GW38 Deadline Post

Here we are, sat waiting for team news, with an hour or so to go before the GW38 deadline.

As we're waiting I'll share last week's team.

64 points (avg. 53)

Senesi got me four points. Beautiful. And Cherki and Semenyo both got just the one. So that worked out pretty well for me. Captaining Gabriel didn't quite pay off though. Saka or Bruno would've scraped me a few more points.

All in all I ended up with a rank boost of 241. A tiny, teeny-weeny green arrow, but a very welcome one at this stage of the season.

So, anyhow, GW38

Currently my plan is to do Calvert-Lewin to Bowen and Gabriel to Van Dijk. I'll be benching O'Reilly, Trossard and Saka.

This is subject to leaks though.

Making transfers this close to the deadline is uncharted territory for me. Normally, even on the final day of the season, I'm all set by now. Plus, I'm always terrified the fpl site will crash or my internet will go down. Even now, with an hour to go, I'm tempted to just hit the button now.

How long should I wait?

[...]

I don't want Calvert-Lewin this week as I just feel that game will be all West Ham. So switching him out is a nice differential. Bowen is fairly obvious. Van Dijk a bit less so. My thinking here is that I want a Liverpool player this week, and that Van Dijk has been their best fpl asset this season. Mavropanos is tempting. He's similar to Van Dijk, plus West Ham have more to play for. Instinctively I feel like I want Van Dijk though. It's a pure vibe pick (assuming I do go with him).

[...]

I'm thinking I should just make the transfers. Then, if there's any City news I can un-bench O'Reilly if he's starting.

[...]

waiting..

[...]

I'll be captaining Bowen.

[...]

more waiting..

[...]

Haaland benched apparently!

[...]

I could get Salah?

[...]

I'm being brave ..I popped downstairs to make cheese and crackers.

[...]

Okay, half an hour to go. I'm making my transfers. Bowen and Salah in. I feel like I'm being eased into this with the leaks (we've also had a leak that Salah starts now). I don't like the thought that I'm potentially being manipulated with false information, but I can't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's not often I'm in this position toying with the deadline. So let's just go with the flow.

There we go. Apparently O'Reilly is benched too. Calvert-Lewin might be getting one more game for me after all.

I think that means we're just about done.

I'll wait until deadline to see if my bench needs anymore tweaking, then I'm going in the garden for half an hour to play football with the cat.

[...]

That's not me kicking the cat, lol. I'll be kicking a football in the garden in the glorious sun, as the cat skulks around seeking yet more food and attention. After that little sabbatical I can then settle down to actually watch the football.

And into GW37

As we head into GW37 I'm sitting at 21,224 in rank.

If I could finish here it would be my highest finish ever, so hopefully it doesn't all go the other way in these last two weeks.

..here's how GW35 & 36 went. The Palmer to Saka transfer definitely paid off.

GW35: 76 points (avg. 50)

GW36: 90 points (avg. 65)

For GW37 I've made one transfer: Semenyo to Trossard

That'll leave me with two free transfers for the final week.

Trossard is another eye-test pick. He looked good in the last game, like he really had a strong will to win. Of course, he could not start, or get reduced minutes, but I'm happy to take the risk. The sensible option would've been Saliba, but it felt too boring. I want players with upside. To be fair, with Saliba there is upside. Arsenal should dominate against Burnley, which should mean a clean sheet, plus plenty of corner and free kicks. So a goal for Saliba is far from impossible. (This is why I have Gabriel captain.) I'm just not feeling it though.

My other differential decision follows similar lines. On paper it doesn't make sense to play Senesi against Man City. However, when I think about it it doesn't seem too bad. There's a good chance he'll get defcon - City will score no doubt, but I can't imagine them scoring four or more to wipe that out. So three points is a realistic expectation. Then there's the attacking upside these Bournemouth defenders offer. City's a tough game, but Bournemouth have been good this season. City have the FA Cup final to play too. So I really don't mind it.

