It’s been a difficult start to the season for Sam from FPLFamily. Here she talks through how she is coping, her plans for Gameweek 4 and how now is the time for a recovery.
Blimey, the last two Gameweeks have been difficult.
Having had a decent start to Gameweek 1, I haven’t been able to catch a break since. I played Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m) in Gameweek 1 and 2 for his lack of returns, only to then bench him for his Gameweek 3 haul. The double Nottingham Forest defence has also been a constant frustration. Now with the appointment of Ange Postecoglou. it feels like an even worse decision. Plus I haven’t yet been able to nail a captaincy call.
All of this has had a massive impact on me.
Normally I spend the international breaks fully engaged in what the matches mean for my FPL team. This time I decided it was time to put my team to the side for a couple of weeks and take a breath. When FPL goes well, it feels like you are riding the crest of the wave. There’s an adrenaline rush when a player scores or keeps that clean sheet. And there is an eagerness to check LiveFPL for the impact on overall rank.
When FPL bites back!
But when FPL goes wrong, the opposite is true. Rayan Ait Nouri (£6.0m) going off injured for a one- pointer, followed by him returning a zero-pointer the week after, is so frustrating. Especially with him now out for Gameweek 4. That, coupled with not captaining the highest-scoring player in my team once yet this season, has had me second-guessing all my decisions.
So heading into Gameweek 4 over the international break, I stopped. I watched football for the fun of it and not as a recruiting FPL manager! I looked at the data to prep for the FPL Pod, but didn’t apply it to my own team until Thursday afternoon. When I opened the app then, it was with excitement rather than a nervousness about the potential for another disappointing week. This week, I feel positive.
Moving on up
With a sense that I have a mountain to climb over the next few weeks, I was excited to be introduced to a new FFS tool. You might remember at the end of last season that we had a ‘wrapped’ tool that gave you details about your season. It included things like chip analysis, how your overall rank was won (and lost!) and your player history, amongst other things.
Over the international break, the guys have put together an FPL Season Summary. This page will update to show you an accurate review of your season. Right now, mine looks a mess, but it’s weirdly motivating.
I think watching the upward trend take hold over the next few weeks will be a really nice way to show my recovery! And of course, when I play my chips, having a review of their success will also give me a real boost.
Gameweek 4
So, with a determination to correct that trend with an upwards one, we head into Gameweek 4.
I was hoping to get through this Gameweek without a hit, and that is possible. I could just bench Ait-Nouri and instead play either Maxim De Cuyper (£4.5m) or Reinildo Mandava (£4.0m). However, I am not especially keen on either of their fixtures this week as far as clean sheets go. So that leaves me with one of two options:
- Sell Ait-Nouri and invest in the Arsenal defence with Gabriel (£6.1m)
- Bench the City man and instead sell De Cuyper for Marcos Senesi (£4.6m)
Both these incoming players look great and could do well in Gameweek 4. However, both would be for a -4 as I have already brought in Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) this week. Senesi has the upside of the defensive contributions, having registered 43 already, which is the joint-most of any other defender in the game. Brighton will definitely attack and I can see him picking up the additional two points again. This would therefore cancel out the hit and make any clean sheets points won. Plus, outside of Jurrien Timber, he is also the highest-scoring defender in the game.
Arsenal have been watertight this season, with the exception of the goal conceded away at Liverpool. With Gabriel’s attacking threat and with Forest having conceded 11 attempts from set pieces, he could be on for a good return in the early kick-off.
I will likely take the hit – but which player for might require some thought right up until the deadline.
