Here’s our article where 3 FFGeek Contributors show their FPL teams GW31. There’s Rick Porter, Andrew Whitfield and Rob Reid
FPL Teams GW31 – 3 FFGeek Contributors 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. 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
Rick Porter
Rick’s last 4 seasons overall ranks were 29k, 1k, 30k and 2k.
GW30 points: 62 (FPL average 46) Total points: 2,037, Overall Rank: 1k, no rank movement, Team Value: £105.7m
Rick has used all his chips
I always felt that my bench might be needed this week considering the minutes some of my players saw over the break. I was right in that my most active players – Rudiger and Gundogan – didn’t make the pitch, but having both Son and Bale start on the bench was one curve ball too many.
I stuttered through with a relatively standard score thanks to a predictable captain pick and a modest spattering of goals and assists from Watkins, Raphinha and Fernandes. With both Lingard and Jota pulling in the big numbers for their slowly swelling ownership, in end I was thankful to tread water with the smallest of green arrows.
What Next?
It feels like a difficult point in the season. A large number of consistent players have revealed themselves and there’s an air of unpredictability around the biggest teams that somehow seems even muggier than usual. Wildcarders have an obvious advantage now, but there are tough calls to be made regardless of your situation.
Lots of players demand attention for different reasons and, as we hear all the time, you can’t have them all. I’m almost glad my Wildcard is gone so my choices are limited and I’m forced to rely on the tried and tested players I already have rather than be tempted into making mistakes and damaging the balance of my team.
Transfers
Speaking of doing damage, since bringing in Bale a couple of weeks ago, he’s cost me 0.2m in value and 2 FTs in exchange for 1 point. That’s got to be up there with the worst calls I’ve made this season. It’s tempting to double down on him with DGW32 just around the corner, but my decision to drag my heels on his transfer to Salah last week just added to ‘The Miserable Ballad of Bale’ and lost me 7 points. With Salah looking a decent captain pick this week, I’ll not be romancing the idea of holding Bale any longer. I have the exact money, so after the match on Tuesday night I’ll be bringing Salah back into the fold.
My other FT will be used later in the week when I know I don’t have more pressing issues. Where it’s best used is debatable, but I really need to free up the cash I have sitting in Pickford. He’s been parked on my bench since he delivered a very respectable 13 points on Bench Boost and a drop to Forster gains me 0.8m that I could really use over the coming weeks. McCarthy might return to ruin the fun, but Forster could potentially play a double at some point and can stand in for Martinez this week when he has a far easier fixture and isn’t up against my captain.
Captain
Assuming all goes to plan, I’ll be captaining Salah. Kane vice.
Transfer summary: Bale out Salah in and likely Pickford out Forster in
Here’s the team assuming those transfers are made
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew finished with an overall rank of 132k last season and 6k in 18/19 and 19k in 17/18
GW30 Points: 57 (FPL average 46) Total points: 1,985, Overall Rank: 14k, Red arrow 1k, Team Value: £106.6m
Andrew has used all of his Chips
Follow Andrew on twitter here
GW30 review
Well we had the highest number of goals since GW4, in an eventful week, as Pep stepped up his game of roulette and the strength of our benches was certainly tested.
Jota was the super sub hero as Liverpool can’t stop winning away despite losing six on the bounce at home. Jesse Lingard has turned into Messi Lingard !! Mo Salah and Ollie Watkins ended their goal droughts. Harry Kane punished those who dared to take him on with the armband. And that seemingly impregnable Chelsea defence we all want conceded five at home to West Brom !!
My GW30 score and rank:
57 points, in a frustrating week, with just four returners, captain Kane leading the way, with Bruno Fernandes, Raphinha and Watkins all chipping in.
My Man City trio were all Pepped, two of my three Spurs trio were benched too and my Leeds trio failed to catch fire against Sheff Utd, so no wonder it was a struggle !!
I was actually still on a green arrow though with one game to go, until a certain Mr Lingard turned my week from green to red. But no huge damage done, as is often the case in an underwhelming week with my high template protection game. Down from 13k to 14k, so still in good shape rank wise.
My GW30 talking points:
The tone for my gameweek was always likely to be set with my Leeds trio first up. To throw Bamford, Raphinha and Dallas at bottom club Sheff Utd and come out with only a solitary assist was very disappointing. Raphinha continues to look the best player on the pitch every match and could be a season keeper. Three very tough games now for Leeds who delight and frustrate in equal measures !!
My Man City trio fared even worse as all three failed to step off the bench !! Not that unexpected. Gundogan played three international games in the break and ahead of the Dortmund game. But I expected one of Stones or Cancelo to start. Seeing Dias starting virtually every game is frustrating, especially when I switched him to Stones on my GW25 wildcard. I am going to be reducing to one city defender but I wish that was just Dias. It could be more Pep carnage v Leeds, wedged between the two champions league legs, but it could also be a points bonanza if they all play v Leeds.
