The January sales are in full swing as Salah and Son, together with most of the Forest squad, depart for the warmer climes of AFCON and the Asian Cup; and benching headaches have also been a thing, although many of us had a cheap midfielder with a tricky away fixture who could be left on the sidelines. Meanwhile, we’re all poised to leap into action at the first sighting of our favourite Norwegian in full plumage.
We’ve also reached the half-way stage in the FFS head-to-Head Leagues, and I’m back with an update on who’s looking good, and who needs to update their New Year resolutions, as we turn for home. As always, my aim is to provide a little more juice to that provided by Red Lightning in his excellent weekly updates on Community Tournaments.
League One
It’s a two-way tie at the top, with Cak Juris (39 pts) having the edge over last year’s runner-up, Sammer Sohail, on FPL rank. Qian Hao Ong (36) has dropped to third, and Adam Ferguson, David Bowman and the reigning champion, Ignazio La Rosa, (all 34) are also in contention.
League Two
Tim Hill (38) is leading the way in Division 1, with Alex Merchant (37) and John Lambert (36) in close order. Kevin Lamb and James Wong-You (both 35) complete the top five. David Gladstone (40) is out on his own in Division 2, with David Stanton (37), Dave Dolman (36) and David Meecham (35) leading the chase. Stig Hermansen and Bruce Savage (both 34) are contesting the final promotion berth.
League Three
Jorge Polo Carraminana (45) is the sole leader in Division 1, with Michael Dabrowski (42) and Ryan Gallagher (39) struggling to keep up. Gareth Mills (43) has a one-point advantage over Michael Scott in Division 2; while Anoop K (45) is 10 points clear of Andrew Blackwell and Oli O’Mahony in Division 3. John McHugh (37) is the new leader in Division 4, with Chris Madeley, Adam Warner and Alastair Blackburn all one point adrift.
League Four
Imran Hamid (43) is setting the pace in Division 1, with former leader, Terje Balteskard, now four points adrift. Martin Bubak (42) also has a four-point margin over Wendy Darlington in Division 2; and Priyansh (43) is continuing to ward off EasyE ® (42) in Division 3. Dom Richards (43) is dominating Division 4, with Socrates Olympios and Mohid Hazwan (both 37) the closest challengers; and Wayne Sturman (42) has the world at his feet, and a four-point lead over Alex Chennell, in Division 5. Greyhead (43) continues to cast a spell over the competition in Division 6, but Swagart Satpathy (42) and Sam Trafford (41) aren’t buying it. Will Evans (40) has been surpassed by GavB-Bram (42) in Division 7; and Christian Larisch (48) has maintained a six-point margin over the field in Division 8.
League Five
Matt Cherng (45) has edged clear of Jordan Ross (42) in Division 1; and we also have a new leader in Division 2, where Doncho Georgiev (42) has a three-point margin over Mattias Rabbia and Zheng Huan Hoe. Four successive wins has seen Anders Söder Wintergren (45) move six points clear of the competition in Division 3; but James Cresswell (46) still has Sebin Jose (45) on his case in Division 4. Tony Wilkins (45) has consolidated his position at the top of Division 5, and Richard Slaven (40) is now the nearest challenger. Vasanth M (45) is now the sole leader, ahead of Daniel Wilcher (43) in Division 6; and George Petrou (45) has a four-point margin over Steve Church in Division 7. Johan Wester (40) has a one-point edge over Tin Nguyen in Division 8; but Jamie McComb (49) has a 10-point chasm over the competition in Division 9; and Sirakhun Kawatkul (45) has daylight over Curtis Ledger (39) in Division 10. Matt Smith (45) still leads in Division 11, but his advantage over Moray West has been trimmed to five points. Dan Byrom (40) is the new leader in Division 12, and has a one-point edge over Georgi Georgiev; but it’s a four-way tie between Stuart Blakely, Mark Larwood, Steven Brown and Joe Trafford (all 39) in Division 13. Gavin Sousa (44) has extended his lead over Rob Roche to four points in Division 14; and d c (40) now has the sole lead over Bilal Shaikh and Stephen Chambers (both 37) in Division 15. FPL Ted (40) still leads in Division 16, but his advantage over Adam Bell has been trimmed to four points.
League Six
Jamie Gamble (49) is the top scorer in League Six, and has a nine-point lead over the competition in Division 24. Four managers have 48 points: Sean Killick has an impressive 12-point margin in Division 17; Marcus Baptiste (Division 2) and Josh Bembridge (Division 29) have six-point advantages over their respective fields; but Ade Harris’ edge in Division 21 is just three points. Former top dog, Mohit Gang (46) has maintained his six-point lead in Division 7; and of the five managers on 45 points: Ben Reeves is eight points clear in Division 12; Jervis Shell has a six-point margin in Division 11; Jon Xanthos leads by five points in Division 25; while Neil Allison (Division 23) and Gary Hughes (Division 26) have three-point edges.
Marcus Hamrin (44) has a two-point advantage in Division 8; and of the four managers on 43 points: Pete Bell is six points clear in Division 13; Linda Parkes has a five-point margin in Division 3; Dom Davern leads by four points in Division 16; and Josef Rusiecki has a one-point edge in Division 15. Five managers have 42 points: Avishek Ganguly has a four-point advantage in Division 10; Andy Wong (Division 28) and Joseph Fitzgerald (Division 32) have three-point margins; while Alex Tremble (Division 1) and Daniel K (Division 14) are two points clear of their respective fields. Jathin Narayan (41) has a four-point margin in Division 27; however, the same score secures a two-point edge for Magnum Carlsen (Division 4) and Fritz Zangenberg (Division 9).
