GW19 + 20 Review - Even-stevens

Bad week / good week ..and it all worked out in the end.

GW19:

Gameweek Points: 32 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 5,358,038

Overall Rank: 469,757

GW20:

Gameweek Points: 59

Gameweek Rank: 466,145

Overall Rank: 328,196

Obviously a lot of people went with the Free Hit in GW19, and it was a good week to use it. City netting six and Arsenal scoring five meant there was plenty of upside. I missed out sadly :(

The one bright point was that the two players I brought in - Son and Bowen - both returned, so that was a silver lining. Especially as both went on to drive my comeback in GW20.

My GW20 green arrow was pretty much identical to my red arrow of GW19, so it really was even-steven. I have to be happy really, as I've came through these two weeks and kept the Free Hit. Meaning I now have two to utilise going forward. There's just this final round of New Year's games to go now, and I think I'm set up fairly nicely (hopefully). If I could sneak past the 300k mark it would be a good way to round things off before the second half of the season starts proper.

I'm planning on just using my triple-captain for what looks to be double-GW22 after the little break - I'll probably go with Trent. There's still a lot of dust to settle though, so I have nothing set in stone just yet. I'm still not sure what I'll do with this week's transfer too. If there's no extra news however I'll probably just switch out Mendy for David de Gea. Keep it simple.

Overall Points: 1193

Overall Rank: 328,196

GW18 Review - Luck Rolls On

I got quite lucky again. All my players who played (with the exception of Salah) returned. So I got a nice green arrow.

Gameweek Points: 67 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 393,085

Overall Rank: 342,651

I now have no idea what I'm doing going forward, so I'll keep this post short. Hopefully we don't get any more cancellations. At least my rank is now looking a little bit more optimistic though.

(Social Credit Scorers on the rise)

Overall Points: 1106

Overall Rank: 342,651

GW17 Review - Lucky Season Continues..

I got pretty lucky, but the luck only lifted me up to average.

Gameweek Points: 49

Gameweek Rank: 3,676,918

Overall Rank: 431,584

The games that were called off didn't affect me too badly, so it was fortunate. I dropped down the rankings a fair bit, but it could've been much worse. It really has been quite a lucky season for me so far. I deserve to be much lower really.

I've gotten lucky again with this gameweek's abandonments too - assuming there are no more that is. I should have a full eleven players out, and it's only cost me (-4). I've brought in Watkins and Gelhardt for Antonio and the injured Hwang.

I was just going to do Antonio to Watkins, but the option to get Gelhardt fell too nicely. He should definitely start this weekend with the injuries Leeds have, so assuming he gets at least 2 points for just playing the transfer will only cost me 2 points max. It also means I'll have a cheap bench striker instead of a cheap playing one going forward. Freeing up a bit of cash for elsewhere.

My forward spots really haven't been delivering for me, so it'll be good to go back to two up top long term. I'm a little worried about not owning Antonio, but he just hasn't been returning, in spite of West Ham's attacking flow this year. I watched the game against Arsenal and I never really felt he was gonna score. The West Ham fixtures do look nice though, so it's a hard call.

There are now a few players on my watchlist, but it's getting increasingly hard to plan ahead with the fixture carnage. Bowen and de Gea are currently my prime targets. I can upgrade Romeu to Bowen if I drop Mendy to de Gea, so I feel that would improve my team a fair bit. However, I don't have Jota, nor do I have a Man City attacker, so that's a concern. As is not owning Reece James.

Hopefully I can have a decent gameweek this week though, to put me in good stead as we head towards the new year.

Overall Points: 1043

Overall Rank: 431,584

GW16 Review - Threadbare Days

Average-ish week, slight red arrow. I'm actually fairly pleased with it overall, but with players like Gallagher and Maddison going off anyone owning them will have had the edge on me.

Gameweek Points: 65

Gameweek Rank: 2,592,880

Overall Rank: 365,496

I now have Cancelo and Ronaldo missing for this week (GW17), so things are looking a little threadbare. I'm still planning to bring in Bowen for Raphinha - I'll have to get a move on as the deadline is in a few hours. However, I'm wondering if that's the right move now given I'm going to have to start Romeu, with just Brownhill left in reserve on my bench.

I'm toying with the idea of switching Brownhill to Douglas Luiz. Villa look better with Gerrard in charge - at least from what I've seen so far; and the next few fixtures are nice. Particularly this week's against Norwich.

In fact, as I'm typing this I'm convincing myself more and more to go down this route. It would be nice to have a slightly stronger bench going forward too. Brownhill and Romeu aren't exactly exciting options.

Obviously this week's captain will be Salah, so at least that's sorted. I think I'll ponder my transfer for another half an hour or so then make up my mind. I need to go and get a shower before I leave the house, so hopefully that'll be good thinking time. I need to channel my inner Archimedes.

Overall Points: 994

Overall Rank: 365,496

GW15 Review - Best Week So Far..

 ..at least in terms of rank. 68 points doesn't feel like an enormous amount, but it got me a very nice uptick. I'm almost back to where I was a few weeks ago now, so it's cancelled out the couple of bad gameweeks I had.

