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Gameweek 1: The time for tinkering is over, or is it?



Happy FPL Eve folks!

Gameweek 1 of a new season is like no other. We have weeks to prepare ourselves, and unlimited transfers, and no risk of price changes. It’s the ultimate playtime for us all.

With us being just 1 day away from the season starting, it’s time to finalise our teams, and this week has seen minimal tinkering from me, of high is hopefully a good sign. As of Sunday, I orginally thought my side was set, although there were a few I didn’t have my heart set on.

Following @FPLGeneral’s rule of asking myself if I’d picked the players, or if they were influenced by the likes of Twitter, then there were a few players who I felt I should get rid of.

I was originally on the Watford GK double up with Bachmann and Foster, but I couldn’t get over how unimpressed i was with the Hornets twice when I saw them last season (Both keepers, but I’m not sure if trust the Brighton options either…

As I sat down on Monday, there were a few other question marks too.

Am I turning down a free gift in the form of Kostas Tsimikas, a £4.0m defender at Liverpool? Or will Robertson be back fairly soon? Will James Milner play Left back at times? The fixtures look ideal if he plays, but I’m concerned about the need for an early wildcard If I go with him.

Is Matt Targett someone I really want? I don’t like spending £5.0m on a Villa defender, and would much rather have Coufal at West Ham, but those first three games look like a gimme.

I also had concerns about how to get Lukaku/Kane into my team when their transfers are completed, however I’ve talked myself into being able to cover some of the impact of Lukaku with my pick of Mason Mount. The lack of City assets petrifies me, especially if Kane hits the ground running.

I also had concerns about Jack Harrison. Not so much in terms of his ability, but Leeds pre-season form, and difficult fixtures made it feel like a waste of an initial pick.


And then, on Tuesday, I watched @FFScout_Mark’S team reveal, and I found a way to resolve a few of the problems.

Harrison became Emile Smith-Rowe and gave me an extra £0.5m. Smith-Rowe had been in several of my early drafts, but I took him out when the James Maddison rumours started, and I’ve overlooked him since.

This meant I could use the extra cash to improve the goalkeeper position. At £5.0m there were a few options I considered. There was Illan Meslier, who ended the season in my team last year, and did a cracking job, but has the same concerns I had over Jack Harrison, so was a no go.


Then there was Bernd Leno, but with Ben White already in my team, I feared an Arsenal defensive double up could make me the laughing stock of FPL, and so it came down to two. Both of these keepers had excellent European Championships in the summer, and they met in the Semi-Finals. It came down to Jordan Pickford and Kasper Schmeichel, and so far I’ve plumped for the England man, based on Everton’s favourable fixtures.

And so I headed to the beach Weds morning, content with my team… and I haven’t touched it… until now…


Again, I’m playing round with my team, and I’ve found a way of including Salah, Bruno, Trent and Lukaku… and I’m very tempted. I’m going to sleep on it, and come back to my team in the morning, and decide whether to revert to the line-up I’d settled on… or whether to gamble on the new shiny line-up, which solves my Lukaku/Kane dilemma, but once again re-opens a couple of concerns I had earlier this week.

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