FPL team reveal: Why I am reverting to the template

Phil Gill, aka @fplsorcerer, is an incredibly successful Fantasy Premier League (FPL) veteran who can boast of two top 1k finishes, six top 5k overall ranks and eight top 10k finishes.

Phil sits 85^th in the Career Hall of Fame and moved down from 13,185 overall in Gameweek 2 to 220k in Gameweek 4 after taking a gamble and going against the template.

Here he discusses his team plans for the weekend and beyond.

FPL Gameweek 4 Review

• Points: 68
• Overall Rank: 220k 

It was a Gameweek dominated by the ‘premium’ players and unfortunately, Harry Kane (£12.2m) let me down again for a second week running. After such a good start, my gamble in Gameweek 3 to go against the template backfired. Taking out Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Ivan Toney (£6.3m) for Kane and Raphael (£6.5m) cost me two red arrows and around 30 points but at the time it felt like a good idea to take a risk to break into that top 500.

Nevertheless, we move on and at least my last-minute decision to get Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.6m) in for Gameweek 4 instead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.1m) proved successful. However, with other premiums performing such as Romelu Lukaku (£11.6m), Salah and Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m), my gains from captaining Ronaldo were somewhat negated, leading to another red arrow.

FPL Gameweek 5 Options

For me there are three big decisions this week: 

1. Two Premiums vs Three Premiums

I have been toying with the idea of having Lukaku, Salah and Ronaldo all in my team for Gameweek 5. This would mean a -8 hit and an unbalanced team, though, so for me, I still think two premiums instead of three is the way forward – even if I was on a Wildcard. I think Salah is key with one of Lukaku/Ronaldo, who rotate well over the coming fixture blocks. Lukaku has two tough fixtures coming, despite it being an injury-hit Spurs, so Ronaldo tips him at least until Gameweek 7. This gives the rest of the team balance and since only one premium can be captained, the need for three heavy hitters seems excessive.

2. To Wildcard or not to Wildcard

I have considered wildcarding but again three premiums seems unnecessary and with a -8 hit, I could have pretty much my Wildcard team. I also have a rule to never Wildcard unless a -12 hit at the very least is needed. For me, a Wildcard needs to be worthwhile and I’m not bothered by the odd -4 or -8 to shape up my team even though I am trying to reduce hits this year. So, I don’t see the need to activate the chip just yet. I am even thinking of holding my Wildcard till United’s sea of green fixtures in Gameweek 15. For Chelsea’s incredible Gameweek 7/8 run, I only need a -4 hit to bring in Lukaku and Reece James (£5.6m).

3. What to do with Michael Antonio (£7.9m)

Personally, I think Antonio has started so well and he needs to be kept at least for the next few weeks with some good fixtures coming up – Leeds and Brentford – after his ban this week against United. I don’t feel that there are too many options to replace him, either. Calvert-Lewin would have been a good one but he is now out for two to three weeks. For me, the only other option is Patrick Bamford (£7.9m) but I will be bringing him in for Kane this week anyway. So, I will be keeping Antonio for Gameweek 5 and play a 4-4-2 formation for one week with Luke Ayling (£4.4m) coming into my back four.

Gameweek 5 Transfers