Fantasy Football Scout community writer Greyhead analyses the Gameweek 31 transfers and strategies of some well-known Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
‘The Great and The Good’ this season are the FPL Godfather Mark Sutherns, the BlackBox pair of Az and Andy North, Scouts FPL General, Joe and Tom, the FPL Wire trio of Pras, Lateriser and Zophar, FPL celebrities FPL Harry, Martin Baker, Pingreen, FPL Frasier and Luke Williams, Hall of Famers Ben Crellin, Fabio Borges and Tom Dollimore, and last year’s mini-league winner Huss E.
“Half-term hiatus”
Three weeks! Three weeks without FPL! Yes, Gameweek 31’s climax marked the start of a half-term break of sorts for the FPL Community.
The blank arrived and, for bad planners, this meant half of their squad ended up vanishing. No Manchester City, Arsenal or Crystal Palace left managers staring at their lineups, like parents who’ve just realised they’ve got to entertain their kids for several weeks.
Mohamed Salah’s (£14.0m) absence made things a little more difficult for those planning to bring him in for Erling Haaland (£14.5m). So, with many Wildcarding in Gameweek 32, there was suddenly a random obsession over Fulham assets, Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) and Malick Thiaw (£5.1m), although the latter duo soon became substitute villains.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
With so many teams blanking, squads looked like they’d been hastily packed five minutes beforehand. Unsurprisingly, scores across The Great and The Good were therefore tightly bunched, with the cliché about it being a good week to have a bad week locked and loaded.
Luke Williams was the kid who actually brought everything he needed. His double act of IIiman Ndiaye (£6.2m) and Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) delivering hauls that, in this case, felt like winning a gold star from your teacher.
Hot on his heels was Tom Freeman’s very respectable 68 points. He had Gordon, plus the clever differential of Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.4m). One of those picks that makes you look like you knew exactly what you were doing.
But, of course, it wouldn’t be a half-term trip without someone falling over spectacularly, and that Gameweek 31 honour goes to James Hill (£4.2m).
Tom would have been even closer to the top if it weren’t for the Bournemouth defender’s own goal and negative score. In fact, six other Great and Good managers also owned him, turning it into a full-blown group mishap. Misery really does love company.
TRANSFERS
Gameweek 31 saw the elite loosen up slightly, as there was loads of movement. Not your usual careful transfers, but one-week punts that suggest a massive Wildcard session is coming for Gameweek 32.
One of the biggest trends was Harry Wilson (£6.1m), with a third of managers buying him like he was the last pack of snacks before a long car journey. Alongside him, the Newcastle pair Gordon and Thiaw were also popular, though Tom was the only one to purchase Gibbs-White.
To make room for all this impulsive shopping, some big names were ruthlessly dumped from Arsenal and Man City. No fixture? No problem. Straight in the bin. Although some did at least think about team value, keeping Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.2m) intact.
Az was the only manager to take a four-point hit, bringing in Wilson and Lewis Hall (£5.4m) in a move that had strong “we’ve already come this far, might as well fully commit” energy.
‘THE GREAT AND THE GOOD’ TEMPLATE
Compared to last week, Declan Rice (£7.3m) was shipped out, while Wilson and Thiaw burst into the template like kids running into a soft play centre. Jurrien Timber (£6.3m) also disappeared.
Interestingly, Haaland now drops to 61.1% ownership – will he regain his place in post-Wildcard squads?
Dubravka (83.3%), Raya (50.0%)
Gabriel (88.9%), Virgil (77.8%), Andersen (72.2%), Hill (38.9%), Thiaw (27.8%)
Fernandes (100.0%), Wilson (72.2%), Mbeumo (44.4%), Dango (44.4%), Rogers (38.9%)
Thiago (100.0%), Ekitike (66.7%) Haaland (61.1%)
SEASON STATS
Next, a quick look at the season stats before we gleefully wave off FPL for 19 days.
Joe Lepper can comfort himself over an uncharacteristically slow season, as he tops the captaincy charts. Mark Sutherns is saving up all his pennies for the half-term break, and Martin Baker remains the bully boy when it comes to transfers, having taken four hits.
CONCLUSION
So, it’s time to detox and forget about FPL for a while. Wildcards will be activated, but it might be worth waiting until after the FA Cup quarter-finals, as you never know what the FPL Gods have in store for us.
Anyway, that’s all from me for now, and remember: don’t have FPL nightmares.
For those affected by any of the topics raised above, you can find me here on Twitter or BlueSky.
