Your guide to form-based pricing and successfully navigating the transfer market | Fantasy Soccer 101

If you're anything like me, chances are you're going to be frustrated with at least half the players on your team at any given time.

A couple of them won't be playing, a few of them will have underperformed and at least one will be injured. That's where the Fantasy Soccer Manager transfer market comes into play. Over the course of the season, you can ship out injured or underperforming players and add shiny new ones full of hope and promise (and hopefully not the same old issues).

As you might imagine, there's a little finesse involved. And this year there are also some big changes that both rookie owners and veteran players will need to keep close at hand during their chase for fantasy glory.

HOW ARE PLAYER PRICES DETERMINED?

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the transfer market, we should cover player value and how it fluctuates.

The big news? The transaction-based pricing system has been scrapped in favor of a form-based system. That means that player value is pegged to how well players perform week to week (provided they played at least 45 minutes) rather than how many owners jump on the bandwagon.

Here's how it works: If a player's points for the round hover near the average for his position during that round, his price will remain unchanged. If he outperforms the average more than two points, his price will increase. If his score is below the positional average by more than two points, his price will drop.

Here are the details:

NOTE: Average score for each position is the mean of all players who played at least 45 minutes at that position. Also, if a substitute plays fewer than 45 minutes but scores three points more than the average for his position, that player's price will rise accordingly. Players who play fewer than 45 minutes will not see their price fall no matter their score.

This means if a player you own does well, you'll benefit doubly. Not only will you get the points he scored, but his value will rise, increasing your total team value. Obviously, that cuts both ways – a poor performance will hurt you on the scoreboard and on the balance sheet.

Remember, this is all based on players playing at least 45 minutes – if your player doesn't hit that minute mark, his price won't change. Unless he receives a red card. Red cards earn the player negative fantasy points which could reduce the price.

WHAT IS A TRANSFER?

In the most basic terms, you're allowed to swap one player for another player. Of course, price matters, and you won't be able to bring a player on board if you don't have the budget or an open roster spot.

The actual transferring of a player is easy. Simply select the player's name and then select Remove Player. Then, based on the budget you have available, select his replacement from the right panel, select his name, and then select Add Player. You'll see the new player reflected on your roster and the corresponding change in your remaining cap space. It's the same method as selecting your initial team.

NOTE: The drag-and-drop method for transferring players and setting lineups has been disabled. Why, you ask? Simple. Mobile functionality. Fantasy Soccer Manager is fully responsive website!

HOW MANY TRANSFER DO I GET?

You can see how many free transfers you get each round by going to the Transfers page.

Each round you'll get two free transfers. If you decide you want to make any additional transfers, you'll absorb a four-point penalty for each additional move in that round. If you're in danger of taking a goose egg or two, you might want to bite the bullet and take the penalty.

If you don't use all your transfers, you'll be able to carry one transfer over to the next round. That means, barring a universal wildcard week, you'll never have more than three free transfers available for any given round.

For the a week-by-week transfer schedule, check out the Rules screen.

WHAT IS THE TRANSFER WILDCARD?

Remember how we said that you'd have to sacrifice some points if you exceeded your allotted number of free transfers? Well, there's one exception: playing your wildcard.

Each manager receives one wildcard, to be played at any time during the season. It allows you to transfer as many players as you'd like without penalty. Need to rebuild a scuttled team? Just want to freshen things up? Wildcard.

However, since you only get one, it goes without saying that you should use it wisely.

WHEN IS THE TRANSFER DEADLINE?

The transfer deadline hits at the listed start time of the first match of each round. You'll be able to see the deadline for each week on your My Team screen.

Pay special attention to midweek games – they will move the transfer deadline up significantly and can catch you unawares. Consider setting a reminder or getting in the habit of checking your team every Monday morning.

The transfer window opens at 9:00 AM ET on Monday in every round except for Round 32. The transfer window for Round 32 will begin at 9:00 EM ET on Sunday, October 11. Start playing