GW16 Review - Charlie Taylor 1 Point Extravaganza

So after four gameweeks where Charlie Taylor went unused I finally got a chance to start him. Home to Sheffield Utd, great fixture. At last a chance for him to earn that (-4) back. He then, of course, went off injured after eight minutes 😅 It was doubly disappointing too as I hadn't realised. It was only after about seventy minutes when I checked the fpl site, noticed he still only had one point and thought "Where's my six points?!! What the hell's going on here?!"

On top of that Kilman actually started this week and picked up two points. So had I just left things as they were five weeks back I'd now be a huge five points up, and not just four.

That tiny bit of misfortune aside though I actually had a very jammy week indeed.

Gameweek Points: 51

Gameweek Rank: 1,039,880

Overall Rank: 228,605

In a week where two games were called off at short notice and many quite highly owned players were rested I was one of the lucky ones who got almost a full team out.

Cancelo, Son, Lookman and Coufal all missed out. Leaving me with ten starters. Many people had far fewer though, with some having Kane and Son as captain and vice-captain. So I can count myself very fortunate.

I noted in my last post how luck seemed to be with me at the moment, so that seems to be continuing.

Now it's straight onto the next gameweek. Deadline in a day and half's time as I type. The injury to Taylor swirling round my plans once again. I'm now considering bringing in Fabianski instead of Johnstone this week. Then transferring out Taylor for another defender (perhaps Dallas) with my final free transfer before the double (I was planning on switching out Wilson, which I may still do if Taylor recovers).

With all the chaos surrounding fixture pile-ups and cancellations it's probably best to wait to get more information first though. So I'll sleep on it tonight then think some more.

Overall Points: 960

Overall Rank: 228,605

GW15 Review (+ 16 preview)

I can't help but feel I'm going through an incredibly lucky period in fpl at the moment. I had what felt like a very average week, yet still ended up 16 points above the average.

Gameweek Points: 57

Gameweek Rank: 891,462

Overall Rank: 269,906

I'm now up to 270k in the rankings. My aim is to be within the top 100k by the end of GW19. So that's looking a bit more realistic. I just need some more luck now ..and some good judgement.

I've already made my transfer for GW16. Son in for De Bruyne. It's a little bit of a sideways move, but the fixtures look better. It also feels like the safe move.

As it stands the deadline for GW16 is just an hour or so away. Currently my side looks like this;

With my bench being so strong in preparation for GW19 I have a bit of a headache over who to start. It feels a little daft having Wilson sat second on my bench, especially given that Liverpool still have issues at the back. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him return. I have to play the fixtures though. It's Liverpool at Newcastle. Liverpool should hammer them ..at least in theory.

I feel like Soucek needs to start. He's getting goals quite frequently at the moment. So it's a question of Taylor, Coufal or Wilson taking up that final spot.

Taylor is the boring choice, with the least potential upside, but Sheffield United ain't scoring many. So a clean sheet wouldn't be surprising. The Coufal fixture isn't too bad either however, and with him the assist potential is fairly high. So it's tricky.

I guess it's a nice decision to have though.

Next gameweek I'll bring in a bench keeper for the doubles. Then it's the freehit GW18. After that I'll probably transfer out Wilson, possibly for Rodrigo.

Overall Points: 909

Overall Rank: 269,906

GW14 Review: Sooo greedy

91 points. A truly great week. However, I think I'm just getting greedy now, as I still find myself a little bit disappointed that I only got one point from Coufal last night. I didn't even see the game, and they were up against Chelsea, so I don't know what I was expecting. It's always the case though when you have that one player left in the final Monday night game. On the Sunday night you add that potential to your tally, no matter how unlikely a return is.

"90 points ..and I've still got one player left!"

Anyway..

Gameweek Points: 91

Gameweek Rank: 212,323

Overall Rank: 354,182

My ungratefulness aside it's all going quite well. I can proudly display the graph again.

Obviously it was quite fortunate for anyone with both Salah and Fernandes. Salah clocked up 16 points in half an hour of football, and Fernandes grabbed his 17 then came off after 70 minutes. So it was quite good going, even by their standards.

