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Learning from ‘The Great and The Good’ FPL managers – Gameweek 6

Fantasy Football Scout community writer Greyhead continues with his series of articles analysing the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) transfers and strategies of some noted Fantasy managers, from serial top 10k finishers to well-known faces.

The Great and The Good this year are the Scouts Joe LepperNeale RiggGeoff Dance and Tom Freeman, FPL Wire’s Zophar, from the Hall of Fame Fabio BorgesFPLMatthewYavuz Kabuk and Tom Stephenson, Blackbox’s Az and Mark Sutherns, FPL “celebrities” LTFPL AndyMagnus Carlsen and FPL General plus last year’s mini-league winner Les Caldwell.


“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate.

Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake.

I shake it off, I shake it off”

Another week, another series of injury woes to deal with, as Patrick Bamford (£7.9m) fell victim to the mid-priced striker curse but at least Raphinha (£6.5m) managed to take Taylor Swift’s advice and shake it off.

This was also the week many lost patience in the £7-8m price bracket with several of us selling Ferran Torres (£7.0m) and Jack Grealish (£8.0m), as we saw the emergence of cheaper midfield options like Ismaila Sarr (£6.3m), Conor Gallagher (£5.7m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.2m).

Then there was the captaincy call, surely that was an easy one with Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.7m) ready to go, but Dean Smith’s men played the villains at Old Trafford to deliver red arrows for many an FPL manager.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

Tom Freeman and Les Caldwell were the chart toppers with 60 points this week, although Tom left it late with Joel Veltman’s (£4.4m) 95th minute assist taking him to the heights of the hit parade.

Les’ strong showing was based on a Wolves double-up and his Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) captaincy; he was in good company as Mark and Magnus were the others to walk like an Egyptian.

Az was a very brave boy putting the armband on Michail Antonio (£7.9m) and it paid off; he is now only two points behind his Blackbox buddy. Could he finally overtake him?

Geoff Dance deserves a mention as he has yet to have a red arrow, although the size of the climbs are getting smaller with a sub 4,000 place jump this time round.

Wildcards are still burning a hole in the majority of The Great and The Good’s pockets, there seems to have been no discernible advantage to those who played early and it’s worth noting that none of the top three of Tom Stephenson, Andy and FPL Matthew have overhauled their squads.

TRANSFERS

Sarr underlines differential potential as Chelsea earn another clean sheet 10

This is a summary of the transfers for this week:

Az – Sarr (Grealish)

LTFPL Andy – Jimenez (Bamford)

Fabio Borges – None

Joe Lepper – Sarr, Armstrong (Bamford, Traore)

Geoff Dance – Gallagher (Torres)

FPL General – Saint-Maximin, Sarr (Bamford, Raphinha)

Les Caldwell – Gallagher (Torres)

Magnus Carlsen – Foster (Gunn)

Mark Sutherns – Alonso (Ayling)

FPL Matthew – Sarr (Greenwood)

Neale Rigg – None

Tom Freeman – Sarr (Gundogan)

Tom Stephenson – Sarr (Torres)

Yavuz Kabuk – Lukaku, Gray (Calvert-Lewin, Grealish)

Zophar – Sarr (Torres)

A blur of activity with Sarr a popular and wise choice if his goal against Newcastle was a sign of returns to come.

Joe and FPL General took hits to bring in the Watford wonder as they also had the Bamford blip to deal with, both made eyebrow raising moves with Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.8m) and Adam Armstrong (£6.0m) trotting onto their respective fantasy fields.

Yavuz’s dealings also caught the eye as he is the first to hit the high rollers with the “threemium” of Romelu Lukaku (£11.7m), Ronaldo and Salah.

I suspect Magnus will be soon going that way with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£9.9m) a placeholder, but I’ve tried and failed before to predict the Grandmaster’s groves.

