing space in Division 4; with Youssef Rophael trailing on 31 points, and Roar Samuelson, Erik Aasen Aukland Hamid, Iwan Atherton, Imran Hamid, and Vitalik Hiyvinskyy a further three points back. Seán Óg Coneely (34 pts) leads in Division 5, but Ashley Spratt, Martin Rapp, Brian Walsh and Charles Garnier are on the case. Mat Gilbert (32 pts) has regained top spot in Division 6, but still has Paul Attwood and Jack Kennedy (29 pts) on his heels. Ben Reiter (34 pts) is now the sole leader in Division 7, with Paul Dabrowski dropping to 2nd place, and being joined on 31 points by Mark Pearson. Bill Koulis and Luis Teixeira (31 pts) are the joint leaders in Division 8, with a further four Managers trailing on 28 points.
League Five
Following a bad run, Timo N (31 pts) stumbled into a three-way tie with Allister Rees and Moray West at the top of Division 1; with Jose Holliday (29 pts) and Graham Martindale (28 pts) bringing up the rear. Louise Chennell (34 pts) has also been caught by Michael Jackel in Division 2, but they have a three-point edge over Yordan Dimitrov. No such concerns for David Bowman (40 pts) in Division 3, who has a six-point margin over Martin Felton, while Taymur Reza Hossain (32 pts), Martin Carvel (31 pts) and Josh Stickland (30 pts) fill the minor places. It’s tight at the top in Division 4, with Paul Voller, Swagart Satpathy and Richard Harte all tied on 34 points, and Conor Slattery a further three points back. El Presidente (35 pts) has secured a term at the top in Division 5, but the opposition is gathering, courtesy of Darren Wright and Tim Oldfield (both 34 pts). It’s a three-way tie in Division 6, with Paul Buchanan, Jamie Gamble, and Michael Atherton sharing the podium; and while Vasil Raykov (33 pts) has the throne to himself in Division 7, he’s being challenged by Wayne Sturman and Nick Fincher (both 31 pts). Dejan Nikolic (37 pts) has daylight over his challengers in Division 8, although Budhi Nugraha (31 pts) might beg to differ; and Michael Du Toit (34 pts) has also broken away from the pack in Division 9. Sarang Samejo (34 pts) is the new leader in Division 10, with Will Evans (31 pts) dropping to 2nd, while Paul Whittenham and Michael Green trail a further three points back. Andrew Gibson (34 pts) is another leader that fell off his perch in GW16, and now joins Andrew Dunbar and John Cameron in joint 2nd place, behind the new leader, Nick Charlton (35 pts). There’s also a new leader in Division 12, with Benny O Brien (31 pts) leapfrogging to the top ahead of Alex Daish (31 pts), Andrew Slocombe (29 pts) and Dibbendu Mukherjee (28 pts). Steve North and Robert Turner (both 34 pts) continue to lead the way in Division 13, but Alex Leggate is only two points adrift. In Division 14, Daragh Shirazi (34 pts) has broken clear of Atte Kinnunen (31 pts), but they’ll still have to contend with Evan Price and Swee Yang Yeow (both 29 pts). Simon Smith (37 pts) has stepped it up in Division 15, and now leads Geoff Browitt by two points, with Mick Take The Hit (28 pts) at the head of a struggling chasing pack. Finally, Daniel Schallmayer (36 pts) is the new leader in Division 16, ahead of Stephen Puddicombe (35 pts), with John H and Erik Void (both 32 pts) in hot pursuit.
League Six
As the early pacesetters discover that this game isn’t as easy as it looks, and the Divisions become more competitive, there is still plenty of scope to stand out from the crowd. Aleksi Harri (40 pts) in Division 2 continues to set the bar high, with a top 10K rank and an 11-point lead to supplement his impressive points total. In Division 14, Eason Yeoh Yee Sin’s 40-point haul is only good for a five-point lead, but it also represents a 17-point buffer over promotion rivals. Daniel Owen (38 pts) has slowed down since the last update, but still retains a six-point lead in Division 9; while Shales Moor’s equally impressive points tally is good for a five-point lead in Division12. The action must have been white-hot in Division 24, where Jen hoong Chew’s 38-point haul was enough to take the lead when Augustas Jakubynas (37 pts) stumbled in GW16; and in Division 31, vikas mohandoss and Sebastian Cornejo are both locked on 37 points. Anders Söder Wintergren (37 pts) is another top performer who has paused for breath recently, but the chasing pack in Division 22 is still nine points adrift. Adam Ryan (Division 15) and Adam Ball (Division 25) also secured six-point leads in their respective Divisions; as did Tin Nguyen (35 pts) in Division 20. Danny Schiffelers (Division 30) must have expected that his 37-point haul would provide more than a four-point lead; but for Paul Dryland (Division 3), and Timothy Kahwai (Division 13), the margin is only two-points. It does beat being at the other end, and talking of that, I can report that everyone in League 6 now has at least one victory.
