The Promoted

Assessing Matheus Pereira and West Brom’s attacking assets ahead of FPL return

Our series of articles on the promoted sides continues with a look at West Bromwich Albion’s midfielders and forwards.

We have already assessed the Baggies’ manager and defence, with focus now switching to the exciting Matheus Pereira and the supporting cast.

WHAT IS WEST BROMWICH ALBION’S GOAL-SCORING POTENTIAL?

West Brom were promoted from the Championship with the joint-second-best attacking record, having scored 77 goals – the same as champions Leeds United – in their 46 league fixtures.

That was three short of Brentford’s total and 16 fewer than Norwich City had managed in 2018/19.

No side from the English second tier plundered more goals than the Baggies on their own turf (44) but four clubs scored on more occasions than Slaven Bilic’s troops on the road (33).

Albion were second behind Leeds for attempts on goal (676) and shots in the box (418) in 2019/20.

That they sealed automatic promotion with a limited strike force (not one of their players was in the top 30 for Championship goals scored) was some achievement but their overreliance on Pereira and lack of a top-class striker is something that needs addressing this summer, as Albion fan and ex-sports journalist Matt Wilson told us:

At the moment, a lot is reliant on how Pereira plays.

Albion need to sign a first-choice striker this summer because Hal Robson-Kanu and Kenneth Zohore are probably not Premier League quality, even though Robson-Kanu’s just had the best season of his career, and while Charlie Austin knows where the net is, he’s got a lot of miles in his legs now.

Grady Diangana provided a real threat on loan from West Ham last season, and would have scored more if he hadn’t been injured, but whether we can re-sign him either on loan or permanently remains to be seen.

In my opinion, Albion need to sign a striker and a winger this summer or they could struggle to score.

PLAYER-BY-PLAYER

MATHEUS PEREIRA

Attacking Midfielder

Starts: 38 | Substitute appearances: 4 | Goals: 8 | Assists: 16

The stand-out Fantasy option from the West Brom attack, and perhaps the only convincing one at present, is Mateus Pereira.

The Brazilian was signed on a season-long loan deal from Sporting CP last summer, with the move set to become permanent imminently.

After a handful of substitute appearances, his full Albion debut came in the Championship equivalent of Gameweek 6 and he went on to start 38 of the Baggies’ remaining 41 games, missing two of them through suspension.

Featuring chiefly in ‘the hole’ in Bilic’s 4-2-3-1, Pereira was moved to a right-wing role upon the switch to a 4-3-3 earlier this calendar year, with the absence of a number ten in that system still allowing the Brazilian to drift infield into dangerous possessions on his favoured left foot.

Wherever he plays, he is key to Albion’s attack.

A total of 16 assists (and that’s discounting ‘Fantasy assists’) and 116 chances created were not only highs in the West Brom squad but the best in the entire division.

No Albion player could match Pereira’s shot count (111), either, with only eight Championship players – many of them bona fide strikers – beating that tally.

His total of 20 big chances created was another figure that was unsurpassed in the English second tier in 2019/20.

On a share of corner-taking duties and first in line for direct free-kicks, Pereira may offer multiple routes to Fantasy points next season.

The problem with that, of course, is that FPL Towers are likely to have already taken notice.

We can cite the cases of Mario Vrancic and Ryan Sessegnon in previous seasons, with both players coming up from the Championship off the back of excellent campaigns and slapped with prohibitive £6.5m price tags.

He is unlikely to be anything less than £6.0m based on past evidence but he was the first name that former Express and Star reporter Matt Wilson picked out when we spoke last week:

The obvious attacking candidate [for FPL managers] is Matheus Pereira, who was Albion’s creative spark last season. Not only did he contribute 16 assists, the most by any player in a single Championship season for five years, he also scored eight goals. He takes free-kicks and corners, and Slaven Bilic is expected to build his attack around him.

HAL ROBSON-KANU

Forward

Starts: 24 | Substitute appearances: 15 | Goals: 10 | Assists: 1

Whether West Brom adopt a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, there is only room for one striker in Bilic’s set-up.

Hal Robson-Kanu was the go-to striker from November onwards, with 22 of his 24 starts coming from the Championship equivalent of Gameweeks 16-39.

