Nerd League Soccer



Welcome to The Nerd League Soccer Wikia!
This wikia is to serve as a reference for "Nerd League Soccer", an auction style fantasy keeper league. Through this wiki we hope to provide a historical reference for players, teams and their owners in this league and others. We'll also document current rules that we are utilizing, rules we have utilized and why we've moved or changed from what we previously used with the express purpose and intention that others might copy it and create their own.

The intention of this league is to closely follow and mimic the acquisition methods of soccer leagues that we find interesting most specifically Major League Soccer. Borrowing ideas from them as well as other leagues that we fill work best for this format.

Keepers are a mechanism provided to each team to help preserve a portion of their roster year-to-year and give the team more control over their roster. These selections were due in mid-January with the following selections being made:

Top-12 Power Rankings, 2018
These are the power rankings post Re-Entry Draft Is anyone surprised by this? Probably not. After a year and a half of being in the mix of every competition (Think Mid-00's New England Revolution) the Wookies finally bring home the NLS Cup at the end of '17 and with the departure of 'The Wil Trapp Family Registas' from Nerd League GBW is the league's super power moving forward. They return a beastly grouping of Sebastian Giovinco, Sacha Kljestan, Tim Melia, Chris Wondolowski, Kendall Waston, Victor Vasquez, Luciano Acosta and fantasy favorite Adolfo Machado.
 * 1)  The Good, the Bad and the Wookie 

There wasn't much work for GBW to accomplish in RED. They added cost effective depth in Aaron Maund, who may earn valuable minutes in the new three back system of Carl Robinson, and Marlon Hairston, who will fight for the starting job as a right wing back. It wasn't a eye popping draft but it didn't need to be.

RED: B

2.  Firesharks 

The Firesharks have built their franchise on taking keen buy low fliers and have been richly reward through Molino, Joao Plata, Alexander Callens, Tyler Adams and Ola Kamara all on low-budget charge pick-ups. However, with Plata, Molino and Kamara all in the last year of their deal, the organization is going to need find more underrated pick-ups or top level talent through the auction if they wish to stay a relevant beyond 2018 as a flood of clubs will be coming for the crown of the active leader in trophies (3).

The decision to trade out of the first round netted some GAM and they were still able to pick-up a low-risk but moderate reward starter in Eriq Zavaleta. The move was followed up by going with Kortne Ford. Ford is projected to start this year for Colorado but still is a bit more of gamble considering a lack of history, a new coach at the helm and the fact his price tag was $10. It wasn't a great "buy low" move that it might look like initially but the reward still favors the risk.

RED: B+

3.  Your Mom's A Movsisyan 

With GBW getting it's first trophy in 2017, Your Mom's a Movsisyan has now taken the mantel of power house disappointment. Qualifying for the playoffs in both 2016 and 2017, not to mention all the other tournaments, YMM has been close but has yet to pull down a trophy in Nerd League. Could 2018 be the year? A team made up of under the radar picks with Jared Watts ($2), Justen Glad ($2), CJ Sapong ($5) and Ike Opara ($12). They're in solid position to spend some cash to fill in the few holes in their roster come auction.

The choice in going at Alphonso Davies for $10 and then coming back at Chris Sietz for $6 in re-entry draft showed more a bit of risk and gamble while still being responsible in conservative. Being that Sietz is very likely to start it gives YMM yet another cost effective starter in the organizations stable of low risk, medium reward.

RED: A

4. Wu-TAM-Clan

WTC rebranded this year and is calling 2018 the year of " #ProtectYaNeck" with a very Orlando City vibe. After back-to-back years of being interesting but missing out on the playoffs this could finally be their season. High end talent of Diego Valeri and Josef Martinez look to key difference makers if they can remain health. Immediately out of the gate WTC shook things up at the re-entry draft trading 7 GAM/2 TAM for the first overall pick grabbing Sean Davis at 2.00 with the pick. While the player is on a great contract the confusion to give up $9 dollars of budget for the player is a bit eyebrow raising. WTC went with Tommy Redding in the second round a solid low risk moves with high reward possibility.

RED: B

5.  Preki With The Good Hair 

PwtGH is all about the flash and flair but has some substance to back that up. They are a potential playoff team with the likes of Matt Besler, Miguel Almiron, Christian Roldan, Stefen Frei, Christian Ramirez and Mauro Mantoas. They may lack the "final" piece or cost effective option that allows them to compete for a trophy but it's a very strong roster. The only concern entering the re-entry draft was the situation of fullbacks and wingers. But instead they chose to add more cheap depth up the spine in Dominique Badji ($2.00) and Jack Elliot ($5.00) playing to the fullest advantage of both the positioning in the order and the strength of available players.

