Free Agent Budget in Fantrax - Why You Should Spend it as Early as Possible

The Free Agent Budget (FAB) is a very tricky concept to master in Fantrax Draft PL fantasy football leagues. Deciding which percentage of your budget to spend on certain players every week, or how much to offer and accept in trades requires a lot of strategy and can change a league as a whole. I've seen it all. I have seen FAB wars, I have seen managers give up all their FAB before the draft (me), and those who have amassed a FAB monopoly within the first few weeks. This article will look to sway you in the direction of spending/trading away your FAB as soon as possible. For more incredible analysis and Fantrax preseason advice, check out our 24/25 Draft Kit and our Pricing Plans.

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Why You Should Spend FAB as Early as Possible

Genie is here to explain his thoughts on spending your Fantrax FAB early for those of you playing with this version of waiver claims. The Free Agent Budget is a setting in Fantrax that will allow managers to "bid" for players that are on the waiver wire. Usually every manager will start with 100 FAB, and bid in increments of 1. All FAB is tradeable, and this adds an extra level of strategy to Fantrax, as opposed to simply awarding the player to whoever has the highest waiver priority. Deciding how much to spend on an asset is tough, but can you still pick up decent assets when you have 0 FAB left? This article will dive into just that.

Keeping your Free Agent Budget is a burden

How is having extra resources to pick up hidden gems week in week out a burden? How is having some sweetener FAB to add to trades a negative? Well, I'll tell you how. The longer you keep your FAB, the harder it is to value it in my opinion, especially after the January transfer window. Going into the season with the intention to make your FAB last as long as possible will probably lead to you missing out on many solid pickups, and potentially good trades where FAB is involved. As you slowly start to spend your FAB, you may start to be more cautious week in and week out, which will cause you to continuously miss out on pickups. The best example I can think of is Cole Palmer being available in quite a few leagues just ahead of rumours of his move to Chelsea. He went for under 35 FAB in most leagues, but ended up being an elite asset. A lot of managers chose not to waste FAB on him to save it for other future pickups. A highly touted academy player from Manchester City is always someone worth a gamble. Now, I didn't think Palmer would be even close to elite, but for those with FAB, these are the kind of assets you need to risk it on: title winning assets, not holding out for a solid short-term defensive streamer.

Spending your FAB early will allow you to not hold back on ensuring you get early trades across the line while FAB still interests people, and you are able to get those "early" hidden gems (more on that later). As the season goes on, managers are less interested in trading for FAB and start to be content with their own strategy. The conservative method is one that will cost you more often than not - it can lead you to miss out on potential superstars, avoid beneficial trades, and take gambles on January signings that don't pan out. In short, spend it early.

Trading Your FAB Decreases the Risk

When you have FAB, especially during the transfer windows, it is more than likely a chunk of it will be spent on the EPL's "shiny new toys" - players are who coming into the EPL late into the window, sometimes after the season starts. Sometimes these players can be absolute gems, but more often than not, big name signings struggle to adapt in their first season in the EPL. You also have those classic transfers: a relegated asset who was a star for their previous team being scooped up by a mid-table team (JWP to West Ham of last season). A lot of times, this is where having FAB can help you guarantee the asset you want from the new transfers. But... is that always a good thing? Instead, trading your FAB--especially post-draft for assets you know are proven in the EPL and have a defined role in their team--can be a much better route. There will be managers trying to trade in FAB to scoop up the newest target, and the bigger the name, the more value you can get for your FAB. Now, your best chance to get full value is to ship your entire FAB budget to the manager wanting to guarantee 1-2 of the new assets. If these trades take place post-draft, I would recommend targeting assets who would start every week in your XI, using the argument that the new asset coming in could do the exact same for that manager.

Let's look back at some of the bigger signings that came into the EPL after a majority of drafts took place and see how it played out for those who held their FAB to spend on these new assets.

Rasmus Hojlund (F, MUN)

Hojlund, unfortunately has to be labelled as a fantasy flop this season. In reality, he showed his potential, and with better service and more time in the league, he can be a force to reckon with. He managed 10 goals and 2 assists; most of these returns came between December to February when he scored 7 of his 10 goals and both of his assists. He only managed to average 7.5 PPS in his 25 starts offering very inconsistent FWD3 value. Coming in, he basically commanded 100% of a manager's FAB to be able to claim him. In hindsight, he should have gone for less than 40, and was probably dropped multiple times throughout the season. He lost his starting spot in the last few games of the season as well, and it remains to be seen if he can find a run of form that is more consistent than just 2 months.