The Wales international was the Baggies’ joint-top scorer on 10 goals, his best-ever tally in 11 seasons of professional football.

That perhaps tells FPL managers all they need to know and, as we discussed earlier, there are obvious reservations about whether the 31-year-old forward can belatedly make the step up to the Premier League.

Full of endeavour and decent at holding the ball up, Robson-Kanu is nevertheless not a natural goal-getter and Bilic will surely look to bolster his striking options over the summer.

‘Impact substitute’ or willing runner in the trickier away games may well be the Welshman’s remit in 2020/21, then.

CHARLIE AUSTIN

Forward

Starts: 18 | Substitute appearances: 16 | Goals: 10 | Assists: 2

While Robson-Kanu isn’t an instinctive goalscorer, Charlie Austin very much is.

The former Southampton man recorded almost twice as many big chances (22) as any other Albion player despite starting just 18 games, with all but seven of his 54 shots coming from inside the opposition area.

Only the sparingly used Kenneth Zohore had better accuracy than Austin among West Brom’s attacking options, with 44.4% of the latter’s shots landing on target.

Austin took four of West Brom’s seven penalties in 2019/20, with Zohore (two) and Robson-Kanu (one) responsible for the others.

While he may be adept at finding the opposition net, his lack of mobility and that poacher’s mindset arguably means that he is not a natural fit for Bilic’s system, where the lone frontman is required to put in the graft.

Indeed, Austin was benched in 26 of the 44 Championship matches he was available for last season.

Given the step up in class in the Premier League, the 31-year-old striker may see pitch-time even more restricted next season.

MATT PHILLIPS

Winger

Starts: 30 | Substitute appearances: 9 | Goals: 7 | Assists: 6

FPL managers may remember Matt Phillips‘ previous contributions as a budget midfielder for Albion, QPR and Blackpool and he will return for a fifth season as a Premier League player in 2019/20.

How prominent a role he will play is another question.

Phillips made more Championship starts (30) than all of the Baggies’ attacking midfielders bar Pereira last season but only three of them arrived in the final 16 matches, with indifferent form, a change of shape and the arrival of some January window signings shunting him down the pecking order.

Although an inconsistent performer, seven goals in his first 18 starts of the season did underscore what he is capable of on his day.

Operating almost exclusively on the right flank in a 4-2-3-1, he was the sacrificial lamb when Bilic moved Pereira out wide from a number ten role upon the change to a 4-3-3.

Up until that point, Phillips had been responsible for a large chunk of the Baggies’ set plays and indeed none of his teammates took more corners than the winger (120) over the whole of 2019/20.

Pereira (20) was the only Albion player who created more big chances (14) than Phillips last season.

FILIP KROVINOVIC, GRADY DIANGANA AND CALLUM ROBINSON

Attacking Midfielder/Wingers

Krovinovic

Starts: 24 | Substitute appearances: 16 | Goals: 3 | Assists: 2

Diangana

Starts: 23 | Substitute appearances: 7 | Goals: 8 | Assists: 6

Robinson

Starts: 10 | Substitute appearances: 6 | Goals: 3 | Assists: 2

These three players all made key contributions to the promotion push but all were loanees and it’s by no means certain that they will be back at The Hawthorns in 2020/21.

Krovinovic perhaps looks the likeliest to return, with West Brom reportedly in discussions over a second loan from Benfica.

He appeared in 40 of Albion’s 46 league matches last season but 16 of those came as a substitute and there would have to be concerns about security of starts should he rejoin the Baggies this summer.

Having ceded control of the number ten slot to Pereira early in the season, the Croat started just four games between Gameweeks 6 and 23 of the Championship campaign.

A change of system after Christmas saw Krovinovic return to the fold and it may be that his chances of starts in the top flight hinge on Albion’s formation.

With Bilic using a 4-3-3 more and more in the second half of the campaign, Krovinovic was deployed in a three-man central midfield with Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore.

Three goals and two assists doesn’t scream huge Fantasy potential, however.

Grady Diangana and Callum Robinson would be slightly more attractive picks, should they return to the West Midlands.

Both players we know about from their stints in the Premier League and Robinson was briefly an ‘out of position’ FPL midfielder to consider in 2019/20, before temporarily departing from Sheffield United in January.

