Rajah Fantasy Football Discussion Thread

[MMH]

Ok so here we are.

A place to discuss future structures and rule changes etc.

This year has been pretty horrendous for me, I have to admit I have not enjoyed it this season unlike other seasons as there are far too many grey areas.

This thread is open to any discussion and ideas. Some of it will no doubt get heated but it is worth remembering that every idea but everybody involved is done with the intention of keep the game good and fun.

I personally think the main issues right now with RFF are as follows....

1. Available managers.

With Rajah hardly being a hotbed of activity these days in regards to getting new posters we are struggling to get managers in who can do a job. Managers not getting involved every week is the biggest problem we have (and have always had) all it takes is for one manager to lose interest and then the problems happen. My suggestion is to broaden our search somewhat by looking at some of the more prolific Fantasy Sport players from other sports on here. People who have shown they can do a job and play the game in the correct manner.

2. Proper Strict Rules

A proper set of rules needs to be drawn up with no leeway afforded for any grey areas. Thats not to say that rules can not be questioned and changed but no "favours" will be done for people. i think this also ties in to problem number 1 as new managers will not get lost in a bunch of vague rules.

3. Trading

This again falls into suggestion number 2. Trades are getting out of hand. The main problem with this is managers who have given up/are not bothered (which will be addressed soon). I dont want to eliminate trades as its a fun part of the game but maybe there should be a currency system (nothing major, you get £100 for trades and trades cost £25 each, just a suggestion, dont go jumping down my throat!) or something along those lines. I would also love to implement a waiver system but i dont think it really works with this game.

4. Player Interest

I have suggested divisions before. Not a league 1/league 2 promotion and relegation system but splitting teams into groups. If we go with 16 games next season we could go 2 groups of 8 or even 4 of 4. Everybody would still play each other like we do now but the points would matter in divisions more. All I am thinking with this is that it "should" keep interest going with other teams as they have less positions to claw back if they have a bad start etc. You could maybe have play offs at the end of the season and the draft positions for the next season would be determined NFL style. This idea is not without its problems either, for example how would the divisions be determined etc.

5. Other stuff

Keepers are worthy of discussion I think. Do we keep more, do we keep less, do we keep none? Do keepers ruin interest for middling teams? European players, do we need them? They are there currently to keep interest again for middling teams, something to aspire to. Could we give Euro players to division winners, should everyone get one Euro player to be taken anywhere in the draft? Should it be a specific round etc etc?

Anyway that is just for starters.....suggest away.

[son_of_foley]

Yes.

Waivers
I would like us to see if we can come up with a Waiver system that makes sense.

Game Week Deadlines
I feel like a team lockdown period makes sense as well. Similar to the Premier League fantasy football. I think there's a little weird confusion were someone can make a transfer on a Sunday to keep a game active. Maybe people value that option? I dunno it feels weird.
Suggesting a proper lock out that includes picking players up. Teams are locked in from Saturday at Noon until Monday at 9?

Keepers
I think next year should be the last with Keepers. I think it's more interesting if more players are draftable. The best players may never be available to lower teams. I think it's nice if the bottom team actually gets to pick the 20th and 21st best player available and not the 38th or whatever because of keepers

European Players
I like them as a reward. I feel like they are still overpowered (except when I pick Jonas but that is my fault). So couple of suggestions

• We do the rotation of leagues. It lessens the pool of available European players and reduces the advantage
• We enforce they get taken in the first round or first two rounds. Again it means yes you can have the Euro player but it's at the expense of a solid domestic pick

International Games
Feel we've got it right by including friendlies. I do worry a little about under-21 games being counted but not enough to suggest we remove them

Charity Shield
Feel it should be counted and including Euro versions if we have European players

Trades
How about if a waiver system doesn't work that a traded player needs to be put on an inactive list for at least 1 gameweek before they are eligible for their new team.

