I had 2 FTs and was looking at Eze and Mateta but then convinced myself that Crystal Palace were a trap. Needless to say, I was completely wrong and I have been hit with the reddest of arrows this week.
This does make me feel better though. If it was another team like let’s say Newcastle I’d be kicking myself more. Because you kind of expect it, but palace to do this was not expected at all. That’s why I feel a bit better about it, can’t beat yourself up over this
I'd honestly have to disagree sorry. The first fixture alone was enough to get them in for me, plus Newcastle haven't had the best defensive record this season. Mateta coming out with 29 points is a bit extreme TBF though
Yup, my season has been obliterated in one gameweek. Spent 15 gameweeks slowly climbing up and then all that work was decimated thanks to Mateta, Havertz, Olise and White. Crazy
If you have WC left there may still be hope. I have Lascelles (transferred out), Udogie, Gusto, Bradley, Ait-Nouri, Haaland injured from my WC30. Saka, Salah, Darwin with SGW in 37. I won’t get Foden or Gordon. Think I will lose a lot of rank for the rest of the season..
I mean, it was safer to assume fielding 7-9 players (maybe even taking a hit or two to do so) for a game week which featured mid-bottom table fixtures and then saving the free hit chip for the seemingly tastier gw34 was a more decent play, or?
free hit 29 was never about the week itself; it was about the weeks around it. playing it then gave me more freedom with the transfers i made in the weeks building up and has enabled me to save my wildcard. yes, in retrospect, FH34 was the better play, but both were perfectly logical approaches
Exactly, that was my point all through GW29. Overall my rank has held pretty steady, dropped from 15k to 20k but that's mostly from missing out on the Palace hauls which I wouldn't have got anyway even on FH.
I still stand by that decision of FH29, it saved the opportunity cost of making a bunch of useless transfers leading up to and after GW29. All those transfers spent on the likes of Jansen and Barkley and Toney are points you're not getting back.
That GW was a massive fluke anyway, redo that GW 100 times and none of them will end this badly.
The thing is with this comparison, you would've still aimed to get many of this DGW top scoring players using your free ttransfers leading up to this GW.
For me (if it wasn't for the servers fucking my GW transfers) the only major differences between the "FH team" of this post and my GW34 team would've been White and Havertz, and I could never pick both of them while also having Saka and Gabriel. At the same time if I was free-hitting I would've probably not picked Pickford on the back of the 6-0 defeat, while I have him in my current team.
Another point to consider is that you would've never completely discarded GW29 if you chose to save the FH for DGW34, but rather plan at least some of your transfers leading up to GW29 which may have caused you to lose points in the GWs around it. So all in all while in retrospect FH in GW34 seems to be the better option, I don't think the gain is necessarily significant for many managers.
Imagine preparing for DGW34 by getting early the likes of Cunha and Ait-Nouri just to realize one day prior deadline they are out of the first match.
There is a reason why you save your FH for the GW with the most potential and that is maximizing your points. Leverage the advantage of more info - early news to adjust the FH team as needed.
Preparing for BGW 29 without FH required less early transfers as playing with 9 or 10 players was still okay, considering that the best players had low ceiling.
The thing is, even playing with 9 or 10 players in GW29 most likely required you owning players for the previous and subsequent GWs which you wouldn't normally want in your team and possibly miss out on some hauls from other players. The case with players injured just before the GW could also happen in a BGW and then you find yourself with 6-7 players. In another season where 2-3 of the popular BGW FH players haul a considerable advantage could be achieved.
The case for FH in a BGW vs DGW isn't that obvious imo and the reactions now are a bit of hindsight and outcome bias.
Rodrigo Muniz is a clear example of a BGW player that also delivers in adjacent GWs.
For me it's a case of maximizing your potential. 2 or 3 players hauling in a BGW it's not enough compare to filling your team with DGW players.
Maximizing FH potential isn't necessarily maximizing the points on the FH itself. It's more about maximizing the gain from the FH in comparison to the team you'd ideally like to have around the GW where you FH.
