Dark Savante
01 Mar 2006, 09:35 AM
Okies, I thought it in the best interests of the draft as a whole to write this little guide for the new guys who aren’t familiar with a draft of this type also for the guys who took part last year and were knocked out in the first round. You don’t need to take my words for 100% maybe take out the bits you hadn’t considered or something.
Anyway here it is.
Choose a path –
A lot of the more confident or experienced drafters have a basic plan from the outset. One method is to get all the best players you can in the opening rounds regardless of position and then fill in the gaps later in the draft. This has strengths (you’re getting great players) and weaknesses (you need to have a good deal of knowledge to fill those gaps with good players and not have a lopsided team)
The other common path is filling in players according to a preset formation you have i.e if you had a 4-4-2 planned from the outset you fill in all the parts of the team you don’t have a depth chart for past maybe 6or 7 players. For many people that is positions like FB and DM. If you don’t trust your knowledge of certain positions it is wiser to take this path and snap up the players you’re comfortable with in positions you consider your knowledge to be weaker in.
Probably the 3rd most common method is using your first one or two picks to get the ‘stars’ of your team and then building around them to suit their game.
Generally it is wise to pick one of these paths and not find yourself halfway up shit creek without a paddle from the 5th round onwards (as a lot of drafters were last year)because you hadn’t thought past your first few picks.
Spot trends in the draft
The WD is notoriously fickle and somewhat tempestuous. Some of the more veteran drafters take great amusement in setting up ‘drafting frenzies’ and causing a run of players for a certain position to be taken in succession. This can leave those without a plan panicking and in their panic they’ll pick a garbage player. Again, if you feel you are weaker in your knowledge of certain positions it is in your best interests to pre-empt any such draft frenzies.
Balance your team
What tends to happen with weaker drafters is that by the end of the draft their team is over-extended in either attack or defence and has gaping and obvious flaws, usually defensively, which are easily exploited by a cannier drafter who will be in your mini-league group at the end of the draft. Try not to make yourself fodder for the predators and balance your team out. It’s simple common sense that you can’t have 5 strikers and put 2 upfront and 3 across your midfield, isn’t it? :) It is usually the unbalanced teams that end up bottom of their league table. Unbalacing your team in later rounds will undo all your good draft selections earlier in the draft.. try to avoid it.
Pay attention to your draft position
A big argument broke out amongst a few of last years drafters. One person claiming it is much easier for those who have two picks close together or back-to-back to create a stronger team then those in the middle of the draft. This is patently false. Every area of the draft, be it start, middle or end, has it’s strengths and weaknesses.
If you are at the start of the draft you will probably get the cream of the crop for your first pick, but later in the draft you can be severely compromised having to wait 6x something turns between draft picks. If you are at the start of the draft it is essential you have a game-plan and try to spot ‘drafting frenzies’ before they happen as 6x turns is a long time to wait. In a draft of this nature. Be aware of that
If you are in the middle of the draft you have the chance to set the drafting frenzies, you can cause a lot of trouble for others from this position and you get to pick every 3x turns. Use this as part of a strategy to turn the draft in your favour the best you can.
The end of the draft is similar to the start, but you have the chance to get two starting picks that are overall better than those for both the starters and the middlemen. For example, last year Michael Ballack was unbelievably left to slide to the second round of the draft!! Any canny drafty at the bottom end of the draft could have picked him up ‘for free’ plus another quite exceptional talent. People at the start of the draft simply don’t have the chance for such opportunism and those in the middle will only have that chance if those at the end of the draft let them.. be smart with your first two picks. You have the chance to grab one obvious 1st round talent and ‘steal’ a top notch 2nd round talent as well.
Do not underestimate your fellow drafter
By now those who are veterans in the WD know whom amonsgt them will be a 'problem' in this draft - those people who will constantly take players you thought you could sneak into your team without detection :p -that is why I warn the newbies in particular not to get complacent with this. It is extremely difficult to sneak good players through the cracks. Try and figure out who are the potential thorns in your side and stomp them out before they get you! (psssst condor :) I'm ready for youuuuu! ^___^ )
Research!!
The top drafters in the past few years have proven that to create a top notch team you will need to expand your horizons a little more than the EPL, La Liga and serie A. If your plan is solely to draft players from these 3leagues you’re going to become quickly undone in the middle rounds of the draft, because believe me, everyone will be taking talent from these leagues and the talent will dry up quickly. Try and expand your knowledge a little maybe find out about any league from the German, French, Portuguese, Dutch and South American leagues or any other you have a particular knowledge of that may help you gain an advantage over others. Often the top talents in these leagues will be better than mediocre talent from the EPL, La Liga and Serie A. Bear that in mind.
That’ll do.
Take whatever you want from that (if anything) on board and consider it when you’re in the midst of drafting. As ever we strive to make the World Draft better, harder and more of a challenge then it was the year before and it would be pleasing to see more quality teams at the end of the draft this year then last.
