When is the best time to play your FPL Wildcard? Fantasy Premier League tips 2014/15
Every season there is always the panic and finger nail biting as fantasy managers ask that same old question – “When should I use my Wildcard”. We all have different views as to when to use it so here is a short guide as to six different options that might just be the difference in winning your Mini League or having the ignominy of a season wasted due to your poor wildcard decision. If you time your wildcard well it can be an opportunity to make huge strides with your side as your team climbs the league. Pressing that “Play wildcard” button can be a tense time, but if you plan it well you could reap the benefits.
Here are the six scenarios as to when you should consider using your wildcard, and why:
1. After Gameweek 1 – You’ve had an abysmal first gameweek; your fellow managers have had a great start and are not afraid about telling you, all of your selections look wrong, whilst everyone else has racked up the points. This is usually not a good idea, unless you have really taken a pasting, stand your ground. Your selections may not have paid off in week 1, but unless you have a situation where you don’t think you can start a complete eleven in GW2 due to injuries or players not starting, give your current team a longer chance. The boat’s sailed on this option already of course but assuming you managed to get past this stage then the next 5 options are your best bet to wildcard success in our view…
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2. After the Transfer Window Closes/During the International Break – This is the earliest time where we think there is a sound reason to play your wildcard. You’ve had a few gameweeks to manage your team and it’s not going in the direction you want it to. Between Gameweeks 3 and 4 there is a two week window between Premier League fixtures. It is also the period when the summer transfer window closes. Playing your wildcard here will allow you to take advantage of late player movement, sometimes a player who does not look worthy of investment at one club can turn into a bargain at their new club (see Gylfi Sigurdsson). With a two week period for transfers to be made it also creates a greater chance of earning team value by bringing in players who are rising in price as there is more transfer movement. A word of caution to those managers bringing in players that are involved in International duty, make sure they are not injured whilst away and confirm before GW4 commences.
Some managers plan this in advance – they set their team up for the first 3GWs with a view to wildcarding before GW4. Their view is that they have had time to view the trends and bandwagons and will strike to mould their squad to reflect this.
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3. Xmas and New Year – In December, the FPL schedule gets quite busy, resulting in occasions where clubs are playing three matches in seven or eight days. This period is when FPL managers will rotate their squads more frequently, making it difficult to put out a fantasy eleven where all your starting eleven are guaranteed 90 minutes. You could create a wildcard team geared toward this period of the season, bringing in players based on guaranteed game time. Now this could take advantage of the fixture list however we find this strategy a little too risky for its own good, due to weather and most notably rotation worries as many Premier League managers use this this time to make full use of their squad.
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4. Double Gameweeks – This is probably the most popular strategy in the FPL community. Without doubt there will be fixtures moved around because of cup commitments or bad weather. The FA Cup 6th round fixtures in March are always a popular time to wildcard. When the rescheduled fixtures are announced, this creates double gameweeks. You can build up a starting eleven playing 22 matches if you choose carefully and have a cracking points haul that can take your FPL team from mid table anonymity to potential champions.
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5. Double up with January Wildcard – While option 4 is the most popular with Fantasy Managers, if it can be done in January in conjunction with option 5 here then you can really hit the jackpot. We are all given a January wildcard to use during that month, this was designed to help managers whose squads were severely depleted by player movement in the January transfer window. You can organize the playing of both of your wildcards so that you can have a really strong team for the entire month. The only downside is it feels a bit of a waste if the first of your two wildcards still looks good when you plan to play your second.
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6. In an Emergency – Do what some managers do and just hold on to it until a disaster occurs. It could be gameweek 4, 12 or 36. Every FPL manager will face a crisis of some sort with their squad, players injured, suspended, dropped, players out of form. Well, here’s a chance to right that sinking ship and start again. It’s your ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card. Just make sure you use it wisely.
Well we hope this guide is of some use to you and may help you in maximizing your Wildcard.
So WC active for me… had a few players that were about to drop in price.
