FPL Ramblings
It has been a while since I wrote one of these and I didn’t have any plans to do so this season, but I was sitting around with nothing to do in the afternoon and thought why not write about some random fpl thoughts. Years ago I read an article in fantasy NFL that I really liked called Love/Hate. I liked it so much that in the past I have included a mini love/hate section myself although that has been a while. I use to do it to talk about transfers. I would see who managers were buying and selling and state whether I loved or hated the transfer, when I was on the fence I just say I was lukewarm. It is in article that I have thought about doing this season occasionally. That is sort of what this is in many ways as I am going to be loving and hating on the ownership of players for the most part. I might include some other topic, I get distracted easily.
Anyway, let us get to loving or hating stuff.
Love – Double ups on Liverpool/United defenders.
I know you might be able to sort of begrudgingly agree with me that double LFC at the back is not the worst idea you have ever heard. Although, if you started with it last season it wasn’t long before you probably got fed up with it and are probably thinking right now…
Don’t go running for the hills just yet, listen, their big Dutch rock is back and I think the clean sheets will come back also, considering their attacking prowess and set piece taking, I think Robbo and TAA is back on. I know I just asked you to invest for the two most expensive defenders in the game so I should probably expand a little and I did in the comments section a few days ago. No need to restate some of that, so here is the link> Double up comment. Ok, ok, ok, maybe you let me slide on the LFC one, but surely I am crazy to mention United in there. Maybe. I did say I loved it, not that you should. I see the combo of Shaw and AWB as a poor man’s Robbo and TAA. Sure, they don’t have the upside, but they cost 3.5 million less combined than the LFC duo. Hear me out. Varane was bought to help that defence. Sancho will help create space for AWB on the attacking end and Shaw according to anyone that talks about him is ready to have a big season. At 5.5 for each United defender, I think that is a really good value. Good luck easily finding a mid at that price that will come near in points to the United defenders. Last season they kept five clean sheets in six games against the other members of the top 4, they proven they can defend and I think they will do it better this season against the minnows of the league, plus add the likely improvement from both on the attacking end and there is a chance that the United combo is the actual double up at the back that we will be talking about in a couple of weeks.
Love – Pep making FPL interesting.
If it wasn’t for Pep constantly rotating and making it difficult on us, we would all have a similar team with the same 3 City players, Salah, LFC defender, some cheap keeper and some United players. Imagine having the best attack year after year and the best or second best defence year after year and still not seeing many City players in fpl drafts. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it, you can see drafts every day with barely a City sighting. The best team in the league and they are being ignored because that bald bastard f*cks us every freaking time we think we know what he is going to do. There is no team sheet that makes more fpl managers nervous than the City one week after week. Just when you think you know, Pep says…
I have even seen a twitter account (https://twitter.com/FPLmeta ) that tracks City minutes trying to help predict the starting XI. Good luck to the fella, he is doing an almost impossible task. I used to cover the City pressers in the past and predict their XI for this site and let me tell you something, when the team sheet came out I always felt he was personally messing with me.
Love – Kai Havertz.
I won’t waste your time with all the stats on how he finished last season. Won’t hit you with all the Tuchel stuff on how he improved Chelsea when he got there. The reason I won’t is because I have to write about Kai next week in some of the other articles, so I will save it for then. But if you must know just ask Smash, he probably has that all memorized by now as he is a Chelsea fan. Some of the reasons I like him are not even good ones if we are strictly speaking fpl. One reason is he helped stop Pep from winning a Champions League. I am a Real Madrid fan and frankly I really dislike Pep, so Kai really did me a favour there. The other reason, I owned him in fantasy Bundesliga and he was very good for my scores. It could have been that I just happen to own him at the right times, whatever it was, all I know is that he delivered for me. I remember him fondly as a fantasy asset and out of respect, I will probably own him GW1.
Hate – Martinez ownership.
Look I get it, he is a very good keeper. I love watching him succeed at club level just so Arsenal fans are left to wonder what could have been. I get that he makes a lot of saves. He might be the highest scoring keeper again, that is certainly possible. I think it is unlikely, but it is possible. Villa kept one clean sheet in their last 12 fixtures last season, that doesn’t sound great to me. I think it is quite possible that his points are 25-30 lower this season and that would still be a decent season in fpl, but at that stage I don’t think he be worth the extra cash that it costs to have him. Also, if he doesn’t start well, he will be sold by many as the extra million spent on a keeper will be seen as a luxury that maybe they should not have afforded themselves, plus in GW4 his fixtures turn difficult. By the way I sent this to Martinez to read and he sent this back…
Hate – Kane and Grealish ownership.
Seriously, until the dust settles why do we even own them. Kane is not even training as he looks for a move and Jack just got back to training but those are murky waters also. Grealish will need a new deal or to be sold before I even consider him. Well, if sold to City then we may never own him again in fpl without feeling worried about rotation. Just stay away from these two for now. However, if you want to be stubborn about it that will be just one less person I have to worry about beating me in fpl. 
Hate, sort of, actually probably lukewarm – Leeds United.
