Scout Notes

How the final day of the season unfolded from a Fantasy perspective

Our final Scout Notes article of the season is a briefer-than-usual affair, recapping the events of Gameweek 38.

Despite all the interest in Raheem Sterling (£11.7m) and Sergio Aguero (£12.0m), it was the lesser-owned Fantasy assets who won the league for Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Riyad Mahrez (£8.2m) and David Silva (£8.5m) proved to be the heroes as they were the only options to record more than one attacking return.

The former Leicester City midfielder scored the goal to put the title out of Liverpool’s reach, 25 minutes after his corner was nodded in by Aymeric Laporte (£6.3m).

That strike was welcomed by the owners of the centre-back and helped compensate for a lack of a clean sheet.

Despite their incredible record of ten shut-outs in the last 12 matches and Brighton’s struggles in front of goal, it was the Seagulls who actually took the lead at the Amex.

Glenn Murray (£6.1m) was the man to break the deadlock, converting Pascal Groß‘s (£6.7m) corner after 26 minutes.

It mattered little to City in the end though, with Aguero netting an immediate equaliser and setting Pep Guardiola’s side on their way to winning a second successive title.

City’s win meant that the result at Anfield was irrelevant to the outcome of the Premier League title race.

Owners of Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.8m) and Sadio Mane (£10.3m) had a field day, though, with both Liverpool players delivering 15-points hauls.

Mane converted two Alexander-Arnold crosses either side of half-time and Liverpool went on to record their 21st clean sheet of the season – no Premier League club registered more.

Mohamed Salah (£13.2m), passed fit to start along with Andrew Robertson (£6.7m), blanked for the first time in seven Gameweeks and never really looked like scoring, despite his obvious desperation to secure a second successive Golden Boot award.

Talking of disappointments, Manchester United signed off for the season in inglorious fashion, slumping to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of relegated Cardiff City.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (£4.8m) was the unlikely hero, first converting from the penalty spot after himself being felled and then tapping in from a Josh Murphy (£4.8m) pass.

Paul Pogba (£8.6m) and Marcus Rashford (£7.3m) blanked again, while Mason Greenwood (£4.5m) was unable to deliver an attacking return on his full debut despite 15 penalty box touches and seven attempts on goal – two of which were big chances.

Luke Shaw (£5.1m) wasn’t part of the matchday squad.

The real humdinger of the day, as perhaps anticipated, was at Selhurst Park.

There were a grand total of eight goals scored between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth and naturally, despite posting really encouraging underlying statistics in the previous four away matches, Callum Wilson (£6.9m) was not involved in a single one.

Neither was Ryan Fraser (£6.3m), who seems to only ever deliver when his colleague Wilson does.

The real winners of that match were owners of Wilfried Zaha (£6.7m), who recorded three assists and was a constant menace throughout.

His haul was accompanied by a Michy Batshuayi (£6.2m) brace, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.6m), despite conceding three times, notched a rare assist.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.8m) clawed his way to a shared Golden Boot award with two goals at Burnley and finished as the top-scoring FPL forward of 2018/19 in doing so.

The Gabonese striker was the lucky winner of Unai Emery’s rotation roulette as the Arsenal manager shuffled the pack after European commitments – Alexandre Lacazette (£9.4m) and Sead Kolasinac (£4.9m) among the players to drop to the bench.

Ashley Barnes (£5.6m) relieved the glory days of the winter period with one last goal of the season to ensure the Gunners’ defensive record on the road finished in true form.

There was a rare goal for youngster Eddie Nketiah (£5.0m) in the closing stages.

Arsenal’s north London rivals drew 2-2 with Everton, with those who hung onto Christian Eriksen (£9.2m) rewarded when the Dane scored the game’s fourth goal from a direct free-kick.

Several lesser-owned Fantasy assets were among the points, with Theo Walcott (£5.9m) and Cenk Tosun (£6.4m) – in for the injured Richarlison (£6.4m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m) – on the scoresheet for the Toffees.

Erik Lamela (£5.9m) claimed the assists for both of Spurs’ goals, the first of which was an Eric Dier (£4.7m) strike on two minutes.

Gylfi Sigurdsson (£7.4m) signed off for 2018/19 with an assist for Walcott’s goal, with this campaign being the Iceland international’s most successful season from an FPL points’ perspective.

There wasn’t to be a ninth clean sheet in 11 Gameweeks for Marco Silva’s defence, however, while Seamus Coleman (£5.2m) was absent through injury.

Perhaps the most underwhelming spectacle of the afternoon took place at the King Power Stadium.

It was the only match in Gameweek 38 to feature no goals, despite Jamie Vardy‘s (£9.0m) impressive form in recent home fixtures.

There had been suggestions that Chelsea would look sluggish after playing 120 minutes and needing penalties against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night, but they were arguably the more creative team in the opening stages.

Eden Hazard (£11.0m) was left on the bench and emerged for a short display in the second half in which he contributed little.