Gameweek Points: 68

Gameweek Rank: 143,438

Overall Rank: 354,263

Captaining Son was the correct move, so I'm glad I kept the faith. Wilson scoring again was nice too. The few bad weeks I had came on the back of bringing in Wilson and Son, so the fact that they've came good is pleasing.

There'll be no loyalty though, as I'll be removing them both this week. As planned.

Wilson will become Ronaldo, and Son will become a 6.0m or less midfielder. Currently my pick is Jordan Henderson. Obviously Jota would be the ideal, but with him out of my price range Henderson seems good value. He's also looking very attack-minded this season. I notice he wasn't involved in tonight's Champions League fixture, so hopefully he's rested. There's the risk of benchings and early substitutions with him, but at 5.1m I wouldn't have to play him each week.

Of course, bringing him in would also block me from getting Jota in the future. So if I do get him I'll kinda be hoping that Firmino returns sooner rather than later and dampens Jota's effectiveness.

Going Forward.

After this week I think my next move will then be to switch Raphinha to Bowen.

My plan would then be to bring Raphinha back when the Leeds fixtures improve. Though rather than take Bowen back out I like the idea of downgrading my keeper to upgrade Romeu or Brownhill. Bringing Henderson in this week would give me some leeway to do this as it would leave 0.9m in the bank, which would provide a nice cushion to make those potential manoeuvres.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself though, and no doubt things will change over the coming gameweeks.

As for this gameweek I'll be back to captaining Salah in all probability. Ronaldo is tempting given the fixture, but I think just owning him is probably differential enough. Not everyone around about me will be in a position to bring him in, and I think most that do will stick with Salah captain, so if he does go off it'll be a net positive.

Overall Points: 929

Overall Rank: 354,263

GW14 Review - Uptick

Given my last few weeks I'm quite pleased with this one. In hindsight I should've captained Salah, but I can't complain too much with Son getting a goal. (As I sit typing this I now have Son captained for GW15 as well.)

Gameweek Points: 68

Gameweek Rank: 2,408,289

Overall Rank: 561,372

Goals from Dias, Raphinha and Wilson helped. I'm now simply rolling my transfer this week. It's actually the early hours of Friday night/Saturday morning as I type this - I haven't even seen today's team news. So with these gameweeks coming round so fast I'm struggling to keep up. It's certainly much more fun though than having to wait for the games to come round.

My one little decision, other than the captaincy, is now whether to start Hwang or Livramento. I'm even considering Antonio for a benching. Currently I have Hwang benched though.

My plan is still to bring Ronaldo in for GW16. I didn't see the United game last night, but Ronaldo getting goals is promising. I'll then have a decision to make about which cheaper midfielder to bring in when I downgrade Son to make the switch. That's a tricky one, and my options are a little limited.

Overall Points: 861

Overall Rank: 561,372

GW13 Review - On the slide..

Oooooooeehh, another awful week. Just 37 points. I'm struggling now. My rank has dropped to 580k, so I have some work to do 😟

Gameweek Points: 37

Gameweek Rank: 6,144,975

Overall Rank: 582,701

In many ways it wasn't as bad as last week. That one was frustrating. This one I don't feel so bad about. Son missing out was a bit unlucky. However, I also got a little bit lucky with my transfer, as bringing Cancelo in earlier could well have backfired with Chilwell missing out. Had I have waited I'd have probably kept Azpilicueta and taken Chilwell out instead. So the fact that Azpilicueta didn't play got my rash decision off the hook a bit.

I was also tempted to bring in Reece James for a hit, but refrained; and again that worked out with him just getting the one point. The problem is I'm now priced out of getting him with the price changes; so I'll probably go for Alonso instead with my free transfer. Which I don't mind too much.

I currently have Son captained for these midweek games. That could change over the next 24hrs, but I think I'll stick with it. My differential players all have decent fixtures this week as well. So I'm hoping for a pick-up. I need it.

Overall Points: 793

Overall Rank: 582,701

GW12 Review - BAD week :((

Okay let's get this out of the way. It's like tearing a plaster off. Really calamitous week. My transfers didn't pay off, and I was doubly punished for last week's mistake of taking out Cancelo instead of Dias 😣😭

Gameweek Points: 52

Gameweek Rank: 5,504,745

Overall Rank: 419,280

You can see how early I'm posting today to try and get this over with. My bench points haven't even updated yet ..and they're badly needed, even if it is just 4 points.

The transfers I made were Mané and Toney out; Wilson and Son in. Toney scored and Mané got 12 points. Son and Wilson both blanked. On top of this I captained Son, so I missed out on captaining Salah. So with last week's Cancelo transfer I'm very much down. I haven't checked my red arrow, I don't even think it's fully updated yet, but I'm guessing it's a big one.

Anyway, I now have to regroup. Ideally I'd like to bring in Cancelo for Azpilicueta tonight to beat the price rise. However, with Raphinha missing out I might need to hold fire. Apparently Raphinha just had a virus, so I'm tempted to just ignore that and assume he starts next week. Ideally I'd rather not play Livramento against Liverpool, though it looks like Azpilicueta is perma-benched now anyway. So I might as well just make the Cancelo switch ..then switch off, and forget about fpl for a few days.

[Transfer done. First kneejerk transfer of the season. Hopefully it's not another transfer that comes back to bite me.]