RFF Board
Big one but I would like to see us nominate as a community 2/3 people to sit with MMH (assuming you would want to do it) to act as a board to decide on contentious decisions.
I think getting bulletproof rules is hard and unnecessarily restrictive. They do need firmed up of course but I think there should be a catch all rule that if you think something is against the 'spirit' of the game it gets flagged to the board and they can veto transfers/trades etc.
Things like teams giving up and handing their best players over to someone else is a little subjective and therefore I think having a board to make a decision helps. In the case of the board members being 'interested parties' they will or can recuse themselves from the decision. As long as we have enough people to reach Quorum

Random question. Keeping relevant discussion together is going to be hard on this. Is it worth a quick RFF rules sub-forum and a thread for the big items to track how things are being received etc?

[The Rosk]

I'll have a think about suggestions and get back to you all.

I am going to be honest with you all and say that it has been my plan for this season to be my last as a fully fledged RFF manager (hence the Kane transfer). I am keen to help move the game forward in any way, whether it be sourcing more managers or whatever) as it is arguably the best fantasy game I have ever played by a country mile. However, I need my Saturday afternoons back and I'm just a shade too competitive to not not care about checking Elgin City's Twitter page at 2:40pm in a cafe with friends and my baby on my lap. I will still look to take part in a Director of Football role for an unnamed club which brings me onto my next point.

This isn't really a suggestion so much, but more of a reason why I liked the game, and why an increasing number of people like the game, that I think a few other people need to actually appreciate (and stop shitting on). I have been thrown shit at by certain people endlessly for my trades with certain people. Chris Scott, Rip, and Mik to an extent. None of the trades with these people have ever been vetoed and with good reason (see other thread, and if not from my mouth, see SOF's point on the subject). The reason we trade so often is because we like talking about the game together and "looking out for each other" in a weird way. We are a stable or alliance with mutual interests. And it has brought us together a little more as posters and people in a way that wouldn't have happened without RFF. Talking about the Football League Show or sending each other YouTube videos of goals and calling some Scottish prick a useless Toblerone-footed goon - it is all a fun way to enjoy football again, and sharing that has been lovely.

Now you can break this down however you want, but if we are to look at attracting more people, then I think we need to be conscious of the fact that this game attracts people for different reasons, and be acceptive about this reasoning.

[Rip]

Just a little point, this is a game it's supposed to be fun, amidst all the rules and crap can we try and remember that?

Sometimes I really feel that's forgotten.

[MMH]

Just a little point, this is a game it's supposed to be fun, amidst all the rules and crap can we try and remember that?

Sometimes I really feel that's forgotten.

The rules are what makes it fun though which I think is something people forget or cant grasp.

Every game that works need a structure.

Currently this game is not fun for me and judging by the amount of people who have left it wasnt for them either.

Obviously I would be interested to know peoples feelings on this.

Also got to remember the rules should not be something that the managers have to worry about to much. They are being written up just so if something does happen thats a bit out of the ordinary then a ruling can be justified without me making a decision and then someone else kicking up a fuss about said decision. With black and white rules this wont happen and to be honest I need it to happen.

[BBF]

This isn't really a suggestion so much, but more of a reason why I liked the game, and why an increasing number of people like the game, that I think a few other people need to actually appreciate (and stop shitting on). I have been thrown shit at by certain people endlessly for my trades with certain people. Chris Scott, Rip, and Mik to an extent. None of the trades with these people have ever been vetoed and with good reason (see other thread, and if not from my mouth, see SOF's point on the subject). The reason we trade so often is because we like talking about the game together and "looking out for each other" in a weird way. We are a stable or alliance with mutual interests. And it has brought us together a little more as posters and people in a way that wouldn't have happened without RFF. Talking about the Football League Show or sending each other YouTube videos of goals and calling some Scottish prick a useless Toblerone-footed goon - it is all a fun way to enjoy football again, and sharing that has been lovely.

