Here’s part 1 of our FPL teams GW1 article where 4 FFGeek Contributors show their “finalish” teams. There’s Andrew Whitfield, Rob Reid, Keith Spencer and new FFGeek Contributor Alon Shamir. Between them they have 11 top 1% finishes in the last 4 competitive seasons.
FPL Teams GW1 – 4 FFGeek Contributors With Their Finalish Teams Part 1
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Andrew Whitfield
Andrew’s last 4 seasons overall ranks were 34k, 132k, 6k and 19k
Hello everyone and welcome back to the twists and turns of another FPL season !!
It seems AGES since the game launched, and some of us have had more drafts than hot dinners, but we are now almost at the point of no return, before the Bees step on to that field to play the Gunners on Friday evening.
We all enter the season with hope and optimism, we all start level. They say it’s the hope that kills us. But let’s dare to dream.
I will just be happy to set foot into my beloved Oakwell on Saturday afternoon after 17 long months away. It really does feel that football is coming home after all.
How is my draft looking ?
Until very recently, I had settled on a “big at the back” with lots of reliable value defensive options providing a solid base, and four attacking full backs, but the injury to Robertson has now changed all that, so the “Trent and Robbo “ double act is gone, as has my plan to play four attacking defenders.
I wasn’t entirely comfortable with my “433” anyway, as I really wanted three up top, and I felt like I was missing that 3rd decent midfielder “price point”, so maybe it’s worked out well as I now have a better balance to my team that I am happy within my trusted “343”
I have seen a lot on “352” and those teams look great too. But personally I am not over enthused with the 5.5M / 6M 5th mids in that set up, plus a certain player from Brentford has my arm halfway up my back for the same money. More on him later.
Safe and steady ?
I am a cautious manager at the best of times but especially at the start of the season. I want safe, reliable players that I can trust, within my own definition of the so called “template “
Whilst “overall ownership” is something I keep a close eye on in assessing the “rank risks”, I am more focused on how the ownership of players is shaping up within the respected group of managers who perform every year, and my fellow contributors who really do “know their onions”, and the managers who realistically are going to be my true “competition” as we aspire to that “top 10k” rainbow. I follow my own collection of 20 managers and that has a big bearing on players I own.
Remember, you can’t win FPL in the first few weeks, but you can sure as hell lose it. Gameweek one is not a time to be taking risks. That’s the biggest piece of advice anyone can heed right now. Stay in the game.
It’s entirely possible that further late curveballs hit us between the eyes before the deadline, but here is where I am at, and where I have been for the last 48 hours.
*** What I will say is that my team is NOT locked. I prefer to get my article out early and then if I change my mind closer to the deadline, so be it. I would rather that than deliberate until very late and chop and change and rush the article. So I am NOT locked.
Keepers:
I don’t like to overspend on keepers and prefer a 4.5M cheapie with a non playing 4M, to maximise funds and points elsewhere. Martinez will be popular after his exploits last season, but he is a premium price now and it’s questionable whether he can provide sufficient extra value for the significant extra investment. I can see Meslier being my keeper from my first wildcard. Amongst the 4.5M keepers, I am choosing SANCHEZ over Bachmann. I like the Brighton fixtures and I am not keen on promoted defenders or keepers, despite the save points potential.
With new Brighton back up keeper, Scherpen out injured for “several weeks”, then 4M back up STEELE provides “same club” cover if Sanchez is struck by injury or Covid, before my first wildcard.
Defenders:
ALEXANDER ARNOLD needs no explanation. It’s beyond belief that 70% of managers don’t own him. I reckon 95% of seasoned FPL bosses will have him first on the team sheet. With Robertson injured, Trent shouldn’t be sharing set pieces duties and always carries multiple routes to points at both ends, with great fixtures too.
SHAW seems sure to be lining up in GW1, despite his Euro heroics, he is the highest owned player in the game, in a team with good fixtures, he is on set pieces and is very attacking too. Hard to avoid.
I was on Lucas Digne for quite a while, but the poor pre season form of Everton, coupled with Everton missing key players, and Digne worryingly not taking corners in the last game, has dimmed his appeal. Fixtures are good so that could come back to bite.
I have saved the 0.5M with COUFAL, a player I love to own. He has been playing as a virtual right winger in pre season, he was the third highest scoring defender in the game last season, and I intend to use him most games as the third leg of my set and forget attacking full backs. I love a set and forget defence so I can concentrate all my transfers on my front seven.
BEN WHITE is a useful 4.5M first sub who is very capable of stepping in to my eleven. I prefer him to Ayling. And as a Sanchez owner, I don’t want to double up with Veltman.
