Here’s part 1 of our FPL teams GW2 article where 4 FFGeek Contributors show their teams. There’s Andrew Whitfield, Kev in Canada, Stephen Troop and Keith Spencer. Between them they have 10 top 1% finishes in the last 3 competitive seasons.
FPL Teams GW2 – 4 FFGeek Contributors With Their Teams Part 1
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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 and I can’t guarantee that a manager will be able to post each week. 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.
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew’s last 4 seasons overall ranks were 34k, 132k, 6k and 19k
GW1 Points: 100 (FPL average 69) Total points: 100, Overall Rank: 377k, arrow: na Team Value: £100.0m
My gameweek one review:
Well we’re up and running and with plenty of drama in the opening gameweek too !! Champions Man City beaten, neighbours United thump Leeds 5-1, Brentford topple poor Arsenal, fellow newcomers Watford win too, Pogba bags four assists, with Bruno and Mo doing what they always do !!
A strong start for the popular players from the “twitter template “ with plenty of people immediately joining the “100 club” in a gameweek that saw 34 goals, including 7 home wins in front of exuberant returning home fans.
It was back to five concurrent Saturday 3pm games. I enjoyed last seasons staggered gameweeks and being able to watch every game. But in watching so many games, football became life itself, which is not healthy sometimes when life is so precious and we have family and friends and loved ones and other priorities. FPL is just a game after all.
Last season, there were multiple staggered games where we didn’t own players and had to “suffer” behind the sofa each game. On Saturday, I had no Everton or Leicester players, but instead of watching several games of football through my hands every time Calvert Lewin and Harvey Barnes touched the ball, I could switch my phone off and enjoy my live action at Barnsley, and then see at full time that they only scored once between them which was offset by my own players scoring points. That’s got to be better for your mental health than death by a thousand scratches.
My GW1 score and rank:
I was delighted to open up with 100 points. 7/11 “returners”, led by captain Salah ( 34), Bruno (20) and Antonio (13), with Ings , Greenwood, Trent and Tsimikas all amongst the points.
Any individual gameweek rank inside 1M will usually bring with it a “green arrow “, whatever your rank position, so a gameweek and overall rank of 377k which puts me in the top 6% of teams already is a very solid start.
My GW1 talking points:
Fernandes and Salah immediately punished those who dared to take them on, proving yet again that you need to pick your battles carefully. There are many minor battles you can win instead. Two proven FPL diamonds. A stunning hat trick from Bruno almost matched by a lively looking Salah. A bloody nose for the “Bru No” brigade.
What a drama filled second half for Antonio. He headed against the post and missed the penalty resulting from the same move, but still walked off with two assists and a tremendous goal, justifying his pick as a deadly striking predator. Westham look like a fun side to invest in again this season. Very well played if you punted on Benrahma.
His strike partner in my team, Danny Ings, needed a 97th minute penalty to get off the mark. So a fortunate outcome as Villa folded at Watford. Two delicious home fixtures now v Newcastle and Brentford holds much promise before the fixtures toughen. Ings could then give way in GW4, with Calvert-Lewin and Jimenez in particular on fantastic fixtures.
It was a tough call between Jota and Tsimikas for that 3rd Liverpool slot. I backtracked on the final day in favour of the Greek full back who showed plenty of encouraging attacking threat and was crucially on corners too, which is great news for a 4M Liverpool defender with great fixtures. A handy clean sheet double up with Trent. Both look very capable of returns at both ends. No need to rush Robertson back just yet.
If I had gone Jota, it would have been Coufal in defence, who blanked. Instead I went Greenwood and Tsimikas, so that brought an immediate points gain, with Greenwood matching Jota’s goal and looking very sharp. Plenty of attacking options for United when cavani and Sancho return but it’s Greenwood’s shirt to lose.
I still have Coufal in my squad. He can play GW3 v Palace when Tsimikas plays Chelsea, and I intend to play Coufal in a set and forget back three when Tsimikas inevitably gives way to Robertson when “Robbo” returns from injury.
The sacrifice to keep Coufal was Raphinha over Barnes. Both blanked. Raphinha had one great chance to score. He is certainly going to play more minutes than Barnes, even if he is less explosive . I fancy Raphinha to return in the next two games and I see him as a good long term pick.
Blanks too for Toney and Shaw but Brentford offered plenty encouragement that they can score goals, and Luke Shaw could easily have walked away with an attacking return. He looks like doing that every time he steps on the pitch. My Sanchez v Bachmann pick also ended all square, but I am encouraged that 19 of the 20 FPL managers that I follow closely are all on the Brighton keeper.
