MLS Fantasy season is back everybody! This is my favorite time of year, just a hair’s breadth away from March 6.
Today we’re going to discuss team construction. As you read this you are either re-evaluating your choices from yesterday, or you are staring at a blank canvas. Do not fear, you are an artist and numbers are your paint.
FILL IN YOUR STARTING XI
In the early stages I always favor putting together an ideal starting eleven then filling in with bargain basement unknowns. I like to give myself rules just to get the mind working, then breaking them later as the team concept is clearer. Since $7.5 is the cost of an average player, I like to set my caps for each position at $2 below or above that. This works out to $11.5 for a forward, $9.5 for midfielders, $7.5 for a defender, and $5.5 for my starting keeper.
Which $11-plus forward you start with is purely a matter of preference, so choose someone you like. I went with Kei Kamara ($11) and those heart shaped hands. My midfielder cap means no Benny Feilhaber ($11) in the first pass, but I’m not going to say no to a Lloyd Sam ($9). Clarence Goodson at $7.5? Don’t mind if I do. Who wouldn’t want Evan Bush at $5.5?
Generally, top players consistently score higher point totals on a game-to-game basis and makes sure I don't rely on an average player having a breakout game.
BENCH = ROOKIES OR HOMEGROWNS
Once you have your eleven, I recommend filling your bench with players at $4.5 and below, even with rosters going down from 18 player to 16. It’s always fun to see who is down on the other end of the spectrum, and it looks like last year’s favorite Patrick Doody is still available at $4.5. Some people go for rookies or Homegrowns they could see getting playing time down the stretch.
If you are on top of your game, all your starters should be playing in that round.
This far from the season openers, these are really just placeholders to know how much money you could potentially have leftover to splurge on those players who didn’t fit within your original rules. I budgeted well enough after filling my roster the first time that I had $13 left over.
I always throw my surplus at midfielders. It’s the most consistent position on your team week in and week out, and after the unpredictable first few weeks I like to settle into a five man midfield. So hello Feilhaber and Sasha Kljestan ($11).
Let us know in the comments how you get your roster building creative juices flowing. Top tips are always appreciated.