Vardy had a few opportunities to score but could not convert and was at the very least more composed than Gonzalo Higuaín (£9.0m), who was off target with several clear chances.

An error from the recalled Angus Gunn (£4.3m) cost owners of Southampton’s backline a clean sheet, with Alex Pritchard (£4.8m) pouncing on the Saints’ goalkeeper’s loose touch to hand Huddersfield a deserved point.

Nathan Redmond (£5.5m) had earlier put the hosts ahead with a fine effort from distance – that, indeed, was his only shot of the game.

James Ward-Prowse (£5.1m) was inches from an eighth goal of the season but his 46th-minute effort was tipped onto the bar.

Newcastle made a mockery of the interest in Sergio Rico (£4.4m) at Craven Cottage as they dominated Fulham.

Two quick-fire goals for the Magpies in the first half put it beyond the Cottagers and Scott Parker’s side never really threatened Martin Dubravka‘s (£5.0m) goal, with Ryan Babel (£5.6m) only coming on as a 65th-minute substitute.

Mid-price FPL forwards Ayoze Perez (£6.1m) and Salomon Rondon (£5.9m) each bagged a goal.

The feared pre-FA Cup final rotation didn’t materialise at Vicarage Road, with Javi Gracia naming a full-strength side for the match against West Ham.

He might have wished he didn’t, as the Hornets slumped to a 4-1 defeat and saw Jose Holebas (£4.8m) shown a straight red card early in the second half.

Gerard Deulofeu (£5.7m) at least rewarded his remaining owners with a consolation goal.

Watford haven’t kept a clean sheet since Gameweek 26 and their vulnerability at the back showed, with Mark Noble (£4.8m) grabbing a brace – one goal coming from the spot – and Marko Arnautovic (£6.7m) registering his fourth attacking return in three Gameweeks.

Michail Antonio (£6.8m) delivered a hat-trick of assists while Felipe Anderson (£6.8m) recovered from illness to record what was only his fourth attacking return of 2019.

(co-written by David and Neale)

437 Comments Post a Comment
  1. My heart goes Salalalalah
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    40k finish, not happy about it. There’s always next season...

    1. FPL_Sponge
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Enjoy the summer break, reflect on lessons learned for next season

  2. Tsssst
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Faced losing a ML by one points as counted rivals Jimenez points off the bench towards his total not realising he had run of defenders on a 3 man defence so would have invalidated his formation. Sulked for an hour before discovering I actually beat him by one point. Absolute joy when I realised this. After chasing a 13 point gap it was similar to the CL exploits for me from a FPL perspective.

  3. Weeb Kakashi
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    8k finish . Fairly satisfied.
    See ya"ll next season.

    Cheers!

    1. Ritchies Magic Hat
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Nice one!

  4. Ritchies Magic Hat
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    30k finish for me which I’m more than happy with - improvement on 500k in my first season anyway! Cheers all and see you next time

    1. G-Whizz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Well played!

    2. Fpl Richie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      That's a great improvement. Nice work Juan!

      1. Ritchies Magic Hat
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Cheers guys

    3. Make Arrows Green Again
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Nice one!

  5. idanish1981
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    I have to say this was the most challenging FPL season ever. 751,370 Finnish.
    Very competitive indeed....

    2 million good managers out there 🙂 and growing!

    good luck next season!

    regards...

  6. Srv210
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    102k rank...but a season full of ups and downs....going as high as 13k ,not owning city assets for first double then falling to 500k...clawing my way back, would have finished inside 100k for the first time if some of my last week differentials would have worked.

    but,it was my first serious season so yeah, fairly happy and will be back for better next season . 🙂

    enjoy the fpl vacation guys, we will meet again

    1. Fpl Richie
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Finally someone who ranked like me. Bit of a horror season for me after a few years flirting with the top 10-20k. That's a real achievement for first season.
      I bet you are livid at someone for costing you a few points to make 100k? My eyes are on Angus Gunn dropping a double cleanie! (or me for changing Mane to sterling captain!)

  7. marco_atk85
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    What a final day for me in my Mini-league.

    I was beyond my rival until Mane's second goal. TAA's second assist AND Mane's second goal made me win my mini-league. It couldn't be possible if both hadn't got the points for that spesific goal. wohooo!

    1. FPL_Sponge
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Amazing feeling. I brought in TAA and had Mané captain, so that second goal/assist combo to wrap up the bonus was sensational. It got me from 26k to 17k in final GW

  8. FPL_Sponge
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    17k rank and very happy. Great to end on highest overall rank of entire season

    1. TheDragon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      That’s the dream scenario - congrats 🙂

  9. seewhyaxe
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Fell just outside of 25k

    Grunted. It's so hard to climb!

  10. Pinky Blinders
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Lessons learned from this season, mostly from looking at how Mark played it:

    1) Captain is key. Occasionally it pays off to go against the crowd, but not often.