Continuing the triple theme, I benched Bale but rotation brought him into my side, and both Son and Bale scored one point each off the bench against one of the worst defences. At least King Harry repaid the popular armband pick. Not a great day for those gambling against the best striker playing probably the worst defence. Kane absolutely on fire now. I am pleased to have Son back. I thought he would start as he was my one transfer in for Auba this week. As for Bale, he is going this week. What a bad gamble that was bringing him in for the blank GW29 and thinking he could cover Son. The golf courses are now open.
It was left to Bruno Fernandes and Watkins to complete my returns. Watkins finally ended his seven game goal drought but Villa without Grealish still look dreadful. Plenty of striking options tempting me now !! A 0-0 for Shaw v sub Veltman would have been a huge one for me, but not to be.
Not getting the Salah 8 pointer was a blow. It was always my intention to show loyalty to Salah and just flip him to Auba for blank GW29 and bring him straight back. It was the injury to Son that scuppered the plan. I needed more players for the blank, I brought in Bale and Auba who proved a huge let down. It meant I needed Son back. I prioritised getting Son back v Newcastle over Salah v Arsenal. The Son injury cost me two vital transfers with the Bale failure. I am actually quite relieved that Salah didn’t bag a hat trick after I delayed his return by a week. He could have done. He looked very sharp. He is back in now for Villa, Leeds and Newcastle !!
Without the Son injury, Salah would be already in place, and my rolled transfer would have me a Chelsea defender already in place too. That blank gameweek and that Son injury, and my gamble on Bale has caused me a lot of problems, and points !!
So what next:
I have 3.3M in the bank and one free transfer.
It’s the easiest transfer of the season as I bring Salah in for Bale. I have enough margin for price changes to hold off until we get through the midweek European games, which surely makes sense. But I am set on bringing Mo back this week. That’s a definite.
I am going to be really up against it now with no chips left. The wildcarders in GW31 are going to be putting out shiny new teams. And the Kane triple captainers in double GW32 will be licking their lips. Not to mention GW33 free hitters when Spurs and Man City are amongst four teams who blank. It feels like I am managing my team blindfolded with my arms tied behind my back, with no chips left. But let’s give it a go !! I am in great shape rank wise and I would have snatched your hand off to be here with 8 weeks to go.
I currently have six players who blank in GW33. That will be five with the Bale to Salah transfer. I need to get that to a maximum of three by GW33 to have any chance of putting 11 players on the pitch. I might be forced into a points hit but I might also proactively choose to take one if not.
My current plan is:
GW31 – Bale to Salah
GW32 – Cancelo to Rudiger
GW33 – Gundogan to Jota
That would get me down to three blankers in GW33. I need a Chelsea defender in for a city one sooner rather than later. I really want Jota in to double him with Salah v Newcastle. I might bring in Jota in earlier v Leeds in GW32 once Gundogan has played Leeds in GW31.
I would like to get in Iheanacho for a delicious run of Leicester fixtures from GW32. That could be such a great run of fixtures to justify a hit for Watkins. I could bring in both Iheanacho and Jota for -4 in GW32 and then do the Cancelo to Chelsea defender in GW33. That’s quite a nice plan as it’s a fantastic entry point for Iheanacho and Jota in GW32.
My GW31 line up.
It’s a tough looking line up with Bamford and Raphinha lining up against my double Man City defence. But I wouldn’t bet against Leeds scoring. It’s a great fixture for city v Leeds if my City trio play. It could actually be a game that punishes the wildcarders going without City !!
I have a choice between benching Raphinha, Bamford or Watkins. I currently favour benching Ollie. It’s a tough choice.
Areola has the better clean sheet prospects v Wolves, than Martinez at Liverpool. Is it worth a gamble against the template and popular Villa defence ?
Captain is between Gundogan v Leeds with a rotation risk, or Salah v Villa, which I currently favour. The polls will be interesting.
Transfer summary: Likely Bale to Salah
Here is the team BEFORE changes, with Salah due to replace Bale.
Good luck everyone !!
Rob Reid
Rob’s last 5 seasons overall rank were 148k, 94k, 22k, 4k and 7k
GW30 Points: 70 (FPL average 46) Total points: 1,991, Overall Rank: 11k, green arrow: 5k Team Value: £107.2m
Rob has used all of his Chips
Follow Rob on twitter here
GW30 review
Another good gameweek thanks mainly to my premium players with a healthy dusting of good fortune from my bench. Harry Kane was the star of the show – 2 goals for a 26 point Captain haul. It could have been more as well, 7 shots and an xG of 2.17 show how hungry he is at the moment with his form probably the main reason why a stuttering Spurs side are still in with a shout of getting in the top 4.