League Seven
Division 41 is the place to be for action, as Brian Melican’s massive 42-point haul is only good for a two-point lead at the top. Whilst commiserating with him, spare a thought for Jervis Sheil (40 pts), who is in the top 2K, but has to play second fiddle in his H2H league. He does at least have a 12-point margin over the chasing pack. Callum Mackenzie (40 pts) is also finding it difficult to break clear in Division 35, where the margin is just three points. Shubham Agarwal (40 pts) has a six-point edge in Division 46; but Atul Krishna Kumar (40 pts) got full value for his fast start, with an 11-point gap over his Division 61 rivals. Iain Henderson (39 pts) can be proud of his performance in Division 12, but Imran Soomro (37 pts) is still hot on his heels. Gautuam Vassanmal (38 pts) has a 10-point margin in Division 5; Naill McMahon (38 pts) has a seven-point edge in Division 20; which is matched by Stuart Tatchell in Division 62. If it’s a competitive league that you’re looking for, check out Division 32, where the difference between 1st place and 20th is just 12 points. I am also delighted to report that, apart from two ghost teams, everyone in League 7 knows what it’s like to be a winner.
League Eight
Chris Broughton (Division 5), John Dixon (Division 48), and Nigel Bennet (Division 82) (all 43 pts) have emerged as the top performers in League 8, and all have impressive leads over their divisional rivals. Mark Pitfield (42 pts) has also maintained his impressive form, and has opened up an eight-point gap in Division 32. A number of Managers have reached 40 points: Gila M’s haul was good for a nine-point lead in Division 23; which was matched by Nick Dolamore in Division 109; and Malcolm Christie in Division 123. However, Hampus Olesund (Division 28), Dan Furneaux (Division 49), Lionel Jacobs (Division 62), Abidin Akil (Division 86), Tipsey Pee (Division 104) and Vegard Sines Petersen (Division 108) had to settle for six-point leads. In Division 4, Sunny H needed the win in GW16 to open up a gap over Okla Adelagun and Marcus Ladd (both 37 pts). At the other end of the table, after eliminating ghost teams and others pursuing far-fetched transfer strategies, Patrick Nolan (Division 45), and Cuban Knight (Division 80), are the only H2H League Managers that are still seeking their first victory. Hang in there guys.
League Nine
After 16 Gameweeks there is only one Manager who has a 100% record in terms of matches actually played, so take a bow Joe Clarkson (46 pts), and wallow in your 12-point lead over Division 27 rivals. Gerald Treacy (43 pts) has also maintained his early season form to open up a six-point gap in Division 7; and while PM’s 42-point haul was good for a 13-point lead in Division 149; Dan Ascoli had to settle for a 10-point margin in Division 36. The other Managers who breached the 40-point barrier were: VG (Division 34), Matthew Short (Division 56), Tim Barlow (Division 72), Hrvoje Jencic (Division 74), Naoise Kennedy (Division 100), Padraig O Connall (Division 110), David Shead (Division 117), Oliver Attwater (Division 124), Michael Silva (Division 127), Simon Fox-Mella (Division 151), Ti Ago (Division 160), Akshat Pardiwala (Division 186), WF Smith (Division 191), Franklin Langat (Division 205), Maite Irizar (Division 207) and Mohamed Vali (Division 209). Well done all, and I am happy to report that all active Managers in League 9 have recorded at least one win.
I am also tracking the progress of World No.1, Fábio Borges, as he navigates the perils of Division 172. Last time we checked, Fábio was stuck in midtable, and a run of two wins and two defeats since GW12 still leaves him stuck in 11th place on 22 points, and nine points shy of the promotion slots. Still a long way to go, but with Darren Lyttle and Richard Joseph (both 37 pts) setting the pace, with Andy Tang and Chris Sparrow (both 32 pts), and Gareth Yeo and David Deasy (both 31 pts) striving to keep up, it won’t be easy.
That’s all for now, but in addition to checking your league position via the link on the FFScout homepage, you can also check out past results and future fixtures, as well as the answers to a bunch of other questions, via MIR’s FFS Head-to-Head Leagues page.
Have a great break, and stay safe.