Fantasy Football Scout community writer Greyhead analyses the Blank Gameweek 34 transfers and strategies of some well-known Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
‘The Great and The Good’ this season are the FPL Godfather Mark Sutherns, the BlackBox pair of Az and Andy North, Scouts FPL General, Joe and Tom, the FPL Wire trio of Pras, Lateriser and Zophar, FPL celebrities FPL Harry, Martin Baker, Pingreen, FPL Frasier and Luke Williams, Hall of Famers Ben Crellin, Fabio Borges and Tom Dollimore, and last year’s mini-league winner Huss E.
“Hell’s Kitchen”
Blank Gameweek 34 was less like a well-planned feast and more like throwing together a meal from whatever’s left in the fridge, with many of us shouting a few Gordon Ramsey expletives at the outcome. Some even forgot that their dinner reservations were on Friday evening.
With Manchester City, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley and Leeds United all missing, almost half the usual ingredients were taken off the shelf.
That’s why 11 of The Great and The Good reached for their Free Hit chip. The FPL equivalent of ordering a takeaway when the cupboard is bare. However, the returns varied in quality from a slap-up fish supper to a dodgy kebab from that bloke called Kev who swears the meat isn’t dog.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have changed their head chef mid-service again, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley have been consigned to the bin, Coventry City have risen nicely, and it’s all getting a bit tasty over at the relegation buffet zone.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
These Free Hit chip activations were the headline act, and – credit where it’s due – these 11 didn’t overthink the core. A reassuring template spine of Bruno Fernandes (£10.4m), Pedro Porro (£5.2m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.2m), Jarrod Bowen (£7.8m) and David Raya (£6.0m) formed the backbone. Sensible. Calm. Boring.
Which, of course, means the actual gains came from somewhere else entirely.
Because while the core ticked along politely, it was the differential managers that did the real damage. None more so than Mark Sutherns, who is either on a remarkable run of form or has quietly discovered some sort of FPL cheat code hidden in Nottingham Forest’s fixtures.
His surge continues – now on three consecutive green arrows, he’s launched himself from 69k in Gameweek 31 to near the top 10k. This time, he had double reason to celebrate as a Forest fan, with Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.6m) and Neco Williams (£4.8m) delivering scores that felt both slightly fortunate and annoyingly well-called. Skill? Luck? A dark pact with the FPL gods?
Hot on his heels was his old Scoutcast sparring partner Joe, posting a very tidy 71 points. That’s enough to enter the top 100k and, perhaps more importantly, gives him bragging rights in any conversation that begins with “I told you about Gibbs-White.”
Elsewhere, let’s hold a minute of silence for Lateriser, who put the armband on Xavi Simons (£6.6m). That’s like finding a hair in your soup.
Looking at a broader picture, the Free Hitters did indeed outscore the non-Free Hitters on average by… one point. So the gains weren’t quite as seismic as they were hoping for.
Which leaves us in a beautifully poised spot heading into Gameweek 35, where attention turns to the Wildcard users.
TRANSFERS
The Blank Gameweek 34 transfers weren’t exactly a chef’s special. More like items grabbed from the discount aisle past their sell-by date. It was a right dog’s dinner.
Just nine purchases in total, and somehow these were ingredients that immediately went off early – Xavi, Dominic Solanke (£7.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£14.0m), while Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) changed from sizzling to stale overnight.
The only dish worth sending back for seconds? Huss E’s move for Raya – simple, tasty with a sprinkling of save points.
‘THE GREAT AND THE GOOD’ TEMPLATE
Raya (77.8%), Hermansen (27.8%)
Gabriel (100.0%), van Dijk (83.3%), Porro (55.6%), Mavropanos (50.0%), Heaven (44.4%)
Fernandes (100.0%), Salah (66.7%), Xavi (55.6%), Wilson (50.0%), Szoboszlai (33.3%)
Bowen (88.9%), Solanke (50.0%), Watkins (50.0%)
A template completely distorted by Free Hits. This kitchen clear-out only had Fernandes surviving from last week. He’s as safe as that dollop of ketchup that your kids insist on having with everything.
Though I suspect this is the last time we’ll see Xavi, Solanke or Ayden Heaven (£3.7m), in this season’s template larder.
CAPTAIN CALLS
Furthermore, The Great and the Good captaincy scene keeps looking like a buffet where everyone piles the same thing onto their plate.
Erling Haaland (£14.5m) is the obvious main dish – picked by 49% of managers, basically the meat and potatoes of FPL. Whereas FPL General is adhering to a strict season-long “No Haaland Diet”, Huss E has been back for seconds, thirds, and probably the serving spoon.
Fernandes is the spicy side order at 21% trust. Not as popular, but delivering solid heat with an 18-point average when captained.
Finally, Gabriel, the hidden gourmet option. Only 2.7% of occasions have seen him given the armband, yet he’s averaging the best returns at 20 points. Perhaps these should have been a bit more varied in their menu selection.
CONCLUSION
As there are only four weeks to go, many of our fates are already sealed. As for who will win The Great and The Good, it could be the rank outsider Huss E, proving that Celebrity FPL Chefs are not always the best cooks.
Anyway, that’s all from me for now, and remember: don’t have FPL nightmares.
For those affected by any of the topics raised above, you can find me here on Twitter or BlueSky.
