GW10 Preview. Double transfer to then double-double-up

Well, I've already made one transfer this week. That was Zaha to Mahrez. I made it very late last night. (I actually got up out of bed and turned my phone back on to do it). Zaha was on for a price dip, so I had to go early to make sure I had enough cash to do Son to De Bruyne next week. I was gonna risk waiting another day, but my restless tossing and turning paid off as he did indeed drop.

However, today I've discovered I have another issue. Lucas Digne is now out, needing surgery for an ankle injury. Which could mean he misses the next two months. So that's a second transfer I have to make.

I think I'll take a minus 4 and bring in Manchester City's Cancelo. Normally I would just wait a week to fix the problem. Especially given that I have Kilman sat on my bench. This time I feel I need to make an aggressive move though, as otherwise it potentially ruins all my well laid plans.

As I mentioned earlier my plan is to bring in De Bruyne next week for his game against Fulham. I was then thinking of taking him straight back out to bring in Mané. As Liverpool then face Fulham the following week. So I'll have the double double-up so to speak.

That would leave me relying on Kilman for the next three weeks with no bench support in defence (other than the seldom-playing Struijk). Consequently it probably makes sense to take the minus 4 now to get a player I actually want ahead of the curve. Rather than risk having to play catch up if I get another injury or suspension.

The City fixtures look great. So Cancelo seems ideal. Meaning I'll potentially now have the triple-up for that Fulham game.

However, as I mentioned in my last post, City have failed to impress massively so far this season, so it could be a bit of a nostalgia move. Hopefully the old City can return though and I can at least win back my four points.

Fernandes captain. Let's go.

GW9 in the Mirror. Another Good Week.

79 points. Very nice :)

Gameweek Points: 79

Gameweek Rank: 339,595

Overall Rank: 1,365,588

The captaincy returns from Fernandes were incredibly jammy. The minute he got the chance to retake that penalty I felt a little bit guilty. After that everything just kept rolling in. Son scoring. Assists from Digne, Robertson and Adams. A nice clean sheet from Coufal, and finally to top it all off three bonus points for McCarthy after his eight saves.

The only real downside was that I only managed to get ten players out. Plus I missed out on the Calvert-Lewin brace.

Zaha failed to start for Crystal Palace because he was self-isolating. Another indicator of how Covid can throw random spanners in the works. I'm guessing he'll now be unavailable for Friday too, so that will be my next transfer.

Currently I'm planning to bring in Mahrez. So I can then bring in De Bruyne to double up against Fulham in GW11. However, City have been awful this season, so I'm not entirely confident with this strategy. I might need to give it some more thought before Friday's deadline.

My fpl rank is now around 1.4 million. Not ideal but much improved. Hopefully if I can have another few decent weeks I can climb back onto the graph.

Overall Points: 511

Overall Rank: 1,365,588

puzzle solving

I quite enjoy these weeks. With all the flags dotted about it feels like you have a little puzzle to solve.

I've been toying about since Monday, on and off, trying to find the right transfer move. I've finally decided to go TAA to Digne. I did originally want to hold all three Liverpool players, but the injury news I caught up on today finally pushed me in this direction. TAA definitely out. Callum Wilson with a decent shout of starting. So TAA goes.

I quite like this move. The next three Everton games look decent. Especially this week's away to Fulham. So it feels like it's more than just plugging gaps.

I would've preferred to have brought in Calvert-Lewin for Wilson if it was just a case of this gameweek (there was part of me hoping that the injury news would be the other way round). However, after GW9 Wilson's games look great. So if I can survive this week without too much damage then I prefer this set up going forward. The extra cash in the bank giving me some real flexibility.

Obviously Soucek will be coming in for Salah. I may as well leave the big man in though. You never know, if he does start by some freak occurrence I would hate to miss out on a ginormous haul.

If Wilson fails to recover in time I should have Kilman coming in, which ain't too bad.

At one point this week I was toying with transferring out Struijk - I never realised he played GW8's game. I just saw the zero on my bench and assumed he didn't play lol.

Now that Robertson looks more certain to start I shouldn't really need him either way, so hopefully it's a moot point. Still though, the fact that he did play gives me an added glimmer of confidence in my ability to get a full eleven on the pitch.