I can see your side of it and can see how that makes the game a bit more fun for you. Its actually something that has bothered me less and less as time has gone on because despite it you've not actually been able to absolutely dominate the game but I can still understand the frustration of the players who aren't part of the 'inner circle'. Surely you must see that timed transfers and trades only happening within that circle would alienate other players and stack the odds a bit? From the way Hurley has reacted it seems to be the exact reason he carried out that trade earlier this week.

I think in general we need to stop being dicks as a whole. I think a set of written rules that we can point to as well as a committee (I think you need at least one person who knows football in this country to be on it btw) who are there to go 'yep, thats a fair trade' or just simply say 'stop being a dick'. Maybe even limiting trades between 2 sides (only 2 trades allowed between 2 sides per season or something?)

With keepers, I think thats something we need to head into a season knowing rather than deciding at this point for this season so next season being 'the end' of a RFF rotation and the 2018/19 season being the point of a recent would be good. That would also see a hard reset with Euro players too.

I think having 2 'conferences' next season could work and I've got an idea about how to make it work similarly to how MLS is run which would see an end of season knockout cup with the overall league winner and the cup winner getting the biggest rewards over the season.

I think its a superb idea to do this thread now btw knowing we've got a shit load of time before the next season to sort stuff out.

[son_of_foley]

Just a little point, this is a game it's supposed to be fun, amidst all the rules and crap can we try and remember that?

Sometimes I really feel that's forgotten.

I think that will be considered mate. The other thing is its a big time investment so I do think there needs to be some basis of rules/structure so people aren't constantly trying to get 1 over or be snide.

I'm not a fan of all trades or such being eyeballed. I would want any committee to be involved sparingly so there would be a need for someone to flag something up (could be via pm) for someone to look at.

[MMH]

Just throwing an idea out there....

Instead of being able to just pick up anyone there could be a comprehensive list of players available. Anyone new can be added to the database and then enters the waiver process (if we were to have one obviously..)

Personally I am against it because a proper punt is a big and fun part of the game but am throwing it out there anyway.

Also regarding the waiver wire. Could teams be locked down until Tuesday morning and then players be claimed via a predetermined order like in most fantasy sports? Again I am not massively keen as it takes away a fun part of the game, however it does bring up/adds another aspect of team management. I think if anything that should only be used during transfer windows but meh...

[Reech]

Quick notes as I've got a short lunch.

We need rules written down, mainly for reference and mainly to help new players learn the ropes.
I'd be in favour of locking teams for the game week (Fri to Mon) so they can't transfer in/out during that time.
Not having a keeper and aiming for one is the only reason I'm playing. If it was "to finish 6th, then it's not enough of a drive for me and I'd probably have bailed earlier on. I'm hooked on a tangible rewards. Keepers seems okay as a concept, would be in favour of them being limited to a few leagues (i.e. 2 or 3) and rotating those round. Feels weird to be able to get such a strong first pick AND a good Euro player though in the draft so I'd maybe suggest mixing that up as suggested so others can more chance to get a fantastic first draft pick (or to fuck it up on Rudy Gestede like I did the other year).
We count U-21 games? That's new news and we shouldn't imo. Charity Shield should count.
Trades should be capped/limited/reviewed in some way, not sure the best (5 per season etc etc). As an "outsider", sometimes it feels like the game is weighted against you in this regard when there's circles of people all rubbing each other's back. Not sure on Divisions/Conference, depends on how many people we get.
Committee sounds a good for arbitration on issues.

[son_of_foley]

Quick notes as I've got a short lunch.

