Here’s our fantasy premier league team tips GW10 article where the 2nd group of the FFGeek contributors show their teams for GW10. In this part there’s Scott Taylor, Andrew Whitfield, Kev in Canada, Kris O, Ben Wooton and Andrew Whitfield.
Fantasy premier league team tips GW10 – FFGeek contributor’s teams part 2
This is part 2 of the FPL managers who contribute to the FFGeek site with good histories who show their teams each week. This will give people a feel for what other managers are doing. It’s a fairly informal thing with no obligation on anyone and these teams may change at anytime before the deadline without further notice. In the future it also wont cover early transfers. It’s just to give an idea of the trends for the week no more.
See the part 1 contributors teams article here as well
Scott Taylor
Scott finished with an overall rank of 1k last season and 12k in 17/18
GW9 points: 43 on WC (FPL average 37) Total points 473 Gameweek rank 1,473k, Overall Rank: 877k, green arrow 233k, Team Value: £101.6m
Only my 4th week of beating the average so I have to be happy! Big green arrow and OR back inside the top million. It goes to show how strange a season it’s been so far that I’ve only beaten the average 4 times and yet my OR is inside the top million.
Taken in isolation, my team didn’t perform that well. Only 3 returning players, no double figures and a captain blank yet again. However, given that it was a low scoring week and more or less everyone’s captain blanked, my week was a success.
Wildcard wise, 2 of my 3 returning players (Vardy and Robertson) came in on the wildcard and my wildcard team returned a few more points than my non wildcard team would have done. Albeit my wildcard was obviously not done with one GW in mind so a bit of a meaningless comparison really!
In terms of any changes I have my eye on, I’ll keep tabs on B Mendy (game time), Martial (fitness), Grealish (positioning and fixtures) Jesus (game time) and Jimenez (continued form). Not sure who would be the fall guy if I brought Mendy in but of the midfielders and forwards it would be Maddison, Mount and Wilson who are most at risk.
My only selection dilemma this week is Lundstram or Rico. I fancy Rico more for the CS although I may be swayed by what the bookies say. I think his chance of attacking returns is better too so he gets the final spot with Lundstram as first sub. My captain is likely to be De Bruyne although Vardy, Tammy and Wilson are certainly in the frame with Tammy the most likely if I don’t go with De Bruyne.
Enjoy GW10!
Transfer summary: TBC
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 6k last season and 19k in 17/18
GW9 points: 47 -4 (FPL average 37) Total points 502 Gameweek rank 920k, Overall Rank: 187k, green arrow 71k, Team Value: £101.5m
GW9 review
What’s going on in FPL this season ? For the second successive week, most of the popular players failed to fire. From the top ten captain choices, Sterling top scored with just 5 points !! Salah and Aguero never made it on to the pitch, with Auba, Kane, De Bruyne, Abraham, Mane, Pukki and Wilson all leaving us scratching our heads – again !!
And just to troll us all, the goals all go flying in left right and centre midweek in Europe.
I am very happy with how my own gameweek worked out in the end. Its not often that only four returning players and a captain blank gets you a green arrow and a jump of 71,000 places, but my 47 points ( net 43 ) against an average of 37, was enough to lift me from 258k to 187k so I will take that with open arms. That’s in the top 3% of teams and top six in the contributors league.
Two of my four returners came off my bench too !! I was grateful for the 11 bench points, but I don’t view it as lucky points. In reality, Otamendi would have had that Man City clean sheet and Salah may have returned too, so that’s exactly what a bench is for. I had the right players in place ready. Guilbert stepped in from 1st sub and Lundstram is becoming a legend already and he came up trumps again from 2nd sub. Is Lundstram becoming dangerous to leave on the bench now ??
What pleased me most was that my two biggest decisions of the week worked out well and were the reason for my green arrow. Keeping faith in Robertson, which is becoming a differential, was rewarded and transferring in D Silva and spreading the Sterling cash worked well too.
I strayed away from my usual patient and cautious approach and the template and Twitter noise, took a -4 and made three transfers. Maybe I should be adventurous more often. It’s a strange season where differentials seem to be working more than the template at times. Just ask Costas after his 69 points !! It’s certainly giving me food for thought, looking for differentials, even though I will always tend to have one eye firmly on the template with my patient approach.
What went well :
David Silva getting his FOURTH double figure haul of the season ( the only FPL player to do so !! ) – I brought him in last week as a 4.5M huge saving on Sterling, to spread the cash around. Silva now has an incredible 15 points MORE than Sterling over the last 8 weeks !! So that certainly was a well timed transfer last week.
