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Learning from the Great and the Good 19/20 – Gameweek 30+

“You. Me. Them. Everybody needs somebody to love”

We all need FPL to love. It’s good to be back and there was a real buzz as the first week had it all with dubious team leaks, a goal that wasn’t because the referee’s watch ran out of batteries and Roy Keane threatening to go all medieval on Harry Maguire and David De Gea.

During the break some of us have spent our time wisely honing our skills with Ragabolly’s virtual version of the game or the splendid Championship Manager FPL, whilst some even delved into the sinister world of Faroes Island Fantasy, no really, it’s a thing.

The band is back together on a mission from FPL as The Great and The Good have been rounded up again with Project Restart bringing football back into our lives.

As a reminder The Great and The Good are a handpicked group of FPL celebrities (?), FF Scouts or Pro Pundits who I will follow to see what we can learn as they navigate their way through the season. They are the Scouts (MarkJoeDavidGeoff and Neale), FPL “celebrities” (AzLTFPL AndyFPL General and Jules Breach) and finally from the Hall of Fame we have Ville RonkaMatthew Jones and Sean Tobin.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

The table below gives a summary of performance:-

learning-from-the-great-and-the-good-19-20-gameweek-30

David was back with a bang, bench boosting himself to the top score of 124, he captained Sergio Aguero but had Riyad Mahrez and some smart single gameweeker purchases in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Romain Saiss and Gary Cahill that helped him top the mountain.

In fact, there was no need for fake crowd effects this week as it was a good one all round with eight of the twelve hitting triple figures, this was the first time any of them had achieved the century this campaign.

Neale still tops the table and looks to have a Liverpool-esque hand on the trophy as he reaches the top 5,000 and his highest rank of the season.

Captaincy choice this week involved playing Pep roulette with most going with Kevin De Bruyne or Sergio Aguero. Mark gambled on Gabriel Jesus but in this case the maverick move didn’t pay off, however, the City striker may now be of interest to others with Aguero’s injury.

CHIP STRATEGIES

Chips galore this week, as you would expect, but there were several different strategies at play. The majority smug with their wildcards intact decided to bench boost knowing they could rip it up and start again.

Interestingly, Geoff and Sean ignored this option and free hit, but this is possibly down to the fact they had been two of the most active during the lockdown, with Sean making seven moves in the FPL hiatus, so were confident in their teams for the run-in.

Joe, Andy and FPL General followed the more conventional path of free hitting having spent their wildcard but Jules decided to bench boost even though she had overhauled her team back in GW28, this meant she was more conservative on the DGWers with only eight of her squad playing twice.

The table below gives us the chips played by The Great and The Good so far and their relative success:-

learning-from-the-great-and-the-good-19-20-gameweek-30 1

All the bench boosters hit green arrows this week with David having the top-scoring bench, but Andy still leads the way for the season with 33 points off the woodwork back in Gameweek 27 which shows you don’t always have to boost in a double.

This was the first week we have seen the free hit chip played and Sean was the most successful with 101, the Wolves pair of Raul Jimenez and Matt Doherty helping him to triple figures.

Perhaps the biggest question for the Free Hitters Sean, Joe and Geoff is when to play their remaining Bench Boost chip? Gameweek 33 certainly looks favourite with popular bench fodder Todd Cantwell, Charlie Taylor and Jamaal Lascelles having favourable fixtures.

TEMPLATE

This week’s template is distorted by Free Hits and the expectation that most will wildcard in the next 1-2 Gameweeks, however currently the template for The Great and The Good looks like this:-

Leno (10) Henderson (4)

Lundstram (12) Alexander-Arnold (8) Doherty (7) Egan (6) Stevens (6)

Grealish (12) De Bruyne (11) Sterling (8) Mount (4) Mahrez/El Ghazi (3)

Aubameyang (12) Aguero (8) Jimenez/Nketiah (4)

* brackets show the number of teams they appear in

A squad dominated by the doubles with only four single gameweekers in the fifteen – Jimenez, Doherty, Mount and Alexander-Arnold.

John Lundstram, Jack Grealish and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were in 100% of the teams but not sure that will last due to a combination of poor form and fixtures, although Jack the lad may stay due to his talismanic qualities for Villa.