RED: A

6.  SPEED & QUICKNESS 

S&Q came on strong at the end of the season and it's very possible that ranking them this far down is a disservice to both the team and manager. Last year as an expansion team it took a bit to get things on track but eventually they found the rails moved forward in a strong and steady way. Having two keepers Matias Laba and Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla sold in the last week I thought the organization would show their aggressive side, something they've not been in since their inception. Yet true to form they found two reasonable and steady point getters in Kyle Beckerman and Roger Espinoza. My only worry about the selections is their age. Both could play 2,500 minutes or less than 1,000.

RED: A-

7.  Space GAM 

A typically aggressive organization in their maneuvers of shaping a roster Space GAM is a team that has a lot of interesting pieces but not necessarily top end ones all on mostly fair charges. The roster sits rather middle of the road in terms of both risk and reward. However, their secret weapons all are hidden off budget in the PRL. A big season from either Reggie Cannon or Paxton Pomykal (maybe both?) could vault them from playoff contention into a solid top-3 spot. Their first pick of RED was a great under-the-radar grab in Harold Cummings who suffered a season ending injury just two months into the season of 2017. His low budget charge continues to help them build a solid back line. Diego Fagundez is a bit more a medium risk-medium reward and his $22 charge makes me cringe a bit. But there is no doubting that he's talented and should he have a break out year could be a shocking grab in the middle of the second round.

RED: B-

8.  Soccer FC 

Of all the players SFC is boasting about, Pirez is the fantasy jewel and only at $15 it's a steal of a deal coupled with Nikolić, Dempsey and Elis at the very top of the line-up is a strong start but then they also the four them tied into over one third of their auction budget going forward. The rest of the squad is a collection of moderate cost and moderately talented players. They needed to use the RED to add some low cost players and help supplement the high costs of the team. Instead the organization went a different route trading both picks for five GAM and one TAM. Ultimately it's still adding value but the reality is they're likely not going to be in the same position to add cheap starting talent during the auction and probably got less for their picks than what they were worth.

RED: C+

9.  ChivasUSA Tribute Herd 

The goats had a rough year in their inaugural run. But after a rough year they ended the season with some interesting pieces rolling over to their 2018 season. Diego Rubio, Yordy Reyna, Graham Zusi, Darwin Ceren and Greg Garza all are solid low play pick-ups that have some helium to them. Certainly keeping Francois Affolter ($33) and Krisztian Nemeth ($31) makes the budget a bit challenging but both should still offer positive point totals that softens the blow.

Most would have tried now to make a run in the re-entry draft towards some cheap pick-ups. But instead the Goats went for big points in Federico Higuain through their original pick but didn't stop there they also moved up and swapped picks with the Firesharks grabbing Jozy Altidore and then added Soccer FC's second round pick selecting Laurent Ciman. In total they added $134 to an already heavy budget but to that end they added three players who are all three near 300-point players. Considering the Goats only put up 1800 points in total last season adding three players who could produce half that even with creating further budget constraints is going to going to make this a better team and one that could make a mid-season run at the Variance Cup and could play spoiler for a number of teams with NLS playoff dreams.

RED: B+

10.  Ghazal In A Day's Work 

The newest nerd league franchise has started out a bit slow and even missed an opportunity or two early but there is a learning curve that is expected with this league and even with that GDW has been solid in collecting their initial roster. Francisco Calvo, Aaron Long, Florian Jungwirth, Ibson and Gustav Svensson aren't sexy names but they all score really well and getting them at the price they did early on was exactly how you compete in this league. They added Jonathan Dos Santos on top of that collection which gives the team a bit more potential.

Unfortunately the selections in the re-entry draft were a bit underwhelming. I'm a big Julian Gressel fan but adding him to an already deep central midfield and on a $13 budget seemed a bit steep considering the other choices on the board. Sean Johnson was the first overall pick in the second round and also seemed like a pick that could have been scored in the auction and possibly even at a lesser charge. Admittedly with the boost to keepers this season the pick might end up coming out very well. But with some of the other pieces left on the board makes this look a bit underwhelming. The saving grace is the seven GAM/one TAM from Preki With The Good Hair.

