The week the bench won

Still the team to catch

Terry Byte stay top by doing the important bit properly: they posted 143.75, the best score in the league this week, and backed Phil Foden’s 22 with Konstantinos Tzolakis on 17 and Ben White on 17. Tzolakis, a promoted-club player, was the unexpected star of the supporting cast. He was not a curiosity tacked onto a big week; he was part of why it became the league’s best. Mark has already made reliability look annoyingly routine.

The broader picture is even harder to argue with. Terry Byte are 2-0-0, have not moved since last week and remain on 292.75 points for. They are also 26-0 against the whole league every week, which is the sort of fact that makes everyone else inspect their own squad in silence. The challenge now is not finding a miracle; it is avoiding the small, needless mistake that lets the pack think this is still a contest.

A perfect record, with one awkward omission

Dr Marks rose 1 place after scoring 140.25, the 3rd-best total of the week, with Bryan Mbeumo supplying 28 and Kevin Schade adding 17.5. Lewis Hall also made the starting lineup pay its way, while Mbeumo and Mamadou Sangaré both delivered despite being rare national representatives in the league. The trouble was Amar Dedic, whose 24.5 sat on the bench as if points had personally offended him. That is a costly bit of furniture.

The ranking still has to respect the result: Dr Marks are 2-0-0, have not lost since the season began and sit on 288.25 points for. Their all-league record would be 23-3, so this is not a case of a wet lettuce getting lucky. But 36.5 points unused is the warning light. With the squad producing at this level, the next job is simply to stop hiding the good players from the lineup and calling it selection.

Bruno did the heavy lifting

Los Santos Benders rose 2 places after Bruno Fernandes turned a good afternoon into a personal accounting exercise, scoring 48.5 after a hat-trick. Pascal Gross contributed 19.75 and Lukas Hornícek added 18.5, with Hornícek another promoted-club player who delivered when the glamour names were expected to do the work. The team scored 142, the 2nd-best mark in the league. Then the bench quietly kept 41.25 points for itself.

That waste stops this being a march to the top, but it does not erase the underlying week. Tyler are 2-0-0, sit on 252.75 points for and would be 22-4 against the whole league every week. The next selection call matters because Abdul Fatawu and Danny Ballard were both left out despite contributing 17.25 and 13.75. A hat-trick can rescue a lineup; it cannot be expected to do the paperwork every week.

Better than the record suggests

Al-Halal Coqs slipped 2 places even after scoring 99.75, the 5th-best total of the week. Rayan Cherki carried the argument with 31.5, while Cole Palmer and Yoane Wissa gave the lineup enough support to avoid a full collapse. Wissa, one of only 3 players of his nationality in the league, also delivered, which is a more interesting achievement than the final record suggests. The points were there; the win was not.

That leaves Oliver 10th on 223.25 points for and 0-0-2, a record that makes the table look rather more damning than the underlying output. The all-league comparison would be 20-6, so this is not mineral deficiency; it is a team being mugged off by the fixture list. The performances are asking better questions than the record is answering. The next task is turning respectable totals into an actual result before the standings start taking the mick.

A good week with an expensive footnote

The Golden Company Deux rose 2 places on a solid 121, the 4th-best score of the week. Alex Scott and James Tarkowski led the starters with 22.5 and 22.25, while Mohamed Belloumi supplied 15.25 and became the promoted-club pick who actually looked the part. Chris Richards was also started as a United States international, a choice that at least gave the lineup some international flavour. The bench, meanwhile, held Morgan Gibbs-White’s 20.25 like a badly timed savings account.

Mike is 5th in the power rankings and 6th in the standings, with 224.75 points for and a 1-0-1 record. The ranking likes the strong score, but 44 points unused is too much ballast to ignore. That is why this is a rise rather than a coronation. The squad clearly has the returns; the next test is whether they can arrive in the eleven instead of sitting there like a lemon while the manager explains the process.

Selection was not the problem

Princess Diana’s Revenge climbed 2 places after scoring 72.25, the 13th-best total of the week. Riccardo Calafiori led the starters with 20.25, Antoine Semenyo added 17 and Granit Xhaka supplied 13, but the lineup never found the kind of spark that turns neat planning into a proper score. There was no dramatic mistake to hide behind, just a ceiling that arrived early and refused to move. The week was neat, quiet and nowhere near enough.

That distinction explains the ranking. Nik are 6th in power rankings but 8th in the standings on 163.5 points for with a 1-0-1 record, and the all-league comparison would be 6-20. The available production was the problem. That is useful information, although not especially comforting information. The next week needs a little more attacking bite, because another 72.25 will make this ranking impossible to defend.

Joao Pedro changes the mood

LittleTaco FC moved up 2 places after scoring 94.25, the 7th-best total in the league this week. Joao Pedro was the clear difference-maker on 28.5, with Elliot Anderson and Evanilson providing less glamorous but useful support. Kevin also started United States international Antonee Robinson, a detail that gives the lineup a small subplot without pretending it changed the match. LittleTaco had a match-winner, but not enough around him to turn a decent week into a statement.

The ranking puts Kevin 7th, while the standings have LittleTaco FC 7th on 194 points for with a 1-0-1 record. That is a fair middle ground: the main scorer showed up, the supporting cast did enough and the team remains in the conversation. Against the whole league every week, the record would be 14-12, which is hardly a shambles but hardly a procession. The next move is obvious enough: keep finding Joao Pedro, and find a second route to points when he cannot carry the afternoon.

