Here’s our article where 4 FFGeek Contributors show their FPL teams BGW29. There’s Andrew Whitfield, Andrew Pratt, Kris O and Costas Chari. There’s a draft Free Hit team from one of the Contributors
FPL teams BGW29 – 4 FFGeek Contributors teams part 1 – includes a draft free hit team
I outline my FPL strategy along with 10 other FFGeek contributors in our new EBook.
A reminder of the additional Patreon content
$2 plus Vat per calendar month
* Weekly podcasts with myself and the FFGeek Contributors
* All the articles on www.fantasyfootballgeek.co.uk advert free
$3 plus Vat per Calender month (plus the above)
* access to the FFGeek Contributor tracker team incl live transfers (52k OR in 19/20) (currently 18k)
*access to Joseph Crilleys transfer planner and points projection tool
* access to the the Patreon Planner team runs from Joe’s planner projection tool incl live transfers (32k OR 19/20)
* Imaginary wildcard articles
*Bandwagon and Sinking Ships articles
*Slack Channel access
*access to private FPL leagues
No Commitment beyond 1 Calender month
https://www.patreon.com/fantasyfootballgeek
Introduction
This is part 1 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. It won’t cover transfers in real time either. It’s just to give an idea of the trends for the week no more. The teams are shown as their “final-ish” teams so they could change. Where they have twitter accounts I have shown this and they may update them there or on our Slack Channel which is part of our subscription Patreon site but this is not guaranteed
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 132k last season and 6k in 18/19 and 19k in 17/18
GW28 Points: 58 (FPL average 43) Total points: 1,878, Overall Rank: 13k, green arrow: 4k Team Value: £106.5m
Andrew has used all of his Chips
Follow Andrew on twitter here
Gameweek 28 summary:
– Well GW28 left us with plenty to ponder. 94th minute clean sheet wipeouts, goals and assists replaced by own goals, Aubameyang arrived late for the North London derby but Arsenal won without him, Sheff Utd parted with their manager and were worse, and the sight of Bamford and Son laying on the turf sent shock waves into blank gameweek plans.
– Pep also had his bit of fun with zero minutes for De Bruyne, Sterling, Mahrez, Gundogan and Foden, while the Spurs triple up went up in smoke, and the popular captains Bruno Fernandes, Kane and Salah all blanked, to sum up a crazy week.
My GW28 score and rank:
– 58 points. Just four returners and a captain blank would normally be a step backwards. But with so many popular players blanking, the hauls of Stones (14), Cancelo (12) and Shaw ( 9 ) plus a Watkins assist, were like gold dust in a tricky week for many.
– A few frustrating near misses with captain Kane having a goal ruled out and hitting the post, Salah also having one ruled out, Watkins having a goal downgraded to an assist and missing a big late chance, Fernandes having an assist taken away, Bamford assisting a disallowed goal, and Martinez conceding in the dying seconds. Throw in the early injury exits to Bamford and Son, and it sums up the frustrations of this game !!
– But those same frustrations were shared by many others too and my big defender hauls meant I emerged with a very welcome green arrow, up from 17k to 13k, and sitting just 7 points off the top 10k. I would have snatched your hand off if you offered me that before a ball was kicked. A very strong place to be as we head into a testing blank gameweek.
My GW28 talking points:
– I think that Cancelo to Stones free kick was my favourite goal of the season. In the context of my gameweek, those two players contributed nearly half of my points. So what a priceless goal it proved to be. The irony is that these two players had scored just one point each in the double gameweek. Owning Stones over Dias since my GW25 wildcard had worryingly left me without the most secure Man City defender but I certainly got the rub of the green this week. Lots to ponder now with many jumping off the defensive double up. If I did, I would want Dias as my sole defender. Those that went early on that move missed out on two big hauls. There are still big points to be had, but rotation is only going to get worse as the title gets closer and other cups take priority.
– Luke Shaw has been a sensation since joining on my wildcard. Two clean sheets in the double gameweek, I benched his 14 points in the derby, but another impressive performance and 9 points this week. He is Uniteds biggest attacking threat and seems to be a nailed starter. He was again heavily involved in attacks. What a transformation from the last few seasons. Four successive clean sheets for United too.
– The mad clamour for triple Spurs had a reality check. Bale was anonymous and barely lasted half a match, Son pulled up with a hamstring injury and Kane had a very quiet game until a late flourish saw him hit the post and have a header ruled out. I don’t own Bale but I do own Son, so his injury is now a big concern.
– The last four minutes of the opening game at Newcastle set the tone for many. Ollie Watkins continued his goal drought but at least assisted and as my differential to Calvert Lewin, at least matched him 5 to 6 for points. A late miss from Watkins would have been huge if converted. The injury time clean sheet loss for Martinez actually helped my rank as plenty were on the double up. Spare a thought for Targett owners who lost a clean sheet and an assist in the space of four minutes. I felt like overall, I dodged a bullet in that opener, despite the late Martinez blow. It worked in my favour.
