Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 36

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

 

Transfers:

Gomes & Lanzini (IN)

  Schwarzer & Alli (OUT)

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£0.0M

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Chief's FPL Team Double Gameweek 34: Wildcard Edition

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

WILDCARD ACTIVATED

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£0.1M

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Yes, you read that right. I made a long-awaited spontaneous move!

 

No need to rub your eyes... "WILDCARD ACTIVATED".

 

It was never part of the plan to use it during a week in which I was keen to use one of my chips. But the fact of the matter is that I bagged a bad red arrow in Double Gameweek 33 following my failed purchases of Lukaku (c) and Lennon - I fell down by over 100,000 places. Ironically the two Evertonians could now be doubts for their upcoming game and with four other players who are also doubts or unlikely to start I had to take a risk and use my wildcard.  Was I willing to risk a -8/-12 with no thought for GW35? Of course not.  Plans are there to be redrawn or ignored.  The aforementioned quagmire meant that I had an opportunity to build a wild card team for DGW34 and "Blank" GW35. I will still use one of my chips in DGW37. As for the other chip (most likely Triple Captain) I could use that for the final Gameweek of the season and hope for a random Theo Walcott hat-trick, right? I hate these blasted chips.

I was mindful of the fact that some DGW34 players have blanks in GW35. This meant that I didn't buy Carroll or top up with three United players. It's now or never for Newcastle, so Mitrovic was worth a shout, alongside a rejuvenated Welbeck. Liverpool are plagued with rotation as a result of their European adventure. I wanted a defender, but Mignolet seemed the "safest" pick at the back.  I could have opted for Coutinho or Firmino but the latter hasn't played much of late. I had to get de Bruyne as he has proven to play well with Aguero. In terms of defence, Bellerin and Smalling are players that I have wanted since August, but have only now been able to accommodate both. I wanted guaranteed GW35 Spurs and Leicester cover so I somehow managed to squeeze in Dembele and Simpson. Darlow and Bennett are bench fodder with the latter in line for DGW37. The downside to all of this is that I sold Kane, Alli and Mahrez - they have no Double Gameweeks this season.

For more Double Gameweek insight, be sure to check this out.

 

Good luck to you all.

Chief's #FPL Team - Double Gameweek 33

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

TRANSFERS: 2 (-4 HIT)

  Lukaku & Lennon (IN)

Vardy & Yaya Toure (OUT)

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£1.6M (+1.4)

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It's been almost a year but the Double Gameweeks are finally here! This is the business end of the fantasy football season, where zeroes can become heroes and cheeky punts can fall into your hands like gold dust.  This week saw many FPL managers activate their wildcard in the hope of constructing a team that can work for the remainder of the season. The problem with that plan is we have two months worth of Premier League football left! Such long term planning isn't feasible, especially if it means selling all of your Leicester and Spurs cover when we still have a two-way title race on our hands.

 

There was no question that I wanted Double Gameweek 33 cover but I wasn't going to take big hits for two teams that have a blank in two Gameweeks' time.  Palace have been horrific since the start of 2016 - players lacking consistency, hit by injuries and prone to rotation. Their two home fixtures over the next week and a half equates to fools gold. In fact, at home they're just about scoring a goal a game, yet conceding more than a goal a game. To top thing off, their Double Gameweek 34 fixtures include visits to Old Trafford and the Emirates - no thank you.  Otherwise, Wickham, Cabaye and Sako would have been of interest.

 

It just made sense to look at Everton. Granted, their form hasn't been that much better than Palace's, yet the Toffees attack prowess from August has been present.  Yes, they sit 12th in the PL table, but in terms of goals scored they are 5th best. What makes their players all the more tantalising is their three allocations of Double Gameweeks - 33, 34 & 37 respectively.  This comes with added risk - with their fixtures being crammed in their players will be prone to rotation, which is why I have only bought two Evertonians.

 

Lukaku was obviously a must.  His goals have come in spurts this season. I am hoping that he can rediscover his touch against two teams (Watford and Palace) who have nothing else to play for this season. He has no pressure on him. It's time for fun. Vardy had to go due to his lack of goals of late (25% strike rate in the last 16 Gameweeks). To fund a move for Lukaku I decided to sell Yaya. I was reluctant to sell another prospective DGW'er (34) but with the recent comments in the press about him and his injury issues I decided to ditch him.