So what next:
*** I am drafting this on Tuesday, so bear in mind that things can change quickly ***
Unless anything comes out of the woodwork before the weekend, I will be rolling my transfer. I am very happy with my current squad and see no reason to change it.
I see lots of people making moves, chasing last weeks points which have been and gone. They are irrelevant. You can’t have the Pogba or Benrahma points now. Remember you deliberated long and hard for weeks to choose your GW1 players and for very good reason. Has one games evidence changed all that ? “Last game bias” is dangerous.
If you jump from Raphinha or Barnes to Benrahma, are you going to reverse the move when Raph or Harvey score twice this week ? Are you really selling Mahrez ahead of Norwich at home to buy Pogba who has never been a reliable FPL player ?
Patience is key. It’s a very good habit to get into to roll the transfer and have two transfers every two weeks if you can. It’s a very powerful position to be in, holding those two frees !!!
The Harry Kane situation I am watching closely. If he does end up at Man City, it will certainly present its challenges. Selling Bruno or Salah to get him would take a strong stomach after how gameweek one unfolded. It seems unlikely Kane will be in place to start this weekend anyway, as I pen these notes midweek, but things change quickly . Kane at City is a headache for sure.
Man City v Norwich is certainly the “sofa hiding” game this weekend. My only route to a city attacker was Greenwood to Gundogan this week, but with how sharp Greenwood looked v Leeds, and Gundogan having injury concerns, that’s blocked off that potential switch. It looks like I need the likes of Grealish and Mahrez and De Bruyne to fire blanks. That’s a big ask. It could be a very tough watch.
My GW2 set up:
Captain is likely to be Salah again v Burnley. I prefer him to Fernandes.
The fixtures look strong this weekend. Ings at home to Newcastle, Antonio at home to Leicester, Toney plays Palace, Raphinha at home to Everton all carry promise of points. Then my Liverpool trio line up v Burnley, and my Man Utd trio line up v Southampton.
Transfer summary:
Likely to roll the transfer.
And finally:
If you didn’t make the start you were looking for, remember it’s a marathon not a sprint, stay patient. Don’t make panic knee jerk moves. It’s a long season. This could be your week to shine !!!
Here’s Andrew’s team assuming no transfers are made
Kev in Canada
Kev’s last 3 seasons overall ranks were 52k, 48k and 6k
GW1 Points: 101 (FPL average 69) Total points: 101, Overall Rank: 316k, arrow: na Team Value: £100.0m
Follow Kev on twitter here
No changes from me this week. Same team, same captain, same… score? Hopefully!
I will monitor Veltman’s isolation situation but unless he actually caught Covid, I will likely keep him.
Transfer summary: Carrying over the free transfer
Here’s the team assuming no transfer is made
Stephen Troop
Stephens last 5 seasons ORs were 22k, 86k, 43k, 52k & 64k
GW1 Points: 102 (FPL average 69) Total points: 102, Overall Rank: 253k, arrow: na Team Value: £100.0m
Follow Stephen on twitter here
It was a crazy start to the FPL season with so many popular players returning decent scores, and a very high average score. It went well for me with 7 returners and differentials Greenwood and Sarr returning. The only dampener was starting Coufal over Tsimikas.
GW2 Preview
Team is in good shape for GW2, and I like to roll transfers where possible, particularly at the start of the season given we have only 1 GW’s worth of information. So barring injury later in the week I’ll be holding. Could very easily go from a crazy GW1 to a damp squib GW2. Two players definitely on my radar are Son and Benrahma.
I have no City coverage for their home game vs Norwich but I’m going to just have to take that on the chin.
Captain will be Mo again. He just edges it over Bruno Fernandes for me due to the Home fixture. I’ll be starting Tsimikas over Coufal due to the better fixture.
Good luck all
Transfer summary: Carrying over the free transfer
Here’s the team assuming no transfers are made:
Keith Spencer
Keith’s last 6 seasons overall ranks are 163k, 27k, 44k, 3k, 325th and 9k
GW1 Points: 108 (FPL average 69) Total points: 108, Overall Rank: 79k, arrow: na Team Value: £100.0m
Follow Keith on twitter here
Transfer summary: Shaw in for Rudiger out
Here’s the team with transfer made:
The FFGeek Contributors League
The highlighted FFGeek contributors combined team finished with an overall rank of 8k last season and 52k the season before. It started ok in 6th place with total points of 101 and an overall rank of 316k. You can follow that team, including live transfers, on our subscription Patreon site.
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