Fantrax and Football

Draft Academical

Fantasy football. Banter. Questionable takes.
No experts here — just lads chatting draft fantasy premier league and football.

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22 episodes
Updated Today
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Episodes22

Newest first

Today · 25 min
Club x Club: Coventry
The Club x Club series heads to Coventry City, a promoted side with Frankie Lampard back in the Premier League and a brutal opening run. Tim leads the deep dive, and the honest verdict up front sets the tone: there's no must-draft on this team. Everything here is a late-round flier or a waiver-wire watch, judged through one lens: Coventry will do a lot of defending this year. The lads work the angles that a struggling promoted side actually offers. Which of their defenders is the best value once you accept they'll be camped in their own half, and the classic centre-back-who-ghosts-well versus flashy-attacking-full-back debate that follows. There's the annual "hot promoted goalkeeper" conversation and Tim's full philosophy on why you never predict clean sheets or draft a keeper at all. And a genuinely useful segment on set-piece merchants as trade bait: spotting the next surprise waiver breakout before your league mates, and flipping him at peak hype. Plus the risky striker going higher than his record justifies, a couple of creative midfielders worth a watch-list slot, and the case for punting defenders late while everyone else spends big. As always, everything's timestamped to August 3rd. Join the community and the listener leagues through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
Today · 20 min
Club x Club: Aston Villa
The Club x Club series rolls on to Aston Villa, with Karl leading the deep dive. Last year's famous slow starters who ended up top five again, Villa head into the season handcuffed by PSR: Rogers and Tielemans sold, Emiliano Buendía's future uncertain, and one of their best defenders being circled by half the big six. Karl runs his top five Villa assets. Where Watkins really lands in single-position versus multipositional, and whether you take him or pivot to a set defender at that point in the draft. Then the new arrivals: a World Cup breakout everyone's excited about who might not be the player his tournament suggested, a Wolves signing tipped as a solid late-round starter, and a wide man the group can't agree on. There's a proper back-and-forth over whether that winger is a steal at his rock-bottom ADP or a bench risk in Emery's system, and it produces a bold-prediction clip Sean immediately calls for the cold open. Plus the case for punting defenders late and walking out with a nailed-on attacking full-back, the least sexy but most dependable ninth-round midfielder in the league, and a tenth-round flier worth a first-few-weeks punt. As always, everything's timestamped to August 3rd. Join the community and the listener leagues through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
Yesterday · 20 min
Club x Club: Brentford
The Club x Club series lands on Brentford, with Sean leading the deep dive. A settled second year under Keith Andrews, no European football to worry about, and one big question hanging over the whole squad: how far do you trust Igor Thiago after last season? Sean walks the board. Which of Brentford's attacking assets he'd actually reach for versus the ones he'd let come to him, why one former breakout darling now splits the room, and the set-piece situation that could send a midfielder soaring if a rumoured sale goes through. On defence, there's a genuinely useful thread on picking the safe, nailed-on starter over the higher-ceiling name whose minutes aren't guaranteed, plus a wider "who would you rather" on the run of defenders all going in the same round. Then the deeper cuts: a new midfielder arriving on big money with strong numbers from the French league that may not translate, a former sleeper pick who might not start, and a couple of clear do-not-drafts. Thiago's valuation caused real disagreement between the three, and rather than rehash it here, they point you to the rounds 1-5 episode where it played out. As always, everything's timestamped to August 3rd. Join the community and the listener leagues through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
Yesterday · 27 min
Club x Club: Chelsea
The Club x Club series takes on the biggest puzzle of the preseason: Chelsea. Karl leads the deep dive into a squad that seems to sign a new player every four days, with Sean along to help untangle who actually starts, what formation Xabi Alonso lands on, and which of the endless options are worth your draft capital. The lads work through the whole thing. Where the big three go now that one of them has officially cracked the first round, why one high-profile midfielder is a hard fade at his likely price regardless of his talent, and how a back three reshapes the value of Chelsea's defenders. There's a genuinely useful thread on a centre-back who lost his sleeper discount overnight after a transfer, and where he fits if he's your first defender off the board. Then the sleepers and the traps: a high, wide full-back tipped as a popular pick, the loanees returning into the squad, a locked-in-but-limited late-round starter, and two attackers the group agrees are undraftable at their current cost but a steal a few rounds later. It closes on the question everyone's circling: at pick four, with the big three gone, are you taking Cole Palmer? As always, everything's timestamped to August 3rd. Join the community and the listener leagues through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
Tuesday · 29 min
Club x Club: Brighton
