Reminder: All transfers must be finalized by 7:15pm ET tonight! You will be allowed to make substitutions to your lineup again on Thursday, but you will not be able to ADD or DROP. Good luck Managers!
We’re seven rounds into the 2013 MLS fantasy season, so by now you should have a good idea on how to arrange your formation from week to week. For some reason forwards continue to attract the armband by the majority of fantasy owners, earning the most-captained feat in six of the seven rounds played so far. It's a high-risk, high-reward type of move that hasn't seemed to be paying off the way some expected.
Below is a breakdown of the point totals at each field position with regards to goals, assists and clean sheets in MLS Fantasy Soccer: Manager. If you don’t at least consider making a defender or midfielder your captain from here on out, the gap between you and the leaders will likely continue to grow.
GOALS: These earn you the most points in FS:M. Defenders receive six points for a goal while midfielders and forwards earn five points. In the table below you can see that forwards are scoring the most, but not by much. They've scored 50 more times than defenders, but only 10 more times than midfielders. Are we giving them too much credit?
<strong>Defenders</strong> |
<strong>Midfielders</strong> |
<strong>Forwards</strong> |
|
<p class="rtecenter"><strong>Goals (No. of players</strong>)</p> |
<strong>8</strong> |
<strong>41</strong> |
<strong>34</strong> |
<p class="rtecenter"><strong>Goals (TOTAL</strong>)</p> |
<strong>12</strong> |
<strong>52</strong> |
<strong>62</strong> |
<strong>Points Accumulated (TOTAL)</strong> |
<strong>72</strong> |
<strong>260</strong> |
<strong>310</strong> |
ASSISTS: Everyone earns three points for an assist. You might think that forwards would produce more assists than defenders because they are more involved in the attack, but not according to the numbers. Midfielders, on the other hand, are producing assists at a much higher rate, exceeding the combined totals from both the midfielders and forwards. Is it safe to say that this is expected?
<strong>Defenders</strong> |
<strong>Midfielders</strong> |
<strong>Forwards</strong> |
|
<strong>Assists (No. of players)</strong> |
<strong>18</strong> |
<strong>38</strong> |
<strong>20</strong> |
<strong>Assists (TOTAL)</strong> |
<strong>20</strong> |
<strong>48</strong> |
<strong>21</strong> |
<strong>Points Accumulated (TOTAL)</strong> |
<strong>60</strong> |
<strong>144</strong> |
<strong>63</strong> |
CLEAN SHEETS: This is where defenders really shine, earning four points for every clean sheet accumulated. Since forwards get nothing for clean sheets and midfielders earn just one point, defenders have a significant advantage over the rest of the crop in this regard. Should managers be investing more here?
<strong>Defenders</strong> |
<strong>Midfielders</strong> |
<strong>Forwards</strong> |
|
<strong>Clean Sheets (No. of players)</strong> |
<strong>73</strong> |
<strong>87</strong> |
<strong>N/A</strong> |
<strong>Clean Sheets (TOTAL)</strong> |
<strong>129</strong> |
<strong>156</strong> |
<strong>N/A</strong> |
<strong>Points Accumulated (TOTAL)</strong> |
<strong>516</strong> |
<strong>156</strong> |
<strong>N/A</strong> |
TOTAL POINTS: As you can see, when combining the point totals accumulated from goals, assists and clean sheets, defenders are above all.
<strong>Defenders</strong> |
<strong>Midfielders</strong> |
<strong>Forwards</strong> |
|
<strong>TOTAL POINTS</strong> |
<strong>648</strong> |
<strong>560</strong> |
<strong>373</strong> |
When you break down the current point totals at all field positions, defenders give you the most upside. And honestly, it's not even close.
<strong>Defenders</strong> |
<strong>Midfielders</strong> |
<strong>Forwards</strong> |
|
<strong>No. of players with 40+ points</strong> |
<strong>5</strong> |
<strong>3</strong> |
<strong>0</strong> |
<strong>No. of players with 30+ points</strong> |
<strong>20</strong> |
<strong>13</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
So there you have it. Are you going to make a defender your captain this week? Does this change your mindset at all going forward? Leave your comments below.