Both loanees spent most of their time on the left flank under Bilic.

Robinson was thrust straight into the starting XI upon his move but, after nine successive starts, was dropped to the bench in the next seven games and only returned on the final day – surprisingly as a central striker – against QPR.

Two of his five attacking returns indeed came in that 2-2 draw with the Rs.

Muscle problems in December and January disrupted Diangana’s season but he was a regular in the first half of the campaign, starting 12 straight games from Gameweeks 9-20.

Returning from injury after lockdown, he was mostly the preferred option down the left flank in the run-in – but ‘mostly’ is the operative word there and, unlike Pereira, was still prone to rotation amid the fixture pile-up.

Diangana and Robinson both bested Pereira for ‘big chances’ last season despite playing far fewer minutes (nine each v five for Pereira), with Robinson in particular posting some eye-catching numbers.


PlayerMins per shotMins per shot in boxMins per shot on targetMins per chance created
Pereira30.460.396.429.1
Krovinovic41.0109.2134.951.0
Phillips39.281.0142.944.2
Diangana39.764.493.445.5
Robinson21.429.456.947.4

ROMAINE SAWYERS

Central Midfielder

Starts: 42 | Goals: 1 | Assists: 1

Unless Bilic reinforces his options in the middle of the park this summer, Romaine Sawyers is destined to be one of the £4.5m FPL midfielders we can count on for starts and little else next season.

The Saints Kitts and Nevis international joined from Brentford last summer and started 42 of Albion’s 46 league fixtures, with three of his no-shows enforced by suspension.

A Bilic signing, he is clearly a big favourite of his manager’s and has been hailed as “instrumental” by the Albion head coach.

The midfield metronome played in the double-pivot of a 4-2-3-1 with Jake Livermore for much of the campaign and, when Bilic switched to a 4-3-3, was the deepest-lying player in that central midfield trio.

Six shots in the box and one goal in 42 appearances highlights his lack of Fantasy appeal and, while one assist undersells his overall contribution the team, a minutes-per-chance-created average of 97.9 cements his status as FPL bench fodder.

JAKE LIVERMORE

Central Midfielder

Starts: 43 | Substitute appearances: 2 | Goals: 3 | Assists: 4

Sawyers’ partner in crime for much of 2019/20, Jake Livermore at least chipped in with a few more attacking returns than his aforementioned teammate.

A workhorse, aggressive presser and perhaps more renowned for his defensive contributions (he made more successful tackles than any of his teammates last season), Livermore has nevertheless had more license to get forward than Sawyers, registering almost three times as many shots as his midfield colleague (55 v 19).

The ex-Spurs and Hull player was particularly ‘box to box’ when Bilic switched to a 4-3-3 after Christmas, with the Albion manager discussing his tactical tweak :

To be fair Jake has been up there the whole season, no matter which position. Whether he’s playing deeper, or like recently further up the pitch.

It gives Jake, not a free license, but a license to press them higher and to join them up in the box, to be more free, which is good.

Livermore created even fewer chances than Sawyers last season (36 v 38) and seems pretty much guaranteed to be in the £4.5m-£5.0m bracket when FPL relaunches.

THE REST

Signed from Cardiff City for a reported £8m last summer, Kenneth Zohore started only five Championship matches for Albion and racked up fewer minutes of pitch-time than 19 of his teammates in 2019/20.

The striker scored on just three occasions – twice from the penalty spot – and only made Bilic’s starting XI once after August, failing to even make the matchday squad in over half of his side’s fixtures.

Reports suggest the Baggies will be prepared to listen to offers for the Dane this summer.

Such is the state of flux that Albion find themselves in at present that wingers Kamil Grosicki and Kyle Edwards could be either surplus to requirements or in line for a start in Gameweek 1.

Attacking midfielders Pereira, Krovinovic, Diangana and Robinson played prominent roles for Bilic in the promotion-winning campaign but all will need replacing if their moves aren’t made permanent or another loan deal is not agreed upon.

Grosicki was signed from Hull City in January but had to wait until July for his full Albion debut, having only seen action off the bench before that.

The Poland international then started four games in a row on the left flank but was back among the substitutes by the season’s end, having contributed one goal and three assists in his 492 minutes of game-time.

