Chief's FPL Team - DGW 31 (Wildcard Edition)

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

WILDCARD TRANSFERS: 

MARSHALL OUT

McGREGOR IN 

Reason: Rotates fairly well with Mannone till the end of the season.

DISTIN OUT

COLEMAN IN

Reason: More expensive but has shown regular attacking prowess.

MARTIN OUT

ZABALETA IN

Reason: DGW31, DGW34 & DGW37 + a mainstay in the City team

B. DAVIES OUT

DUMMETT IN

Reason: Value for money and has 2 home DGW fixtures.

HAZARD OUT

GERRARD IN

Reason: Shown fine form of late & is first choice on penalties.

LALLANA OUT

SILVA IN

Reason: Has been overshadowed by Y. Toure but is back to his best.

HOLTBY OUT

ROSICKY IN

Reason: Plays in the hole and will play due to AFC's depleted midfield.

RODRIGUEZ OUT

LUKAKU IN

Reason: Has been patchy of late but is due a run of goals.

WARD OUT

DANN IN

Reason: Cheaper than Ward and also has DGW34 coming up.

HOOLAHAN OUT

OVIEDO IN

Reason: Cheap makeweight player that has freed up funds.

Hi all!  I managed to bag 64 points in GW30, 10 of which came after Suarez (c) was credited with an assist and some baps after FPL's retrospective action.  Woohoo!  Enough of that, there's some other business to attend to...

The biggie is here - DOUBLEGAMEWEEK 31 + my all-season wildcard has finally been activated.  I tried buying players who have some form on side and are likely to play twice.  I also factored in DGWs 34 and 37.  My wildcard changes and their reasons are fairly straightforward (as detailed above).  I am feeling bullish and I think a score of 90 will be par for those with wildcards, whereas a score of 100 is an achievable target.

I have opted for Suarez as captain due to his fantastic short-term and long-term form.

On a side note, we qualified 2nd in the group stages of the FPL Dugout Champions League and are now through to the knockouts!

Good luck to you all!

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 30

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

 1 FREE TRANSFER WAS AVAILABLE FOR GW30.

GW28 TRANSFER: 

MATA OUT

Y. TOURE IN

 WILDCARD STILL AT HAND.

GW30 is almost upon us and that can only mean one thing....

That's right...  not long to go until the season is finally over.  But it's not over just yet!  2 more months of grueling PL action still await us.  If you survived car crash GW29 and scored 50+ you deserve a pat on the back!  We're back to regular FPL service and some tantalising games are due to be played over the weekend.

I decided to sell Mata as I feel his attacking prowess is being undermined by Rooney and Van Persie.  I was expecting the Spaniard to have enhanced input on the attacking front at United.  His depreciating value and lack of returns were sufficient reasons for me to ditch him.  In his place I have bought Y. Toure.  He hasn't played for 2 consecutive GWs (due to cup commitments) and as a result his value has plummeted to £9.9.  This is a bargain price for a player that has already scored 13 PL goals this season and costs almost the same as Mata!  It made sense to bring in Y. Toure as City are looking to win and have DGW31 (+ another DGW) still to come.

I had various captain options for GW30.  But in the end I went for Suarez.  He has form on his side and Liverpool have a good away scoring record.  I think SAS will run havoc at Old Trafford with Suarez hopefully doing the damage.  I probably could have gotten away with captaining any of my midfielders or strikers, but it would be ludicrous not to captain the Uruguayan at this moment in time.

DGW31 seems action packed and I will almost certainly activate my all-season wildcard on Saturday 15th March - confirmation of this will be announced on Twitter.

On a final note, I play my final group stage Champions League match in GW30 and a win will almost certainly see me through to the knockouts!

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 29

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

  1 FREE TRANSFER WAS AVAILABLE FOR GW29.

GW28 TRANSFERS (-4 HIT): 

NOLAN & COLLINS OUT

MARTIN & HOOLAHAN IN

 WILDCARD STILL AT HAND.

It's finally here... GW29 - Truncated GW - One Day - Only 5 matches.  Bravo if you have 11 players at your disposal with no hits to boot.  The chances are that many of you will be left stranded with just over half a dozen players and the prospect of hits galore.  I didn't want to panic sell Suarez & Sturridge just for this GW and make losses on their values.  I wanted at least 10 players and couldn't sell Davies or Distin either due to good fixtures in GW30.  In the end I decided to sell Nolan & Collins with a 0.4 loss.  This doesn't sound too bad in the wider scheme of things as I wanted to increase player coverage.  Despite selling Nolan, I may re-buy him in DGW31 with my wildcard.  