RED: B-

11.  Proselytizing Cosplay 

Much how the Firesharks have gotten lucky with low cost fliers, Cosplay has been unlucky with both their starting selections and some of the roster investments. Cosplay has a lot of pieces that could help vault them into the top half of the league but with how unlucky they've been it's a little wait and see. That said there was still a fearless approach grabbing Alex Muyl who has been a favorite of Jesse Marsch and should see plenty of time at a cost effective grab, my favorite selection of the day was Andrew Charlton after grabbing another first round pick from Soccer FC at ninth overall. Lastly, Cosplay grabbed Taylor Kemp who is still recovering from injuries and could be a great grab... come July. It's a bit of risk but with plenty of reward it's been the signature style here and eventual the luck will turn.

RED: B+

12. ' MURICA 

'MURICA with their third re-brand in three years personifies the idea of fantasy and annual re-birth. However, not necessarily the best thing when playing in a keeper league. The team's trio of Darlington Nagbe, Giovani dos Santos and Justin Meram is strong and has a lot of potential but has come up short back-to-back season unable to realize that potential. The RED wasn't a strong showing either. Having the number three pick selected Chris Pontius which is a good deal considering his contract situation ($2) but there is uncertainty surrounding how much he'll play and that's not even considering his injury history. It was a bit surprising. Additionally, Luis Solignac in the second round seemed a bit of a reach too. Overall a bit of a lack luster re-entry draft.

RED: B-

Top-12 Power Rankings, 2017
These are the power rankings post Re-Entry Draft
 * 1) The Good, the Bad and the Wookie This sets the tone for a few different teams addressing needs. Boring, not terrible, not great moves.  RED grade: B-
 * 2) The Wil Trapp Family Registas Ramos and Ousted were okay... see above. the line-up is stacked but these weren't huge cost savers either especially with what was on the board.  RED Grade: B-
 * 3) Firesharks DLG is good not great. A bit of hope is being invested in him returning to form and Fagundez still is a wild card at $18 especially with passing on Jared Watts at the end.  RED Grade: B+
 * 4) Your Mom's Movisasyan Bernandez and Watts were huge grabs. It's kind of gross. The one thing that makes you wonder is the back and forth retirement rumors surrounding Pirlo.  RED Grade: A-
 * 5)  The Florida Men  Hardly any cost with Carlos Rivas and no real downside.  RED Grade: A-
 * 6)  Expansion Team 1  Huge cap hits but huge point grabs. That being said it's easily mortgaged with a free buyout should things go south.  RED Grade: A-
 * 7)  Expansion Team 4  Great value picks; one of the top CBs in the league for 8% cap hit and then a starting caliber CB for a marginal fee. RED Grade: A+
 * 8)  Poku In The Kaka  P/K goes with a few safe and cautious picks that do have a helium behind them (Eric Miller could be the RB version of Chris Tierney). That said safe in the RED with some need to gain some traction really is a bit too cautious.  RED Grade: B-
 * 9)  North Hollywood Wednesday  NHW grabs a few interesting pieces but really hard to gauge. It's a solid B+ with the possibility of being an A depending on how many minutes Leonardo gets and if Villalba gets 200+ points. RED Grade: B+
 * 10)  Preki with the Good Hair  Sebastian Lletget for $18 is a solid get but what this grade hinges on is whether you think he's a top talent or just a mid-level fantasy starter. RED Grade: A-
 * 11) Proselytizing Cosplay PC picked up Beckerman for $2 which was a great move, Tesho Akindele which was good for $9 as a forward and then in a more surprising move Will Bruin for $28. It could be great if he ended being the starting forward for the Sounders which is possible but it's a huge bet for a team that needs points. RED Grade: B-
 * 12) Expansion Team 3 Marvell Wynne and Lamar Neagle are suitable picks but it's a guess if either are starting next year, they were high picks in advantageous positions and they weren't especially cost effective. RED Grade: C+

Top-10 League Players, 2016
Maybe this surprises you but Sebastian Giovinco is the top point producer in Nerd League Soccer. Here is at the other nine in the top ten.

1) Sebastian Giovinco, 319 Points

2) Diego Valeri, 232 Points

3) Sacha Kljestan, 231 Points

4) Bradley Wright-Phillips, 225 Points

5) Mike Grella, 198 Points

6) Benny Feilhaber 189 Points

7) Lee Nguyen, 189 Points

8) Andrea Pirlo, 186 Points

9) Joao Plata, 182 Points

10) Mauro Diaz, 180 Points

Teams
The league houses the following current teams:
 * Fire Sharks
 * The Florida Men
 * The Good, the Bad and the Wookie
 * North Hollywood Wednesday
 * Poku in the Kaka
 * Proselytizing Cosplay
 * The Wil Trapp Family Registas
 * Your Mom's a Movsisyan

The following teams have since been retired:
 * Bonesaw is Ready
 * Mr. Garber, Techera Down This Wall!

Transactions
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Auction Prices
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