TEMPLATE

Salah on target as Liverpool assets prosper at Leeds 1

The template for The Great and The Good is as follows with the number in brackets showing how many teams in which they appear:

Sanchez (12), Steele (8)

Alexander-Arnold (15), Shaw (12), Ayling (7), Livramento (7), Veltman (5)

Salah (15), Raphinha (11), Sarr (9), Jota (9), Benrahma (8)

Antonio (14), Ronaldo (12), Lukaku (4)

You sense bigger change is coming to the template, but for now Sarr and Lukaku were the new entrants replacing Bamford due to injury and Mason Greenwood (£7.7m), who proved expendable despite hitting an impressive eight shots against Villa.

CAPTAIN CALLS

At this early stage, captaincy decisions are proving crucial in the respectability of your rank and Mark Sutherns leads the way with 126 points, which equates to an impressive 21-point average.

Fabio is having an uncharacteristically mediocre start to the armband action sitting on 88 points, his decision to move off his favourite Salah this week proved costly.

The chart below shows that Salah continues to be the popular pick over the season at 54% pick rate, Ronaldo is chipping away at that lead on 22% and I would suspect Lukaku will start to worry the leaders as his dream run of fixtures begins this weekend.

No doubt the heavy hitters have rewarded those who have stuck with the tried and tested in the opening weeks, but Az’s foray into differential choice Antonio shows there is ground to be made up if you look beyond the “threemium”.

CONCLUSION

Jimenez ends goal drought as Arsenal claim convincing north London derby win

An interesting week ahead with fixture swings on the horizon, with Chelsea’s mouth-watering matchups meaning heavy investment in the Tuchel Tombola.

The collapse of the mid-priced market and the rise of the cheaper options of Emile Smith-Rowe (£5.3m), Demarai Gray (£5.8m) and Sarr also means that more might be tempted with the three heavy hitter option as this becomes more manageable as we look to balance the books and unbalance our squad structure.

Plenty of options ahead, plenty of ways to play the game and catch those greens but remember if you do have a bad week then just shake it off as a good one can be just be around the corner.

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 then you can find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Greyhead19

1,672 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Steve The Spud
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Looks like shaw is being sold less and less, could he survive this week without a drop ?

    1. Maddamotha
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      I think he will drop.

    2. drughi
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      He will drop and he will haul

    3. vova
      • 13 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      most of the sales usually come either straight away or the night before the deadline

      1. Steve The Spud
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 4 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        Argh ok I didn’t know that mate cheers

  2. rnrd
    • 9 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    What's your take on the ESR vs Saka debate?
    The two are posting very similar stats although Saka is 0.9 more expensive.

    They probably have equal security of starts/rotation risk ratio but Saka's positionning seems easier to predict although ESR might sometimes play deeper.

    Saka more explosive and better BPS magnet but ESR seems more involved in the overall build-up process of arsenal game and looks hungry at the moment. He's kind of a new Santi Cazorla in my eyes. Great involvement, able to assist and finish.

    But Saka is more proven. Very hard to pick one although I beliebe there's not enough difference between the two to jutify the expense of 0,9 more for Saka?

    What's your opinion on this? Arsenal fans what do you think? Will arteta give the keys to ESR in the very short term?

    1. farmerfat
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Saka is without a doubt the better option. He is our main goal threat behind Auba. If ESR does something, Saka is very likely to be involved. I think it is worth the extra 0.9 to go Saka, ESR will still be great value for his price.

    2. Steve The Spud
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      After haul in NLD I’d expect esr to be pretty much nailed for the time being - if you consider both our nailed and playing far forward I would prefer esr to save the million personally

    3. DannyDrinkVodka
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      There is a case for getting them both in for the kind fixture run

  3. Steve The Spud
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Is gilmour expected to get his spot back? Benched last week and unfortunately in a position this week where he might be needed off my bench

    1. Gabbiadini
      • 6 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      It's uncertian.
      Farke is still trying to find his best team.

  4. Maddamotha
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    People are keeping TAA, even though it means playing Williams or Livramento? Is it not worth to get a Chelsea defender for example? I know he MIGHT be back for Watford, but he also might not play. Currently have TAA and Jota, plan was to get rid of Jota, because I think he's benched, and they play City. But considering TAA > Rudiger now.

