In the latest article from our team of Hall of Famers and guest contributors, FPL General reflects on his Gameweek 14 green arrow and reveals his big team decisions for Gameweek 15 and beyond.
GAMEWEEK 14 REVIEW
If it wasn’t for the late Erling Haaland (£14.0m) yellow card, the troops would be inside the top 100k. In the end, it was a green arrow from 157k to 103k, where things are going well but my squad is beginning to look very thin. How much longer can I survive without activating the Wildcard?
Last week’s free transfer brought in Bryan Mbeumo (£7.1m) for the hurt Eberechi Eze (£6.1m). The domino effect of this injury was that I was able to keep Anthony Gordon (£6.0m), who would’ve been sold to accommodate the Brentford attacker. If there’s no injury, Gordon will now likely be a long-term hold.
Meanwhile, resisting the temptation to remove a flagged Ollie Watkins (£8.4m) for a hit paid off. A switch to Darwin Nunez (£7.7m) was very tempting and I probably would’ve done it had there been a second free transfer available. However, I knew I’d want Watkins back for Blank Gameweek 18 and would’ve had to pay £0.5m more to do so. Although not always the case, this patient approach has been serving me well so far.
I had concerns about Matty Cash (£4.9m) going into Gameweek 14 and it played out horribly with him. By coming off the Aston Villa bench for 15 minutes, Cash blocked the 11-point autosub of Burnley’s Jordan Beyer (£4.0m). Then again, I never considered starting Beyer, so there’s no regret there. Burnley having their best fixture of the season played a part in my decision to keep Watkins too. If he missed out completely, I was happy to let Beyer come in.
Elsewhere, watching the Manchester City game as a Julian Alvarez (£7.0m) owner was a frustrating experience. He registered an assist but it could’ve been a lot more. The World Cup winner hit the post and created seven chances for team-mates. I’m hopeful that the injuries and suspensions to other Man City assets will see Alvarez start the next couple.
Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone (£4.7m) has blanked in five of the last six. With Crystal Palace going into a very tricky run of games from Gameweek 16 onwards, I’m open to making a short-term switch between the sticks soon before Wildcarding.
FPL GAMEWEEK 15 BUS TEAM
Best of luck for the midweek Gameweek, folks.
Check out this week’s episode of ‘General’s Orders’ and the latest 59th Minute Podcast, if you haven’t already.