After that everything else was just a huge bonus.

Transfers..

I've already made my transfers for GW15. I went early. Struijk and Mahrez out. Alexander-Arnold and Ademola Lookman in. Obviously these have been made partly with an eye on the double gameweek.

I don't feel good taking Mahrez out before City's home tie against Newcastle - he could be a great player to own this week. However, it was the only way I could do it and keep my plans on track. It was either lose him or lose De Bruyne.

I thought TAA looked almost back to normal at the weekend, so hopefully he'll match or better Mahrez.

Charlie Taylor

Finally a little note about my Charlie Taylor transfer. I've now had him three weeks and I said it would be a 'four week calculation'. That (-4) working out as one point per week for the four weeks.

So far he's yet to come off my bench once, meaning I'm still four points down. However, each week so far he's returned. A six, a six, then a five. So if Cancelo or another defender had missed out he would've paid his way. Kilman, who I transferred him in for, just getting one point in the three games during that time (though he did play 90 minutes yesterday, which makes the Taylor transfer look even more unwise now).

Therefore, on paper I think the Taylor transfer has to go down as a mistake. Especially if he remains unused in this last of the four weeks. Conversely though, I think in theory it wasn't too bad a move, and his upcoming fixtures remain very decent if he is needed. In fact, I could potentially start him in weeks 16 and 17.

He also slots in for the double gameweek nicely too. I can't claim that as part of the equation though, as I simply wasn't aware of the doubles at the time. Likewise the games he has then aren't a great deal of use anyway (West Ham and Liverpool away). So it's not exactly a masterstroke.

He has had a £0.1m price rise however, so that's something :)

Not quite worth the (-4) hit though.

Overall Points: 852

Overall Rank: 354,182

GW13 Review. Decent.

Words like 'solid' and 'decent' instantly spring to mind with this gameweek. Nothing spectacular, but 10 points above the average. So it has to go down as a successful week.

Gameweek Points: 52

Gameweek Rank: 1,326,397

Overall Rank: 634,636

I don't know whether to be pleased or disappointed with the eight points from De Bruyne. No assists or goals is normally a bit gutting, but the two bonus points felt like a huge ..well, bonus. Either way many of my other players chipped in with points here and there. So it all added up to something good enough for a green arrow.

blanks and dubs

I'm now entirely focused on the blanks and doubles. Unless we get more news I'm free hitting in GW18 and bench boosting in GW19.

I should be able to get a decent squad together for GW19 just using my free transfers. If all goes to plan I'll have fourteen double-game players and just the one single. Which will either be Wilson or Cancelo. I'm currently planning on leaving Cancelo (the City fixtures in general look good) and switching Wilson to Ings.

Mahrez will be my cash cow to upgrade Wilson. Along with Struijk and my bench keeper. At present my plan is to bring in Lookman to ratchet up the cash, but again, nothing is set in stone yet.

The one thing I'm fairly certain about though is my keeper switch.

With Big Sam coming back, no doubt with his solid style of football in tow, I'm looking at Johnstone. He's cheap, West Brom have decent-ish double gameweek games, and if West Brom shore up he might be useful.

Also I've noticed that he rotates fairly well with McCarthy after GW19. I'm not too keen on wasting a transfer post the double just to free up half a million. So it makes sense to plan with a view to the long term.

(click to enlarge)

When McCarthy faces Manchester United in GW22 Johnstone has Sheffield United. In weeks 25 & 26, when McCarthy has Chelsea and Everton, Johnstone has Burnley and Brighton. Week 33 sees McCarthy face City, whereas Johnstone has the easier Aston Villa.

In fact, in GW17, before the doubles, Johnstone has the struggling Arsenal but McCarthy has Liverpool. So I could make the transfer early to put him in for that too.

This all depends on what West Brom look like under Allardyce in the next few games though. Plus any new fixture information we receive. So there's plenty of time to ponder all this.

GW14

As for the current gameweek I'm simply rolling a transfer and going with the team we see up top. This time with Fernandes captain. Hopefully he doesn't blank again.

