FPL Ramblings
Welcome to FPL Ramblings: Here we go again, another game-week and another ramble. Don’t worry though this is unlikely to become a weekly edition, as I am unreliable as heck. There were a couple of things that struck me this GW, probably none that are relevant to what you care about. I noticed that Lloris is not very coordinated when it comes to heading. That Sterling does run like Velma (Scooby-doo character) as someone pointed out on twitter. Liverpool mids take turns trolling us, that Alexis was obviously going down the middle Panenka style. That KdB is interesting, considering their fixtures and Jesus is worth getting excited about until you reach the FPL site. Oh and Costa…sorry, the words I have for him would get edited out, so I won’t bother. That edited out part also goes for West Brom defenders, as I personally own Foster and I am sick and tired of Brunt and McAuley. So let’s commence with a lot of randomness and virtually no help for your team at all.
Lloris is my favourite epl keeper. That however doesn’t make him immune to ridicule. What was that vs City? Look everyone has an off performance, it happens. But if you told me before the game someone was going to look like a clown playing keeper in this game, there was only one real candidate, Bravo. As egregious as the dropped ball was that led to the KdB goal, it was the other mistake that left me rolling in laughter. I seen videos of Ronaldo heading a cross in the dark (which is remarkable) so heading a ball in daylight for a professional should be simple enough, assuming it is not too high or something. Maybe he is good friends with Pep? No matter what went on though, one good look at the fixtures says trust in Lloris, even if he can’t head a ball.
Sterling is such a promising player, but he runs a bit weird. I have been thinking this is for a couple of seasons now. Unfortunately, neither of those things have changed. He is still 22 though so he can still improve on his game in particular his end product. He puts himself in great positions, he should be FPL gold. Maybe that will improve, but it hasn’t yet and despite his youth it might be something he never gets right. His running form definitely has no shot of improving, that will be with him until he is done. Guess in the end I should not criticise him that much considering that he is very fast. He gets where he needs to go really quick and then forgets he is good at football when he gets there.
Michail Antonio was in this article last week and he made it again. As I mentioned last week, if you have him just take the good with the bad. He might start up top, or on the left or on the right or etc, etc… Does it matter? You know one thing with this bloke. He is goal hungry and he will figure out a way to get opportunities. If you lined this guy at keeper he would still get a shot on goal even if that meant scoring on his own team. Manuel Lanzini might be a big beneficiary of the Payet situation. He should be asked to do more and he is certainly talented enough to do it. His returns along with Antonio merit attention and if their fixtures were a bit better, I be all over them, well one of them and not in a dirty way. Big Andy Carroll also deserves a mention, yep, that was it.
Liverpool midfielders are a bunch of trolls. Look if you are going to be switching around between Lallana, Coutinho, Firmino and Mane you will go insane. Sure, Bobby looks like the guy right now, he just scored a brace and he is back up top. Right until the moment Coutinho shows off and drops a double digit haul and Firmino blanks. Then Mane comes back and he looks like he is unstoppable. Not to be outdone the cheaper Lallana will likely surface again and when he starts chipping in with goals (which he should have had vs Swansea) or assists he becomes the man to have. STOP!! letting these fools troll you. Pick one and stop jumping around LFC partners. Enter into a monogamous relationship with one of them and stop being such a cheat. Well either that or just go flirt with Spurs mids, those are the marrying type.
