Here’s FFGeek contributor Andrew Whitfield with his article on FPL Patience and other words beginning with P relevant to FPL. Andrew has finished the last 2 seasons with overall ranks of 6k and 19k.
Andrew Whitfield on FPL patience and other words beginning with P
You can see Andrews team in his most recent contributors article
P is for PLEASURE and P is for PAIN, which I think sums up nicely a season of playing the ups and downs of FPL. P is also for Pukki of course !!
I think the P word is probably the key to succeeding In FPL and navigating a whole season without kicking any nearby structure or driving yourself POTTY. If only everyone knew how stressful it is to ride the roller coaster that is FPL and use your mental resolve to come out of the other side with your sanity intact. FPL maketh a man or woman.
Patience
That P word is PATIENCE !!!!
PATIENCE is the ability to tolerate problems or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.. sound familiar ??
There are so many good tips to becoming “an expert” At FPL:
Don’t PLAY your triple captain or bench boost in a normal gameweek when you can play it later in the season in a “double gameweek “‘ . Mathematically your bench or captain get two games instead of one. Why wouldn’t you ??
P is for PREMIUM players. Make sure you own them and captain them. Taking on popular captains is probably the single biggest way for your ranking to drop off a cliff. Yes a lot of people have them and you can’t make enormous gains. Taking them on will work now and again, but it will fail more than it works. And when it fails, you can get burned. They are the most popular captains for a reason. Defence really is the best form of attack.
Don’t take a hit to buy a defender. Use your bench instead. The new player has to get a clean sheet just to break even !! He has to also get an attacking return on top to make a gain. Do you know how many times that happens ??
But the biggest and best tip I ever received was be PATIENT !! To be a successful manager, you need to be PATIENT, very PATIENT !! Give your players a chance. Remember the reasons you bought a player and give him time !! The number of players dumped after two blanks is staggering. It makes me smile how Mane night score twice and everyone jumps from Salah. Then Mo does what Mo does and bites your ass and back they come to Salah. Sterling blanked twice and FPL was in meltdown. The premium players will take it in turns to have good weeks. It’s rarely a good idea to play premium hokey cokey. The Pukki train is the latest mass sell off. Give your players time. They will reward your patience more often than not.
The game launched early and people spent six weeks constructing teams on sound thinking and weeks of research, only to be selling them or wildcarding after two weeks. Have a look at your initial team . My current team has Pukki and Abraham up front who scored 4 points this week. My original team had Wilson and King who scored 18 this week. The five players I sold on my wildcard scored six points MORE this week than the five I brought in !!
Pressure and other P words
Back to that P word:
P is for PRESSURE. Don’t change what has worked for you before and change your style. I also feel a certain amount of pressure joining such an impressive team . Having finished in the top 0.3% of teams for the last two seasons carries pressures to produce it again now I am there in the spotlight to be shot down. I am sitting around the top 2% so far and ahead of where I was last year. Hopefully I can keep it going and help people along the way.
P is for PODCASTS.. I thought the Geek podcast this week was the best ever.. use your time constructively. I listen to three regular podcasts and I use my 30 minute each way commute wisely.. great ideas and opinions. I did a couple of Geek podcasts this season and might do a couple more. My skills are probably better suited to writing than recording. I could listen to Kev from Canada for hours !!
P is for PONDERING. I do my best thinking when I am out walking. I took up running in my 50s and my FPL rank improved. Putting your team together while out in the fresh air works for me.
P is for Prakhar Patel ( that’s two Ps ) and all the other contributors on the Geek website, who have all had consistent results. Use the resource and take every hint or tip you can and maybe find a couple of them that match your own playing style.. Yaniv is my hero who I always followed before I joined the team !!
P is for PANIC.. don’t be tinkering with your transfers and team in the last 30 minutes when you have had all week. Your initial first instincts are usually right.. if you make late decisions on deadline day, there is a strong chance it’s going to be an irrational one based on panic.
P is for PROBLEMS.. but that’s a negative word so actually P is for oPPORTUNITY. Every injury or suspension or player losing his place is a fantastic opportunity to bring someone else in to be your star man !!
P is for POSITIVITY !! Not easy when you have that week when 9 of your players blank. But there is always the following week when you bounce back with a hat trick for your captain and all your defenders score from corners. One great week changes everything. It really does.
Remember it’s only a game and there are far more important things in life, like your health and well-being. Take a step back sometimes. Have family time and enjoy your hobbies. FPL can become addictive. So PLEASE put things in PERSPECTIVE…
And while I’m on patience lets talk about Barnsley FC
Being a Barnsley fan for over 50 years needs positive thinking and patience too !!
Did you know there are five P teams in the English leagues ?? I remember visits to all of them with mixed memories:
I remember going 3-0 up away at Peterborough, then the home side scoring 3 goals in 6 minutes to level it, only to then win it 3-4 !!! I remember a 1-1 draw at Preston where I missed both goals answering texts or looking at WhatsApp messages !! Guess what – Barnsley play at Preston this Saturday so the phone is staying in my pocket !! I remember a thoroughly forgettable 0-0 draw on my only visit to Portsmouth… I have been to Port Vale once, when I was 15 and I remember it now 40 years later like it was only yesterday. We lost 3-2 and we broke down on the way home.
But the best was a visit to PLYMOUTH which is a 604 mile round trip from Barnsley. We led 4-1 with 25 minutes to play… then the ref abandoned it for a waterlogged pitch !! Now that journey home required PATIENCE !!! I didn’t go back for the rearranged game. You guessed it – a 0-0 draw !!
Remember, be PATIENT.. and if you are not 100% sure, the best piece of FPL advice I ever received was – if in doubt, show patience in your players and DO NOTHING !!!
It’s only week seven.. be PATIENT and be POSITIVE !!!!
Barring injuries , I am being patient this week and carrying my transfer !!!
You can see Andrews team in his most recent contributors article
More content
Geek note: If you join our Patreon site you will get access to an FPL contributor tracker team which combines the contributors individual teams each week to show their favourite players, transfers and captains. It will always be completed on a Friday/Saturday in a normal gameweek. There will also be a spreadsheet of each managers teams, transfers and captains so you can drill down further.
You also get:
Joe’s interactive transfer planner and points projection tool
FFGeek private leagues
Access to the FFGeek Slack channel for discussion with the contributors and members
$2 and $3 tiers per calendar month. No commitment beyond 1 month
FFGeek league code codes:
fantasy premier league: fnqq66
Sky Sports fantasy football: fantasyfootball.skysports.com/leagues/join with PIN 8426114
Telegraph fantasy football: passcode 8693. PIN code 8000919. The telegraph have also offered a prize of £100 to the winner.
Telegraph fantasy football European Super League: League PIN: 8186902 League Passcode: 2113
Sun Dream Team:
Classic League PIN: SGDKX9Y3
H2H PIN: SGFU3CR9
Social Media
Follow FFGeek on twitter and facebook and instagram for article updates and news
