With Karl away in England for Christmas, Tim and Gary hold the fort for a packed Gameweek 17 review, breaking down the weekend’s biggest talking points, standout performances, and frustrating no-shows. From Newcastle’s collapse against Chelsea to mixed returns from premium forwards, the lads sort through what actually matters for fantasy managers heading into the festive fixture pile-up.

The episode covers key injury fallout, AFCON implications, and a deep dive into waiver wire options across defence, midfield, and forward, with heavy input from the Discord community.

The back half of the show shifts gears into a follow up on the discussion on skill vs luck in fantasy football, backed by real league data and listener analysis. How many points do you really need to win each week? Do lineup decisions matter as much as we think? And what actually separates contenders from the pack over a full season?

Join the conversation over the festive period in the official Fantrax & Football Discord:

👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA

In the final Fantrax Gazette before Christmas, the lads round up a busy Gameweek 16 across all three divisions, starting with the biggest talking point of the week: Fantrax allowing AFCON players to be placed on IR and the league’s decision to enforce the original rule set. It sparks debate around fairness, precedent, and how much mid-season platform changes should matter once drafts and trades are already done.

From there, the episode moves into a full league check-in, featuring razor-thin margins, huge individual performances, and several teams quietly shifting momentum as the festive schedule approaches. There’s trade talk, waiver-wire impact, voice notes from managers feeling the highs and lows, and growing separation between contenders and strugglers in each division.

Join the discussion in the official Fantrax & Football Discord:

👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA

In this Mailbag edition, Tim, Gary, and Karl work through a wide range of listener questions that hit at the core of Fantrax decision-making. The discussion covers when to treat players as set-and-forget, how to handle high-ownership names appearing on the waiver wire, and whether fantasy success is driven more by skill or luck over the course of a season.

There’s also a deep dive into game week strategy - including mirroring defenders late in the week, chasing ceiling versus protecting a lead, and how much fixture difficulty should influence lineup choices. The lads debate the impact of European minutes, the importance of set-piece roles, and share their own worst fantasy heartbreaks involving late stat corrections.

The episode wraps up with Start of the Week picks for GW17, including a voice note from Sean, as the calendar tightens and margins continue to shrink.

Join the conversation and submit future mailbag questions in the official Fantrax & Football Discord:

👉 https://discord.gg/FAuaGADgEA