Maybe the fact that Leeds conceded four with Struijk playing will mean he disappears straight back out again anyway lol. So I'll have to keep a better eye on that situation going forward. The way things have been this season I really feel like I need a full playing bench. So that could be a transfer waiting to happen. Also, he signed a new contract for Leeds this week, which could be a good sign he'll be getting at least some game time.

If he does play this week it'll be a nice bonus. As amidst the flags and general uncertainty I may well need that third bench player.

Hopefully not though. Fingers crossed.

(GW8 Review) On THE UP !

 I've finally had a genuinely good week.

Gameweek Points: 71

Gameweek Rank: 896,193

Overall Rank: 2,126,942

No captain returns, but apart from that it generally went well. Coufal and Fernandes in particular impressed. So I feel like last week's wildcard has definitely paid dividends.

Wilson blanked and ended up yellow flagged, so my transfer backfired. Especially as I would've had Soucek's 9 points off the bench had I just left things alone. However, I really can't complain too much about that.

Hopefully the international break will now give Wilson time to recover before GW9. Likewise I'm hoping that'll be the case with TAA.

Injuries aside though I feel I'm looking pretty decent for the next round of games. Some of the fixtures aren't ideal, but Fernandes against West Brom looks like a nice captain option. Wilson to Calvert-Lewin could also be a good transfer move if Wilson remains injured (Everton play Fulham :D).

Plenty of time before then though. I'll post up any changes when we come out the other side of the internationals.

Overall Points: 432

Overall Rank: 2,126,942

Wilson In. Ings Gone.

I've taken the injured Ings out and brought in Callum Wilson. It was a toss up between him and Calvert-Lewin, but I've went with Wilson primarily for the fixtures.

With Ings out I'm now wondering if Che Adams will still be as effective too. That partnership was looking very impressive, so I'm sure Ings being missing will take a huge amount of lustre off the Southampton attack. Perhaps Adams will step up and fill the void though.

Having brought Wilson in I now have £2 million in the bank. So I could potentially go Adams to Calvert-Lewin at some point in the future, assuming there are no huge price swings. At present I'm quite happy with my squad though.

The one thing concerning me a tiny bit is my lack of Chelsea. I've been quite dismissive of Chelsea this season, but they are looking very attacking. So perhaps I'm missing a trick going without.

Finally, I'm captaining Son. Which is a fairly easy choice really.

Hopefully all goes well.

(GW7 Review) Red arrow, but all smiles

I ended up with a red arrow, finishing 6 points behind the average. However, it still feels like a decent week. My wildcard paid off to some extent (I would've finished with over 10 points less had I stuck with my original team). So it's all good.

Gameweek Points: 47

Gameweek Rank: 4,993,156

Overall Rank: 2,730,613

The only real disappointment is the Ings injury. Apparently it isn't as bad as first thought, so perhaps he may make a speedy recovery. Either way I'll probably just roll this week's transfer. With West Ham being at home to Fulham I quite like the idea of starting Soucek. So if Ings does miss out I'll at least have a good replacement.

Looking at the wider picture I'm beginning to take a very laid back approach to the season. Things are so unpredictable it feels like every week there's at least one or two high scoring, well-owned players that you don't own. Not owning Grealish or Vardy has put a bit of a dent in my score this week.

Obviously you can't own everyone, so there's no point worrying about what you can't control. You just need to pick your eleven players then strap in for the ride.

In previous seasons it's felt like there's been a basic template team. Which the more serious fpl managers tend to gravitate towards. Around which you can then add a few personal tweaks and differentials. This means if you pay attention and get those core template players in your side then you usually pull ahead of the more casual fpl managers fairly quickly.

However, this year it's quite, quite different. The pool of obvious value assets to target isn't quite as nailed down yet. It really is anyone's guess. Even last year's set and forget choices, such as TAA, are going out the window.

Currently there's not a single Liverpool defender in the top ten points scoring defenders, and there's not a single Manchester City midfielder in the top ten points scoring midfielders.

Crazy.

So given my entire plan at the start was Liverpool defence, City attack, it's not surprising I'm currently drifting aimlessly around the three million mark.

Again, the unpredictable nature of this season leaves me feeling like I don't have an anchor. My assessment of players changing from week to week. I'm all over the place.

So it's best to just relax and let the breeze take me.

Overall Points: 361

Overall Rank: 2,730,613