I don’t actually hate Leeds, I quite like them and I absolutely love Bielsa. Wanted him as our national team coach (Colombia) for years and have always loved how his sides play. I just don’t think that Leeds players will perform the same. Bamford is now at a price where he is no longer cheap, and I think it will be hard for him to match last season. Plus, I think Rodrigo might get in the way of Bamford and possibly others in terms of minutes. Dallas is no longer classified as a defender so that’s a lot of clean sheet points that will be lost, Harrison and Raphinha are more expensive than last season. Although, I will admit that those two I am bit iffy on, they still might represent good value and that is why I am lukewarm about them. Anyway, back to hating, I don’t expect them to finish as high this season, simply because I don’t think they will feast on the lower side of the table as much as they did last season. Teams struck me as a bit naïve last season in part because Championship sides don’t usually take the game to you the way Leeds does. My guess is a lot of teams will have better game plans to combat Leeds this season and some of their fpl players might struggle to match their outputs from last season.
Thanks for reading FPL Ramblings. This article was written by Mito21
FPL FIXTURE TRACKER
FIXTURE TRACKER LINK
VOTE ON THIS WEEK’S CAPTAIN POLL GW1
FF247 LEAGUES FOR 2021/22
Fantasy Football 247 League Codes:
This is our main public FF247 League, which anyone is welcome to join and can be accessed using the code below or this auto-join link
League Code: kgvnpe
Our Regulars League* for 2021/22 is sponsored by Fanteam The total cash prize pool is £1k. The first 5 places are paid out in a tiered system.
To enter this one you need to be an active and recognised site member and you need to e-mail us for the league code:
elleffcee@gmail.com
Our FF247 Cup is also included and attracts a prize of £50 for the winner.
You MUST also have a FanTeam account to claim any prize.
*terms and conditions apply and they are available here Management reserve the right to review membership of this league on an ongoing basis which is dependent upon regular comment / community activity.
Both leagues will be shut to new entrants as of 01/01/22.
My latest draft
That could change 360° by Friday if we get more solid news on Kane.
Stones might not be available for the first game? (I think he is a solid choice of course)
I can live with that, if he is missing for 1 game only.
Coufal should do well at Newcastle.
Looks pretty much template stuff
I’d start Coufal over Brownhill
Captain Salah
And try and squeeze in Dias instead of Stones as he’ll play more games especially with Laporte breathing down his neck think stones might not be as nailed?
Thanks Bigpopz.
I might try to get back Dias, although Stones is Pep’s pet.
Not moving the armband from Bruno. I would like to start the season with a captain who can score more than one (if) goal.
Hi. Not a fan of two 4.5 mids. They are priced that way for a reason.
Maybe downgrade Coufal to a 4.0 then Biss/brown to ESR or even Dallas?
Good point LRL
I am still not convinced that Salah is essential. Might go to my initial draft and change to Jota. That will give me the freedom for huge improvements elsewhere.
You could change Bruno to Greenwood in the same sense. I feel he will get some solid game time up too as cavani looks to be away from training for 5 weeks.
Makeya, I was actually thinking to double up with Greenwood. Can’t part with Bruno, he is the most essential one.
That’s a fair call. Do you think United will get as many pens this season after the new rule of tightening up on soft pens? He’d still get a fair few goals and a lot of assists so he won’t be useless without pens that’s for sure!
Makeya, that is something we have to wait and see. The new rules will affect every team and every player. I don’t expect this to last longer than a season as you can imagine every one will be taking advantage and it will be chaos for the refs.
Good team Ivan! It is one of the two teams I have for now. We will wait and see. Hope you are having a good summer.
Bees, so many things can change directions in the next five days. Traditionally I wildcard in GW 4, at least have done in the last 3 seasons. That said, would be nice if I can prolong it this time.
How’s this Lukaku team look?
Priced him at £11m so anything less would be a bonus.?
Thought?
Hmm, looks worrying without Bruno.
Ah, didn’t notice. Salah cap’n and you’ll be fine
You’ll have to name it Hakuna Mateta!
But looks fine to me, nice to see a team with Mateta (or any CP asset really)
Haha
Yea if I’m going cheapo 3rd striker it’ll be him or Joao Pedro
I think i’m in the wait and see camp with Lukaku
What ..wait and see him do bits and wonder why you don’t have him?
Playing Devil’s Advocate though BigP, this is a new team he is coming into and it could take some time before the hat tricks flow – add to that, he isn’t playing what might be classed as fodder until GW7.
(Bet I still get him though)
I must admit it’s hardly wait and see with tried and tested players like Lukaku and Son for example. They will get points. If you can’t afford them that’s a different argument
In fairness, AK says he’s in that camp so we can’t really dispute that.
If he wants to wait he can, if he chooses not to own him at all, he can do that too.
To clarify I’m only slightly cautious as I feel this Chelsea squad is still a bit of an unknown. That said, if he’s a decent price, i’ll be ripping everything up and starting again to get him in. Would be interesting to see if you can get Salah, Fernandes, Lukaku and maybe even TAA in the same squad.