We need rules written down, mainly for reference and mainly to help new players learn the ropes.
I'd be in favour of locking teams for the game week (Fri to Mon) so they can't transfer in/out during that time.
Not having a keeper and aiming for one is the only reason I'm playing. If it was "to finish 6th, then it's not enough of a drive for me and I'd probably have bailed earlier on. I'm hooked on a tangible rewards. Keepers seems okay as a concept, would be in favour of them being limited to a few leagues (i.e. 2 or 3) and rotating those round. Feels weird to be able to get such a strong first pick AND a good Euro player though in the draft so I'd maybe suggest mixing that up as suggested so others can more chance to get a fantastic first draft pick (or to fuck it up on Rudy Gestede like I did the other year).
We count U-21 games? That's new news and we shouldn't imo. Charity Shield should count.
Trades should be capped/limited/reviewed in some way, not sure the best (5 per season etc etc). As an "outsider", sometimes it feels like the game is weighted against you in this regard when there's circles of people all rubbing each other's back. Not sure on Divisions/Conference, depends on how many people we get.
Committee sounds a good for arbitration on issues.

I thought competitive under-21 international games did count but I might be wrong

[The Rosk]

If Andy or Beefy ever win this then we need to close the game forever.

New suggestion.

[MMH]

If Andy or Beefy ever win this then we need to close the game forever.

New suggestion.

Cant see if being an issue...

I will put it on the to discuss list right behind the "what if Aliens land and are allowed to play professional football even though they have super powers?" dilemma.

[Reech]

"The Space Jam Procedure"

[The Rosk]

Suggestions for players:

Pablo Diablo
Murphy
Darkoke

This is purely based off who has read this thread. I think it would be good to cure Murphy's ongoing disappointment with the world.

[Canuck]

Re: Waivers/available players

I think the typical waiver procedure is a pretty good idea. For those of you who aren't familiar with NA fantasy sports it works like this...

If a player is dropped from a team he is required to clear waivers, meaning there is a period of time in which he can be picked up by another team, but the highest waiver priority will win out.

Initial waiver priority is based on standings. After that any team who uses their benefits is dropped to lowest priority.

So for instance.. if I drop Costa and Andy has waiver priority 6... he can pick him up... however if anyone in positions 1-5 claim him in the waiver period they will get him. If he has cleared the timeframe then Andy gets him.

It will get tricky if transfers are overturned, but it still allows any punts on proper free agents. Would probably work better with a locked in squad as well.

[Chris Scott]

Agree with the waiver bit 100%.

[son_of_foley]

There is an option to start the season with the waiver system in place and if it's not working we can abolish it quickly enough right?

As long as there is clarity when that would happen i think it's worth a try

[Reech]

Still don't understand waivers.

[Reech]

How do you define waiver priority?

[Canuck]

1st draft pick is last priority... last is 1st.

[MMH]

Then when someone uses their waiver pick they move to the back of the list and everyone else moves up

[Andy]

The draft and transfers are the two best things about the game, I'd be wary about changing them too much from a simple formula.

No draft pick trades, freedom to pick up and drop players within the one or two gameweek limit - those are simple rules and should remain IMO.

The trades issue has come about as a result of people being dicks and sadly there's no way to set up a rule against it. I don't know what you can do about that other than maybe putting a poll up and go with majority decision. Or if someone wants to drop someone and believes there is potential value in a trade, announce it in the thread and take the best public offer after 24 hours.

[MMH]

We dont have a no draft pick trade rule...

If anything I would prefer if people did it more!

[Andy]

I thought that was banned a while ago? Obviously not.

I'm always up for mixing it up a bit so a Euro player for everyone is interesting to me. Maybe the top 6 get two but can only have one in their starting five.

[SheltonLondon]

Got to say despite my absences previously I am completely in love with this game and I've got to commend MMH for setting this up way back when. Without doubt the best fantasy football game I've ever played, and something I always thought could actually work on a larger scale if I'm being honest. It does seem like it has recently turned a little bit sour for whatever reason but personally I wouldn't say it needs a complete overhaul. I'm pretty sure the game started on a notepad for MMH, and ultimately think that simplicity is part of the beauty of it.

I've never played any of the yank fantasy sports, so I'm not familiar with some of the proposals discussed above, but I would be a little wary of going too much down that road. I'll bow to better people's judgement on things like waivers etc as maybe it's what the game needs. Although I don't think it's necessary it could be something that plays out like a 'Transfer List', and a player has to be listed for a set period or something, which wouldn't be that dissimilar from what we're used to as footy fans.