Sticking with De Bruyne through his injury when many sold him and are struggling to get him back. De Bruyne could easily have landed a big double figure haul, having a clear penalty denied, hitting the woodwork and denied a simple goal if Jesus had just squared to him for a tap in. So very happy to have De Bruyne and Silva as my two City attacking assets. I think De Bruyne is more dangerous not to own than Sterling.
If Sterling and Aguero are going to be rotated regularly at 12M plus, are they viable premiums now ?? They both served a reminder in Europe midweek of exactly what they can do !! So do you stick or twist !! They both played 90 mins midweek so does that mean weekend rotation. Of course I am scared silly not owing either, especially for these next two home games !!
I know De Bruyne and Silva are vulnerable to rotation too but they are cheaper so it’s easier to accept and the value can be spread across the squad.
Keeping Robertson alongside Alexander Arnold was rewarded with an 8 point haul. Robertson has now returned in 5 of the last 6 weeks !! ( 2 clean sheets and 3 assists ) . Trent and Robbo are up there amongst the top defenders on 42 and 41. Very happy with the double up with the multi points potential of goals, assists and clean sheets. Just wait when they actually start keeping clean sheets too !!
I was lucky to dodge plenty of very big bullets !! – Mane had a goal ruled out out by VAR and Sterling somehow managed to hit the corner flag three times from close range !!
What didn’t go as well ?
I was very nervous of the Bournemouth v Norwich nailed on goal fest and brought in Callum Wilson for a points hit as a result. I never expected a 0-0 from two teams who can’t usually defend !! Callum Wilson only ever scores when I don’t own him !!
Disappointing blanks from Abraham and Mount too. I fully expected a return from both, with Abraham wearing the armband. I took a -4 to get in Wilson and Mount and sat back waiting for the Bournemouth and Chelsea goals to flow.
The absence of Salah was disappointing. I expected him to make it. But Mane blanked and those that don’t have Salah, probably have Mane, so nothing lost. Salah’s absence actually gave me the Lundstram points. Hopefully Salah plays this week. I still favour him over Mane. Salah punishes those that sell…
What to do next ?
Here is the plan. On Friday I am taking an early Friday flight to Barcelona ( not to watch Messi ) where I am boarding a cruise ship for 6 nights, stopping off at Marseille, Genoa, Naples, and Valetta.. with plenty of cold beer, cocktails, and good food !! I will be following GW10 from the top deck – and hope not to fall overboard if Sterling and Aguero explode !!
Incidentally that’s not in response to the last two gameweeks. It was pre planned !!
What about GW10 and beyond ?
So I will be setting my team up on the Thursday night before I set off, especially as there is a Friday game and deadline !!
I have 1.4M in the bank and one free transfer.
For those ( including me ) who are “big at the back”, the worrying stat is that the top 16 points scorers in FPL does not contain a single defender !! That’s very much at the forefront of my mind just now. I am planning to move funds forward to response to that.
In true “Whitfield style” ( or lack of ), I may revert back to my cautious game and I will probably be playing that “P for Patience “ card this week, and making zero changes, unless there are any significant European injuries midweek.. I want to carry my transfer as I am considering a choice of two possible “double moves” next week. I would rather wait a week and do them for free and have more time to ponder which option I prefer rather than take a hit now.
My options ?
In line with my previous plan, I can switch McGinn to Maddison, now that villa are in a tricky fixture run. I don’t quite have enough for the upgrade this week without a hit so happy to wait for the double move next week. I will bench my two Villa players at City this week. The switch gives me the midfield five I wanted of Salah, De Bruyne, D Silva, Mount and Maddison. This will need a tweak of Guilbert to Rico to raise the funds. That’s if the prices don’t move against me.
I am also considering downgrading Otamendi to Rico, switching to a three man attack and with money in the bank could then afford Greenwood to Jimenez which I quite like too !!! Again, I might be priced out by next week. But I like this option a lot. If I go three up top, I can solve the Greenwood problem, get Jimenez and I only need three defenders. Lundstram is becoming set and forget material so if I go 343, and can’t get Rico, I can go cheaper for a 5th defender. This is where I am currently looking to go next week.