The Club x Club series heads to Brighton, with Sean leading the deep dive. Brighton have long been one of the most underrated Fantrax squads, but with a Conference League campaign, and a quiet-but-busy window make this a team to tread carefully with. Sean plants a flag on the veteran the group rates as Brighton's top asset, still going far too cheap given his ghost-point floor, and the lads use him to unpack the game every good drafter plays: how long you can wait on a player you rank far higher than his ADP. From there it's the tricky ones. How to value a former third-round fixture after a real drop-off, where a much-hyped centre-back arriving from Spurs actually lands once the "big brain" managers in your league get involved, and why one of Brighton's most-owned names might not be the safe pick people assume. Plus late-round defender punts, a right-back sleeper with absurd numbers in a smaller league, returning loanees, and the usual disagreement over who's a must-draft versus a do-not-draft. As always, everything's timestamped to August 3rd. Join the community and the listener leagues through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
Tuesday · 26 min
Club x Club: Arsenal
The club-by-club series kicks off with Arsenal (sorry, Bournemouth). Tim, Karl and Sean set the format that'll run all series: the players they love at their ADP, the ones they think are risky at the price, and the sleepers worth a late pick or an early-season waiver watch. They work through the whole squad. There's a defender the group thinks carries a clear injury discount, a live debate over how far a certain striker should fall in a multipositional league once ghost points come into it, and a former second-round pick taken apart over where he actually finished last season. Set-piece duties, the crowded midfield and the summer's looming transfers all factor in. Then the sleepers, including the one name Tim calls his single favourite value pick across every club he's looked at so far. Get to it before your league mates do. Everything's timestamped to August 3rd, so expect boards to move as the window and injuries develop. Join the community and the listener leagues through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
July 30 · 1 hr 33 min
Draft Prep Rounds 1-5: ADP Value, Overvalued Names and the Power Draft
The first proper draft prep episode of the season is here. Tim is joined by Karl and Sean the Oracle to break down the first five rounds pick by pick. They open with the latest injury news that could move draft boards before deadline day, then get into the rounds themselves: who's being wildly overvalued in the current ADP, which second and third-round names carry genuine first-round value, and where the real risk hides in each tier. Set-piece losses, rotation traps, regression candidates, age curves and looming transfers all factor in, and there's plenty of healthy disagreement over the players dividing the room. The fifth round gets the bargain-bin treatment, with a couple of high-ceiling names the lads think are being slept on. Then they close with the return of the Power Draft: a quickfire snake draft where each host picks one player per round at ADP value, no reaching up allowed. Results go in the Discord, so you can judge for yourself. Club-by-club deep dives start next week. Community leagues are filling up. Get involved through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
July 28 · 1 hr 12 min
Lessons Learned from 25/26: The Year of the Defender, Forward Scarcity and Draft-Day Edges
The full trio is back, with Gary returning for his first episode of the season and Discord favourite Fuego joining as a newly announced community league commissioner and reigning champion of his league. After a few more transfers to catch up on, including the wildest rumour of the window, the lads dig into the real business: what last season actually taught us. They break down the year of the defender, why the numbers behind it don't mean what most drafters think, and what a wins-above-replacement look at the whole season reveals about scarcity at every position. That leads into a hard look at the forward pool, the case for and against loading up early, and where the genuine draft-round value sits. Set-piece takers get their own segment, backed by some stats on how much of last season's scoring ran through dead balls. From there it's the lessons that sting: when to trade a struggling star before the value evaporates, the sunk-cost trap of holding an injured pick, and a draft-day edge hiding in who your league mates support. Plenty of names get a round attached, and a few get a warning. Community leagues are filling up. If you want in, everything runs through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
July 27 · 35 min
How We Built Our Fantrax Leagues: Scoring, Rules and Community
Tim and Karl finally sit down to break down exactly how the Fantrax & Football leagues are built, from the ground up. They trace the history first: OFPL head-to-head, the ill-fated Togga season that ran out of server money mid-year, and the move back to Fantrax that's now stretched into a fourteen-year run. Then it's into the mechanics. Why they play multipositional over single position, and the four big ways their scoring differs from default. The house rules get their moment too, including autosub, ranked subs, and the Baldock rule that exists to stop bench-point gaming. Waiver wire runs on a tradable FAAB budget rather than priority, there's a trade deadline, and the whole thing is governed by an annual league vote. They close on the parts that actually keep it alive: the League Cup, manager of the month, the prize structure, and above all the WhatsApp community that Tim argues is the single biggest reason the group has lasted this long. If you want to get involved in the community leagues this season, everything runs through the Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