Like some others who have posted above I do think the game should always have an element of freedom for managers, mad punts and late signings have always been a part of the game for as long as I can remember and have made for some great RFF moments. Danny Shittu immediately springs to mind! I can understand people's points about teams being locked in for the weekend, but again for me it's always been part of the game that a manager could pull something out of the bag late in the day if he needed to pick up the points and there was an opportunity to bring someone in from the Sunday/Monday games. There is usually a level of sacrifice/risk in these moves which kind of balances things out, as you generally have to transfer out a good player in these sort of situations, and usually end up with someone like Theo Walcott.

I think trades can be tightened a little, as they are getting a bit silly. Wouldn't want to see them squashed completely though, so getting approval from a board or something similar doesn't sound like a bad plan at all, and think it's probably the most simple to enforce.

For me the draft has always been one of the highlights, wouldn't say that should be changed too much. Maybe slightly less weighted in the favour of teams who have performed well the previous year, as generally they are probably the better players anyway, or devote more time to the game and would likely already have a better chance of being up there the next season anyway. To then give them such an advantage in the draft with the placement of picks etc kind of creates a gap similar to the one Champions League football has done in the Premier League and could potentially contribute to a feeling of apathy from the lower placed managers as they have less exciting players, or they have little to play for later in the season.

The split divisions could work in that respect I suppose, although have always quite liked how similar this was to the traditional football setup in Europe, but if we have limited players I guess that might not be feasible to carry on with.

Guess I'm a bit of a purist looking at all that. Should probably play a bit more.

[SheltonLondon]

Also bring back Melv and Topping if they're still alive.

[SheltonLondon]

Proper thread killer me eh?

[UK Blue]

Sure this thread will be buzzing at the season's end.

[wardy]

I know I abandoned this the last time but I'd be up for taking a team and giving it my full commitment this time around.

[Mik]

Like the rajah royal rumble eh wardy?

[Andy]

Rosk trading/giving Rip Sutherland is fine but it'll leave a sour taste if he trades him straight back at the start of next season.

[Mik]

Rosk isn't playing next season.

[Andy]

He said that last year.

[Mik]

He isn't next season. I've talked to him about it a lot.

[wardy]

Like the rajah royal rumble eh wardy?

Like the Rajah WrestleMania meet Mik eh eh

[Canuck]

If we introduce waivers, what does everyone think of expanding eligibile players in international weeks to all legit games? We could bring back the two week minimum stay in a squad if we want to make it more of a risk for transfers as well.

[Mik]

Like the Rajah WrestleMania meet Mik eh eh

Touche.

[Beefy]

Waivers won't work. It's too big a pain to track and is contrart to the nature of this game. In US fantasy sports you tend to drop players at the start of the week. Most of the action in our game happens from 2pm on the Saturday onwards. Plus I'm unsure what problem it is that a waiver system would resolve? It just rewards less active players.

[Canuck]

It prevents obvious timing issues with players being dropped. Ie: Shane Sutherland.

[Beefy]

Just asking people not to fuck over the game would be easier. Waivers stop that but they also stop people making legitimate signings at the most important time of the gameweek.

Not that that is necessarily what happened there anyway. A lot of people are in that thread at that time.

[Canuck]

Maybe not, but it definitely happens.

[Rip]

It prevents obvious timing issues with players being dropped. Ie: Shane Sutherland.

So we can't pick up players that are dropped without waiting an hour?

[Canuck]

Not with waivers.

[Rip]

Takes away an element of luck then, that would be a shame.

[Mik]

Haha luck.

[son_of_foley]

Beefy is unfit to legislate this game

[son_of_foley]

I wish him no harm I just hope that his seat for Wrestlemania has poor visibility due to a sign in-front of his face at all times and also I hope that he uses the same prostitute as TakerSon and loses all his fucking money and also I hope that he sunburns his stupid fucking bald head.