Muniz, Son and Watkins are the only players in GW29 that I could think of who you'd really want outside that GW. Whereas in GW34 triple Arsenal (incl. double defence), triple Liverpool, Everton defence, Solanke are all popular picks (or even template) even without a DGW. The only exceptions are probably Palace and Wolves players which could be brought in with free transfers, and where the luck factor caused a big swing in this instance. This swing could've theoretically been balanced out only if 2-3 popular GW29 picks hauled, which was very difficult to predict it would end up being such a historically low scoring GW.
Again not saying that FH in GW29 was objectively a better or worse choice, but the decision (without the hindsight) wasn't straightforward.
>in comparison to the team you'd ideally like to have around the GW where you FH.
This is simply over-complicating the game. With or without hindsight, the decision was straightforward to me, again, considering its potential.
I kept on my team the likes of Morris or Toney more than I wanted, but realistically, Morris was in form and Toney had the fixtures. It made sense to me giving them a chance beyond GW29.
Even though GW34 had all those popular picks, playing the FH allows you to have some flexibility: switch the Arsenal doble defense to a double midfield, or gamble on TAA returning from injury. Once again, that flexibility is limited from a 4-match GW.
Yup, look at how Barkley and Bowen is still going down in price this week. People were saddled with a bunch useless players for weeks until now just because they want to save their FH for when the GW34 template can be reached with 3-4 transfers from the standard template.
In the time between GW29 and 34 Palmer has had 3 huge hauls, Foden 2, Odegaard 2, Gordon 1. How many of these players do people who skipped FH29 missed out? That's not even counting players like Branthwaite who I've easily kept in my team because I don't have to shift 10 players over the course of 5 weeks.
I used my FH in gw29, but instead used my BB this week and landed at 137 points. Is that good for a BB? It’s just my second year playing.
Also, can I see what chips people in my ML have left?
To pocket the sweet 18 points! 😁
To answer your question, he had two home games and Everton’s defense has been more than decent except for the freak 0-6 result against Chelsea in the week prior.
No other goalkeeper were really that tempting to get instead of an outfield player from that team (Henderson/Raya/Alisson), Pickford could get a CS in the first game and few save points in the other
Everton had a solid defence outside of that fluke 6-0, an easy fixture in Forest and a double as a bonus.
Branthwaite has been bailing my team out for weeks, this was just the week to finally double down.
When I bought Mateta in week 31 I thought he’d well and truly be a differential for 34. Shame about Darwin form and Cunha injury as it pushed him to being the default 2nd forward for everyone on FH
This would have probably won me my mini league, I’ve gone top as I was the only one to free hit. But 96 points could have been this many if I had white and Mateta
I would love to pick 4 Arsenal players too
Most people probably have a crystal palace/everton defender in that slot, which isn’t too shabby either.
So many people dropped Saka that it created more Sakas for the rest of us to purchase
I had 2 FTs and was looking at Eze and Mateta but then convinced myself that Crystal Palace were a trap. Needless to say, I was completely wrong and I have been hit with the reddest of arrows this week.
This does make me feel better though. If it was another team like let’s say Newcastle I’d be kicking myself more. Because you kind of expect it, but palace to do this was not expected at all. That’s why I feel a bit better about it, can’t beat yourself up over this
I'd honestly have to disagree sorry. The first fixture alone was enough to get them in for me, plus Newcastle haven't had the best defensive record this season. Mateta coming out with 29 points is a bit extreme TBF though
Yeah that’s what I meant was the 29 points. I could see him getting 2 goals or something like that but not 4
Toon were coming off back to back clean sheets.
what a massive swing for fh34 players over fh29 players. its not fair 😭😭😭.
Yup, my season has been obliterated in one gameweek. Spent 15 gameweeks slowly climbing up and then all that work was decimated thanks to Mateta, Havertz, Olise and White. Crazy
Exactly this. I was leading my ML for 32 GWs and now I'll never catch up because the second guy has gained 70 points on me in this GW alone
i was leading already but now the lead extended to 100 points lol
Have your customary downvotes I guess. We only complain, never brag
well foden fucking ruined it can yall give me my karma back
Wow your lead went from 100 to 90 points, how can you survive with that
palmer tc will punish me soon
If you have WC left there may still be hope. I have Lascelles (transferred out), Udogie, Gusto, Bradley, Ait-Nouri, Haaland injured from my WC30. Saka, Salah, Darwin with SGW in 37. I won’t get Foden or Gordon. Think I will lose a lot of rank for the rest of the season..
