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