Hindsight Verdict: Hojlund was not worth more than 40 FAB, and was a FWD3 with FWD2 upside.

Josko Gvardiol (D, MCI)

Across the leagues I was in, Gvardiol's FAB worth fluctuated from 5-60. Some managers hoping he would be the second coming of Cancelo, and others just wanting to avoid Walker 2.0. Across his 26 starts, Gvardiol managed a respectable 9.4 PPS while averaging 7.2 ghost points per game. He also managed 4 goals and 1 assist. The numbers do not tell the full story though. Gvardiol was a pretty steady starter for Pep even in the beginning of the season, missing a few games due to rotation, but sustained an injury in early February. He didn't return to EPL action until his start on March 31. From that point on, it is safe to say he was lights out. He was putting up DEF1 numbers and was the top scoring defender from March 31 until the end of the season averaging 15.62 PPS. Obviously, it is hard to judge if he was worth the FAB, he was nothing more than your average DEF2/3 in the early half of the season and more than likely was dropped during his injury.

Hindsight Verdict: Gvardiol was a solid option in the early part of the season but got injured. If you held him through his injury, he more than repaid the faith in your FAB spending being the top scoring defender in the last few months. He was probably worth around 10 FAB overall.

Ross Barkley (M, LUT)

Barkley rolled back the years last season. He had himself a stormer of a season for Luton and did everything he could to try and keep them up. He managed 10.4 PPS in his 30 starts, showing he was durable as well. Barkley didn't command that much FAB in the summer given his poor production in recent EPL stints and question marks over health. He even went for free in a few leagues. He was worth whatever FAB you paid for him and probably a lot more. Barkley consistently put up MID1 numbers and managed 6 outings of over 15 points. His ghost points were reliable as well averaging 8.2 per game. Barkley was one of the steals of the window for those unable to get the "bigger names"

Hindsight Verdict: One of the best value pickups. In hindsight he was worth about 75 FAB. A good example how those cheaper summer pickups could end up being title winning pickups for your team.

Jack Harrison (M, EVE)

Harrison can be considered a flop. He was a top asset when he was in Fantrax while on Leeds, but did nothing of value while on Everton. Harrison commanded a hefty chunk of FAB given his Leeds performances, but was nothing short of droppable in 23/24. He only managed two outings of over 20 points: one being vs. Liverpool when he was more than likely on your bench. More often than not, he disappointed managers with scores lower than 7, and even had 9 (!!) outings of 2 points or less. Flop.

Hindsight Verdict: Harrison was not worth any FAB when he signed, and was nothing short of a streamer if even. These type of big name assets will always be tricky to value in the moment, but with hindsight being used he was truly worth 0 FAB.

James Ward-Prowse (M, WHU)

Ward-Prowse was the most sought after asset in the transfers window. He showed on Southampton he is a force in Fantrax, and his set-piece deliveries would be welcomed for the likes of Zouma and Antonio. He started off the season repaying his managers faith with 6 double digit outings in his first 6 starts. After that, he started to taper off a bit with sporadic double digit outings only. In the latter stages of the season, he did lose his spot in the XI after poor form both in Fantrax and on the pitch. Due to injuries and suspensions he did finish off the season somewhat respectably. While Ward-Prowse was a good pickup for many managers, outside of the hot start, he was not really worth the 100 FAB. He would have been a great trade-high target after his first few starts.

Hindsight Verdict: JWP was worth closer to 65 FAB in my opinion, probably allowing you to pickup other assets like Gvardiol and Barkley to compliment him.

Jeremy Doku (F, MCI)

Doku had a very good first season under Pep, but given he signed for City there was no surprise about the amount of rotation he faced. He did start a respectable 19 games averaging 15 PPS and 11 gPPS. Doku offered FWD1 value when in the XI, and was more than worth the FAB spent on him. If you told me post draft I would be able to slot in a Manchester City starting winger for 19 games on top of my already drafted forward line, I would have dropped 100 FAB on Doku. He more than repaid managers for their FAB spending, and despite the rotation frustrations, 19 starts in your first season as a Pep attacker is quite good.

Hindsight Verdict: Doku should have been the one to command the highest FAB of the players here given his extremely high ceiling and single handedly winning you matches multiple times with scores of 52 and 38.5 to his name. In hindsight he was probably worth100 FAB.

