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.

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 19

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):

Ozil & Ramsey: OUT 

Walcott & Eriksen: IN

I scored 74 and 68 in Gameweeks 16 and 17, which somehow merited red arrows.  I then bagged 43 in Gameweek 18 and managed a green arrow (& a 6k rise)!  That may sound funny, but I also crashed out of the #FPLCup on a tie-breaker.  A surprise victim of the so-called "Boxing Day Massacre".  To lose in the first round of the cup is like being bowled out for a golden duck in an Ashes match or like losing to a non-league team of amatuers in the FA Cup.  Ah well, you live and learn!  Can't say more than that on this front.  

Gameweek 19 is due to start on Saturday and inevitably players will be rested or subbed off early.  This made transfers all the more difficult, especially when Ramsey, Flanagan and Morrison are either major doubts or ruled out all-together.  As a result I was forced into another -4 hit.  My so-called "Ozil-Ramsey" fantasy football tandem yielded a lot of points from September to December, but I feel that has now come to an end with the Welshman's injury.  In some ways the forced transfer is a good thing as I don't like doubling up with players from the same team in the same position - Their partnership was an exception to the rule.

I decided to buy Walcott in place of Ozil as the former is cheaper in price.  The latter is also due a rest.  As for Ramsey's replacement, I had to look carefully and the only person that seemed viable was Eriksen.  The young Dane has fine attacking prowess and his first goal for Spurs on Boxing Day could be a sign of things to come.  Spurs seem to have a good run of fixtures and I think it's worth me taking a chance on him.

As for my captain, it may come as a shock to you that I have chosen Dzeko.  This could spectacularly flop or work wonders for me.  I was going to give the armband to Silva, but I think he may not play a full match.  As for the Bosnian, he is due a full 90 minutes of PL action and may just get his chance against Palace.  His ownership is a mere 4.4% and he could be a one-off super differential of a captain.  I have nothing to lose following my #FPLCup exit and feel bullish, thus I will take a chance on him.  The last time I captained him was against Hull when he scored 1 point, but I won't let that put me off!  Let's hope for better things.  Bring it on!

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 18

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):

Vidic & Shelvey: OUT 

Coleman & Silva: IN

Another Gameweek, another high scoring captain chosen, another red arrow and another 70+ score (pre -4 hit).  My inability to score 80+ since GW1 is indicative of my woes. I must be doing something wrong surely?  My current run of consistent scoring (albeit not spectacular) is now as follows:

66-69-74-49-64-66-76-64-74-68

Unfortunately the Dzeko transfer failed on me.  He didn't take his chances against Fulham and was prematurely subbed off. He could still potentially start v Liverpool on Boxing Day. I won't be offloading him yet. I guess we will have to wait and see. As for de Gea, I was banking on him to keep a clean sheet but that didn't work out.  I think he should be able to do so against Hull and in his other upcoming fixtures.

Looking at GW18, I decided to make 2 further transfers.  Out went Shelvey (who is playing in an advanced role) due to his difficult fixtures.  In his place I decided to buy Silva who has one of the best points per game averages from midfield this season.  Hopefully he won't be a rotation risk as he hasn't played every minute of this season.  It was a no brainer to recruit a Man City midfielder, especially with their formidable home record.  My other transfer involved the belated sale of Vidic.  He has been nothing but a complete and total flop for my team this season.  His form and fitness issues overshadow his once formidable presence. I can't believe I even took a chance on him as he yielded poor returns.  I have decided to replace him with Coleman.  Yes, I could have bought him a lot earlier (but couldn't fit him in prior to the sale of Aguero).

As for my GW18 captain, I decided to give the armband to Rooney.  He hasn't scored in a while and could be a risky pick against a Hull team at home.  But United have a good away record to complement City's fantastic home record.  Besides that everyone else will most probably be captaining Lukaku and Suarez.  I just wanted to be different on the armband front with a viable alternative.  I'm starting with R Bennett in the unlikely event that he starts, but I realise that I will have to make do with auto-sub C. Davies facing off to Rooney and co.  On a final note, the Official FPL Cup starts in GW18!  See below for qualification details.

Click on the graphic to view details

Once again; Season's Greetings from the FPLH Team.

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 17

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):

Aguero & Vorm: OUT 

Dzeko & de Gea: IN

Don't you hate it when you score 70+ during a Gameweek and still see a red arrow beside your overall rank?  Grrr.  Alas, that has happened to me twice in the space of three gameweeks!  In Gameweek 14 I captained Suarez, yet the rest of my team let me down.  As for Gameweek 16, only a handful of my team did well, yet I didn't captain Suarez (I chose Rooney) and effectively lost out on 17 points.  Another lesson for the season thus far...

CAPTAIN SUAREZ, CAPTAIN SUAREZ, CAPTAIN SUAREZ!

It is all the more frustrating when comparing my current position with how I was doing in previous FPL years:

2013/2014 - GW 16 Overall Rank: 130k - Points: 977 (need to make up ground!)

2012/2013 - GW 16 Overall Rank: 23k - Points: 887 (finished 5,038th overall)

2011/2012 - GW 16 Overall Rank: 28k - Points: 906 (finished 110th overall)

As is evident with the above stats, the bar has been raised for points scoring and I need to keep up to speed pronto.  I was hoping to break into the top 25k by now; ah well.  As for GW 17, it came as a blow when I heard the news that Aguero is out for up to 8 weeks.  Then came reports that Rooney has a short-term injury.  This was followed by Vorm being ruled out for a while.  I have kept Rooney in the team, but have replaced Aguero with Dzeko.  Now I know the Bosnian hasn't had much game time of late and Negredo is above him in the pecking order.  However, with so many games over the festive period I think Dzeko will be involved.  Sure, I won't captain him, but he certainly is a differential.  How many other top teams have quality strikers valued less than £7.0M? Not many.