 

With over £7M to spend on a replacement for Yaya, I had to look back at Double Gameweek 33. Barkley has been too inconsistent and not worth his price tag. I wanted a player that has shown form of late, is a differential and would let me free up funds for DGW34.  Lennon matched the brief. Sure, he didn't get returns against Arsenal and United but prior to that he was showing his capabilities with 4 goals in 5 league games. If he fails to perform, I wouldn't be too bothered, he is effectively a punt pick. The extra unlocked funds will hopefully let me acquire United and Liverpool cover for Double Gameweek 34.

Good luck to you all.

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 32

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

TRANSFERS: 3 (-4 HIT)

Sanchez, Payet & Gabriel (IN)

Sigurdsson, Arnautovic & Kompany (OUT)

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£0.2M

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I hope you all had a pleasant international break! With the spring friendlies finally over we come to the business end of the FPL season.

 

It goes without saying that this week's 3 transfers were influenced with DGW34 around the corner. I decided to buy Gabriel, a differential, as he is £2.0M cheaper than Bellerin and has started Arsenal's last 4 PL games including a clean sheet away win. Why would Wenger dare bench him after that? 

 

Sanchez is finally beginning to show glimmers of last season's form. I am hoping he has plenty of gas in the tank. He has outperformed Ozil of late and I decided to buy him before he became overpriced.

 

Payet was a no-brainer.  He has shown good league form of late, which carried over into the international break. He is the engine to West Ham's attack and they have a good chance to still nick 4th spot.

 

I decided to pick my captain purely on form this week, as has been the case in the last few weeks.  If it ain't broke why fix it? It made sense to captain fixture proof Kane due to Spurs's momentum.  They are chasing Leicester and can't afford to drop points home or away.  Besides, Liverpool conceded three against Southampton.

 

Looking ahead, I might -4 again in the next two upcoming Gameweeks if it means that I will have 9 DGW34 players at hand.  TBC.

Good luck to you all.

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 31

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

  

TRANSFERS: 0

AOA CHIP (2-5-3 formation): ACTIVATED

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£3.7M

  FREE @FPLHints Classic League Code (click to join) : 274-641

For the non-Twitter readers who frequent this blog on a weekly basis, you'll be slightly bemused at my ability to use the AOA Chip again. From publishing last week's post significant things happened in the subsequent 24 hours.  I switched the AOA chip off as my purchase for the Gameweek (Yaya Toure) was injured, McClaren was sacked and Rafa Benitez was appointed Newcastle's manager so I removed the armband off Mahrez - my aforementioned team changes were published on Twitter by the eve of Gamweek 31.  The turn of events in hindsight proved to be inadvertent masterstrokes/coincidences as I ended up with a higher than expected score (86 - my 2nd best of the season) which was ranked at 2,000ish for the truncated Gameweek which translated as an overall increase of 350,000!

To top things off, the Double Gameweeks were finally announced.  Hurrah!

 

I believe that 2 potential strategies can be employed for those that have a wildcard (WC) and their chips, as follows:

STRATEGY 1 (S1)

 

WC - GW33.

BB - DGW34

AOA - GW35 or GW38 if you have it (n/a for me post-GW31)

TC - DGW37

 

The problem with S1 is that you would effectively have to get rid of Leicester and Spurs cover from Gameweek 33 if you want to maximise BB in DGW34 with 15 DGW'ers.  That wouldn't make sense as both teams are vying for the title and their coverage is a must. Also, even if you do well in DGW34, you would somehow have to navigate around a truncated GW35 and DGW37 which in essence would be major minefields and will mean that you could risk losing out on the ground gained from DGW34.

STRATEGY 2 (S2)

Take hits from GW32-GW33 to field the key players for DGW34.

TC - DGW 34

AOA - GW35 or GW38 if you have it (n/a for me post-GW31)

WC - GW36

BB - DGW37

 

I think S2 requires a lot less faffing about and is tidier.  The only problem is that a red arrow would almost be inevitable in DGW34 but you would have enough time to make up lost ground with the  remaining aces at hand.  Best of all you don't have to sell the likes of Kane or Mahrez at all or until GW36.  I am currently inclined to this approach, but I prefer the fixtures at hand for DGW34. Perhaps I will take hits to get the likes of Lukaku, Firmino, Coutinho, Rojo, Smalling, Sanchez & Ozil to get viable DGW34 cover and hope that my TC does very well.

