In the latest article from our team of Hall of Famers and guest contributors, FPL General reflects on his Gameweek 16 green arrow and reveals his big team decisions for Gameweek 17 and beyond.
GAMEWEEK 16 REVIEW
The troops have finally reached the top 100k! My goal was to get there by Christmas so the challenge is now to stay there. Thanks to 66 points, it was a green arrow from 158k to 75k. In another fire-fighting exercise, the injured Bryan Mbeumo (£6.9m) was sold for Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (£5.5m). The transfer didn’t immediately pay off but Palmer has a great run of fixtures until Gameweek 21. Hopefully he can avoid picking up a fifth yellow card.
It’s not very often that the vice-captaincy comes into play but Gameweek 16 was a good example of why it’s always important to spend some time on that decision, rather than ignoring it. Getting the Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) haul was very satisfying. He’s likely to get this week’s armband at home to Manchester United, given the doubts surrounding Erling Haaland‘s (£14.0m) fitness.
Meanwhile, buying Son Heung-min (£9.7m) in Gameweek 12 tested my patience up until Gameweek 16, with three blanks in four. But the faith in him was rewarded with a mega 17-pointer against Newcastle United. With four favourable fixtures before he departs for the Asian Cup, if you don’t own Son, make him your priority.
Team-mate Pedro Porro (£5.4m) is arguably the best defensive pick around and is another player to target. With those same fixtures, he’s got so many routes to points while James Maddison (£7.8m) is out.
It was another frustrating experience watching Manchester City as a Julian Alvarez (£6.9m) owner. In the absence of Haaland, I was hopeful that Gameweek 16 would be the week where he’d smash it. But the Argentinian has scored 10+ FPL points on just one occasion this season. He ticks along but isn’t (yet) being explosive. Even so, it was good to see him get another Champions League rest, meaning he’ll get another chance to deliver the goods at home to Crystal Palace this weekend.
Sam Johnstone (£4.6m) picked up an injury, unfortunately. But the return of Matt Turner (£3.9m) between the sticks for Nottingham Forest could save me from having to make a goalkeeper transfer this week.
GAMEWEEK 17 PREVIEW
Best of luck for the Gameweek, folks.
Check out this week’s episode of ‘General’s Orders’ and the latest 59th Minute Podcast if you get a chance before the deadline!
