Wildcard set.

Got my wildcard team nice and sorted. I've made two little final tweaks today. Foden out for Zaha, and Struijk in for Mitchell.

The problem with these changes is that it means I've now maxed out my budget. Meaning I have no wiggle room to upgrade if I want to make a transfer going forward. Not even a £0.1m in the bank. Although with Soucek now on my bench I should be able to absorb an injury or suspension a bit more easily. So hopefully I can roll next week's transfer then manoeuvre from there.

Overall I'm quite liking the team. (Having Salah captain feels especially soothing given my previous captain selections). It's a shame I'm having to start with Coufal on the bench. I was tempted to start him, but away to Liverpool there's always the chance four or five goals could fly in. So I'll wait.

Anyway, hopefully this new team will get off to a good start.

(GW6 Review) Decent week all things considered..

Some much for the pro-gamer move, TAA blanked. Likewise my transfer of Digne also backfired, with him getting sent off in the second half. These two disasters aside though it actually wasn't too bad.

Gameweek Points: 57

Gameweek Rank: 1,787,054

Overall Rank: 2,420,880

The obvious plus was Bamford. Even just aside from FPL it was great to see him get his goals. I watched and admired Bamford a lot in the Championship for Boro, so to see his talent finally blossom in the Premier League was nice. It was a beautiful hat-trick, especially the third goal. Bergkamp-esq. Very clever, underrated player. I really hope it continues, and not just for FPL's sake.

After that it was Son, Jiménez, Foden and McCarthy that returned for me. So all in all I got a decent rank boost. Up from 2.8 to 2.4 million. Still a good way to go, but I'm on the right track.

Wildcard Active

I've also smashed the wildcard button this week. The three big annoyances were Digne, Traoré and Aubameyang.

Traoré isn't starting and it just isn't happening for Aubameyang. So they need to go. I was considering the idea of just gradually moving towards my ideal team, perhaps with a minus four this week, but I can't quite get that plan to work. Particularly regarding the fixtures.

I also fear I'll end up on the back foot if I don't wildcard now. It's all well and good planning the next three or four transfers, but if I get another red card or injury this week then all that goes out the window. So though it's just three players that are the main issue wildcarding will also help me to get firmly on the front foot.

This is how it's looking at the moment.

Fernandes and Salah feels like a huge improvement on Traoré and Aubameyang. I've also brought in Coufal and Kilman at the back. I really like the look of Coufal. It's early days, but he looks attacking. Plus the West Ham fixtures are beginning to get better.

Kilman of course is just the obvious cheap way into the Wolves defence. It feels like a no-brainer. So hopefully he'll keep starting.

I'm also currently keeping Mitchell. It's likely he'll lose his place soon, but he has been playing and has played well, so you never know.  Either way he'll probably just be taking up the last slot on my bench most weeks anyhow.

The big omission is Calvert-Lewin. I've even ditched the value I had tied up in him. Which may come back to haunt me if I have a change of heart this week. However, Everton just didn't look the same at the weekend. They really missed Richarlison, and I felt Sigurdsson just got in the way of James.

So with Digne now out and James an injury doubt I feel it's time to get off. In spite of the fixtures. Conceivably I could bring Calvert-Lewin back for Fulham in GW9, but I think for the next few games I prefer the Southampton pair.

I can also easily switch Ings back to Jiménez going forward. Likewise Adams could become Antonio next week when West Ham face Fulham ..if he's fit. So plenty of options.

The other big decision was Kane. I'd like to say it's the fixtures that have made me just stick with the one Spurs player, but the reality is it's just not my style of play to spend that much cash on forwards. I like the cheaper attacking options, and I'm still clinging to the idea that the big midfielders will eventually come out on top.

Perhaps that attitude will shift in the next few days though. Either way I'll share my final team on Friday.

Overall Points: 314

Overall Rank: 2,420,880

//////

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Also on a final note, returning to the TAA captain choice. Having watched the highlights of that game I don't think it was too bad a decision. Obviously it has to go down as a fail, but he nearly had an assist with Salah's offside goal. He had a freekick from the halfway line pushed over the bar! (I'd have been pretty, pretty smug had that have went in), and of course, a clean sheet against Sheff Utd was never impossible. So it wasn't that much of a miss.

I see a lot of people selling Trent (tbf defensively they are looking wrecked with injuries), but I remain very optimistic owning him. He's super-attacking and it is Liverpool after all.

Alexander-Arnold captain (!) pro-gamer move

No wildcard. Transfer now locked in. Digne for Van Dijk.

My bench is looking slightly better now that Reed is only yellow-flagged, so there's a chance he could be involved. Though Mitchell is no doubt on borrowed time, so things ain't exactly brilliant. Still, it's nice to have at least some potential on the bench. Just in case I need a blank spot filling.

The main news this week is my captaincy. Trent Alexander-Arnold is a very left-field pick. In fact, on the Fantasy Premier League site he's the fifth most transferred out this week. So the choice seems to be going very much against the grain. I'm fairly happy with it though.

As for the rest of my side I think the games look nice, it's just a question of whether Foden and Traoré actually start.

A return from Bamford tonight would be quite useful. It would also be good if Aubameyang could start scoring for me. He hasn't looked great value so far this season, but the fixtures going forward are quite decent (Villa and Leeds in gameweeks 8 and 9). So I wouldn't mind leaving him in until GW10.

Ideally I'd like to be able to use my transfer next week to take out Traoré. I've got 2.7m in the bank to help upgrade, so it would definitely improve my first eleven.