My other transfer was also forced upon me and as a result I incurred a -4 hit.  In fairness I haven't taken a hit since Gameweek 10.  With the FPL Cup starting in GW 18, I thought it best to take a hit now, prior to the cup.  I wanted to sell Vidic for P. Jones due to the latter's OOP potential. But the Vorm injury is problematic in the event Hart re-appears over the busy festive period.  I decided to buy de Gea as Vorm's replacement.  United haven't had many clean sheets this season.  However, they have favourable upcoming fixtures.  Moreover, he actually rotates quite well with Pantilimon.  My captain for the Gameweek is a no-brainer - Suarez.

PS - This week's @FPLManager app competition will involve my #HotPick (Suarez).  Can you find a player that will out point him in GW 17?  The competition will star tomorrow morning on Twitter.  Stay tuned!  Here is the promo pic for it (designed by Matej):

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 16

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 TRANSFER:

Townsend OUT 

Barkley IN

I moved up 25,000 or so places following the end of Gameweek 15 with a solid score of 64.  But I'm not content with that as I believe my overall position should be higher at this stage of the season.  I am all the more gutted that Suarez was retrospectively credited with a goal, despite FPL only giving him an assist.

For Gamweek 16 I knew I needed Everton coverage due to their good run of upcoming fixtures.  Lukaku was on my radar.  But could I really sell Rooney, Aguero or Suarez for him? Sadly no.  I then thought of doing a -4 hit for Howard and Barkley but was £0.1M short.  Another option was to fit Howard and Distin in my team, but I wasn't willing to risk 2 clean sheets from the same team, despite their good run of fixtures.  In the end I decided to buy the bloke I only sold a few weeks back - Ross Barkley.  He has been rested a fair bit recently and hasn't shown sustained electric form since September.  But he looked promising against Arsenal and I'm willing to take a chance on him.  He knows a place in England's World Cup squad is up for grabs.  Why will he squander that by playing rubbish?

Lukaku would have been the perfect captain choice at home against Fulham, but of course I didn't buy him.  In the end I opted for Suarez who is playing in the final match of Gameweek 16.  He is in-form and is Liverpool's sole goal threat without Sturridge.  Spurs haven't been great with clean sheets recently and Suarez won't be easy to stop.

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 15

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:

Gibbs & Cabaye OUT 

Ivanovic & Shelvey IN

66, 69, 78, 49, 64, 66, 76 - my scores for the last 7 Gameweeks (66.9 average) .  On paper they are decent scores, but they are deceptive in many ways.  My ranking has gone up slightly in that period, with some backward steps and red arrows to boot.  Gameweek 14 summarised my recently ambivalent FPL fortunes - I captained Suarez, had Ozil & Ramsey... yet my defence and goalie let me down.  To add insult to injury, my sub keeper Vorm had a fantastic match.  I was on course for 90+ points near the end, till my defence collapsed via Vidic, Flanagan and Pantilimon (+Gibbs no show).  People scored tons for fun, alas I was caught short aside from captaining the right guy.  Ironically, my average #HotPick/Captain score for this season now stands at 17.72 which is impressive for any team.  Nonetheless, I am still waiting for that elusive "perfect" FPL Gameweek where everything clicks and all my players perform collectively.

For this Gameweek I decided to use both of my free transfers.  Gibbs has been constantly overshadowed by Mertesacker's performances.  I can't see Arsenal keeping a clean sheet against a rampant Everton, even at the Emirates.  So I decided to cash in and buy Ivanovic.  In truth, I wanted to buy Terry but was 0.1M short.  Chelsea have good upcoming fixtures and the Serbian is due a goal and a few clean sheets.  As the first choice right back, he is far less likely to be rotated than the likes of Cahill or Luiz.  The Ivanovic purchase was funded by the saving I made through selling Cabaye for Shelvey.  Man United will be looking to bounce back in style and I can't see Cabaye having any major impact.  I think Shelvey is the perfect replacement (+ my GW15 #punt) as he has form on his side.  But more significantly, with no Michu or Bony, he will be their primary central attacking force.  Swansea have some good upcoming fixtures and his cheap price and attributes are indicative of his prowess rather than a false economy.  Suarez retains the armband as he faces an out of form West Ham team.

Chief's FPL Team - Gameweek 14

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.

NO TRANSFERS

I had Ozil. I had Ramsey. I had Rooney. I captained Aguero... and he had a paltry 1 point game!  GW13 started stupendously for me when my Arsenal contingent bagged me lots of points.  Alas, all that was missing was the cherry on the cake - captain's innings - but it wasn't to be and my sub3 was R Bennett who bagged 8 points.  Despite my team scoring 65 points on average during the last 6 Gameweeks, I am far from content.  I have yet to experience the "perfect" GW this season (captaining the highest points scorer + the rest of team doing fantastic).  I guess it is something still to aim for.  Getting a ton would be nice too.

As you all should know by now, GW14 is starting on Tuesday to accommodate for the annual Premier League fixture jam.  I was tempted to tinker with my team.  But it seems fine on paper and I wouldn't mind the free transfer for the GWs ahead.  I think a lot of the regular FPL popular picks won't play a full match in GW14.  As a result, it's best not take any transfer hits for such an unpredictable Gameweek.  I have decided to captain Suarez, despite him firing blanks on Sunday (+ no Sturridge).  Liverpool need a win against Norwich to stay in contention as title challengers.  Suarez as the sole goal threat is surely a favourite to score.  Then again, the Aguero fail on Sunday doesn't bode well for me, but I will take my chances.  I just hope Townsend doesn't bite me from the bench!