Main Team
GW Points: 30
Overall Points: 30
Overall Rank: 435,594
I wanted to get the first game week review out quickly as I think there are a lot of points for discussion. I was very happy with my start after the opening game on Friday but things quickly went downhill from there. Overall I’m really disappointed with 30 points from the first weekend of fixtures. There were a lot of 50/50 decisions that went the wrong way and players who were in and out of my team that managed to pick up decent point totals. Given how important team value is going to be this year, I could easily make 5 transfers on Thursday evening but I’m probably going to have to be a little more reserved than that.
I wanted to start with a review of each player:
Ramsdale: solid performance, 8 points, will rise in value. Stays in my team.
Alexander-Arnold: bad performance from Liverpool, certain to lose value but should bounce back. Stays in my team.
Saliba: great performance, 8 points, will rise in value. Stays in my team.
Dalot: terrible performance, -1 point. I thought Man Utd would start the season well considering they have a new manager, but they were an embarrassment again. I fell into the trap of getting a 2.5m defender at a top club but the gamble didn’t pay off. Will probably leave in for another week as I’ve got bigger issues to resolve.
Mahrez: benched, 0 points. This was the icing on the cake for an awful Sunday. Everything pointed to Mahrez starting this game and I wanted some City coverage. I thought he was good value at 5.5m considering he always scores over 200 points. Really annoyed to see him on the bench considering Foden hadn’t had many minutes preseason. He then comes on late on, meaning he will drop in value. No guarantee that he will even start against Bournemouth either. Huge problem at such an early stage.
Saka: average performance, 2 points. May drop slightly in value but probably worth holding onto for now.
Coutinho: bad performance for Villa, 0 points. Will drop in value. If it wasn’t for the Carabao Cup fixture later on in the month, I’d be moving on from him already, I’m still tempted to take him out regardless as he might not even play in the cup.
Sancho: bad performance, 0 points. Will drop in value. The only positive I can take from the game was that Man Utd improved when Ronaldo came on. Based on the preseason Sancho had and the new manager, I expected much more from Sancho in this fixture, as did many others. Another one I’d be happy to transfer out if there weren’t so many games left in August.
Salah: OK performance, 8 points. 8 points is probably enough at this stage to hold his value. I won’t be taking him out of my team either way.
Kane: four goals for Spurs but no goals for Kane, 3 points. Will drop in value. This one feels slightly unlucky, on other day Kane could have had a couple of goals in this fixture. Not helped by Haaland getting a brace against West Ham. I couldn’t decide between the two of them and it was one of those 50/50 decisions that has already gone against me. With Haaland certain to rise in value and Kane certain to drop, I’ll probably swap the two over on Thursday evening. I prefer City’s fixture against Bournemouth rather than Spurs playing Chelsea. I just hope that Haaland doesn’t face any rotation.
Jesus: OK performance, 3 points. Played well but didn’t get a goal. Could drop slightly in value but no need to transfer out at this stage.
Player Watchlist
I’d taken note of a few performances from over the weekend and wanted to highlight a few players:
Haaland – got off to the start I didn’t want him to make. Looks like I’ll have to bring him in.
Kulusevski – was in and out of my team, decided not to go for him in the end due to the risk of rotation. Didn’t expect him to pick up the star man and 15 points in the very first fixture of the season. Ironically, had I stuck with Haaland and Kulusevski, I’d have made a very good start to the season. It’s these fine margins that often define a season and this one could have gone either way.
Zinchenko – caught the eye in the opening fixture. Personally think Saliba deserved the star man award more but it wasn’t to be. Either way, I can see Zinchenko having a good season. Probably won’t bring him in immediately as I wouldn’t want to triple up with Arsenal defenders.
Nunez – I was glad to see him on the bench and annoyed when he came on for 10 points. I thought Jesus was the better pick but Nunez is now likely to increase in value but we can’t make kneejerk changes based on 1 fixture.
Trippier – I didn’t want Newcastle to keep a clean sheet with Trippier having high ownership. He went on to pick up 8 points. Hopefully it doesn’t last.
Ake – another defender I was hoping wouldn’t keep a clean sheet. Man City now have good fixtures on the horizon. One to watch as I’m not sure how long he will retain his place for.
Mbeumo – another player who was on the cusp of making my starting 11. Didn’t do an awful lot today but 3 points is enough for a 2m midfielder.
Sterling/Diaz/Bowen/Romero/Cresswell – all players who will drop in value but I can see them doing well this season. I don’t own any of them so I’m hoping they drop further next week.
Plan for Game Week 2
I could easily make a case for making 5 transfers on Thursday evening. Team value is going to be vital this season as we can effectively reset our teams during the World Cup. The problem with this approach is that August is a fairly long month. We could find that making knee jerk transfers could result in use constantly chasing points and team value but not getting very far. As an example, Kulusevski would be an obvious player to bring in, however what if he blanks this weekend and then starts to face rotation during the rest of the month? After every week we are inevitably going to be holding players who are likely to drop in value. With limited transfers, we simply can’t take every player out who’s looking likely to lose value.