Plus, the other defenders I could've brought in weren't especially appealing. Guehi, like Saliba, would've been another boring option, with even less upside. (Hopefully a Senesi assist wipes out his clean sheet.) Looking at teams lower in the league clean sheets aren't too obvious to predict. Tarkowski tempted me a bit with his fixture and goal threat. I don't like the fact they have Spurs on the final day though. So I'll just stick with Senesi and save my transfer.

What I do in that last week is going to be a real conundrum. It's such a lottery on that last day. Clean sheets normally go out of the window, so I want attacking threat in every spot. I'd be surprised if I play both Truffet and Senesi, but at least both fit the mould if I need them. Currently I'm thinking I'll bring Bowen in with one of the transfers. It's very much a case of waiting to see what the league table looks like after GW37 though.

GW35 ..we're at the sharp end of the season now

Well, going into GW35 I've made some bold moves.

Cucurella and Palmer OUT

Gabriel and Saka IN

Obviously, taking out Palmer is a risk, however, when he came on against Leeds in that semi-final he looked so off the pace. Joao Pedro, on the other hand, I thought played quite well. So I'm very much acting on eye-test here.

Again, it's risky, but I needed to free up cash to bring in Gabriel, and I'm going to want more than one Arsenal player over the coming weeks. Saka, if he stays fit, is the choice attacker. I had two free transfers and just the right amount of money. So it feels like the perfect move at the moment. Let's see how it looks by Monday night though.

The other big decision this week is who to bench. In the end I'm playing an extra Bournemouth defender ahead of Gross simply because Crystal Palace played midweek. Plus it's a home fixture. I've went Truffert and Senesi over Hill because the ceiling is a bit higher. These are all close calls. It feels stupid benching Gross given how consistent he's been. Contrariwise, if Bournemouth keep a clean sheet it could be stupid putting him first on the bench.

It's a nice problem to have overall though.

The GW34 Free Hit

The free hit was a bit underwhelming. My 60 points did get me a small green arrow though. I'm now sitting at 51,444.

Given the bench boost in GW33 I'm actually quite happy with my team. It isn't far off what I would've went with anyway. It's literally just Palmer that's worrying me, what with so many other GW33 bench-boosters owning him this week. After that it's just a case of getting another Arsenal player before GW37.

Oh, and I'm just ignoring the Crystal Palace double. Which could be another unwise move, but I'm just not feeling it.

Back With A Blank

I keep promising to get my act together, but only succeed in being more lazy 😅 My last post was two months ago!

However, though I've been lazy with posting, I haven't been lazy with my team. So I'm still having a fairly good season. We're in the middle of DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 33, and on the cusp of BLANK GAMEWEEK 34 - i.e. free hit time.

I'll share both my teams below..

First Up: Bench Boost 33

I'm really pleased with this team. As things stand, halfway through the double, I'm probably about six or seven points behind the average bench boost team. But going into the second round of games I have a few nice little differentials. Most notably the three Bournemouth defenders, along with Hinshelwood and Cucurella.

The first round of games moved me up from around 112k to 74k, so overall it seems to be going well too.

In fact, my record since my last post has been nothing but green. 

GW34 Free Hit

We're looking like this at the moment. The Mbeumo yellow flag has literally just appeared (it's a knock apparently). So that's one change I'll no doubt make over the coming days.

There seems to be a bit of a clamour for Spurs players in the fpl community. The main reason I have Porro is basically that I've copied them. In my first draft that certainly wasn't my instinct though, so that's going to be a tricky one. My instinct is more along the lines of, "Just stick three Arsenal, Liverpool and United players in there."

If Mbeumo is doubtful there aren't too many other United options. Maybe I should just be boring and switch him to Rice. Then I could be could even more true to type and replace Porro with an Arsenal defender.

Still a good few days to decide..

Update Time!

I'm currently 242k.

I've missed a raft of gameweeks yet again. My last post on here was back during GW22. I won't bother going through each week since then, I'll just be lazy and share an image.

It's fitting as I've barely moved position. I finished GW22 at 240k.

My team's looking like this as we head into GW28, and I've got two free transfers.

I may downgrade Tarkowski to bring in Semenyo for Enzo.

For all my half-heartedness I'm not in too bad a position as we head into the final stages of the season.

