GW27: Top 100k just about visible now..

..thanks to another decent week.

Gameweek Points: 59

Gameweek Rank: 788,122

Overall Rank: 128,599

Bringing Son in paid off nicely. This was always potentially going to be a hard week for me, what with me not opting to use a chip to navigate it. So to get a green arrow is a huge bonus.

It's now a question of what I do for GW28. Bench Boost is a definite option, but it's a tough call. I'm currently leaning towards saving the bench boost until later, but I'll have a strong bench this week even if I use just my one free transfer. My bench as it stands will be Pope, Laporte, Bowen and Maupay. I'll be kicking myself if those players pick up a decent amount of points and I don't use it, but at the same time if Cancelo and/or Laporte get rotated it'll be equally annoying if I do hit the button.

With double-games there's less chance of players completely missing out through rotation, so using it in a week where Man City double is the most appealing course of action at the moment. So it might be best to wait. Either way I'll make my mind up about all this later in the week.

Overall Points: 1713

Overall Rank: 128,599

GW26: Lucky Season: Part Whatever

In the end I brought Salah in and triple-captained him. Had Jota remained fit it's quite likely I'd have just left things as is and went with Trent. So once again I've had a huge amount of luck. I'm not complaining :)

Gameweek Points: 146 (-4)

Gameweek Rank: 205,868

Overall Rank: 147,540

My rank's beginning to look a lot more healthy too. The top 100k now just about within reach.

Next up is GW27. This is how I'm looking:

Once again my original plan was to just leave things as is, and hope for the best. I'm half-planning on bench boosting in GW28, so saving a transfer would be very handy. However, with Spurs playing Leeds I think I'm going to have to do Salah to Son. Leeds are conceding so many I really can't go without.

I'll also probably captain him. I've been lucky enough with Pope, so I don't want to push it any further. In fact, I've had 47 points from my keepers since I wildcarded in GW22. So that's paid off very nicely.

GW22: Sánchez 4

GW23: Pope 19

GW24: Pope 3

GW25: Sánchez 8

GW26: Pope 13

Average: 9.4

Anyway, with so many people free hitting this week it could be a difficult one for me. Especially if I end up with less than 11 players on the pitch. In fact, this is the issue facing me in GW28 too. If I use that week's free to do Pogba to Coutinho (who has a double of Southampton and Leeds) then I'll be set up perfectly for a bench boost. However, with two of those players being Cancelo and Laporte there's always the very real danger of rotation. Making the bench boost somewhat redundant.

Ideally Laporte to a double gameweek player would give a little security, but would that really be worth a minus 4 ? Doubtful. So I might just hit the bench boost and hope it really is my lucky season.

There's still GW27 before then though. So I better check the team news, then get Son in my side.

Overall Points: 1654

Overall Rank: 147,540

GW25: Time To Gamble ??

Another good week, and another solid-looking green arrow.

Gameweek Points: 69

Gameweek Rank: 839,900

Overall Rank: 201,354

Ronaldo came good in the end, so that pulled me over the line; though Fernandes scoring late in injury time dampened his effect. I'd have happily taken that at the start of the week however.

Maupay and Pogba also outperformed Calvert-Lewin and the injured Gray too, which was nice. Meaning my transfers didn't backfire the way I feared they might.

No Salah.

I'm now pondering the unthinkable ..going without Salah.

My original plan was to bring him in for a minus 4, along with a double gameweek striker. Taking out Ronaldo and Jota.

I really like the look of this team just the way it is though:

Leeds are awful defensively, so I like the idea of having Pogba and Ronaldo - even though both could potentially not start. They could be big differentials. They also have Watford in blank GW27. So if I just leave things as is I can use two free transfers in GW28 to bring in Salah and take them both out then.

I also like the idea of bringing in Cornet for Jota in GW27 as a potential captain option.

It is Salah though, and going without him in this gameweek of all weeks is a massive, massive gamble.

It could destroy my season.

Overall Points: 1512

Overall Rank: 201,354

GW24 Review: Steady As She Goes

Decent week, no complaints.

