How patience in Liverpool defense can help me recover from the FPL Gameweek 6

Gameweek 6 was one of the worst in Fantasy Premier League history, but it’s not the Gameweek score that makes the manager, it’s your answer that really matters.

When I started writing this article, I was sitting on a net score of 11 points (yes, eleven) from nine players (yes, nine) including my captain Mohamed Salah (£ 12.4 million). Son Heung-min (£ 9.5 million) e Harry Kane (£ 10.9 million) added 15 points to Monday’s, but a score of just 27 is not at all what I was hoping for.

I know I’m not alone on soundtracks like this for Gameweek 6, so I’m writing what went wrong and how I’m doing going on.

Ironically, I had really high hopes for this week. Triple Liverpool at home against Sheffield Untied, the always reliable captain Salah, Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£ 7.7 million) in great shape and eye-catching fixtures for the likes of Mat Ryan (£ 4.5 million), Aleksandar Mitrovic (£ 5.8 million) e Ross Barkley (£ 6.0 million). On paper, it was hands down my strongest looking 11 of the season.

So with this in mind, I think it’s so important for us to remember that not all good decisions lead to good results in FPL. Ultimately, we choose our teams but we have absolutely no control over what happens on the pitch. If our player gets injured, misses a babysitter, or gets kicked out (I’m looking at you Lucas), it’s not something we have any influence on.

I decided to look objectively at how we can look at negative scores objectively and figure out how to improve our position in the future rather than letting it ruin our weekend and make emotional decisions about the next set of matches.

Here is my three-point plan for such scenarios.

1. Identify the difference between bad decisions and what is bad luck. Last week’s score has no effect on next week’s score, but performance and stats do. Rather than looking at a player’s negative score, look at their contribution on the pitch. Fantasy Football Scout Premium Members Area is perfect for this.
2. Try not to chase points. Jumping from player to player chasing points that have been and gone can be a frustrating circle. For example, jumping from the likes of Mitrovic, Ollie Watkins (£ 6.0 million), Callum Wilson (£ 6.5 million) e Patrick Bamford (£ 5.9 million) is so tempting when we see all of these players returning double-digit cash in the first six weeks of play. But we often end up wasting precious transfers and completely losing all those points. I enjoy picking a player over a period of matches and I am confident that he can provide me with the value I am looking for. For example, I had a pre-conceived plan to stick with Mitrovic until Gameweek 7 due to strong devices. I like staying true to my game plans and if it doesn’t work, so be it.
3. Embrace the highs and lows. If you can’t enjoy an exciting match because your captain hasn’t returned or you secretly want one of your forwards to score against the team you support, it’s time to step back. After all, we play FPL to enhance our enjoyment with the game we love. Bad weeks are inevitable!

PLANNING FORWARD

A big talking point right now is what we do with Liverpool’s defensive assets now Virgil van Dijk (£ 6.4 million) is excluded for an extended period. As a Fantasy manager who has built a ton of successes on defensive doubling over the past couple of seasons, I feel it’s only right that I touch him.

What we are seeing in the first six weeks is a season like no other. We have seen strange results and it seems the teams have forgotten how to defend themselves. However, I believe we will soon see a return to normal and Premier League managers will address defensive issues. Manchester United’s rather dull and stalled draw with Chelsea is perhaps a good early example of this.

I think it’s important to stick to my identity as an FPL manager, to give Andrew Robertson (£ 7.1 million) e Trent Alexander-Arnold (£ 7.4 million) more time to deliver the returns we know they can deliver.

As the old saying goes “live by the sword, die by the sword”. I was happy with what I saw from an offensive point of view back in Gameweek and, with Alisson (5.9 million pounds) on the side, I still hope some clean sheets are forthcoming. As managers continue to dispatch full backs en masse, I hope the patient approach will pay off once again.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE WEEK OF FPL 6

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