Welcome to the GW33 REVIEW – WHERE IS MY MIND?
We are in times of great uncertainty, throw in the added complexion of doubles and blanks on the horizon and this has done strange things to (some of) us. We had plans. They were all set in place. I had always planned to wield the WC for 32 or 33, deciding to put off the decision until last week to see if we could garner any fresh information that could affect the path trodden in the final few weeks. Sometimes too much information can be a problem. Overthinking is our curse but also our opportunity. So I pulled the trigger, pushed the button. Made sweeping changes. In fact I removed 13 of my squad and replaced them with new shiny double gameweek players ready to take on whatever the next few weeks throws at us. Oh and I got rid of the best scoring FPL player ever because he might miss a game. One game. My feet are in the air, my head is on the ground. WHERE IS MY MIND?
Tune-wise this was easy. and it’s thanks to the Pixies from their album Surfer Rosa for the wonderful WHERE IS MY MIND? I have been feeling uncertain for the last week or so. So much power at my fingertips brings so much responsibility. The most recent gameweek action has done nothing to quell these nerves. My WC was pretty much a disaster. 34 points. I could really have done without a weekend where we saw the lowest average of the season and Danny Welbeck (16) was the top scoring player. I also brought back in a player who was pretty much an unmitigated disaster last time in Andreas Christensen (0) who was of course dropped the moment I transferred him back in. The big boys (almost without exception) failed and that meant low scores were commonplace. Maybe this wasn’t the weekend to wildcard. Too late. No turning back now.
Elsewhere there were big scoring players around, just not in my team. Anyone who owned Eriksen (15), Pogba (14) or Azpi (11) did ok. In fact if you owned any of the GW33 dream team below you had a decent chance of a very respectable score. My WC did not contain any such successes. I did nearly go for Tottenham’s chief creator but in the end went for Alli (6) for some reason. WHERE IS MY MIND?
Perhaps the story of the weekend (on the pitch) came from the Etihad where at 2-0 at half time it looked like City were about to be crowned champions. Utd had other ideas and found a way to come back in the half via Sanchez (10) and Pogba (14) who turned the game around before Big Chris Smalling (7) got the winner. Can Spurs delay the celebrations again next week?
In terms of captaincy it was almost a two horse race between the 55 who went with Aubameyang (6) and the 50 FFUKers who chose Kane (1). The Arsenal man won the battle here despite Harry’s claims for a goal still going on. His protestations wont affect FPL however much certain FFUKers would like it to. The 32 who captained Salah (0) either weren’t up to date or have given up. The 12 FFUKers on Vardy (8) perhaps were the happiest of the lot though. Check out Statto Steve Cronin’s (87th) image below with all the captaincy stats. 2 x TC, 13 Wildcards and a bench boost were thrown down in anticipation as well.
In this toughest of weeks the FPL average was the lowest of the season at just 34 points. The FFUK average wasn’t much better at 35. FYI the season high was back in GW27 with 61 points. Moving swiftly on to the top 50 in the FFUK league
FFUK TOP 50 AFTER GW33
Once again no change at the top of the table as our fearless leader Jamie Stewart (1st) continues his assault on the prizes. Can anyone stop him? Even Dan McBrearty (2nd) slipped back this week with just 26 scored (joint 2nd worst in top 50) but it’s about to get very interesting in the upper echelons as the chips come into play. John Harper (3rd) and James Amar (4th) complete the illustrious top 4.
Sean Colohan (5th) makes his move up the table after scoring a more than impressive 59 points, which was in fact the top score in the top 50. Conversely Guv Singh-Khalon (38th) was the top 50 low scorer with only 22 points on the board.
In fact the only FFUKer who could improve on Cooler’s score was down in the grassroots of the league. Clifford Fox (178th) top scored with 61 points on board. Looking closer and it gets interesting. Captain Walcott (3 x 2) needed help from Azpi (11), Eriksen (15), Milivetc. (10) and Pickford (10). Well played Cliff (if you are reading!)
It was also a good week for Stu Allen (49th) who returns to the first page on the back of a very solid 51 points. Captain Aubameyang (6 x 2) was a decent start. Vardy (8) and Milivetc (10) made it even better. Is there time for a run to the top Stu?
While most of us suffered there were some heroes who could hold their heads high and didn’t lose their mind, check out the 4 best risers:
- Vincent Kibler (57th) rose 19 places with 58 points
- Stu Allen (49th) rose 19 places with 51 points
- Jim Whitley (100th) rose 13 places with 46 points
- Sam Parker (119th) rose 13 places with 54 points
Now lets see who really lost their minds, these 4 zeroes fell further than any other FFUKer. Interestingly (or maybe not) these all fell exactly 12 places.
- Neil Freeland (149th) scored just 17 points
- Glenn Johnson (117th) after scoring 19 points
- James Macnamara (129th) with just 22 points
- Paul Vincent (106th) scored just 17 points
One man who’s mind must be completely lost is Max Walker (216th) who low scored this week with 11 points.
With the tension turned up to 11 recently in this mini-league you could be forgiven for thinking this couldn’t continue. However the brutality shows no sign of slowing down. Sam Blake (18th) even wielded his wildcard in preparation for what could happen. Whallop! Perhaps what let him down most was his faith in Harry Kane (1) as captain. It certainly didn’t go to plan and he ended up with a paltry 27 points and as such becomes this week’s evictee. Unlucky Blakey but if it’s any consolation you have made my wildcard side look slightly less useless. Isla’s invincibles were not so Daron Russell (41st) survives with just 31 points scored. Reminder: the top 3 win prizes… 1st receives £100, 2nd gets £60 and 3rd gets gets £30. DGW34 will see the tension turned up once again, which of the 5 below will be next to go? Check in next week to find out! For a reminder of all the rules of this league check out the FFUK – THE CONTS post.
So that is it for another week, thanks as always for reading, otherwise this would be a ffuking pointless exercise. Before I go a quick reminder about the FFUK END OF SEASON DO. My credit card has now confirmed the booking and we are taking deposits from the 13 who have confirmed so far. Check out the latest team news below, we still have a subs bench to fill!
Yes we do have space for more FFUKers, plenty more. So if you fancy joining us we would love to see you, please remember many of us have never met before (even though it feels like it sometimes) so come down and MEET THE FFUKers on Saturday 26th May. Let us know if you can attend and I can send you deposit details.
Oh and finally, good luck for the impending double gameweek!
Cheers
Chris
FFUK 