Kevin De Bruyne was included by everyone except Mark who ignored the Man City maestro presumably as he is chasing rank, but he was punished this week for the daring move as the strawberry blonde superstar hit 15 points, although Pep roulette saved him from further punishment.

Bernd Leno is another who will surely move out due to his long-term injury and altercation with Neal Maupay, but it does bring alive the option of Emiliano Martinez, a cheap stopper for those still looking to bench boost.

PRO-PUNDITS

The end of this elongated season will see extra rotation, with five subs and a chance for new players to make their mark so it’s only right that we check on our very own bunch of promising talents the Pro-Pundits. They are FPL HintsSimon MarchTom FreemanSam BonfieldHolly ShandZopharLuke and Lateriser.

learning-from-the-great-and-the-good-19-20-gameweek-30 2

Lateriser leads the way and is the only one in the top 1,000 and with his upside chasing style will no doubt attack the last few weeks, he is certainly the master of the proactive transfer with 233 immediate points from his moves so far this season.

Sam Bonfield is not far behind, just outside the top 1,000, she has been much more conservative with only one hit all season so will be interesting to see if she takes some more risks to finish strong.

You certainly can’t call Luke conservative with 18 hits and my virtual FPL rival Ash (FPL Hints) was another to take advantage of the unlimited transfers with 93 made in the run up to Gameweek 30+.

Elsewhere, Holly Shand and Zophar have shown their quality making steady progress all season after a slow start, Tom Freeman will be looking to recover with some of his infamous differential picks after a sluggish free hit and Simon is worth watching for his love of Danny Ings and his captain picks as he tops the armband charts.

CONCLUSION

So, much to consider as we enter the business end of this FPL campaign with new chip plans having to be considered, the lack of home advantage distorting our ability to frisk the fixtures and the need to be eagle-eyed to spot the new talent who will grasp the opportunity of more regular game time – I am looking directly at you Phil Foden.

The last few weeks of the season will be a bumpy ride with team sheets uncertain, quick turnarounds and no real guide as to what this new normal will bring but to butcher the words of Elwood “It’s 106 miles to the end of the season, we’ve got a full tank, half pack of cigarettes, it’s dark out, and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it.”

Anyway, that’s all from me for now and remember don’t have nightmares.

For those affected by any of the topics raised in the above article they can find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Greyhead19

If you want to keep up with the Tweets of The Great and The Good you can find them here

https://twitter.com/SkontoRigga
https://twitter.com/GeoffreyDance
https://twitter.com/matthewpenycae
https://twitter.com/LetsTalk_FPL
https://twitter.com/DavidMunday815
https://twitter.com/ffscout_az
https://twitter.com/FFScout_Joe
https://twitter.com/FPLGeneral
https://twitter.com/julesbreach

3 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Rotation's Alter Ego
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 9 months ago

    Cheers Greyhead! LR could get a seriously good finish here (Sam as well tbf), will have to keep a close eye on him.

    Ash's 133 transfers are pretty impressive as well though 😉

  2. ReindeerHotdog
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 9 months ago

    Love these kind of articles. Really good info and appreciate the analysis.

    Think Pogba and Alli are the two most important players to own this GW - didn't realise how low their ownership was!

    Think you've got a good point with the Leicester kid - I just think we basically need a FH every week to stand a chance of improving our ranks.

    I'm happy to take hits for the next few GWs whilst simultaneously looking toward the start of next season. Feels a bit confusing right now knowing who to go for - players in a good position certainly have less to worry about regarding losing rank at least.

    For me as I've had a pretty rubbish season so far, it'll be a case of high-risk strategy as I know I have little to lose and a lot to gain and it might even turn out to be a bit more fun!

    Unlimited transfers on the first week back have made it much easier for those still with their WC left to keep the chasing pack at bay. Unfortunately I used mine a few weeks ago and so was a bit disheartened upon returning the game to see the big advantage handed out to those above me.

    It is what it is I suppose!

    Cheers for the good read.

  3. Greyhead
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 9 months ago

    Cheers - Alli failed the audition tonight with Aurier looking a better pick but let’s see what United do tomorrow.Good luck for the rest of the season.