Metrics

FPL managers face patient wait after Gameweek 38 deadline passes

The deadline for Gameweek 38 passed on Sunday afternoon, leaving Fantasy Premier League in a state of limbo while we wait on developments elsewhere.

Waiting is something we’ve become accustomed to ever since the coronavirus outbreak brought the Premier League to a halt in mid-March, with ‘Project Restart’ still some distance from its intended outcome.

The latest conference call involving the 20 clubs in England’s top tier will take place on Monday, although that may only seek to deal with plans for a return to training rather than anything more advanced.

During the downtime, the deadlines for Gameweeks 30-38 of FPL have remained in place and the last of those sailed by at the weekend.

Fantasy managers have been granted a free transfer for every Gameweek that has passed over the last two months, with a small but not insignificant percentage taking the opportunity to fight some fires in their squads or carry out wholesale changes – more of which below.

Now, though, we have reached the end of the mapped-out road.

FPL’s latest update about chips, which perhaps hinted at further Gameweeks being added to the game if and when the Premier League is ready to resume, was fairly thin on detail and open to interpretation.

There were certainly no obvious clues once FPL had updated after Sunday’s deadline, with the Transfers page still intact (albeit without full functionality) but the My Team tab disappearing from view.

In all honesty, it’s probably not worth trying to read into too much on the site at present: if FPL is to continue, it seems likely that the game’s operators will wait on more concrete plans being drawn up by the Premier League before rolling out a further update.

It wouldn’t make much sense, for example, to see Gameweek 39 appear on the Fixtures tab before any formalised rejigging of the schedule has taken place and indeed while there is still any doubt about the 2019/20 season restarting in the first place.

Friday’s mini-announcement from FPL, perhaps aimed at dissuading managers from speculating on a mega-Gameweek 38 by using their Bench Boost, didn’t stop 687 bosses from cashing in that chip – although how many of those weren’t engaging in Fantasy hara-kiri is another question, given the strange subculture of self-sabotagers that exists further down the overall rankings.

In addition, a total of 650 of us used either a Wildcard, Triple Captain or Free Hit chip ahead of Sunday’s deadline.

TRANSFERS

During the downtime, we have been keeping track of the weekly ins and outs in FPL.

There were 50,060 transfers made ahead of the Gameweek 38 deadline, a small increase of around 4,000 on the previous week but a tiny percentage of what we would usually see when all is well with the world.

The top ten for purchases and sales in Gameweek 38 are listed below, with their respective positions in the Gameweek 37 tables listed in the final column to see how trends are changing.

PlayerClubGW38 Transfers InGW37 Position
RashfordMan Utd2,364(1)
FernandesMan Utd1,574(2)
AbrahamChelsea1,423(4)
Calvert-LewinEverton1,398(3)
GrealishAston Villa1,245(7)
VardyLeicester1,137(9)
De BruyneMan City1,097(8)
PopeBurnley1,068(5)
SonSpurs1,049(15)
CantwellNorwich1,024(6)

Marcus Rashford (£8.8m) was the most popular transfer in for the third week in a row, comfortably clear of teammate Bruno Fernandes (£8.6m) at the top – although the numbers we are talking about here are obviously small fry.

READ MORERashford on the FPL radar as return from injury nears

Son Heung-min (£9.7m) was the only new entry into the top ten above, with the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, like Rashford, expected to be fit and available for selection once the season gets the green light to proceed.

Son has recently returned to London after completing military service in his native South Korea.

PlayerClubGW38 Transfers OutGW37 Position
IngsSouthampton2,120(1)
AubameyangArsenal1,948(2)
JimenezWolves1,136(3)
TraoreWolves1,041(4)
JotaWolves981(6)
VardyLeicester923(5)
Calvert-LewinEverton857(12)
PereiraLeicester832(21)
BarnesLeicester788(10)
SoyuncuLeicester777(7)

Danny Ings (£7.1m) held onto the unwanted title of being the most-sold asset for the seventh Gameweek in a row, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.1m) not far behind the Southampton striker for transfers out.

Seven of the eight players immediately below Ings and Aubameyang in the table above ply their trade for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City, with the injured Ricardo Pereira (£6.3m) still being offloaded by his remaining owners.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.5m) and Jamie Vardy (£9.7m) featured in the top ten for both transfers in and out in the run-up to Gameweek 38, although enjoyed a net rise in owners overall.