Gameweek Points: 72

Gameweek Rank: 1,358,480

Overall Rank: 229,131

The safety captaincy of Cancelo sort of paid off and sort of didn't. Personally I was quite pleased - it seemed sensible to take the almost guaranteed clean sheet, so it felt vindicated in a way. However, I can't really claim victory when both Jota and Bowen outscored him.

It was good to get captain points either way though.

I'm now fully focused on the weeks ahead. Especially so this week ..and I'm just about to make my transfers. I should really wait until the morning, but that would mean setting my alarm clock, so I'll just hit fire now.

I'm bringing in Pogba and Maupay for Gray and Calvert-Lewin. I don't feel great taking Calvert-Lewin out before Leeds, bit it's the only way I can free up the cash to get Pogba. Plus, ideally I'd rather not have Everton players in place by GW27 as they face City - conversely Maupay and Pogba will have decent fixtures that week.

It does mean I'll be forced into a minus 4 next gameweek when I get Salah back however (I'll be downgrading Ronaldo to Weghorst most likely). Hopefully all these extra games I'm getting will win that back though.

Overall Points: 1443

Overall Rank: 229,131

GW23 Review: Finally Over

Wow, that gameweek dragged ..and I had a decent week. I can't imagine what it must have been like for most other people.

Gameweek Points: 46

Gameweek Rank: 1,140,686

Overall Rank: 239,637

Obviously I'm feeling really smug because I brought Pope in on last week's wildcard. 19 points was extremely lucky, I would've been over the moon had I got just 8 or 9 from the two games. So I can't claim too much credit. Though saying that, had Konsa not been flagged I would've switched Emerson Royal to Digne and hit the bench boost - that would've grabbed me another 25 points. So in a way the luck equalled out.

I feel the wildcard in GW22 was a good move, and the bench boost plan; though it didn't quite come to pass (especially with the Villa double failing to materialise), was a fairly solid idea.

It's set me up fairly solid going forward too. I now have Sanchez in goal for Brighton's double in GW25. Another 19 points isn't likely, but the extra game is a nice little bonus.

My plans..

As things currently stand I've got a fairly good view of what I'm going to do going forward (though as ever: things are subject to change).

GW24: Bring in Laporte for Emerson Royal; captain Cancelo.

GW25: Bring in Maupay for Dennis; captain Ronaldo.

GW26: Bring back Dennis (or some other forward with a GW26 double) along with Salah, taking out Jota and Ronaldo. Triple captain Salah.

GW27: Salah to Fernandes. No Free Hit - I should have 12 players fingers-crossed.

GW28: Salah back.

GW29: (no idea).

GW30: Free Hit.

No doubt further announcements about rearranged fixtures will jazz all this up a bit. However, even so, I think I'm happy just to roll with things now. You can't have the perfect team every week. Hopefully I should have a fairly decent double GW26 team - three Liverpool players with doubles, along with Pope, Dennis (?) and Raphinha. So that's fairly settled.

Likewise I'll almost certainly be free hitting in GW30. So that makes planning a little more easier too.

Lord knows when I'll actually use the bench boost though.

Overall Points: 1371

Overall Rank: 239,637

GW22 Review ..not a spectacular score, but fairly pleased

GW22 turned out okay, and it was only really the Kane/Ronaldo captaincy swing that stopped it from being a great week (I was never going to go with Fernandes on the wildcard).

Gameweek Points: 56

Gameweek Rank: 3,210,427

Overall Rank: 289,849

Other than the points tally I'm fairly pleased with the wildcard overall. My team's looking in much better shape than it was. I decided to do Jota and Ronaldo to Salah (plus an Antonio-bracket striker) for my Salah plan in the end, so that's why van Dijk came in. I think that makes it a bit easier to get my three Liverpool players going forward.

Also, we've just had double GW23 announced. Meaning we now have the extra fixture of Burnley vs Watford in the mix.

