FPL Ramblings
I don’t do intros if I can help it and that will not change today.
Here we go.
Team of the Week
David de Gea led all keepers this week in points with 7, a couple of great saves helped United to their first clean sheet of the season.
Varane made his first start and went out and had the highest score for any defender with 12. His assist, three bonus and clean sheet all helped him stand out this GW. Perhaps a little lucky though to get the six extra points. Think most of us would give Greenwood a lot of credit for the goal as he had a ton of work to do after receiving the pass from Rafa.
Seamus Coleman made the team after snagging a clean sheet accompanied by an assist for winning a penalty. The last one on this list
Sergio Reguilon was perhaps the most impressive one as he had no aid from attacking returns and still managed to grab the three bonus to help him make the team of the week.
In midfield we have City’s Ferran Torres with 18 points. That score easily made him the top scorer this week. His movement looked great and he got into some great positions to score, having said that, they won’t be playing Arsenal every week. At his price point though he certainly is intriguing if you are willing to play Pep roulette.
Gallagher from Palace also made the side. He scored a brace and grabbed the 3 bonus. At 5.5 he also seems very interesting for managers, but his fixtures say otherwise. Despite passing the eye test, I still want to see him put in another decent score or two before I contemplate ownership.
Buendia scored a goal and took home the top honours for bonus points. No consideration in buying here as Villa’s fixtures turn cruel and he is joining the Argentinian team so will have to quarantine when he gets back, which means he is definitely out GW4.
Son is the last of the mids. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Make a cross and watch the keeper watch it go in. Earn yourself a goal and some bonus for a mistake, life is good. With Palace in his next fixture, Son does seem like a good player to own right now, perhaps a back to back appearance on the team of the week could be in his future.
Gabriel Jesus is once again in the team after scoring, picking up an assist and the 3 bonus. All that despite only playing 60 minutes which is impressive but also a problem as his minutes could get very irritating if you are an owner.
Jamie Vardy matched Jesus with 12 points collecting them in a similar manner in the Leicester 2-1 win over Norwich.
The last man on the team hasn’t left the best XI since the start of fpl. That is three straight weeks for Michail Antonio on here. Just incredible, something we will touch on a bit more later.
Quick Notes
– Adama Traore has become to this article what Giroud is to GABO. He must be mentioned!!
– Traore is top 10 in expected assists, expected goals, shots, expected fpl points and trucking defenders. Yet he is on six points. FFS!
– Last week I showed concern for Ings owners by mentioning he only had 3 shots in 2 games (1.5 spg), well he brought that average down, now he has 4 shots in 3 games (1.3 spg).
– Wolves are extremely unlucky to have zero points so far, Arsenal is extremely lucky they don’t allow teams to have negative points in the standings.
– Richarlison provides great drama.
– Last week I said “Let me repeat, DCL on pens, sign me up please.” assuming he is fit, I am still on this bus, have been since GW1.
– Antonio is leading fpl by 10 points, scoring double digits in all 3 fixtures so far with at least one goal and one assist each game.
– Michail also leads in shots and shots in the box, plus all that XGoals stuff, if you are still holding out, ufff.
– TAA is exactly what we thought he was. His fixtures, underlying stats and fpl points scream keep him at all costs. Figure out a different way to get Ronaldo.
– Gallagher is not just pretty hair, put him on your watch list.
– Last week I made fun of Norwich for only managing one shot vs City, well Arsenal did the same.
– Grealish attempted six assists, the most for GW3, second was TAA with five.
– Matip and Van Dijk both have 7 shots already.
– Laporte had 5 shots vs Arsenal, that was the most on the team.
– Salah is first and Mane is tied with Traore for second in shots taken for mids.
– Newcastle is shocking defensively.
– Leeds defends set-pieces like nothing depended on it.
– Leicester should have probably lost all three games so far, Norwich gifted their game to them.
– Champions League starts between GW4 and 5, keep that in mind.
– Antonio and DCL on their own currently have a higher expected goal rate than 7 teams.
– Defensively Spurs is best in the league with 0 goals allowed; however, I think they are catfishing us, they are not what they appear.
– If you activated your wildcard already, don’t forget to play the market and try and make a little bit of cash before the deadline hits.
Transfers in so far. (Top 10)
Transfers out so far. (Top 10)
It’s a Trap!!
Last week I picked out 2 guys who I didn’t like the trend they were headed in. One was Tsimikas being bought and the other was Luke Shaw being sold. Tsimikas came in for a four minute cameo and got himself a point and Shaw got a clean sheet and grabbed himself 6 points. So looks like I was right on both last week. Let us see if I have the same luck this time.