I again remind all participants that the draft will be starting on Monday the 6th of March
Anyway here it is.
Choose a path –
A lot of the more confident or experienced drafters have a basic plan from the outset. One method is to get all the best players you can in the opening rounds regardless of position and then fill in the gaps later in the draft. This has strengths (you’re getting great players) and weaknesses (you need to have a good deal of knowledge to fill those gaps with good players and not have a lopsided team)
The other common path is filling in players according to a preset formation you have i.e if you had a 4-4-2 planned from the outset you fill in all the parts of the team you don’t have a depth chart for past maybe 6or 7 players. For many people that is positions like FB and DM. If you don’t trust your knowledge of certain positions it is wiser to take this path and snap up the players you’re comfortable with in positions you consider your knowledge to be weaker in.
Probably the 3rd most common method is using your first one or two picks to get the ‘stars’ of your team and then building around them to suit their game.
Generally it is wise to pick one of these paths and not find yourself halfway up shit creek without a paddle from the 5th round onwards (as a lot of drafters were last year)because you hadn’t thought past your first few picks.
Spot trends in the draft
The WD is notoriously fickle and somewhat tempestuous. Some of the more veteran drafters take great amusement in setting up ‘drafting frenzies’ and causing a run of players for a certain position to be taken in succession. This can leave those without a plan panicking and in their panic they’ll pick a garbage player. Again, if you feel you are weaker in your knowledge of certain positions it is in your best interests to pre-empt any such draft frenzies.
Balance your team
What tends to happen with weaker drafters is that by the end of the draft their team is over-extended in either attack or defence and has gaping and obvious flaws, usually defensively, which are easily exploited by a cannier drafter who will be in your mini-league group at the end of the draft. Try not to make yourself fodder for the predators and balance your team out. It’s simple common sense that you can’t have 5 strikers and put 2 upfront and 3 across your midfield, isn’t it? :) It is usually the unbalanced teams that end up bottom of their league table. Unbalacing your team in later rounds will undo all your good draft selections earlier in the draft.. try to avoid it.
Pay attention to your draft position
A big argument broke out amongst a few of last years drafters. One person claiming it is much easier for those who have two picks close together or back-to-back to create a stronger team then those in the middle of the draft. This is patently false. Every area of the draft, be it start, middle or end, has it’s strengths and weaknesses.
If you are at the start of the draft you will probably get the cream of the crop for your first pick, but later in the draft you can be severely compromised having to wait 6x something turns between draft picks. If you are at the start of the draft it is essential you have a game-plan and try to spot ‘drafting frenzies’ before they happen as 6x turns is a long time to wait. In a draft of this nature. Be aware of that
If you are in the middle of the draft you have the chance to set the drafting frenzies, you can cause a lot of trouble for others from this position and you get to pick every 3x turns. Use this as part of a strategy to turn the draft in your favour the best you can.
The end of the draft is similar to the start, but you have the chance to get two starting picks that are overall better than those for both the starters and the middlemen. For example, last year Michael Ballack was unbelievably left to slide to the second round of the draft!! Any canny drafty at the bottom end of the draft could have picked him up ‘for free’ plus another quite exceptional talent. People at the start of the draft simply don’t have the chance for such opportunism and those in the middle will only have that chance if those at the end of the draft let them.. be smart with your first two picks. You have the chance to grab one obvious 1st round talent and ‘steal’ a top notch 2nd round talent as well.
Do not underestimate your fellow drafter
By now those who are veterans in the WD know whom amonsgt them will be a 'problem' in this draft - those people who will constantly take players you thought you could sneak into your team without detection :p -that is why I warn the newbies in particular not to get complacent with this. It is extremely difficult to sneak good players through the cracks. Try and figure out who are the potential thorns in your side and stomp them out before they get you! (psssst condor :) I'm ready for youuuuu! ^___^ )
Research!!
The top drafters in the past few years have proven that to create a top notch team you will need to expand your horizons a little more than the EPL, La Liga and serie A. If your plan is solely to draft players from these 3leagues you’re going to become quickly undone in the middle rounds of the draft, because believe me, everyone will be taking talent from these leagues and the talent will dry up quickly. Try and expand your knowledge a little maybe find out about any league from the German, French, Portuguese, Dutch and South American leagues or any other you have a particular knowledge of that may help you gain an advantage over others. Often the top talents in these leagues will be better than mediocre talent from the EPL, La Liga and Serie A. Bear that in mind.
That’ll do.
Take whatever you want from that (if anything) on board and consider it when you’re in the midst of drafting. As ever we strive to make the World Draft better, harder and more of a challenge then it was the year before and it would be pleasing to see more quality teams at the end of the draft this year then last.
I again remind all participants that the draft will be starting on Monday the 6th of March