    2) hits can work if you are looking to address seemingly obvious problems quickly instead of waiting.

    3) formation and prices tends to skew towards midfield premiums.

    4) most serious players have figured out how to best deploy chips at this point, so they won't provide major rank increases like they might have in the past unless you have serious ground to make up.

    5) I need to reconsider form over fixtures, even when I would imagine strong incentives to perform are there. Not always the case.

    Any to add?

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Use FFF for captaincy choices. Usually worth taking a hit or two to get in their (c) choice for the GW.

      https://twitter.com/StatOnScout/status/1127626231434960897

    2. TheDragon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Agree with all those

      Form over fixtures is not black and white in terms of 1 always being better than the other.

      Captaincy is the biggest decision each week - If you could captain your highest scoring player each week you’d be OR1.

      ‘Play your own game’ is one I’m going to think more about for next season. I put a lot of stock into EO and deciding where to take risks vs the template - maybe I should put less weight on that.

      1. pingissimus
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Imo one of the rogue elements in form and fixtures is general team strength.

        Salah in in 36 was a plus because of Liverpool. But Pogba and Rashford in 37/8 looked dodgy to me because United as a whole felt dire.

        I’d add Bournemouth and Fraser/Wilson to the list as well. Bournemouth are a very average side (14tg seems their real value) so bringing them in for a fixture is iffy because their team is iffy.

        Still over simple of course.

    3. pingissimus
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I worried way too much about rotation. Like many that’s why I missed the TAA show.

      I also tended to transfer injured players straight out despite a very usable bench.

      I’m also going to avoid transfers that are simply geared to bringing in one player for one week. Learned my lesson there with Kane early season. I hit with my 34 WC by factoring in gws 36-8 - what I lost in 35 I more than made up later.

  11. Peteski29
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Massive thank you to everyone on this site for helping me finish with an OR of 2,906 this season. First season I've played seriously and never finished higher than 270k before. All the information and opinion has been a huge help!

    1. Schafsalat
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Congratulations!

  12. Laurel and Vardy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    BRAG ALERT: OR 1067, 2210, 1986 and 3045 in the last four seasons......Top 5k consistency!

    Thank you FFS for another great season and another cash ML victory!

    1. Buck The Trent
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Wow ... well done

      I finished 685 and 2925 for last couple seasons

    2. Don Kloppeone
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Great record!

    3. Schafsalat
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Well done Sir!

    4. Shatner's Bassoon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Well done!

      WOTS YER SECRET.

    5. Make Arrows Green Again
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      WoW! nice one 🙂

  13. Better off with a pin and a…
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Very happy with a best-ever rank just outside 9k; particularly after a very bad start and some extremely bad decision-making! Thanks to everyone here for providing lots of interesting reading through the season.

  14. F_Ivanovic
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Fell from 5.5k to 22k in the last 3 weeks and ended up going from 1st to 3rd in my ML. But I can't complain too much; GW11 I was 800k, GW24 216k and then I closed a near 100 point gap on my ML from 24 up to 35.

    Pogba and Rashford went from hero's to villain's for me - brought them in + got rid at exactly the right time earlier in the season when they hit form (and then sold Pogba prior to him missing a penalty. But then I had them as differentials late in the season and they were hugely detrimental choices!

    1. Don Kloppeone
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Amazing rank climb mate! Should def be happy with that

  15. Don Kloppeone
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Ultimate burn this morning. The wife overhears me telling my son I ended up dropping to 6th in my (super competitive) cash ML. She says: “you’d think with the amount of time you spend on that site that you’d win all your leagues!”

    I (respectfully) told her my level of hardcore dedication is nothing compared to some and if it makes her feel better I finished within the top 0.9% in the world
    😆

    1. Richd
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Hahaha burn 😉

      1. Don Kloppeone
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Totally lol

        Such slim margins. Just an awful last GW.

        If I had Mané and TAA vs Salah and Robbo that alone would have had me finish close to 25k rather than 51k. Madness!

        Next year FJ!

    2. Ready Player One
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Ha! Sounds like my wife and yours could be FPL widows together! Roll on next season!!!

      1. Don Kloppeone
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Unbelievable season for you mate given our previous 2. Well done!

  16. Schafsalat
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    So that was my first FPL season - I will certainly be back for more! Dropped out of top 10k in the last GW and finished on rank 12'466, but to be honest I was probably more often lucky than not this season. Especially with my captain choices: 10 times my captain got 15 points (x2) or more and I got 63.21% of possible captain points according to anewpla.net.

    In any case, thanks to all the good advice (which I did not always follow) and to all the interesting and useful articles written on this site!

    MVP: according to fplmystats.com Aguero - got me 193 points in 20 GWs I had him and was my (c) 8 times. Who was your best player?

    1. Miniboss
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Robbo was my main man. Had him since day one, bringing in fantastic score for a defender. My best player despite dipping a bit towards the end being overshadowed by TAA.