AMARTEY is likely a short term starter for Leicester but is a 4M enabler and if he expectedly loses his place, it’s rare a 3rd sub is needed. The signing of Vestergard has shortened his shelf life for sure. I might switch to another 4M fodder before the deadline. More on that 4M Greek guy soon because I know what you are thinking !!
I would like Ruban Dias in my team but I can wait for fixtures to turn. If I was playing a 442, or 433, he would be my choice. I can see both Chelsea and Man City defenders in my line up when their fixtures look tasty around my likely GW7 wildcard.
I considered putting an extra 0.5M into my attack, which would have seen Ayling replace Coufal and rotate with White as 3rd defender. It’s still possible.
Until this week, I thought little about Tsimikas . He is a great enabler if he holds down that Liverpool left back spot. For me, as a Salah and Trent owner, he blocks getting Jota and potentially blocks getting Robertson too if he returns as reported after the early international break. I can see why his ownership is soaring, especially when his price unlocks the route to jewels in attack. But I do think he only plays three games, blocks the third Liverpool spot, do I want two of my three defenders from a defence that has questions hanging over it, lose Coufal, and does it even improve my team hugely for the sake of three weeks ?
Having been on the differential of a double Liverpool defence with Robertson, the irony is not lost on me that I might now be in the minority with just one !!
Midfield:
MO SALAH is as close to essential as it gets. You live in the danger lane if you don’t have him. Remember his opening day hat trick last season ? He will be a heavy captain favourite v Norwich.
The big debate is BRUNO or BRU NO !! Yes spreading the funds could be worth it if it enhances your overall squad. But not for me with near 50% ownership. A lot is made of his reliance on penalties but he is a huge risk. I don’t take huge risks. It’s BRU YES for me.
Probably the trickiest call right now seems to be the 3rd mid spot. It’s a great price point when you have the likes of JOTA, Greenwood, Barnes, Gundogan and Grealish all competing for your attention !! Easy to see why some are going just two up top or making compromises in defence to get two of them. I think they ALL carry rotation risk, or a 65 minute exit risk but I think JOTA has the best early fixtures and is the one who is most likely to still haul from the bench if he does miss out. He is my biggest gamble but an explosive one too.
RAPHINHA has hardly left my drafts. When Bamford is 8M, having Raphinha at just 6.5M is gold dust. Fixtures early on are tricky but if any team are fixture proof, it’s Leeds. If I took the Greek guy in defence, over Coufal, it would be to get another 7.5M mid over Raphinha. I could replace Jota and Raphinha with two from Gundogan, Greenwood and Barnes, all good options. That’s my biggest decision I need to make right now.
I did also look at downgrading Coufal to have two rotating 4.5M defenders, and upgrading Raphinha to Barnes, which I think is a great option. I really want Coufal and I think Raphinha is a great set and forget. But it’s a close call. Harvey Barnes is tempting me !!
That price point does give great flexibility to switch your mid price mids, especially when Jota plays Norwich in GW1, Gundogan plays Norwich GW2, and Barnes plays Norwich GW3.
My 5th defender and bench fodder is BROWNHILL but could just as easily be Bissouma or Gilmour, but I am less keen on Gibbs White.
Strikers:
ANTONIO is a player I love owning. Yes the big question is his glass hamstrings. But he is a great player to start with. Westhams Europa league campaign is a big worry to holding him longer, especially as he is made of crisps.
DANNY INGS is a fixture play. Those first three fixtures are just too good to pass up on. I was on Watkins until his injury and the signing of Ings.
My original front two were Watkins and Calvert Lewin when the game launched. Both are injury flagged at time of writing and Calvert Lewin has played zero pre season minutes, so as good as Everton’s fixtures are, he is an avoid for me initially. I might regret that I know.
Jimenez is a striker I love, but I prefer to see him back on a football pitch after his horrific injury. If he looks good in the first three games, Wolves fixtures from GW4 are fantastic. It’s an inviting switch so Raul is on standby.
What can I say about IVAN TONEY. He is one the player in my team I don’t particularly want, don’t particularly fancy to score goals and sits there purely because a very high proportion of respected FPL managers think he is the best thing since sliced bread and want to have his babies. It feels like Mitrovic all over again. He scored for fun in the championship but it’s big boys football now. We have seen promoted strikers start well though. There is also something about being part of that first game party on Friday night. It would be an uncomfortable first night if he hauled. So I will be delighted to be proved wrong … as I own him !!!
I have seen managers playing Toney in a front two. That’s a lightweight strike force to me. I would play Ings and Antonio, or two other strikers from that range if it was two up top. The beauty of owning both Ings and Antonio is the ability to get quickly onto Wilson, Watkins, Ihenacho, Jimenez, Bamford, Calvert Lewin etc. Strikers hit scoring streaks and to be able to jump between them is always handy. Owning two at 7.5M / 8M permits that.