Currently looking:
Mannone
Wilson Wisdom Janmaat
Ramsey Di Maria Henderson Siggy
Costa Aguero Falcao
Green Duff King N.Taylor
0.1m itb
Yes it very top heavy, but what do you expect to get the 3 big guns in…
Think my midfield is quite strong, Henderson the weakest but should be good for a few points here and there. King is always there as a starter that could also score points… maybe haha
Defense is weak… but Janmaat, N.Taylor and Wilson being my main ones (all hard places to score at) and Duff and Wisdom are cheap defenders to rotate when needed.
Keepers I am not fully sold on, but what else can you get for 9m that rotates well?
Any suggestions?
I quite like this W/C team shep, tho why not Kurl, mannone ?
Plus sterling is a must for me, and would also swap rambo to cesc ,
Hi Bench,
Reason why not Krul is that I think Janmaat will out score him, so weighed that up in my choice. Dont want to double up in defenders.
Also I think Ramsey is still the best option for an arsenal cover. Cant bring Sterling in unless I sell Di Maria, then left with 6.9m to replace Henderson and there is not much options… But Henderson should do ok for a 4th midfielder… (still Liverpool coverage though)
Thanks Eddy. Nice work mate.
Even though many of my players have great fixtures I feel shite about my team. It will devalue rapidly this break. Next time I play WC, I can’t get anybody…
What should I do? Current team:
DDG – Gilks
Pieters – Chambers – Terry – Hutton – Dummet
Fabregas – Ramsey – Mata – Siggy – Albrighton
Rooney – Costa – Pelle
DDG, Terry, Mata, Albrighton and Rooney set to drop. DDG, Terry and Albrighton I’m not touching (yet). Should I however do something with Rooney (to Falcao) or Mata (to Sterling)? Or should I fix defense? I just have 1 FT. What would you do? If do not start fixing defense either Dummet has to play (Soton away), Chambers has to play versus City or Hutton will play Liverpool away. That’s just 1 player though, taking a hit for defense isn’t smart I think.
Mata to Sterling is my suggestion Raz.
Yeah, but how much longer can I wait? Not worried about my defense? I know I am. 😛
If only Dummie was a starter like he was in the first 2 games.
Yeah, you need to fix your defense, but that can wait til next GW. Who’s more likely to score you points, Sterling or a 4.5/4.0 defender?
I’ve would sort your defense out first then transfer out mata for sterling next GW – you never know Mata might score more than than 2 PTS – I’ve would keep Rooney for now & see how falcao does in the coming weeks !
Both Rooney and Mata will drop massively. If that goes on I can’t even afford Falcao no more, at the moment I can swap him right in for Rooney. I fear for Mata, he’s only really good as a 10.
I’m thinking along the same lines… though I’m off on holiday for 2 weeks so need to make my transfers now.
I’d keep WC but taking a small hit is probly ok… and you’re right… seems easier to lose value than gain it this year!
Get rid of Rooney & Mata… leave the defence a week… they’re only likely to get a couple of points anyway…. better returns up front, sort that out first.
@ Jeet
I like Mata and Rooney… but ffs… too much class those front 5: Di Maria, Mata, Rooney, RvP and Falcao (that’s like overload.
If United were a person, they’d look like this:
Hi guys. Can’t believe City let Negredo go without getting Falcao. Apparennly they “pulled out” of the deal. That’s bye bye to the PL title right there I think. Also, wtf is United gonna do with all those players? RvP, Rooney, Falcao, Di Maria, Mata… Will be interesting to see how they deal with it.
Personally I think one or two of them will have to be benched realistically.
So the question becomes, who will he bench?
The world class striker he just spent a fortune on? (Falcao)
The new club captain? (Rooney)
His record signing? (DiMaria)
Probably not…. which leaves Mata out in the cold, and Rvp isn’t fit…
England: Hart, Stones, Jones, Cahill, Baines, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Henderson, Sterling, Sturridge, & Rooney. Confirmed
With liverpool great fixtures coming up anyone thinking of bringing in Gerrard could be a good differential !
Thought about it, but with Sterling a must have IMO, bringing in SG would mean two pool mids. And at this stage I have Moreno, Sterling and Super Mario, so I would have to get rid of one of them to make space.