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.
Just saw Buendia might also miss the first game. This and Robertson… I really need to rethink the team. Straight swap to Raphina since I already have Ings?
Yeah Raphinha is a superb pick.
Think I am set. Will start 4-3-3 and throw Raphina in for Veltman in GW2.
As a matter of interest, how confident are you about Jota? I’m hesitating with him because I’m not sure he’s a nailed player.
The team looks good. That’s the front line I have at the moment, and most of the midfield, come to think of it. Have you got a plan for Lukaku / Kane or are you going to take that one as it comes?
I don’t see Firmino sbeiing ready Kralin
I’ve taken Jota to start with.
OK – thanks. I originally went for Robbo over Jota because of minutes and now the former is (seemingly) out then have some thinking to do. Cheers.
Following the news for Robertson, I would say there is a very good chance he starts. And even if he plays the odd 60-70 minutes, he can be quite explosive. My thinking is also that if Mane is more often on the scoresheet, one of Salah, Jota or Trent are likely to get assists. Firmino is also not ready yet. Yes, I might need to phase Jota out after 2-3 GW, but he is the likely victim for upgrading Ings to Lukaku in GW4 anyway and reverting to 4-3-3 until I WC (hopefully after GW6). That backline should cover me for a while.
That seems reasonable thinking. Given the fixtures, and his price, I’ve fancied Jota but as stated, had a few doubts. I suppose if we know we have a starting Liverpool defender at 4 that also is something to ponder, but it seems (understandably) a matter of some uncertainty.
I have been thinking of Mane as well but am reluctant to throw Bruno over just yet. Maybe Bruno placeholds Sancho.
I’m really not sure. He’s in at the moment and yeah probably starts first match. He’s been on left though with Mane through middle. Firmino will play again tonight and is pretty much ready so I am asking myself is it worth it. Though if Robbo is injured I might just take the 4 million LB instead
I would start Raphinha in the first game to be honest.
Good squad.
Even if we have a starting Pool defender at 4M, you need to likely transfer him out in the following GW and he will limit your max players, so if you want to replace him back with Robbo, you will need to keep 3M in the bank or take a hit. Only reasonable if he plays at least 2-3 gameweeks, which I highly doubt.
Ooops, replied to the wrong comment
Agree with xaco here. It doesn’t look too serious and I’d imagine Robbo back in a couple weeks.
Good points. However I’m not anticipating Tsimikas being a season-long stayer, I’m just seeing him as a good opportunity. I usually take a risk with one 4m player and given Liverpool’s opening fixtures, and the doubts over Jota’s minutes, this one is just a bonus.
I tend to roll the transfer going into GW2 so I have 2 before GW3 so we’ll see what happens then. Hopefully he can be quietly swapped with another 4m defender, should one emerge.
Seems 80 % people have same template. I will go different- will be more fun- either succeed big or flop big.
I have included players like Mane, Chillwell, Lukaku (Vardy for now), Greenwood, Alisson, etc.
i should say 80% of team is template
Good luck. It may be 80% on here (?is it?) but in the wider fantasy world that % is probably much lower. I’d imagine a fair few people will have Greenwood.
Have been pondering Chilwell as a Robbo replacement and the Salah / Mane double is not to be sniffed at.
By all accounts Vardy looked ok in the CS.
If James plays on the left flank and Greenwood on the right, he might not even start GW2 if Sancho is good to go. Consider that. Of course he can also replace Martial up top… it’s really between him and Jota for me.
i am keeping greenwood for 1 or 2 weeks 7 then probably upgrading him to sancho & downgrading gundogan to someone like harrison. If greenwood is impressive then i may leave him
I like your team Kralin, it is also close to mine but I have Buendia and Digne. Gilmore I have but nothing much happened with him in pre season so far, do Brownhill in reserve. Also on Williams (MU) to see if he goes out on loan as was forcast. good luck
Thanks colonial – I haven’t posted my team though, alas. We do share (at the moment) Digne, and I have Brownhill fretting on the bench.
I can’t make my mind up about a couple of things. Hearing that Foden and KdB are out for a bit has brought Mahrez into focus a bit more for me. I may, like others here, plonk Vardy in the side (though I’m relatively happy with Ings, who is usually very reliable).
i went for gundogan instead for a 2 or 3 week punt. cant quite stretch to mahrez.
if kdb is out, gundogan could come good. mahrez good option too
I’ve got Digne too and think he’s being overlooked. Had Buendia, but saw he’s picked up some kind of knock. Do we know if he’ll start GW1?
Digne is appearing in a lot of sides >20% of managers have picked him so far.
Would you guys prefer ….
A- TAA/7.5mid (currently Jota)
B- Son/5.0def (Coufal/Tierney)
Another option could I’m looking at is dropping Toney and playing a 4-5-1 with the following team….
Shaw/Digne/James/Cresswell/(Amartey)
Salah/Son/ESR/Mahrez/Fernandez
Antonio/(Obafemi/Perica)
What do you reckon?
A for me. I think it’s sensible to start with TAA; Jota is a pretty good option with the run of games Liverpool have.
Advantage of B is that in Son you’ll have slightly more flexibility e.g. moving easily (if need be) to a United or City or someone we haven’t thought of yet midfielder.
Cheers Kralin, I’ve been pretty set on Son for weeks tbh but I’ve just swapped out Son/Buendia for Jota/Mahrez. Know both are probably rotation risks but I’m thinking have them for their games against Norwich and then revert to Son/6.5
What do you think of the 4-5-1 team? Im currently on a 3-5-2 but my worry is that Toneys price will drop rapidly if he blanks with such high ownership….do you think a nailed defender would be a safer option?
Targeting players with Norwich in their sights seems ok to me – they play Leicester earlyish as well.
I wouldn’t play a 4/5/1 myself, mainly because of the possible contortions needed to get in let’s say Jiminez or Ings or Lukaku et al should any of them start well. That may need wildcard to sort out.
I would start with two strikers in your shoes – give yourself a bit of flexibility.
I have similar reservations about Toney but see him as possibly an OK punt (at worst).
Hi all,
What are your thoughts on this as my latest draft? I’d like to spend more on front line but happy with the balance elsewhere and good rotation on the 5 defenders and 5 midfielders.
Cheers
I quite like it Ledleys!
You should in theory always have cover from the bench.
I would start Shaw
+1
I’m just thinking Leeds are a bigger threat to a clean sheet on GW1. Most weeks Shaw will be starting
Guys would u rather have havertz mount, Grealish, jota or greenwood, if I go without Havertz I can have Ings up top.
Jota looks nailed on, if picking one, would choose him, if two Jota and Grealish, if three Grealish, Jota, Greenwood
Jota certainly isn’t nailed on. Might start v Norwich but Firmino plays his second pre season game tonight it’s not far away
If the concern is the ‘nailed-ness’ of each of them, Mount’s your best bet. I’d go with Greenwood too.
Thanks guys, any love for Grealish?
Mahrez out of any of them
.
think lukaku is the man to have from chelsea.
Of those options Jota seems most tempting atleast at start of season
In the long run Grealish or Mount can be good.
I went for now Jota & Greenwood