Fantasy Football Scout Subscription - Yes or No?

Paully D

Probably could have just kept this in the general chat thread in all honesty, but since it's so quiet here lately and I wanted to include a poll, I've created a new thread for this subject. If any of the mods think it should be moved then fair enough

I have no affiliation to the site, but I don't think I'm wrong in saying it's the biggest and best Fantasy Football website around in terms of posters, content, resources etc. For the last 2 years, the overall champion of the game has been a member.

I'm just wanting to get an idea of how many of your will be subscribing to Fantasy Football Scout this coming season (2015/2016)? Also to those who are members, do you find the membership worth the money? Helpful to your game? What do you think it adds and what do you think it lacks?

Membership costs £12.50, so around €17. So it's not cheap IMO. For that however you do get a lot of resources - you get access to member articles which are full of stats, stats over the last 4 or 5 seasons for players/teams, point projections, a full fixture tracker, weekly articles etc.

My own personal experience with the subscription is that last year was the first year I subscribed and ultimately, I got my highest ever finish in the game. Coincidence or not? Hard to say. Pre-season and for the first 20 gameweeks, I was reading everything on the members section, using the resources such as the points projector etc to try and bleed every bit of information I could out of it and I was flying in the game. From the New Year, I made a well documented bollocks of my January wildcard and started to lose interest a bit. I could count on one hand the number of times I logged onto the members section of the website. I went on a terrible run during this period. Again though, hard to say if it was a coincidence.

I'd love to hear your thoughts before I decide whether to go for it again this season.

Poll to follow.

KevIRL

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Yep. Have done since they started memberships and will continue to do so. I wouldn't even use a lot of the member features but its good to give something back to a site that has helped me win a lot over the years thanks to their content (both free and paid)

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Been a member since it was introduced and already renewed it.

I use the members section its good value considering how much those Opta stats cost. I use the comparison tool a good bit its handy for close decisions. RMT is handy if you are short on time and are looking for obvious players to bring in. €17 for a whole year of access to the information they have available is pretty good imo.

spock.

Yes. I'm subscribing for the first time this season.

No for me.

I subscribed the last 2 seasons but won't be doing it again. Rarely used any of the paid for material and it can be found online for free if you really want it.

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

spock. wrote: »

No for me.

I subscribed the last 2 seasons but won't be doing it again. Rarely used any of the paid for material and it can be found online for free if you really want it.

Do you know somewhere that has the Opta stats for free? Would be handy to have another source for stuff like that. Thats really the only thing you pay for the other stuff is just bolted on to make it better value.

CSF

Never purchased. Would consider if I thought it would pay for itself. What exactly would I be getting for my money that I couldn't get for free?

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

CSF wrote: »

Never purchased. Would consider if I thought it would pay for itself. What exactly would I be getting for my money that I couldn't get for free?

This is their list which makes it sound like a ton of stuff! In reality its just a load more stats so you only really get as much out of it as you are willing to put in. The tables that people create can be quite good especially explosion imminent which covers players whose underlying stats have been a lot better than their scores. I have used the site for years so like to be able to support it also helps that with the prizes I've won on their cups has more than paid for the membership fees over the years!

FHFC

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

I wasn't a member my first year playing but did sign up last year. I've already signed up for 2015/16

The two regular weekly members articles are worth the membership alone IMO.

They are "Big Numbers" which is basically a summary of the 10 or 12 most interesting stats from the GW gone by, and the "Captain Sensible" which looks at the stats of the key captain contenders, the team attacking and defence stats (highlighting form attacks vs defences conceding chances). The Big Numbers in particular is excellent and can often draw your attention to a player who you might have overlooked.

They also do features on things like DGW options, comparing say Arsenal mids etc. It would have for example, shown PVA to be an excellent choice for the DGW where a certain legend captained him. This is the sort of info it gives for anyone who has never seen it (dont think any harm posting some archive members material at this point mods?)

"Creativity
Patrick van Aanholt has created more chances (ten) than any Sunderland player in their six matches under Advocaat. The Dutchman’s average of 56.9 minutes per key pass is quicker than his previous average of 79.3 minutes with Gus Poyet at the helm and the new man in charge has clearly tasked him with bombing forward – he sits third for touches in the final third (105) and has completed more dribbles (14) than any team-mate.


