After a strong 78 point showing to start the new FPL season, coming back with just 58 points in GW2 was a bit disappointing. Maybe I was too quick to captain Mo Salah, coming off a hat trick against Leeds United but injuries and non-performers really caused my squad to look very average. It’s still early but many managers have already pulled that wild card trigger ahead of the upcoming game week. Before I even consider GW3, it’s time to check out the why of GW2 and where to go from here.
Alex McCarthy is not worthy of being a 4.5 goalkeeper. Just two points over the first few weeks with a no return against Spurs in a 5-2 loss. Sadly, I don’t expect much from his at this point. All confidence in So’ton has gone down the shitter and while I said I wouldn’t move for a goalkeeper, his days could be numbered. After two weeks, the only worse GK, based on save percentage is Lukasz Fabianksi. He’s second to only Sam Johnstone of WBA, conceding 6 goals to start the season.
Moving forward on the pitch, it was great to pick up a Liverpool clean sheet at Stamford Bridge, 2-0 over Chelsea. Virgil van Dijk came so close to picking up his second goal of the season, but surprisingly Kepa came up with the save. I held true to Trent Alexander-Arnold, had a few free kicks that came up empty, but as I mentioned on Twitter, I will take a 7-point performance every week from my defenders. Kiernan Tierney came up injured and did not play in GW2, but Charlie Taylor got the nod over Kyle Walker-Peters. It didn’t take long for Taylor to pick up his first assist on a Wood goal. He looked, as did Burnley before the floodgates opened.
While the midfield excelled in GW1, it struggled this week. I know FPL managers expect big numbers from premium players. This was the first game for Man City, who played Monday and I had transferred in Kevin De Bruyne, which was magical’ a goal, assist and three bonus points for 13 points to start the season. He was my top scorer of the weekend. Salah, as mentioned grabbed the armband, but it was Sadio Mane picking up two goals against Chelsea, while Mo finished on just 6 points. While Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang picked up an assist its not going to be enough from him to retain his starting spot. Not fond of Arsenal’s upcoming run of fixtures, starting next week as they visit Anfield. It took just 32 mintues before Allan Saint-Maximin came up lame and was subbed off for a one pointer. With Tierney not included, off the bench was Harrison Reed scoring nothing.
I was pleased to have retained Aleksandr Mitrovic, probably my best decision of the week. Leeds proving one again their defense is terrible as the big Serbian hit for the brace and 12 points. That performance could have secured his spot up top for another 6-7 game weeks. By contract, Newcastle struggled terrible at Spurs and Callum Wilson looked a shade of his GW1 form. He too, isn’t long for my squad, as the Magpies fixtures are turning.
While it was a single point short of the week average of 59 points, I am pleased with 136 points on the season. That’s a weekly average of 68 points and I feel anything over 60 points is a great goal to shoot for. Now, it will be maintaining that average, not always the easiest thing to do. Not really concerned with my OR sitting at 725k but more importantly, I am doing well in a few H2H leagues and still in the top five for the FPL Beer Club League.
It’s only Tuesday and I am not going to rush to activate the wild card. Could it happen? Sure, it’s possible, as I’ve used the WC ahead of GW3 the last two seasons and both times it has paid off for the first part of the season. However, you won’t judge the success of fail of the wild card on just a few weeks. The results will be seen in the upcoming 6-8, possibly 10 weeks that follow, depending on how you decide to set up. Not going to chase players or points this soon, but look forward to what the schedule offers and hopefully bring in some players that will help my total points.