Inclined to cut inside and shoot on his favoured right foot, Grosicki averaged a goal attempt every 30.8 minutes for Albion in 2019/20.

He also scored four direct free-kick goals for Hull in league and cup last season but faces a tough task in ousting Pereira from dead-ball duties with the Baggies.

Edwards, who progressed through Albion’s academy system before making his club debut in 2018/19, started the season out as first choice down the left flank but the arrivals of Diangana, Robinson and Grosicki ate into his pitch-time and he didn’t make a single Championship start from February onwards.

Almost two-thirds (17 of 26) of his appearances came as a substitute, with the 22-year-old scoring twice but failing to register a single assist.

Squad player status looks likely at best, along with a cheap FPL price tag.

That may well also be the case for Rekeem Harper although, following the rise to prominence of John Lundstram (who barely featured in Sheffield United’s promotion-winning campaign), never say never.

Harper started only four Championship matches last season, barely featuring in the first half of 2019/20 before twice deputising for the unavailable Sawyers in February.

A central midfielder by trade, he isn’t likely to appeal even if he is given game-time: he managed only one shot in the box and two key passes in his ten run-outs in the season just gone.

Chris Brunt departed last month after 13 years with the Baggies, while 39-year-old Gareth Barry also becomes a free agent this summer.

Oliver Burke is at the opposite end of his career but has spent the last 18 months out on loan at Celtic and Alaves and is thought to be on his way out of The Hawthorns.

Best players by position:

1,125 Comments Post a Comment
  1. FPL Virgin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    This is becoming a national story!

    It is no longer an FPL story!

    https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/fantasy-premier-league-fpl-champion-rule-break-201920-a4521821.html

    1. Jafooli
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Parliament has been reconvened after a short summer recess.

      BoJo due to make announcement shortly

      1. FPL Virgin
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        What kind of spin will Cummings put on it?

        1. Jafooli
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          I led to believe Joshua Bull comes from Durham 😯

    2. Ron_Swanson
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      FPL is a national game! It’s often in the press even when it’s not being controversial

  2. AndyCairns
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    He seems to be taking the decision quite well.

    Do you think you would be reacting like he is?

    1. goriuanx
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      He knows he's in the wrong. I just hope it's multiple teams as opposed to the racial allegation.

      1. Andy_Social
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        He specifically denied that, presumably just leaving the other allegation. But is it in the FPL T&Cs that you can be disqualified for a racist comment?

        1. Boris Bodega
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          14. The Game will be governed by the Game Rules (as amended from time to time) published on the Site (and accessible via the App) by the Premier League ("Game Rules"). The Premier League reserves the right to alter, amend or supplement the Game Rules in its absolute discretion in the event of any circumstances beyond its reasonable control arising or where it considers it desirable to do so. You agree that no liability shall attach to the Premier League as a result of any such change and so are advised to check the Game Rules regularly. The Game Rules form part of these Terms and by Registering for the Game, you accept the Game Rules.

          15. The Premier League will be the sole decision-maker of any matter of interpretation of the Game Rules and any aspect of the content of, or playing of, the Game. The Premier League will not enter into correspondence relating to such matters and its decision as to any matter arising out of or in connection with the Game Rules including but not limited to the allocation of points to any Player and/or the award of any Prize and/or any ranking or league table shall be final and conclusive.

          1. Boris Bodega
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 9 Years
            4 years, 2 months ago

            No idea if this covers the use of racial slurs on social media or not. If you think about it there's many ways to behave in a antisocial way on social media the rules would be very very long if they had to stipulate every conceivable grievance.

          2. Andy_Social
            • 12 Years
            4 years, 2 months ago

            'We can change and make up the rules as we go along and there's nothing you can do about it'. Crumbs, Trump's lawyers write this???

            1. Epic Fail
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 14 Years
              4 years, 2 months ago

              Standard practice to be honest. It's almost impossible to cover every possible scenario in Ts and Cs. You need a catch all.

