I’m back, and I’m super happy.
FPL can leave you feeling awful sometimes, but that just makes the happier times all the more sweet.
I finished gameweek 29 on 146 points (-4), with a gameweek rank of 31,488 and a rank rise of 162k (47%), up to 182k – the highest rank of my season so far. I grabbed 24 points from my bench boost of De Gea and single gameweekers. More importantly, I’m now tying with Ross McCulloch’s Saka Potatoes in the Full 90 Football Public League. Join here:
https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/l5cp5z (code: l5cp5z).
It was a monster gameweek that is sure to be followed by terrible disappointment, BUT! For now, I’ll just enjoy it.
Manager Movement
Manager moves are crazy this year. In the last two weeks:
- Conte is out, with Christian Stellini in charge at Spurs as caretaker manager.
- Brendan Rodgers was fired from Leicester, to be replaced by two people I have never heard of on an interim basis.
- Graham Potter was fired by Chelsea, with Frank Lampard now replacing him (LOL!) until the end of the season.
- Patrick Viera is replaced by Roy Hodgson to the end of the season.
Do we even take this into account in FPL?
Personally, I think the right thing to do is wait-and-see how it affects assets. I’m not saying you need to ditch players you own from these teams, but I wouldn’t be bringing them in until I see at least a game.
The Haaland Dilemma
.@ErlingHaaland is back! 👀 pic.twitter.com/BrRDMtB7fC
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 5, 2023
Many of us transferred Haaland out, either last week or on wildcards. I was one of the fortunate few that saw the gossip about his injury status before the deadline and I brought in Watkins for a huge 13 point swing.
Now we know he is back in training. So, bring him back in right?
Well… It’s not that simple…
I know I want him back at some point, but Man City have 7 fixtures in 22 days. That’s a game every three days (ish). Two of the games are Champions League quarter finals against Bayern Munich, and one is an FA Cup Semi-Final against Sheffield United.
I fear the bald fraud.
That’s Pep’s best shocked Pikachu face.
He loves to rotate. Haaland has so far proved to be the exception, probably because of the reliance on his goals. But, prior to joining City we knew he was injury prone and we all feared he wouldn’t be able to cope with the demands of an English schedule.
I still think Haaland plays in all of these games. But, I also wouldn’t be surprised this weekend to see him make a 30 minute cameo from the bench; which, in a way, is worse. My bench is looking pretty solid after a bench boost, so I can cope with him not playing. But if he comes off the bench and gets a one pointer I will be angry.
On the other hand, this man can score a hat-trick in 30 mins against Southampton. And, what’s hard about bringing in the best FPL asset in the game!? Well, since the World Cup, he hasn’t actually been the best…
Top 15 Players in the Last 13 Weeks:
| Player | Team | Cost | Starts | Mins | Points |
| Rashford | MUN | 7.3 | 13 | 1175 | 106 |
| Saka | ARS | 8.6 | 14 | 1265 | 95 |
| Kane | TOT | 11.8 | 14 | 1260 | 87 |
| Mitoma | BHA | 5.5 | 13 | 1123 | 87 |
| Watkins | AVL | 7.5 | 14 | 1137 | 86 |
| Martinelli | ARS | 6.6 | 14 | 1166 | 85 |
| March | BHA | 5.1 | 13 | 1108 | 83 |
| Odegaard | ARS | 6.9 | 15 | 1316 | 82 |
| Haaland | MCI | 12.0 | 13 | 1074 | 80 |
| Salah | LIV | 12.8 | 13 | 1178 | 79 |
| Fernandes | MUN | 9.6 | 14 | 1256 | 75 |
| Toney | BRE | 7.9 | 13 | 1158 | 73 |
| Trippier | NEW | 6.1 | 13 | 1137 | 72 |
| Kepa | CHE | 4.7 | 15 | 1350 | 67 |
| Jensen | BRE | 4.8 | 14 | 1080 | 67 |
Haaland is 6th best in terms of minutes per point, but has the lowest minutes of any of the players.
Instead of him, I could switch Maddison to Salah which is an upgrade, and Salah is equally good an asset to Haaland according to this table. He also has no ongoing risk of rotation, as Liverpool are out of all other competitions. Whereas Haaland is not much of an upgrade on Toney right now…
The Maddison to Salah move is hardly ideal this week with Maddo at home to Bournemouth and Salah at home to Arsenal. but it’s on my mind. I want Salah for his double in 34 and even with Arsenal this week, Liverpool have the best fixtures to the end of the season. Besides, I can always move Kane to Haaland later…
No decisions have been made yet. I might just roll a transfer this week. I frequently do when I can’t decide what to do, but I just want to set out the facts.
There’s No Good Defenders!
