Keep that scoreboard ticking
Never under-estimate the significance of playing time
In our latest teaser we put the emphasis on playing time and really cannot over-stress its importance and why it is something that all daily fantasy football managers need to consider. You simply cannot afford to have talented players rotting in the stands or scratching their heels on the bench so try to factor it in to your calculations. The exact degree of importance will vary dependent upon the rules set out in your chosen game and we’ve identified four common modes that game operators tend to go with:
Select 11 players who are ‘locked in’ once the first fixture in the contest gets under way (e.g. Mondogoal)
Automatic substitutes whereby you select a squad of say 15 players and any non-starters not in your named first 11 will get replaced automatically by your 1 of your 4 bench players who you will assign prioritisation to. This may be subject to positional constraints as well.(e.g. Fanteam)
A ‘late-swap’ option whereby changes can be made to line-ups after a contest gets under way assuming that the fixture(s) of the player(s) in question is still to commence (common with US fantasy sites and Mondogoal have indicated that they may introduce it at some point)
The option to make substitutes 'in-play' (popular with 5 & 6-a-side and even some 11-a-side daily fantasy football provider formats)
Clearly, some of these game formats provide a certain level of ‘insurance’ for the daily fantasy football manager and your choice of operator may well boil to down to personal considerations such as work commitments and family time. Having said that, even if you decide to play in games where selecting substitutes is compulsory by being able to identify the players who are more likely to start games you will gain an edge. This in turn will enable you to economize on ‘bench’ player expenditure, funds which can be put to better use strengthening your starting line-up.
You should attempt to maximise the amount of playing time your selections get, however, due to managerial rotation and so on this task is not as simple as it first seems. We’ve selected 5 players who ranked highly in our Mondogoal case study feature where we focused on the 7 key fundamentals needed to achieve daily fantasy football success - namely Olivier Giroud, Fabian Delph, Sylvain Distin, Kieran Trippier and Gaël Clichy and each in turn presents a different poser for the daily fantasy manager to assess.
Olivier Giroud
WhoScored provide a great resource for checking the amount of playing time individuals are averaging and through a combination of cameo substitute appearances and being hauled off early on regular occasions Giroud certainly falls into the risky proposition area. Arsenal continue to be linked with a move for Karim Benzema and Wenger still persists with the notion of trying to convert Theo Walcott into a centre-forward even though it is clear that his hold-up play isn’t up to speed.
Fabian Delph
Delph averaged almost 87 minutes per appearance last season and clearly has the potential to average more points per game at City due to their additional firepower and defensive resolve. However, he is on a well-trodden path following in the footsteps of midfielders like Milner, Sinclair, Nasri and Rodwell, all of whom have failed to cement regular first team football. An early injury on top of the loyalty debacle does not bode well and he could find that he is under immense pressure early on in his City career as he tries to establish himself.
Sylvain Distin
Veteran defender Distin leaves an established Premier club where he was 3rd choice behind Stones and Jagielka for a newly promoted club. One would suspect that playing time guarantees were included during contract negotiations and he looks a great addition to the Cherries backline. If they can keep things fairly tight at the back in home games he should be a value option on the occasions when those all-important goal expectancies look favourable.
Kieran Trippier
Tripper has effectively gone the opposite route to Distin by joining an established side having spent his first full season in the top flight embroiled in a relegation battle. Now he faces a battle with Kyle Walker to cement himself as Tottenham’s regular right back. Pochettino could easily opt for a rotation policy shifting between the two of them so a watching brief might be advised until his intentions become clearer.
Gaël Clichy
This is a huge season for the former Arsenal man. Clichy was seemingly made the scapegoat following a brutal display in April’s Manchester derby and failed to feature for the Sky Blues again during the remainder of the campaign. Whether he gets the chance to re-establish himself remains to be seen and most daily fantasy football managers are likely to be looking elsewhere.
Hopefully these titbits will give you an idea of some of the playing time conundrums daily fantasy football managers will face on a regular basis but one thing is assured - if you want to be successful you need to select players that will keep those fantasy football scoreboards ticking over!