KdB rides again. Sure his goal was a gift this past GW. It was still deserved considering his output. Personally I think de Bruyne is the best player at City. Now, now, I know some will protest and wonder how could I overlook Bravo or Stones. Trust me, I didn’t and for that matter Kun. This guy is the engine that drives this team. When he is right, City is right. Well from an attacking perspective, you can’t expect KdB to fix that failed experiment they call a defence. 3 goals and 12 assists now for Kevin and with the fixture list City has now, maybe this guy should be getting some consideration. Yeah, he is pricy, but if you have some cash and need a differential this fella could be the next big thing. Sorry, I thought I was still on the Sterling paragraph. 😉
Alexis you cheeky Chilean. Big moment in a game that Arsenal wants to win badly and what does the guy who missed from the spot for Arsenal in his two other attempts do? Panenka style penalty kick of course. How did I know he would do that? Well, watch him versus Argentina in the final of the Copa America in 2015. That’s right, he won the Copa for Chile (their first ever) with a similar penalty. Sure he could have went differently, but I was absolutely sure he would repeat that style. Only regret I have was not tweeting it right before he did it. In the end he deserves credit for having the balls to do it in a big moment. My only wonder is why did the keeper or someone from the staff at Burnley not have an inkling of what was likely? Maybe I am wrong and completely off my rocker by thinking that people should know where he was likely to take it. Then again I saw Ghana lose to Uruguay on penalties in a World Cup and when I saw Sebastian Abreu score on a panenka, I wondered how could Ghana not know that was coming? That was something he loved doing and in particular in big moments, him and Alexis are not similar players, but they are from the spot in a big moment. Van Gaal proved that if you are ready for takers it can really work to your team’s advantage and sure regular season games are not decided on penalties at the end…until they are.
Gabriel Jesus seems to have made a big impression on many in his first minutes. He in many ways is what he showed in those few minutes. I have watched him with the Brazilian national team and have been impressed. Work rate is great, although he tends to foul a lot and is prone to yellow cards. If he kept onside he be a City hero right now, well at least until the next game, it wasn’t a coincidence he was offsides though. He has a problem with offsides and a lack of awareness when it comes to that. He is 19 however and his future looks promising, Wait!! Am I on about Sterling again? 😉 This kid will deliver if given the opportunity, he has already shown the capacity to do so on the big stage. He is currently a starter on the Selecao and that is a big accomplishment for someone his age. Expect a high octane player who can play virtually anywhere across the front line. He is a very good dribbler and he will get assists. His style demands attention and he will set up a mate when 2nd defenders overcommit. Now we just need Pep to give him a real go and FPL to lower his price and change his position. The first will happen, his talent will force Guardiola’s hand sooner rather than later the second and third won’t. So J-Zeus might not come into our thinking for a bit, well at least until Aguero slips on a banana peel and is out for a month.
Thanks for reading FPL Ramblings. This article was written by Mito21
Fixture Tracker
What to do! Everyone seems to be moving on Hazard and I don’t want to miss out on price changes! Was quite happy to wait after cup games but not sure if I can! Suggestions are welcome! I think Hazard, Lallana, Giroud and possibly Defoe need to go!
Hazard to Erik/Alli Defoe to Kane.
Plus one. Is Eric/Alli/Kane overkill?
Not the way they’re playing as of late. City set up well to negate them and had the personnel to execute it as such. Even then they still conceded 2. Against the weaker teams they are destroying them at will.
Mito you rambler! Good stuff mate, keep these coming!
Bad week for me with only 45 which is not that bad given I was on 33 before Sanchez’ late goal. The good news is I have 2 FT! Thinking about Haz&Giroud -> Alli&Kane.
Thoughts?
Hello DMC, I like the moves mate, Hazard seems to be a must to be shifted out. Any thing is giroud has Watford. At home. And Watford are poo. Just Alli this week?
Cheers NZ. Yeah that thought crossed my mind but with two FT and Kane at Sunderland I don’t know….
I keep giving players a second and a third chance and keep being let down. That’s not the case of Giroud though who only failed me in this one game. I’ll keep tinkering. Thx mate
DMC, maybe upgrade Amat with the other free and do Kane next week?
Agree with NZ on Giroud but also it feels like you’re only delaying the inevitable as you’ll do him to Kane the next week anyway I’d presume.
No money for that NZ.
Yeah init it does. And whose likelier to get double digits Kane against anyone or lonely Giroud vs Watford?
That I can’t answer mate! Gut feel I suppose on that one. Think I’d be more comfortable having Kane despite it being away. Just thinking about how they’ve ripped such teams apart as of late. An early goal and that one could get messy for Sunderland.
