Fantasy Football Scout community writer Greyhead analyses the transfers and strategies of some well-known Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
This season’s names are the BlackBox pair of Mark Sutherns and Az, Scouts Joe Lepper and Tom Freeman, Scoutcasters Seb Wassell and Andy North, Pro Pundits FPL General, Pras, Zophar and FPL Harry, FPL ‘celebrities’ LTFPL Andy and Ben Crellin, FPL champion FPL Gunz, Hall of Famers Fabio Borges, Finn Sollie, Jan Kepski and Jon Ballantyne, and last year’s mini-league winner Marko Miseric.
“Ha Ha Haaland”
Will he? Won’t he? The likelihood of the big Norwegian starting was the main talking point going into the Gameweek. Pep Guardiola gave us hope, which was enough for many to jump onto the unstoppable scoring machine.
Who to kick out? Well, that was a more difficult decision. Those who decided on Darwin Nunez (£7.4m) must have felt they’d hit the FPL woodwork when a late Double Gameweek 25 was announced for Liverpool. Then again, he was duly benched to remind us all why he was sold in the first place.
However, by the end of Gameweek 23, it was Philip Walter Foden (£7.9m) who took all the headlines. Yes, I am using his full name to emphasise the impact of his hat-trick against Brentford – although some could only watch in horror after benching the Stockport-bred 23-year-old midfielder. And yes, I have been on his Wikipedia. His favourite meal is salmon and rice, for those wondering!
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
Yet, it wasn’t just about the Manchester City game this week – although it’s the one that brought the biggest swings – as the weekend contained its own range of ups and downs. The captaincy call was wide open and those who placed their trust in Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) were substantially rewarded with an 18-point haul.
This is one of the reasons why Az hit a well-deserved century this week, with Foden, Watkins and differential pick Joao Pedro (£5.4m). He could even afford to bench Alejandro Garnacho’s (£4.8m) 16 points. All this gave him a 680k ranking jump and a place inside the top million for the first time this season.
Talking of firsts, Ben Crellin enters the top 10k for the first time this season. He was another to profit from the Watkins captaincy bonanza, also owning Richarlison‘s (£7.2m) brace.
Overall, it was a good week for The Great and The Good, with 14 of them getting green arrows and 10 achieving their highest ranks of 2023/24 – even Andy North!
THE GREAT AND THE GOOD TRANSFERS
No question who the most popular purchase was this week, with two-thirds buying Erling Haaland (£14.2m). You might want to double-check that price, as it will no doubt continue to skyrocket due to the inflationary pressures at FPL Towers.
Meanwhile, the late Liverpool Double Gameweek announcement undoubtedly impacted some of the other moves, with Pras probably having a tinge of regret at selling Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m). Yet he did get an immediate boost with replacement Kieran Trippier (£6.8m).
Seb’s move for Mark Flekken (£4.5m) speaks to a man preparing for the double. Unfortunately, he benched the goalkeeper for his 10-point return. And keep an eye on Jon Ballantyne’s move for Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m), which could be canny if Manchester United’s form continues to improve.
- Andy LTFPL – Alvarez > Haaland
- Andy North – Alvarez > Haaland, Salah > Gordon
- Az – Alexander-Arnold > Trippier
- Ben Crellin – Alvarez > Haaland
- Fabio Borges – Alvarez > Haaland
- Finn Sollie – Semenyo > Haaland, Gross > Gordon
- FPL General – Alvarez > Haaland
- FPL Gunz – No transfers
- FPL Harry – Alvarez > Haaland
- Jan Kepski – Alvarez > Haaland
- Joe Lepper – No transfers
- Jon Ballantyne – Alvarez > Haaland, Salah > Fernandes
- Mark Sutherns – Salah > Gordon
- Marko Miseric – Alvarez > Haaland
- Pras – Wood > Haaland, Alexander-Arnold > Trippier
- Seb Wassell – Johnstone > Flekken
- Tom Freeman – No transfers
- Zophar – Solanke > Haaland
THE GREAT AND THE GOOD TEMPLATE
Here is the template for The Great and The Good this week:
Areola (14), Dubravka (13)
Gabriel (15), Porro (15), Alexander-Arnold (9), Estupinan (9), Trippier (6)
Foden (17), Palmer (17), Saka (16), De Bruyne/Richarlison/Gordon (6)
Watkins (18), Haaland (13), Solanke (13)
There was an inevitability around Haaland rejoining the fold as Julian Alvarez (£6.9m) returned to his bridesmaid duties. Elsewhere, we saw a couple of Newcastle United lads onboard with Trippier and Anthony Gordon (£6.2m), their fixtures no doubt being too tempting to resist.
BENCH BOOST
Plenty of points were left on the sidelines this week, with LTFPL Andy and Pras both placing Foden’s haul on the pine. Therefore it’s as good a time as any to check how many points have been benched so far.
Pras clearly likes depth in his squad, leading the way with 221 points left behind, although this tactic has also gained him 19 autosub points. Maybe it’s a strategy worth considering as we get into rotation and chip-chasing time. Marko Miseric has the best autosub-to-benched ratio, with 47 points coming in to boost him up the ranks.
CONCLUSION
Just wait, wait, no seriously wait. Calm those itchy trigger fingers as plenty more information will be coming our way shortly, including that crucial Chelsea v Aston Villa FA Cup replay which, I suspect, will dictate many Free Hit strategies depending on its result. It will assist FPL managers in predicting how many players can be fielded in big Blank Gameweek 29.
For those who suffered from the swing this week, be careful as there are more to come, with the double and blank strategies no doubt having a big influence over imminent weeks. The decision to back Liverpool or indeed Luton Town could be key.
As always, if you want to dig further into the data, have a read of the Mini-League Mate dossier. Under ‘Join an existing league’, just enter your name and email address alongside the league code MLM0001. It’s all free!
Anyway, that’s all from me for now, but remember – don’t have FPL nightmares.
For those affected by any of the topics raised above, you can find me here on Twitter.