July 24 · 1 hr 11 min
Back From the World Cup: Every Transfer That Matters and an Underwhelming First Round
The World Cup is in the books and the podcast is back to open the 2026/27 Fantrax season. Gary is away, so Matthew "Alty Jose" TW steps in alongside Tim and Karl with a licence to freewheel. First, a quick post-mortem on a controversial summer: Spain conceding once in eight games, Cape Verde's tournament, and Bellingham finally becoming England's talisman. Then the transfer catch-up. Spurs are declared winners of the window on the back of Mateus Fernandes and Tonali. Elliot Anderson's £120m move to City splits the panel on whether his output goes up or down. Morgan Rogers lands at Chelsea for the same fee and all three agree his ADP has not caught up. Liverpool, Man United, Brighton, Villa, Newcastle and the rest get worked through, with a draft round attached to almost every name. The current ADP top 24 is then pulled apart. An underwhelming first round, five picks Karl would not touch, Cole Palmer glaringly missing, and Declan Rice going seventh despite sitting out the first month of the season. Tim also drops his first hot take of the year on who goes down. Listener leagues are officially announced, including the new placement format and how to get involved. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
June 16 · 1 hr 15 min
Fantrax Gazette: Season Review, Lucky and Unlucky Managers, Rule Change Debates
The season is over and the Gazette returns for a full wrap with Duncan, Michael, and Matt, recording live with the World Cup underway in the background. Michael is crowned Premier League champion after leading all season long. The hosts discuss who had the best draft, the best trades, and who helped themselves most across the year. All three leagues get their moment: the Championship promotion came down to the final day, League One saw two new fathers earn promotion, and relegation across the ecosystem is reviewed. Luckiest and unluckiest managers debated across all three leagues, plus the lineup-setting controversy that stirred up drama on the final day. Rule change proposals are put to the vote. Should three-up three-down replace the current promotion and relegation format? Points for blocked shots, fantasy assists, and assists for own goals are all on the ballot. The hosts make their cases and cast their verdicts. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
June 12 · 1 hr 31 min
End of Season Awards: Player of the Season, Best & Worst Takes, One Season Wonders
The gang wraps up the season with Sean returning for the end of year awards show, recording live with the World Cup kicking off in the background. After a quick World Cup preview and predictions, the hosts dive into the awards ceremony. The awards cover player of the season, biggest overperformer, and biggest underachiever across the league. Then the debate shifts to which overperformers are built to repeat next year versus those tipped as one season wonders who you should avoid paying up for in the draft. The best and worst takes of the season round things out - who called their shots and who has to answer for their crimes? The receipts are out, plant your flag predictions are revisited, and nobody escapes without accountability. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
May 21 · 1 hr 2 min
GW37 Review + GW38 Waivers - Championship Mailbag, Salah Farewell, and Waivers to get you over the line
With Gary off celebrating Arsenal's Premier League in England, Tim and Karl reconvene for the final in season episode. They kick off with European competition trivia—which Aston Villa player became the second ever to win all three European trophies? Mailbag tackles crucial final week decisions: Is punting on Salah's farewell game at Anfield worth the risk? Should you avoid players from teams with nothing to play for or are relegation battles the safer bet? Will Foden start to make the World Cup squad? Plus: Tim's bold prediction that Evanilson outscores Gyokeres comes down to the final matchday. Waiver wire discussion focuses on the ultimate streaming plays for the season finale. The hosts debate defensive matchups with everything on the line, whether to trust Taty Castellanos in a must-win game, which defenders are still available and can help you get across the line, and do you gamble on Max Dowman if he starts? Start of the week predictions close out the season with championship implications. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
May 12 · 51 min
GW36 Review + GW37 Waivers: Arsenal VAR Controversy, Mailbag, and the Final Stretch
Tim and Karl break down Game Week 36 without Gary, who's taking time off while Arsenal sit two wins from the title. The episode kicks off with the most impactful VAR decision of the season - West Ham's disallowed goal against Arsenal. The hosts debate whether corner kick rules need changing. The mailbag returns with key questions for title chasers: Who's been the most frustrating player to own all season? Will Rio Ngumoha start Liverpool's final two matches or will Slot rest him? Is James Maddison worth the risk to win your league? Plus: how did Fuego fare against the hosts in the rest of season top 10 challenge? Waiver wire discussion focuses on matchup-based streaming with two weeks left. The hosts identify which defensive matchups offer the safest floors, debate whether chasing Maxime De Cuyper's 36-point explosion is worth chasing again, and rank their final pickup targets across all positions for managers fighting for titles and promotions. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
May 4 · 59 min
GW35 Review + GW36 Waivers - Gyokeres explodes, Osula on Fire, Leeds Players Deliver