Coming back to Gameweek 31, I was tempted to buy a replacement for Kompany - Olsson stood out as a viable pick. But I didn't want to bench any of my midfielders hence I have invoked the AoA chip, finally. Dier could be a doubt for Sunday in which case I would have to hope for some sort of Targett or Oxford cameo. One can only hope.  Captain choice was validated after Kane bagged a brace and was rested against the formidable Dortmund for fresh legs, as Spurs push on for the title.

Good luck to you all.

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 30

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

  

TRANSFERS: 1

YAYA TOURE  IN / OZIL OUT 

AOA CHIP (2-5-3 formation): ACTIVATED

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£3.7M (+£1.2M) 

  FREE @FPLHints Classic League Code (click to join) : 274-641

It's Gameweek 30 and that means one thing, it's the final countdown!

 

This time last year I was ranked 69k and was moaning about it.  How I'd like to be ranked there right now! To be put it frankly, I have a tough job to even scrape into the Top 100,000 at present.  Having said that, a 250,000 OR rise in the last 4 Gameweeks has certainly helped.  The chips and wildcard are my final calculated haymakers as I pull my final punches for the last rounds of the season. With that in mind, I have finally decided to deploy my first ever chip in FPL - The All Out Attack Chip (AoA), 2-5-3 formation.  I believe it makes sense to use it during a truncated Gameweek and my transfers in the previous 2-3 weeks have been influenced by this pathway.  Furthermore, I could wildcard in Gameweek 33, use Bench Boost in Double Gameweek 34 and use the Triple Captain chip in Double Gameweek 37.

In terms of my purchase, it was between Silva and Yaya Toure.  The former is more inclined to assisting and the latter is more prone to scoring goals.  Silva's ownership is just over 5%, whereas Yaya is owned by around 15%.  Both have lacked consistent form prior to last weekend.  But I opted for Yaya as Silva's away form in the PL has been shocking this season.  Moreover, Yaya has a history of scoring against Norwich and is on free kick duty. To top it all off, he offers more added value with a cheaper price tag (-£1.4M).  Some may that it's risky having triple Leicester, triple Spurs and triple City cover. But the fact of the matter is that they have reasonable opposition in Gameweek 30 and are ranked in top 4 of the league.

In terms of captaincy, I think we are spoilt for choice.  I opted against Kane and Aguero due to their European commitments.  It kind of made sense to pick a Leicester player as captain for Monday Night Football against a struggling Newcastle United side.  Mahrez's form secured the armband over Vardy.

All the best.

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 29

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

  

TRANSFERS: 2

SIGURDSSON & KOMPANY IN

PAYET & KOSCIELNY OUT

ALL CHIPS (including wildcard): STILL AVAILABLE

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£2.9M (+£0.9M) 

 

  FREE @FPLHints Classic League Code (click to join) : 274-641

Folks, I have to retire back to the drawing board.  Just when I thought I had a bit of an upturn in FPL, I was whacked down with a midweek red arrow.  Had Arnautovic's Van Basten shot gone in off the post at the end of Wednesday's game, I could have been at least 14 points better off.  C'est la vie.  C'est la season.

With confirmation that Kosciely will miss the North London Derby this weekend, it made sense to sell him with someone that had a good run of upcoming games and didn't have a blank in Gameweek 30.

With Kompany declaring it was "hunting season" earlier in the week, this gave me hope that it may be worth investing in him - after all, not a lot of live teams really own him right now.  I need to think ahead of the curve, thus took a risk in buying him.  Granted, City's form has been poor of late, especially with clean sheets.  But as a general rule, with him at centre back they are more likely to keep them than not.

I plan on deploying the AoA (2-5-3) Chip in Gameweek 30.  This meant that I inevitably had to take a hit now to ensure that I have full coverage prior to then.  It made sense to sell Payet as he has been shafted out wide and is being outpointed by Antonio and he also has a blank in Gameweek 30.  I wanted to replace him with Silva but was worried by his lack of form (I may still buy him for Ozil in Gameweek 30).  Sigurdsson made sense due to his form and upcoming fixtures (and non-blank next week).