Having said that, I’m probably going to swap Kane for Haaland on Thursday evening. With Kane certain to drop and Haaland certain to rise, it just makes sense with Haaland also having a better fixture at the weekend.
This will leave me with 0.5m to play with. The temptation is certainly there to swap Coutinho or Sancho for Kulusevski to avoid the price drop. I’d also see Kulusevski as a better prospect longer term if he can keep his place in the team. I think he will face rotation at some point though. Food for thought though.
Another option could be to swap Mahrez for Kulusevski. This would then leave 2.5m to upgrade Dalot, Sancho or Coutinho. Haaland would then be my only City attacking cover, but if Mahrez isn’t going to get a huge amount of game time, it’s a decent improvement. This approach would create a domino effect though, as I’d then be tempted to use a third and maybe a fourth transfer to reinvest the funds left in the bank. At this stage, I don’t think it would be wise to use 4 transfers so early in August with 3 game weeks remaining. We are only 1 game week into the season and the situation could be very different this time next week so it’s probably wise not to hit the panic button just yet.
A final point for consideration is West Ham having 2 additional fixtures over the next two game weeks with their Europa Conference League Playoff fixtures. This could be a lottery in terms of team selection but Bowen is almost certain to drop in value, the big question is will he play in all four futures? I personally doubt it but it might be worth taking a punt on some West Ham coverage. If you really wanted to take a gamble, I can see Scamacca getting some game time but it would be a very brave move to take out a big name striker to accommodate him.
My Other Teams
At the start of the season, I was tempted to blog about two teams, in the end I thought this would become too complicated with so many different transfers across the month. However, I am going to include a small section at the end of each game week review that covers the progress of some of my other teams.
It’s worth noting that I don’t really enjoy the 10 team approach, I’m only interested in delivering a good performance with the team I blog about as that’s the only one that adds value to this community. I’d rather we were only allowed 1 team per player but that’s how the game is going. Most other players who discuss Dream Team online don’t put their name to one team and document the whole process. They tend to cover all bases by having 10 teams with a blend of all the players who are most likely to score well. They then use their best team across the season as their badge of honor at the end of the season. I don’t see much value in that, as it’s not how most people play the game but I’ll briefly cover how some of my other teams have performed.
My best team is on 62 points and it was picked on player ownership. It includes the likes of Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Trippier, Salah and Haaland.
I’ve then got a couple of teams within the 50 point bracket. These are both pretty much variations on my main team but the 50/50 choices went the other way. So I’ve gone for Haaland over Kane, etc.
If you’re interested in a full breakdown of my teams, they can be seen in the graphic below. Unfortunately, my blog team came in 9th out of my 10 teams but we are only 1 week in.
One final point to note, is that if you like to study the fixtures, I’ve set up my usual spreadsheet that tracks the top teams here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CJdq5SxZqrb7EXOpEBbCtbF0hDulMoL05ULja_ng5nY/
I’d also be very interested in hearing what other people are doing with their players who are likely to drop in value this week. Are you being aggressive with your transfers or holding fire because things are likely to change again within another week?
I think a couple of transfers is maybe ok at this stage to build value, for me personally, any more than that feels pretty risky at this early stage. It does feel like it could be one of those seasons where playing aggressively pays dividends though with regards to value.
I think I’ll be really gung ho in some of my teams but probably not my main team as it could easily backfire. It’s so much easier when you get some good fortune early on though as we can’t just take everyone out who’s not performed.
Just watching MOTD 2 and to say United’s defence is shambolic is an understatement. Dalot in particular played so poorly and his positioning was suspect on numerous occasions. To think I had him in all ten teams at one point actually gives me a cold sweat! 😂
It’s embarrassing from Man Utd once again. I honestly thought they would start stronger.
On your team Paul, it’s always tough when those 50/50 decisions don’t go how we’d like (Kane/Haaland, Mahrez/Kulusevski etc). I’d be tempted to keep Countinho for those next two fixtures as you’d like to think Gerrard will be wanting a reaction in the next game. It’s the United boys I’d perhaps be tempted to consider moving on, or at least one of them. They just looked so bad on the eye test. Winnable game next though having said that.
There is also Haaland which I think we can all agree we need to get in with City’s fixtures now. Mahrez should stay I’d think too with Bournemouth up next and a good chance he starts. Grealish didn’t get subbed so I’d expect him to drop out next week with Foden on the left and Mahrez on the right. I bloody well hope so anyway! 😂
Whilst I think team value is important this season, I think we should refrain from putting TOO much emphasis on it. It’s very easy to find yourself chasing your tail from one week to the next looking for those value swings.