Bench Boost Abandoned

The fact that it's Watford and not Villa means I've had to cancel my bench boost plans. Though with Konsa picking up a knock that was already in doubt anyway. Had he remained nailed-on to start I'd have just switched Emerson Royal to Digne and then hit the button. However, the yellow flag meant a minus 4 may have been in order - and a minus 4 to bring in Matty Cash wasn't particularly appetising. Especially after wildcarding.

It's all moot now anyway though, and fortunately with both Pope and Dennis in my squad I'm set up fairly well for this turn of events.

With my free transfer I think I'll just do Emerson Royal to Dias. I like the City double-up at the back with the forthcoming fixtures. There's the temptation to bring in another double-game player of course, but the options aren't electric. In fact, when I was anticipating the potential doubles last night I'd already decided that a minus 4 for Dias would probably be better than one for Cash long term.

The bench boost does give me a headache going forward though. I guess it's nice to have, but it's going to be so hard to fit it in. One of the problems with it is that you have to have a fairly nailed-on first eleven to use it. Otherwise your bench options come in anyway. So with City players in your starting eleven it's always going to be a gamble in a single gameweek - that's actually partly why I removed Dias last week; to avoid the bench boost risk this week. Thankfully it was last week he missed though, so I got the benefit.

I'll now have to keep my eyes peeled for another bench boost scenario over the coming weeks and months.

[Update: I'm having doubts about Dias, so I may just roll the free.]

Overall Points: 1325

Overall Rank: 289,849

GW21 Review - GW22/23 MASTERPLAN

Behold, I have a plan. It may not work, but it is a plan.

Firstly I'll quickly cover GW21. It still hasn't finished yet, so I'll update the points and rank retrospectively once it has - I'm currently on 44 points, with just Bowen (as captain) to play his second game.

It's a little bit frustrating that the Everton game has been cancelled, as it means I'll only get 1 point from Pickford. I didn't have huge expectation for his double, but I was hoping for at least a little more than that lol. Still it could've been much worse. Some people brought in two or three Everton players, so I can't complain too much about the week overall.

Gameweek Points: 76

Gameweek Rank: 702,792

Overall Rank: 274,048

Anyway, on to my plan. I'm Wildcarding this week - in fact, I've already hit it. Then next week I'm planning on Bench Boosting. With Villa now being out of the FA Cup they should (hopefully) have a double gameweek in GW23. So I'm filling my bench with cheap Villa options (and cheap options from whoever their opponents will be - Leeds or Burnley).

I have a few problems though. Firstly, this double hasn't been announced yet, and may not even happen. Secondly, I'm working on Friday when the deadline occurs, so I'll have to finalise my wildcard on Friday morning and hope I don't miss any salient information.

If all goes well I'll then bring Salah in when he returns from the African Cup - removing either Kane or Ronaldo. Then I'll be all settled for the final run in, with two Free Hits in the holster to deal with any big blank or doubles that crop up.

One of the things I like about using the wildcard now is that it basically means I get three free hits. With this set of doubles being so poor I can get the team I would've picked anyway had I used a free hit, and I can keep the core players I want going forward - Cancelo, TAA, Jota, Bowen.

If I used a free hit I'd probably drop Cancelo, but I'd still keep those other single gameweek players. So my free hit team would be more or less identical to the one I'll be going with. With the wildcard I can also plan for the bench boost too though. So I'm getting a double use from it.

Obviously there's always the danger that both the wildcard and the bench boost will be more useful later in the season, especially given all the Covid cancellations we're seeing. However, I really like the look of this opportunity. I feel like it's the moment to pounce. Plus I fear the bench boost will be a huge headache if I leave it until further down the line.

This is how I'm currently looking at the moment:

There's still a lot of tweaking to do. Especially with the bench and keepers. Also, I'll probably take out Alonso, mainly as Chelsea have blanks coming up.

If Burnley get a double in GW23 then I like the idea of brining in Pope and maybe another Burnley defender, as I'll effectively get a double-double. There are still a lot of ifs and maybes though. So if things don't pan out how I'm hoping I have no idea what I'll do.

Overall Points: 1269

Overall Rank: 274,048