FPL Investments

If you want growth you need investment. A calculated loan on the back of future earnings, to invest in improvements that will add value over time, and grow that future income. Here at fplzebub we're all about widening our pool of talent and upgrading our infrastructure. To take the necessary steps to ensure we don't just compete, but stay ahead of our rivals. Hence today we're announcing a MINUS 4 to sign Ollie Watkins, ahead of the big Christmas period.

(We'd also like to welcome to the team Josh Brownhill.)

The Story So Far..

Before we get to that though, let's take a look at past earnings.

GW13: A slightly sullen 45 points

(avg. 46)

GW14: Exceeding analyst expectations,

80 points (avg. 54)

GW15: Once again outperforming the

market, 43 points (avg. 35)

These impressive results over the last quarter (sorry, I'll knock the market speak on the head now) have resulted in a huge uptick in rank. I'm currently sat at 126k, which I'm very pleased with.

The flags, along with the blank of GW18, have presented me with a bit of a dilemma though. I always begrudge wasting points on transfers. It usually feels so profligate. However, this time I feel it's worthwhile in order to keep on top of things.

Obviously I needed to transfer out the injured Mbeumo. I also wanted to bring in Watkins though, especially for the blank. Originally I was planning to just downgrade Mbeumo this week, then make the move for Watkins after the Arsenal game. (Or even wait until next week to make both transfers - I would've been more than happy to play Archer this week.) Then the news of Son's injury appeared.

On top of this I have just the right amount of money in the bank to do Archer & Mbeumo to Brownhill & Watkins. So I'm sailing a little close to the wind on point-ones. Emptying the bank completely would likewise make it impossible to transfer out Al-Dakhil, should I need to. Who's now dropped down to 3.9m ..annoyingly.

Blank GW18

I want to keep hold of both Alvarez and Haaland, so after using those initial two transfers for Waktins and Brownhill I would've been left with just one transfer to muddle through GW18. With the other bench spot being taken up by the now non-playing Al-Dakhil.

A minus 4 this week really helps to smooth things over though.

Ollie Watkins is in place. Brownhill is a handy playing bench option (if Son does miss out this week), with half-decent fixtures, who can play in GW18. Plus, I now have two more transfers before then to fix issues. If Son is fine it'll be a case of downgrading a keeper to Dubravka and upgrading Al-Dakhil, getting me a bit of bench coverage. If not (or if other issues appear) I've got some leeway to navigate things (hopefully).

Son to Saka would be a pretty straightforward move, so in some ways Son going would remove another potential source of damage.

I've been a little lucky these last few weeks. I am going very much with my instincts now though, so it feels like we're in the slipstream. Skating or surfing along the wave of the season. With a bit more luck things will continue like this.

How it's currently looking.

Oh, and as one final aside. I'm really enjoying owning the Burnley and Luton keepers. That single clean sheet I got from Trafford, plus the odd save points I've been picking up, mean I've actually ended up better off than I would've been with Areola. Albeit only slightly.

Obviously, on paper it looks a complete waste of money, and were it not for the bench boost earlier I certainly wouldn't have had either. In fact, the plan was always to downgrade at least one the moment a free transfer became available. It's worked out quite differently however, and it's added a little bit of variance. A fun little differential I get to watch each week. Both teams are looking a tiny bit more competitive in the league too.