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Learning from ‘The Great and The Good’ FPL managers ahead of Gameweek 35

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.


“I’m blue

Da ba dee da ba di”

In a season where there have so many pivotal 50/50 calls, this time it was your choice of Reece James (£6.4m) versus Marcus Alonso (£5.6m) which determined whether you were left feeling blue.

Prior to the Gameweek, everyone was actually piling in on the blues. Chelsea and Manchester City’s favourable fixtures caused some to Free Hit, while there was a cacophony of Wildcards as the late rank charges began.

Yet pretty much everyone forgot about Gabriel Jesus (£8.5m), who provided divine returns for those who did in fact take a leap of faith on the City striker.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

Neale Rigg was talk of the toon with an impressive 83 fuelled by a Wildcard which contained Alonso and Kevin De Bruyne (£11.9m) and, crucially, it also saw him keep faith in Bukayo Saka (£6.8m).

FPL Matthew was not too far behind with his overhaul giving him 81 points, even though he captained Reece James. Both managers had gone with a five-man defence and the final few weeks may yet prove the saying that the best form of attack is defence.

The Free Hitting double act of Az and Mark had less success. Mr Sutherns must have walked under ladder and kicked a few black cats as his bad luck continued with his decision to move out Saka, Nick Pope (£5.4m) and Andrew Robertson (£7.3m) proving costly, although his chip play did at least gain him a green arrow.

Az was the least fortunate and his red arrow gives an opening to Fabio Borges, who is now nine points behind. It could yet come down to the battle of the Bench Boost as both have this one chip remaining. Could Hee-Chan Hwang (£5.4m) be an unlikely hero for Az? Probably not.

As for the captains this week, it was an open field with a wide variety of picks. We even saw a lesser spotted Timo Werner (£8.7m) armband from Joe but the best of the bunch was Geoff Dance, who saw something twinkle in the eye of Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.2m).

WILDCARDS

The late Wildcard wagons pulled into FPL town with five of them making their move:

Magnus Carlsen

The Grandmaster caused a stir with his decision to say no to Mo and keep faith with Bruno Fernandes. He also waved goodbye to his Spurs and, to add to the controversy, went without any City players.

  • IN – Schmeichel, Mykolenko, Cash, Alonso, Fernandes, Jota, Coutinho, Havertz, Mount, Pukki, Iheanacho, Nketiah
  • OUT – Ramsdale, Coady, Doherty, Livramento, Saka, Martinelli, Cornet, Barnes, Son, Kane, Antonio, Calvert-Lewin
FPL Matthew

Hold the line! Matthew has gone big, big and bigger at the back with five premium defenders. It’s cheap and cheerful up front and good to see he has joined the Teemu Pukki (£6.0m) party. The lack of much Aston Villa, Everton and Leicester coverage suggests he is planning his Free Hit for Gameweek 37.

  • IN – Schmeichel, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Alonso, James, Mount, Kulusevski, Foden, Pukki, Nketiah, Dennis
  • OUT – De Gea, Saiss, Tarkowski, Livramento, White, Gilmour, Raphinha, Fernandes, Kane, Antonio, Weghorst
Neale Rigg

A cracking start for the Scout chief with his Wildcard. Surprisingly, he is the only one to go with Kevin De Bruyne (KDB), and he clearly likes his players with three-letter acronyms as he also brought in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£4.4m, KDH).

Joel Matip (£5.1m) is a canny pick who won’t get the headlines but has amassed a very impressive 41 points over the last six weeks.

  • IN – Schmeichel, Foster, Laporte, Matip, Cancelo, Alonso, De Bruyne, Salah, Mount, Dewsbury-Hall, Pukki, Mateta, Nketiah
  • OUT – Sanchez, Ramsdale, Doherty, Digne, White, Schar, MacAllister, Son, Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall, Ronaldo, Kane, Weghorst
Tom Freeman

Maybe variance is a thing, as Tom suffered more bad luck: his Raheem Sterling (£10.5m) pick looked good on paper but bad on the pitch and it was made worse by his decision to kick out James Ward-Prowse (£6.4m) as part of the reshuffle.

I still fancy a late surge from the king of the differentials as a midfield of Mason Mount (£7.7m), Mohamed Salah (£13.3m) and Kai Havertz (£7.9m) will have better days.

  • IN – Schmeichel, Foster, Emerson Royal, Laporte, Cancelo, James, Havertz, Mount, Sterling, Dewsbury-Hall, Salah, Nketiah, Pukki, Rodriguez
  • OUT – Sanchez, Ramsdale, Doherty, Kilman, Rudiger, Regulion, Sancho, Fernandes, Ward-Prowse, Martinelli, Luiz, Kane, Weghorst, Broja
Zophar

Zophar decided to avoid some of the potential Pep roulette by going with Ederson (£6.1m), as the most secure of the City defensive starters.