[MMH]

Just asking people not to fuck over the game would be easier.

Been done loads of the times hence me having a meltdown at least twice a season and threatening to walk away.

[Reech]

Waivers do sound a bit more complex. Challenge is keeping "casual" people interested enough to post teams and adding more rules/regulations will just turn anyone but the hardcore off.

[Reech]

Hello

I find it weird that we have 2 cup competitions and they both use whole squads.

Using the "first 5" (which I was doing incorrectly) was a much easier thing to do because I could just refer to the main sheets per week rather than going through the thread, finding the last post, seeing the subs, checking their scores, marking them down somewhere separately. With all the required data already in the sheet after a week was completed, it made checking it way easier.

2p.

[UK Blue]

Are we drafting yet?

I guess we should get an idea of numbers for next season before discussing anything else.

wardy said he's up for returning, Jay popped in the thread back in December and said he might. I'll fire a PM to Jay now.

[Badger]

I'm in. I got the short end of the stick taking over Beer Monster's team and want to give it a proper go.

[The Rosk]

I'm out, but happy to head up sorting shit out if needs be.

[UK Blue]

List of last season's keepers:

Alex - Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Andy - None
Mik - None
BBF - None
Beefy - Nicky Ajose (Charlton)
Chris Scott - Moussa Dembele (Celtic)
UK Blue - None
The Beer Monster - Craig Gunn (Elgin)
Gary J - None
Hurley - None
Grimario - None
Matthew - Jamie Vardy (Leicester)
Mikey Jones - Adam Armstrong (Newcastle United)
MMH - Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
Reech - Fernando Forestieri (Sheff Wed)
Rip - Liam Boyce (Ross County)
SheltonLondon - None
son_of_foley - Chris Martin (Derby)
The Rosk - Rory McAllister (Peterhead)
Torn - Jay Simpson (Leyton Orient)

For those unaware, a player cannot be kept for two successive years, so all of the above will be available in the draft.

EDIT: Assuming there is no change to that rule.

[Beefy]

For those unaware, a player cannot be kept for two successive years,.

Depends

[UK Blue]

See edit

[Reech]

Anyone have any requests for Reechsheet 17/18?

[UK Blue]

Hmm it's pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned (except I can never update the table for some reason, must be a problem on my side).

It'd be good to have a page for the RFF Cup. Also team/player form should only go back for six games. Seven is a weird number.

All I can think of right now!

[Reech]

The Cups aren't my domain, but Alex/Beefy can add their stuff to the sheet if they want.

Not sure why I chose 7 tbh, easily change it to 6.

[RFF Champ]

Yeah, I added the Champions League page last year. I might try and jazz it up because I added everything manually including updating tables last season.

[Andy]

I can never get anything to update either.

[BBF]

It can only be updated via laptop if thats your issue?

[UK Blue]

Not my laptop.

Maybe browser is an issue?

[BBF]

Potentially. Always works on chrome for me.

I started my draft list today.

[Andy]

I'm between two for my number 1 pick.

[Reech]

The table/scoring lists use a script I wrote in Google Sheets to update. There's a chance you've got them blocked and it also takes time for the sheet to load them in so it never works straight away from me. I hope to try and optimise the sheet a bit, it's fucking slow as shit sometimes.

[UK Blue]

I'm between two for my number 1 pick.

Much will change. I reckon it'll be Griezmann to United, Lukaku to Chelsea and new strikers in at Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton.

[Andy]

None of them are Scottish mate

[Peter Griffin]

I'm in for next year. (2nd to last is the aim)

[Reech]

The EFL season starts on August 4-6th.

That's like 8 weeks away.

I will begin updating/clearing out a spreadsheet for RFF 2017/2018 this weekend!

[Badger]

What timegrame does drafting usually start?

[Andy]

Usually two or three weeks before the season starts.