      1. Schafsalat
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        I had Robbo for just 5 GWs. Should have gotten him a lot earlier. That being said, VVD also did a good job for me - player with the second most points (had him for 37GWs and played him on 33).

      2. The_Fish
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Same, got him at the start and he never left me. The only player to do that.

  17. Shatner's Bassoon
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Huge, extensive list of lessons learned from this season, in full:

    1) Don't pick Lacazette.

    That concludes my review of the season.

    1. Do I Not Like Orange
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I can't see me picking any Arsenal next season, even despite Auba's goal record. Emery far too unpredictable.

      1. Shatner's Bassoon
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Amen. Strong avoid from me as well unless they have a fixture run which cannot be turned down, and there's a blindingly obvious pick (basically just Auba or a big new signing).

  18. Potential bargains for next season
    Do I Not Like Orange
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    I know we're dreading the price hikes for the likes of Robbo, TAA, Digne & the Wolves lads, but is there anyone you see as a potential bargain next season?

    Man City bit-part mids like Sane & Mahrez I see being 8.0-8.5. Pep seems to hate Sane these days, but I could see Mahrez being properly bedded in next season as Bilva has been this year.

    Alli should be 8.0-8.5. He's had a poor season, but we know what he can do. Think Son's crap late season form should hold off any rise for him too.

    United 'assets' could be bargains if they wait until after prices have been confirmed to rectify the OGS mistake.

    1. Miniboss
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I think KdB's price should decrease, him and Alli might be huge value for price. I also believe there might be something in Norwich assets so I might gamble them early on depending on fixtures. Arsenal assets will drop price as well.

      1. Do I Not Like Orange
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        A 9.0-9.5 KDB could be great if he can get over these injury problems. Sadly I will stay away from Arsenal unless Emery changes his ways dramatically with rotation.

        1. Miniboss
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Yep will stay away from Arsenal

    2. pingissimus
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      RLC could be gold next year imo

      The second best value forward this year was Rondon and only a couple of mids beat him too. If he and Rafa are at Newcastle next year - he’s welcome back even with a price hike

      1. Do I Not Like Orange
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Good shout, RLC shouldn't be more than 6.5-7.0 but always looks a threat when he plays and seems to have won Sarri's trust recently.

    3. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      KDB, Alli, Lukaku, Perez,

      1. Do I Not Like Orange
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Have a feeling Perez will be away. My ideal for Lukaku would be for United to cut their losses and him to maybe end up at another PL club where he's nailed at a reduced price (back at Everton, or left under too much of a cloud?).

    4. Geoff
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      For me, there will always be value in the low priced rotation risk options at big clubs. Someone like Mkhitaryan, who was one this year that didn't pan out.

      Pricing always takes away the nice cheap options like Wolves and Bournemouth options but there will be team next year who step up. Maybe one of the West Ham lads?

    5. Christina.
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Gro$$ could be gold if he drops in price and nails his spot under new manager.

      1. SweepaKeepa
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        What’s his longest stretch of games without an injury?

    6. Van der Faart
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Expecting a Kane drop to maybe to 11-11.5. Not a bargain but not as overly expensive as this season. Over his August curse now too.

    7. rnrd
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Ross Barkley under the radar

      1. cravencottage
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Not in a million years!

    8. Lazaretti
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      DCL if price is correct enough. RLC already mentioned. Maybe Davies if Rose will be sold

    9. Baines on Toast...
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      A lot of these posts are very optimstic. City AMs minimum 8.5; Kane will still be >=12.

    10. Bury94
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I think Leicester could have some good options next year. Maddison, Tielemans if he stays, the full-backs. Can't see them getting a big price hike

    11. The Rumour Mill
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I agree with the poster who mentioned KDB, if he can get a full pre season behind him without breaking down with injury. Possibly Zinchenko if he is reclassified as a defender, although right now it would take something special to sway me from Laporte. Bernardo Silva at 7.5m, if he can add a little more output would also be good value.

      Henderson and Keita were looking useful before injury for Liverpool. The risk in their midfield will also be rotation though, a returning AOC could also make a case here? Joe Gomez if he becomes the main centre back alongside VVD?

      Bellerin could be a nice price at Arsenal if he makes a full recovery from his injury

      United - don't know what to make of them really, too much upheaval and uncertainty to make a call at this stage!

      Wolves could be interesting, I expect a price hike for Jota and Doherty and Jiminez, but the defence kept letting in 1 goal a game so the clean sheet count wasn't very high and this might surpress their price, desite the defensive numbers being excellent. I actually think the defence will keep more clean sheets next season so one of the centre backs or Jonny could still be good value.

      Everton - DCL if he becomes main no.1 striker could be gold. Richarlison should still offer value. Interested in Pickford aswell, 3rd best keeper in the game without anyone noticing. if he's 5.0m i'm seriously tempted.

