PLAY DRAFT FANTASY FOOTBALL??
It’s another off week – no fantasy EPL until February 25. What’s the best thing to do with your free weekend? Try a new fantasy format? That’s Mathieu Flamini engergy investment level brilliant. Your man Yirma is currently playing in the 12-team Togga Euro Experts League with yours truly (@FantasyGaffer), the injury expert to the stars: Ben Dinnery, and a man with a Football Manager compulsion to make Peter Prospar blush and a better half who is currently topping the table: Meet the Jameson’s.
If you haven’t tried draft FPL to this point, there is never going to be a better time! There is no fantasy EPL scheduled for next weekend, which means you’ve 10 days to twiddle your thumbs and wait on absurd price changes – which are matched only by stupid scoring decisions, terrible bonus point awards and excellent Fuzzy Warbles’ letters to the lords on high of FPL. Or you can use it to rally a handful of friends, download a free app and schedule a 90′ draft to launch your league for the run in.
Draft FPL is the Premier League equivalent of traditional American fantasy sports where leagues of 4-12 users get together at the start of their season and have a draft. Drafts can start in any week, with your table starting fresh from the day your draft. Each user takes turns selecting EPL players to fill out their FPL roster. Each real-life player can be owned by only one FPL manager, making the draft league a more complete fantasy experience. Traditionally, draft leagues have their draft before the start of the season -but for those users who haven’t played FPL draft (or haven’t played on Togga), the two-week break is a perfect time to set up a short-season league. So grab a couple of friends, schedule a draft and read this quick primer on what sets FPL draft apart!
What do you need to know?
Scoring is different. How different? Roberto Firmino is a God amoung men. LukakuWatch is much less interesting as the Toffees’ striker scores fantasy points not only from goals and assists, but from shots on target, key passes and winning dribbles (take-ons). Several also-rans in the FPL salary-cap game you usually play like Antonio Valencia (11 ppm) or Nicolas Otamendi (11 ppm) get the credit they deserve for being the lone bright spots in a defense that is either too injured or too pourus to be taken seriously in other formats.
Even Joey Barton has a home and is welcome in many draft FPL squads. With a goal and two assists he’s been decent in other formats, but his all-round play with 10 clearances, 9 interceptions, 10 tackles won and 9 aerial duels won have him scoring over 10pts per match, on average. How good is that in Togga? He’s scoring more per match than David Silva (9.95 ppm), Son Heung-Min (9.93 ppm) and Troy Deeney (9.84 ppm).
Of course, you only need to look at points per match to realize how different this game is. Middlesbrough is one of the best defensive units in the EPL. Togga rewards that – George Friend (9.83 ppm) and Fabio (9.75 ppm) are both Top 30 players at the position. Before writing that off well outside the realm of useful, remember that in a 10-team league a minimum of 30 different defenders are being played each weekend. In your FPL draft league, it’s nice to have a Friend. Even if it’s Fabio.
Need convincing this is the game for you? Good! That’s why we’re here! With just 13 weeks of action left this is the perfect time to try Togga. Picking your own squad of 16 (starting XI plus 5 bench players) is the best fantasy experience. Controlling your own destiny without being hampered by salary-caps, or squad selection limitations gives you endless opportunities to tinker. And not paying a transfer penalty means you can take endless approaches to a winning week. You can use the Yirma approach – relying on Olivier Giroud, Wayne Rooney and Chelsea part-timer Cesc Fabregas to lead you to 4th in the table and striking distance from the title. Or you can take Dinnery’s road to success – currently level 1st – by making value picks early (Diego Costa back when people believed in Michy Batshuayi; Robert Snodgrass before he’d scored seven goals; Nathaniel Clyne…well, playing in Liverpool’s “defense”). You can even successfully pick a handful from your own favorite club and still make your mark in fantasy. Hayley Jameson has managed her Liverbird’s to the top of the table despite owning Dejan Lovren and Daniel Sturridge (also investing in James Milner has certainly helped!).
You can play Togga from anywhere with the free app (Android and Apple friendly) including scheduling your draft, inviting your friends – even doing the drive live on your mobile device.
Have any questions? Find us on twitter @PlayTogga or ask any of the players in our expert leagues:
@FantasyYIRMA, @BenDinnery @TheEaglesBeak @FantasyGaffer @FPLBacon and more….So PLAY NOW.
FantasyYIRMA - Fantasy Football FPL 
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