Overall Points: 756

Overall Rank: 419,280

GW11 Review - I took out Cancelo for Chilwell :(((

Yes, I took out Cancelo this week. Let's not talk about it. I fancied United to get a goal, so thought I'd be clever and remove a City defender. I kept Dias mainly thinking he was a tad more nailed on to start - that was cowardly in hindsight. I should have kept the more attacking player.

Still though, it wasn't actually a terrible week for me, and it was also a little unlucky. So I can't feel too bad.

Gameweek Points: 54

Gameweek Rank: 1,539,551

Overall Rank: 259,200

What immediately springs to mind when looking at the results of this gameweek is that pro/template players and now beginning to strip away from the casuals. My gameweek rank was 1.5m, and I was 12 points above the average, which isn't too bad. Yet it still resulted in a small red arrow. So I think the dust is starting to settle, which in turn means rank now matters.

I'm fairly happy with a 260k rank at this point in the season - I usually start poorly, so I'm better off than I have been in the last two seasons. Still though, it leaves me with a lot of work to do, and bad gameweeks are going to hurt hard from now on.

My plan going forward is still to bring in Ronaldo in GW16. Before then I'm going to bring in Son for Mané - I'll probably do that this week. Then next gameweek I'm thinking Toney to Jiménez; to double up on the Wolves attack against Norwich.

It's annoying me a little having Toney. It feels like a wasted spot. However, Newcastle this gameweek is a decent fixture, so he can have this last one.

I still have two free transfers. I'm absolutely determined to save that extra free one for my Ronaldo move, which is going to take a degree of willpower. I'm also very interested in bringing in more West Ham players. When Ronaldo comes in I'm hoping I have enough cash to turn Son into Bowen. I also really like the idea of bringing Cresswell in at some point.

And as for Cancelo (returning to start), I think his recent price changes have now priced me out of getting him back. Obviously I'd prefer to have him rather than not have him. At the same time though I'm trying not to be too kneejerk about it. If the opportunity arises to bring him back I'll take advantage, but I'm not going to waste transfers doing it. Especially when I need to make sure I have the cash to make my Ronaldo move.

Overall Points: 704

Overall Rank: 259,200

GW10 Review - Steady Ship

A super-tiny green arrow, so I can't have any complaints this week.

Gameweek Points: 48

Gameweek Rank: 2,617,729

Overall Rank: 251,543

I'm still quite pleased with my wildcard, my squad looks fairly solid. This week I may use one of my free transfers to switch Dias to Chilwell. I may then in the coming weeks bring back Dias; taking out Azpilicueta.

I'm still not fully confident with Toney, though he has Norwich at home this week, so at present I'm pleased to own him. Apart from that I'm fairly settled.

The big question now is do I bring in Kane or Son for Mané before eventually switching to Ronaldo in December - which is still my plan. You'd think with Conte there'll now be a bounce, but I'm very happy owning Mané. He's a great - and very reliable - differential.

At present I'm tempted to just do a one gameweek punt. Bringing in Son or Kane for that Norwich fixture in GW15, before getting Ronaldo for their fixture against Norwich in GW16.

I think this week I can take it easy though, and just sit back and watch.

Overall Points: 650

Overall Rank: 251,543

GW8 and 9 Points

I've been super lazy on here, didn't even post up my gameweek 8 points. Plus I wildcarded and didn't even blog about it !!

So I'll just whack everything up to get up to date.

GW8:

Gameweek Points: 60

Gameweek Rank: 1,636,877

Overall Rank: 400,838

GW9:

Gameweek Points: 95

Gameweek Rank: 691,713

Overall Rank: 259,537

As you can see from the teams above I transferred out both Jota and Foden on the wildcard, and both scored, Foden bigly. However, some of the players I brought in also scored, so it all pretty much evened out. I worked out what I would've got with my original team and it would've been 98 points (though I would've had a free transfer to play with too). So a little bit more, but nevertheless offset by the fact that I'm happier with my current team going forward.

My plan is to make sure there's enough cash tied up in the positions currently occupied by Mané and Toney to be able to bring in any big hitter, plus a cheaper counterpart. That way I can easily move Mané to Kane/Ronaldo/De Bruyne/etc whenever I need to.

I'm currently thinking Mané to Son, then Son to Ronaldo as the fixtures switch. Though watching United today that plan's been dampened somewhat.

I'll leave it there for now. Hopefully I can get on top of this blogging lark now I'm all up to date.

Overall Points: 602

Overall Rank: 259,537

GW7/GW8 - team's falling to bits :(((

So firstly, last week (GW7):

Gameweek Points: 42

Gameweek Rank: 2,918,976

Overall Rank: 390,758

I can barely remember GW7 it was that long ago. I just have a vague recall that I was very lucky - mainly due to Livramento and Duffy coming off the bench to boost my score by 10 points.

The Alonso move didn't pay off, and now I'm stuck with the possibility that he may not play this week too. The big disappointment is Torres getting injured though. I was really pinning my hopes on him finally starting this week, but now it looks like I'll have to use a minus 4 to get him out (probably for Foden).

With my other transfer I'll be doing Digne to Cancelo.