Like Paully I fecked up my wildcard going for Pelle, and his shots and chances stats may have been a factor there, but that wasn't all down to FFS, and lesson learned.

There are far more, detailed comparison tools that I personally never have the time to use, although the average position map is good in assessing midfielders especially. You can see a players average position by gameweek, or comapre all the players from any match.

Thats it, I've no affiliation to them either BTW, but think its money well spent.

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Yeh good point on Big Numbers and Captain Sensible they are very good articles. Big Numbers especially is one I always make sure to read.

CSF

Is it an annual subscription yeah? Really the FSA Scout would be worth more if only for the Mr Prodston Punt of the Week

Mr.Prodston

CSF wrote: »

Is it an annual subscription yeah? Really the FSA Scout would be worth more if only for the Mr Prodston Punt of the Week

Hmmm.....

"Mr.P's Promising Points Punt" will be up and running by August. A Tenner per punt should be enough

Lucas Hood

Yes. I'm subscribing for the first time this season.

Wont be re subscribing this year.

Lemlin

Have never subscribed and have no plans to. Don't see the need when this forum is free and has all the info I generally need covered.

Iused2likebusts

I paid for it for the first time last year. Didn't use it all that much as I wouldn't be overly sold on using stats to help aid my selection.The best non free article is the captains article but at the end of the day it's just pointing out the obvious. I may subscribe again but that would be more to support the overall site as I think the free stuff they give is excellent.

manual_man

I have never subscribed to it, but i can see how it might appeal. Watching matches has been and always will be i.m.o. the best way to guage decision-making fpl-wise, but we're never going to see all games in their entirety and as such often rely on highlights or match reports for many of the games...

I'm unsure if all of the opta stats are freely available online (i didn't think so?) but even if they are, the guys running the site are doing the favour of collating and comparing these for you... so for anyone that highly values the stats side of things yeah it might well be worth the sub...

Personally my fear is that there is a danger to over-analyse and over-think when provided all this extra information... so i can't see myself subscribing for this very reason... and as Lemlin points out, there's an abundance of valuable information on this forum, completely free of charge

qwabercd

Yes. I'm subscribing for the first time this season.

Subscribed this season but never really used it. Mostly because I decided to go by their points algorithm in choosing baines over Terry which cost me about 40 points. My own fault obviously but just couldn't face logging into after that!

CSF

Is it an annual subscription fee?

Paully D

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

CSF wrote: »

Is it an annual subscription fee?

Aye. Well, it runs from whenever you subscribe until June 1st. So if you subscribe in August you'll get August-June 1st, so not quite annual but you get the drift.

No automatic renewal so you decide on a year-by-year basis whether you want to subscribe.

CSF

Paully D wrote: »

Aye. Well, it runs from whenever you subscribe until June 1st. So if you subscribe in August you'll get August-June 1st, so not quite annual but you get the drift.

No automatic renewal so you decide on a year-by-year basis whether you want to subscribe.

Payday on Friday so I may do it then. I'd love to see a screenshot or 2 of the type of stats they have if anyone can do that?

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

CSF wrote: »

Payday on Friday so I may do it then. I'd love to see a screenshot or 2 of the type of stats they have if anyone can do that?

There's demo videos of what is in the members section of the site. Pretty sure posting stuff that is behind a pay wall is a bit of a no no!

EDIT: link to the videos.

Lucas Hood

Yes. I'm subscribing for the first time this season.

A lot of the stats can be found on squawka for free.

Ziegler1988

No. I've never subscribed.

I've subscribed for the first time. Mostly because the site helped me to a nice payout at the end of the season. We'll see if the extra stats and comparison tools push me on even further.

Lucas Hood wrote: »

A lot of the stats can be found on squawka for free.

Not as in depth though

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Lucas Hood wrote: »

A lot of the stats can be found on squawka for free.

Handy for the basics but the UI drives me crazy!

Lucas Hood

Yes. I'm subscribing for the first time this season.

jimmii wrote: »

Handy for the basics but the UI drives me crazy!