    1. Steve The Spud
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      I’m selling Williams for rudiger and keeping Taa, working toward a defence of Taa rudiger cancelo Christensen livramento

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

      Wildcarding into Cancelo Dias Alonso Rudiger Livramento

  5. Big Hippo
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Team is a big pile o' mess. Options below but ideas most welcome

    Sanchez
    Alonso, Tierney, Williams*
    Salah, Jota*, Saka, Traore*
    Ron, Ant, ASM

    (Steele, Sissoko, Livra, TAA)

    A) Williams & Traore > Christensen & Raph (-8)
    B) Williams & Jota > Rudi & Raph (-8)
    C) Play Williams, Jota and Traore and hope they score more than 3 points

    1. mcsteely
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Play Trent unless he’s ruled out. Traore to Raph, Saka or Gallagher

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

    Play
    a) Tierney (bha)
    b) Cash (tot)

    1. drughi
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      cash

  7. jackx13
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Main consensus round here would be Ronaldo > Kaku this week?

    1. mcsteely
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      If no other issues, yes. Ronaldo fine for one more week if you’ve no Chelsea defenders

      1. jackx13
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        I have Alonso but still haven't decided wether I should do Ronaldo to Kaku this week or wait 1 more.

    2. Pukki Party
      • 6 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      I'm probably sticking to the plan and doing that

      1. jackx13
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        Thanks!

  8. Miguel Sanchez
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    I can get by this GW with Livramento stepping in for TAA right?

    Ramsdale
    *TAA Alonso Duffy
    Salah Benrahma Sarr Doucoure
    Ronaldo Lukaku(c) Antonio

    Steele Sissoko Livramento Tsimikas 0FT 0.0 ITB

    1. The FPL Units
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Yes

  9. _Gunner
    • 9 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Which is better?

    A- Play Williams
    B- Sell for -4

    Current backline:

    Sa'
    Rudiger White TAA* Williams Livramento

    1. The FPL Units
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      A

  10. DannyDrinkVodka
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Jimenez Jesus or Vardy on WC?

    1. The FPL Units
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      V

      1. DannyDrinkVodka
        • 4 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        cheers

  11. jb1985
    • 5 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Not sure if to take a hit or not, praying Bielsa says that Bamford is fit as held but has already dropped twice. Concerned for TAA and Jota as well.

    Sanchez,
    Rudiger, Alonso, TAA*
    Salah, Gray, Jota, Sarr
    Antonio, Ronaldo, Bamford*

    Subs: Steele, Allan, White, Williams.

    Tempted to take a hit and do Bamford, Jota, TAA to > Auba, Raphina, Cancelo (big issue is the 2 x Brazilians though as could bite me big.)

    1. _Gunner
      • 9 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Concerned for Jota and TAA as well.

      Was leaning towards selling Jota but really don't know what to do now.

  12. DannyDrinkVodka
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    How about this WC?

    Cancelo (Dias) Alonso Rudiger (Livramento)
    Salah Sarr Saka ESR (Brownhill)
    Lukaku(c) Vardy Antonio

    1. DannyDrinkVodka
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Ramsdale (Forster) obviously as goalies

  13. mcsteely
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Rudiger, Alonso or both on WC?

    1. The FPL Units
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Both and citeh def

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

      Both, go for it!

  14. ShaunGoater123
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Already moved Shaw on for Alonso but happy to to a -4 for a 1 week punt ahead of wildcard.

    Jota to Havertz?

    Foster
    White / Semedo / Alonso
    Jota / Salah / Smith-Rowe / Sarr
    Jimenez / Ronaldo / Antonio

    Bachmann / Livramento / Bissouma / TAA

    1.1m ITB

    1. StingRay
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      What happens if Alonso gets injured tonight playing against Juventus ?

  15. Mufc202020
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Morning All.

    WC activated.