              1. Jafooli
                • 12 Years
                4 years, 2 months ago

                My employment contract’s final clause is

                ‘And any other tasks that might be assigned to you’ wtf, lol

                Supervisor - ‘please could you get that giraffe out of the tree and paint it pink’....‘Er, okay’

      2. FPL Pillars
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        What evidence is there of racism?

    2. Karan14
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Well he can buy his ticket to to UK & PL game with his Fanteam money.

    3. SADIO SANÉ
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      pure speculation, but probably an admission of sorts - he's probably just trying to work out how to word it so people don't dislike him for it

      1. goriuanx
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        "I'm not a racist, I captained Auba in GW38"

      2. SADIO SANÉ
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        he also wouldn't be congratulating anyone if he knew it should be overturned

      3. SHOOTER MCGINN
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        It's not what you want when launching a YouTube channel off the back of winning the game.

    4. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      I can think of 50,000 reasons

      1. Jafooli
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        List them please....

        1. Boris Bodega
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          €1
          €2
          €3...

        2. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          10 A$=1
          20 PRINT "€"; PRINT A$
          30 A$=A$+1
          40 IF A$=50000 THEN END
          50 GOTO 20

    5. FPL Virgin
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      If I was innocent, I would be apoplectic.

      If I was guilty, I would probably take the decision quite well.

    6. Boris Bodega
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      He is thinking about how many hits his youtube account will get tonight - milking the attention for as much as he can.

    7. Botman and Robben
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      If I knew I did nothing wrong, I would be exploding.

    8. Amey
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      He's acting cool maybe.
      Must be disgruntled inside !

  3. Nightcrawler
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    If u won 50k euros winning a game u wouldnt be worried about losing one with next to nothing as prize

    1. FPL Pillars
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      He now owes 50k right 😆

  4. Jafooli
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Latest tweet from the ex-No1

    ‘As a Chelsea fan that celebrated this goal like a child, this is actually funnier than it seems 😀

    @JoshuaABull
    , congrats on the win. Not the way you wanted to win it, not the way I wanted to lose it :)‘

    https://mobile.twitter.com/TooGoodFPL

    1. Jafooli
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Starts picking it apart, looking for clues.....Chelsea fan as a potential cheat...okay that checks out

      1. Chelsea Rangers Loyal
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        How to make a clown of yourself in one easy lesson.

  5. Jafooli
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    When’s FFS interviewing Joshua Bull, and how much are they paying him?

    1. Baines on Toast...
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      I think they're waiting to secure three quotes from a journalist from his local paper.

  6. Rotation's Alter Ego
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    New Community Article

    The latest from Hedge and his research into PPG is up, this time looking at which is better - buying premium defenders or rotating cheap ones. Well worth a read as always and generates some great talking points.

    https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2020/08/11/value-of-premium-defenders-vs-cheap-rotating-pair/

    1. Jafooli
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Any updates on today’s breaking news?

      1. Rotation's Alter Ego
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        Not sure what I'm meant to know

        1. Jafooli
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          The inside scoop...what FFS has prided itself on for years 😉

          Or just some general Scout thoughts/comments?

          1. Rotation's Alter Ego
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • Has Moderation Rights
            • 13 Years
            4 years, 2 months ago

            Even if I was to know what's going on (and I clearly don't) it's not like we could publish anything that the Official site haven't come out and said.

            Personal thoughts?

            It's not worth all the excitement and speculation.

            1. Ginkapo FPL
              • 13 Years
              4 years, 2 months ago

              Just email Jafooli the downlow, he'll publish it as a community article for you.

              1. Jafooli
                • 12 Years
                4 years, 2 months ago

                😛

                Will even use a pseudonym....might try Chucky?

            2. Jafooli
              • 12 Years
              4 years, 2 months ago

              It’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in FPL in years.....

            3. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
              • 9 Years
              4 years, 2 months ago

              Lol yeah right - if you weren't a mod you'd be all over this.

            4. Epic Fail
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 14 Years
              4 years, 2 months ago

              'If' someone who had recently appeared on Scoutcasts and articles was caught multi team cheating, would a follow up article be released to state that any previous articles and Scoutcasts that he appeared in were a load of rubbish?

              1. Greek Freak
                • 9 Years
                4 years, 2 months ago

                It probably will once they have all the facts. For now all we know officially is that FPL have disqualified him because reasons.