The only place you can jump from Toney is probably either in the canal or to Armstrong who is now an interesting “out” from the Toney train.
What about Kane & Lukaku ?
Harry Kane is the conundrum. If he stays at Spurs, I will probably stuck with Bruno and Salah as my two premiums. If he moves to City, he becomes must own territory. That would probably see me downgrading Bruno to Greenwood to retain some United attacking coverage and switching one of my 7.5M strikers to Kane. If I lose Toney instead that’s a 6.5M mid and no United attacking coverage which I don’t like. Any of the 7.5M mids are a good out from Bruno if I do upgrade one 7.5M or 8M striker to Kane and keep the other one for flexibility of jumping between all those strikers.
A few managers are starting with Kane, anticipating his City move, or with Vardy to create that route to Kane. I would be very surprised if Kane starts GW1. But for sure he will want to play so it’s not impossible. It’s cute planning of course and avoids a likely points hit to get him later. Some are looking at a three premium strategy of Salah Fernandes and Kane. Every time I try it, I just don’t like the balance. But obviously I see it’s merits. It will be interesting to see how the Kane thing plays out.
I won’t touch Lukaku initially. Chelsea have very touch fixtures after the opening game. If he comes out firing, he is a strong wildcard contender in GW7.
Wildcard planning:
It’s good to be flexible but I currently plan to Wildcard during the second international break. It’s cover for international injuries, there will be plenty price rises then to jump on early, and it coincides with Man City and Chelsea fixtures looking very attractive too.
I don’t think there is enough reliable data and form to wildcard before, although I can see the Kane move forcing a few hands.
My GW1 captain:
Do you need to ask ?? If you don’t captain Salah you will need a very big sofa to hide behind and that’s not my playing style. Don’t be too clever. It’s a long climb back when all your mini league rivals have the armband on him. As I write this he’s a big captain favourite in the FFGeek Captain Poll
And finally:
Good luck everyone, and remember, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Stay positive, and above all else, ENJOY IT.. football really does come home this weekend.
Rob Reid
Rob’s last 6 seasons overall ranks were 12k, 148k, 94k, 22k, 4k and 7k
Follow Rob on twitter here
See Rob’s earlier Youtube video on his team
GW1 Team
It’s here then! After what I reckon has been the longest ever pre-season following the very early launch of FPL back in June, we have finally arrived at the deadline for GW1. I’m not going to go too much into my GW1 strategy, but the first half of my YouTube video from last week and this week’s Podcast with Geek will give you some pointers and tips on that. As such, this article focuses purely on my GW1 line-up.
Locked-in Players
I’ll be honest, I’ve not actually made a huge number of drafts over pre-season. I waited until the Euros finished before starting to focus and I think I’ve only tweaked my team around 3 or maybe 4 times. But there are players who have been locked in all these drafts.
I’ve been fairly set on Bachmann and Foster as my goalkeeping pair from the off. I don’t really want to spend more than £8.5m on my goalkeeping pair as I really need the funds elsewhere and I think it’s a tight call between this pair and the Brighton 2 of Sanchez and Steele. Brighton probably come in with the better defensive prospects, but Watford did have a very lean defence in The Championship last season and I slightly favour The Hornets keeper for more save points. Another influencing factor is that I prefer Brighton’s 4.5m defenders to Watford’s and I didn’t want a double-up at this stage, so my favourite Seagull from last season Veltman is in for me in defence.
One of the first names in my squad when I started to tinker in earnest was Trent Alexander-Arnold and he’s not left my team since. He’s pricey for a defender at £7.5m but you get so much for that. I think Liverpool should rack up some clean sheets over the first few weeks (despite Robertson’s absence) and hopefully should add some attacking returns too. He’s joined in defence by Luke Shaw who I think is £0.5m under-priced at £5.5m. He’s another with great attacking prospects, hopefully he can carry his Euro 2020 form into the EPL from the off.
Mo Salah and Bruno Fernandes are 2 others who haven’t left my squad since I started out and they’re likely to be my go-to Captain options over the first few weeks. Mo will also be Captain in GW1 – I’ll be hoping for a repeat of the 40-point Captain haul he produced in GW1 last season! The other attacking player that’s not left my team has been Michail Antonio. He’s nicely priced at £7.5m and if he stays fit and finds form early, I think could represent great value.