– I had been openly bullish all week about Salah finding a couple of goals at Wolves. He did have a late one ruled out but still looked a frustrated figure and now has five successive blanks. It’s getting hard to justify his price tag but my style of play revolves around the template, of which Salah is firmly entrenched in it. Class is permanent. Bruno Fernandes won’t be leaving in a hurry either. My shields serve a purpose. The re emergence of Jota makes things interesting.
So what next:
– I have 0.5M in the bank and two free transfers, which is a pretty good place to be as we approach a very tricky blank GW29. It gives me flexibility at a time when injuries have now arrived at the worst possible time.
– I am now chip free so don’t have free hit or wildcard to navigate my way through the next couple of weeks.
– Ordinarily, I have a deep squad, so with an international break on the horizon after the weekend, it would have been easy to shuffle Bamford and Son and use my bench for one week, with an extended recovery time to GW30. But the frustration is that both players were bankers in my GW29 blank gameweek team !!
My latest GW29 thoughts:
– My original plan, pre injuries, was to be sitting on 8 players for GW29, use one of my two free transfers to make that 9, which I am happy with, then still carry over to have two free transfers to use in the international break and re set my team.
– I had Kane and Son for Spurs, Martinez and Watkins for Villa, Veltman of Brighton, Dallas Raphinha and Bamford for Leeds, plus a one week flip of Salah to Aubamayang to make nine.
– All eyes will be on the injuries to Bamford and Son and I won’t be making any transfers until Friday. There are Europa league games for Spurs and Arsenal on Thursday which will give vital clues to the weekend line ups, as well as those vital press conferences. Do nothing until Friday and don’t fret over price changes is definitely the path to tread.
– I am going to be careful not to sell players I have value tied up in, just in case I want them straight back and they would cost a lot more to buy back. Bruno at 11M would cost me 11.5M to get back, Gundogan at 5.8M would cost 6.2M, Cancelo at 6M would cost 6.2M, and Bamford if injured at 6.3M would cost 6.7M.
– As I write this, Bamford has a chance of being fit. I have money tied up in him, he plays Sheff Utd in GW30 with a long international break before it. Unless he is ruled out long term, I will probably keep him. The alternative is to switch him to Antonio who plays in GW29.
– As I am writing this, Son is more likely to miss out. He has actually only scored in one of the last twelve games, so if he is confirmed out, I could use one of my transfers to make a direct switch to Bale. It might make sense to move him on and still cover the Spurs double up.
Transfer plans:
– I am likely to switch salah to Aubameyang this week, but I will almost certainly move him back in GW30. Aubameyang could be a low ownership one week punt and worth a go v Westham. But Mo will be straight back after the international break.
– That means I will have the main explosive bases covered for GW29, in Kane, Son ( or Bale ), Watkins, Bamford, Raphinha, Aubameyang, as well as covering this weeks most likely clean sheet for Brighton. A goal for Veltman and a cheeky double from Aubameyang would go a long way to getting me out of a tricky week.
– I do also want to get Rudiger back with Chelsea looking so water tight. I bought Veltman in last week and had to sacrifice Rudiger. But in GW30, I will have Shaw and Dallas on great fixtures so it’s not high priority. So if I have to use both my two free transfers for this blank gameweek, and sacrifice two to reset my team from GW30, it’s not a huge problem, although having two to deal with the international break would certainly be desirable to compete with the wildcarders.
GW29 transfer summary:
– Much depends on the injuries to Bamford and Son. I await updates on these. I have two free transfers.
– Likely one week flip of Salah to Aubameyang.
– Possible switch of Son ( if injured ) to Bale
– If Bamford is fit, that would give me 9 players without taking a hit, using my two free transfers. That’s more than enough.
– Captain likely to be Kane.
Good luck everyone !!!!
Here is my team BEFORE any changes:
Andrew Pratt
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 313k last 8k in 18/19 and 1k in 17/18
GW28 Points: 52 on Wildcard (FPL average 43) Total points: 1,859, Overall Rank: 25k, green arrow: 3k Team Value: £105.9m
Andrew has used his Bench Boost Chip and wildcard
Gameweek 28 may yet become a red arrow for me depending how Liverpool and especially Salah get on against Wolves. This gameweek was a little underwhelming after playing my WC to bring in de Bruyne and Kane and both doing nothing. Compounding things was that Cancelo delivered in the very week my stretched patience with him finally snapped and I moved him out. Adams and Rudiger came off my bench to salvage things a bit. This was a third disappointing gameweek in a row and I’m sure I’d be in a better position had I lost my FPL password after GW25.
Gameweek 29 is the dreaded big blank. I’ll be using my free hit as planned. The Spurs fixture stands out as the juiciest of the limited ones on offer. Note: UK times are shown below.
Leeds have gone off the boil and even if Bamford recovers from his leg injury in time for GW29, I think their attack will struggle against Fulham’s improved defence. I think for a Free Hit team, Lookman is almost essential against the Leeds defence. Aina is interesting. Raphinha and Dallas are still decent shouts.
Brighton has a good chance of shutting out Newcastle. I can’t see any Newcastle assets of interest but Brighton defence, and Maupay at a push, may be worth targeting.