I could still do a Wilson to Vardy switch , this week or next, as I have 1.4M banked. I bought Wilson as I was scared of that home game v Norwich !! In true Wilson style, he trolled me and blanked. I know if I sell him, he will score a brace at Watford this week !! I will probably hold as it’s a good fixture and Wilson owes me.
Salah will be a monitor too up to kick off. Any more injury concerns would see Mane in.
Captain and line up ?
It’s an easy line up choice this week with my two Villa players at Man City. I will play 442 with Lundstram ahead of McGinn but with Pep Roulette highly likely again, any of my three City players missing out could mean McGinn gets into the line up off the bench.
De Bruyne is carrying my Man City armband now I don’t have Sterling. We should all be worried captaining any City player right now with rotation, but it’s the standout fixture. Vice will be Salah at home to Spurs..
Good luck everybody !!!!
Transfer summary: Carrying over a free transfer
Kev in Canada
Kev finished in 6k last season and 195k in 17/18
GW9 points: 48 on WC (FPL average 37) Total points 473 Gameweek rank 665k, Overall Rank: 883k, green arrow 459k, Team Value: £102.4m
GW9 Recap
Wildcarding over an international break is honestly exhausting. I’m the end, I am happy though.
The team is set up well fixture wise for a while and I love the balance my team has too. I thought balance/flexibility was important when putting the wildcard together because I was hitting the button rather early and sh*t happens. I need to be able to do thing such as: navigate the Liverpool/West Ham blank and be able to maneuver injuries. Balance will really help with that.
I was also able to have some key captain assets and have a core with a good fixture run. So ultimately I was happy and I feel comfortable for the time being. That being said, I didn’t hit the final button until 2AM EST and actually slept through the first match because I was so tired. Tinkering can get into sleep disruption on a WC unfortunately.
Score wise; the first gameweek of the wildcard started off well. I would say it was equally as much a case of key players I don’t own blanking as much as it was my team doing well. However my captain Aubameyang blanked too so it was more my new core that actually delivered.
☆ Keeper
•Gazzaniga. Tottenham being Tottenham I guess is the current mindset. Sheesh. 2 lousy points.
..Oh well. Gaz is only 4.4M and my other 4.4M Roberto looked fantastic on my bench with 9 saves. The next two fixtures are home ones for Roberto so he will be in. Check out how well each of their schedules pair together. It is remarkable and isn’t getting enough Twitter mention in my opinion.
☆ Defenders
•Alexander Arnold. Wasn’t going anywhere. Assist taken away but a handball is a handball now. The one VAR rule that I like because there is no interpretation involved.
•Rico. 10 crosses and a corner. Playing Watford (away) this week. I know Lundstrum is everyone’s hero today but I am starting Rico instead this week.
•Söyüncü. Blanked but got his head on one. His attacking threat isn’t the same as some others but sub 5M for the Leicester Defence with these fixtures works for me.
•Lascelles. Newcastle play only one top 6 in next 9. He’s a great under the radar buy right now. Newcastle look bad but they are clearly playing defensive. 4.4M and if they get a clean sheet I expect bonus points due to that defensive play. He’s starting in a home match for me this week.
•Lundstram. How did FPL put him as a defender?
☆ Midfielders
•De Bruyne. He will get my armband this week. So many chances. He will keep getting his.
•Sterling. Some may point out I don’t think you should have Sterling or Aguero on your team if you are captaining De Bruyne because you can spend that money elsewhere. I agree with that. He is in here strategically because I want Salah back in after LFC’s mini run of tough fixtures and during that time City have 2 home matches in a row. It is an easier transfer to Salah than the other wildcard option I was planning. Salah’s price dropping in the meantime is helping for too.
•Mount. Must own. Looked great again.
•Hudson Odoi. Looked fantastic. His game log all of this year is terrific. Buying at 5.9M I suspect I will gain some serious team value with him after that game last week. It was a tough choice between Hudson Odoi and Tomori to be honest for a third Chelsea. Both look great.
•El Ghazi. He was the last player in my Wildcard. I think Cantwell has rotation risk going forward and El Ghazi looked the best 5.5M to me. I would love to make him Grealish, but their fixtures turn so horrendous for the next month, it is just not a priority.
☆ Forwards
•Aubameyang. I guess at somepoint with a team name of President Aubama, I had to have him in. I loved the Monday captain game scenario but didn’t love the result. This forward looks a goal scoring machine and has excellent fixtures now.
•Vardy. Scored! This forward looks a goal scoring machine and has excellent fixtures now.