With my wildcard due to be activated soon, It was hard finding short-term replacements for 1-2 weeks.  Ince and Snoddy topped my shortlist again.  But with my slogan in mind I diverted my attention to the Irish Messi - Hoolahan.  He scored against Villa (despite not celebrating) and did fairly well on Wednesday (despite Ireland losing).  He has form on his side and has a point or two to prove.  Norwich have been half decent at home with an array of clean sheets in 2014.  They are facing a Stoke team that has one of the worst away records this season.  This factor, along with "Wessi's" cheap value and form made me favour him.  In addition to him, I bought his colleague Martin due to the Canaries home CS prowess.  Martin has a good goalscoring record and is surely due a goal for this season too?

I know Holtby was a fail last week and Hoolahan is risky this week too.  But having a combined ownership of sub 1% makes them Super Differentials and tantalising bargain buys.

Alas there were not many captain choices for this GW.  Hazard is the obvious choice and made sense (due to form, importance, prowess, etc.) which is why I have given him the armband.  Good luck and well done in advance if you manage to muster 40+ points!

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 28

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

2 FREE TRANSFERS WERE AVAILABLE FOR GW28

GW28 TRANSFERS: 

SILVA & JANUZAJ OUT

LALLANA & HOLTBY IN

Yay, I'm glad that's over! But the GW hasn't started?  What am I on about you may ask?  Team selection... That's right, it was an absolute headache this week!  The amount of permutations and potential outcomes that I had to process was simply mind boggling.  My two transfers had to take GW28 and GW29 into account, which effectively left me with a pool of players from the bottom half of the table.  I ended up buying two players facing teams in the top 4.  I decided to sell Silva as he has been rubbish of late.  Y. Toure has constantly outdone him and besides City have a blank this GW as a result of the League Cup final.  

I decided to buy Lallana as he has been fantastic this season.  Lallana creates goals, as well as scores them.  The England call up was merited and he will be looking to secure a squad place at this summer's World Cup by continuing his fine form.  He is facing a Liverpool team that has a logic of "you may score, but we will outscore you".  I will be shocked if the match ends in a 0-0 draw, considering that Liverpool are looking to bag a Champions League spot.  I don't think it's too much to expect J-Rod, Lallana and S-A-S to bag a significant number of points between them in this juicy fixture.  

As for my other transfer, I was looking at the likes of Snodgrass and Ince as viable options, but the Canaries and Eagles barely score when playing away.  But with FPL being at the business end of the season, I wanted to be different.  I wanted to choose a Super Differential (i.e. a talented player owned by less than 1% of FPL gamers).  Lewis Holtby (at 0.3%) fits the bill.  Some of you may be thinking why him?  After all Fulham are playing a Chelsea team that has plenty of form and clean sheets in their locker.  But Chelsea played away on Wednesday in Turkey with their de facto first-team defensive line up.  They will be knackered and are contesting a London Derby match on Saturday.  Fulham are scoring at least a goal a game on average in the PL (5 in the last 3).  Can you honestly see Fulham not scoring?  They also have a new German manager at the helm with amazing pedigree who will inspire Holtby to come good.  I first heard of Holtby in 2010 and I'm surprised he is playing for an English team stuck in the relegation mire.  But when push comes to shove, players of a top calibre raise their games.  It's time for him to do so and I think he just might perform on Saturday even if Fulham lose.

I have been stung badly by picking Suarez as my captain for the past two GWs.  With the blog's slogan in mind, "form is key, class doesn't matter!" I have decided to give the armband to Sturridge.  He has been on form through out the season and will be looking to add to his tally at St Mary's.  On a side note, I still have my all-season wildcard at hand and may use it in DGW31.  In addition, I am competing in Dugout's Champions League and topping my group - wish me luck!

