Welcome to the latest in our new regular article series gathering our community’s tales of joy and woe from the last Gameweek in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game. This will look at the key decisions made that proved either inspired or saw overall ranks plummet. We also find out what lessons our community has learned from their key captaincy, transfer and benching decisions over the week.
This week saw those who invested in Hull’s assets have the last laugh, while those who drafted in Liverpool’s midfield maestros were left disappointed.
The Rough
Weeks don’t get rougher than Tom Fenley’s and Luke Sanders’s Gameweek 34. Both racked up an eye watering 52 pt hit after forgetting to activate their wildcard button. As Tom is the reigning FPL champion it shows that even the best can have tough Gameweeks.
Rhino’s drafting in of Newcastle’s Ryan Taylor, who conceded three goals, over Hull assets who he “just didn’t fancy” proved disastrous. Van Gaalelujah was another to have a frustrating Gameweek with a succession of punts failing to deliver. As part of a 12 pt hit he drafted in among others Liverpool pair Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, who each delivered a pair of blanks.
It was another Liverpool asset, Alberto Moreno, who let Doolittle down. His decision to opt for the non playing defender over his colleague Martin Skrtel, who delivered a double digit FPL points haul, left him wondering about what could have been.
The Smooth
Amongst this week’s happy wildcarders was GeordieNUFC1, who leapt from 9,000 to 4,000 in the overall rankings after notching an impressive 92 pt score. “Holding a wildcard for a double gameweek can be fruitful, trust in its power,” is the lesson he’s learned from Gameweek 34.
Opting to place the armband on Martin Skrtel proved inspired for Sheikh Holmes, who was one of the few to shun the captaincy option of either Chelsea’s Eden Hazard or Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling. As a non-wildcarder it was a risk that needed to be taken and happily paid off.
Heels Over Head was another happy wildcarder who saw our Tweet about Hull Bruce preferring Steve Harper over Allan McGregor in goal just in time. Harper helped him accrue a 94 pt haul as part of a wildcard that gave him a full set of 11 double Gameweek players.
A 110 point tally was a deserved reward for The Iron Tulip’s wildcard tinkering and investment in Hull’s differential striker Dame N’Doye. His advice ahead of a double Gameweek is “ignore all players previous form.”
This week’s Dimitar Berbatov Smooth Operator award goes to Sheik Jawain, who was highlighted on this week’s Scoutcast as “coming out of nowhere” to challenge Dufflinks for the title of FPL champion. With a score of 95 his perfectly timed wildcard, that included drafting in Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel, propelled him from tenth to second in the overall rankings.
To see more Gameweek 34 tales of woe and joy click here.