    Ramsdale - Foster
    Alonso - Rudiger - Dias - Liv - White
    Salah - Raph - Saka - Sarr - Allan
    Lukaku - Jimi - Ant

    2m ITB, what would your first upgrade be?

    Thanks

    1. Alli In
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      White to Cancelo?
      And, how safe do you feel with Ramsdale and Foster on a wildcard? Ramsdale to Ederson also a possibility?

      1. DannyDrinkVodka
        • 4 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        Agree - White to Cancelo

      2. Mufc202020
        • 4 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        Thanks both, yeah was thinking about Ramsdale & Foster together but im pretty surely ramsdale after the weekend he has now cemented his place in the starting XI

  16. Z
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Captain?

    Ronalno
    Lukaku

    1. DannyDrinkVodka
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Lukaku

    2. DycheDycheBaby
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Ronaldo

  17. Cruyff's Eleven
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Kante testing positive strengthening my resolve to hold off pulling the trigger on my WC till GW8, after the IB.

    It's a minefield out there....

    1. kobewan
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Why? it's not like Kante is very good FPL Asset, or you mean there could be more Chelsea players positive of covid?

      1. Cruyff's Eleven
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        Anyone could get it.

  18. t4thomas
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    This is my current team:

    Sanchez
    Alexander-Arnold | Cancelo | Shaw
    Salah | Fernandes (C) | Jota | Benrahma | Sarr
    Antonio | Toney

    White | Williams | Obafemi

    1 FT, £1.2M ITB, 35K OR.

    a) Alexander-Arnold + Jota --> Alonso + Son. Wildcard GW8.
    b) Wildcard GW7:

    Sa
    Alonso | Rudiger | Cancelo
    Salah | Son | Ismaila Sarr | Mbuemo
    Lukaku (C) | Antonio | Toney

    White | Livramento | Luiz

    0.5M ITB

    1. DannyDrinkVodka
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      I would wildcard now

    2. StingRay
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Imo I’d wait till after the international break...you
      L be immune to any possible injury risks and gives you two weeks to add value to your team

  19. Boom XhakaLacaSaka
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Foster Sanchez
    White Shaw* Digne TAA* Williams
    Salah Raph* Jota Sarr Brownhill
    Antonio Toney Ronaldo

    2FT 1.0 itb - WC8
    What to do with this lot?

  20. Weeb Kakashi
    • 8 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    I think Jota has to go. Doesn't he?

    Can't see him starting at City. Also has a hectic IB and with Firmino not having International duty he could well start Watford. Also they play Man United In GW9. Expect Firmino to start that as well.

    1. jackruet
      • 2 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Yes. Firmino also got 2 goals in ucl. Klopp trusts firmino

    2. claretparrot
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      He's been chalked to go this week for me since WC. TAA & Gundo injuries make it a little bit harder but think I'm going to stick to the plan.

      Downgrade to Gallagher/Mbeumo to allow Semedo or a 4.0 to become Cancelo or Chelsea D

  21. kobewan
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Which Arsenal MF to get?

    A. Saka
    B. ESR
    C. Odegaard

    1. Boom XhakaLacaSaka
      • 4 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      A

  22. DARK SIDE OF THE LOON
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    CL related:

    Have double Wolfsburg defense in Baku and Rousillion; single Benfica defense in Grimaldo. Which two should I play? Wolfsburg plays Sevilla at home. Benfica plays Barca at home.

    1. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      2 years, 6 months ago

      Double Wolfsburg, they have decent defense.

      1. DARK SIDE OF THE LOON
        • 7 Years
        2 years, 6 months ago

        Thanks!

  23. jackruet
    • 2 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Jota + bamford > saka+ jimenez (-4)?

  24. Boom XhakaLacaSaka
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    Pick one from each:

    1) Rudiger
    2) Alonso

    A) Saka
    B) Son

  25. wulfrunian
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    *bottomed
    Best defender up to 5.6?

  26. Hazardous1983
    • 13 Years
    2 years, 6 months ago

    trent ayling shaw injured no wildcard what a mess and i own jota

    wots the priority.