His decision to bring in Son Heung-min (£11.0m) while others decided to sell catches the attention, and his call to Bench Boost last week means he could spend little on the benchwarmers of Martin Kelly (£3.8m) and Sam Greenwood (£4.6m) and focus his investment on the first XI.

  • IN – Ederson, Steele, Robertson, Kelly, Son, Mount, Havertz, Pukki, Greenwood, Nketiah
  • OUT – De Gea, Ramsdale, Burn, Schar, Kulusevski, Martinelli, Sancho, Kane, Broja, Weghorst

TRANSFERS

This is a summary of the transfers for this week:

  • Az – Free Hit
  • LTFPL Andy – Havertz, Alonso (Fernandes, Tierney)
  • Fabio Borges – Alonso, Pukki (Coady, Lacazette)
  • Joe Lepper – Werner (Adams)
  • Geoff Dance – Pukki (Broja)
  • FPL General – Mount (Coutinho)
  • Les Caldwell – James, Salah (Schar, Fernandes)
  • Magnus Carlsen – Wildcard
  • Mark Sutherns – Free Hit
  • FPL Matthew – Wildcard
  • Neale Rigg – Wildcard
  • Tom Freeman – Wildcard
  • Tom Stephenson – Dobbin, Mount, Robertson (Wood, Raphinha, Rudiger)
  • Yavuz Kabuk – Alonso, Pukki, Havertz, Cancelo (Doherty, Lacazette, Raphinha, Rudiger)
  • Zophar – Wildcard

While the chips were flying, the remaining members of The Great and The Good had to be aggressive to keep up, leading to hits aplenty – which sounds like a really bad Bond villain.

Yavuz went on the attack with a minus twelve and at least Alonso and Havertz gave him immediate returns as he pushes for the boom or bust of a 10,000 finish; a rumour passed me that he would quit if he doesn’t achieve this goal.

Tom Stephenson was uncharacteristically offensive but again his minus eight was rewarded by Andy Robertson’s double-digit returns – great Scot!

TEMPLATE

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

  • Foster (7), Schmeichel (6)
  • Alexander-Arnold (14), Cancelo (12), James (9), Alonso (7), Robertson (7)
  • Salah (13), Saka (10), Mount (9), Havertz (7), Kulusevski (7)
  • Pukki (8), Nketiah (7), Kane (4)

As you expect, with the quintet of Wildcards the template is shaken to its core with changes across all positions as Kasper Schmeichel, Alonso, Mason Mount, Havertz, Pukki and Edward Nketiah (£5.5m) all come into the squad.

Harry Kane’s (£12.5m) appeal appears to be on the wane across this group of managers and this may yet have an impact on the final standings, as he could yet spark against a European fatigued Leicester for those willing to captain.

SEASON STATS

It’s worth having a quick glance at the season stats, with Yavuz leading the way in hits, Zophar still cash-rich and the captaincy calls proving decisive as Az and Fabio battle it out at the top on 676 points.

CONCLUSION

As mentioned right at the start, the swings caused by some crucial 50/50 calls have been crucial this season: we’ve had Havertz vs Salah, Antonio vs Bowen and even Bruno vs Ronaldo.

This weekend gives us another opportunity to spin the wheel with the captaincy call wide open, so while many have already started to count their predicted points for Gameweek 36, I would suggest spending a little more time on the armband choice for this weekend to make sure you are swinging whilst you’re winning.

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

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

337 Comments Post a Comment
  1. FPLMACKEM
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 3 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Schmeichel
    TAA, Cancelo, Alonso, Laporte
    Salah, Sterling, Saka, Mount
    Werner, Pukki

    Matthews, Davies, KDH, Dobbin

    1ft 0.9 itb

    Is sterling to son and (C) the priority here?

    Any other suggestions?

    1. tibollom
      • 7 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      hmm not sure, id probably do it but depends on chips remaining?

      1. FPLMACKEM
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 3 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        Just have one FH left.

        1. tibollom
          • 7 Years
          1 year, 11 months ago

          id probably do it then although salah C is an option too

  2. tibollom
    • 7 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    play schmeicel or foster? should I roll FT for BB36 (FH37)?

    Foster/Schmeicel
    taa cancelo laporte alonso
    salah kdb(c) havertz kulu
    dennis nketiah

    pukki kdh schar

    1. XX SMICER XX
      • 5 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Sch
      Spurs have not had a shot on target in 2 games

      1. tibollom
        • 7 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        thanks, rest of team OK?

  3. TheSteel
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    If i use my TC and save transfer, will i still have FT for GW36?

