MLS Fantasy Manager: Week 1

Running a blog and going to school full time don't always work out perfectly, as evident by the recent decline in articles. I have finals this week and then a week of relaxation and hopefully catching up on soccer! Although I was unable to write about MLS First Kick or any of my prematch predictions, I was able to find the time to pick an MLS Fantasy Team, and I will be doing a weekly recap of that team if time permits.

Week 1 Roster:

I wanted to draft some of my favorite players, while still diversifying my roster and remaining under the salary cap limit. I picked up Chris Pontius, Chris Wondolowski, and Sam Garza to fill the 3 forward spots. I felt Wondolowski and Pontius will put up consistent numbers, and wanted Garza because of his low Salary and Big West affiliation.
I hope that Garza may find his way into the starting 11 soon enough, and feel he may be a key contributor. In the midfield I selected Landon Donovan, Gram Zusi, Luis Silva, Jacob Hustedt and Lamar Neagal. Donovan and Zusi were easy choices, and Neagal felt like a good pick for his price (7mil). Silva is the steal of my team. He will be starting and most likely playing forward, and has already proven he can score against quality opponents in high pressure situations (CCL vs. LA, 45,000 fans anyone?). Husdedt played in Big West for Cal Poly, and at 4.5mil, I felt like picking him up. In the back field I selected Hunter Jumper, Chris Wingert, Aubrey Perry, AJ DeLaGarza, and Michael Boxall. Wingert and DeLaGarza were both very affordable, and I knew that Boxall got a lot of playing time in Vancouver last season. Hunter Jumper's name is just irresistible, and I know he has some potential based on his performance in the combine. Perry was a big question mark, but I had limited funds and needed a defender. Lastly, I picked Bill Hamid and Josh Saunders to play in the net.


Starting 11:

I started Wondolowski and Pontius up top with Silva (By-Week), Donovan, Neagle and Zusi in the midfield. Jumper, Wingert, DeLaGarza and Boxall played in the back with Hamid in goal.

I made Donovan captain with Wondolowski as the alternative.

Points: 

My team brought home a total of 38 points. Donovan was the lead contributor with 10 (5x2), but had Zusi (8 points) been captain I could have maxed points at 41. The average score for fantasy teams in week 1 was 38 with a high of 92. My global ranking is 4752 for the season out of nearly 10,000 players. 

Transfers:

None, the first week had no transfers.

My League Results:

I am in 3 classic leagues and 2 head-to-head leagues, 3 of the leagues are private and I joined one public league for both game types.

Extra Time Radio: 

This league was put together by the guys at Extra Time Radio, and boasts a large number of avid MLS enthusiasts. I joined the league once I learned about it through twitter and felt proud at how my pics compared to the rest of the league. I finished 260th out of 397 teams. This league is very competitive, but  a top half finish is the goal.

du Nord Futbol:

du Nord Futbol is another league I joined through twitter and composed of a lot of knowledgable MLS fans. I currently sit in 66th place out of 107 teams. 

Noob League Soccer: 

This is the private league I created, it is a "Just for fun" league that I made to keep my friends interested in MLS. There are only 6 members, but it is still possible to join by using code (7421-1382). I hope to take 1st in this league, as it has the lowest level of experience and competition.

Public Leagues:

I lost my first head-to-head match, but had the second highest score overall. This is, of course, unfortunate, but that is part of the fun of head-to-head leagues. I am in 14th out of 20 in the classic league.

Summary: 

The first week went decently well but I  am already seeing the danger of picking costly players like Wondo and Donovan over a more well-rounded lineup. I didn't miss out on any points by benching someone, but I did have a few players generate no points, something that should be improved. I hope to acquire a new defender, but funds are limited and there is a penalty if I transfer multiple players within a week, so the change might not have a large impact. Until Next week!