A possibly controversial one, Marcos Alonso being bought feels very iffy to me. Ben Chilwell is going to get minutes, Champions League is on the way and we don’t know who will start what, plus once Alonso gets torched by some winger he might lose the confidence of Tuchel. Short term (GW4) it might work, but fixtures in gameweek 5 and 6 are not great and midweek CL could mean some frustration for new owners, for me, IT’S A TRAP!
I have been in the non-Bruno camp this season as I have not owned him. Still, if I did own him, I absolutely would not be selling him before a game versus Newcastle at home. Toon have been terrible in conceding chances, just one right after the other. Long term I can see why people might try and sell, but surely it be a lot safer to wait a week at the very least. So if you selling Bruno this week, for me, IT”S A TRAP!
D’oh trophy
Once again there are many candidates/teams that could win this. Harvey Barnes sucking the life out of owners, Antonio deniers still about, the double down on Bruno for captain after watching him score one point in GW2, taking hits for Kane or Lukaku, we can go on and on.
But, my D’oh of the week has to be Arsenal. As mentioned before they only had one shot on City. They had less than 20% possession for the game and in the second half they had less than 10%. It got so bad that their own fans cheered a City goal. It came close to being the first time I have ever felt sorry for them.
Thanks for reading FPL Ramblings. This article was written by Mito21
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Portugal has today lifted it’s travel ban on visitors from South America. That means that players who choose to go to Brazil, Argentina etc and play for their countries don’t have to go to UK gov hotel confinement. They could instead arrange a deal to go and train with a Portuguese club for the 10 days and then come back “green” . Ok they will still miss match(es) but would be match fit on arrival.
@Otieno, that is certainly better than sitting in a hotel the whole time.
Anyone on here done this?
Ooops, already doubts
He’s gone on to score a brace lol
Made up for it with a last min winner.
FTx2
ITB:0.9m
Obvoiously I want to bring Ronnie in, but would love to keep Bruno if I can. But I do also need to ditch Nacho as I am fed up of his 1 pointers.
I cant ditch Ings and Nacho as there are no 3.9m strikers around!!! Unless I -4 and ditch Harrison for, maybe Allan, or a 4,5m midfielder.
Any ideas?
U cant have them all. Impossible to fit in Ronaldo Salah Bruno & TAA without even using a WC or doing a -8 or -12 something.
Either drop Bruno, forget about Ronaldo or WC if u want Ronaldo.
Yes a combination of one pointers and Leicester’s slightly iffy form doesn’t fill a manager with much confidence.
Personally I’d get DCL in – probably for Mr one-pointer – and have a look at Man U with Bruno and CR in tandem – and take it from there before GW5 with 2FT.
I doubt the points Bruno would have got had Ronaldo not been there will all magically transfer to Ronaldo now he is. Bruno hasn’t lost all his powers overnight.
Kralin,
I dont have enough for DCL. I would have to used both FT’s to get him in.
That would mean, if I wanted Ronnie, I would have to -4.
If you want him just get him. He’s going to pay back that -4, probably within 20 minutes. He won’t let you down.
It’s an almost perfect match to have him set up as captain.
I was maybe looking at shifting out Ings as well. I know he scores goals, but his fixtures arent brilliant.
But whoever comes in, is only a temp fix because Ronnie will take over.
Damn this ff – only GW4 and its doing my head in!!
Don’t let it do your head in, though I know you speak in jest.
Yes I’m moving Ings on this week, probably for DCL, I suggested the other move because at least you can be sure Ings will start. I know it will be a miracle if he scores against Chelsea. It’ll be a miracle if he gets a couple of shots on target, frankly. However, he starts.
I can get you know who in without taking a hit but still fancy Bruno for a point or two.
Nacho really needs to go as a priority
Agreed Smash
You can’t avoid a -4 unless you just sell Harrison and put off changing your two forwards till next week.
Personally for my 3 premiums, I’m going Salah, Ronnie, Lukaku (with Antonio, Torres, Benhrama). Then pinning my hopes on ESR, TAA & budget defence (2×4.5 + 2×4.1)
I’ve been pondering going down the cheapo defender route to enable more treats further up the field. I really like it when cheap defenders bring home the bacon and when they don’t it doesn’t matter as much as when more expensive defenders flop.
If I did a -4 (and kept Bruno), I could do Harrison->Allan, Nacho->Cucho and Ings->Ronnie
That sounds reasonable
perfect
I know Cucho doesnt play that often, but having a strong midfield and front 2 will make up for that.
I may never need to play Cucho anyway.
Plus I get to have Bruno & Ronnie, and keep Salah & TAA.