    1. TheSteel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      2 FT*

    2. tibollom
      • 7 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      yea i think so, its only 2 FH in a row you cant do

    3. STEP rOVERS
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Yes two for gw36

    4. Chelsea Dagger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      No. You will only have 1 FT

      1. Aeu96197
        • 4 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        This isn’t right. You’ll have two. If you used a FH then you’d only have one the next week, but you can roll and use TC

  4. XX SMICER XX
    • 5 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Which 2 to start out of the below?
    A. Barnes
    B. Ramsey
    C. Tarkowski
    D. Young

    1. Cojones of Destiny
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      BD

    2. Chelsea Dagger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      BC

  5. Steager
    • 6 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    On a WC

    A) Son, Matip and Jesus

    B) Kane, TAA, Gordon

    1. XX SMICER XX
      • 5 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      A with VVD & Watkins

    2. tibollom
      • 7 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      a

  6. Il Capitano
    • 3 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    0.8m ITB - 1FT - BB36

    Ramsdale
    TAA Robbo Cancelo Laporte
    Salah Saka* Kulu Ramsey
    Kane (C) Pukki

    Foster - Raph Doherty* Cucho*

    Roll FT, Doherty + Cucho > Konsa? (max 4.9) + Nketiah next week for the BB?

  7. C_G
    • 8 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    no clue what to do here? 1 FT, 0 ITB. only have BB left for GW36

    Schmeichel Carson

    Robbo TAA Schar Alonso Amartey

    Maddison Salah Mount Saka Ramsey

    Kane Weghorst Toney

  8. estheblessed
    • 9 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    G2G ? Right sub order?

    DDG,
    Rudiger, VVD, Clyne
    Son, Salah, Saka, Ramsey
    Weghorst, Kane, Mateta

    Schmeical, Maddison, Burn, Williams

    1. FTH
      • 2 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Yes

    2. Stranger Mings
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Yes

  9. richarlison2348
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 3 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Saka or Foden for 35,36,and 38?

    1. Botman and Robben
      • 7 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Saka

    2. Il Capitano
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Saka

    3. cutch
      • 9 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Saka because he is more nailed

    4. Chelsea Dagger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Saka

  10. cutch
    • 9 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Sorry for repeating. Bottomed and looking for some answers.

    Start 2 of this lot:
    A) Alonso
    B) Pukki
    C) Gordon
    D) Dennis
    E) Bavies

    Currently on A+B

    1. Stranger Mings
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      A d

    2. Chelsea Dagger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      AB

    3. Botman and Robben
      • 7 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      AD

  11. winchester
    • 3 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Hey there! 1ft and 0.2m itb. FH&BB left. Bbgw36? What moves could be done here?

    ramsdale
    taa cancelo white alonso
    salah saka havertz mount
    kane weghorst

    (dubravka broja targett ramsey)

    1. gellinmagellan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Havertz/Mount > Foden/Coutinho

  12. 1912 F.A Cup Winners
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Evening all!! A little help with the bench order would be lovely please!!!

    A- Bednarek(Palace at home)
    B- T.Silva(Everton away)
    C- Maddison(Spurs away)

    Many thanks!!!!

    1. Stranger Mings
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      C, b and a

      1. 1912 F.A Cup Winners
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        Cheers matey !! That’s exactly what I’m on currently!!

  13. Begbie.
    • 10 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Schmeichel Foster
    Alonso James Cancelo TAA Davies
    Salah Mount Foden Saka Ramsey
    Kane Dennis Nketiah

    WC team with BB next week. Any recommendations on anything I can change? I'm not really feeling Kane but not seeing any ideal replacements either. Maybe Kane + Ramsey > Pukki + Son? But I don't really fancy having a Norwich player in my team.

  14. TheBear
    • 14 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    0.1 ITB and think i will just keep FT this week.

    GTG?

    Foster
    Cancelo TAA James
    Salah Kulu Maddison Mount
    Weghorst Broja Kane (C)

    Ramsdale, Gordon, White Schar

    1. gellinmagellan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Yeah, can save this week

      1. TheBear
        • 14 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        Tempted for Maddison to Coutinho but 0.1 short!!

  15. FredrikH
    • 11 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Leading most MLs. Plain stupidity to go Sterling over Salah for captaincy then?

    1. Cojones of Destiny
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      still Mo

    2. Stranger Mings
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      No no

      1. Stranger Mings
        • 3 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        Go MO

  16. gellinmagellan
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Pope Dub
    TAA James Alonso Schar Cash
    Salah Saka Kulu Havertz Ramsey
    Kane Pukki Broja

    What should I do this week? BB 36. 1 FT 0.2 ITB

    A) Save FT
    B) Kai > Coutinho
    C) Kai > Foden

    Anything else??