Another week has passed by without a single price change; the last one of those we saw was on April 6.


49 Comments Post a Comment
  1. mad_beer ✅
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    Good Monday morning all!

  2. Pasqualinho
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    Less than 700 BBers? How many of them work for FPL Towers?

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

    And so the wait continues...

    1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      We need fixtures from Project Restart pronto - but as they say above, mighn't be a realistic expectation to expect them any time soon

      And even then, maybe FPL is still finished for the season

      Still hoping that a fixture list brings an announcement of extra gameweeks from FPL though

      1. FPL Pillars
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 10 months ago

        Makes the international break seem like a doddle 😆 If there’s another spike in cases I would suspect that would be that. I hope the R can continue under 1.

        1. El Presidente
          • 4 Years
          3 years, 10 months ago

          I sware to God, if I ever read someone complaining about International breaks again....

  4. Rhinos
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    In a lot of ways vfpl is a better game than fpl;

    Instant updates
    No blanks or doubles means we can use a free thinking chip strategy
    No press conferences with fake news managers
    No price changes so can concentrate soley on fixtures
    No random events ruining our gameweeks

    Where it gets its ass kicked is in the eye test, making decisions based on what we see on the pitch is the funnest, and when it comes off, the most rewarding part of a fantasy game.

    Cheers Ragabolly

    1. Now I'm Panicking
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Totally agree. I'm sure Ragabolly's could knock up a full 90 minute match engine in 3D Ultra HD in his sleep if we asked him nicely though 😉

      1. Rhinos
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 10 months ago

        with sex dolls in the crowd

    2. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Sounds like a dream compared to FPL. Raga for FPL Towers PM

    3. The Mandalorian
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      The short GWs means I have less time to think about transfers and actually pick the right players. I’ve only had to red arrows so it works better for me.

      1. The Mandalorian
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 10 months ago

        two

    4. Ragabolly
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Thanks mate, I am glad the game is enjoyable. And I agree that the eye test is the main fun of FPL..

  5. Legohair
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    Is Mane&Saka to Martial&Aguero good move for free? Real FPL...

    1. Rhinos
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      we don't even know if we'll get 2ft yet let alone which players are both healthy and available

    2. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      What part of " game over , come back next year" don't folk understand.

      Of course they may come back with somthing but after telling most that the game is over, not sure opening it up suddenly when the more casual players now think it is over is fair..

      1. Rhinos
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 10 months ago

        fpl only exists as a means to get people clicking on their website. Even if 95% of players lose interest that's still more clicks than the game ending so doing what's fair doesn't come into it

        1. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 10 months ago

          Yer i agree but are people really avoiding the fact that message exists. There is a chance they could do something of course but updating that line to " changes cant be made at this time" should be easy ? Very poor from FPL if they just overlooked it. I know they are bad but THAT bad ?

          1. FPL National
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 13 Years
            3 years, 10 months ago

            Where do you get that message if you don't mind me asking?

            1. Pumpkinhead - I'm ITK …
              • 14 Years
              3 years, 10 months ago

              If you try making transfers and submitting, apparently it tells you there. Unless it's changed since someone did it yesterday

          2. Pasqualinho
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 10 months ago

            I wouldn’t read much into that. When I was going on my mega-38 ramblings I mentioned that FPL Towers MO is to simply change nothing - keep things going as normal and do as little as possible, if at all. The fact that this message appears after trying to make a transfer post-GW38 deadline is just business as usual.

            1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
              • 14 Years
              3 years, 10 months ago

              Yeah id say it's a bit of laziness with someone not updating a dialogue box/statement in the back-end

              Their latest statement still is that whole "retained chips will still be available" spiel from couple days ago

              Impossible to say for sure what will happen of course - FPL season over is unfortunately a very realistic possibility

              My money is on Project Restart fixture list triggering extra gameweeks though, then we move onto the not-at-all-controversial world of technicalities around FT's, WC's, price changes etc - time will tell

              1. Pasqualinho
                • 14 Years
                3 years, 10 months ago

                That looks the most likely. They still haven't closed 38 yet, though - so putting games here is still an option. But after what they have vaguely communicated that would be a bit naughty. Like you say, they may not close 38 until we have a 39 deadline (or season is cancelled). A nervous wait for the 2 Malaysians in the FPL Cup Final.