Hopefully, if I can get my act together, I'll do a forward-thinking post. Planning for the future. Not just another, "Here's how I've done," lazy effort.

On at half-time ..for a minus one !

My obligatory once a month post. I should really post more often, but Christmas has absolutely snowed me under.

I'll quickly do my usual run down of the weeks I've missed, then move on to where my thinking is.

(Wow, the last update was GW15, lol. I really am falling behind.)

GW16: 83 points (avg. 60)

GW17: 68 points (avg. 66)

GW18: 46 points (avg. 44)

GW19: 49 points (avg. 40)

GW20: 51 points (avg. 42)

GW21: 65 points (avg. 48)

We're currently mid-match of the first game of GW22 ..and I'm getting rinsed. City 1-0 down. Foden off at half time for one point. Nico O'Reilly on at half-time for what would've been a one pointer, but he now has a yellow card 😆. Haaland still on the pitch, but heading for a big fat blank.

In the preceding weeks I'd moved up from around 300k to 200k, but given this start a drop back looks likely.

Anyway ..plans

This is how my team currently looks.

(United now 2-0 up - Nico O'Reilly minus one!)

It's not looking too bad, apart from O'Reilly. Will he start the next game? Will he come on for another one ..or minus one?

I don't mind holding Foden so much, in spite of today and his recent blanks, but obviously he's looking like a sell too.

Gravenberch could be upgraded. Keane will be back after the suspension, but Branthwaite's on the mend, so there's room for worry there as well. If I knew for certain Keane was safe long term I'd just downgrade O'Reilly to upgrade the midfield.

There's also the Arsenal conundrum. Ideally you'd have a team full of Arsenal players this season, but sadly you can only choose three. With the lack of compelling defensive options I'm tempted to triple up on Arsenal at the back, but Saka is so consistent. Plus, Rice is currently the second highest points scorer in the game, at just £7.3m.

There are good alternative options in midfield though. Obviously, after today, Fernandes and Mbeumo are looking tempting. Enzo Fernandez looks like a good option, especially with the fixtures. And dare I mention Salah?

I've currently got two free transfers, so it might be wise to roll again then really jig things up the week after. The fixtures are nice for me this week. (United have just went 3-0 up. Does that mean there'll be a City response against Wolves? Or does it just mean they're rubbish now?) I feel like starting Esteve over O'Reilly given my current mood, but surely when the dust settles that's a great fixture if he actually starts.

(It actually finished 2-0. VAR kept it respectable.)

Anyway, I think patience is the key. You never know, another Bruno Guimaraes masterclass might rescue my week.

I've used all five transfers..

Like an impatient child I've already spent my five free transfers.

Salah out (let's not speak of that anymore); Calvert-Lewin out; Munoz out; Mbeumo out; Anderson out (this one pained me).

In come: Saka; Foden; Bruno Fernandes; Keane; Thiago.

So I'm looking like this:

Recent Weeks

GW13: 35 points (avg. 35)

GW14: 66 points (avg. 58)

GW15: 54 points (avg. 49)

So average or mildly above average.

Salah (I said I wouldn't mention it, but I have to really) destroyed me a little bit. What would've been a huge differential ended up just being £14 million sat on the bench for three weeks.

Obviously, Salah shouldn't have spoken publicly after the Leeds game. However, I can't help but take his side. Liverpool have been playing badly all season. To my eyes he's looked one of the better players ..when he's actually been able to get on the ball. He's had zero service and Liverpool haven't been playing to his strengths. So I do think he's been scapegoated.

Either way, it's been a dagger to my FPL team 😡

Dewsbury-Hall and Elliot Anderson have been my cheap saviours. Hence why it's pained me a little to take Anderson out. The opportunity to get Foden couldn't be resisted though. At some point Gravenberch will likely turn back into Anderson. For now, in spite of the turmoil, Liverpool's fixtures remain too good to ignore.

Having three City players worries me a little bit in regard rotation. Especially as we head into Christmas. Anderson's solid four point returns could well end up being missed. Hopefully not though.

My current rank is: 323,730

Quite a solid drop from the 190k I was at following GW12. So improvement is needed. Or at least dreamed of.