In the latest article from our team of Hall of Famers and guest contributors, FPL General reflects on his Gameweek 11 green arrow and reveals his big team decisions for Gameweek 12 and beyond.
GAMEWEEK 11 REVIEW
In all my years of playing FPL, there’s never been a weekend quite like Gameweek 11. We will be talking about it for years to come! My troops somehow managed to emerge from the chaos with 35 points and a 100k green arrow, thanks to just three players returning – Sam Johnstone (£4.6m), Anthony Gordon (£5.7m) and Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m).
I dodged a bullet by not activating the Wildcard last week, as I would’ve almost certainly shipped Gordon and Bowen out for players that blanked. Both are likely to stay for Gameweek 12 with good fixtures for Newcastle United and West Ham United. In goal, Crystal Palace’s Johnstone has been heroic as a differential – I’ve grabbed four of his five clean sheets. He loves a bonus point or two as well. Hopefully he will be a season-keeper!
Selling Kieran Trippier (£7.0m) for Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.6m) hurt but the thought process was fine. I expected Trippier to concede against Arsenal and Tsimikas to register a clean sheet at Luton Town but it wasn’t to be. The unlocked Trippier funds have opened the door for this week’s Bukayo Saka (£8.6m) or Son Heung-min (£9.6m) purchase. However, I am slightly worried about Tsimikas going forward, with no real bench cover. I’m hopeful he can start in Gameweek 12 but am open to selling him afterwards when Liverpool face Manchester City.
There were three yellow flags in my team at the start of the week but thankfully Erling Haaland (£14.0m) played on Tuesday and Matty Cash (£5.2m) seems to be fine too. It’d be nice to get an update on the status of James Maddison (£8.1m) before this weekend.
Meanwhile, it was frustrating to watch Julian Alvarez (£7.2m) blank in a 6-1 victory and come off after 71 minutes. He accumulated an expected goal involvement (xGI) of 1.01. But, despite blanking in three of his last four appearances, he’s nowhere near being my squad’s weakest link.
I considered a switch to Eddie Nketiah (£5.7m) for Arsenal’s favourable fixtures but the latter’s injury has stopped that idea. It’s maybe for the best anyway, as it would be another transfer down the line once Gabriel Jesus (£7.8m) returns.
FPL GAMEWEEK 12 BUS TEAM
Best of luck for Gameweek 12 and have a great weekend.
There will be a new 59th Minute Podcast on Friday after the pressers and check out this week’s ‘General’s Orders’ video either below or on the Fantasy Football Scout YouTube channel if you haven’t already!