GW12 Review: Mané Captaincy Backfired

So the Mané captaincy did backfire 😢😢

As I type the game hasn't updated yet, so I'm not entirely sure what the damage is. The combination of that and the minus 4 will no doubt mean a sizeable red arrow though. Maybe I'm even back out of the top 1 million 😭

My rank should be here ---> with my gameweek points when I finally click publish..

Gameweek Points: 48 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 4,772,818

Overall Rank: 751,975

Cry-ee faces aside though I'm actually not too disappointed in all seriousness. It was a fairly solid week all things considered, and the returns from Bamford, Adams, McCarthy and Cancelo helped keep my head above water.

In hindsight not captaining Salah was a mistake (once again those penalties making such a difference), however I would probably do it again given the same circumstances. Fulham were quite impressive, and neither Salah nor Mané got much of an opportunity in open play. So it's all a bit moot. Backing Liverpool in general just didn't pay off this gameweek. Kane and Vardy were the real captain picks.

Those two, along with Aston Villa keeper Martinez and Leicester's Justin, lifting the gameweek average out of reach for me.

..oh, and the people with Soucek too, but not on the bench like I had him.

The 'Minus 4'

My minus 4 for Charlie Taylor likewise left me feeling a little philosophical. Had Cancelo been benched he'd have came on and repaid his debt in one fell swoop (Kilman did indeed miss out for Wolves). So though this week it didn't pay off I still feel it was a good move, and I'm hopeful over the coming weeks he will chip in and make it worthwhile.

GW13..

The turnaround is pretty quick this gameweek. With the next deadline being 4:30 pm Tuesday. Hence why I'm typing before the game has even updated tonight.

My plan is still to bring De Bruyne back to captain him against West Brom. Then I plan to roll a transfer for GW14. Then I'm bringing Mané back for GW15.

Yes, Mané is coming back as the plan stands 😬

It seems unwise given today's failure. However, I'm not the sort to be swayed by a single gameweek, and I still really like the idea of tripling up on Liverpool when they face West Brom.

I'll either take De Bruyne right back out again. Or I may do a double transfer. Taking out Fernandes and Wilson, to bring in Mané and Decordova-Reid - who's only 5.3m at the moment.

My thinking with these switches is mainly the fixtures. They get pretty bad for Wilson in GW15 (City, Liverpool, then Leicester), and fixtures 15 and 16 ain't ideal for Fernandes either (Leicester then Wolves).

Also De Bruyne has Newcastle at home in GW15. So I'm loathe to remove him. The triple-up for both City and Liverpool that week looks especially tempting.

I'm guessing most people reading would view a straight De Bruyne to Mané swap as a terrible move. However, I haven't been overly impressed with De Bruyne this season. He seems to always look leggy in the second half of games. Plus I prefer the Liverpool fixtures from GW15 onwards. Also Pep rotation may strike. It's only really the penalties that make me worry not owning him.

..and today highlighted how important those penalties are.

As GW13 is so near I'll probably not bother with a preview post this week and will just review things on Friday morning (previewing GW14 at the same time).

Hopefully I can get back on the green arrows.

Overall Points: 709

Overall Rank: 751,975

Little Gameweek 12 Gambles

Okay, Mané in. Captained.

Charlie Taylor in for Kilman (-4).

The Mané captaincy could backfire, but with Salah playing the full game midweek and Mané getting rested it seems like a little opportunity it would be cowardly to miss. There's no guarantee Salah will be benched, but that piece of information shifts the probability a tiny bit. So it could give me a little edge.

As for the Charlie Taylor transfer. It looks a little odd taking a hit to simply place him on my bench. However, I'm fairly confident that over the coming gameweeks Taylor will pay that back plus some. If Cancelo is benched tomorrow I'm almost instantly halfway there even with a blank.

Kilman could potentially return to the Wolves starting line up, so that could make the move look a bit futile, but it seems that Wolves have reverted to a back four. So I wouldn't have felt confident keeping him.

I also feel like the Taylor transfer gets me on the front foot. With a nice strong squad heading into Christmas.

My next couple of transfers will now be more hokey-cokey (starting with de Bruyne back in the side next week). After that I'll then be planning for the blanks and doubles of GWs 18 and 19.

