Every football manager has their own style, and the world of Draft Premier League is no different. The Inner Geek has seen them all. Want to know what you are? Check out the 12 types of draft fantasy manager below...
The perfect article to get the group chat going. Who in your league is The Wheeler Dealer? Who is the Silent One? And who is The Last Resort (fingers crossed it's not you!)?
The 12 Types of Draft Fantasy Manager...
The One Who Only Sings When He’s Winning
We’re only 30 minutes into the 3 o’clock kick-offs and you’ve already received texts from them gloating about the goal their left back has scored and the red card your striker has been given. Yes, they may be 40 points ahead of you now, but they've failed to notice (or care?) that all five of your midfielders play tomorrow. Come 6:00 pm Sunday and it's all gone quiet on the social front: no texts, no responses on the group chat…they're probably even pretending he hadn’t checked their team this weekend.
The Wheeler Dealer
Every day is transfer deadline day in the eyes of the wheeler-dealer. This guy has his waiver list full of 12 different players waiting every Tuesday morning and makes trades like they’re going out of fashion. One-on-one trades are offered to you on a weekly basis, but every now and again he’ll throw in a trade extravaganza: 2 midfielders, a goalkeeper, and a forward for 3 of your defenders. It makes no sense to you but he knows what he’s doing. Only two players remain from his original draft squad, and even they’ve been offered out on a couple of occasions. Harry Redknapp would be proud.
The Believer
It doesn’t matter that they've got a 1-7 record, they still GENUINELY believes they will beat you this week. And they lets you know too. Whilst many in their league position tend to keep quiet for fear of ridicule, this one embraces it. Not afraid to trade punches, they always have an explanation for how they lost… And a new plan for next week that is bound to work. The trouble is, it’s actually pretty convincing, meaning you spend the week leading up to your matchup with them sure that you’re going to have the ultimate embarrassment of actually losing to them. Then Sunday evening comes and you realize it’s just business as usual.
The Unlucky One
There’s actually two types of “unlucky one”; the one you feel sympathy for, and the one you don’t. The difference usually lies in how much they tell you about their misfortunes. Nobody has time for the one that tells you how they’d have beaten nine other teams this week had they played them, or how their bench scored 50 points. But the one that stays quiet despite having their opponent score over 140 points for three consecutive weeks, or who doesn’t say a word despite drafting three players who went on to get long-term injuries...that’s the one you feel sorry for. Unfortunately, they're probably 10th in the league whereas the other one is probably 3rd.
The Controversial One
This one's middle name is scandal. Always looking for underhanded ways to get an advantage, they will stop at nothing to get the W each week. You still hold the grudge from last season when you sent a trade on Friday, only for them to accept it at 2:59 pm on Saturday – leaving you with precisely one minute to make the necessary lineup changes. They got someone else even better this year though. A trade where they gave away R. Jimenez in exchange for Danny Ings seems pretty fair…until you find out that R. Jimenez is actually West Ham backup goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez. You feel sorry for the Commissioner who has to deal with that fallout.
The Last Resort
Nobody wants an odd-numbered league. They don’t work (well, technically they do, but who wants to play against “league average”?). So it’s inevitable that in many leagues the commissioner will have been forced to phone around last minute to see who can fill in for Dave who’s decided his career needs to be put ahead of fantasy football this season. This normally ends up being a friend of a friend, or a work colleague, or a distant family member. Whatever the case, it’s not as good. No banter can be had with this one on the Friday before your head to head. And no sarcastic commiserations can be sent on Monday when you’ve beaten them. It’s just not the same. If you’re not sure who it is in your league, then it’s probably you.
The Chaser
No, not the really smart guy on daytime television. This is the one that started off 0-8 but is now making a charge. They've finally gotten their head around the Draft Fantasy revolution; where ball-winning midfielders dine like kings and marauding full backs are knights in shining armour. They've clocked the scoring system, figured out the waivers, made notes on the strategies, and are following all the right people on Twitter. The hard yards have been put in and now they're making their move. It helps that they're first on the waiver wire to begin with, but even then they're picking up players and making changes that have started winning games. If they’d done this from the beginning they’d be a real threat, but you’re probably safe this year. Watch out next year though.
The Loyalist
The eternal struggle between head and heart will forever torment every Fantrax manager… except for this one. They stay true to their real-world team and draft only them. Yes, Newcastle United play boring, defensive football, but they live and breathe the Toon Army and need to have Ritchie, Lascelles, Shelvey, Lejeune, and Almiron in their squad. It doesn’t matter that half of them are injured either, they’ll just pick up Hayden and Yedlin for free – they're sure (and rightly so) that nobody else will have thought to get them. A lot of respect for this manager, but not a lot of points.
The Silent One
You often forget this one’s even in the league, but don’t let that fool you. They haven’t disappeared like old Dave; they just like to stay behind the scenes. They play their cards close to their chest and don’t engage with much of the chat before and after. They do their talking on the pitch and they are a dangerous opponent. You might hear from them twice during the season; once at the start to confirm the date and time of the draft, and then next when it’s all done and dusted and they've finished at the top.
The Clueless One
In every league, there’s that one person who, quite simply, is just not very good. It’s not that they lack football knowledge per se…they just haven’t worked out the little tactics that are fundamental to success. They have two goalkeepers for starters. They stick by players who are out injured for six months. They are so reactionary in the waiver market that the horse hasn’t just bolted before they’ve closed the door, it’s done five laps of Aintree. El Mohamady scores 19 points in week 2…that’s him picked up. Masuaku gets 30 in week 4…he’s for sure brought in. Is that Javier Manquillo scoring 17 in week 6? Better snap him up before anyone else does. The list of free agent fails is endless, and so are the losses.
The 'Football Manager' Manager
If Fantrax were Football Manager, this one would be unbeaten. It’s not. Therefore they're 11th. They are the one that drafted Rodrigo in the first round because protecting the backline is integral to success. They have Mark Noble in the side for his leadership abilities and keep James Milner on the roster because he’s an experienced head. Whilst some teams have defenses made up of 4 left backs, or midfields made up entirely of wingers, this one plays it straight: a balanced attack and a strong spine to the team is the number one priority. 3-4-3? Not a chance.
The Quitter
A combination of five losses in their first six games, injuries to their first two draft picks, and a new partner (the main reason) has led to this one pretty much quitting the league. It was an effort finding 12 players in the first place, let alone someone to come in and take over a team that’s now 1-7 and has only five regular starters on their roster. Probably more annoyingly, they've got one or two players that could be quite useful in your team, but there’s no chance of them logging in now to look at any trades. The only thing you can do now is hope you don’t have the ultimate embarrassment of losing to them…which will inevitably happen to a couple of people.
So...which type of manager are you? Let us know in the comments below!
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