There are four sets of joint-leaders on 40 points: Bukola Atanda and DjŠhąhrûkh Šrk (Division 5), Stephen Brady and Ruban SK (Division 6), and Dušan Ušjak and David Edson (Division 30); and a three-way tie between Jamie Luland, Adam Shipway and Abraham de Villiers in Division 22. Michael Peeters and Michael Atherton (both 39) are joint-leaders in Division 18, and the same score provides a two-point margin for John Leight (Division19) and Barthlomiej Ostrzechowski (Division 20). Finally, FPL Gamer (39) has a one-point edge in Division 31.
League Seven
Four successive victories have catapulted Roger Butler to the top of the scoring charts with 54 points out of a possible 60, and he leads his Division 38 rivals by a massive 14 points. There are five managers on 48 points: Craig Perrin has an impressive 12-point margin in Division 21; Øyvind Emblem is 10 points clear of the field in Division 53; Mark Cahill has a nine-point margin in Division 9; Ben Watts has a six-point advantage in Division 44; and Oleksiy Pawlowsky’s edge in Division 54 is four points. Moschino Munez’s 47 points is good for a 10-point margin in Division 26; and Lovro Homer is five points clear with the same score in Division 15. Strawberry Doden (46) has a seven-point advantage in Division 62, and the same score gives André Mӕrli a four-point margin in Division 6. There are 10 managers on 45 points: Arnór Sindri Sölvason (Division 7), Johnny Nguyen Division 31) and Lee Heron (Division 33) all have six-point leads; Sigma Pumpy (Division 32), Rainer Printsmann (Division 45), Jamie Stones (Division 49) and Richard Arundel (Division 56) have five-point margins; and finally, it’s three-point edges for Darren Whalen (Division 1), Alex Godwin (Division 17) and Uday Das (Division 28).
League Eight
The top banana in League Eight is Vaidehi Patwardhan with 53 points, which is sufficient for a 12-point advantage in Division 42. Danny Messer (52) is just off that pace, but his Division 33 competitors trail him by at least 15 points. Three other managers have exceeded 50 points: Aaron Houston has an 11-point lead in Division 19; Marco “Pep” Purves has a nine-point margin in Division 13; and Ernesto Busche is five points clear in Division 127. Of the four managers on 49 points: Jonathan Pacey and Duncan Kendall have opened up 10-point gaps in Divisions 60 and 113 respectively; Elliot Pearce has a seven-point margin in Division 100; and Ciaran Collins’ advantage in Division 17 is four points.
A further 14 managers are leading their Divisions on 48 points: Abdellah Boukhalfa leads the way with a nine-point advantage in Division 104; Per-Åke Franklind (Division 4), Issam A. (Division 44), Johnannes Åkerøy (Division 110) and Paul Baker (Division 117) all have eight-point margins; and the advantage is six points for Roberto Laso (Division 1), Shakeen Shetty (Division 49), Chisha Mazimba (Division 115) and Matthew Howells (Division 122). Jonk Haglund is five points clear in Division 96; Gavin Cochrane (Division 8), Christopher Dunlop (Division 51) and Gregory Vial (Division 28) all have three-point leads; and finally, Kofoworola Olatunbosun has a two-point edge in Division 102.
League Nine
There are three managers in League Nine sharing the highest score across all H2H Leagues with 54 points out of a possible 60. Take a bow Andrew Calverley (Division 30), Mohammad Matin Sororian (Division 83) and Fernando Ayerdi (Division 159), who are leading their Divisions by 12, 8 and 12 points respectively. A further nine managers have amassed 51 points: Alex Dimitrov has opened a 12-point gap in Division 114; Sean Manning (Division 1), Brandon Witton (Division 38), Jordan Blanin (Division 90), Femi Ogunfowodu (Division 99) and Gemma Chierighini (Division 198) all have nine-point leads; Edward Young is eight points clear in Division 220; and Yurik Haines (Division 17) and Stephen Aiken (Division 169) have six-point margins. Amid all this excellence, I also have to report that Mr Average is back in the joint-lead in Division 234.
I am also following the progress of six managers who are ranked in the Hall of Fame Top 100 as they endeavour to ascend through the lower reaches of the H2H Leagues. The big winner over the Christmas period was Colin Innes (37) who catapulted into fourth place in League 7, Division 38 with four successive wins. Three wins for Garry Murray (37) elevated him to third place in League 7, Division 31; and two victories for Pete Richards (34) was sufficient to consolidate his position in the League 7, Division 30 promotion berths. Stephen Browner (33) also had two wins but has now dropped to 7th in League 7, Division 4, and is three points adrift of the Top Five. Ómar Olgeirsson (30) recorded just one win since the last update and is now four points shy of the League 7, Division 12 promotion berths. Widi Susanto (33) has delivered two wins in League 8, Division 123 since the last update, and is two points adrift of the Top Five.
I’ll be back with another update after Gameweek 24, but in the meantime you can keep track of your progress, and hopefully soon get sight of the fixtures for the second half of the season, via MIR’s Head-to-Head Leagues page.
I’m off to panic about price drops. Stay safe.