I haven't done this for a while. Nice new Premier League season. It's came around very quickly thanks to the general insanity in the world. I deliberately didn't post during the short break just to keep it fresh. I think it's good to take it easy. Over the last few weeks I've been quietly putting my team together though.
So here we are... (I'll go through each of my picks below).
(£4m still in the bank o_O)
Three Liverpool Defenders
I'll start by explaining why I'm going with the zombie Liverpool back line. I actually made this decision long before the fixtures were announced. The fact that City and United don't play this week did make me rethink this plan briefly (I did have Salah in there at one point). However, I'm sticking to my guns.
My thinking goes like this. If we take the last few seasons there are simply no defenders that come anywhere near the three Liverpool guys. So if I take them out I get lesser quality. Whereas in midfield there are plenty of players from other clubs that can compete with Salah and Mané. We have De Bruyne, Sterling, Aubameyang, Fernandes. Potentially a few of the Chelsea midfielders. So they can be replaced. This is partly why I still have so much cash in the bank. I need to be able to upgrade Son to De Bruyne or Sterling. I want to be in a position where I can double up on Man City. Or at least have one big City player, plus Aubameyang or Fernandes.
The major downside with this plan of course is that it means you don't have the option of captaining Salah. However, personally I'm always quite happy to captain TAA for decent Liverpool games. As I did quite often last season. His ceiling's generally lower, but he tends to be more consistent. So it's something I'm quite comfortable with. I have him captain this week even, which may look quite odd to many people. However, with Arsenal and Liverpool both playing newly promoted sides I don't feel especially confident about either fixture.
Often new sides give it a bit extra on the opening day. What with the hype and excitement. So it can be hard to predict how things will unfold. Trent has more ways of returning, so if it's tight there's at least the potential for a clean sheet too. I'll happily take a single return tomorrow. It could backfire badly of course if Salah or Aubameyang go wild, but I'm trusting my gut and playing it low key.
..and now the rest
So that's the general plan for the season. Three Liverpool defenders, two big midfield hitters, hope for the best with the rest. In fact, the team name I've went with, (does man goal), reflects my attitude towards the others. I'm trying to remind myself to pick players with actual attacking potential, rather than just place holders, which is something I've been guilty of in the past.
"He's a good player"
"..yeh, but does man goal??"
"He plays 90 minutes every week"
"..yeh, but does man goal??"
"He's only 4.5m!"
"..yeh, but does man goal??"
That's my inner monologue at the moment, so hopefully everyone in my team at least has some potential for returns.
McCarthy
Obviously this doesn't quite apply to the keeper. I've just went with the cheapest to save money (something I don't often do. Perhaps I've finally learnt my lesson with keepers).
Saint-Maximin
I'm not especially confident with this one. He's been injury prone, plus it's Newcastle. He's definitely capable though, and the price is decent, so he fits the bill nicely.
Traoré
Traoré doesn't seem especially popular at the moment in fpl, but he's in my team. I like the Wolves fixtures, I don't even mind the first two (Sheff Utd and City). There's talk that he may play as a wing back this weekend. It's not ideal, but I think if he's on the pitch there's always a chance of him doing something.
Against City his pace will be needed, so it could be one of them where it's him and Jiménez working on the counter. So it might not be as bad as it looks on paper. Especially if City are a bit rusty. Plus, with cash in the bank I can always switch him to a United or Chelsea midfielder going forward.
Son
As I mentioned earlier, Son is just keeping a spot warm for Sterling/De Bruyne. He has good games though and I'm always happy to have him in my side. He's literally one of my favourite players. I don't have much faith in Mourinho, which is the problem however, so my expectations aren't too high.
Mitrović
This feels like quite an easy pick. He's scored in the prem before. He's the Fulham talisman. The fixtures aren't too bad, he's cheap, and he can easily be switched out if he isn't performing.
Werner
This is my sensible pick. If I was simply choosing a side based on my own judgement I'd probably go for Jiménez (someone who's more tried and tested) and pocket the £1m. Normally I would never spend this much money on a player that's new to the Premier League. However, everyone seems to own Werner. So I'm going to copy, just this once, so I don't get left behind if he does come raring into the league.
In fact, normally in fpl I start the season badly then tend to catch up in the second half. At the end of last season I was thinking that perhaps I should start this year with the template. Just to be safe. Then only start playing my own game later on, when I have a better handle on all the options. That went out the window though when I resolved to triple up on Liverpool defence, so it's do or die right from the off once again 😅
Bamford
Finally in my starting eleven we have Patrick Bamford. This is the one I've really struggled with. We used to have Bamford at Middlesbrough, so I've watched him a lot, and I really rate him. I think he's a very intelligent player and his movement off the ball is excellent. He's been in the prem before, but he's never been given a real chance in my opinion.
Whenever he's played in the Championship he's always scored goals and looked a very good player. Leeds fans have been on his back for missing chances, and to be fair I didn't watch too much of him last season so I'm probably not best placed to judge, but I can't help but feel like his critics are a tad unfair. He can't have been that bad if they smashed the league.
Also Rodrigo has now arrived, so it's possible that he'll lose his place in the team too. Therefore having him in is a very risky pick. It might very much be a case of heart over head for me with this one, which could haunt me. However, what's the point in playing if you can't pick your favourite players, and I do rate him very highly.
This time last year I started with Joelinton (!), who I'd never even seen play before, thinking I could get a cheap, nailed-on striker who would nab me a few goals. Which was a costly mistake. At least this time I've actually watched the cheap striker I'm choosing. I'm definitely not feeling confident with it though.
At various points over the last few days this slot in my team has been filled by Ayew - a nice safe, temporary option - and Wilson, who I'm actually quite excited about, and wouldn't mind taking a gamble on. Newcastle now have some real attacking options, and if Shelvey plays I think they could be quite expansive and good to watch. I'm not too keen on going with two Newcastle players though without watching them once or twice first.
So Bamford it is. If he destroys my three Liverpool clean sheets I will not mind at all. If Rodrigo does it I might be crying though 😢😢😢
My Bench
My bench doesn't need much explaining. It's just cheap. I could potentially tinker with it a bit tomorrow, but I think it's set. Other than that let's just get on with the gameweek :)