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 27

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

2 FREE TRANSFERS WERE AVAILABLE FOR GW27

GW27 TRANSFER: 

R BENNETT OUT / AZPILICUETTA IN

2 FREE TRANSFERS NOW AVAILABLE FOR GW28

Hi folks, I have to admit that I didn't think too much about the truncated Gameweeks ahead until now.  The only transfer I intended on making for this GW was to bring in Adebayor for J-Rod.  Unfortunately, I left the transfer too late and got short changed by £0.1M.  Such is life.  I hope Adebayor blanks on Sunday!   In some ways I am glad that I didn't make the transfer as my defence looks very weak for this GW.  As a result, I decided to bring in a defender from a team that isn't affected by the truncated Gameweeks.  This only left me with Chelsea as a viable option.  Fortunately, Azpilicueta is value for money at £5.4M and his next 3 fixtures EVERTON, fulham, TOTTENHAM aren't too bad.  All 3 matches are due to be held in the capital and could yield at least 2 clean sheets, especially with JT back.

I had an array of captain options to pick from.  But I decided to buck my philosophy on form and give the armband to Suarez rather than Sturridge.  The Uruguayan may not have scored recently, but he will be looking to make up for it against a Swansea team that were involved in a testing mid-week Euro encounter.

In terms of truncated GW planning, I would encourage you to read Fly's article on the matter.  Having 2 free transfers for Gameweek 28 is imperative and then investing in players who are also likely to play in Gameweek 29.  Please note; GW29 may truncate further if Hull win their FAC replay.

On a side note, during the extended break period, Ultimate FPL's beta version was launched.  I have a hastily arranged league set up for it 1467-436 (no prizes) and a personal team. But will only be playing it casually so don't ask me for any hints on this front.  Nonetheless, here is a cheeky look at my UFPL team:

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 26

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

2 FREE TRANSFERS AVAILABLE.

TRANSFER(S) MADE: NONE YET*

As you probably know by now, the Fulham v Liverpool match may be postponed due to the scheduled tube strikes.  Confirmation of this should be made public by 11th February, 3pm GMT.  *Due to the aforementioned issue, I am unable to finalise my team as of yet.  I have 2 free transfers available and will be looking to purchase at least one player.  If the Fulham-Liverpool match isn't cancelled I may buy Nolan or Zaha.  Then again, I could buy Zabaleta due to his 2 good upcoming games (but he has no game in GW28).  I can't make transfers when I may lose out on a match which involves two of my players (incl. captain).  I have no plans to play Ward or Januzaj, so my team above is 90% complete albeit the armband will be reassigned if Suarez isn't available.  Any transfer(s) will be confirmed on Twitter.  So there you have it.  On a side note, despite not captaining Hazard in GW25, I still managed to shoot up the rankings.  My minimum target of a 30k finish is still achievable.  Have a good GW everyone!

 

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 25

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

 TRANSFERS: NONE

14 Gameweeks to go!  I can't believe the season is almost over and I'm ranked 100k.  Aargh!  Last week was a low scoring GW across the board.  I only scored 43pts (after my -4 hit) and took a tumble in the rankings.  Fortunately 10 of those net points came from last week's transfers (Suarez & Sturridge).  You would think that I would look to remedy my team with another transfer or two.  Dzeko or Negredo are definitely viable for the next 3 Gameweeks, but the former could be a rotation risk and the latter lacks form.  But sometimes inaction is better than action.  Looking at my team's fixtures for GW25, I opted against further transfers.  Why?  Well, 9 of my starting 11 are due to play at home!  This opens up my captaincy options.  It was a good headache and I decided to give the armband to Mata.  It's unthinkable to comprehend that he hasn't scored a single PL goal this season.  He has a good chance of breaking that duck against a team with one of the worst PL away records.  Looking at my subs, I didn't want to bench Januzaj, but I couldn't justify benching any of my other strikers or midfielders.  Distin should feature again for my team next week, where as R Bennett will most likely keep the "cheap 3rd sub" spot for the remainder of the season.  On a side note, bravo if you have Van Persie.  He is due a few more goals following his long spell out and United's favourable fixtures.  I plan on buying him just before United & City's Double Gameweek 31 but it would mean selling Sturridge and possibly Silva.  Perhaps I could free up funds and buy Ince and/or Zaha in the process (subject to form)?  TBC in the weeks ahead...