                1. Rotation's Alter Ego
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • Has Moderation Rights
                  • 13 Years
                  4 years, 2 months ago

                  This. I know literally nothing, so I'm not going to speculate, nothing deeper than that.

                  Speaking of which - new article https://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2020/08/11/joshua-bull-crowned-fpl-champion-for-2019-20/

            5. Gnu
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 15 Years
              4 years, 2 months ago

              Hmmm.
              So a site, based on a fantasy football game that's run for years doesn't think the winner of said competition being removed and discredited as this years winner isn't news worthy or 'not worth all the excitement and speculation.'

              Silly me, can we discuss politics or Indy Ref2 then? 😆

              1. Jafooli
                • 12 Years
                4 years, 2 months ago

                They’re both banned, sorry.

                1. Gnu
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • 15 Years
                  4 years, 2 months ago

                  Just because I'm a non Chelsea supporting Rangers fan, there is no need to talk to me like that. 😉

                  1. Jafooli
                    • 12 Years
                    4 years, 2 months ago

                    😛 😉

              2. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
                • 9 Years
                4 years, 2 months ago

                From the mod who became a mod by getting excited by people posting RMTs on the wrong page 😆

    2. Amey
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Thank you RAE
      It's nothing but encouraging me to finally go 4 atb upcoming season !

  7. 7rjngs lollygagger
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Out of curiosity has his wife’s/partner’s team been deleted? There was a link to it earlier

      1. 7rjngs lollygagger
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        Hmmmmm

      2. have you seen cyan
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        I like how she got rank 848 in her second season

      3. 7rjngs lollygagger
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        The obvious conclusion is that its not that then

        Almost the strangest thing is clearly other fairly high ranking teams have been deleted by rank rises. Makes you wonder what sort of due diligence FPL do. Why just at seasons end? Surely they could pick that up during the season

        1. Jafooli
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          Probably huge amounts of whistle blowing going on at the moment as folk scramble to win ML’s, money involved....

          1. 7rjngs lollygagger
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 2 months ago

            Good point

          2. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
            • 9 Years
            4 years, 2 months ago

            This. If I finished 2nd to someone I knew was a cheat, I'd be Snowdening their backsides without hesitation.

            1. Grounderz
              • 13 Years
              4 years, 2 months ago

              Class.

          3. circusmonkey
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 2 months ago

            There is this league that someone posted earlier, incredible performance, how did that happen?
            https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/406509/standings/c?phase=1&page_new_entries=1&page_standings=1

            Even if you remove some players, it shouldn't change mini league standings (unless one of them is a cheat).

    1. Anaheim
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      It's related to an offensive post about Sterling (allegedly).

  8. The Gambler.
    • 15 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Its not possible to hack 2 websites and win both competitions and get away with it, right?

    1. circusmonkey
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Without being a programmer, it always amaze me how organisations leave their data online. If you don't have a physical connection, it doesn't matter how good a hacker you are. You then just publish the data that you processed offline.

      Frederick Forsyth's 'The Fox' is a great book, it is a story about a young hacking genius.

  9. Ginkapo FPL
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    Is this what cancer researchers do whilst at work?

    1. Ginkapo FPL
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      If anyone gets upset by this please bear in mind lab tests take time hence this probably is what researchers do whilst at work.

      1. Jafooli
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        Good regain Ginks.....

        1. Ginkapo FPL
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 2 months ago

          Someone was bound to take offence, its what people do nowadays

    2. Baines on Toast...
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Imagine him at his desk, shouting 'Eureka!'

      His colleagues gather round excitedly.

      He shows them that his captain just got 3 bonus points.

      1. Andy_Social
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        Cheaters are a cancer in the FPL community.

        I'll get my coat....

    3. Jay Jay Okocha
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Hi, cancer researcher here who works on similar problems as JB across the pond. FPL is a great hobby because it combines my love of footy with data science.

      1. Jay Jay Okocha
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 2 months ago

        Alas, FPL is blocked at my research center :/

  10. FOO FIGHTER
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 2 months ago

    The post about Alexander with more than one team was about Fanteam.

    https://twitter.com/TooGoodFPL/status/1286645745383346176?s=20

    The plot thickens...

    1. Jafooli
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 2 months ago

      Dial up?