Mohammed Kudus (M, WHU)

Similar to Doku, Kudus had an incredible first season in the EPL. He was a top fantasy asset who only got better with time. He will definitely be a force to be reckoned with next year. Kudus had a slow start to the season, but once he found his feet he was unplayable. He averaged 12.8 PPS, the best of any West Ham player, with a respectable 8.7 gPPS. Often times he offered MID1 value and had a high ceiling, scoring 20+ points 6 times this season. Kudus was more than worth the FAB spent on him. He came in near the last day of the window so commanded nearly 100% of the FAB from managers who didn't splurge on earlier transfers.

Hindsight Verdict: Kudus was just short of Doku for the top FAB spot on this list for me. He was worth about 90-95 FAB, but if you missed out on Doku he was worth all 100.

Beto (F, EVE)

Not much really needs to be said here. An even bigger flop than Harrison with just 9 starts and 3 goals to his name, Beto was nothing short of a last-minute, desperate streamer this season. He was supposed to partner and rotate with DCL last season, but with DCL being surprisingly healthy last year we didn't see much of that. Beto's 9 ghosts in his first EPL start was a flash in the pan being his only decent outing outside of his 3 goals. Maybe it's a trend that all Everton attackers should just be avoided?

Hindsight Verdict: Beto was not worth any FAB, and should have only been picked up if you desperate for a forward when he started.

Don't Hold Back on the Early Waiver Wire Pickups

Managers are always hesitant on early waiver pickups, especially when it comes to spending their FAB. Seeing a free agent player get 20+ in gameweek 1 is always a tough one to judge. You never know if it is a one-off or a sign that this player will have a good season. If you have the FAB, it is worth finding out. Barkley, Doughty, Gusto, and Semenyo are players that were picked up in many leagues after the first few weeks of the season, and boy did that pay off. Managers who had the FAB were willing to spend close to 20 on these players and the "risk" paid off. The early weeks of the season are where you should be looking to spend a lot of your FAB, especially if you missed out on some of the big name signings and can't get any trades over the line. Picking up players with hot starts could mean they will have a good season, or at least be more significant in their team this season. Name value needs to go out the window here, and you need to only look at this season.

Saving FAB to plan for double and blank gameweeks is a common rationale managers cite for not splurging on week to week pickups. As someone with 0 FAB during the double gameweek madness later on in the season, I can assure you there are other ways to prepare for and win those weeks. Missing out on early season pickups who could provide 30 gameweeks worth of solid value is definitely worth a lot more than planning for a total of 6 gameweeks over the course of the year. When it comes time for the double and blank gameweeks, thinking a few weeks ahead is the way to go with no FAB, just holding 1-2 extra players during that time will let you be successful in those weeks without missing out on good waiver wire pickups.

January Signings are Overrated

The 2nd transfer window comes about halfway through the season after the busy "Christmas" period. When we start to approach mid November, I notice managers tend to start planning for the January window by either keeping their FAB, or slowly and subtly trying to get in a little extra FAB here and there. This is a mistake. Saving your FAB for the January window is a waste of time. If you spend your FAB right in the first half of the season, you won't really need to hope and pray for a Bruno Fernandes type January signing to save your season.

Most of the time January signings are overrated. Not only do they usually not start right away, they also likely need time to adjust to the EPL. For example, imagine saving 70 FAB to drop it on a player like Reyna. Yes, a big name, big budget acquisition...but he only managed 34.5 total points and just 2 starts. Truly not worth it. Even the best of the bunch in Wharton was not worth saving FAB for. Yes, he was a solid player with a good floor, but he was added and dropped multiple times and could have probably been claimed for free. The risk is a lot greater than spending big on summer signings who have more time to integrate and potentially even a preseason game or two to find their feet. January signings, especially from other leagues, need to adapt to a much tougher league, and integrate with a team that has already played roughly 18 gameweeks together.

While some players may hit the ground running, a lot won't. That doesn't mean their future prospects are poor for upcoming seasons, and that is what clubs could be looking at. Instead of a short term save-our-season solution, January signings could be meant for the following season. All in all, while you might strike gold and find the next Bruno Fernandes, there is a better chance you wait all this time to find yourself a Reyna or Dragusin. Another tidbit of advice...some of the best January signings will be the lesser known names going to smaller teams where they have a defined role and clear path to minutes. Think Adam Wharton of this season - someone who went for basically 0 FAB in most leagues but ended up being reliable enough to earn a spot in many managers XI.

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