In terms of captaincy, there was only option - Aguero v Villa.  His form isn't really there, but neither is Villa's.  Here's to hoping for a hat-trick.

Good luck to you all!

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 28

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

  

TRANSFERS: 1

SCHMEICHEL IN / HENNESEY OUT 

CHIPS (including wildcard): STILL AVAILABLE

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£2.0M (-£0.5M) 

  FREE @FPLHints Classic League Code (click to join) : 274-641

I will keep this week's post short due to time constraints.  Gameweek 27 saw my team rise a healthy 140,000 places.  I need more of that if I want a better overall rank.

I decided to buy Schmeichel due to his good run of upcoming games (Leicester defensive coverage was a must for me) - the same wasn't true for Hennesey (including his woeful form) and he has a blank in Gameweek 30.

As for my captain, I have taken somewhat of a risk in opting for Arnautovic.  Newcastle have been leaking goals on the road of late and Stoke have scored 5 in their last two league games.  It just felt right to give the armband to "Arnie" following his brace against Villa.  Yes, it's a huge risk but I'm chasing right now and need to think outside the box.

Good luck to you all.

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 27

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

  

TRANSFERS: 1

ALLI IN / BARKLEY OUT 

CHIPS (including wildcard): STILL AVAILABLE

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

£2.5M (+£1.1M) 

  FREE @FPLHints Classic League Code (click to join) : 274-641

I hope you all had a pleasant break from FPL and watched loads of cup football.  Now that is over for the time being, let's turn to this weekend's Premier League action with the first truncated Gameweek of the season as a result of the league cup final.

Put simply, I was tempted to sell Barkley and once it was confirmed that he wouldn't play in Gameweek 27 or 30, it made sense to buy a replacement who would.  This led me to in-form Tottenham and their OKish run of games.  I have been mulling over two options as my potential transfer - Alli and Eriksen.

Alli - points of note:

• 31% ownership
• 7 PL goals and 8 assists
• Has only scored 1 goal at home in the league all season
•  7 yellow cards
• My team's ITB with him: £2.5

Eriksen - points of note:

• 10% ownership
• 5 PL goals (sporadic) and 10 assists
• On corners and free kicks.
• My team's ITB with him: £0.0

Despite being 50-50 on paper, for the most part I really wanted to buy Eriksen but ultimately chose Alli as I knew I wanted a Leiceser defender in the weeks ahead.  I wouldn't be able to acquire one unless I took a hit had I bought Eriksen.  In addition, Alli's high ownership means that I had to buy him even if it was for the sake of "blocking tactics".  It also means that I have effectively got a "templified" midfield.

If only I had listened to myself sooner:

Dele Alli. Tantalising prospect. £5.0m#FPL

— Chief (@fplhints) August 5, 2015

Other than that, I chose Vardy as my captain due to Norwich's awful away record.  I was also tempted by Kane but Swansea can be tough on the road.

All the best.

Chief's #FPL Team - Gameweek 26

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

  

TRANSFERS:1

AZPILICUETA IN / BAINES OUT

CHIPS (including wildcard): STILL AVAILABLE

MONEY IN THE FPL BANK:

  £1.4M (+£0.4M)

  

  FREE @FPLHints Classic League Code (click to join) : 274-641

 

It will get worse, before it gets better? I certainly hope not!  Gameweek 26 led to a 4th consecutive red arrow.  Only once have I seen green in 2016.  I need that to change, pronto.  The purchase of Baines a few weeks back was nothing but a failure on my part.  This hasn't been helped by the fact that Targett and Oxford sit on my bench, which resulted in my team only fielding 10 players over the weekend with a score of 59.  I really should have captained Aguero too.

 

Looking ahead... aside from form, I wanted to sell a player who had a blank in Gameweek 27 and buy a player who didn't.  Baines' no-shows have proven costly to my team - all the more worse with Everton keeping clean sheets.  I have no plans of selling off my front 7 just yet, so I had to focus on my rickety defence. Azpilicueta made sense as Chelsea have started to keep clean sheets (albeit more so away) and Newcastle have struggled to score on the road.

 

As for my captain, 6 goals in his last 4 PL games and penchant to score goals against Spurs (even with their recent solid away form) it had to be Aguero.

 

Here's to hoping.  Sorry in advance if I mess up (again)!