2024-12-28, 04:26 PM - Word count:
As of writing this, the S19 Class has 24 active users, and it is looking like quite a class already. There are many solid sim league names I recognize. G2019, trella, Icebear32, Pythonic, Shiny, Whitecap, r1c3bowl22, scudmuffin19, and MightyMulder. Even looking past that, many others like stevo, midknight, and dieSunkenShip are earning fantastically thus far. While I lack a historical perspective, it seems like this could be a strong draft, beneficial for rebuilding teams. The numbers don't quite match those of prior drafts, but they are climbing with a while still to go until the draft.
For the purpose of this article, I'll divide positions of players into either forwards (ST/LAM/CAM/RAM), midfielders (LM/CM/RM/CM/DM), defenders (LWB/RWB/LD/CD/RD) or goalkeepers (GK). Going off of this, of the players for the 24 current active users, there are 9 forwards, 4 midfielders, 10 defenders, and 1 goalkeeper. A strong class so far for forwards and defenders, with a goalkeeper available for any team that is looking to grab one.
The forward slots, along with positions down the middle like the DM and CD remain very popular positions in the league. However, there are also obviously unpopular positions, with LM and RM standing out. This could affect the value of top prospects like Miedema, Walker, or Vent. Plus, with so few midfielders in the draft so far, teams may even be reaching to grab such players. That said, I've been told these particular positions aren't popular because they often aren't ran in team tactics, which also means this could have a negative affect on such prospects. Next, LWB and RWB are also short on numbers, but there is only one LWB in the draft, Rigoberti. Similar to the midfielders, we may see a rise in their stock as a result.
The defensive wings of LD and RD, along with GK are the other standouts, but are nowhere near as dire in numbers. Many of the defenders in this class are primarily CD, which leaves two players to stand out. These two are Szarekh, and Bahl. Both are RD, although as the user of Bahl, I also know a secondary position of RWB may be of interest with the low numbers previously mentioned.
With 15 current goalkeepers, and 16 current teams, that leaves Canders ll to slot into the last available starting spot. Of course, another create could pose some competition, but I would not feel so nervous about my future with such numbers.
I do not know how the league composition actually functions, nor how common players playing secondary positions are. I think this is highlighted purely by all the high earners, and league veterans choosing positions that are quite popular, not really considering the ones I highlighted as possible needs. However, I think this small outline highlights positions that could be in need come the draft, once teams start looking past things such as the user and earning levels when making draft selections. The position tracker was also pretty key in which position I would play with my player when creating, so I thought it would be interesting to see if many other players also did what I had done.
For the purpose of this article, I'll divide positions of players into either forwards (ST/LAM/CAM/RAM), midfielders (LM/CM/RM/CM/DM), defenders (LWB/RWB/LD/CD/RD) or goalkeepers (GK). Going off of this, of the players for the 24 current active users, there are 9 forwards, 4 midfielders, 10 defenders, and 1 goalkeeper. A strong class so far for forwards and defenders, with a goalkeeper available for any team that is looking to grab one.
The forward slots, along with positions down the middle like the DM and CD remain very popular positions in the league. However, there are also obviously unpopular positions, with LM and RM standing out. This could affect the value of top prospects like Miedema, Walker, or Vent. Plus, with so few midfielders in the draft so far, teams may even be reaching to grab such players. That said, I've been told these particular positions aren't popular because they often aren't ran in team tactics, which also means this could have a negative affect on such prospects. Next, LWB and RWB are also short on numbers, but there is only one LWB in the draft, Rigoberti. Similar to the midfielders, we may see a rise in their stock as a result.
The defensive wings of LD and RD, along with GK are the other standouts, but are nowhere near as dire in numbers. Many of the defenders in this class are primarily CD, which leaves two players to stand out. These two are Szarekh, and Bahl. Both are RD, although as the user of Bahl, I also know a secondary position of RWB may be of interest with the low numbers previously mentioned.
With 15 current goalkeepers, and 16 current teams, that leaves Canders ll to slot into the last available starting spot. Of course, another create could pose some competition, but I would not feel so nervous about my future with such numbers.
I do not know how the league composition actually functions, nor how common players playing secondary positions are. I think this is highlighted purely by all the high earners, and league veterans choosing positions that are quite popular, not really considering the ones I highlighted as possible needs. However, I think this small outline highlights positions that could be in need come the draft, once teams start looking past things such as the user and earning levels when making draft selections. The position tracker was also pretty key in which position I would play with my player when creating, so I thought it would be interesting to see if many other players also did what I had done.