      Leicester - hopefully a goldmine. Tielemans if signed, Maddison, Vardy, Chilwell, Pereira...

      WHU - Lanzini if he nails down a starting spot would be very creative i feel, same goes for antinio. Possible space up front with Arnie leaving? Fabianski is always value.

      Watford - Deulofeo is he continues to improve.

      Palace - Interested to see what price milivojevic comes in at. Meyer if he becomes a regular starter. AWB again?

      Newcastle - Perez/Rondon, any defender.

      Bournemouth - Wilson and Fraser will syrocket, so perhaps Brooks or Travers if he's 4.0.

      Burnley - McNeil may continue his breakthrough!

      Southampton - Interested to see them after hassenhuttl can have a full pre season with them and implement his passing game. JWP and Redmond look good.

      Brighton - hard to say now with hughton gone. Gross to get back to 2017/18 levels?

    12. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Alli, RLC, Vardy, DCL

    13. Harrypottermus
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Vardy will be a contender for the Golden Boot next year. Redmond. Mane if he is still classified as a midfielder.

    14. the Penman
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      The bargains will always start out as being:
      A) players from small clubs who are priced for a small club then get a big club move. If Zaha, Fraser/Brooks or Pére/Rondón are still at their clubs when the FPL prices come out, they’ll be bargains for when they get a bigger club move.
      B) forgotten bench fodder for a big club who get a step down and a nailed on starting place at a smaller club. Iwobi, CHO, Maitland-Niles, etc. Could turn out golden.

      Then it all depends on who emerges as an injury cover and grabs their chance (hello AWB), or breaks through because their manager gives them a chance (hi Brooks).

      1. Business Cat
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Don't forget the loan deals, a big club sending out their bench fodder to lower league teams

        RLC and Tammy Abraham for Palace/Swansea last season for e.g.

        Hasn't really happened this year 😐

    15. Andy Unsocial
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Bargains:

      Strikers:
      Higuain
      Lukaku
      Zaha(to be reclassified as MID)

      Midfielders:
      RLC
      Gross
      Jahanbaksh
      Lanzini
      Yarmolenko
      Alli
      Meyer

      Defenders
      Coleman
      Tarkowski
      Mendy
      PVA

      Goalkeeper
      One of the promoted teams

    16. Bullet Eder
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Biggest bargain will be Chilwell it starts the season at Leicester and moves to Manchester City as reported.

    17. Wrong Captain Choice - Ag i…
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Westwood, Long, RLC

    18. Tired and weary
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Teemu Pukki at Norwich if he comes in around 6-7m, 29 goals in 43 appearances this season in the league

      1. Bouncebackability
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        He'll be playing for Norwich though.

        1. Tired and weary
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Could have said similar about Jimenez at the start of this season - will most likely take a gamble if price/fixtures look good

    19. jtreble
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I’m going to monitor Oxlade-Chamberlain.

    20. Jafalad
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      All Leeds players will be essential next season. Helland Road will see a few clean sheets so Casilla will be a useful budget gk.

      Hernandez is class and Roofe upfront is worth having when not injured. Some goal stats here:

      https://www.skysports.com/leeds-united-stats

    21. TallestJohn
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Southampton again - I think Redmond will be dynamite, especially if they sign a new striker, can see him being 6.5-7m. Would also be interested in JWP and their wingbacks.

      Agree with everyone else saying RLC, he has all the qualities Chelsea's midfield lacks when they play Barkley/Kovacic.

      Would expect Ricardo Pereira to be 5.5-6m and be worth it, but if he started at 5m again he'd be a bargain.

      I'm not optimistic about Pukki in the PL but for some reason I really liked him at Schalke so I want (even more) vindication after a great Championship season. Would love to use TC on him.

    22. G00LI0
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Interested to see how Mendy is priced. If only he could maintain fitness

    23. GoingUpUpUp
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      As a Norwich season ticket holder a few things from us!! (caveat - expecting a barrage of "but it's Norwich").

      Farke tends to stay consistent with his line ups. Doesn't tinker too much and the key reason for starting line up personnel changes this season was when someone was injured. If the new guy came in and did well, the shirt was theirs and up to anyone to try and get it back (see Leitner to Vrancic to McLean)

      We will leak a lot of goals, but the two young fullbacks (Aarons and Lewis), bomb forward for 95mins irrespective of the scoreline

      Pukki will unlikely get 29 goals again, but he will get goals. Similarly we scored slightly north of 100 goals across the season - we have goals through the team with the likes of Stieperman from open play, Vrancic as well (plus freekicks) and Buendia who is involved with everything (8 goals, 12 assists) and on corners.

      There will be some new recruits in from small clubs and leagues that we may not have really heard of - that's how this team mainly came together, but they will fit into teh model of score goals - we wouldn't do a BHA

    24. RedLightning
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Don't let FPL know who the potential bargains might be or they'll increase their prices!

      More useful to ask this after the prices have been published.

    25. Differential C (Mark)
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      If game is released before Chilwell is sold to City, what a bargain would he be!
      Pukki and Sharp probably the strikers from promoted teams to look at.
      Redmond will be next season's Jota.
      Emi Buendia will be straight in my team if he is 5.5m. Very Madisson-esque, him.
      If the new manager is the right fit, Groß and Jahanbaksh could be absolute gold players.

    26. Dr Van Nostrand
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Whoever replaces Haz as chelski's talisman. Transfer ban means it's an internal option or Pulisic. My money would be on him.

  19. Azathoth
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    So,next year's team (if affordable)
    3 x MC
    3 x Liv
    2 x Wolves
    Digne
    1 x Lei or CP
    5 x cheapies

    1. pingissimus
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Europe league effect? I’d go double Leicester over double Wolves.

    2. Robson-Canoe
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Way too soon to say - 3 months to go until then.

      1. pingissimus
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Quite

        Next season won't be a rerun of this one.

  20. Karan14
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Ended the season at 8.2k in the end.
    Fairly happy with my 3rd Top 10k finish in a row but I feel it could have been much better after touching OR119 in GW14.
    Some bad decisions like selling Salah during the festive period, no Aguero for DGW25 and not having TAA & Laporte for the last few weeks cost me an amazing rank.

    Thanks to everyone for helping and replying to my non ending questions about my team!
    Looking forward to next season and cant wait for July to come sooner so that we can start tinkering with out teams again.

  21. Tommytour
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    May just go with a set and forget defence of TAA Robertson Laporte next year.

    1. Miniboss
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      After first couple of gws this season, the set and forget defence line was trumpeted to be Robbo, Alonso & Mendy. I'll defo go to gw1 with the ones you listed above but new names will arise.

    2. YEAH PITCH!
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Lol, many will.

    3. TheDragon
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      It won’t be the same as this season

    4. Do I Not Like Orange
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      TAA & Laporte pencilled in as untouchables for me, got a feeling Robbo might be too rich for my tastes & Klopp may buy a decent understudy to give him comparable rotation risk to TAA.

  22. Who is the top player you never owned?
    YEAH PITCH!
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Who's the one top player you never had this season?

    1. Miniboss
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Laporte. What a mistake that was.

      1. Klein
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        This. Worst decision

        1. TheDragon
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          I did worse - I only owned him for the period where city imploded and kept conceding

          1. TheDragon
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            And I did exactly the same with TAA.

            Those 2 have killed me this season

            1. The Sociologist
              • 5 Years
              4 years, 10 months ago

              Similar story to me, had an absolute nightmare with Laporte, TAA, Luiz this season. Only owned for poor periods of form/injuries, moved onto other premium options shortly before they started delivering again.

              1. The Sociologist
                • 5 Years
                4 years, 10 months ago

                TAA particularly. Must have brought him in, and then moved him on again 3x this year.

          2. Miniboss
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            I kept reminding myself of this leaky period even though he kept getting clean sheets and started gaining some attacking returns as well. At the end of every season I promise myself to be less stubborn next year, but you know how it goes.

    2. Karan14
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Laporte

      1. camarozz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        None. Had them all at exactly the right time.

        TAA has to be my best bit if business tho. Only Pool defender all season.

        Laporte / Zaha /Doherty /Mane and not Salah just at right time too.

    3. Schafsalat
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      TAA and Wilson.

    4. McEwan
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Robertson and Doherty are the two that never graced my team. Jiminez should have had his name on the list but crumbled in 34

    5. Hybrid.power
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Aubamayang. I could never fit him in when their fixtures were decent.

    6. The 5% Team
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Jimenez 😮

    7. Samurai Blue
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      TAA. Rank killer.

    8. Baines on Toast...
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Jimenez is the big one. Thought he looked great early on but when he started scoring never had room.

      And Fraser...points always came at the wrong time.

    9. The Rumour Mill
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      VVD

    10. mookie
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Value wise Fraser, Wilson, Siggy and Laporte.
      Points wise Salah.

    11. Arteta
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Virgil van Dijk. Had him since day one in Sky Sports Fantasy Football though.

    12. Rotation's Alter Ego
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Siggy for me.

      Spent his season quietly ticking over, finishing as the 5th best mid, but never graced my team at any stage.

      Managed to go through most top players, just some - VVD, Auba, Hazard for example - managed to limit their returns to whenever they weren't in my team 😉

    13. ZaZaZu
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Mane! I could just never choose him over Salah

      1. Miniboss
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        This. Previous season I found it hard to captain Salah over Kane.

    14. Celt Abroad
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I bought TAA three days before his ankle injury - he sat on my bench for three weeks with the frustrating “he is nearly back” messages from Klopp each week, and I finally got rid.

    15. radawson
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Laporte
      Laporte
      Laporte

    16. Bury94
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      TAA was the big one. I only got Laporte in for GW38 too.

