Fantasy Premier League Strategy: Balancing Immediate Gains and Long-Term Value

Key Quotes

"game week 17 was pretty good for me but not much more than that which seems weird to say when i scored 80 points which would usually be great in a single game week with no chips being used but it was such a monster week in terms of scores and chips that 80 points was still a red arrow for me only a small one i dropped from like 21k to just inside the top 25k which is certainly not bad but usually you expect much more from 80 points but it is what it is hopefully the majority of people have now got their chips out of the way and there'll be less weeks where such a big score results in a red arrow overall i'm still really happy in terms of where the points came from"

The author, Andy, reflects on his performance in Gameweek 17, noting that despite scoring 80 points, which is typically a strong score, it resulted in a "red arrow" (a drop in rank). Andy explains that this was due to an unusually high scoring week for many players, especially those who used chips. He expresses contentment with the source of his points, indicating a focus on consistent performance rather than solely chasing rank.

"van dijk has just been such an awful pick in terms of value i've had him since wildcard game week four and i'm still not getting rid of him because obviously the next couple of fixtures are good but we'll talk about that in a minute so that was frustrating"

Andy discusses his acquisition of the player Van Dijk, acquired during a wildcard in Gameweek 4. He describes Van Dijk as an "awful pick in terms of value," indicating that the player has not performed well relative to his cost. Despite this, Andy is hesitant to sell Van Dijk due to upcoming favorable fixtures, suggesting a pragmatic approach that balances current underperformance with future potential.

"if saka gets injured and he's going to miss 18 i will sell him because i need to start freeing up some money to upgrade other spots so if saka gets injured i'll sell him and i'll come on to who for in a second but if he's fine i kind of want to keep him for brighton at home because if he gets benched in the carabao cup his minutes for that game will be good it's a decent fixture and there is a chance he takes the next penalty it's not completely off the table"

Andy outlines his strategy regarding the player Saka. He states that if Saka sustains an injury and misses Gameweek 18, he will sell him to generate funds for other team upgrades. However, if Saka is fit, Andy intends to keep him for the upcoming match against Brighton at home. Andy believes Saka will have good minutes in that game, especially if he is rested in the Carabao Cup, and notes the possibility of Saka taking a penalty.

"i'm pretty confident i do fernandez to shard because that's just kind of a boring transfer that i will make it's whether i use the money to go thiago to eteka i think it's more likely that i move i overroll the other three or move a defender the other option which i talked about on the uh early thoughts video was doing something like this so selling dewsbury hall saka and fernandez to get like verts shard and let's just say rice but again it could be gordon that frees up 2 2 million that also lets me do thiago to eteka and by the way for four transfers i think that team looks pretty nice right i would play 3 5 2 so i could bench van dijk yeah bench van dijk that looks quite nice but for all four transfers used is it that much of an upgrade like is thiago is thiago saka and like let's say i can buy tarkowski is it that much worse than verts rice and eteka i don't think it is"

Andy expresses his strong inclination to transfer Fernandez to a player named Shard, describing it as a "boring transfer" but one he feels confident making. He then contemplates using the freed-up funds for a more significant move, such as transferring Thiago to Eteka. Andy also considers a more ambitious four-transfer strategy involving selling multiple players to acquire Verts, Shard, and Rice (or Gordon), which would allow him to bring in Eteka and potentially bench Van Dijk, forming a 3-5-2 formation. He questions whether this extensive transfer strategy represents a substantial upgrade over his current setup.

"i have a feeling i will cave on ekete and i will buy him but i'm not happy about it there's something telling me don't do it just save the money for a defender move like not having money in the forward line and spending it in midfield and defense has worked really well for me so far this season is this week a turning point now where ekete is the the essential new way of playing maybe but that's not how it's worked for most of this season so i'm tempted to dodge him"

Andy anticipates that he will eventually transfer in the player Eteka, despite feeling unhappy about it. He expresses an internal conflict, with a part of him advising against the move and suggesting saving money for defensive transfers, as this strategy has been successful for him previously. Andy questions if this week marks a shift where Eteka becomes essential, but notes that this approach has not been the key to his success for most of the season, leading him to consider avoiding the transfer.