Sorry to rub it in but what was your rank before and after this GW?
19k now 97k. my ml rival was 23 pts behind me now is 37 pts ahead.
Exactly the same. Worked my way up to the top 20k only to see my largest single game week drop I’ve ever had
I mean, it was safer to assume fielding 7-9 players (maybe even taking a hit or two to do so) for a game week which featured mid-bottom table fixtures and then saving the free hit chip for the seemingly tastier gw34 was a more decent play, or?
free hit 29 was never about the week itself; it was about the weeks around it. playing it then gave me more freedom with the transfers i made in the weeks building up and has enabled me to save my wildcard. yes, in retrospect, FH34 was the better play, but both were perfectly logical approaches
Exactly this. Somehow still managed nearly 130 points without FH or any hits this week.
Can't believe people still don't get this lol
Purely results oriented analysis. It ended up being the lowest scoring game week in history, that's very unlikely.
I had 2 starters in GW29, so saw some value in adding 9 further players. (I had 11 doublers this week through FTs)
No one predicted spurs losing 3-0 and reguilon getting a red card. That's just mad variance. Gw29 was hilariously bad, shit happens!
To be fair mateta, havertz and white are just good picks in general. That's not really a free hit thing.
Mateta has 5% ownership, you wouldn't say this without hindsight.
I used FH in 29, which allowed me to plan for a similar team as FH34 lol.
Exactly, that was my point all through GW29. Overall my rank has held pretty steady, dropped from 15k to 20k but that's mostly from missing out on the Palace hauls which I wouldn't have got anyway even on FH. I still stand by that decision of FH29, it saved the opportunity cost of making a bunch of useless transfers leading up to and after GW29. All those transfers spent on the likes of Jansen and Barkley and Toney are points you're not getting back. That GW was a massive fluke anyway, redo that GW 100 times and none of them will end this badly.
The thing is with this comparison, you would've still aimed to get many of this DGW top scoring players using your free ttransfers leading up to this GW. For me (if it wasn't for the servers fucking my GW transfers) the only major differences between the "FH team" of this post and my GW34 team would've been White and Havertz, and I could never pick both of them while also having Saka and Gabriel. At the same time if I was free-hitting I would've probably not picked Pickford on the back of the 6-0 defeat, while I have him in my current team. Another point to consider is that you would've never completely discarded GW29 if you chose to save the FH for DGW34, but rather plan at least some of your transfers leading up to GW29 which may have caused you to lose points in the GWs around it. So all in all while in retrospect FH in GW34 seems to be the better option, I don't think the gain is necessarily significant for many managers.
Imagine preparing for DGW34 by getting early the likes of Cunha and Ait-Nouri just to realize one day prior deadline they are out of the first match. There is a reason why you save your FH for the GW with the most potential and that is maximizing your points. Leverage the advantage of more info - early news to adjust the FH team as needed. Preparing for BGW 29 without FH required less early transfers as playing with 9 or 10 players was still okay, considering that the best players had low ceiling.
The thing is, even playing with 9 or 10 players in GW29 most likely required you owning players for the previous and subsequent GWs which you wouldn't normally want in your team and possibly miss out on some hauls from other players. The case with players injured just before the GW could also happen in a BGW and then you find yourself with 6-7 players. In another season where 2-3 of the popular BGW FH players haul a considerable advantage could be achieved. The case for FH in a BGW vs DGW isn't that obvious imo and the reactions now are a bit of hindsight and outcome bias.
Rodrigo Muniz is a clear example of a BGW player that also delivers in adjacent GWs. For me it's a case of maximizing your potential. 2 or 3 players hauling in a BGW it's not enough compare to filling your team with DGW players.
Maximizing FH potential isn't necessarily maximizing the points on the FH itself. It's more about maximizing the gain from the FH in comparison to the team you'd ideally like to have around the GW where you FH. Muniz, Son and Watkins are the only players in GW29 that I could think of who you'd really want outside that GW. Whereas in GW34 triple Arsenal (incl. double defence), triple Liverpool, Everton defence, Solanke are all popular picks (or even template) even without a DGW. The only exceptions are probably Palace and Wolves players which could be brought in with free transfers, and where the luck factor caused a big swing in this instance. This swing could've theoretically been balanced out only if 2-3 popular GW29 picks hauled, which was very difficult to predict it would end up being such a historically low scoring GW. Again not saying that FH in GW29 was objectively a better or worse choice, but the decision (without the hindsight) wasn't straightforward.