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 24

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

 

 

TRANSFERS (-4 HIT):

  Aguero & Berahino OUT

  Sturridge & Rodriguez IN

Hi folks!  Apologies for posting my GW posts later than usual.  I wanted to wait until hearing definitive news on Aguero's injury and that only came in this afternoon (at least 4 weeks out injured).  As a result, I decided to sell him.  This proved to be a difficult task as I had only used my wildcard the GW before.  I went one step further and took a -4 hit to bolster my striking options.  I considered Dzeko, Negredo, Van Persie, Rooney, Adebayor and various others.  In the end the following things swayed me:

• Don't buy from a team that won't play in GW28.
• Try and buy from a team that scores lots of goals. 
• Try and buy from a team that has good(ish) upcoming games.
• Purchase someone that is likely to start & capable of scoring/creating.

The criteria above led me to buy Sturridge and Rodriguez.  I know it's a risk doubling up on 2 strikers from the same team in Suarez & Sturridge.  But the "SAS" partnership has been amazing thus far and I can't help but think that either they will both do well or at the very least one of them will per game.  As for Rodriguez, he has been a bit of a dark horse this season.  Both Sturridge and Rodriguez will be looking to make England's World Cup team in Brazil.  What better way to do that by playing well from now until May?  In #FPL terms they are both value for money, scoring 22 goals between them (a combined goals:minutes average of 1 per every 133 minutes).  West Brom at home will be a tough team to beat, but Liverpool will be an even tougher team to prevent scoring! With this in mind, I could have captain Suarez or Sturridge, but have opted to give the armband to the Uruguayan.  Looking at my team, I actually like how it looks now than to 48 hours ago due to the balanced attacking options.  Let's hope it works out!

 

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 23: Jan Wildcard Edition

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

RETAINED:

Suarez

More goals than apps so far. Partnership with Sturridge benefits both. Expect more goals!

Eriksen

Spurs' attacking engine.  His fine form of late shows why AVB bought him in the summer.

R Bennett

A cheap defender with attacking prowess. Ideal for rare apps & stock sub 3 usage.

Silva

The Iberian foil that supports Aguero. Silva is due more goals/assists & is cheaper than Y. Toure.

IN:

Mannone

Sunderland have found some form. Mannone is cheap and rotates well with Marshall.

Amazing "M & M" GK Combo GW23-33: 

Stoke (H), Norwich (H), Hull (H), Villa (H), Hull (H), Spurs (A), 

Fulham (H), Palace (H), Norwich (A), West Ham (H), Palace (H)

Marshall

Hasn't been too bad when playing at home.  He rotates well with Mannone (as shown above).

B Davies

Swans are due a clean sheet. They have good upcoming games. Davies has attacking prowess.

Collins

Irons lack form but are due a clean sheet or two. He is cheap & alternates well with my team.

Ward

Listed as a defender but has recently played in midfield (OOP status). Pulis's Palace can defend.

Distin

Good price for a Top 6 team defender. Won't score at all but will keep occasional clean sheets.

Hazard

Chelsea's top goal scorer. Dominates their midfield & overshadows strikers. Must have.

Mata

Has a fantastic record in the PL. Is more than capable of scoring & helping United to 4th spot.

Januzaj

Classy & cheap, but a temporary purchase. I will replace him with Zaha before the start of GW24.

Aguero

Playing for a team that has scored 100+ goals already. Title challenge will also motivate him.

Berahino

Cheap forward option.  With Long gone and Anelka possibly suspended he could shine.

OUT:

de Gea

Too expensive for my liking. It made sense to reinvest funds elsewhere in my team.

Pantilimon

Was a short term purchase who then acted as a stock player. Didn't make sense to retain him.

Flanagan

Served a short term purpose to my team. His injury was unfortunate.

Coleman

His injury and excessive ownership were factors. Offset by me buying Distin instead.

Koscielny

Arsenal don't have too many good upcoming games. His sale allowed me to bolster midfield.

C Davies

Served a purpose of keeping some home clean sheets. Has tricky upcoming games.

Ozil

Re-buying him was a mistake.  Arsenal's inflated midfield may affect his attacking prowess.

Barkley

Has shown his promise earlier in the season. Worth reconsidering after retaining 100% fitness.

Sterling

He is good. But I think Gerrard, Coutinho, Suarez & Sturridge will affect his future FPL pts tallies.

Negredo

Has been on form & is cheap, but Aguero will outdo him on presence and goals.

