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.
Good morning all!
It feels great to be back at last. Can’t wait for the new season to start!
Here’s my first draft. How’s it looking? Of course we still have to wait and see if Lukaku signs for Chelsea and any other big signings. Ings to Villa is interesting. Where will that leave Ollie Watkins? Read a rumour he might go to Liverpool??
Don’t think Watkins is leaving, Villa just spending Grealish cash and I think they will do well with the signings !
That draft looks good! Only concern I feel is for DCL woudn’t have him at the start and wait how he plays under new manager and also his form is concern!
DCL had a great season last time round. True he has a new manager, but he is the only out and out striker at the club. Richarlison plays off the left. And they have nice early fixtures…
As for Villa, they will do well with signings. They’ve signed Leon Bailey from Leverkusen. Wasn’t he the next big thing? Weren’t the likes of Chelsea and Man U sniffing around him a couple of seasons ago? Could be a very shrewd bit of business for them. 25 million seems a snip in this market.
Hmm – solid-looking team, but surely Lukaku affects the double Chelsea mid-field? I’d keep it to one and pop in a similarly priced player from another team (Pépé, Raph, Gundo, Maddison, just to name a few, but I feel ill-qualified to sway you in any specific direction!).
Also Ings going to Vila may throw (yet another) a cat amongst the pigeons! Esp if Grealish goes to City, I guess Vila will have to work hard to organize their various combinations – uncharted waters! Cheerio
Oops – sugar, I forgot the obvious suggestion of Bruno! Is there a way you can do this without ruining your team structure?
Getting Bruno in for Sancho does mean a few changes. Downgrading Robertson to Dias for example, leaving me without Liverpool defence, and moving out Ings and DCL for the likes of Wood/Jimenez/Ihenacho/Watkins (i.e. one 7.0 and one 7.5 attacker…) What do you reckon?
I think Ziyech and Havertz might be competing with each other to start. Lukaku is coming. Must admit I’m not sold on DCL or Ings personally either
I think they can complement each other, certainly at the start. Ziyech is having a cracking pre season and he has something to prove. Obviously if Kakkers comes, then the team will have to be ripped up! I do agree with you on the other 2 forwards…any other ideas? Watkins and Wilson? Ihenacho? Woods even from Burnley?
I’m not convinced both are decent options but will be rotated. Chelsea trying to get Lukaku done by weekend. I’ve said from beginning and the pool seems to be getting smaller. Currently I’d have 1) Antonio
2) Toney
3) Ings (will he start straight away then fixtures get tough)
DCL but Kean is there and his form dropped off massively plus no real pre season so I have doubts.
4) Wilson
A wee question folks, ‘Who would you prefer? Mbeumo or Sarr? (5.5m midfielders!).
Cheers and hope the sun is shining in your area (DO NOT in any way refer back to Brian’s mother in ‘Life of Brian’ about where the sun could be shining from! This was not my intention!)
Incorrect – it was the old dude in jail with Brian, not his mother! Sorry – it’s been a while!
I am on Mbeumo AJW. But mostly a gut feeling.
Sarr is 6m, AJW – is this an early morning initiative test to catch out those at the back?
Caughht myself out boys. Ah what’s. 5m between friends???
Sarr is also 6.0, not 5.5. I actually posted the same comment minutes after you. Should have refreshed
Would you want to consider Ryan Fraser 5.5 million? Rested, has a decent run of fixtures, seems to be interested. Will create chances and Wilson likely to put those away, might be worth it.
Not a bad idea! Thanks for the suggestion.
Personally i would go smith-rowe for 5.5 but thats just me
I have him already. I have a feeling he will become a valuable asset this year.
Hey lads, given that Wilkins is no longer nailed on, what are your thoughts on Watford attackers? Joao Pedro is worth just 5.5 and maybe worth a punt to free up funds for midfield. Sarr is classified as a mid, so if he has a good season, there is a lot of value there. Same goes for Mbeumo from Brentford actually and I am surprised he goes so much under the radar, given he costs only 5.5, while Toney is owned by everyone and their mum.
I suppose the argument for Toney – or one of the arguments for Toney – is that he delivered massively for Brentford last year. Whilst that was a league lower and it won’t be as easy etc at 6.5 he seems well worth a punt to me, not that I’m 100% sure he’s going to start for me.
Managers may need a bit of patience with him, however.
Having said that, if he limps off after an hour it’s going to be a headache filling his shoes unless we’ve left ourselves 1m in the bank. He’s easier to not own and drop down to than replace.
But maybe the luck of Mbeumo is that people don’t want to push their luck too much with Brentford personnel this early on. Apparently they adopt a banzai style of play, which sounds appealing, but still. There are often a few fires we have to put out early on. And again, he will be an easy player to drop down to.
I’m not a massive fan of Watford attackers. One they have so many options there is surely going to be rotation. Two they are a defensive team so I don’t see them scoring many goals. Toney yeah probably overhyped but Brentford are attacking and he’s on everything. Also an easy escape to Pukki when fixtures swing
Thanks for the considerations fellows. Cheers.
Think I’m done now.
Personally I would make some changes but sounds like you are done
Who?.
Lloris not worth 5.5. Gray certainly isn’t nailed and I’d expect him to be in and out the team, Cavani still isn’t training so not likely to start GW1. Lukaku coming in means Havertz likely to be deeper and that’s if Sancho will be ok to start season too
Cavan I hasn’t trained in 5 weeks. Would guess greenwood would be ahead of him.
Cavani to Tooney + Gray to Greenwood?
Replying to above
Gray will start 100%. Richarlison is out for atleast 3/4 weeks, and Sig has gone somewhere
.
How’s this first draft looking?
Thanks all for your thoughts
Dapo Mebude came off injured in a recent Watford friendly. Even if fit, he’ll have work to do to establish himself there. Assuming he is 4.5mln you may as well go with Obafemi who has at least broken into the Southampton team at points lastr season.
I prefer Watkins to Ings but the rest is fine. Should do well.
Thanks gallant. Didn’t know about mebude. With Armstrong and Abraham coming to saints do you think obafemi will get a game
Only thing I’m not a fan of is the double Villa attack as I’m not sure how they will do without Grealish. I like the rest and I’d prefer Ings over Watkins for sure as he will be central and likely on pens. Obafemi might be best 4.5 striker but don’t expect much. Saints will sign a striker.
Could downgrade buendia for bissouma ?
Thus any better
Or is this 2nd option better ?