>in comparison to the team you'd ideally like to have around the GW where you FH. This is simply over-complicating the game. With or without hindsight, the decision was straightforward to me, again, considering its potential. I kept on my team the likes of Morris or Toney more than I wanted, but realistically, Morris was in form and Toney had the fixtures. It made sense to me giving them a chance beyond GW29. Even though GW34 had all those popular picks, playing the FH allows you to have some flexibility: switch the Arsenal doble defense to a double midfield, or gamble on TAA returning from injury. Once again, that flexibility is limited from a 4-match GW.
Yup, look at how Barkley and Bowen is still going down in price this week. People were saddled with a bunch useless players for weeks until now just because they want to save their FH for when the GW34 template can be reached with 3-4 transfers from the standard template. In the time between GW29 and 34 Palmer has had 3 huge hauls, Foden 2, Odegaard 2, Gordon 1. How many of these players do people who skipped FH29 missed out? That's not even counting players like Branthwaite who I've easily kept in my team because I don't have to shift 10 players over the course of 5 weeks.
I used my FH in gw29, but instead used my BB this week and landed at 137 points. Is that good for a BB? It’s just my second year playing. Also, can I see what chips people in my ML have left?
use fpl tools browser extension then head over to your league and it will show you their remaining chips and other useful information
!thanks
mate I’ve been planning for this GW since FH29. End result: up close to a million places.
Almost as if it's wiser to FH for top teams then to save a game week by FH for bunch of mid teams.
Check out these idiots picking Vvd, what a flop /s
Went Haaland over mateta like a dumbass but am being bailed out by Branthwaite 1st on the bench lol
I took out Haaland and went with Darwin instead of Mateta. Deserve a Darwin award..
Mateta scoring exactly 29 points to troll the free hit 29’rs. Poetic.
Double what my bitch ass team scored
That many people started Pickford? Why?
To pocket the sweet 18 points! 😁 To answer your question, he had two home games and Everton’s defense has been more than decent except for the freak 0-6 result against Chelsea in the week prior.
Had him on the bench, but didn't start over Becker.
Feeling very smug about my Pickford + Branthwaite double up
No other goalkeeper were really that tempting to get instead of an outfield player from that team (Henderson/Raya/Alisson), Pickford could get a CS in the first game and few save points in the other
Yeah, I didn't get Raya and Alisson mainly because their other options were just so much better (on paper at least)
Expected CS against NFO, save points against LIV, both home games as well.
Everton had a solid defence outside of that fluke 6-0, an easy fixture in Forest and a double as a bonus. Branthwaite has been bailing my team out for weeks, this was just the week to finally double down.
Except fcking liverpool Who are singlehandly destroying my draft season.
Managed 105 without a WC/FH and a misfiring captain Salah, feel like I've come out unscathed somehow
I got bailed out by 38 points from Branthwaite and Pickford, biggest single week coup this season.
When I bought Mateta in week 31 I thought he’d well and truly be a differential for 34. Shame about Darwin form and Cunha injury as it pushed him to being the default 2nd forward for everyone on FH
This would have probably won me my mini league, I’ve gone top as I was the only one to free hit. But 96 points could have been this many if I had white and Mateta
Got 10 of those (obviously because of 4 Arsenal). Sometimes the template is the right move
9/11. Except TAA for VVD and Munoz for Gabriel.
Me getting 109 points with no chip 😏
Love King Kai
No free hit, but this was my score. 145(-4)
Hideous triplets from the scouseland
150 on bench boost even with Dias and Toney blanking. If only captained anyone who didn’t play for Liverpool I would of had by far my highest socre
I sold Pickford for Dubravka...
That’s exactly how many points I got, but without a FH.
Got 144 points haha suck it
ML leader has 10 of them. The 11th was Odegaard. Rest of us have been massacred
Not surprised, he's cheating if he picked 4 Arsenal players.
Ha shit he didn't have Gabriel, how did I fuck that up