Gary and Karl break down Game Week 35 with Tim away at a wedding. Newcastle finally secure safety with a win over Brighton - but can they build momentum for next season? Arsenal move six points clear while Man United clinch Champions League football. Is the title race over or can City catch them? The waiver wire team of the week features four Leeds players - are they legitimate holds or sell-high candidates? Gyokeres delivers his best Arsenal performance yet. West Ham face a relegation fight after a 3-0 thrashing. What's behind Villa's collapse in league form? Waiver wire discussion covers final pickup targets with three games left, which breakout performers deserve draft consideration next season, and whether certain streaming options are worth the risk. Plus: A pod favourite wins start of the week. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
April 29 · 1 hr 1 min
GW34 Review + GW35 Waivers: Igor Jesus Dominance, Casemiro's Resurgence, Arsenal Edge Newcastle
The gang reunites to break down Game Week 34, starting with Arsenal's nervy 1-0 win over Newcastle. Were Arsenal scared or just feeling the pressure? The hosts debate their title chances with four games left and whether City will catch them in the run-in. Man United's resurgence continues under Michael Carrick as Casemiro rediscovers his best form. What's changed for the Brazilian midfielder? Plus: Bruno Fernandes' historic season continues with elite consistency since his injury return. The relegation battle intensifies as multiple teams fight for survival. Igor Jesus delivers another massive performance—is he the plug-and-play forward you need? And with injuries mounting across the league, the hosts identify which players to target and which to avoid as the season winds down. Waiver wire discussion focuses on one-week fillers for title chasers and navigating the injury crisis at several clubs. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
April 21 · 1 hr 17 min
DGW33 Review + GW34 Waivers: Ollie Watkins Resurgence, Beto's Reliability, Set Piece Taker Analysis
The gang reunites to break down Double Gameweek 33 action midway through the fixtures. Ollie Watkins is finally back to form - is he trustworthy rest of season or will Villa rest him for Europa League? Beto has become Mr. Reliable - can you trust him against West Ham next? Newcastle and Chelsea's poor form continues. Should you bench all of your Newcastle and Chelsea players? Plus: Leeds players deliver in the double gameweek - are they legitimate rest-of-season holds? The hosts debut new set piece taker data revealing the top corner takers on the season and analyze whether Stack's injury opens the door for Tanaka as a league-winning pickup. Waiver wire discussion tackles whether James Maddison is worth the risk, plus the hosts reveal their final waiver gems at defender and midfielder for managers making their last push. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
April 16 · 1 hr 31 min
Fantrax Gazette - Championship Title Race, Cup Semi-Final Drama, Double Gameweek Chaos
The Gazette returns with Duncan, Sean, and Kyle (Pep himself) breaking down the latest league action. Duncan discusses his dominant 180-point performance in the Cup semi-final first leg against Aubrey, who scored a massive 158 points but still trails by 22. The hosts debate the Fantrax double gameweek scheduling controversy that caused chaos across leagues. Should Fantrax have changed the fixtures two days before kickoff? The guys also tackle the eternal auto-sub debate and why opinions remain divided. Championship title race analysis sees Duncan holding a two-win lead over Karl and Nick, with Nick on a nine-game win streak making things interesting. Plus: Premier League predictions as Kyle and Sean chase down Michael for the title. Manager of the Month standings are updated, and the hosts predict who will secure promotion from League One alongside the locked-in Sam. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
April 14 · 1 hr 20 min
GW32 Review + DGW33 Waivers - Rio N'gumoha Hype, Alexander Isak Returns, Double Gameweek Targets
Game Week 32 is in the books, and Eugenio returns for his third appearance on the show to break down the latest action. The episode kicks off with debate over the Lisandro Martinez red card before diving into the weekend's biggest talking points. Alexander Isak is back from injury, but should you start him? The guys debate whether he's still a must-start player or if there are better options rest of season. Plus: Is Rio N'gumoha the waiver wire pickup that could win you a championship? The hosts analyze his explosive potential and minutes risk. Double Gameweek 33 strategy focuses on which players to target from teams playing twice. The hosts discuss Brighton's best options, rotation risks, and whether West Ham's high scoring can continue. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA
April 8 · 1 hr 14 min
Fantrax Gazette - Title Races, Cup Semi-Final Draw & Managers dominating MOTM
The Gazette returns with a special edition featuring Ben, Matt, Sam, and surprise guest Nick joining the conversation. For the first time in podcast history, neither Karl nor Gary are on the show. The guys break down the league standings with seven game weeks remaining. Sam holds a commanding 12-point lead in League One, but can he avoid an Arsenal-level collapse? Nick's on an eight-game win streak chasing Duncan in the Championship, while the Premier League title race heats up with Michael's impressive form. Cup quarterfinal matchups are analyzed, Manager of the Month standings debated, and the hosts tackle the big question: who's going down alongside Burnley? Plus discussion on West Ham's survival chances, Spurs' relegation battle, and whether Arsenal can avoid choking in the Premier League. A lively episode with multiple perspectives on the season's final stretch. Join the conversation in the official Fantrax & Football Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA