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Learning from the Great and the Good 19/20 – Gameweek 11

“Cause baby you’re a firework. Come on show ’em what your worth. Make ’em go “Oh, oh, oh!”. As you shoot across the sky”

Plenty of explosions, bangs and even a couple of bench howlers this week but unfortunately the FPL firework display sky was filled with as much red as green.

The big pyrotechnics were provided by a Sheffield United “defender” originally priced at 4.0 who now has more points than Salah and Sterling, the Lundstram rocket continues to light up the sky and give plenty of bang for its buck.

The build up to the weekend had been straightforward enough with all the talk over which sparkler from the City attack would gain the armband plus some were wondering whether it was safe to walk away from the lit firework that is Sergio Aguero.

As a reminder The Great and The Good are a handpicked group of FPL celebrities (?), FF Scouts or Pro Pundits who I will follow to see what we can learn as they navigate their way through the season. They are the Scouts (MarkJoeDavidGeoff and Neale), FPL “celebrities” (AzLTFPL AndyFPL General and Jules Breach) and finally from the Hall of Fame we have Ville RonkaMatthew Jones and Sean Tobin.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

Jules Breach continues to show the boys how it’s done with the top score of 77 points and a green arrow up to 27,000, maybe she should be signed up as a Pro Pundit?

The foundation of her success this week was her defence with 51 points coming from her back line thanks to Lundstram, Soyuncu as well as Robertson. She is also one of a few who hold Aubameyang and is the only manager with Maddison who chipped in with nine points including 3 bonus for his assist.

Jules has been Sterling-less all season, will others follow as the City fixtures stiffen and the added jeopardy of the City star only being one yellow card away from suspension?

Joe was possibly the unluckiest manager this week as he had 22 points on the bench, he is the only one to still hold Otamendi and his sixty second cameo blocked Soyuncu’s haul. Geoff suffered a similar fate with 21 points locked inside his bench but a green arrow of 245,000 places will give him some comfort.

Elsewhere Andy was still scrambling to find the matches as the game week bonfire roared with only 33 points scored this week, his decision to play Diop over Soyuncu backfired and he’ll have to hope his transfer of Maguire adds more pop in the coming weeks.

The Great and The Good were drawn to the Etihad firework display this week when it came to captain choice and the majority went with the Sterling sizzler, whilst Sean Tobin and David kept faith with Aguero air bomb. They were rewarded for their oohs and aahs with a goal from the Argentinian front man.

WILDCARD

Mark played his much-anticipated wildcard this week making seven changes overall and interestingly shifting more funds into his defence, does he think big at the back is well, back? He is now has an average of 5.9m per defender which is the highest amongst The Great and The Good.

Please find his transfers below:-

IN – Roberto, Gazzaniga, Robertson, Yarmolenko, Rashford, Connolly, Mane

OUT – Salah, Pukki, Wilson, Mount, Tomori, Pope, Button

Dissecting the squad, it is all about the doubles as he has gone with double City and Liverpool defence along with more controversially the twin United attack of Rashford and Martial. There is no doubt that United have the fixtures, but their stuttering form will impact whether this is judged as a stroke of genius or an error of judgment.

He has freshened up his goalkeepers with Pope moved on and the rotating pair of Roberto and Gazzaniga to replace. Mark also prefers Mane to Salah with the FPL’s 2nd highest scorer looking a better bet as Mo’s ankle injury appears be holding him back from hitting the heights of previous years.

No doubt his wildcard started well with 73 points although some would argue a slice of luck was involved with Robertson and Mane scoring late plus Lundstram coming from second on his bench to join the fray and earn him 21 points.

TRANSFERS

This is a summary of the transfers for this week :

Andy – Maguire (Otamendi)

Az – Vardy, Kelly (Otamendi, Wilson)

David – Henderson (Button)

FPL General – No transfers

Joe – Connolly (King)

Jules Breach – No transfers

Geoff – Vardy, Rico (Wilson, Otamendi)

Matthew Jones – Vardy, Janmaat (Wilson, Otamendi)

Neale – Tomori (Otamendi)

Sean Tobin – Rico (Otamendi)

Ville Ronka – No transfers

*transfers out are in brackets

David’s transfer of Button to Henderson had the crowds gasping, but he probably should have played him over the disappointing Pope whose form is now fizzling away.

