I agree but I think there is also a lot more data available to people now which helps formulate a template much earlier on.

In what way is the price change algorithm new this year?

Mainly due to the fixture list. Most of the big sides have favourable fixtures so it’s straightforward to select from the high performing players in those teams as opposed to shopping round for hidden gems in the mid or lose league sides

Great questions. And great answers.

So, what the template now for wildcarders after two weeks?

Have Mane with good form but bad fixtures after 2gw or Auba , not in good form but excellent fixtures?

No, it's never been like this. It's unfortunate for me, this is the best start I've ever had. I get a good start and everyone goes for my team. Obviously nobody is copying, the template team just makes so much sense. Kane is a bit off and doesn't do well in august, aguero was nailed on before the season started because he'd done so well last year. Salah is a must. The fullbacks of mendy and robertson are essential and was from the word go. At least I don't have to watch bad fpl teams rise to the top straight away, teams with players like chester. I'd catch them in the end but why not start well instead

Once you start to try and fit Haz, Kane, Alli, Erik and dare I say it Lukak if Utd start firing, the template will soon change.

As you say, we avoided WC players and City fixtures were just too good to ignore.

Pool have a run of tricky fixtures coming up so we might see some drop Salah for Haz and just keep Mane (mistake imo)

But I hope the template does change quickly because the game is boring already by gw2

I'm impressed that you spent a year on ffs before having a go at fpl. Very keen.

In fact week 2 template team is not preseason template team. Mendy, Richarlison and Mane have 0,5 million new owner at least. Kun and Alonso 300 000+. All of them are there because of their top returns. this is why template team looks so strong after week2. After week 10 it will be close rank 100 000 team.

A lot is covered above - the early fixtures favoured Liverpool and City, who are most people's pick for the top 2 positions in the PL this season, some important players were not ready after the WC and so on.

But it's a mistake to consider it a 'template' in my view. All that is reflected is performance over 2 weeks. Richarlison has seen his ownership go from around 16% to around 36%, Mendy from 12% to 28%, Mané from 18% to 34%. That's primarily because they scored big in GW1 and then did well again in GW2. If Pereyra does well this weekend his price will rocket; same goes for Mkhi, Walcott and others who did well in GW2.

Most teams are still active at this stage and casual managers tend to transfer in players based on recent performance rather than projected future performance (they are sometimes the same thing but often not). So we don't really have a template, just a reflection of what has happened in the first 2 weeks. The only difference this season is that a lot of the FFS favourites have delivered so people round here are mostly happy. But that's by no means the case every season. 😉

My experience is that there’s always a “template” team - invariably one that would have scored a tonne of points the previous week, and ignores the role of luck and general FPL chaos that happens each weekend.

However it has undoubtedly been an unusual start.

it’s been very, very high scoring. 100 points a week is not the norm. Most seasons you could be happy with 50-70 depending on the average for the week.

The best teams have also had the best fixtures, and the highest scorers. And it’s not been difficult to pick out the more dependable assets.

So taking risks and -4s has been easier to justify and more likely to pay off if 100 point weeks keep happening.

Looking further ahead- that “template” could be torn up by Monday, or this evening.

My prediction is that there will be a lot of high scorers this year. The top 6 all look good barring United, and all have players who could coin it in.

For example, Auba, Hazard, Kane could all do incredibly well - but how would you fit them in if no-one in the current template fades away? We could be forced to prioritise between a number of high performing players rather than try to mould teams to an early “dependable template”.

All of that notwithstanding the luck and chaos that comes with injuries, cup competitions, rotation etc.

I think there was a strong template going into Gameweek 1 tbh. The experienced players in my mini-leagues all had 7-10 of my starting 11. I think this was a result of the world cup and a reduced number of guaranteed starters. It just so happened that the template did extremely well and so all players are now sculpting their teams to look like ours based on recent performance.

Once the likes of Kane, Lukaku, Auba and Hazard start firing we'll start to see some differences.

