Dugout Discussion – Arsenal vs West Brom

This is worth a reply. I've wildcarded this week not because there was anything wrong with my team but because so many of the players I wanted were about to rise. I'd have loved to have waited a week but if I had i'd be 0.6m short of my dream team (more if any rise twice). There is a law of diminishing returns with the wildcard. You will naturally fix problems as you go so waiting for the GW for your team to actually need a wildcard may never happen and you end up using it just to fix minor issues.

I'm a bit in the keep my team or GW8 wildcard group.

Current team is

Foster Elliot
Davies Daniels Cedric Suttner Long
Mkhi Salah Ritchie Carroll Carrick
Aguero Kane Lukaku

1 FT, 0 in bank.

Could save this week then change 3 players for a hit which probably costs money unless they are early risky transfers.

Sound advice!

Easily one of the best advices I've ever read here.

Very well articulated. Thanks.

I think the availability of the Free Hit chip further reduces the need for the WC as an emergency fix tool.

Good advice mate. But it still depends on your team.
I am having 2FTs every week for a number of weeks now, and I can't even see a need to use the 2nd, let alone wildcard.
I agree Man Utd fixtures are not promising after Palace, so I'd get rid of some Utd players and get in more Chelsea and Man City in my team after this week .

Very good advice. I was pretty unhappy with my team going into this week particularly as a Jesus owner. I put together a few potential wildcard drafts and posted on here, but I didn't wildcard as my team was "fine" and I hoped stupidly that Jesus would play.

That decision cost me about 30-35 points from the wildcard team I would have had, as I would have got in Aguero (c), Jones, Kola/Monreal amongst others.

Bottom line is I'm now wildcarding this week.

My team is well set up for GW8 and beyond except for 2 players, Mkhi and Lukaku. Will replace them with 2 FT which I will have next week. I don't need to wildcard.

This is my current thinking, which is leading me toward a Kun>Lukaku(c) switch this week.

However, I've done a couple of WC drafts with GW8 in mind and unless I switch out Kane (BOU), I can't really make the type of changes I'd really want to make - and could just as easily get two or three key players for a hit or two.

I don't really need to wildcard and don't think there needs to be a panic to get rid of the chip - we do have until Christmas! Got 2FT, not even sure I need to use one of those. Planning to make some minor move this week and then probably use the 2 frees to ship Dawson and Lukaku to Azpi and Morata. Can then do Mkhi to Silva the next week and boom I've navigated the fixture swing. With so many premiums delivering and Man City so strong I don't want more City than one. Price rises are a lame justification to wildcard, they happen all the time so you'll get them whenever you play it.

Good "stream of consciousness" posting.

Personally, my team is okay as it is playing the bare 11 - TC is my only sub with TAA and Hunemonster rendered useless - but at this stage of the season, the subs bench is often not necessary.

A reason for wildcarding now would be to change the formation. I am still undecided about the most effective formation. It's time to hit the RMT machine in the Members' area.

Wildcarding for the sake of it is nonsense. If you really HAVE to WC then do it, if not then save it. Really doesn’t matter what the so called HOF leaders do as there are different ways to play the game.

There is no point for me to WC yet. I’ve got Forster and Bertrand who have excellent 5 fixtures. Mee has excellent home fixtures for a while yet. Salah who looks essential. Alli who isn’t in his best form but will be well rested because of other suspensions and nailed to play 90 mins as a second striker. Morata who people will bring in on WC I’ve had for a while. I’ve got Bavies who has a plum fixture in GW8. Happy with Elliot. Not in a rush to sell Hegazi either as I can afford a drop there.

So that’s already 9 of 15 players that I’m happy with and I haven’t even started on the 3 United players. So you’re saying we have enough information but what information do we have on United in the big games this season? Lukaku scored and missed a sitter in the only big game United have had this season (Real in the SC). Why can’t he bully that fragile LIV defence at Anfield? And he has Huddersfield the week after, good luck behind the sofa when his EO will be insane. There’s a case to be made for Mkhi that he is at his best vs teams with a high defensive line. He will get that vs LIV and TOT. In fact he scored the only goal in the game vs TOT last season. So why not keep him considering his price?

You’re saying we have enough info but the fact is we really don’t. With 5 teams in CL, a jampacked schedule with 8 GWs between the end of November and start of January, there is bound to be big rotations. Good luck to the people who don’t really need to use the WC and are only playing it for the sake of it.

Good post. I think in general till 4/5 GWs it doesn't make sense to do WC. For lack of data. After that as you say every week is potential WC time depending on fixture swings, injuries, rotation etc.

I learnt about the perils of early WC the hard way when I panicked into a WC in GW3 and shipped out jesus, Kola, Ritchie, Salah. For the weeks 3,4,5 my WC team underperformed my GW2 team. GW6 was the first time the current team has outperformed. Arguably I could have arrived at this point with a few transfers and hits while having higher points on the board.