•Tammy. Blanked. This forward looks a goal scoring machine and has excellent fixtures now.
Upcoming GW10
☆ Musical Chairs
Carry forward if all is good in Champions League. I do have 0.5M in the bank for a rainy day if need be.
☆ Captain
I really like De Bruyne. Aubameyang for the vice.
☆ Substitute decisions
Lundstram. Söyüncü. El Ghazi.
Good luck.
Transfer summary: Carrying over a free transfer
You can follow Kev on twitter here
Kris O
Kris’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 44k, 46k and 23k
GW9 points: 36 on WC (FPL average 37) Total points 486 Gameweek rank 3,435k, Overall Rank: 488k, red arrow 36k, Team Value: £102.1m
Reflecting on last week, overall, I am unhappy about my wildcard choices. I made some late choices with a mixture of bad and good, most foolishly leaving myself with just one Man City. Some more logical thinking and I could have nailed a good team – I have started to repair this with a -4 bringing in D Silva for Mount and Abraham for Wilson. I really want Hudson-Odoi for McGinn but need 0.3 extra, so will involve a sale elsewhere and common sense tells me it’s not worth 8 points especially with a decent bench and Burnley away not the easiest game. In fact this will quickly become 0.4 so likely need early GW11 transfers to avoid. Still undecided on final defence line up – if Alexander Arnold is out it becomes easier!
Captain Mane – hoping he’ll enjoy himself against a wobbly Sp*rs team.
Transfer summary: Mount and Wilson out D Silva and Abraham in
Andrew Pratt
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 8k last season and 1k in 17/18
GW9 points: 37 -4 (FPL average 37) Total points 506 Gameweek rank 3,360k, Overall Rank: 147k, red arrow 45k, Team Value: £101.9m
Thoughts on Gameweek 9
With only 9 players contributing this week and those not starting (excl. Button) representing about 40% of my team value it really could’ve been a lot worse. Bournemouth and Spurs misfiring and Jesus’ selfishness also spared me.
A second consecutive gameweek hit and red arrow moves me to around 150k OR which I can be content with after 9 gameweeks. The challenge now though is to arrest the drift and I’ll be looking to not take a hit in gameweek 10.
Thoughts on Gameweek 10
I have one free transfer. Barring injuries in the midweek games or adverse information coming out of the press conferences, I will look to preserve it as I have one eye on the likely need to bring back De Bruyne before too long. Otamendi and Salah are back and Kelly’s injury sounds minor so my team isn’t looking too bad right now.
Chelsea has a tough fixture away to Burnley so I’m not hopeful of big returns from them. Liverpool should see off Spurs, I think. I could see City crushing Villa so I’m desperately keen to see Aguero start this one. Aguero will probably be my captain with Sterling, Salah or Aubmeyang as vice.
This gameweek I’m fearful of not owning Vardy and De Bruyne, the latter being on my watchlist.
Thoughts going forward
I’m keeping an eye on what opportunities might be presented by the potential Bernardo Silva ban. If he is banned for a significant period (3 weeks plus) and Aguero continues to be benched, I’ll look at a De Bruyne + Sterling + other City mid (David Silva or Mahrez?) midfield. Could Mendy be back as an FPL asset? Is City rotation just too risky? Time will tell…
Sheffield United has a very nice run from GW15 to GW19. I’ll be looking for one of their players (maybe another defender) to step forward to be included with Lundstram.
Greenwood seems to not be trusted by Solksjaer so he might need to be swapped out when the opportunity presents itself. No cheapies really jump forward though.
If you’re having a rough time, know that many very experienced managers have had 2 or 3 bad weeks on the trot and many veterans are far further down the rankings than we’d expect. It’s been a crazy start to the season with premiums misfiring and unexpected heroes. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the top scoring team in GW9. Stay your course and don’t rage transfer, it’s early in the season and ranks are still in a tight band so a few good gameweeks from here and things could look far rosier. And remember it’s a Friday deadline this week. Good luck, all!
Transfer summary: carrying over a free transfer
Ben Wooton
Ben’s last 3 seasons overall rank were 61k, 26k and 31k.
GW9 points: 41 on WC (FPL average 37) Total points 510 Gameweek rank 1,939k, Overall Rank: 110k, green arrow 28k, Team Value: £101.6m
Transfer Summary: carrying over a free transfer
Other posts
FFGeek contributors teams GW10 part 1
FPL captain and transfer polls for GW10
Defender and GK player rankings
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