The most popular move out was Otamendi with cheap cheerful replacements such as Kelly and Rico being the order of the day.

There was a murmur of excitement for Vardy with Geoff, Matthew Jones and Az going for the Foxes firecracker, Az took a hit to bring him in and now sits alongside Ville Ronka for total hits over the season at five.

TEMPLATE

The template for The Great and The Good looks like this :-

Pope (10) Button (5)

TAA (11) Lundstram (10) Tomori (8) Rico (7) Soyuncu (5)

Mount (10) Sterling (10) KDB (10) Salah (8)Cantwell (5)

Abraham (11) Pukki/Maupay (4) Greenwood (5)

* brackets show number of teams they appear in

The template continues to crackle gently away with Otamendi being the Guy Fawkes stuck on the fire this week as he left the squad whilst Maupay pops his way into the front line.

DOUBLE DIGITS

Explosive returns are key for our captain picks and gaining valuable ground on our rivals but which of The Great and The Good have been the best in picking out the double-digit whizz bangers from the fizzlers?

Perhaps surprisingly Ville Ronka leads this metric with 19 double digit hauls this season and not one benched unlike Neale who would be joint top had he played Lamela in game week 2. Less surprisingly due to the nature of their seasons Az and Andy sit at the other end of the scale with 11 each, you can assess your own performance against The Great and The Good via FPL Statisco.

When looking back over the last 11 weeks it’s interesting to note that Salah and Sterling have not provided the most bangs this season with only two double digit displays, whilst Mane and the overlooked David Silva producing the most at four and the FPL legend Lundstram getting three so far.

CONCLUSION

Yet again City and Liverpool assets dominate our thoughts as they go into a potential title-deciding clash next weekend but for most FPL managers the difficult decision is which combination will deliver the most points?

With the fixture swing towards the Reds do we double down on the attack or defence? Has Mo shown enough for us to sacrifice one of the swashbuckling full backs?

Likewise, with City Mark has doubled up with Mendy and Cancelo but should we trust the defence when we have Sterling and De Bruyne ready to explode? Plus, in all this should we remember remember the double-digit delivering David Silva when he returns from injury?

Anyway, that’s all from me for now and remember don’t have nightmares.

For those effected by any of the topics raised in the above article they can find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Greyhead19

Likewise, if you want to keep up with the Tweets of The Great and The Good you can find them here

https://twitter.com/SkontoRigga

https://twitter.com/FFScout_Geoff

https://twitter.com/matthewpenycae

https://twitter.com/LetsTalk_FPL

https://twitter.com/DavidMunday815

https://twitter.com/ffscout_az

https://twitter.com/FFScout_Joe

https://twitter.com/FPLGeneral

https://twitter.com/julesbreach

34 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Rotation's Alter Ego
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 4 months ago

    You're a star Greyhead, thank you for this!

  2. Salah’s Sonnet
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 4 months ago

    Wow, a total of three goals from captain choices this season, anybody worse than that?! Shocking this season.

  3. Mark of a madman - Suthern's Wildcard
    Greyhead
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 4 months ago

    Thanks for reading my ramblings. Mark’s wildcard has started with a bang with 73 points but will his investment in an expensive double City/Liverpool defence set him up for success when others are going cheap? Is a double United attack shrewd with the games ahead? Is he wise to go without KDB and Vardy?

    1. MagnetBPS
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      his team is full of differential, but it doesn't mean it's going to work. United double up and no KDB and Vardy is just insane.

    2. Fantasy Gold
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      Who cares.

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

        Cheer up, just here for some fun!

      2. MagnetBPS
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 4 months ago

        I don't even know why people are so obsessed with Mark's decisions on a weekly basis

        1. Sir Edo
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 11 Years
          4 years, 4 months ago

          If you where a top FPL manager you would understand. 🙂

          1. MagnetBPS
            • 10 Years
            4 years, 4 months ago

            I am a top manager with a current rank of 3k, but I never share my team and I don’t stalk other teams because they are called ‘expert’

          2. have you seen cyan
            • 4 Years
            4 years, 4 months ago

            no he is right, the obsession with Mark around here is cringey to say the least. You guys in fact drove him away..
            Who would play this game by copying others? What a lame way to play really, how long have you guys played fantasy and still need to feel assured by people like Marks picks, make ur own decisions.
            You think someone like Mark makes flawless picks? He got lucky, fact. His wildcrad team is bad and he must have been hitting the booze to even consider a city defensive double up. Please guys copy him make me laugh

            1. doy
              • 6 Years
              4 years, 4 months ago

              It's not about copying him, it's about seeing how his mind works...