          3. DonDaggen786
            • 4 Years
            3 years, 10 months ago

            I mean they didn't postpone gameweeks so it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't alter the message on the transfers hub too.

    3. El Presidente
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      I wouldnt go for any players that have expressed their fears about restart playing in public, like Aguero did.

      I would not be surprised to see some of them acting like pricks, borderline unprofessional.

      I would defo go for all players with history of breaking the lockdown, thats the right mindset!! Grealish and Walker definitely on my team!

    4. DonDaggen786
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Dont bring in Aguero

  6. StoichkovFPL
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    Working on WC team looking at fixtures in vFPL

    Pope, Button
    TAA, Baldock, Ward, Burn, Holgate
    Salah, Mane, Fernandes, Martial, Snodgrass
    Ings, DCL(Pukki soon), Greenwood

    Who is best up to 6.2 mid/striker? Im looking for a player for next 3-4 games. Prefer mid as there is better choice than strikers. Its more flexible if it is needed to change. On Snoddy atm but not sure.
    Am I missing someone? Thanks for your opinion.

  7. Johnny 8
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    Leicester's fixtures easing now so Perez/Tielemans/Barnes could be viable options again.
    Trossard another worth considering as Brighton's next ten fixtures are good with the exception of Liverpool in GW25 and he's in good (virtual) form.
    Deeney the best option forward up to 6.2m imo.

    1. Johnny 8
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Reply fail to Stoichkov#8 above.

    2. StoichkovFPL
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Cheers Johnny!

    3. BNMC
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      I noticed that fixture swing. Might do Jimenez to Vardy in a couple GWs as Wolves's fixtures are getting worse, but in Jimenez's defence he is very consistent.

    4. The Mandalorian
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      I'm considering Vardy

  8. goriuanx
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    Celtic officially declared Scottish Champions. 9 in a row for them.

    1. Wild Rover
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      The decision was taken at a board meeting on Monday after the 12 clubs agreed at the end of last week that completing the campaign was unfeasible.

      Why is it unfeasible in Scotland but not England?

      1. Waldaz
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 10 months ago

        It's all about the £, apparently SPL have a new more lucrative TV deal starting on Aug 1, same as Belgium.

        1. Wild Rover
          • 13 Years
          3 years, 10 months ago

          That doesn't make it unfeasible though, they clearly don't want to play rather than can't.

          1. Waldaz
            • 14 Years
            3 years, 10 months ago

            Yeah, pretty much. They probably thought it wasn't financially worth it, obviously very different to major leagues.

    2. The Polymath
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Sadly, with respect, showing themselves to be a "Michael Mus" league.

  9. FPL Pillars
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    I hope everyone is enjoying a dose of their Vitamin D, Son is great 😉

  10. OLLY G
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    Two general questions out of interest please. If the premier league doesn't restart:

    (A) Will FPL just be considered void or will the 1st place person win?

    (B) Are people considering their mini-leagues/cash leagues void?

    Thanks.

    1. mad_beer ✅
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      Nobody can really answer these questions until FPL decide what they are doing. FPL can't decide until PL decide what they are doing. And PL can't decide.

    2. Tinkermania
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      FPL will most certainly not be void. I think the guy at the top wins if there are no game weeks added. Mini Leagues have their on rules, so you can't get an answer here about mini leagues. Some will pay in full, some will pay a fraction, some will refund. Talk to your admin.

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

      It’s wont be void, it will be finishing on current standings if no more games happen. Then:

      (A) FPL standings will be confirmed, as is.

      (B) it’s up to each individual cash league to deduce this.

      Hope we do get to finish

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

      Hopefully not voided, I'm 421st OR, I'd be fuming! Haha

  11. M00N
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 10 months ago

    The transfer page looks like it does at the start of the season and looks like free wildcards all round. If true it’s another reason the season should be abandoned.

    1. Pasqualinho
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 10 months ago

      It's in end-of-season mode, not start. You can't confirm transfers.

      1. M00N
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 10 months ago

        Is that right? I didn’t try confirming a transfer. Don’t think we’ll see anything now until the restart is confirmed or not.

        1. HTL
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 10 months ago

          You get a widely-published error message when you try to confirm.