Even with two transfers I may still be left struggling to get out a full eleven though. The yellow flags, plus the rotation risks (which include my new transfers !), meaning it could theoretically be a disaster for me. So I'm really hoping for some more good luck :)

I came close to hitting the wildcard last night, but after having a little tinker I decided it still wasn't quite the right time. Hopefully some of my issues will clear up and I won't be forced to use it anytime soon, as I think when the fixtures start changing it could give me some nice potential.

Overall Points: 451

Overall Rank: 390,758

FPL - GW6 Review

Nice week.

Gameweek Points: 58

Gameweek Rank: 677,888

Overall Rank: 366,719

I had a fair bit of luck. Pickford returning earlier than first thought made a nice difference. Him and Digne's clean sheet giving me a nice little differential against the pack. Raphinha playing and scoring was a huge uptick too. So it all meant a decent green arrow for me.

Now I've got a bit of thinking to do - and it all relates to defence. I really want to bring in some Chelsea and City defenders. It requires a little bit more cash than I actually have though. So I'm considering a minus 4.

I'm thinking about taking Trent Alexander-Arnold out, along with Digne, to bring in Rüdiger and Alonso. Then the following week I'll probably move Wan-Bissaka to either Dias or Cancelo.

Removing TAA is a gamble, but he has City this week; plus I still have my wildcard. So it's a question of whether I can make that extra cash count over the next five or six gameweeks. When I do hit the wildcard (probably around GW14) I'll no doubt go for my favoured combination of TAA and Robertson. So until then I'll be bucking my normal tendencies.

There are still a few days until deadline however, so perhaps my plans will morph some more before then.

Overall Points: 409

Overall Rank: 366,719

GW5 - Two Gameweeks, One Post

Firstly, my GW4 performance.

Gameweek Points: 65

Gameweek Rank: 2,280,854

Overall Rank: 513,177

Secondly, my GW5 performance.

Gameweek Points: 58

Gameweek Rank: 3,394,817

Overall Rank: 583,676

Jeez, where to start?

I was originally going to post about my reasons for bringing Torres in, but with work on Friday, then going to the Riverside yesterday to watch Middlesbrough get turned over by Blackpool, I never got a chance.

This weekend's fixtures have given me even more things to discuss. When I looked at the horrendous state of my team this morning I tweeted saying I was going to have to hit the wildcard. However, this afternoon has settled things down a little. Duffy coming off the bench with 5 points, and Benrahma getting a goal plus bonus was huge for me.

With Foster miraculously starting to fill in for the injured Pickford too I think I've actually been really lucky this week. 58 points is superb given so many of my players missed out.

So, No Wildcard, Just A Transfer ..Hopefully

Now, assuming Trent and Raphinha are fine by next week I think I'll probably just transfer out Pickford. The £0.5m I'll save should then help me to upgrade Wan-Bissaka and Digne to Chelsea/Man City defenders over the following weeks.

The Torres transfer punished me with a zero this week, but I'm not too concerned, as the thinking was more long term anyway. In fact, the original title of this post when I tentatively started it on Friday was:

'The Manchester City Problem'

Last week I instinctively wanted to bring in a differential. Trincão was the player that really tempted me (with the Wolves result I dodged a bullet there). However, when I looked at the players in the price bracket open to me I thought:

"Why am I not getting Torres? Why am I avoiding a Man City player??"

That then got me thinking about Manchester City in general.

"I'm gonna want a City attacker at some point" I thought, "..but who do I go for?"

I think a lot of people have asked this question, but are putting off answering it as the next two fixtures are so poor (Chelsea & Liverpool away). Plus, with De Bruyne and Foden being missing things haven't quite settled into place yet. So that's given people another excuse to say "Let's wait and see". However, sooner or later it needs an answer.

So I thought: Who do I want?

The only really obvious choice all things being equal is De Bruyne. However, at 12m that's not happening when I already have Salah and Lukaku (plus Ronaldo on my watchlist). On top of this no one else will be getting him either, as they have these big hitters too.

Normally you'd worry about not owning a player like De Bruyne, but if no one can afford him then that's not a problem. So I'm just going to cross him off my list. Simple.

(The same can be said for Sterling too given his price.)

So I thought: Who next, after De Bruyne?

Well, after this there isn't really an obvious pick. They're all in a similar ballpark. Grealish looks the most nailed on for a start, but he isn't necessarily the most likely to return. They're all capable of scoring if they do start. So at this point, especially with Pep rotation, it's basically pick one and hope.

Grealish, Gündogan, Mahrez, Jesus, Torres, Bernardo Silva, Foden ..

Sure, one of these players could go on a run and become the stand out choice, but it's pretty much impossible to judge at the moment.

So there simply isn't a perfect option.

It's a case of pick one and hope. Like buying a lottery ticket.

Ultimately I figure the only real question is: Do you want a ticket in the lottery?? Do you want a City attacker?

For me the answer's yes. So I simply went for the one I could afford. He's cheap (super cheap for a City attacker), and he's potentially in the number 9 position. So why overthink things.

The next two fixtures are very unattractive, and I've now already been burned with his benching against Southampton. However, hopefully I've fixed this little problem ahead of the curve. I can now stop worrying about City ..and just hope for the best. (Possibly doubling up on their attack when the fixtures do look nice).