Lukaku

His form has been hot & cold recently. I couldn't afford to keep him any longer.

My Wildcard Team Assessment:

Goalkeepers: 7/10 rating

Almost perfect rotation up until the time I will probably use my all-season wildcard.

Defenders: 5/10 rating

Not an area of strength per se (Distin & Davies are bonuses), but I only intend to use 3 at a time so I am not entirely bothered.

Midfielders: 9/10 rating

On paper - 5 phenomenal picks.  I will be disappointed if they don't score a big chunk of my average GW points. 

Forwards: 8/10 rating

3 big names would have been ideal. But I can't really complain when I have Suarez & Aguero slotted in!

Overall Team Rating: 29/40 (72.5%)

GW 27 ANOMALY:

You can modify your teams up until 7.30pm GMT on 28th January.  Kick off occurs at 7.45pm.  Team sheets should be announced by 7pm.  In theory, you can modify your team by knowing Tuesday's starting line ups in advance, albeit for a short period.

TRUNCATED GW (28) ALERT*:

*Due to League Cup Final involving Man City & Sunderland 

(also affecting Man Utd & WBA)

Revised Aims:

Each season I aspire to better my overall rank from the previous season (Currently Top 0.2%).  Unfortunately due to my abysmal current rank of 122k that seems out of reach this year.  As a result, I have decided to revise my objectives and at the very least aim for a Top 1% rank.  This means that I aim to finish higher than 31,587.  In addition, I am looking to score 80+ at least half a dozen times between now and the end of the season.  A couple of tons would be perfect and not beyond my reach, thus I am in pursuit of them too.  As for league positioning, I aim to win my public leagues and hopefully have some Top 3 finishes in my private leagues.

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 22

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

TRANSFERS (-4 HIT):

Rooney & Dzeko OUT

 Negredo & Lukaku IN

Two Wildcards still intact

It can be tough being a lead writer for a blog where your personal fantasy football team is constantly in the spotlight.  All the more so when you voluntarily publish your team 36-48 hours before each Gameweek to tens of thousands of people. It's not nice getting flak when you get it wrong or if people blame you for their own choices. Dedication, immense research and focus is required with burnout not being an option.  It wasn't easy for me to finish in the top 0.2% over the last 2 seasons.  I am a Former World No. 73, don't ya know?  Having said that, Alejandro Gonzalez is a World No. 74 in tennis, buy you don't see him being pompous about that; rank context. The only difference... he is up against another 1,000 or so professionals, where as my former high rank was in a field of 2.78 million; real context. What's up with all this pondering and lamenting you may ask? Well, for the first time ever, my #MNF captain failed and my GW score was alas bang on average.  I am now enduring my worst run in FPL since the turn of this decade and I haven't scored 80+ since DGW1 (despite a string of 60-79 scores since then).  As a result of the status quo, I have decided to focus less on Twitter and more on my team.  I am sorry if I haven't been tweeting too much recently, but I'm not keen on people constantly asking me to respond to Twitter RMT requests.  Please don't expect me to do so now or in the immediate future.  I'm sorry to be blunt, but I need to get back to basics.  My FPL team is the foundation stone of this blog and comes first in my personal FPL activities. I hope that doesn't sound too selfish.

As for GW22, you may have noticed that I haven't activated my wildcard yet.  When I do, I will inevitably transfer in Aguero.  While he is my #HotPick and I can afford him, I decided not to buy him.  I sold Rooney as I doubt he will be 90-100% fit for the Chelsea match and he tends to be off-form when he has fitness issues.  Also, I can't sell Rooney for Aguero as that would mean I have 4 City players which isn't possible.  Also, it would mean that Dzeko would have to go, but there aren't many options for good 7.0M strikers.  In the end I decided to buy Negredo as he has form on side and is cheap.  With the extra funds, I could have realistically bought Giroud or Lukaku.  Both play upfront alone but have patchy form, yet Lukaku is facing his old team.  Also he is playing on Monday night! Transfer made.  Whilst I won't captain him, I think he will come good against WBA and make amends for me.(and the #MNF performance).  For this Gameweek I decided to give the armband to Suarez, due to his amazing form. Sturridge may eat up some of the Uruguayan's goals, but they will both do well together.  I plan on activating my wildcard when the GW23 transfer window opens.