Ronaldo scored 2!
It’s only ireland but both goals were well finished.
Are Newcastle better than Ireland? Any more doubts about Ronaldo age?
Dont think any point waiting- just getting Ronaldo now for a -4.
Cant really remember Ronaldo missing games thru injury- and perhaps Bruno becomes 11.9 anyways by the time I wait for Portugal to finish their matches. Cant afford Ronaldo if Bruno drops to 11.9
He had yellow card mean he is not playing next agains Azarbijan. Unlikely to have injury before Newcastle.
I am from Ireland so no disrespecting here. But Ireland vs Newcastle would be a close game.
oh is it? thats wonderful news. i also forgot portugal have only 2 not 3 games.
yeah i see ireland vs newcastle indeed being a close game! maybe a 2-2
Ireland were actually very good tonight and were good value for thr lead. We nearly pulled it off too.
Let’s not forget that Seria A and EPL are two completely different worlds
Ronaldo’s goals
Juventus- 3 years 101goals in 134 games
Man United- 6 years 84 goals in 196 games, and that was under Ferguson
Interesting use of stats.
Serie A has a reputation for being a tricky league to score freely in. His stats there are incredible. He was the fastest to 50 goals.
To get a complete picture maybe add the Real Madrid stats, which are utterly mind-boggling.
Wasn’t he 18 or something when he made his debut for United? Wore a brace instead of scoring one. Learning his trade. Ripped jeans. I don’t think he started as a forward.
Cost them a similar price then to now, if memory serves. In a way it’s quite nice his career is book-ended this way. But I digress.
Will you have him in your A or B team? I bet you’ll captain him.
Has the Salah slayer become the Ronaldo slayer. The use of United stats is shockingly slanted, he was 18 at United and he was more into doing stepovers than scoring goals, it was only the last two years at United when he scored those goals. To get context you would use the last two years at United and well the rest of his career, also the Italian league is not an easy one to score goals in
I remember when he made the statement about wanting to become the best player in the world. Seemed ridiculous at the time. How wrong I was!! I love Ronaldo, can’t wait for him to bury those useless geordies!!
Which probably means he will certainly captain him by form
I was going to mention the stepovers but got distracted by the memory of the braces.
Kralin,
Seria A is a tough league but still can’t be compared with EPL with very different style of play.
Yes, he was 18 when joined United, the same age as another prominent teenager of the time, Rooney. Maybe many on here weren’t born or at least were still walking under the table at that time.
As for now, no intention to have him in neither teams. If that changes, Bruno will be still in my team by all means as I predict a smashing combo between those two coming.
if at all, its more tougher to score in serie a than in epl.
Reg, that where the difference is. When a team scores in Saria A goes immediately to park the bus, while in EPL everyone fights until the last seconds, regardless of the score.
yes but Ronaldo played as a young winger then from 2007 to 09 .. he had not yet reached his peak.
now he is a finisher, a poacher, a tap in & penalty specialist as well as we witnessed today an excellent header of the ball as well as some spectacular goals.. in short, he is a proper no 9 now. a winger converted to a no 9
Evening all.
Pretty set on this being my WC team unless we hear unexpected news.
Not gonna bother with having 2 premium strikers as it spoils the balance.
Will probably do the switcheroo between Ronnie, Lukaku and Kane though.
Thoughts?
Looks handy, I like it
Whats your TV by the way? Must be 101.5 plus
Apart from Duffy, Rudiger and Coady that’s the team I’m tempted by for a -8 so I like it
Duffy will probably go now that I’ve made 0.1m from him. Coady for fixtures and nailedness (could be Dier but not as nailed) Rudiger for CS potential and nailedness also. Who would you go for?
Probably how you have it tbf
Prob Dier over Coady
I have Dier ATM for price rise but either him or Sanchez will lose their spot so don’t wanna book in a transfer
@Madhatter, Sanchez is in Colombia for qualifiers and is likely to miss GW4 and 5 I believe.
Are you talking about Davison Sanchez (Tot) or Carlos Sanchez (ex WHM) ?
Davinson
He could play just tonight & 5th perhaps and miss the third game which would let him play GW5
Possibly, but I doubt he misses the only home game we have this round. We will need him vs Chile. Plus Mina is injured and didn’t travel so we are a bit thin at the back for the 3 games. Think it is more likely that if he is rested that it be for the Paraguay game which is the second one of the three they have. I am not sure we can afford to rest him for any, as long as he feels good physically there is a decent chance he plays all 3.
If he does play on 10th do you think Nuno would arrange for him to go to e.g. Porto to train for 10 days rather than sitting in a UK quarantine hotel room?