Overall Points: 351

Overall Rank: 583,676

GW4 - *Minus 4*

Firstly, and belatedly, my GW3 points.

Gameweek Points: 73

Gameweek Rank: 452,400

Overall Rank: 465,186

It was really pleasing to see Digne, Pickford and Wan-Bissaka get me some points. It makes a huge difference. My transfers didn't pay off as both Lukaku and Benrahma blanked, and Toney nabbed a goal. However, I'm still happy with the moves going forward, so hopefully they'll be a net gain over the next few weeks.

This week (GW4) I've taken a minus 4 to make two more changes.

Son and Tsimikas out.

Jota and Duffy in.

Obviously with Son flagged it forced my hand a little. I'm always annoyed when I have to take a points hit, but this minus 4 does at least feel justified. I really wanted Jota -- he's the one player I feel I need (I'm going to wait and see with Ronaldo).

Of course, to bring in Jota I needed to remove Tsimikas too, as he was blocking that third Liverpool slot. I was gonna have to do this at some point anyway though. Plus, I wasn't too keen on playing Ayling against Liverpool this week, so I can pop Duffy in with his slightly nicer fixture.

And I'm going with Lukaku captain.

It was a difficult decision this week picking a captain. As I now type I'm beginning to feel like I should've just defaulted with Salah. Aston Villa at home with no Martinez makes sense though, so hopefully Lukaku will click into gear for Chelsea and get me some returns.

Finally, a few thoughts on Ronaldo..

For me, at least for the time being, it's going to be Lukaku or Ronaldo. Not both ..and as I already have Lukaku it'll probably be staying like that whilst Chelsea's fixtures are good.

The way I see it is; if you're wildcarding to get both, then you're gambling that both will do well. Whereas if you just have the one you'll only need one to hit their potential, and it doesn't even matter that much which one as you can just switch to whichever is firing without tearing your team up.

Plus you still have the wildcard just in case both do start living up to expectations.

If you have both though, and no wildcard, then if one isn't looking great, or gets injured, etc, then you're going to lack flexibility. (Though Kane would potentially be an option).

All that being said though, Ronaldo is Ronaldo, and if he hits the ground running it could be curtains for me not having him. Even just for a few weeks. Especially with 28% of teams now already owning him!

Overall Points: 232

Overall Rank: 465,186

GW3 - Lukaku In

My GW2 was fairly average..

Gameweek Points: 61

Gameweek Rank: 2,625,888

Overall Rank: 841,081

Pickford, Digne and Wan-Bissaka did nothing for me again. Some returns from them this gameweek would be handy, as at the moment they're putting a dent in my potential score each week.

As per the title of this post I've removed Toney and brought in Lukaku. To fund the move I've downgraded Fernandes to Benrahma.

The fixtures aren't ideal for Lukaku just yet, but it feels like such an easy move. Chelsea are looking good, and in a team where it's hard to predict the line up Lukaku looks like the most reliable and the most explosive option. He's also captainable for that reason.

It's risky removing Fernandes, but as I noted at the beginning of the season I feel he's a bit expensive. I was very lucky to get his hattrick in the first week as I only had him in as options were limited. So perhaps I'm showing poor judgement again thinking I can go without him. I always tend to trust my gut though.

As for my team this week I'm starting Ayling for the first time this season, and I'm captaining Son.

Hopefully it goes well. After two very dull and templatey weeks I feel like my team is now starting to reflect my natural playing style a bit more.

Overall Points: 159

Overall Rank: 841,081

GW2: FPL Autopilot

Firstly, my GW1 score: 98. Very solid, very template, very lucky.

Gameweek Points: 98

Gameweek Rank: 510,413

Overall Rank: 510,410

Normally I have an awful start, so to be stampeding with the herd straight from the get-go is good - if a little boring.

This week I'm going more boring still. The exact same team, with the exact same captain.

As for the team overall, Toney is still a question mark for me. I'm also a little disappointed that I didn't put a bit more thought into my bench. Other than that it's just wait and see. I don't have any strong feelings about where I'll go from here. So patience is the order of the day.

It Begins.. in a most mediocre fashion.

Please try again later when the updated scores / teams will be available.

Team sorted ..and it's looking a little too template for my liking, but with a few minor tweaks.

I'll roll through the players below.

Pickford.

This is probably my most interesting pick. I'm also slightly worried as apparently Everton have a few players self-isolating now. So hopefully he isn't one of them.

It's the fixtures plus Benitez that's moved me in this direction. Also Pickford tends to be quite consistent each season; points scoring wise, in an average sort of way. So he should tick along even if Everton are their mid-table standard.

Tsimikas.

This is one where I've most definitely just copied the crowd. £4.0m playing Liverpool defender. At one point I had a team with both Mane and Salah in, but when I thought about it I realised I was just ignoring a gift horse (or looking it in the mouth - however that works) just to be different. So I followed the herd. Perhaps it might be a Trojan horse though which should've been ignored.

Either way everyone else is doing it. So safety in numbers I suppose.

Trent Alexander-Arnold.

I also briefly had a team where I'd took out Trent to bring in Coufal. With Firmino coming in for Toney with the freed up cash. I actually quite liked that move and would've stuck with it had it not been for the uncertainty over whether Firmino will actually play. It felt a little boring changing things back, but it's probably the sensible move.

