As you will hear me say on the podcast next week, this podcast is something I didn’t intend to follow through with at the end of July when I thought I was signing off from the Pitch & Pint Podcast forever. As luck has it, there still seems to be interest in the podcast. I posted a short “coming soon” message on Twitter as I am excited to get behind the microphone for another season. Season 3 will kick off the first of 40 planned episodes over the course of the season, with a preseason and season in review podcast.
Unlike the previous two seasons, this year will be a bit different. The most obvious, much like Marco Silva, Javi Gracia, Quique Sanchez Flores and Nigel Pearson, Watford is no longer in the Premier League. For many, I know, you don’t care and that’s fine. So no Watford talk this season on the pod, which opens up a segment to introduce some new content to the program. It’s quite exciting to announce that members in the FPL Beer Club will be participating each week on the show.
At some point in the future, it’s my intention to move away from the Pitch & Pint Podcast and solely to the FPL Beer Club Show, but with our group being predominately in the UK, we need to see how availability and banter will play out on air. Those quiz nights we hold on Zoom can get pretty fucking rowdy but rest assured our diverse group can always bring some quality conversation to the table. Topics during this segment will vary, but you can expect craft beer talk, Premier League and FPL discussion along with some general banter about life in general. Collectively as a group we are excited at the upcoming prospects.
Much like I will be doing either for 6thgoal.com or fplanaylsis.com, I will be writing a season long series called Think Different. These articles will focus on my attempt to play a 5-man defense all season long, with any luck my starting five defenders will be unchanged over 38 weeks. All the five at the back formations combined, were used less than 3% last season, so it will be very challenging to build a team that can compete with those FPL managers who look at playing a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, bulking up on their attacking options.
Another segment planned is on VAPM or ‘value added per million.’ If you followed my articles this week, I released a 6-part series on VAPM and building my 15-man squad using results from the data I have collected. I’ve shown interest in this key metric since 2018, but failed to use my findings to provide any positive contributions to my team in relation to their overall rank. This year, I have some good ideas and thought down on how to proceed, with any luck I can use those to my advantage.
There will always be discussion about beer, as I plan to review a few beers each week, talk about different breweries, possibly a few interviews with individuals on the inside who know beer. I also want to provide a few beer giveaways on the shows. This is one of those areas that brings my joy, sharing good craft beer with friends. Details for the giveaways will follow, but if you enjoy good beer, you might consider listening. FPL Beer Club members aren’t eligible to participate.
Lots to look forward to this season, as FPL managers are excited at the prospects of a new year. Unlike last season, hopefully we don’t see any stoppages in plan that reeked havoc on the season, leaving us with an asterisk laden champion. Is that fair to say? Regardless, I am sure we will all have Trent in our starting XI. If you have comments or questions, you can find me on Twitter, @6thGoal. Good luck to all FPL managers this season as the Pitch & Pint Podcast returns, FPL from inside the six!