Good afternoon FFUKers, Its time.
The Winter Shut down,
The World Cup in the Desert,
The Fake Fans,
The Expectation of Football Coming Home!
added to the above we have,
Brentford taking 3 points off City &
Ronaldo cutting ties with Utd.
Welcome to the GW16 Review – The End of the World as we know it!
The GW kicked off with the Bees making the trip to the Emptihad for the 1230 match, there was much anticipation amongst the FFUK and Twitter FPL community as to whether FPL towers had finally managed to sort out their servers!! A number of FFUK managers took the plunge with early shows “just in case”, with the City team news leaking early that the Norwegian Meat Shield would be starting.
No fewer than 170 of the FFUK league captained the main man, myself included, and in the traditional fashion of the early KO he ….BLANKED!!!! It’s the hope that kills you!! Toney (13), unceremoniously dropped by Gareth decided to remind the FPL and Footballing world just what the World Cup and England will be missing by bagging a brace against the meanest defence in the league, punishing the 1.4 million managers whom sold him before his City master class! Foden (9) scored for City having been brought back into the fold by the mercurial Pep, again punishing the 400,000 managers that sold him! KDB (2), rounded out a miserable early KO blanking for his 12 captain picks!
Special mention to Phil Redders, a truly brutal week to pull the trigger on the TC chip with Haaland (1), his lowest return of the season!
World serves it’s own needs, listen to your heart bleed
Team by team, reporters baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped
We had a real treat with no fewer than five 3pm KOs, I managed to take one in myself with my lad Luca, witnessing a shocking Everton side go through the motions at the Vitality. Pickford (2) was at fault for the first goal, an absolute clanger! Tavernier (14) was there yet again to pick up the pieces and slot home, adding an assist and 3BPS he has now grabbed 30 points in 2 matches, an incredible purple patch!
Pickford showed weak hands again for the second as Moore (6) smashed home his header taking out anything in his path, the man is a monster! The 3-0 rout was rounded out by Anthony (6) scoring after stepping off the bench, there were ugly scenes as the Everton players and fans clashed post-match, however the fans frustration was more than warranted based upon their 2 trips to the South Coast this week, resulting in 7 goals being conceded!
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
All eyes turned to Salah (2) at Anfield in the 3 o’clock as Liverpool took on Southampton, post Ralph Hasenhüttl’s sacking, with many “differential” managers rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of some massive gains to their OR! They too were left somewhat underwhelmed as the Egyptian Magician also managed to blank in a 3-1 win for the Reds.
Darwin (13) really turned heads with his MOTM performance, his economy has been fantastic when viewed through the prism of PP90, he could be a must have in the second part of the season, his price is never going to be this low again! Firmino (6) returned again for owners in what is quickly becoming his most prolific FPL season to date! The Adams (8) early equaliser also put paid to any Pool cleans sheet hopes, thank FFUK I jumped off of that trial!!
It’s not often the word ludicrous quite fits the bill, however the match over at the Tottenham stadium was just that, ludicrous!! a 4-3 win for Spurs having gone behind no less than 3 times in the game, proving they are doing their best to drop their own adjective, SPURSY! A late Bentancur (14) double sealing the points! The ever reliable and some would say, World Class, Kane (11) rewarded owners yet again with a goal and an assist in this thriller, having now returned in no less than 12 of the 15 GWs this season!
Rodrigo (13) will feel hard done by to have been on the losing side, however could his brace indicate a return to the early season form that made him the darling of the FPL community?
Arsenal continued their excellent form, guaranteeing Top Spot for Christmas, they are not only moving the ball with pace and purpose going forward, they have become solid and efficient at the back. Saliba (6) and Gabriel (5) look as good a pair as any in the Prem! Martinelli (6) signed off with yet another goal prior to heading off to meet up with his Brazil teammates. The new Vieira (6) also weighed in with a goal whilst Jesus (2) continues to do everything for the team but score, that’s 5 league games and counting without finding the net!
Up at St James the Magpies put Chelsea to the sword, another excellent performance from Eddies black and whites sees them occupying 3rd spot in the league at Christmas, something of a Christmas miracle. Potter continues to struggle to get a tune out of the blues, however surelllyyyy patience is required.
Unai Emry’s Villa continued to highlight Gerrards inadequacies with yet another win, this time dispatching an excellent Brighton side 2-1. A brace from a rejuvenated Danny Ings (13) earned him the plaudits on the day, MacAllister (9) continued his fine season with the Brighton opener after just 1 minute!
The Gameweek was rounded out at the cottage where Fulham came up against a Ronaldoless Utd. The points looked like they would be shared after Eriksen (13) opened the scoring only for it to be cancelled out by James (6). Manchester Utd’s new wonderkid however had different ideas, Garnacho (5) stepping off the bench and showing some signs of true brilliance before slotting home a delightful ball from Eriksen, leaving Leno helpless. This boy looks like he could be a bargain enabler at 4.3m as we move into the second half of the season!!
FFUK TOP 20
John Harper leads the way in the FFUK, breaking through the 1000 points barrier in the process, just in time for the season shut down! Congratulations!! Bask in your glory for a few weeks!!
Best GW score goes to …. Mark Woods with a fantastic 89 points, his Bench Boost chip overcoming the Haaland Cap fail!
Remember MOTM will cover both Nov and Dec due to the shutdown, currently Gavin Woods leads the way with 167 points!! All to play for!
As ever the CONTS continues to cause distress and agony as we approach the Nightmare at Christmas!! This weeks unlucky manager is …. Phil Smith scoring 27 points, another victim of the Haaland Cap! Take care FFUKer!!
Well all, its been a blast after GW1 I was contending with an OR 7.6m in the world, the all Pool backline an almighty failure!! As I write this today I have managed to climb 7.4m places which is definitely some kind of record in my FPL career, unwanted or not!!
I hope football ultimately wins over the next 7 weeks or so and wish you and yours all the best for the festive season, remember for those planning on heading out to Qatar for the football….
Six o’clock, TV hour, don’t get caught in foreign tower…
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it
And I feel fine
Roni Friel (Southbourne Celtic 26th)
FFUK 