[Badger]

[Andy]

And I think last year we started on the first weekend of the championship.

[Reech]

Who uses their mobile to access the sheet? I need them to test something for the new spreadsheet.

I'm trying to replace 38 x week sheets with a single LONG sheet with links at the top to jump down to the right row or "hide" completed weeks so the next week is at the top (not sure which one I prefer yet, hence the test).

[Reech]

New sheet is here btw

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[RFF Champ]

The results haven't been done for week 38

[Beefy]

I'm a firm supporter this year of a 16 team league made up of four conferences. Let's mix things up.

[RFF Champ]

Divisions of 4 times only heightens the impact of inactive users.

Next year stands to be a proper contest. Torn won’t repeat his early bad luck and has a Euro player, Reech showed some incredible form mid-season after grasping the game, UK Blue is back and firing and has a Euro player, Andy is always there or thereabouts, BBF took his game up a level, I’m keener than ever, SOF has scored more goals than anyone over the past 3 years and then there’s whoever Rosk acts as DoF for, plus a few others who could lay claim to a challenge.

[Beefy]

Conferences actually lessen the impact of inactive players because you can't win overall by being lucky enough to run into more inactive players than others have or even have inactive players nudged back into life every time they're up against a title rival (which has definitely happened in the past) or not replaced until a week or two after they've played a certain team (which has also happened). It should also encourage people to keep playing when for most the season is over by November in the current format.

if we wanted the winner to reflect the best player in the game we'd just award the title to whoever scores the most goals. We don't and therefore we should consider a competition format that works best. That isn't a straight-forward league.

[RFF Champ]

Highest goal scorer isn’t the indication of the best player. There's always going to be an issue of variance with regards to inactive players but that has never resulted in any title winner being 'lucky'.

[Beefy]

Of course highest goalscorer is the indication of the best player. It's the only indication because it is the only variable that counts and is the one that we're all striving for.

[RFF Champ]

No, it isn’t. Anyone can luck upon Robert Lewandowski in the draft and score a boatload.

[Beefy]

Yeah. Obviously. Have you been drinking?

[The Rosk]

I dunno how four divisions would work in reality. I think you should do a 14 team league and really mix it up with people playing eachother thrice. It should be known as the Year of Thrice.

Andy
BBF
Alex
SOF
Torn
UK Blue
Reech
Hurley
Beefy
MMH
Shelton
Mikey
Mik
Badger (?)

I can't see any of those not taking part regularly next year and it'll lead to a lot more enjoyable league overall IMO. It may annoy some people who thought they could get a place without question, but fuck 'em. Watching people play empty squads over the last few years was so annoying.

Be ruthless lads.

[The Rosk]

Of course highest goalscorer is the indication of the best player. It's the only indication because it is the only variable that counts and is the one that we're all striving for.

That means Andy was the best player last year

[Peter Griffin]

I dunno how four divisions would work in reality. I think you should do a 14 team league and really mix it up with people playing eachother thrice. It should be known as the Year of Thrice.

Andy
BBF
Alex
SOF
Torn
UK Blue
Reech
Hurley
Beefy
MMH
Shelton
Mikey
Mik
Badger (?)

I can't see any of those not taking part regularly next year and it'll lead to a lot more enjoyable league overall IMO. It may annoy some people who thought they could get a place without question, but fuck 'em. Watching people play empty squads over the last few years was so annoying.

Be ruthless lads.

[RFF Champ]

Yeah. Obviously. Have you been drinking?

The person who has the best process in pursuit of becoming the highest scorer is the best player. Andy navigating the Scottish leagues week on week for players showed him as a better player than Hurley who had 10 unique scorers all season but it’s entirely feasible given the fine margin between them that Hurley could’ve outscored Andy.

[Beefy]

And had Hurley outscored Andy he'd have been entitled to call himself the best player that season regardless of where they both finished in the league. He didn't and therefore he cannot.