My finger's still over the wildcard button too though. So if things aren't looking good after this weekend then it could be all change.

(GW5) SOLID Week.

Bang on the average this gameweek. Given the week I had last time out this felt like a win, so I'll gladly take it.

Gameweek Points: 60

Gameweek Rank: 3,642,604

Overall Rank: 2,831,024

This was also the first time I've had a decent captain return this season. So that was good. Plus I got a little green arrow. I'm still high up in the multi-millions, but I've stemmed the rot at least.

I'm now a little bit in two minds about wildcarding. I don't think I will, but if I get another flag I think it'll most certainly tip me over the edge. Traoré isn't starting games, Van Dijk is now out, and my bench is hanging by the threads. So my one transfer this week might not paper the cracks.

Currently though I'm planning on simply transferring Digne in for Van Dijk. Then I can move for Salah going forward.

I also currently have the armband on Alexander-Arnold (!). He hasn't looked in form so far this season. However, Sheffield United look very unthreatening going forward, and if they sit back there should be plenty of opportunity for crosses into the box ..and potentially the odd free-kick. So it's tempting, as I don't really fancy any of the other fixtures.

I'm now gonna have a little tinker around to try to put together a wildcard team :) If I do hit the trigger I'll post the results up on Friday.

Overall Points: 257

Overall Rank: 2,831,024

Back in the Saddle

Feels like a long time since the last post. Anyone visiting might have wondered if I'd quit after last week's disaster.

..but no, I'm back. Tentatively.

De Bruyne red-flagged so that's the obvious player to lose. I'm just bringing Son back in to replace him. It seems the sensible move. Aubameyang also has a flag, but I think he'll play, so hopefully my first eleven should be fine.

If it's not I'm a bit worried about my bench. Harrison Reed out, Ben Johnson highly unlikely to be featuring, and Mitchell now becoming a slight doubt as Palace players return to fitness. I was briefly considering another minus 4 to upgrade a bit, but there's little point when I'm happy with the first eleven.

(The Return of the Son)

The Liverpool back three is a worry too after last week lmao, but I'm going to stick with the plan for the time being.

My biggest worry is not so much the defenders, but the fact that no one seems to be matching Salah in that 11.5/12m bracket. My thinking at the start of the season was that the Liverpool defenders would be consistently great options, and that I could then cover Salah with players such as De Bruyne, Sterling, Fernandes and Aubameyang.

However, that clearly hasn't happened so far, and Salah looks like he'll finish the season head and shoulders above those four at the moment. So a Van Dijk to Salah switch now has to be in my thinking going forward. I could even wildcard to do it.

I'm going to hold my nerve and leave things a few more gameweeks though. After all, it is still fairly early in this very strange season.

I'm going to captain Son too. Jiménez was a tempting option, but I'm worried Wolves will be a little flat. Even though that does look like a good fixture against Leeds.

Finally, I brought the graph back from last season. So I can chart my progress this time out too.

(click to enlarge)

I'm currently off the chart ..by quite some distance. Not where I want to be.

I really need to get back within that top 1m ASAP !

(GW4) Review - AHHHHHHHHHHHRGHH

😩😬 This week killed me. 23 points with a minus 4. The Jiménez transfer didn't pay off. Traoré didn't start. De Bruyne blanked. Liverpool conceded seven lmao. Basically everything bad, with the exception of Calvert-Lewin and the goalkeeper.

Gameweek Points: 23 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 6,546,383

Overall Rank: 2,876,233

I honestly don't know where to go with it after a week like that. Should I put it down as a one off, or do I do a total overhaul?

My bench was full of big round zeroes too. So maybe we're in wildcard territory.

Fortunately I have two full weeks to mull things over.

I think I'll probably just stick with what I have and ride out the storm. It was a very strange week after all.

Either way I'll post again once we get to the GW5 deadline 😢

Overall Points: 197

Overall Rank: 2,876,233

First Minus 4 of the Season

I haven't quite made my transfers yet - yes, that's transfers, plural. I'm taking a minus 4. I haven't pressed the button yet, but I'll be doing that when I've finished this short article. Perhaps typing things out may solidify my thoughts a little. I've been umming and ahing over it since about 4 o'clock this afternoon, so I could do with making my mind up and getting it put to bed.

My original plan was to just do Son to Mahrez.

However, when I was playing around earlier the opportunity to do Son to Foden and Mitrović to Jiménez presented itself. I normally recoil at the thought of a minus 4, but the next few games for Jiménez look great (Fulham, Leeds, then Newcastle). So there should be a very decent chance of him earning back that 4 point hit.

Also Foden has been excluded from the England squad, so I'm thinking that that could potentially make him a bit more likely to play the City games sandwiching the international break. Likewise there'll be less opportunity to pick up an injury.

So I'm liking the look of these changes. Still though it feels risky taking a hit before an international break. If either player gets injured in the next two weeks (or leaves in the case of Jiménez) then it all essentially becomes a one week punt, and I'm left hoping that Foden and Jiménez outscore Mahrez and Mitrović by more than 4 points.

I'd feel more confident having Mahrez for tomorrow's Leeds game, and Mitrović is always capable of grabbing something. Plus Wolves were poor against West Ham. So it's definitely a gamble.

As for the rest of my team I have De Bruyne captain (I'm really looking forward to the Leeds v City game 😃 hopefully it doesn't disappoint). Aubameyang still being in my side almost feels like a huge bonus at this point, and the Liverpool game looks very nice for my defence.

(..made my moves)

Hopefully it all works well.