Introduction
Yanay is only 16 years of age with a few years of FPL under his belt, starting in the 2019/2020 season. The year Liverpool won the league, Sheffield United finished 10th & Aston Villa's draw in the last game of the season secured them from facing relegation. History aside, the is Yanay's first year playing FPL Draft, qualifying for league 1 in the first half of the season then securing pole position in the Premier League. This is what he had to say.
Strategies & Moves
"For strategies, I went with my gut a lot of the time. I used my own opinion on how players / teams operate, and how those players would be utilized in those teams".
He then went on to speak about the importance of shortlisting a large set of players at the start of the season. (Most of which worked out well for him). He plugged the FPL Draft Duo Podcast as well for tips & strategies throughout the season.
He mentioned not all his waivers paid dividends & very few trades got over the line. (probably because he was in the top spot and other managers didn't trust his interests.) But the waivers that did work for him, paid off immensely. And a common theme for these was waivering in players a week or two premature. The examples he gave was waivering Scott Mc Tominay after his impressive International Break, Sarabia when Neto got injured & Olise 2 weeks before he returned to the match day squad. His most memorable waiver was getting in Muniz of Fulham who slotted in for the injured Raul Jimenez & tore up the Premier League.
Essentially what helped Yanay to gain an edge over other managers was making moves 2-3 weeks early. Also, having a large set of players ranked before the Draft Night allowed him to select the players he wanted that fitted his team to maximise points spread across his team. The early bird catches the worm, And the second mouse gets the cheese. Waiver early & Rank a wide set of players, it’s often the player that gets 2nd pick gets the best result. (Some people’s first pick was Harry Kane)
Advice to New Players
"Go with your gut". But what he means by this is to base your picks off your own knowledge, through your own research and getting advise from other sources like The FPL Draft Duo. But he said he knew his team and what moves he was thinking of making 2-3 weeks down the line. So, going with your gut isn't just picking players on a whim. It's the instinctiveness selection of players based off research, historic events and future expectations. I say trust your gut as it can often be more rational than your head. For example, your head says pick Declan Rice first pick because your an Arsenal fan but your gut says pick Heung Min Son.
Favourite Thing About FPL Draft
"My favourite thing about FPL Draft is the uniqueness of it. I like how everyone has different players and they have to adjust their plans with what players they have got & what players they can acquire from the waivers".
Conclusion
It was an absolute pleasure speaking with Yanay, no doubt he will have a fantastic season next year but there are 11 more determined managers out to challenge him for pole position. Tell a friend about FPL Draft you won't regret it.
Until next time - currently en route to Vancouver 🇨🇦