A Clean Change
A much needed adjustment to Fantrax's standard scoring rules
Each offseason, a discussion starts up about any standard Fantrax scoring rules that should be adjusted ahead of the upcoming season. From reducing key pass points to differentiating between types of assists, there are proposals that have garnered significant support throughout the Community. But in our mind, there is one popular change that is long overdue: abandoning the -2 points for defenders’ and keepers’ first goal allowed, and reducing clean sheets by 2 points, respectively.
A quick search through our Twitter profile will reveal that, while we have a few scoring suggestions (let the people have draws!!!!), the goals against/clean sheet change has been on our radar for quite some time. Ultimately, we think making the simple change will result in a more fair, realistic, and enjoyable fantasy experience.
Why punish defenders for a good performance?
One of the primary reasons for changing the current goals against scoring configuration is that it is just not reflective of what should be considered a good defensive outing. Ideally, in our opinion, fantasy scores should reflect the quality of a player’s performance. Players who have a good game should score well, players who have a bad game should score poorly, and players who have an average game should score, you guessed it, averagely. Yet, as the goals against scoring rules currently stand, defenders and keepers are punished considerably for an average performance.
Over the course of the Premier League 2021/22 season, teams allowed a goal against in 72% of matches. Even the defensive stalwarts, Liverpool and Manchester City, conceded at least once in 45% of their matches. It is abundantly clear that allowing a single goal in a Premier League match is a common, if not likely, result, and one that defenders should not necessarily be kicking themselves over at the final whistle. But the current Fantrax standard scoring system does not reflect this reality, and instead punishes defenders for what is essentially an expected performance. Defenders and goalies simply begin matches at a significant disadvantage relative to the other positional players, who do not start with what amounts to a built-in 2 point penalty most weeks.
This handicap becomes abundantly clear when observing from where defender points actually come:
We have noted the two categories that are subject to change under our new rules model using red arrows. Goals against remain the biggest anchor dragging defender points down, but are no longer the immense burden evident in the default scoring rules. (Yeah, we see aerials all the way up there in first but that's an entirely separate discussion...)
Frankly, we think this inherent imbalance is enough to warrant scrapping the penalty for the first goal against on its own, but there’s more!
Positional parity
One of the consistent gripes we hear throughout the Fantrax Community is that defenders pale in comparison to forwards and midfielders. When looking at the numbers, this is hard to dispute, as defenders as a whole average 7.04 points per start, whereas forwards (9.97 pps) and midfielders (8.54 pps) are noticeably higher. In some ways, this imbalance may be intentional within the fantasy game. After all, people like goals, goal contributions are worth a significant chunk of points, and players who find themselves further up the field are more likely to rack up goal contributions. But in a sport where all people on the field play a part in a victory, it seems wrong to have one positional group noticeably lagging behind its counterparts. The Community at least agrees in part, as a few standard scoring changes were implemented last season, seemingly with the goal of boosting defender output to bring them a bit closer to the other position groups.
Implementing our proposed goals against/clean sheet change will further help out the defender position, but not by giving artificial weight to a niche stat category (looking at you, aerials). Rather, the change will improve defenders’ prospects by reducing their scoring reliance on an unlikely outcome over which they may have little control (i.e., clean sheets), and limiting their punishment for a normal performance (i.e., allowing one goal per game). You may think that any reduction in clean sheet points would hurt defenders, but in looking at how the hypothetical changes would have affected defenders this past season, it actually would have modestly improved the average defender score from 7.04 to 7.88 points per start. While one could simply remove the first goal against penalty without touching clean sheets to improve defenders’ output even further, we believe such a change will have too much of an impact on the balance of scoring, and think the proposed solution is more fair and realistic.
A more nuanced game
Much of the reason that we all turned to Togga, and now Fantrax, in the first place was a desire to play a more nuanced game when compared to the OFPL system that focuses almost entirely on goals, assists, and clean sheets. Yet the current scoring rules continue to overly emphasize clean sheets and simplify the strategy involved in the draft game. For instance, when streaming defenders or keepers, the predominant strategy is to find the player with the highest likelihood of a clean sheet — often those on a top team. Sure, there are some players on the margins who may be worthwhile, but overall, the name of the game is chasing those least likely to concede, regardless of their other contributions (there is a reason stacking is a strategy!).
By adjusting the first goal against and clean sheet rules, we will break that OFPL-like dependence on one stat category, bringing defenders’ and keepers’ scoring more in line with the all-around approach that otherwise characterizes the draft game. As you can see from the figure below, more defensive players will become legitimate options to draft or stream:
The change is not earth-shattering, but we do think it is meaningful. As the distribution of defender points per start inches to the right, we get more viable defenders, and more variable, sophisticated strategy.
Practical improvement
Lastly, the proposed goals against/clean sheet rule change just makes for a more reasonable, enjoyable fantasy experience. While we are all for fantasy matchups making managers sweat, the current scoring system results in rather silly scenarios where an individual player’s performance or even an entire fantasy matchup can flip based on, as described above, a relatively common occurrence. It is hard to argue that a defender carrying 5 points and the possibility of a clean sheet into the 94th minute should earn either 11 or 3 points based on whether a teammate scores a late own goal or the VAR official falls asleep at the wheel. It is even harder to argue that a fantasy team stacking defenders with 70 points in extra time should earn 60 or 102 points based on last second antics. Such swings create chaos—which we admit, can be fun—but often are not reflective of which fantasy players or team performed best in a given week.
Though I still find myself with an eye always on the Fantrax Live Scoring page, watching Premier League games over the past few years since we made the change has been much more enjoyable. If your defensive players have had a solid performance and a decent score through 95% of the game, there is a pretty good chance they will have a decent score at the final whistle. The best defenders will still be the best (clean sheets will remain very important!), but more defenders will become legitimate fantasy options, and streaming will not be down solely to searching for clean sheets.
While there are valid arguments in favor of the status quo—simplicity, consistency, etc.—even the best systems can improve. As the draft Community continues to grow, we think it’s best to get the more obvious improvements in place now. Implementing this small tweak to goals against and clean sheet scoring will have significant benefits for Fantrax default scoring, without upsetting the apple cart.
That being said, if Fantrax’s default scoring does not change ahead of the upcoming campaign, that does not mean that you cannot give it a go on your own! One of the great features of Fantax is its customizable scoring, and any commissioner has the power to implement the goals against/clean sheet change. Simply go to the “League Setup” page, select the “Scoring” tab, adjust the points for defender and keeper "clean sheets on field" down by 2 points (to 4 and 6 points, respectively), and then change your goals against scoring to match the following:
Thank you for reading! And special thanks to friend of the blog @drafterthoughts for reading and providing inspiration for the included figures. If you like our work and want to support us, please check out our Buy Me A Coffee page!