Why FPL managers should keep two free transfers for Gameweek 16

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Here, former FPL champion Simon March highlights the upside of rolling a transfer.

If somebody were to ask me for the one key piece of FPL advice that I’d elevate above all others, it would always be this: carry the free transfer whenever possible.

I’m convinced that this practice, and the will to consistently execute it throughout a season, offers some of the most profound advantages available for managers within the game. However, as we home in on Gameweek 16, this practice might be more relevant and significant than ever.

As it stands, every manager can theoretically go into Gameweek 16 with two free transfers and this article will focus on some reasons why they should and on why it is such a significant tactic overall.

Why should managers carry the free transfer?

The first reason why managers should aim, wherever possible, to carry the free transfer is fairly simple: two is better than one. However, when it comes to transfers, being able to make two transfers in one Gameweek is exponentially better than making just one per Gameweek.

Firstly, unless you happen to have a lot of money in the bank, your options for a single transfer are limited to players of the same or lower price. This automatically limits your options and potentially forces you to back suboptimal players due to a lack of alternative options.

Using only one transfer also will not allow you to shift funds between player categories, for example by moving funds from defence into attack. As a result, repeatedly using a single transfer brings a high risk of stagnation within your squad, forcing you to mine sub-par assets from dwindling options within a declining bracket, instead of taking advantage of shifting dynamics and efficiently and efficiently moving onto new opportunities.

Therefore not only does using two transfers at a time grant you more options, it avoids the long-term rot we can instigate when our options are forcibly narrowed.

Carrying the transfer promotes good practices

If you are consistently making one transfer weekly, you might be taking advantage of shifts and new opportunities in the game (though, for reasons described above, you probably are not, at least not as well as you could be) but you are also likely to be buying into many of the short-term bandwagons that come along. A practice that can easily derail a good season.

Carrying the transfer, on the other hand, negates impulsiveness and promotes patience, forcing managers into a temporary observing state. While this might occasionally lead to a missed opportunity in the short-term, this practice over the long term will more than make up for such instances by helping to root out the player assets who had a good week from the ones who can genuinely deliver consistently. The downside of being slow to acquire a good asset is almost always less damaging than being too quick to acquire a bad one.

Why carrying the transfer is important for Gameweek 16

Going into Gameweek 16 with two free transfers has the potential to offer a big advantage over rival managers and an opportunity to go into the World Cup break on a high.

Obviously, having two free transfers brings all the benefits that I’ve described above but it will also reduce the need or temptation to take a hit, something a lot of managers will do and something that is likely ill-advised given that the hit would need to pay off in Gameweek 16 alone.

Furthermore, Gameweek 16 brings with it a mini-fixture swing with currently popular teams (in FPL terms) such as Newcastle, Chelsea, Leicester, Fulham and Brentford all facing tougher fixtures. Two free transfers provides an opportunity to move away from these assets and re-invest in a couple of ‘one-week punts’, acquiring players from teams with much better fixtures like Crystal Palace, Everton, Liverpool, Man Utd, Spurs, Brighton and West Ham.

Again, for the reasons given above, having two free transfers opens up so many more possibilities for attacking the assets of these teams than just one transfer would. Gameweek 16 is a unique opportunity to back some lesser-owned or high-ceiling assets that you might not have otherwise wanted in your team for the longer term.

In other words, if you can carry a transfer and go into Gameweek 16 with two free transfers available, not only could it pay off exponentially but it will also likely be a lot of fun, too.