Digne.

I really like owning Digne. I think the upside is potentially very high ..that's if Everton tighten up under Benitez. With both him and Pickford in my side a lot will depend on this.

Wan-Bissaka.

This is one where I've strayed from the template a bit. Most are going for Shaw, but I prefer the reliability of Wan-Bissaka. He tends to be an ever-present. Plus, though his attacking returns aren't great, I think he did improve in that department last season.

Hopefully having him means I won't have to make too many transfers. Digne is quite injury (and red card) prone. So having a set and forget player in there too balances it out a bit.

Salah.

Next.

Raphinha.

The first few games aren't great, plus I'm a little worried about second season syndrome with Leeds. The price is so nice though. £6.5m. Making this an easy option.

Son.

I'm always a big fan of Son. £10m is a super price in my opinion. He's definitely a big hitter, so I think he's slightly under-priced given what he can do and how consistent he is.

Fernandes.

I only brought Fernandes in after Robertson got injured and freed up a bit of cash for me - and even then my instinct was to bring in Mane (as noted above). It's a pick I'm not really feeling at the moment. He tailed off a bit last season, and in the Euros he did nothing. Of course, he's still a great player to own, and it would've been a bit nervy going without him, but I would've preferred to have put the cash elsewhere.

In the end he's only in because there isn't an obvious alternative that's guaranteed to start. Mahrez would've been a more exciting pick, but I'd like to see City play a few games before I start taking risks.

Antonio.

I'm not entirely confident with this one. Feels like an injury waiting to happen. In fact, I've really struggled with choosing strikers all pre-season. No one really stands out to me. Last season it was great going with Bamford - I was quite confident he'd be worth his £5.5m (!) price tag and it was a fun little differential. This time out I'm just picking in hope more than expectation.

Toney.

Which leads me on to this one. There's no doubt Toney is a goal scorer. I've watched his goal reel on YouTube, and he's obviously a good finisher. Other than that though I know very little about him. So it's a gamble; and one I don't really have a gut feeling for.

Most of his goals seemed to be goals from in and around the six yard box too. Plus penalties. So he's going to be very dependant upon Brentford being able to get a decent amount of attacking play in the opposition's third.

Kick off is just a few minutes away though. So we'll soon find out...

FPL: Does Rank Matter?

I won't share my team just yet. I'm quite pleased with the way it's looking, but with a week to go there's still a fair bit that could change. So I thought I'd talk about rank. A topic that seems to pop up quite frequently these days.

Is Rank Important?

I would say 100% YES. -- and I'll explain why below ..but first a little caveat.

FPL in the grand scheme of things isn't that important. Compared to life's bigger issues football and fantasy football are not serious things to worry about. So fpl in general (including rank) isn't that big a deal when you really think about it.

Plus of course different people invest different amounts of time in it. Some people play casually, others may start a team then lose interest. Some (like myself) put hours of thought into it each week. So what importance there is will be different for different individuals.

However ..saying all that, if you are someone that does put a lot of time and effort into fpl, then yes - rank is important.

It's the whole point of the game. It's the whole fun. That element of competition. The reason we spend hours researching or listening to podcasts each week is in order to make decisions that will get us more points than the other people that are playing.

Gambling vs Safety

The debate about rank seems to be a debate between: "playing it safe" to get a "respectable rank"; and playing "your own game" and "not caring about rank".

Essentially gambling or playing safely.

Now I don't think either of these things are right or wrong. In fact, my own style is probably a combination of the two. My main issue is that both styles "care about rank".

For example: Let's say it's near the end of the season, there are only a few weeks left and you're around the 100k mark. You can either play safely and consolidate that rank, or you can gamble. Hoping you can have a few amazing weeks and climb up into the top 50k, but accepting that you may tumble down another 100k or so if it goes wrong.

Now if you play safe you're doing that because you care about rank - you want to cling onto that semi-respectable finish.

However, if you gamble you're doing that because you want an even higher ranking. You're not content with 100k, you want 50k. So you're also doing that because you "care about rank".

So I think when people say they "don't care about rank" I think they're being a bit dishonest.

And I should say I don't mean that in a nasty way -- I don't think they're lying or being deliberately deceitful in any way. I just mean dishonest with themselves. It's a little comfort blanket so someone can think "Well, I would've had a better rank ..if I'd took it more seriously."

A bit like when a child tries something (takes a penalty say) and gets it wrong, and then says "No, that wasn't my proper go !"

You gambled. You would've enjoyed the rank boost and the good vibes had it paid off, so you have to own the fall when it doesn't.

Consistency or Brilliance

The more interesting discussion beneath all this is whether it's better to be consistently above average or occasionally brilliant.

 - i.e. is it better to have nine awful finishes but win it once; or ten top 10k finishes and never win it at all.

This is a truly interesting debate ..but it's still a debate about rank, and which set of rankings is ultimately better.

You might prefer the former, you might prefer the latter, but either way you're caring about rank. If you didn't you wouldn't care about this debate at all.

Final Gameweek - Season's End

Lucky, lucky finish.