Yeah and the stupid name of the site. I can never remember how to spell the bloody thing.

Swiper the fox

Good points made by Busts and Ziegler and I may even follow suit and make a donation based on their frisking the fixtures article which is free and is the best resource I've come across anywhere except for this forum of course:P

Frisking the fixtures suits my type of short to mid term punt strategy perfectly and is really the only thing I use, if it was part of the premium package I could be persuaded but I prefer to do things myself and trust my gut instinct.
FFFix has really pissed me off with their claims and oversimplifying the game for anybody who wants to win a bit of money without paying any attention to matches, it's supposed to be fun, i'd hate to see people treating it as a business getting an advantage. (now where was I?, completely forgot the point of this post:pac:)

FHFC

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Swiper the fox wrote: »

Good points made by Busts and Ziegler and I may even follow suit and make a donation based on their frisking the fixtures article which is free and is the best resource I've come across anywhere except for this forum of course:P

Frisking the fixtures suits my type of short to mid term punt strategy perfectly and is really the only thing I use

Its in this vein that I find the Big Numbers article useful. It takes the raw opta stats and highlights things which may be of interest.

The Captain article as Busts said largely states the obvious but again takes the stats and summarises them in a nice package.

FutureGuy

I don't think the articles themselves are worth it but the tools certainly are. Do I use it every week? No. However, when I do need to use it, it's an excellent resource.

CSF

Payday today. It's a consideration. How far back do the stats go?

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

CSF wrote: »

Payday today. It's a consideration. How far back do the stats go?

I'll just have a check think it's four seasons.

Edit: Yeh 11/12 it goes back to.

CSF

jimmii wrote: »

I'll just have a check think it's four seasons.

Edit: Yeh 11/12 it goes back to.

That's good. Maybe I'll have to.

Paully D

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

**** it, subscribed again. :pac:

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Paully D wrote: »

**** it, subscribed again. :pac:

With all the new stuff handy to have a few extra pair of sensible eyes to look through it in case you miss something.

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Anyone considering going with fffix? £59 for the top tier one with a T-shirt and diary lol. Can't imagine there will be much demand for that one. Would have thought they might do one more free season to really try get people hooked to what they offer before putting it behind a paywall.

Mr.Prodston

jimmii wrote: »

Anyone considering going with fffix? £59 for the top tier one with a T-shirt and diary lol. Can't imagine there will be much demand for that one. Would have thought they might do one more free season to really try get people hooked to what they offer before putting it behind a paywall.

60 pounds, sterling? :eek: (yeah ok 59 ye smartasses )

The tshirt would want to be big enough to be able to turn it into a tent and every night you write in the diary:

"Day 32: Still no regrets giving up all worldly possessions to fund my FPL addiction. I found a nice secluded spot with weak wifi to camp tonight. After the badger attack last night as I was about to finally transfer in Mickey Turner (who has risen for the 10th time in row) I've lost even more value. I really am beginning to question this decision. No not FPL but bringing in Falcao because the machine told me to. I must leave you now, I hear voices...."

Seriously what do you actually get from them? I tried using it in the first couple of weeks but the layout did my head in.

Ziegler1988

No. I've never subscribed.

The word "Guide" makes me think that it's just a preseason thing for people to pick GW1 teams. Anyone stupid enough to get the shirt, socks, and diary likely needs the help of a robot to finish halfway decent.

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Mr.Prodston wrote: »

60 pounds, sterling? :eek: (yeah ok 59 ye smartasses )

Seriously what do you actually get from them? I tried using it in the first couple of weeks but the layout did my head in.

Yeh same for me I tried it a couple of times and just thought nah f that. Too much going on.

EDIT: it is now £85 for the full merch and all package!!!! You pay an extra £70 for a t-shirt, diary and a pair of socks. They would want to be some pair of socks.

jimmii

No. I've subscribed in the past but will NOT do so this season.

Ziegler1988 wrote: »

The word "Guide" makes me think that it's just a preseason thing for people to pick GW1 teams. Anyone stupid enough to get the shirt, socks, and diary likely needs the help of a robot to finish halfway decent.

It does list what you get. Its basically £15 (went up since this morning!) for what you got for free last year.