        2. MANGE TOUT RODNEY
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 4 months ago

          This

        3. doy
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 4 months ago

          He's one of the GOATs, that's why we follow his every move......we want to see how his mind works.

      3. Now I'm Panicking
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 4 months ago

        Maybe they are giving him a HT to tempt him out of the wilderness in order to save FFS?

      4. doy
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 4 months ago

        You obviously do, since you commented...

    3. Rash
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      Looks like madness but he usually ends up being proved right.. compete opposite to my team so I really hope hes got it wrong!

    4. Aseel
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      Wish he comes on the scoutcast!!!!
      Would love to listen to his reasoning for choosing this WC team!

    5. Pras (FPL)
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      This is a terrible wildcard tbh. But Mark likes his punts I guess and not afraid to take hits to reshape if needed. But if I saw his team in a vacuum without knowing it’s his - I’d say it is a 6/10

    6. Scholes Out For Summer
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      To be fair, his WC failed in the first week. Only reason he got a decent score was because of the lack of reliability of his starting 11. Jammy 21 points off the second bench option doesnt make it a bang for me tbh.

      Fair maybe he set up his team that way, but in the end he wasnt confident to start Lundstram and was more certain that his two City defenders would start. Im ok with his other choices though very maverick but not too much

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

      Would love it if City and Liverpool both scored without any TAA, Robertson, Mendy or Cancelo involvement.

    8. FPL Virgin
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      Mark gets lauded far too much.

      Look at his Wildcard. He had no right to those Lundstram points. He thought he had sussed out Pep's first choice full backs and made the conscious decision to put Lundstram second on the bench. Utter fluke. No skill involved.

      1. Legomané
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 4 months ago

        9x top 5k's in 13 seasons... 😯

        If anything, Mark doesn't get lauded nearly enough tbh 😆

      2. doy
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 4 months ago

        Lol meanwhile what have you accomplished in FPL? I sense a bit of jealousy in your post.

    9. The Polymath
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      I don't think Mark actually asks to be lauded, he just has a lot of respect on this site. Very, very consistent.

    10. korbendallas82
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      The last time i looked at his team, quite a few weeks back, it struck me how good bench he had. I think his money on the bench was above avrage.
      Its the type of team i always plan on having, when christmas come, with rotation bonanza. And witch i tend to miss on.

    11. Cok3y5murf
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      Technically, it didn't start with a bang. Take off the lucky (yes, lucky) Lundstram points, and it was a fail. But that's fine. He's a good manager, and just like all of us, he makes mistakes. No one can avoid mistakes in FPL. It's the over-obsession and excessive expectations from him here that's become cringey.

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

      Greyhead, might it be possible to expand The Great and The Good to include the Pro Pundits?

      I had expected then to have a new mini-league of their own, or to be added to the Mods & Cons mini-league, but since neither of those things appear to be happening perhaps they could be added to your celebrity group instead.

      Their articles sometimes tell us how they are faring in individual game-weeks, but not exactly how well they are doing in the season as a whole.

      It would be interesting to see how they compare them against each other and also against your other celebrities.

    13. Greyhead
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 4 months ago

      Good idea Red Lightning, let me have a think and see if I can cover during one of the IBs.

      1. doy
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 4 months ago

        More work for you though.....*evil grin*

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

        If you do decide to expand The Great and The Good so as to include the Pro Pundits, perhaps you might also consider adding one more celebrity - world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, who is currently 32nd in the overall FPL standings.

        1. doy
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 4 months ago

          Hear hear!!!

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

      The Man United pair interest me. When OGS took over last season - and his appointment coincided with a nice run of fixtures - United did very well and quickly everyone was following Mark in adding Rashford and Pogba to their squads. Granted there's no new manager bounce to factor in this time, but the fixtures are tempting. I wonder if Mark will prove to be ahead of the crowd again.

  4. walugi
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 4 months ago

    Why would you get Yarmo in?!