Winning in spite of himself

Toe Curlers dropped 4 places despite remaining 2-0-0, because 50.5 points sat unused — the most wasteful lineup of the gameweek. Trai Hume led the starters with 16.25, while Florian Wirtz and Gabriel Magalhaes could not cover for a bench carrying Dan Ndoye’s 18, Leif Davis’s 12.5 and Nick Woltemade’s 10. The team scored 93, only the 8th-best total, and the selection left a proper paper trail. Matt also confused London with Lisbon and Arsenal’s stadium with Benfica’s. For an Arsenal fan, it was not his sharpest home performance.

Matt remains 4th in the standings on 202 points for, so the results are doing an impressive amount of work. The power ranking is less forgiving because a perfect record does not make 50.5 unused points disappear. Against the whole league every week, Toe Curlers would be 15-11, which says this is a good start rather than a settled juggernaut. The next selection needs to be less adventurous, unless the plan is to win while the bench runs the team.

He chose Leno. Of course he did.

North Buffalo Football Club fell 3 places after scoring 88.5, the 9th-best total, despite Bukayo Saka’s 21.25 and Neco Williams’s 17.75. The real story was the goalkeeper saga: Josh proposed a rule change, generated 400 messages of league discussion, then started Bernd Leno for 5.5 while Emiliano Martinez’s 15.25 sat on the bench. The rule was fine. Josh had spent the week fixing the wrong problem.

Josh is 9th in the power rankings and 11th in the standings on 183.25 points for with a 0-0-2 record. Liam Millar’s 11 also stayed unused, taking the bench cost to 34.25 and giving the week an unmistakable self-own. Diego Gomez, one of only 3 players of his nationality in the league, did deliver, so there was at least one unusual bright spot amid the goalkeeper theatre. The next rule debate should probably begin after checking the team sheet.

Wirtz in name only

Save the wirtz for last held 10th after scoring 82, the 10th-best mark of the week. Victor Muñoz led the starters with 17.5, while Alexander Isak and Romeo Lavia offered smaller returns. Promoted-club player Taiwo Awoniyi also delivered 10.25, which is more useful than the team name’s grand promise of delayed Florian Wirtz involvement. The supporting returns were respectable, but nobody took command of the week.

Dan P are 9th in the standings on 150.75 points for with a 1-0-1 record, and the power ranking leaves them exactly where they were. The all-league record would be 5-21, which suggests the results are doing some heavy lifting. Still, the lineup did not throw away the week; it simply lacked a major return. The next concern is obvious without being dramatic: a team cannot keep asking modest contributions to carry a title-sized name.

The Rodri decision is ageing badly

FC Bosh remained 11th after scoring 77.5, the 11th-best total of the week. Justin Kluivert led the starters with 13, while Ryan Giles and Dominik Szoboszlai each supplied 10.75; Giles was the promoted-club player who delivered, and Szoboszlai was one of only 3 players of his nationality in the league. Jorrel Hato’s 13.25 and Kristoffer Ajer’s 10.25 stayed on the bench, leaving 21.5 unused. It was a week with a few ingredients and no proper meal.

The power ranking agrees with the standings, where FC Bosh are 13th on 147.25 points for with a 0-0-2 record. Rodri was dropped in the first roster move of the season, and that choice now sits beside a second straight loss without needing any extra melodrama. The all-league record would be 5-21, so the margin for error is not enormous. The next selection needs to find a way to turn useful fragments into a functioning lineup, because this one is still waiting for the punchline.

The record tells the story

Gooner FC stayed 12th after scoring 75.5, the 12th-best total in the league this week. Matheus Cunha led the starters with 18, Yeremy Pino added 14.25 and promoted-club defender Bobby Thomas contributed 10.25. Bobby Thomas being part of the best three starters is not automatically a problem, but it does suggest the lineup was searching for answers in less fashionable places. Brenden Aaronson was also started as a United States international, giving the week a curious bit of international garnish.

Craig remain 12th in the standings on 152 points for with a 0-0-2 record, and the power ranking has not moved. This was more about a low attacking ceiling than one glaring decision. The all-league record would be 6-20, which is not a sentence of doom but is certainly asking for better material. The squad needs a forward to take responsibility rather than another week of polite supporting returns. The marquee picks need to behave like marquee picks, innit.

A good score, badly used

The American Poch produced one of the week’s oddest mismatches: 98.5 was the 6th-best score, yet the power ranking kept them 13th. Erling Haaland scored 25.75 and Pedro Neto added 20, while Keane Lewis-Potter contributed 14.5 to a lineup that was better than its position suggested. The catch was 37.75 points left unused, including Youri Tielemans on 14.75 and Marcus Rashford on 13.5. A respectable total can still arrive wearing a shambles.

Dan O are 5th in the standings on 172.25 points for with a 2-0-0 record, so the results are plainly doing their part. The all-league record would be 11-15, which explains why the ranking refuses to be charmed by the unbeaten start. This is not mineral deficiency; it is a strange case of winning while making the lineup harder than necessary. The next week asks whether the good record belongs to the plan or merely survived it.

Still waiting for a spark

Samba FC remain 14th after scoring 72, the lowest total in the league this week. Reinildo led the starters with 13.5, James Justin added 11 and goalkeeper Robin Roefs contributed 10.5, which tells you the attacking department did not exactly kick the door in. Even the useful moments arrived in small parcels, and the week never assembled into a meal. Samba needed a forward to change the tone; none did.

The standings place Italo on 109.5 points for with a 0-0-2 record, while the power ranking has not moved. Reinildo, one of only 1 player of his nationality in the league, delivered a small novelty amid a genuinely poor week. Against the whole league every week, Samba FC would be 0-26, which is as blunt as a table can be. The next selection needs more than tidiness; it needs somebody to make the score look alive.