The Budget Fillers
3 more players then on whom I’m fairly set. First up a £4.5m midfielder – Brownhill from Burnley is my choice here, though I also think Gilmour is a solid pick at this price. Then the rest of my cheap defenders. In the battle of the £4.0 defensive fillers I’ve opted for Amartey over Tsimikas though the latter is a good budget shout too. My decision was purely based on the fact that I already have Trent and Mo and that I didn’t want to block that 3rd Liverpool slot. Last up there’s £4.5m Ben White of Arsenal. I don’t really aim to use him until GW4, but he’ll provide likely gametime secure bench cover until then.
The Uncertainties
This is where it gets tricky then. 4 attacking slots to fill and I’ve got a pool of players I’m considering here. First up the 2 midfield slots and my Watchlist has been narrowed to 2 from: Son, Mahrez, Grealish, Barnes, Jota, Greenwood, Harrison and Raphinha. And then there’s the strikers – likely 2 from Wilson, Ings and Toney. There’s pros and cons to all these options and trying to find a perfect in budget combination for £29.0m always has a flaw.
My top midfielder from this set is definitely Son for a number of reasons, the main one being that he gives cover for Kane is he decides to stay at Spurs. The 2 big flaws with Son are his price and his GW1 fixture, though I did get the impression from The Community Shield that City might be going into the season a tad under-cooked. My top striker from the set is Danny Ings, mainly for those first 3 fixtures even if he is settling into a new team. The problem with picking these 2 is that it doesn’t leave me enough to fill the other 2 slots without having a second budget player so I’d effectively be committing to playing a 4-3-3.
What I’ve gone for therefore is a bit of a compromise which I hopefully think gives me a bit more balance. I’ve stuck with Ings and I’ve opted for Wilson over Toney who is more proven in the EPL. That leaves me 13.5m left for the other 2 midfielders and at present I’m sitting on the combination of Greenwood and Harrison. Please bear in mind though, this is not set in stone and could certainly change before the GW1 deadline! I’ll be posting my final, final confirmed team on Twitter before the Friday evening deadline so I’ll clear up any changes then.
Looking further forward, I always try to carry a transfer on GW2 to have 2 in GW3 but there is a certain Harry Kane that might force my hand here. If Kane signs for City before GW2, he’s a prime Captain candidate v Norwich. I would therefore be more than willing to take a -4 to find a way to work him in and give him the armband!
As for my plans for this season, I’ll be posting my team thoughts here every week as usual and I’m also hoping to supplement this with some YouTube videos through the season where time allows, so keep an eye out for those too. But for now, all the best for GW1 then folks and don’t worry if you don’t get off to flyer. The season is 38 weeks, stay patient and stick to your strategy!
Alon Shamir
Alon’s last 5 seasons overall ranks are 44k, 1k, 123k, 4k and 2k
As predicted, Robo’s injury persuaded me to go for Tsimikas. As a matter of fact, I would still prefer Jota for the third Liverpool spot but recent Liverpool Echo article suggested Jota might not even start in GW1, so I decided to go with the safer option and also hope Tsimikas would be good for a bit longer than 3 GWs.
So, the changes from my previous draft are:
Dias => Tsimikas
Jota => Greenwood
Raphinha => Barnes
White => Veltman
Tsimikas is amazing value obviously, as long as he plays. I don’t dislike the early wildcard option so even if it’s only for 3 GWs he should be a solid option for me.
Jota out was done with a very heavy heart. I hope to not beat myself after a haul on Saturday. Anyway, I contemplated a lot about his replacement. Mahrez, Gundogan, and Havertz were also leading candidates, but I decided to go with Greenwood as he should be nailed at least for 1 or 2 GWs and probably leading the attack (considering Cavani hasn’t returned to training as of now). This pick actually leaves me with an extra 1.5m itb (more to follow).
As mentioned in my previous article, Raphinha was far from nailed in my squad. I very happily upgraded him to Barnes with the spare money I got from downgrading Dias. I heard many reports on Barnes having a strong preseason and I think he is an explosive player with good opening fixtures. What else can you ask from a 7.0m player?
Veltman is the last change I have made. Not completely sure about it though. This 4.5m spot in defence is still to be decided.
As mentioned above, I left 1.5m itb. I don’t like leaving a lot of money itb since every $$ spent on a player is worth points, in theory, but my reasoning is that this amount might be spent in many different ways and I want another week or two of info to determine my way of action. I will probably use the money, however, to upgrade either Greenwood, Gilmour, or Obafemi.
Keith Spencer
Keith’s last 6 seasons overall ranks are 163k, 27k, 44k, 3k, 325th and 9k
Follow Keith on twitter here
Other posts
Attacking players fixture difficulty Schedule
Defensive players fixture difficulty schedule
An overview of Promoted Norwich City
The Youtube and Twitter template
Latest Contributor Drafts Part 1
Latest Contributor Drafts Part 2
Latest Contributor Drafts Part 3
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