Pjanic! At The Disco – GW1 – 64pts





Pope (8pts) – Made the decision to bring Pope and Ryan in over a premium GK plus a 4.0 option. Happy with this decision as both keepers did well (Pope got 8, Ryan got 9). Quite early to say, but it’s looking as if I’ll be able to comfortably rotate between these two keepers for quite a while (although GW4 sees them against LIV and MCI at the same time…).





Robertson (2pts) – Was struggling to choose between him, TAA and VVD, and ended up choosing the worst of those three options (least goal threat of the three). Considering taking him out to help afford someone better in another position (Sterling?). Also, Alisson isn’t behind him anymore to keep the clean sheets, but his attacking returns will likely improve.





Digne (6pts) – Another expensive defensive option. Everton’s opening few fixtures are too good to not have Digne. Too early to tell whether he’ll have another good season, but surely I have to keep him in for the time being considering fixtures.





Walker-Peters (2pts) – Disappointed. Brought him in for the expected clean sheet against Villa, which didn’t materialise. Not looking at him as a long-term option as Pochettino loves to rotate his full-backs. Planning on using in rotation with Maitland-Niles for the foreseeable future, but unlikely to last longer in my team than 5 weeks.





Salah (C) (24pts) – The most expensive player for a reason. Unless he gets injured, I’m expecting to keep Salah in for the whole season. Not much more to say about him, he’s going to get goals in that Liverpool side so it would be silly not to have him in.





Sigurdsson (3pts) – Similar to Digne, I brought him in because of Everton’s opening fixtures. Could still keep his place after these fixtures if he performs, but equally wouldn’t be surprised to have to take him out if someone else (Fraser?) starts performing.





De Bruyne (7pts) – Very conflicted on whether to keep KDB or take him out to bring in Sterling. Played really well against WHU so I’m confident he’ll get a decent points haul over the season, but on the evidence so far it won’t be as much as Sterling. Another worry is his fitness. He looked up to it in GW1 but was so injury prone last season I just don’t know if he’ll go the whole season this time round. Rotation could also be an issue, with D. Silva, B. Silva, Foden, Gundogan and Mahrez all capable of playing his position, whereas Sterling is surely a nailed-on starter (although Pep does love a surprise).





Martial (7pts) – Very happy with Martial against CHE, although he won’t play against such an open defence again this season. Potentially a 15-20 goal-a-season midfielder and basically the same player as Rashford, but cheaper and a midfielder. Keeping him in my team until MUN performances inevitably start declining.





Barkley (1pt) – Very disappointed with Barkley. Brought him in as I thought he’d be a good option for 6.0, especially as he was on set-pieces in pre-season, but didn’t return anything and was brought off before the hour. I’ll give him another few weeks as I think he has potential to do well in this CHE team, but if he keeps getting taken off early(ish) then he’ll have to go.





Vardy (2pts) – No returns this week but it’s just a matter of time. One of the most clinical finishers in the league and that LEI team will provide him with the chances. The third most expensive player in my team, so not easy to get rid of him if I need to, but I can’t see that happening anyway.





King (V) (2pts) – A bargain at 6.5 in my opinion, although BOU are so impossible to predict. Good opening fixtures so unlikely to take him out for a while, although Jota and Barnes are tempting at the same price.





SUBS





Ryan (9pts) – As mentioned earlier, very happy and a positive start for him. Rotation with Pope likely for quite a while.





Maitland-Niles (12pts) – Gutted I didn’t start him but given ARS clean-sheet and away records I’m not blaming myself for the decision. The plan was to bring him in for GW2 and rotate with KWP, although a strong GW2 could mean I keep him regardless of KWP fixtures.





Greenwood (1pt) – Cheap option that I’ll likely keep for a while. Not expecting him to get many minutes unless Rashford or Martial get injured but also wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a few goals this season off the bench.





Kelly (6pts) – Another cheap option. Can’t rely on CRY for clean-sheets this season, and also don’t expect him to start every week. Likely to stay as my last sub for most of the season.





A bit annoyed with the opening GW. Over the last couple of days before the deadline I had to choose between two combinations of players. Option 1 (what I went for): Robertson, Martial, KDB, Vardy. Option 2: VVD, Ayoze, Sterling, Rashford. Option 2 would have got me an extra 24pts, so needless to say I’m very annoyed with myself about that. I’m looking to bring in Sterling in GW3 by saving my transfer this week and then making two free transfers: KDB and Robertson out, Sterling and a 5.0 defender in (0.5 ITB). Dunk? Duffy? Boly? El Mohamady (4.5)? Dunk/Duffy and Ryan would be a little too over-reliant on BHA for my liking, but then again, they played well against WAT…





The purpose of writing this blog is to basically explain to myself the decisions I made and to stop myself from making irrational knee-jerk decisions. It’s disheartening to see players perform when I considered having them – Dunk, Barnes, Sharp, Kane and Zinchenko all also went in my team at some point while I was setting it up – but I need to stop reacting badly when it doesn’t work out for me. I set my team up like this with the first 3/4 GWs in mind so I’m able to bide my time a bit before making changes. What was encouraging is that every player I owned played and I didn’t get 0pts anywhere.





Some players I’m thinking of bringing in:





Pepe – ARS – 9.5

Yet to do anything for ARS, but the evidence from his last season at Lille is that he could be an incredible player. Saying that, the transition from playing in France to England has often been a difficult one, especially for attacking players. I think he’ll take a while to get used to the physicality of the PL, but he’ll be great in the second half of the season.





Joelinton – NEW – 6.0

I watched his debut against ARS and it was very promising. He seems like a striker that could thrive in this league. With the right service I think he’s capable of getting 10-15 goals this season, but the only worry is how NEW will provide that service.





Haller – WHU – 7.5

Similar to Joelinton, I think he’s capable of getting 10-15 goals, however WHU will provide him with more chances to score. Both could be a repeat of Jimenez last season.





Jota – WOL – 6.5

Very tempting. Easy to get him in if King doesn’t start performing. My only worry is Europe and the effect that will have on rotation.





Barnes – BUR – 6.5

As with Jota, I can easily bring him in for King. Started the season with two very well-taken goals and looks like a real threat. He was great for BUR after Christmas last season and has carried his form over into this season.





Sterling – MCI – 12.0

No explanation needed.





Mane – LIV – 11.5

Alternative to Sterling/Salah, although as it stands I’d rather have either of those two over Mane.





El Mohamady – AVL – 4.5

A left-field choice if I decide to take out Robertson as part of the deal to bring in Sterling. AVL have a good run of fixtures coming up, but I don’t know if I can trust their defence after capitulating against TOT.





Lundstram – SHU – 4.0

Cheap option and played in midfield in the opener despite being listed as a defender, which is always tempting. Terrible fixtures coming up though.





Delph – EVE – 5.5