Here’s our FPL gameweek 7 wildcards article where FFGeek contributor Andrew Whitfield reviews GW6 and despite a score of 83 decides to activate his wildcard. Here he provides the team and rationale. Andrew finished 6k overall rank last season and 19k the season before
FPL gameweek 7 wildcards – Andrew Whitfield activates his wildcard
GW6 points: 83 (average 52) Total points 371 Gameweek rank 113k, Overall Rank: 190k, green arrow 685k, Team Value: £101.1m
Here’s the points:
Well what a strange gameweek that was. A very pleasing one though with a tasty 83 points and a huge rise in rank from 875k to 191k. Six returning players and 34 captain points is always going to be a great week. And up to 4th in the contributors league.
It was the circumstances of the score that was unusual.
At 2pm on Saturday, when the teams were announced, with captain Sterling on the bench and Zinchenko not in the squad, I feared for my score. We shouldn’t have been too surprised at Sterling’s benching. The fact we were anxiously checking the teams at 2pm shows we knew what might be coming. It was widely tipped after his 90 minutes in the Ukraine, but it didn’t deter 1.4M from giving him the armband. A 15 minute cameo blank was the big fear, together with a rested Aguero going mad.
As it happened, Zinchenko’s absence brought 12 points off the bench from Lundstram – and Sterling stayed firmly rooted to the bench, with my armband instead going to 17 point vice captain KDB – a double whammy of 29 extra points !! That’s the difference between an average score and a great score.
It’s a huge break and a big relief too after a slow start when all along I have felt I had a strong team and I feel pleased that I have played my natural game, not panicked or done anything different and stuck to my playing style. I feel like I have had some bad luck along the way too, so these things even out and it shows what a good gameweek can do to your rank if you keep the faith.
It was also a week when “the template” of the experienced managers had a better time of it, most beating the average score, in contrast to a couple of weeks already when the proven FPL managers had taken a hammering by everyone and his dog. Let’s hope it continues.
What went well :
The choice of KDB as vice captain was crucial !! My two captains and vice captains have been Sterling and Salah all season, but with Sterling having the armband, I preferred the vice captain appeal of KDB v Watford to Salah at Chelsea. KDB 17 Salah 5. A haul for Salah would have certainly hit my rank. KDB looks a “must own” right now.
The surprise omission of Zinchenko worked in my favour. Plenty left the Lundstram points on the bench. Incredibly, Lundstram is now the top scoring defender in FPL for just 4.3M !! On that basis, is he worth playing every week ??
I keep beating the drum for the double Liverpool defence. They keep finding a way to frustratingly concede one goal late on. Just one clean sheet in six games now and just that one single goal against in the other five. But the full backs give you the attacking threat you just don’t get elsewhere. 15 points between them this week, even without the clean sheet. Trent has delivered 20 points in his last three games and Robbo has returned in his last three games. I am keeping the double up when many are moving funds further forward and that could be my differential.
A ten point haul from Ryan was very welcome, especially as he lost his clean sheet in the 95th minute the week before. I had strongly considered swapping him out for Pope too, but held back. A nice leaving present as he is moving on this week.
What didn’t go as well :
The gameweek had got off to a frustrating start on Friday when Josh King ALMOST landed a double figure haul but got 2 points instead. He had a goal disallowed for offside by a toe nail via VAR, and then had what looked a clearcut penalty shout denied. Just to add to the frustration, fellow striker Callum Wilson, who had been anonymous, seized on a defensive clanger to tap into an open goal after 96 minutes !! Maybe I deserved the luck that followed on Saturday
Dendoncker stepped up from 2nd sub, to feature for the first time this season, only to miss a great chance at one end, and then put through his own goal at the other !! Priceless.
If I am being greedy, I could say that but for the above two events, I could have bagged a 100 point week. But I won’t complain with the fortuitous 29 points that dropped in my lap on Saturday.
My Norwich attacking duo have scored 63 points playing at home and 17 points playing away !! Interesting food for thought for setting up my team in future gameweeks.
What next:
I have two free transfers. 0.6M in the bank.
The more I look at the Chelsea fixtures, the more I want Abraham !! ( Brighton, Southampton, Newcastle, Burnley, Watford and Palace ) he has the form, he has the fixtures, his ownership is now up to 31% after 400,000 snapped him up again this week. He in the top three captains this week too. As a defensive shield, I simply have to have him !!