      1. Tired and weary
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Ha yep, his goal put me in the top 10k

    17. Lazaretti
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Wilson, just thougth that his form will drop or that he will injury himself, which he did. Had Fraser but should have bought Wilson too.

    18. shirtless
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Trent. Had Robbo since first draft though. Will double up next season.

    19. jia you
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      No Mo, no problem 🙂

    20. Pap Le Cissier
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Doherty

    21. the Penman
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      TAA. At first he wasn’t nailed on, then he wasn’t as effective as Robertson, then I had Mané & Salah doubleup and didn’t want to sacrifice either of them or Robertson, then he was an injury doubt, then Gomez was back.

    22. FPL Pillars
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Auba, Lukaku, Laca, De Bruyne, D.Silva

    23. Syd.
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      TAA

      What an absolute bargain

    24. LewanGOALski
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Salah
      Ederson/Allison
      Auba

      still managed to finish 27k OR

    25. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Laporte
      Pain in the ....

    26. Jafalad
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Mane. Bought him in week 38. And didn’t he remind me what I was missing?!

    27. Rsforstar
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Never got Jimenez and only owned Kun a gameweek (with FH)

    28. luv4rotties
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      If I had to choose one, it is definitely TAA!
      First thought of bringing him in when he still was around 5,1mil so would have been good in both returns & value... For different reasons each time - never owned him unfortunately.

    29. BRKFCTrueRover
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Siggy and VVD

    30. tisza
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      sadly owned nearly all of them all just not necessarily at the right time.
      Never get Bournemouth right.
      Auba rotation meant i had little patience with him.
      Game changer was Laporte. Had him in on 2nd WC then swapped him out for Vertonghen based on fixtures at the time (who became Shaw after injury). Something like a 34 point loss.

    31. Runaway
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Laporte.

      I actually transferred him in @WC34 but then did Laporte>Trippier 1 minute before the deadline. It was my biggest mistake in last 2 seasons. 29 points swing including auto-subs from Trippier.

    32. The Sociologist
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Siggy, Milivojevic, VVD. Spent all season happily ticking along with consistent points and I managed to dodge them all.

    33. RedLightning
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Harry Kane (is he still a top player?)

    34. Werkself
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Laporte - killed me.

  23. camarozz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Apart from doing my rounds and collecting my winnings from 5 MLs (roughly 800 euro)... What do we do now??

    What a season. 780 OR.

    1. Debauchy
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Top marks Cama. wd

    2. Hybrid.power
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Beautifully done!

    3. Samurai Blue
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Nice.

    4. FPL Pillars
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I wish I was in your league, OR 91 😉

  24. Debauchy
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Tough old season it was, but enjoyable nonetheless. Having Pogba stuck on my final team a regret of note 🙂

    1. McEwan
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Me too, not logging back in until it’s reset and he’s gone! Would have been better off over the last two weeks taking the Son red card

      1. Debauchy
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        This 😆

  25. mike09
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    How many goals, assist and CS did your FPL team get?

    Mine is:

    G: 120
    A: 81
    CS: 59

    Total: 260

  26. Hybrid.power
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    What was you highlight and lowlight of the season? Mine both involved Salah.

    Highlight: triple captain Salah against Huddersfield.

    Lowlight: selling Salah before his hat trick against Bournemouth.

    Special mention to the benching of Digne when he scored his brace.

    1. Schafsalat
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Highlight: Probably (C) Moura for his 21-pointer.

      Lowlight: TC Sané in DGW25

      Special mention: KdB and Firmino getting injured basically right after I got them in my team.

  27. goriuanx
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    11 millimeters denied Liverpool getting 100 points, being invincible and ultimately being champions.

    It's such a bitter pill to swallow, never seen a title race with such fine margins by 2 relentless teams who rarely dropped points. Kudos to City and Pool and congrats to FFS City fans once again.

    1. Team Cruel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Works the other way too. Cheap pens, offside goals, Mahrez pen at Anfield 😉

      1. goriuanx
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        This is so unlike you.. 😉

    2. Debauchy
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Yeah tough Berbs. All looking rosy going forward though , good days ahead for you, enjoy!

    3. Geoff
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Yeah, tough one. Well said though both teams deserve recognition.

      You've got the CL so hopefully you come through there and you come away with a trophy this season

  28. Trevez
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Finally top 10k finish at 7k!!! it’s about time after missing out in 12/13 with 11k and again in 17/18. Do I qualify for the legend league now?

  29. Eytexi
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Interested to hear some of your biggest mistakes this season as I've had some howlers along the way.

    Switched Richarlison to Moura minutes before the GW1 deadline: Rich scored 3 in 2 weeks. Then swapped Moura to Rich in GW3: Moura brace & Rich red card.

    Second guessed my BB/TC strategy and TC Sterling in GW35, benching Jonny & Ryan. Overall a 34 point swing across both chips.