GW11 Review - The Points Keep Rolling In

Another really nice gameweek.

Gameweek Points: 85

Gameweek Rank: 404,693

Overall Rank: 473,034

Again, just as with last week, a fair bit of luck. However, I'm feeling like my team is nicely balanced too. So it's all good.

Ever since I wildcarded in GW7 I've been flying. Even that first under-the-average week I got more points than I otherwise would have. So it's probably been one of my more successful wildcards since I've been playing the game.

(click to enlarge)

The graph is looking much nicer too.

GW12..

Going forward I'm going to do De Bruyne to Mané for this week. I was thinking about captaining Mané as well, but given that Salah returned well yet again I think it's probably sensible to play it safe and go with him.

I'll be taking Mané straight back out to bring De Bruyne straight back in the week after too. Assuming nothing major comes up. So I really do have a bit of a switcheroo going on.

I'm also considering a second transfer this week. Meaning a potential minus 4. I'm thinking of going Kilman to Charlie Taylor. The Burnley fixtures look really nice, and with Cancelo not always guaranteed a game for Man City I like the idea of having some solid cover.

There are three factors to this equation though;

• How many games will Cancelo miss?
• Will Max Kilman return to the Wolves starting line-up?
• ..and will Newcastle's game against West Brom go ahead?

If the Newcastle game is cancelled and Wilson misses out then having more bench cover should definitely be worthwhile. However, if that goes ahead then it becomes more of a gamble. Especially when taking into consideration the possibility that Kilman (or indeed Struijk) may come off the bench for a single point. Which though miserly still nevertheless adds up.

In fact, this season I have a slightly different way of looking at points hits. Instead of viewing them as a single one-off 4 point hit I'm viewing them as a 1 point hit per week, over 4 weeks.

That way it puts things into perspective. 1 point a week is quite cheap and affordable. While at the same time it forces me to look at things over four gameweeks instead of just the one.

So will Charlie Taylor be worth 4 points over the next 4 weeks?

So far he's averaged around 2.8 points per game this season, and the next four fixtures look half-decent. (In fact, games five and six - home to Sheff United then Fulham - are very decent. So they're a potential huge bonus beyond this four week equation).

Even if Cancelo misses just one game and Taylor gets a two-pointer that'll still half my hit cost. So on face value I'm liking the look of it. Again though, what will Kilman do these next four weeks?

It's a tricky one.

Hopefully I'll have the answer by Friday.

Overall Points: 665

Overall Rank: 473,034

9 games, 1 transfer, 3 big hitters

I'm probably one of the least affected by the called-off Newcastle game. Many people have two or three players missing, but I just have Wilson. Who's absence I should be able to absorb quite easily.

With Robertson a slight doubt and Cancelo not guaranteed a start it could be a bit touch and go whether I get a full team out. However, it's nothing majorly concerning, and with Kilman on my bench (who's also not guaranteed a start - he came off the bench for a point last time out) I should hopefully just have about enough. A minus 4 to upgrade Struijk to someone more likely to feature certainly doesn't seem worth the points hit either way.

So it's just Son to De Bruyne.

Having Salah, Fernandes and De Bruyne looks very good. No doubt they'll all blank given the hype around them this week.

FPL: GW10 Review

Another good week. My third 70+ week in a row (..that's if I can cheekily count a 73 with a -4 as 70+).

Gameweek Points: 73 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 79,693

Overall Rank: 783,062

I'm finally back inside the top one million too.

Obviously the Mahrez hat-trick made a huge difference. With him only being about 2.5% owned it was a huge differential. So that was quite fortunate. The Wilson twelve pointer was nice too. Likewise the once again impressive Fernandes.

Aside from that though the rest of the team was somewhat subpar. So I think I have to put much of my rank climbing this week down to luck.

Going forward I'll be switching Son to de Bruyne as planned. So I'm liking the look of things this week.

Apparently Newcastle have a Covid crises going on at the moment. Meaning I'll have to keep an eye on that in regard Wilson. Though with Soucek off the bench I shouldn't require any transfer changes.

Hopefully I can keep my good run going.

Overall Points: 580

Overall Rank: 783,062