I don’t know why I have a sudden burst of The Shamen in my head. Mr C is going ‘naughty, naughty, very naughty’.
I do know why. The reason is that I’m on my wildcard this week and yet I’m putting in x2 injured players.
Why?
A quick note on why I wildcarded GW32 (this is assuming some sort of planning for the double gameweek in GW34 is a given).
I wildcarded because I was really frustrated after the last gameweek. There it is. That is the main reason.
Other than that I can blame Butland’s injury but that was really just luck. I transferred him out a week before he got injured, (though it would have probably forced my hand if I did still have him).
Then there has been the extra time I have had to plan and tinker. Trust me this is essential, (hahaha, yeah right). But in all honesty I planned to wildcard this week for ages, I knew there was an international break and it could give me time, I did think there would be far more price fluctuations and I could catch those waves too but other than me no one has been making transfers it seems (until today), so the best I’ve done is a price decrease for DANN!
Setting up for Palace v Everton became a factor. Chris will be laughing at me now for filling up with players from these teams. But, one ace in my pocket is that I now have the option to Triple Captain Lukaku in GW33 and then Bench Boost in GW34 (which I wouldn’t be able to do if wildcarding in either of those weeks).
So would I prefer Alderweireld for x2 games or Scott Dann for x4 games (for the same price)? I’m taking my chances with DANN!
Another tenuous excuse is player values, I’ve got the likes of Dann, Bolasie, Lukaku, Payet etc in as cheap as they are now, if all these players go up 0.1, 0.2 in the next two weeks then I may have had a million or so less budget to play with.
That wasn’t quick was it.
Anyway, this is what I’ve settled on:
Right so, as you will see I have Cech and Robles, making a double Arsenal defence with Bellerin, and I’m keeping Azpilicueta and Simpson (for now). Dann and Sakho on my bench are double gameweekers and bench boosters.
Ozil made the cut over Sanchez for consistency over inconsistency, lower risk but lower ceiling, that’s fine. Payet is just essential plus he has a double gameweek (or 2). Firmino is the player I’ve wanted most all season that haven’t had, I nearly put in Coutinho because Firmino isn’t fit but then I remembered I’m not putting him in for this week, I’m putting him in for 2 weeks time, so I went back to Firmy (that’s what I call him). Bolasie is effectively a bench punt. I’ll be playing him in GW33 and then GW34 dependent on form. Yes, Palace do have United and Arsenal in GW34 but anything can happen.
Mahrez. Well, it’s just not worth going without him. He’s great.
Lukaku I had already brought in and considering Everton have x3 double gameweeks is beyond essential as far as I’m concerned. Some people have questioned keeping Aguero, but he has a double gameweek in GW34 and is a better player than Kane when both are on form. If City have KDB and Nasri back now I’ll be interested to see if their attacking from improves over the next few weeks.
And then there’s Mitrovic. I have seen many wildcard teams with Kane in. It’s possible, but not if you want to take maximum benefit from the dgw. If I’d kept my original team I would have players like Vardy, Toby, Siggy, Eriksen, VVD, Butland, these are all players that sound decent but I bought all of them at lower prices than they are now. The difficulty is that Leicester and Spurs aren’t playing in the DGW and prior to last week I had 6 players from Leicester and Spurs. Of course I could take the approach of keeping all my quality players that are only playing x1 game in GW34 but that would mean putting in loads of cheap players or players with debatable form.
So when taking out Vardy or Kane for a player with a chance of double points in two weeks time, the choices are slim. Duncan Hannigan recommended Sturridge, and Sam Blake tonight suggested Rooney. Paul Baker was asking whether anyone was bringing KDB back which I could easily do (and bring in a cheap 3rd forward). KDB for Kane wouldn’t be a bad trade off considering KDB is likely to play x2 games in GW34. I’ve adjusted my plans in the last few days so that I can get any of the above in (requiring a hit). Conversely if my plans work well I’ll be sticking with one of my Palace players for their second double (they double in GW33 and GW34), or with my two free transfers before GW34 I can use one to switch Azpilicueta out. That’s assuming Mitrovic does what he’s been promising to do all season and get some serious points for me.
There is a young boy at my work that makes this gesture. It’s highly offensive and I don’t really get it.
The flaws
Well the major flaw is that everything I’ve planned for, is relevant to two weeks time, not to now. Or at least, it’s relevant to two weeks time and to now, but not one and not the other, completely. It’s for this reason that I’ve left Cech in, even though he may not play tomorrow, in the hope he plays, as that’s who I wanted for two weeks time, so why restructure my whole team, this week, for two weeks time? It’s confusing isn’t it. In the end I’ve just given up. Balls of steel, head of spaghetti. No, I don’t have Kane any more but don’t worry, I have persuaded myself that Dann is not only viable, but a good option. Sakho? It’s like he’s been in my team forever! I love Joel. No. Bolasie is about to hit form. No. I’ve lost it. I’ve lost the plot.
In all seriousness I will have two transfers to tinker with between now and the double gameweek and I’ve started praying too. I’m hoping the combo will work.
For anyone who wants an in depth analysis on my team, any of the players that are in, or are not in my team, anything relating to chips, the double gameweeks or anything else fantasy football related feel free to send in your thoughts. I may not help that much but I assure you I will put serious time into it.
FFUK 