I think with their fixtures and form towards th end of the season there was always going to be a strong template of 6 Liverpool and city players, and then with the world cup to take into account you had a much much smaller pool of players to choose from in the remaining slots.

Also, this pre season has probably been the best indicator of performance in my 4 years playing, which makes the template stick.

The ridiculous fixture runs points to why the early wildcards could backfire. The fixture swings will be huge.

Definitely agree that there are some factors which make the start to this season unusual, but the general clamouring for 'template' players and many teams looking similar is common across all seasons.

I remember listening to Mark on the Scoutcast last season after 2 or 3 weels saying Lukaku was not only essential but a sesson keeper. That didnt last long did it?

All will change in 6 or 7 weeks and there will still be 30 odd weeks to go before the end of the season.

For now it's all about the 2 or 3 differentials in each team and whether they can perform.

2nd and 3rd strikers are the spots where there seem to be most varied options and no real template....

I think #3 and #4 are the boggest contributors here. Look at the templates and they include players for teams that have had a great initial run of fixtures and they have done well so far. Aguero, Mendy/ Salah, Mane and Robertson/ Richarlison/ AWB/ Alonso and Pedro. All of these players had good fixtures and have performed well. When the fixtures swing we will see what managers will adapt quickly and which will lose ground. Thats when i plan to swerve away from the current template (which i pretty much had from GW1)

Do you think its a reflection of:

1. People generally taking FPL more seriously now.
2. Loads more info available online.
3. Real life teams are performing more to form. This makes FPL more predictable.

All of which makes a great argument for making some pals and doing a draft (in addition to fpl). Your wk 1 / template / premium picks are distributed evenly amongst the managers and you’re then left to gamble over the differentials and trying to gauge when they will explode / come hot. Nothing better than signing someone from the free pool who blanks the first week when benched then grabs a haul the following week when you’re ready to throw him in eg. When/whether to grab Will Hughes over Maddison

It's 1 and 3 entirely.

Let's be honest, any fantasy football player worth their salt would have highlighted City and Liverpool big hitters for big points regardless of any 'template'. This is not only because they are the most attacking sides, but also because similar priced big hitters have either had a long world cup, have new managers, have unrest at the club or have a tough run of games (or hadn't scored in august before!). This completely removes the likes of Hazard, Kane, Lukaku, Aubameyang, Morata, Alli and Sterling from the equation - all of whom have been top, top point scorers in the last year or more.

Once people double or triple up on the City and Liverpool big hitters then they aren't left with a lot of budget for anything but decent mid-priced players to fill the remaining positions. With fixtures falling as they have and certain teams impressing in pre-season, then it was always likely that this remaining budget was spent on the same, similar batch of mid-priced assets.

Everything is sunny and glorious in a lot of teams right now but once the aforementioned list of big hitters return and start firing, then we'll see a period of utter chaos - where templates are smashed and heroes and villains are born.

This really is the calm before the storm.

Expensive forwards not doing their thing for time being.
Everybody has Zaha/Arni/King/( wondering about Mitrovic/Ings/Wilson), and expect them (probably) to match expensive forwards points...which frees funds for template of attacking LBs, and expensive mids.
Nobody is talking that Richa will match Salah, but a lot of guys are still like - Zaha will match Kane.
For time being that is the cause for early template.
When Auba/Lukaku/Kane deliver...two braces in a row...somebody will hot topic - "is it time for expensive three forwards?"

Every year is the same, although admittedly there seems much more point chasing and getting last weeks goal scorers and less independent thinking than ever before .
People think research is coming in here and see who everyone else is getting in.

This week, in all probability we will get some big scorers not currently in vogue , a Auba , Kane , Morata, Hazard or some random mid priced and they will all be in the ‘template’ next week
Pick who you want based on stats , fixtures, value & good old judgement and we won’t go far wrong

Would also add 5. Over 50% of teams started with the same heavy-hitter after ending last season with a record-breaking score