In our latest community article, FPL_Runpharm looks at how different types of Fantasy manager will approach having five free transfers in Gameweek 16.
It feels relevant to write about the five free transfers from a different angle because that’s what everyone is talking about this Gameweek.
Fantasy Premier League (FPL) basically announced: “Congratulations, everyone. No matter how badly you played… here are five free transfers. Enjoy.” Never in FPL history has this happened – unless you’re counting the unlimited transfers handed to us after the 2022 World Cup.
It’s a global reset. Five buckets of water were handed to every manager, from rank one to rank 11 million. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, a veteran or a casual, black or white, gay or straight, from Malaysia or Mars – five is five. And suddenly, the screen became a personality test. A psychological experiment. A peek into who we really are as managers.
The Firefighter
Some managers didn’t even blink. They saw their team and went: “Bro, my whole house is on fire. Give me the five buckets now.” Because honestly, if you’re holding Cody Gakpo (£7.5m), Marcos Senesi (£5.0m), Daniel Munoz (£6.1m), Nick Pope (£5.1m), Moises Caicedo (£5.8m)… that’s not a team, that’s a hospital – or a sin bin, in Caicedo’s case.
Then there are players who are so out of form that you can’t stand holding them even for one second longer: Antoine Semenyo (£7.6m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m), Mohamed Salah (£14.0m), Joao Pedro (£7.3m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£8.0m)… the list goes on.
And of course, the AFCON boys, Bryan Mbeumo (£8.4m), Dango Ouattara (£6.0m), Iliman Ndiaye (£6.4m). The original, inevitable fire. These managers don’t save transfers; they don’t think twice. Their rank is dropping like a lift with broken cables, so, of course, they’re going to use them.
The Upside Chaser
These guys look at their team and think: “Fine… but it can be better.” Their house isn’t burning, not even warm. But free money is free money. In the stock market, if someone says, “Yo, you can switch shares without losing any fees,” you already see them logging in faster than you can say “Erling Braut Haaland.” These people aren’t fixing fires, they’re chasing rockets.
Phil Foden (£8.6m)? In. Bruno Guimaraes (£6.9m)? Why not. Declan Rice (£7.1m)? More, please. Players who might be good soon, such as Cole Palmer (£10.3m) or Matheus Cunha (£7.9m)? Get in now, worry later.
The Calculated Snake
This is the scariest species in FPL. They dead-ended into Gameweek 15 on purpose. They knew this reset was coming. To them, Gameweek 16 is an extra mini-Wildcard.
When many others have used up their second Wildcard by Gameweek 25, they will likely still have theirs. They walk into Gameweek 16 with spreadsheets, colour-coded fixture charts, and a plan. Strip out players whose fixtures turn bad, install five long-term gems, and walk away like they just bought a new condo below market price. One step ahead of everyone, but they are not loud; they do not brag.
The Patient Assassin
Honestly, they shouldn’t be allowed near normal humans. Everyone else has no Wildcard, no Free Hit or indeed any other chip left. They still have the Free Hit and/or Wildcard. They use a chip in Gameweek 16, play around like they’re editing a dream team in sandbox mode, and then, after others have eaten into their five free transfers, they walk into Gameweek 17 holding a bazooka: still five free transfers remaining.
The Gambler
Now we come to the final type. The legendary, the Malaysian classic. This type of manager is the main reason I wrote this article.
They didn’t plan it; they didn’t need it. Their team is fine. But when they see that number five on the transfer page, their fingers start shaking. Their heartbeat increases. These people, in normal life, cannot keep RM50 in their wallet without trying Toto, Magnum, DaMaCai (it means any form of betting, for non-Malaysians). They spend because it feels wrong not to spend. There’s not even a check of the fixtures. They just click around, see the highest-scoring players from the last Gameweek, and press confirm like they’re buying bubble tea. When it goes wrong later, they will try to borrow money from others and squeeze every penny.
If they all fail, blame the system, bad luck, FPL gods, the community, everyone except themselves. “The brain is wired to chase rewards, not consequences.” The brain craves the act of spending more than the result of spending. “Impulsive reward-seeking behaviour” is the right term. If you gave them five transfers every Gameweek, they’d still use all five. Every time.
That’s the beauty of this crazy Gameweek. Five free transfers, an equal reset. However, FPL didn’t just give us five transfers. It gave us a mirror. And next Tuesday, when the dust settles, the mirror will tell us exactly who we are. Choose wisely. Because five buckets of water can save your house… or drown it.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 16 free transfer top-up: All you need to know
- READ MORE: 6 ways to use the FPL Gameweek 16 transfer top-up
