Fantasy Football Scout community author Greyhead analyzes the transfers and strategies of some well-known Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers in his article series “The Great and the Good”.

This season’s names are BlackBox pair Mark Sutherns and Az, scouts Joe Lepper, Tom Freeman and Andy North, pro pundits FPL General, Pras, Zophar, FPL Harry and Lateriser, FPL “celebrities” Ben Crellin, Luke Williams and FPL Fran, Hall of Famers Fabio Borges, Jan Kepski, Markku Olaja and Seb Wassell as well as last year’s Mini League qualifier Geraint Owen.

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“Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why. You had to hide for so long (for so long). What did we do wrong?”

FPL is a cruel game! Full disclosure: I’m having a hell of a season because of a broken robot – Erling Haaland (£15.1m) – and a very costly decision not to move Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) and a cheap striker in Gameweek 10.

For the managers who followed me down this path of despair, we are now at least 50 points worse off, assuming of course you captained Salah.

The move has obviously brought a welcome boost to those who have taken the plunge and boosted the budget Matheus Cunha (£6.9m) and this week’s hot property Joao Pedro (£5.6m) turns into Lionel Messi.

It will be comforting to know that some of the great and good have suffered at the slings and arrows of this monstrous problem of luck or skill, depending on how cruel you want to be. Maybe we all need a little more blue sky thinking.

At least there was one certainty in this maelstrom of a season: buy or even recommend Lucas Digne (£4.7m) is always a bad idea – Mr Sutherns take note!

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

Some strong results this week, with FPL General taking the lead with 87, closely followed by Seb Wassell with 86.

The triple-up against Arsenal paid off handsomely for the General, with a double defense complementing the constant limp Bukayo Saka (£10.2m). And of course he also had Cunha.

He was also one of those who could finally be happy about some zero points Mark Flekken (£4.5m) – it’s a miracle!

Seb’s good result was the result of some amazing transfers Nicholas Jackson (£7.9m) and Joao Pedro at just the right time.

Furthermore, the two-horse race is shaping up to be a triple threat as Pras moves into second place ahead of Ben Crellin – triple Arsenal alongside Cunha, who is consistent in these high numbers.

This means Pras, Harry and Ben are now all in the top 100,000.

TRANSFERS

As mentioned, Seb was the wheeler dealer champion this week with his Double Striker Swoop.

Elsewhere, Alexander Isaac (£8.5m) and Lewis Hall (£4.4m) were popular acquisitions but failed to impress on their debut.

Andy North proved he is learning from his past mistakes when he brought in Salah, who at least earned him a Green Arrow this week.

THE GREAT AND THE GOOD TEMPLATE

Here is the template with ownership rights below:

Flekken (50%), Fabianski (44.4%)
Gabriel (94.4%), Lewis (72.2%), Greaves (55.6%), Hall (44.4%), Ait-Nouri (38.9%)
Mbeumo (100%), Palmer (94.4%), Salah (88.9%), Rogers (66.7%), Semenyo (33.3%)
Cunha (50%), Raul (50%), Solanke (50%)

The template includes a reshuffle in the defensive line Trent Alexander Arnold (£6.9m) and Pedro Porro (£5.5m) and makes way for the cheaper options in Hall and Rayan Alt-Nouri (£4.8m).

If we don’t see Pedro in this template by next week, I’ll be surprised with Southampton next.

All of this means Haaland is now a differential…

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

So it’s clear that captaincy has played a big role in our success or failure over the last few weeks. The following graphic shows the popularity of the most important picks over the course of the season. Haaland still dominates with 55% of the vote, although that share has fallen significantly since the first few weeks.

It was largely a two-way decision, with Salah being the better option of late. Other alternatives such as Cole Palmer (£10.9m) and Saka haven’t had much to say, but will that change this weekend?

It’s worth noting that Ben Crellin is the FPL manager who has shown the most diversity. With six different picks, he is our leading captain scorer.

DIPLOMA

There has been a lot of movement in the last few weeks, most of it good for Salah fans. However, next week looks to be a break with the Liverpool vs Manchester City game dominating the schedule.

There are plenty of points to pick up from Gameweek 14 as we delve into the festive gaming chaos. So if you are suffering from this, you can at least get some comfort from this.

Anyway, that’s all from me for now, and remember, don’t have any FPL nightmares.

For those affected by any of the issues raised above, find me at X or BlueSky

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