  17. Najj
    • 3 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Who score more point in DGW36?

    1) Matip + Richarlison
    2) Robbo + Dennis

    1. gellinmagellan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      2

    2. Il Capitano
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      2

    3. Cojones of Destiny
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      2

    4. MaRooney 5
      • 11 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      2

  18. Kodap
    • 6 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Hi guys, a bit stuck with what to do here, I'm planning on FH'ing in 36 so if I don't make a move I lose one, anything worth a transfer/-4 here?

    DDG
    Taa - Robbo - Cancelo - James
    Salah - Son - Kulu - Havertz - Saka
    Weg

    Schmeichal - Mateta - Broja - Telles

    1. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Make a GW37 transfer.

  19. Cojones of Destiny
    • 6 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    play:
    a. Ramsdale (whu)
    b. Sanchez (wol)

  20. jonnybhoy
    • 11 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Which one to sell for Coutinho? Will free hit in GW36

    A) Maddison
    B) Mount
    C) Kulu

    1. Begbie.
      • 10 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      C

      1. Begbie.
        • 10 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        Don't think Maddison will play this week but you'll want him in 37.

        1. jonnybhoy
          • 11 Years
          1 year, 11 months ago

          Surely sell maddison in that case and bring him back in for 37?

          1. Begbie.
            • 10 Years
            1 year, 11 months ago

            Could do. I was assuming you'd be bringing in someone else with a doubler in 37 instead of just bringing back a guy you've already got presently.

    2. 1justlookin
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      I'm selling Maddison.

    3. Gazza2000
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      A

  21. Sc007
    • 9 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    This wc look ok?
    Bb next week

    Schmiechel. Bachmann
    Alonso Trent cancelo Davies cash
    Mount kdb salah coutinho saka
    Dennis pukki nketiah.

  22. FantasyHero
    • 7 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Why is Sara's price dropping. He is passed fit no?

    1. FantasyHero
      • 7 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Saka *
      Lol

    2. Zimo
      • 5 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Sara?

    3. Jock Grealish
      • 2 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Mo Sarah?

  23. Ten Season Wonder
    • 10 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    WC35, BB36 & FH still available ... Typical scenario

    just planning on whether I will have 2FTs in GW37 or does BB chip affect the transfer roll??

    Thanks you

    1. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      The FH mean GW38 1 FT

      1. TorresMagic™
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 14 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        2 FTs in 37 otherwise.

        1. Ten Season Wonder
          • 10 Years
          1 year, 11 months ago

          perfect thanks TM

      2. Ten Season Wonder
        • 10 Years
        1 year, 11 months ago

        No, I mean if I use BB in DGW36, would I still have 2FTs for GW37?

  24. MaRooney 5
    • 11 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    a) Havertz, RJames, Dias/Laporte
    b) Mount, Alonso, Cancelo?

    Thanks in advance!

    1. Gazza2000
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      B

  25. Ziyech on the Bench
    • 6 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Mount to Jota?

    1. Jock Grealish
      • 2 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      no

  26. TorresMagic™
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Best of a cheap bunch in GWs 35 and 36?

    Dennis, Mateta or Nketiah?

    1. Cheeto__Bandito
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      well not mateta

    2. Gazza2000
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      I would go with Dennis, Nketiah and Mateta are not nailed imo

    3. Bobby Digital
      • 6 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      I like Nk

    4. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Cheers all.

    5. Chelsea Dagger
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Nketiah

    6. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Probably Nketiah then Dennis perhaps.

      Mateta could come through again.

  27. Gazza2000
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Would you FH in 36 or 37 with this lot?

    A) Mount/Doherty to Coutinho/Cash -4 and FH in 36

    B) roll and Mount/Doherty to Gordon/Robertson next week and FH37

    1FT, 0.0 ITB

    Ramsdale
    TAA Cancelo James
    Salah Saka Kulusevski Martinelli Mount
    Kane Weghorst

    Foster Broja Schar Doherty

  28. Cheeto__Bandito
    • 3 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    I can see havertz james alonso mount all getting a rest

    1. Jock Grealish
      • 2 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      not v everton

  29. Drexl Spivey
    • 5 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    Has anyone else started compiling a list of World Class PL players who won't be affected by the World Cup this November? Or do I need another hobby?

    1. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Just name the Italians.

  30. BlzE_94
    • 9 Years
    1 year, 11 months ago

    1ft & £2.4 itb, what would you guys do here:

    A) White/Schar to Cancelo
    B) Weghorst to Jesus
    C) Save

    de Gea
    TAA Robertson James
    Salah Son Mount Saka
    Werner Weghorst Broja

    Foster White KDH Schar

    1. Gazza2000
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Schar to Cancelo

    2. Il Capitano
      • 3 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Schar to Cancelo

    3. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      1 year, 11 months ago

      Ditch Broja