It was also nice to see Liverpool and particularly Mo Salah back on form. Diogo Jota’s 2 goals of the bench are what stand out to everyone, but Mo definitely passed the eye test for me and on another day would have had a hat-trick. With his ownership now below 30% he’s almost become a bit of a differential – he could be key during the run-in. I’ll also be keeping an eye on a certain Alexander-Arnold as well, another with a point to prove.
My other returners were all amongst my midfielders. It was certainly a week to forget for defenders, with the games resembling the more open early weeks of the season rather than the stodgy, turgid arm-wrestles we’ve become accustomed to across the winter lockdown. This week’s big stroke of luck came courtesy of Pep.
Neither of my 2 City players started and stayed firmly rooted to the subs bench/chairs/general area or whatever it is called now (!) thus meaning that I got Lingard’s 12 pointer of my bench. Happy days! Ultimately this was the difference between a red arrow and the healthy green I came out with. I’ll certainly take that bit of good fortune. That 50/50 call of Lingard over Bale in GW29 has certainly worked out pretty well so far.
So unbelievably, I’m now up to the dizzy heights of 11k Overall Rank. This is proper nosebleed territory for me at this stage in the season – my previous top 10k finishes didn’t see my get close to the top 10k until the last 4 or 5 gameweeks. I am conscious though that I’ve really ridden my luck since my 2nd Wildcard and I’m at a disadvantage to many managers who still have chips to play. No room for complacency then as we head towards a pretty tough looking 3 week stretch.
GW31 team
2 free transfers and £3.0m in the bank.
So as I’ve just mentioned, these are dangerous weeks to negotiate. GW31 looks really tough on paper with the majority of my squad facing off against each other, a likely split on Captain choice and a number of managers probably utilising the advantage of playing their Wildcard. GW32 is a double gameweek for Spurs and at present I only have one Spurs asset in Harry Kane. GW33 is then a blank for City, Spurs, Fulham and Southampton and I currently have 4 players from these teams (Kane, Gundogan, Cancelo and Areola.) So I’ve got only 3 transfers over 2 weeks to firstly try and bolster my line-up for this week, secondly possibly work another Spurs asset in for GW32 and then thirdly possibly work that Spurs asset back out again to make sure I field some sort of line-up in GW33!
Looking at my squad, the Leeds players are targets for a Transfer Out this week as their fixtures turn tough for 3 weeks. My primary target for a long-term Transfer In is Jota so Raphinha to Jota looks an obvious move this week. My second transfer is one I’m still contemplating and I might find myself rolling this over again.
The other big problem this week is Captaincy. City vs Leeds and Palace vs Chelsea look the standout fixtures for a captaincy so it’s time to buy a ticket to either the Pep Roulette or the Tuchel Tombola if you’re going down this route. I don’t really fancy any Chelsea attacking assets for Captaincy – Tuchel is well, Tuchel in the selection stakes but aside from that there’s not a Chelsea attacker or midfielder who you’d be confident to trust with the armband. As for City, it’s impossible to say who’s going to start versus Leeds but looking at the starting line-up for the Dortmund game, I’d say Sterling, Jesus and Aguero are the ‘safest’ starters for Saturday’s game. Not helpful when probably the best Captain options are De Bruyne, Gundogan or possibly Mahrez. I guess that puts a one week punt on someone like Mahrez to bed.
So this leads me back to my current squad again to look at Captaincy options and the best here looks like Salah – maybe Geek’s poll will shed some more light on this later in the week. Villa at home is a tricky match – remember the reverse fixture anyone?! I think Liverpool will be gunning for this one as a result and will be desperate to reignite their home fires. As such, if I don’t make a second transfer I’ll probably put the armband on Mo. I’ve then got to decide on my bench. I’ll probably start Areola over Martinez due to his better fixture and I suspect my bench will end up being Bamford, Veltman and Konsa in that order with the likelihood I’ll need at some points from there again when Pep does his thing.
I’ll try and confirm my final line-up on twitter Friday lunchtime, but I’m working so I may not manage depending on how busy I am. I’m expecting some pain this week in terms of Overall Rank, but I’m hoping the ground I’ve made since my Wildcard a few weeks back gives me enough of a buffer for me to kick on to a good finish. It’s also going to be fun this week seeing all the Wildcards doing the rounds on social media and amongst the contributors. There’s been some lively discussion on our What’s App group already from the likes of Alex, Joe and Costas! I’m just waiting to see whether Geek decides to activate his on Friday afternoon – he was keeping very coy on this in his early team article I noticed!
So good luck for this week folks – I hope you enjoy the games and don’t forget it’s a Friday deadline.
transfer summary: Likely Raphinha out and Jota in
Here’s the team prior to any transfer being made
FFGeek Contributors League
The highlighted FFGeek contributors combined team finished with an overall rank of 52k last season is going ok in 6th place with total points of 1,970 and an overall rank of 23k. 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 20th place with total points of 1,808 and an overall rank of, 599k.
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