As a league chief executive I’ve set up a league but when should I set my team selection date? Initially, you have a window between August 4 through August 11 to schedule team selection. This depends upon when you think your league will be full and whether you want your league to be up and running before the first day of the season. If your league is a couple of people short, your league will form on August 10.

What if I don’t get enough players for my league? Provided your league has at least five teams in it, you can reduce the number of teams set for your league and go ahead with a smaller version. You could also postpone player allocation to give potential owners time to join. Finally, you could leave the league and find a new public league to join. You are in control so set the league start and team numbers to suit you.

What if I have too many friends? Why not form two or more leagues? Divide your friends into divisions and have promotion and relegation.

Do I need to rank all 400-plus players? No. We recommend you target a top 30-50 as you will end up with a core of the players you rate highly. The players you don’t rank will be ranked below your selections in an order that reflects their performance last season.

What if I get a poor team, can I do anything about it before the season? Yes. You can transfer players with other managers or you can look in the out-of-contract player pool for men who will do a better job. You can do this all season.

There are lots of player statistic categories - what should I look for? They are based on the key elements of football and aim to capture a player’s overall worth. If a player performs well in all categories then he is one of the best players to have in any team. However, you may want to pick a player because he will give you an edge in a single category, for example if he makes a large number of tackles.

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