Precisely , and on the top of that Kane going Kane hurts me more than Giroud going well. I also don’t like the pic below. Not keen on early moves like these ones but the waiting game may prove fatal money wise! Grrr
DMC, getting two Spurs could be a problem when blanks come though couldnt it?
It could but they are in hot form and fixtures are good. These purchases wouldn’t be to gain rank though but to not lose more than I’ve had these past few weeks with them Spurs… It’s basically a defensive move.
I could also add Miki-> Davies and keep Giroud for -4!
So revert back to 343 DMC? Im thinking the same, see below
Yeah NZ I’m an early adopter of 3-5-2 (since gw4) but the lack of Hazard points along with Costa/Kane/Zlatan ones says I should change when the chance to do so presents itself. That move wouldn’t involve Costa but Giroud seems decent enough for now.
DMC, well done on going early. I agree, the sight of Kane/Ibra/Costa in my team and only losing Hazard to gain that is tempting…… Although Lukaku instead of Costa would free up cash and provide Everton coverage for their nice fixtures.
How did we all do this week? Was a bit of an unpredictable one. I gained a measly 289 places to lift me up to 205k. Same again for another 1000 weeks and I’ll be near the top!
Up 12 k places ranked below 500k
Up 75k places! Which is a sad indictment of what my rank was before I suppose! 72 points this week and that was with taking Siggy out (goal) and as a result not doing Giroud to Costa (goal). Really could have been a great week but c’est la vie and all that. Feel like I have a proper forward plan now though as a result of the (unsuccessful on the face of it) transfer decisions this week.
Well done Init, whats your rank now?
125 ish. I’ve always been a second half bird though, for some reason!
Well done sir, time to crack the 100k mark. Whats your team these days?
As in what mate?!
Who you have in your team? Still 3-4-3?
Yeah it’s 3-4-3 mate. It’s linked on my username. Some combo of Kane / Costa and Kun in for Giroud / Ibra and Carroll over the next 3 weeks though. It’s a complicated plan that I have written down somewhere!
Init, cracking scores of late mate! And look at the rankings rise its given you. Well done sir.
Dropped rank. Again. I’m stuck between 200-300k rank.
Reports coming out Ryan Mason is fighting for his life with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain after his collision with Gary Cahill. Here’s to a full recovery if that’s the case.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ryan-mason-suffers-fractured-skull-9674938?x
Terrible news, all the best to Ryan.
Sickening mate. We can only hope he’s fine and pulls through.
Cheers Mito, I enjoyed your ramblings. Hands up if Sanchez saved your gameweek ‘hand up’ bloody can’t get out of 200-300k mark, killer season. Any suggestions for my team? Wildcard maybe……?
Wouldn’t WC this mate. Probably just a bad week. Get KDB for Haz and it will all look better!
DM, I was actually thinking that. I can do it with 0.0 ITB. That or Holebas to Brunt?
No chance on the WC NZ. You’ve come this far, see it through, you know the script on its use for the DGW’s.
Any suggestions on moves Init?
Can you target getting Costa in a few weeks if you moved Hazard to a serviceable 5th?
I can yes mate, but Feels a step back as just gone 3-5-2. Maybe thats the way. He just ticks over nicely though doesnt he?
It’d have to be for a 4.9mid if my math serves me right. Fraser? Though with Barnes up there to rotate with. But yeah Costa could prove a must have come 3 weeks. Maybe ride the KDB horse for the next 3 and then reassess Zlatan or the said 5th mid for Kevin + the barnes -> Costa one?
Options, options, options. Im actually liking Barnes, Haz and Holebas to Costa, Carroll and Brunt with 0.1 left over! Abandond 3-5-2 after 1 week but, I like the team after that!
No. I feel so bad for Mason. I hope and pray he will be okay. I already felt it while watching it this afternoon. Something was off. Be strong and fight for your life. Football really is an irrelevant game when lives are at stake.
It’s a horrible situation Raz. It did strike as odd when they took so long and so much care to stretcher him off. I didn’t for one second imagine this was why though. Hoping to wake up to positive news.
Apparently that’s what we’ll get.
Really hope so mate as the earlier indications were much worse.