GW34: On the slide

Another bad week. I'm really beginning to fear for my top 100k finish. I was starting to look up towards the top 50k, or perhaps even higher !, but I think that was a little premature. The battle is now on for respectability.

Gameweek Points: 49 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 5,006,527

Overall Rank: 72,424

It's quite fitting really. I need a top 100k finish so I can have a good barometer to measure next season against. I'm doing gamemonths instead of gameweeks next season (I'll explain this more fully in coming posts).

My record so far in fpl is respectable and consistent, if not spectacular. So I'll take the average of my five season history (which includes this season) and use that to see how much I drop off next season. If I even do - who knows, perhaps I'll even do better.

I don't think there's too much to say about this gameweek. It was quite dull and disappointing. A disappointment that was compounded by the fact that my "coin toss" decisions didn't work out. With both Pope and Konsa comfortably outscoring Sanchez and Luiz. It would've been a good week to bench boost, though in hindsight choosing Sanchez over Pope feels like a rookie mistake.

GW35

Going forward I'm thinking of just rolling a transfer. Saka is flagged, but with it just being a knock I'm happy to leave him in there. We'll see if there's any team news tomorrow that changes that.

In fact, I'm currently thinking I could roll a transfer next week too, in spite of the doubles. I think I should be set up fairly well for that one, so I might just keep things simple. I also really like the idea of having two free transfers for the final gameweek. Though I think it really is optimistic to think I could hold a transfer through two double gameweeks.

Overall Points: 2226

Overall Rank: 72,424

GW33: Not Great, But Another Green Arrow

Not quite as late this week too. I'm managing to post in the early hours of Friday night/Saturday morning, before the GW34 deadline.

Gameweek Points: 76

Gameweek Rank: 2,086,774

Overall Rank: 55,085

My GW33 free hit was a little disappointing. I totally got the captaincy wrong. My instinct said Salah, so I should've really stuck with that. I was too tempted by the double gameweek glory though. In fact, what finally swung me was seeing the "expected points". I saw a tweet with Fernandes top, followed by Ronaldo, then Maddison. At that point I'd already switched the captaincy to Ronaldo, but seeing that - along with the knowledge that Fernandes was more likely to get both starts - made me think:

"Damn, I better go with the robot."

So I flipped things round, brought in Che Adams (which clearly didn't work out), and brought in Fernandes (originally I had Cornet in that slot).

Had I have stuck with Ronaldo I'd have had a great week. However, that would've been fairly lucky, as I wasn't feeling that pick either. Again, I should've stuck with my instinct and went with Salah.

Saying all this, it wasn't all bad, and I did get another green arrow, albeit a small one. The Newcastle clean sheet really saving me in the end.

GW34

Moving on to GW34 I've took a minus 4:

Son has became Salah

Calvert-Lewin has became Werner

I'm not happy about taking a hit, however, with Calvert-Lewin injured and Chelsea having a double it makes sense.

Also I'm starting Douglas Luiz. It's a coin toss between him, Konsa and Maupay. I'm guessing Maupay is now out of favour, and I can see Leicester scoring, so I'm hoping this is the week Luiz can chip in with a goal or an assist. I'm expecting two points, but it's a nice little differential to add to the weekend's excitement.

It was also a coin toss between Sanchez and Pope too. I've gone Sanchez. Mainly because I fancy Brighton to have the slightly better prospect of a clean sheet

And this time I will be captaining Salah.

Overall Points: 2181

Overall Rank: 55,085

GW32 - Always Late

I'm always falling behind with these blog posts. I can't remember how many times I've been reviewing one gameweek after the next one's already started. GW32 seems ages ago, especially now I have my last free hit active in GW33. Anyway..

Gameweek Points: 73

Gameweek Rank: 816,654

Overall Rank: 57,899

I had Son captain - so that was my huge bit of fortune, and propelled me up another 10k or so. Other than that it was a little flat, showing how massive the captaincy is when you get it right.

This week I've been endlessly tinkering with my free hit. I ended up going like this: with Fernandes captain.

I quite like the set up, though I'm not especially confident about the Fernandes captain pick. My instinct said to go with Salah, but the double gameweek pull overrode that. I'm also a little worried that going without Trent Alexander-Arnold could punish me. In fact, I had to remove Trent to get Fernandes, so if Trent hauls and Fernandes does very little it'll be doubly frustrating.

A goal from United in that Liverpool tie would be very useful for me.

GW34

As for GW34 I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to have to lose Son to bring in Salah. I've been racking my brain trying to find a way to keep Son, but there's no route that makes sense, so I've just had to reduce it to who I need more. I think Salah is a must own for this final run in, so he gets the nod.

Though saying that, I've just had a little play around with my team (the game has literally just updated) - I had a little more money in my bank than I thought !. So it's possible to get Salah without losing Son (just about) with a minus 4. So now I'm not too sure. Surely I'll keep Son, but it would mean downgrading either Coutinho or Calvert-Lewin to a non-playing bench option. Decisions.

Overall Points: 2105

Overall Rank: 57,899

GW31 - Gamble Pays Off

I went without Salah ..and it paid off.

Gameweek Points: 59

Gameweek Rank: 1,058,253

Overall Rank: 68,349

Son came good as captain, so things worked out really well. The Maupay penalty miss was a bit disappointing, but I really can't have too many complaints.

I'm now waiting to bring in Reece James for van Dijk for GW32; before free hitting in GW33. I'll then finally get Salah back in GW34.

Overall Points: 2032

Overall Rank: 68,349