On a final note...

There is more to life than FPL

:)

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 21

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

TRANSFERS:

Walcott OUT

 Ozil IN

Belated Happy New Year! It's January and that can only mean one thing in the world of #FPL... 

JANUARY WILDCARD!

Please note; you can activate your wildcard anytime during January, but wildcard changes must be confirmed before February 1st 11.30am GMT.  Despite my team being in need of a shake up, I don't intend to activate my January wildcard until the end of Gameweek 22.  The Walcott injury was a major blow for my team.  He was a good end of December signing for Gameweek 19 and solid captain for Gameweek 20.  His injury will force Wenger into the transfer market and will cause many FPL managers to reshuffle their teams.  Had he not been injured, I would have sold R. Bennett or Flanagan as my defence could do with a pre-wildcard boost.  I didn't think it was worth taking a -4 hit for a defender.  I will ditch Dzeko just before Aguero returns to the team, but he seems viable for now.  I was tempted to replace Walcott with "Captain America" - Clint Dempsey.  But I want him to rediscover some of his old form first.  Arsenal coverage made sense, which is why I decided to repurchase Ozil.  He seemed a bit knackered before his injury at the end of December.  He was due a rest, so the short-term injury may have come as a much needed break.

Not only have I decided to re-buy Ozil, he is also my captain for Gameweek 21.  As you all know by now, I enjoy picking Monday night football captains when given the chance.  For the time being, I believe Ozil will become Arsenal's most important attack orientated player with Giroud being knackered and Ramsey, Walcott and Bendtner being absent. Ozil takes free kicks, assists often (home & away) and also scores goals from time-to-time. Such pedigree and prowess makes him the ideal transfer and captain for Gameweek 21.  I could have captained Eriksen but he needs to show me some consistent form first.  Rooney seemed viable, albeit a fitness doubt.  Dzeko is a risk whereas Suarez could be blocked out by a "work-in-progress" Stoke side.  Ozil as captain has a risk v reward element to him which I like.  Most importantly, Arsenal will be looking to maintain top spot and gain revenge against Villa after their shock opening defeat of the season.  Game on!

Ozil - Der Assist Meister - Wunderbar!

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 20

Disclaimer: *FPLH reserves the right to change this team at any time. Any changes made will most likely be confirmed on FPLH's Twitter account.

2 TRANSFERS (-4 Hit):

Ivanovic & R. Morrison: OUT 

 Koscielny & Sterling: IN

I'm delighted that my risky captain pick/#CalledIt did well for me in GW 19, when many other players were rested or didn't perform. But you know what, I'm disappointed at the same time too! By Saturday night I had scored 30 with a -4 hit factored in (well above the average) and had 6 in play for Sunday. Yet I ended up with 57 points. Part of me thinks that Dzeko should have scored more goals, then again at least he scored!  By my calculation, a par score for the festive period (GWs 18, 19 & 20) is a lowly 150.  I have scored 100 from 18 & 19, so a score of 50 on New Year's Day would be the absolute minimum for me to aim for.

I didn't want to tinker with my team for GW 20, but a deluge of injuries/doubts (and Silva's) suspension has forced me into a -4 hit.  I was going to buy Mertesacker to replace Ivanovic.  But I didn't want to lock a lot of funds into defence. I decided to buy Koscielny as he is cheaper, not fatigued from the fixture jam and with 5% ownership is just about a differential.  As for my other transfer, I actually was content with R. Morrison as West Ham have favourable upcoming fixtures but he is still injured.  Nolan seemed like the ideal alternative with his recently discovered form.  But I think he is a tad over-priced, despite West Ham scoring 5 goals in 3 matches.  In the end, I opted for Sterling.  His fine run of form since 4th December could see him sneak into England's World Cup squad - all the more incentive for him to carry on with the status quo.

As for my captain, I could have easily chosen Suarez. But I think he is a tad knackered after not being rested during the festive period.  I can't see him scoring more than one at the very most v Hull.  In addition, almost everyone that has him will probably captain him.  In the end, I decided to give the armband to Walcott.  His ownership is 5 times less than Suarez's and he also has a decent home fixture which could see a goals fest.

On a final note, the Winter Wildcard is almost in play.  Use it sensibly and try doing so nearer to the end of January if you can.