First and foremost I hope that anyone reading this is in good health. These last three months have been very testing. Football has rightfully taken a backseat, and to be honest a lot of things that we used to worry about do not seem to matter as much anymore. If we had a more proactive Prime Minister than Boris Johnson, than we more than likely would have had much less deaths and the country as a whole would in effect be much more efficient. Boris' leadership is as good as his hair looks, make of that what you will. I will stop there, because if I can continue, then I will not be talking about fantasy football at all, it will just be a rant of epic proportions.
When the Premier League was given the green light to resume, we all patiently waited for what the FPL update would be. Beforehand, the head-to-head table had been completed through simulation, and the alerts in the FPL Whatsapp group, had been the equivalent of rats pissing on cotton. This was until the leader my long-time friend Jermaine, asked the question, how would the prize money be determined if football did not return? Just like the early divide in reality, regarding whether to resume the season or to void it, those who spoke up in the group were partially split. Some felt there should be a rollover to next season, some felt that the table should be decided how it currently stood. So when football was allowed to return, the anticipation was immense. On Monday the 8th of June, in the afternoon, we were finally put out of our misery. An email came out from the Premier League, that the Fantasy Premier League was returning with a little twist. There was going to be unlimited transfers until the deadline for Gameweek 30, with all unused bonuses obviously still in place. Nice!...
At first I thought I would rip apart my team, but then thought it would be best to just make maybe four or five transfers, and then analyse how things went. This was as the players who were generally the most fit would start the first matches and not necessarily the best individual players in the respective squads. Therefore I did not want to rip apart the team, as if I was not to get many points I would be annoyed with myself. I ended up making just five changes. I wanted to get Sergio Aguero back into my team, so this meant letting go of Raul Jimenez which I did not want to do, but it was the only way. As Aguero was so pricey, I had to make other changes to accommodate him, in came Todd Cantwell, Douglas Luiz and Leander Dendoncker who all cost under £5m. This meant reluctantly letting go of another Wolves man in Adama Traore. At the back, I had to bring back John Lundstram, as he had a double figure return before the pandemic when I took him out, as it seemed he had lost his place to Sheffield United's new signing Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge.
There were two games left to play in gameweek 29, so it was a double gameweek for Lundstram, Luiz and Aguero. Things did not start off well from an entertainment perspective, as Aston Villa and the Blades had an underwhelming goalless draw, that was flooded with corners. trust Douglas Luiz to get booked. At least Lundstram got clean sheet points, but even that was bittersweet, as my opponent Jacques had tripled up on Sheffield United players at the back. High risk, but high reward if it comes off. Chris Wilder's men were also robbed of a blatant goal. It would not have got me extra points, but it did indeed need to be mentioned. Goal line technology failed, it was also a scandalous error by the officials to not spot it either, and do not get me started on the people up at Stockley Park. In the latter game, Manchester City strolled to a 3-0 triumph over Arsenal. The game turned for the worse for the Gunners when David Luiz came on as a substitute for Pablo Mari. I was less invested than I would have been in the game, as Sergio Aguero was left on the bench by Pep Guardiola. I should have known Pep would be playing 'rotation roulette' once again. Kevin De Bruyne got his customary assist on the opener by Raheem Sterling and also converted a second half penalty. I was already confined to a defeat as Jacques had him in his team. Aguero got an assist for me as his shot crashed the post and the rebound was put in by Phil Foden for the third goal, these 'assists' of course only count in FPL.
There was a solid start for me in Friday's action, as Southampton won 3-0 away at Norwich. This gave me a clean sheet for Alex McCarthy, and Danny Ings copped a goal and an assist. I get nervous about doubling up at the back, because if one goal is conceded, then your whole plan is thwarted. Therefore, I had left Jack Stephens on the bench, which would have meant a further six points. I was again scratching my head at the end of the day however, as Spurs and Manchester United drew 1-1. Bruno Fernandes dispatched a late penalty gaining yet more points for my opponent. United more than deserved something from the game, and Fernandes had a few efforts at goal, so to an extent I have to be content, as he could have had more points if it was not for Hugo Lloris' saves.
The weekends' action began with a below-par affair between Watford and Leicester. Not much happened and then there were two goals right at the end. Jamie Vardy unfortunately could not get me the points I needed from him. The third match on Saturday saw Wolves win 2-0 away at West Ham. Of course Raul Jimenez got the first, and he was set up by Adama Traore, who actually came off the bench. Traore was rocking a quarantine-inspired afro, and I thought the 'Velveteen Dream' had somehow made his way onto the pitch at the London Stadium. Jacques had Jimenez, who I obviously sold, and I was plunging ever so quickly to a week 30 FPL death from multiple stab wounds. The last of Saturday's four games saw the Eagles eat all the Cherries, as Crystal Palace won 2-0 at Bournemouth. Joel Ward got booked, but ended up getting a bonus point anyhow, so therefore the caution was not costly. Ward, was actually lucky to not acquire a yellow card earlier on in the game, as he flew into a tackle and took out his man. Palace's right back maybe could have benefitted from a drive to Barnard Castle during lockdown.
So to Father's Day. The first encounter was a bad one for owners of Sheffield United players as they were beaten 3-0 at Newcastle. John Lundstram did not start, but was on the pitch for two of the second half goals, so this was not good. The second match was at Villa Park and Chelsea came from behind to win 2-1. Aston Villa's first goal was almost crucial for me, as Douglas Luiz played a good ball into the box, but Kepa saved from Anwar El Ghazi, before Kourtney Hause scored from the rebound. Luiz thankfully did not get booked this time around. Sunday ended with another largely forgettable game, as the Merseyside Derby finished in a stalemate. Andy Robertson was out injured, so therefore I would get the six points off the bench from Jack Stephens. Mo Salah was on the bench as he had a knock, but as Liverpool had a couple of injuries, Jurgen Klopp had to make substitutions earlier than he would have liked, so Salah did not see the pitch. Jacques had Trent Alexander-Arnold, so he benefited from Liverpool's clean sheet. To make things even worse for me, as Salah did not play, De Bruyne was his vice captain so therefore he was going to get the 14 points he accumulated at home to Arsenal. He may further add to that if he plays against Burnley too.
When Monday's team news came along De Bruyne was only on the bench, but I still needed a miracle from Aguero to even compete this late on. The Aguero-miracle got off to the worst possible start as he was clutching his calf with not even 20 minutes gone. He came off for Gabriel Jesus before half time, but he at least won a penalty beforehand, so got a 'fantasy assist'. City went on to win 5-0, and there was a goal for David Silva, another City man Jacques had. So I was beaten badly...really badly by 27 points in fact, but I was not as hurt as I would have been before the pandemic to be honest, this season was already gone. The prize to battle for is the highest points total in a week in the head-to-head league. And that incidentally has been broken this gameweek by Khurram, who amassed a crazy 111 points as he used his 'Bench Boost' bonus chip. The previous leader was Rich who got 101 points on the opening gameweek of the season. With the next gameweek starting on Tuesday, there is literally no time to rest on your laurels here. FPL is back in full flow.
@DubulDee
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