If Lukaku comes back, who gets penalties?
Imagine Jorginho still
Thanks, AK47. I hope this brings Lukaku’s price down a bit.
Aha Bruno is the sacrifice.
If Lukaku deal is done, I am willing to take a punt GW1.
And why not? Last season, I punted on Werner, Mitrovic, Auba & ASM in GW1.
And yet you finished with in the top 1k? FPL is not fair!
That proves that you don’t need to sprint to win it (or do really well in it).
Nah, finished 2,223. But I wisened up real quick after GW3
I jest of course, just fun to see how different one’s GW1 team is to that of the end of the season
I think you’ve plugged the gaps quite well.
In your shoes I’d be half-inclined to get a cheaper goalie and push a further .5 on the pitch. Start with Ings and Lukaku, something like that.
You could scrounge a further .5 by getting Amartey.
Hey Kralin
Like that ideal
Although bit reluctant to drop to 4.5m goalie, as not sure back up GK (Forster) even starts?
Btw this “Luka” team is based on my guesstimate that he comes in at £11m?
With his goals per game ration he could be nearer Kane money, which will make it even more trickier to squeeze him in.
I haven’t begun to think what he will come in at but it won’t be cheap, alas.
I’ve noticed my front line is starting to creep up in value – I’ve brought Ings in, for now – so I’m closer to Lukaku or Kane as / when the moment comes. Lukaku / Ings / Antonio has a beefier look than the weedy arrangements we’ve been conning ourselves with up to now.
Guys 1st draft complete. Any advice for my team?what would you changeartinez?
Martinez/Foster
Shaw/Maguire/Coufal/Ayling/Manquilo
Salah/Fernandes/Son/Havertz/Gilmour
Toney/Iheachono/Perica
It seems a side a little out of date, locked in time past, unaware of the doom gathering at its margins.
Red
I’d love to have those 3 big hitters in midfield
But like Kralin said earlier ..bit weedy upfront?
You need more beef
Nacho prob a rotation threat and might need to go. I quite like the rest
Cheers Mito – much appreciated article. Here’s my ramblings on your ramblings for what it’s worth (which is, in all honestly, very little).
Double ups. Yes, and also I’d include a double up on City – Dias and Stones for a total of £11.5m combined seems great value to me. Just need to have a decent first sub to combat peptation.
Havertz – also liking Ziyech after that display against Spurs!
Martinez – I can see sense in people playing it safe for game week 1, getting the highest owned keeper, the highest points scorer last season, who’s got decent fixtures, then wildcard down to whichever 4.5 keeper is doing the business. Not for me thought, I’ll be going for Sanchez.
Kane and Grealish – yep, don’t touch them. For now.
Leeds – I think they’ll do well this season, and in all my tinkers I’m always ending up with about 6 or 6.5m for a fourth midfielder and Harrison (highest scoring City midfielder last season!) or Raphinha (his GW1 fixture is away at United – he got two assists at Old Trafford last season, and his GW2 fixture is against Everton – he scored in both Everton games last season,l) seem good value.
Double city defence could be genius
Sound ramblings from Mito21’s article. Wise words indeed.
@GentleBenAKA, Very solid thoughts, I did think of City, but I always worry about tying up one of their spots, if they explode we will be looking to sell a defender and bring in attacking options from their side. I understand the rotation concerns with them, but I bet we will still want at least 2 of their attacking players several time this season.
I like Ziyech, but he burned us bad last season.
Villa was awful last season for a good portion of the season in terms of giving up good goal scoring opportunities to opponents and that is my concern with them.
On Leeds it is why I was lukewarm on them. I think they could have very good options in their side, but I am not sold on them as a team doing as well as they did last season.
Cheers Mito. Highly salient points you make.
Right, think I’m done now
I’d probably take James over chilwell as a Chelsea option at the back as it shaves down the price.
How many one here starting with Ingsy?
Will he be on pens at Villa? Will Watkins, Buendia, Bailey etc. be assisting him?
Buendia is likely to assist the three others I’d say, whereas Bailey and Watkins are a bit unknowns by comparison – likely to add a few assists. In fact, Watkins does assist a fair bit.
I struggle to see who’d be above Ings in the pecking order for pens.
The villains look well set up for this season I think.
Cheers Dane.
Which Villan(s) do you intend to have this Friday?
Probably just Ings for me, but quite interesting to see how Bailey will fare – could be golden
This is my likely start, but I want to see of big luke makes the game before deadline.
Dane, your team is not template at all. Interesting picks. I will see your final team come Friday.
I’d expect Ings to take pens. Problem I have with Vila attack is how they set up. They have three decent games to start but they might struggle to get going with the new players. Once it settles down they then have rough fixtures which is why I’m inclined to avoid
Given the placeholdery nature of much of our GW1 sides – in a week’s time I imagine we’ll be talking about numerous players completely overlooked now – those three good fixtures seem a fair run to me.
However the absence of Grealish gives me slight pause for concern.
If Ings is on pens, he might be the one to go with even from the start.