Gameweek Points: 74

Gameweek Rank: 237,989

Overall Rank: 89,880

At four o'clock yesterday afternoon it was looking very dour. Bale benched, Greenwood benched, Bamford benched. So it could've, and perhaps should've, been a terrible final week.

That changed around quite dramatically though. Bamford off the bench to score a penalty. Bale getting two very late goals, and to round it off Greenwood staying on the bench meaning I got Calvert-Lewin's 2 points instead of his probable 1.

So quite fortunate.

It meant I jumped up into the top 100k, achieving the highest position I'd achieved all season. At one point (back in GW21) I'd climbed as high as 93k, but I slightly outdid that this time reaching the 90k mark.

I've now had three top 100k finishes on the bounce. So my record is respectable, but not especially impressive. Obviously the aim is to reach the top 1k, or even win it (yes! I'm that confident). However, my record so far suggests I'm a second rate fpl manager, rather than a top tier one.

Still though, there's always next season, and with that in mind I'll need to learn some lessons from this one.

The failings that immediately spring to mind are: I didn't plan my captaincies with enough care. I didn't own Dallas at any point this season (yet again it's a season where I've failed to get on the optimal attacking defenders). Also, I put too much importance on previous seasons, and didn't adapt to this season's form - Liverpool being the obvious case in point, where I ignored the fact that they weren't looking good in the hope that they'd find their previous brilliance.

(Though saying that investing in their dodgy defence did pay dividends for me in the final run in).

There are no doubt myriad others. So over the summer I'll have to have a more in depth look.

I've also done one last final update of my graph.

It's looking a little crowded. So I may need to find a slightly better way of illustrating things next season.

Time for a well-earned breather now though :)

Enjoy the summer 🌞

Overall Points: 2398

Overall Rank: 89,880

FPL: GW37 Review...

Luckily I've turned it round somewhat.

Gameweek Points: 67

Gameweek Rank: 249,581

Overall Rank: 120,148

The Mahrez transfer didn't quite pay off, as I would've had Lingard's 7 points instead. Plus an extra transfer for this last week. I'm also not expecting Mahrez to start in GW38 with the Champions League final on the horizon. Though it's hard to second guess things.

Still a very nice week however. The Salah blank meaning I've been given a reprieve and been allowed to go into GW38 with the top 100k (just about) in sight. Another blank this week would be lovely.

It's now just a case of what to do with my final transfer of the season.

I'm pretty certain I'll be taking out Fernandes. Surely they won't risk him so close to a Europa League final. I'll probably just bring in Raphinha to replace him.

With it being the last week I'd like to bring in someone a bit more leftfield, but nothing pings out at me. Son's also an option, but they play Leicester, and Leicester still have something to play for.

On the last day of the season it always seems like there's quite a few high scoring games. So ideally you want to hit one of them. It's so difficult to predict though. Maybe I should just put Son in and hope that game blows up.

I still have the captaincy on Bamford too !

Overall Points: 2324

Overall Rank: 120,148

..and into GW37

Well, well, well .. horrendous gameweek in GW36 😖😭😭

Gameweek Points: 29 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 6,054,162

Overall Rank: 156,935

Quite a sorry state. It's absolutely demolished my dreams of the top 100k.

Once again, going without Salah has proved to be a very, very costly mistake. In a gameweek like this, when he was the obvious captain, and stepped up with a goal and three bonus points only a fool could be without him.

My substitute of Digne clearly didn't quite work lol

Sheffield United getting a 1-0 win feeling somewhat typical. Though to be fair Everton have been awful at home this season, so perhaps I should've expected it, in spite of Sheff Utd's impressive lack of goals.

GW37

Anyhow, onwards and upwards into this gameweek. I've made a very late last minute transfer. Taking out Podence for Mahrez. Meaning Lingard is now relegated to my bench.

As I type we're about ten minutes away from the team reveal for Man City, so we'll see if it's been a worthwhile switch. In fairness it was a total spur of the moment punt. I need a player with a big ceiling if I'm to have any hope of turning things around, and Mahrez can be explosive -- when he actually plays a Premier League game. So I'm rolling the dice.

Once again Salah could punish me this week. So I'm hoping for a boring Burnley 0-0 in that one. I was tempted to start Phillips over Digne, but Digne again has that high potential. (No doubt Saïss will roll up with a big haul and remain snugly third-placed on my bench).

As GW37 is now active I can see my team for the final GW38. I currently have the captaincy on Bamford. It seems a nice touch. Though if I can come up with a decent gameweek this week I'll probably bottle this call and go with a more sensible choice.

No idea what my final transfer will be.

(Mahrez starts, and I actually have Ederson this week too :) )

Overall Points: 2257

Overall Rank: 156,935

FPL: GW35 Review - GW36 Preview

Fairly good week, though Salah and Jota scoring last night really dented my rank rise.

Gameweek Points: 120

Gameweek Rank: 509,097

Overall Rank: 107,174

Bamford getting 9 was a real bonus. To get so many points from my three Liverpool defenders was also pretty fortunate. So I have to be pleased with the week. I'm edging ever closer to the top 100k, but without Salah it's looking like it might be a struggle to make the leap.

Plus I've just taken a minus 4 to bump up my player numbers to eleven, so I'm already down on this (potentially) difficult week.