This isn't football - we don't go for goals at the cost of leaving ourselves open at the back. No one devises specific tactics against specific teams. Regardless of whether you luck upon a great set of players in the draft or you make a bunch of trades or you pick up some great players in free agency the goal is the same which is to score as many goals as possible every week.

Clearly at the end of the season the person who scored the most goals is the one who has played the game best, whether or not they win the league.

[The Rosk]

BUT I WAS TOP SCORER ALL SEASON THEN ANDY WON 6-0 BECAUSE MY ENTIRE TEAM GOT FUCKING INJURED YOU CUNT SHUT UP AND OBVIOUSLY HIS FUCKING EURO PLAYER DIDN'T MAKE IT PAST THE QUARTERS AND SO PLAYED MADAME SWISH AND MONSIEUR PRICK AT THE WEEKENDS WHILE FAT HIGUAIN GOT RESTED LIKE A TWAT SHUT UP

*ahem*

This is a pointless argument as it will have nothing to do with next season.

[RFF Champ]

We can remove Gary, Matthew, Rosk and Rip then have a 16 team league of mostly active players in what is the hottest renewal of the league we've had in years. We can lighten the Christmas schedule which was chaos last year, we can remove weeks where there are few leagues playing and we can include the first two rounds of the RFA cup as their own week.

[Beefy]

The RFA Cup will be played out entirely in the first third of the season next year. I want it done by November.

[RFF Champ]

Now who's been drinking.

[BBF]

I like Rosk's idea best but with 16 teams. I just can't see the conference thing working (my stance has changed on this considerably) and I don't think 'American-ising' the game will do it any favours.

16 core players, a proper cup competition and it'll be fun. Lets give it one year like that and see how we go.

[Canuck]

The draft is not luck.

[Canuck]

Will there ever be any interest in adding more stats than goals to the game? It works well with american sports, but I am unsure how it would transfer over to football.

[UK Blue]

I'd prefer one league but a revamped cup competition starting with groups of four teams (played on international weekends with all matches counting).

[Torn]

Can we go back and remember what the issues were midseason when there was lots of moaning about the game being broken? As we should probably address the reasons behind this

I agree with the smaller league obviously. Playing dead squads is horrible. One of the issues midseason was the lack of participation from some affecting the rest of the league and we can solve a lot of that with a smaller league. I don't think anything drastic needs to be done to the structure - the last few months of the season were brilliant and the title race was amazing yet again. Have a separate group based cup competition to fill the fixture gaps and we have the best of both worlds. People can then prioritise signing players for the cup when we play a cup game on a Tuesday with 3 leagues running or focus on their league campaign.

8 man squads if we have less people please. Smaller squads helps out those who haven't been hit by the injury bug which in turn makes being unlucky affect a team's season a lot more. You could draft and pick up well and be ruined by injuries and there is little you can do to resolve it. I had to drop some very good players last year early in the year simply to make 5 for the weekend. I wouldn't be so annoyed at luck if there was something I could do about it.

From my perspective I think something could be done to make Euro players less impactful, potentially in the draft. I know there are plenty of stories about how Euro players guarantee nothing but drafting Cavani in the last round for example is a serious advantage. Having a high first rounder, a keeper from your successful previous campaign and then a euro pick is huge. Perhaps the highest player who missed out on a Euro pick gets number 1 overall and the draft order is shuffled. I don't know. Trading I probably dislike more than others, I'd like to put a stop to these two for one type trades which are always in favour of the player getting the best overall player in the deal, trading as a whole doesn't make too much sense to me as you aren't trading from an area of strength into an area of need - players just score goals. The only time I get the urge to trade is when Alex has my club's top goalscorer but even then I would only want to do a like for like swap. But others find it fun and that's ok.

[Beefy]

I vote for six man squads. NO FIVE.

[UK Blue]

Eight man squads would lessen the number of desperation transfers. It was hard to keep up with it all last season - I think Alli and Son played for half the league between them.