Only one defender makes my top 15, listed above, since the restart. Here are the top 15 defenders for you:
| Name | Team | Cost | Starts | Mins | Points |
| Trippier | NEW | 6.1 | 13 | 1137 | 72 |
| Shaw | MUN | 5.2 | 14 | 1183 | 65 |
| White | ARS | 4.7 | 13 | 1093 | 63 |
| Estupiñán | BHA | 4.8 | 13 | 1113 | 62 |
| Mings | AVL | 4.3 | 13 | 1170 | 60 |
| Pinnock | BRE | 4.4 | 14 | 1260 | 58 |
| Ream | FUL | 4.6 | 13 | 1170 | 58 |
| Alexander-Arnold | LIV | 7.3 | 12 | 1034 | 56 |
| Gabriel | ARS | 5.2 | 15 | 1345 | 54 |
| Zinchenko | ARS | 5.2 | 14 | 1184 | 54 |
| Mee | BRE | 5.1 | 14 | 1260 | 53 |
| Robertson | LIV | 6.8 | 11 | 1005 | 50 |
| Schär | NEW | 5.0 | 12 | 1080 | 50 |
| Burn | NEW | 4.5 | 13 | 1159 | 49 |
| Emerson Royal | TOT | 4.9 | 5 | 514 | 49 |
| van Dijk | LIV | 6.5 | 9 | 765 | 49 |
| Veltman | BHA | 4.6 | 9 | 935 | 49 |
(It’s actually 17 defenders as 4 all score the same at the bottom)
Firstly, how the hell is Emerson Royal up there?
Secondly, if Luke Shaw is injured I think we are back to just buying shit and rotating them. That’s why Tyrone Mings is on my mind. He is only 4.3 and I have bad defensive matchups this week for at least one of my three starters. Trouble is, I’d only consider playing him in 3 of the next 9 game weeks. And, that doesn’t feel like a good use of a transfer.
Botman narrowly misses out on this list as does Veltman and Dunk. Of course, most of us are already tripled up on Brighton. So, maybe Botman is a better shout, particularly as Newcastle will double again (probably in gameweek 36). They are also a truly excellent defence. I just don’t love the matchup this week away to Brentford.
The Fixture Ticker
The classic:
| 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | |
| Liverpool | ARS | lee | NFO | whu | TOT/FUL |
| Fulham | WHU | eve | LEE | avl | MCI/liv |
| Palace | lee | sou | EVE | wol | WHU |
| Newcastle | bre | avl | TOT | eve | SOU |
| Bournemouth | lei | tot | WHU | sou | LEE |
Without gameweek 32 for free hitters:
| 30 | 31 | 33 | 34 | 35 | |
| Man U | EVE | nfo | tot | AVL/bha | whu |
| Man City | sou | LEI | ARS | ful/WHU | LEE |
| Liverpool | ARS | lee | whu | TOT/FUL | BRE |
| Fulham | WHU | eve | avl | MCI/liv | LEI |
| Brighton | tot | che | nfo | WOL/MUN | EVE |
So, if you don’t plan on free hitting in 32 then you should look to Liverpool and Newcastle assets. The rest of the teams are crap or have nobody.
If you are planning on free hitting, then United are best and Brighton has a plethora of options. I don’t think anyone is nailed in the City squad – even Haaland is causing problems (see above). Liverpool remain a good option, and Fulham remain a bad one.
Should I Buy?
As usual, wait for news, but here are my thoughts as of Friday:
Watkins – fixtures okay, in great form. Sure.
Grealish – excellent fixtures, best form of his City life, but I’m still nervy about his minutes – your call.
White/Gabriel – No. Not before Liverpool. Arsenal look like they won’t keep cleans at the minute. All White’s attacking returns are lucky. Worst fixtures in the league.
Jesus – It’s nice to have him back to add another element of chaos. I love him but hate his fixtures…
De Bruyne – No. Get Salah or Haaland if you’re spending this money.
Mings – see above
Mitoma/March/MacAllister – All good, like March the least.
Rashford – why don’t you own him already?
Schar/Botman/Burn – Botman my fave because of his price. Like them all.
Toney – No. Don’t love fixtures.
Wilson/Isak – No, rotation risks.
Should I Sell?
With the same caveat about waiting for news, here are my current thoughts:
Saliba – Yes. Injured.
Almiron – why do you still have him?
Haaland – I would hold if I had him. Doesn’t feel like it’s worth a transfer.
Toney – don’t mind it.
Shaw – if he’s confirmed out, then yes.
Mitrovic – obviously, yes. 8 match ban!
Havertz – Yes. He’s dreadful.
Salah – why?
Fernandes – Yeah, I can see why you would. Still, two returns in five games isn’t bad and they play Everton. It’s just that without Casemiro this United squad seems a bit crap.
Maddison – Again, I can see why you want to. But he plays Bournemouth this week. Hold for one week then sell.
Trent/Robbo – Yes if it enables another move, no if it is a straight swap to another crap defender. These guys have high ceilings and great fixtures.
Joao Felix – Yes, he’s also dreadful.
Saka/Odegaard/Martinelli – bad fixtures but still some of the best assets in the game. I see a good reason to get rid of one or two but they play an awful Liverpool defence this week and they are great players.
Captaincy Corner
I think Rashford is the default option this week, unless we hear that Haaland will start/play 90 (which we won’t).
Kane is reliable but not explosive. Mitoma also an interesting option, as are the Arsenal lads.
My Team, My Moves
I think I’m holding this week.
I will bring in Shaw if he is fit and/or Haaland if I hear positive things but I doubt either will come true.