West Ham and Arsenal should be a good game to watch. West Ham has an excellent record of scoring at home and I think they’ll score this week. Arsenal’s attack is definitely also of interest. For me the key players here are Antonio, Lingard, Cresswell, Aubameyang and Lacazette.
I think Spurs will bounce back from the Arsenal loss and win comfortably here. Villa is not a major threat without Grealish and with Watkins as their main forward. A Spurs triple up of Kane, Son and Bale was the obvious choice until Son’s injury in GW28. Bale being taken off after only 56 min
against Arsenal is also a little worrying. It’ll be worth watching the news on Son’s injury and the likes of Lucas Moura or a Spurs defender may come into the picture instead.
My current FH team looks as below. Tierney may become Aina. I can see a few players like Aubameyang, Lacazette and Bale getting reduced minutes this week but it would be too risky to go without them. Captain will probably be Kane and vice on Antonio, Lingard or Lookman.
Good luck, all!
Transfer summary: On Free Hit
Here’s the draft Free Hit team:
Kris O
Kris’s last 4 seasons overall rank were 39k, 44k, 46k and 23k
GW28 Points: 47 (FPL average 43) Total points: 1,856, Overall Rank: 28k, red arrow: 2k Team Value: £105.7m
Kris has used his Bench Boost Chip, Free Hit Chip and Triple Captain Chip
So a small red arrow in the end this week, hurt by no Chelsea defender or Shaw. My Salah captain moving was looking good on Sunday after popular captains Kane and Bruno blanked but it wasn’t to be.
Coming into this week I frustratingly have Son, Bamford and Decordova-Reid flagged which means my 9 could really be 6!
I have two FTs so I could still theoretically get to 11 without hits.
My moves will be dictated by the Europa league games, and press news on Thursday and Friday.
At the moment I’m leaving the defence unchanged. I had originally planned to sell Stones, but I’d prefer to keep the city double D and helpfully Stones and Dias seem to play 90 or 0, avoiding the 1 point late sub. It’s also driven by lack of attraction in Brighton or Newcastle, with neither inspiring me to play them in future weeks and although Tierney is great, I fear a few rests as Arsenal prioritise the Europa league.
I really hope Jack Grealish is fit and that will encourage me to either get him or if I need a forward spot Watkins. My other move will likely be Aubameyang or Odegaard. I still haven’t ruled out Bale.
In terms of who will be leaving my team, if all my three flagged players are fit then it will be Salah and Gundogan. I’m less concerned about Salah as I plan to get in Jota from 31, Gundogan is a bit more nervy and I may still bottle it.
If Bamford and Son look like maybes, and almost certainly back for gw30 (when they both have good fixtures) I will keep – but any long term injury news and they will be out.
I’m happy to ditch Reid if he misses 29 too, the only reason to keep beyond is him being relatively cheap for my bench.
My only selection dilemma is Martinez or Areola – I’m tempted by Areola but will see. Captain Kane, but may go Aubameyang if he comes in.
Good luck all
Transfer summary: To be confirmed
Here’s the team prior to any transfers being made
Costas Chari
Costas’s last 4 seasons overall ranks were 17k, 84k, 29k and 27k
GW28 points: 64 (FPL average 43) Total points: 1,798, Overall Rank: 135k, green arrow: 53k Team Value: £104.6m
Costas has used all of his Triple Captain Chip and his Bench Boost Chip
Follow Costas on twitter here
It was a good week for me with a 53k green arrow and the highest rank of my season so far.
I went with my gut and got in dunk and trossard and they both delivered. I also avoided the norm to captain Kane or Bruno Fernandes and went with Sterling but he was left out. The week could have been phenomenal had he played but at least Dallas coming off the bench as an autosub for 6pts was not bad either.
I have already transferred Sterling out for Aubameyang and I really hope his issues with Arteta will be resolved by then.
So here I was after looooads of planning with 11 players without a hit for BGW29 saving the FH for later on. And everything happened- Bobby Decordova-Reid, Bamford and Son are doubts and Aubameyang has a difficult situation… So that’s 7 players with 3 maybes and one (Son) very unlikely. I will wait until last minute and will probably go Son out for Bale.
The thought of free hitting has crossed my mind but I would only add Antonio, Tierney, Bale and Cresswell in the team so its not worth it as I am 90% getting Bale in anyway.
Captain. Can’t see anyone past kane he effective ownership will be off the roof.
Transfer summary: Steling to Aubameyang complete. Son to Bale likely.
Here’s the team with the Aubameyang transfer completed.
FFGeek Contributors League
The highlighted FFGeek contributors combined team finished with an overall rank of 52k last season is going ok in 3rd place with total points of 1,868 and an overall rank of 18k. You can follow that team, including live transfers, on our subscription Patreon site.
You can also follow Joe’s transfer planner team which finished with an overall rank of 32k last season currently in 19th place with total points of 1,717 and an overall rank of, 564k.
There’s loads of other features on the Patreon site that you can read about at the top of this page
Other posts
Analysing the teams of 10 top managers
Early thoughts on the FFGeek team
The FFGeek Captain and Transfer Polls
Follow FFGeek on twitter and facebook and instagram for article updates and news
Auto join the FFGeek FPL league