The moves I've made are Veltman to Digne and Vardy to Calvert-Lewin. I actually currently have the armband on Digne too (!). Surely a clean sheet is highly likely against Sheffield United. I'll happily take a 6, doubled to 12 for captain this week. Then just hope Salah doesn't exceed that by much.

Also apparently Digne and Calvert-Lewin both went down injured at points in their game last night. I didn't see the game, but they completed the full 90, so hopefully it isn't an issue. It sows another big seed of doubt though.

Seeing my team on paper doesn't fill me with confidence. The midfield of Podence, Bale and Lingard in particular looks a little flimsy. They do all at least have potential though. So hope springs eternal.

Overall Points: 2232

Overall Rank: 107,174

GW34 Review - plus the media blackout

Firstly, very nice gameweek. [[[BALE!!!!!

Having had an awful gameweek last week this really rescued my season, so I can indulge myself a little. I'm now back in with a realistic chance of a top 100k finish. So I'm quite pleased.

Gameweek Points: 71

Gameweek Rank: 111,510

Overall Rank: 123,415

Secondly though I'll have to address the social media blackout against online abuse and racism. Needless to say I didn't take part.

Personally I don't think it's about stopping abuse and racism - I think it's a cynical use of the issue of racism to promote censorship.

It's similar to the BLM issue. Black Lives Matter is a political organisation that pushes many political agendas - including for instance 'defund the police'. Now this means if you don't believe in defunding the police you're put in a very awkward position. Either you openly support an organisation that supports something you don't believe in and that you think is bad, or you don't support it ..and risk being accused of being a racist.

It's rather unfair, and completely shuts down genuine debate.

If you're more on the left side of politics and can't quite imagine being in this situation. Imagine an organisation comes along that's against racism - but that also wants to break up the NHS. Do you support this organisation? How unfair would it be to yourself if simply by pointing out that they wanted to destroy the NHS you were accused of being a racist, and the argument and your concerns shut down. If not completely censored.

With this online blackout it's a comparable situation.

Changes will be brought in, there will be no real debate about the actual consequences of these changes, and anyone daring to raise concerns will be labelled a horrible racist. Again, this isn't about stopping racism, it's cynically using race as a trojan horse to push through changes that people otherwise wouldn't support.

If we end up in a situation where by law people won't be able to open a social media account without providing full I.D. then what does that mean for personal privacy, for free speech, and for competition in the online world.

• Privacy - Recently there was a Facebook data leak where the information of half a billion users was leaked, including phone numbers. Do you really want these companies having more of your data? Simply in order to share pictures and memes and to talk to your friends?

• Free Speech - We're all against hate and abuse in principle, but who decides what is and isn't abuse? What if such powers are abused, or exercised with bias.

• Competition - It's easy for wealthy companies like Twitter to implement these huge verification systems. It'll be much harder for smaller start-ups to jump through these huge expensive hoops though -- imagine you're setting up your own social media platform and you have to, by law, implement a system that fully verifies every member and protects that information. Instead of just requesting an email address. Imagine how difficult and expensive this would be. Also would those users trust you, a small not-so-slick outlet, with their information?

• Choice - This leads us in turn to consumer choice. Currently if you don't like one platform you can move to another with different policies. If you want to use a platform where everyone has to give full I.D. then go and use one. In fact, why don't all these wealthy footballers and media figures set up their own. Surely if these changes are so popular there'll be a market for it. However, once all policies are set by law there'll be no variation. Everything will be the same. You won't be able to set up an alternative that operates according to your own values.

So these changes that undermine free choice will not be brought in by market forces, or indeed democratic processes (again, normally we discuss important potential changes to the law and vote for or against parties that do or don't support them). Here though everything is being brought through on pure emotion and media hysteria, with dissent and debate silenced and demonised.

Obviously racism and abuse is a problem, but the idea that it's getting worse is simply untrue. 99.99% of people are not racist. So we're doing all this for a tiny, tiny number of idiots that are sending the odd offensive or abusive message. Messages that can be blocked or ignored. On platforms we can choose to not use ourselves.

People may dislike what I'm saying here, but I think it's a bit rich for footballers and managers that spend their lives screaming at referees every time a throw-in goes the wrong way to be demanding law changes because they don't like something they've seen on a mobile phone screen.

My actual team..

Anyway, that said, let's get back to fpl 😅

I'm actually so distracted by the politics that I now have no idea what I'm doing football-wise. It was interesting to note that Phillips was on the team sheet for the abandoned Liverpool game, so that is now the issue that's giving me the biggest headache. I still have no Salah, and was going to move out Phillips to then somehow bring him in. However, now he's fit I'm pretty tempted to just leave him in there and make other moves.

The fixture rejig because of that abandonment complicates things too of course. So I'll probably need to get a handle on that first. My team's not looking too bad for this week, so it may be best to just stick with what I have and roll the transfer.

I think I've probably stole the attention of anyone reading a little too much by now, so I'll leave it at that. If I make any changes between now and the weekend I'll post them on Twitter, along with the odd cheeky tweet no doubt -

-- with so much group think in football these days someone has to be the fpl anti-hero :)

Overall Points: 2112

Overall Rank: 123,415