It’s not an easy route to Abraham. I either need to lose Robertson ( which I am still reluctant to do ) or lose Digne who can spark into form with a big haul at any time. It’s a “two moves” switch from Digne and would also involve me losing King, who now has West Ham, Norwich and Watford in his next four. I could keep King and Digne and lose Greenwood instead for a front three, but only with a significant downgrade on Robertson. So not easy to lose Digne and King , or lose Robertson – but the fact is i want to be on the Tammy train for those fixtures. Digne has Man City next. King is playing in a wider role . He has great short term fixtures but Abraham’s are even better. So i am keeping Robertson, it’s Abraham for King, to be funded by selling Digne.
I then looked at Zinchenko. Yes he could just have been rested last week, just like Sterling and KDB have been. But Mendy is back in town. I want Otamendi as the only nailed defender, with Laporte and Stones injured. Do I save that move for next week, or take a hit, which I hate .
Then I had already earmarked this time for switching Ryan to Pope , with Ryan having Chelsea and Spurs next and the Brighton and Burnley fixtures going in opposite directions.
I am also feeling exposed to a double up on the Norwich attack. Norwich are great at home but less potent away. Pukki is fixture proof but I don’t think Cantwell is a 4th midfielder every week. I can’t get to Mount but I can get to McGinn.
So despite a cracking 83 point gameweek, I have five fires to put out. I either do two free this week, or three for a -4 hit, and fix the others in the next couple of weeks, – or I activate the wildcard and put my team exactly where I want it and build on my success last week. Wildcarding to change just five players and keep ten unchanged might not seem totally necessary, but factor in that Zinchenko, Digne, and Dendoncker have all fallen or due to fall this week, and Otamendi, Abraham , Pope and McGinn have all risen or due to rise, it was a pretty easy decision to wildcard before all my buys went up and my sells went down.
So my wildcard is active !!!
Here’s the team as it stands now:
Currently Abraham for King, McGinn for Dendoncker, Pope for Ryan, Otamendi for Zinchenko (four positive moves) and I am funding from my 0.6M bank, plus replacing Digne with Guilbert of Villa.
Defensively I can keep my Trent and Robbo double up and continue enjoying those attacking Liverpool raids. The double up is also a bit of a differential now that many are coming away from it. I have nailed Man City coverage, I have Pope in for good fixtures. Lundstram and Guilbert can both play a part but I have flexibility to play 352, 442 or even 532 which I like.
Salah, Sterling and De Bruyne are my three midfield premiums on which my team is built. I now feel happier with McGinn as a solid 4th mid and can play Cantwell at home instead or together with McGinn.
Pukki and Abraham up top are two strikers in form. Greenwood is probably third sub currently but he has scored in the last two games so could get his chance with Rashford out and Man Utd in a pickle.
I looked at whether I wanted to use the opportunity to change my premiums. There is a case for saying Aubameyang, who has returned every game, can take advantage of great fixtures and outscore Salah in the short term, but experience tells me that Salah is the top points scoring player for the last two years and he has a wicked bite of you dare to sell. I seriously considered Aguero rather than Sterling. In the end, I went with the two premiums with 40% ownership as a shield. I also have 8 out of the top 10 most owned players so I feel protected against ranking drops. I am in a position of strength in the top 3% of teams , so happy to defend that position with largely “template “ players and then supplement them with 2-3 lower ownership “high gain” players .
I never expected to be wildcarding this week but everything fell into place and I am happy to be wildcarding in a positive way on the front foot on the back of a strong 83 point week. I had the upcoming second international break in mind to wildcard but I feel good and happy to have pulled the trigger.
I have the armband on Salah At Sheffield United . Benching Lundstram in that game ( even though we know what he can do !! ). Also benching Cantwell playing away. Playing a 442 with Guilbert and McGinn on debut with Villa at home..
Wildcard transfer summary
Ryan out for Pope
Digne out for Guilbert
Zinchenko out for Otamendi
Dendoncker out for McGinn
King out for Abraham
Button, Robertson, Alex Arnold, Lundstram, Salah, Cantwell, De Bruyne, Sterling, Greenwood and Pukki stay put.
Good luck everyone in gameweek 7 !!!
See also Joseph Crilley’s wildcard (last 3 seasons OR were 28k, 7k and 13k)
Other posts
GW7 analysing 10 top FPL managers
Early thoughts on the FFGeek team
Defender and GK player rankings
FFGeek contributors teams part 1
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