    Overall ended up with an 87k rank - dissappointed but can't say i deserved any better. On to next year. Gg everyone, enjoy the break! 🙂

    1. Klein
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Salah to sterling in festive period
      Never owned laporte/wilson
      Bad timing on son, auba, mikhi and arnie.
      And keeping alonso for far too long.

    2. Miniboss
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Transferred Salah out on 1st wildcard, right before he scored 4 goals against BOU and went to score for many successive matches. Then transferred him back when his dry spell started and held on until end of season dgws.

      Ignored Kun on gw25 against ARS and he goes to score big, went with Sane C (1pt) and stuck with Auba who got ill on gameday. Then kept faith in Auba, didn't make any moves to get Aguero in against Chelsea, and he scores a hattie again.

      Didn't get TAA in until very late due to stubborness.
      Didn't get Laporte in all season due to stubborness.

      Ignoring Sterling as a captaincy option for more than half of the season.

      Stupid hits I took just to chase last week's points.

      List goes on

      1. Eytexi
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Sounds messy, how did your OR turn out?

        1. Miniboss
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Bad, around 111k. Not my worst but far from my best (2k).

    3. Schafsalat
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I probably focused too much on DGW players (such as tripple Brighton) and didn't consider that injuries etc. might force me to do other transfers than getting them out again, which I always planned to do.

      Taking hits for defenders with no real need to do so, just because of fixtures - it hardly ever paid off.

      I got a couple of defensive mids (at the beginning of the season) just because they are nailed in a good side. Beginner's mistake.

      Ignoring some bandwagons just because I was stubborn and jumping on others despite warning signs that it might not be worth it.

      That's just a few I remember, there were certainly more :).

  30. Team Cruel
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed that Chris Hughton has left the club with immediate effect.

    1. goriuanx
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      BBC reporting he got sacked. That's a surprise, I thought he was doing quite well with the resources he had. Risky move from Brighton, they were overachieving just by being in the league.

      1. Team Cruel
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Read a Brighton forum a couple of weeks ago, loads wanted him gone. Be careful what you wish for. Grass isn't always greener.

        1. goriuanx
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          Definitely agree. Not sure what they expected or where they go from here. Cue a Moyes or Allardyce..

          1. diesel001
            • 7 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            Claude Puel. Yes, he is boring. But he is good at coming into a club, working with the existing players and not getting in over his head (i.e. trying to dictate transfer policy). He is the type of replaceable manager that clubs are going for now (see Watford, Southampton) - allows you to keep squad continuity. Being able to change manager is much cheaper than changing a squad.

      2. Do I Not Like Orange
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        True. The way they've finished the season has the look of one of those sides that drops like a stone the next season though, so maybe best to try and arrest it now before the window opens.

      3. GreenWindmill
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        I think a lot of people were predicting it so it isn't a huge shock but I do wonder if it's a good move. They've spent a fair bit of money on players who've had no impact but he's still done well keeping the team stable.

    2. pingissimus
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Seems rough at one level. Survival and a semi is a good season for Brighton.

      But he’s spent over 100 mill to no obvious effect. Brighton slip under the radar slightly as relative big spenders at the bottom.

      1. boc610
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        this is it. you live and die by your big money signings at that level. its ok for a team like city to right off a player and sell him at a loss and just get a replacement but when they don't work out for clubs with brightons resources it can be very damaging. this is from an article in football365 in feb:

        "According to Transfermarkt, since gaining promotion ahead of 2017/18, Brighton have spent £135m on 27 permanent signings: 11 for a combined £58m last season, 16 for £77m this season. Out of those 27, only four (Mat Ryan, Davy Propper, Pascal Gross and Martin Montoya) have played more than 50% of Brighton’s Premier League minutes since signing; and of those four, only Montoya was a new signing this season"

    3. Wetdream
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Blimey thats a shock !

    4. Midlands Saint73
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      That's Brighton relegated next season then.

    5. The Rumour Mill
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Sensible IMO. They have stayed up, they can thank him and move on. The style of football and signings they want/have made are not compatible with Hughtons cautious approach. Therefore it makes sense to bring in a manager with whom it does.

    6. LAMELA_AND_CONSUELA
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Good move. They were very, very lucky this year (see lineman's blunder in Cardiff Chelsea match). They spent lot of money on players to no avail. Their offensive signings were really poor this (Allireza/ Locadia /Andone scored 5 goals together).

    7. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      It is harsh on Hughton, but I also think it is the right decision.

      I see it as similar to when Southampton got rid of Adkins for Poch or when Watford got rid of Quique Sanchez Flores and Mazzarri. The form was poor and will probably run into next season. So change it now to stop the decline.

    8. Runaway
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Brighton will be the Huddersfield of next year. I was always thinking they have been overachieving by staying in PL for last 2 years with that bunch of players and thinking Hughton is the one to build that (like David Wagner).