It’s still very early in the season and all teams are settling back into the swing of things. Try not to hit that panic button folks if things haven’t panned out well this week.
I agree Chris, I think the most transfers I’ll allow myself is two. Unless Mahrez is on the bench and then I might bring in Bowen instead given the extra fixtures. Although I’m not sure he will play all four. You fancy taking a punt on any West Ham players for those games?
I probably should be but I have bad memories of making moves on players involved in these early Europen games before, only to see them not be involved at all. Just ends up feeling like a waste of a transfer sometimes. If you get lucky though at it pays off it can give you a great leg up.
I started with Scamacca in one of my teams, it’s the worst performing so far 😂 but will see what happens. This is the advantage of having 10 teams, we can take some real punts on players and it doesn’t really matter if it pays off or not.
Paul players who get over 7 points normally stay
the same price Kane got 7.2.
so surly he stays the same price.
Pretty sure Kane will drop Don. It’s dependent on what their value is as to weather or not their value swings. A player who’s value is £3m and gets 3 points for the GW would probably hold their value. However Kane at £7.5m getting a 3 point score should result in him falling in value.
Hope that makes sense.
got it now Chis. 😉
I think he will drop as well, he’d need a goal to stay on 7.5m for me.
I can see him dropping, along with Jesus. I think they generally have to match their value to keep their price the same.
have to agree Paul Saliba star man for sure.
never have understood the workings of
the star man selection process. 🍩ts.
I think it’s done more on stats than actual performance, either way, I’m happy with the 8 points from him.
After watching my beloved United yesterday I seen enough for me not to have any United players in my team. I fell into that trap at the start of last season and I’m definitely not doing it again, nothing has changed. Sancho out and I’m thinking to swap for Ake so going 433. Hoping Ake starts till Laporte is fit again. Not sure why Stones hasn’t played any minutes yet but knowing my luck he will start on Saturday.
I’m considering Dalot out for Ake. I think Stones hasn’t started because he missed a lot of preseason. Don’t think Man Utd will bounce back against Brentford?
Had an Awful Week 1. Had Salah Haaland and Jesus. Put Rodak The Fulham 1m keeper thinking he would not play but Leno injured expecting Liverpool to fire on all Cylinders. Had to remove Salah for Diaz as Nunez was benched. Mahrez 5.5M also benched and Jesus blanked. Too many people have Jesus above me now so have had to make 5 xfrs before GW2.
It’s difficult getting off to a bad start as it instantly puts you on the back foot. 5 transfers seems quite drastic though, who are you looking to take out?
I’d be wary of blowing all five so early Paul but you have to play your own game I guess. This week’s villain can be next week’s hero. Tell us who you’re looking to remove and maybe we can see if we can make a case for holding onto any of them?
Are we saying Ake will rise 0.3, & Dalot to drop maybe 0.2, City’s run of fixtures demands you have to have one of their defensive assets in from week 2, will Bowen get the extra fixtures in Europe or Cresswell, their opposition which I think will be cannon fodder, we will find out on Thursday I believe, a team from the Faroe isles, or a team from the 3rd tier of Danish football, 1st game at home on the 18th, might also adopt Chris’s thinking on Jesus out & Martinelli in, 1st game 8pts to three, been caught out again like last season with a defensive block, this time Arsenal last season Chelsea, top of leaderboard already on 109pts.thinking long-term Dias got a better chance of staying closer to Cancelo in terms of pts, Stones could even start at the weekend not Ake, still riled about Mahrez, might just avoid & go Bowen, not just Europa conference but next few league games are winnable, & barring injury will start every game, Man city will despatch most teams comfortably, so can’t be too harsh on West ham.
My thoughts are:
Kane out, Haaland in (certain transfer)
Then either:
Dalot out, Ake in (how long will Ake keep starting games?)
or Sancho out, Kulusevski in (will Kulusevski deliver against Chelsea?)
I then plan to review Mahrez when I see the City line up. If he doesn’t start, I’ll be tempted to swap him for Bowen.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Spurs get a goal or two against Chelsea. Chelsea and Everton both looked quite sluggish in their opening game whilst Spurs look in good nick from the off. Probably not a bad time to play Chelsea. Won’t be easy though of course.
I think Ake could be worth a gamble for the month. He can also fill in a left-back when required so I think his game time for this month at least should be decent, even if the odd appearance is from the bench, the potential for those 5 CS points is there.
I too will be monitoring the Mahrez situation. My gut tells me he starts with Grealish dropping out but we’ll see.
If he starts, I think I’ll leave him in. The more I think about it, the more I’m tempted by Ake as well. With Man Utd playing Liverpool soon, I think Dalot will need to go at some point anyway so may as well be now.
3 players out Thursday night, 0 funds in the bank, knowing barring any injuries picked up at weekend, these players will play.
Out, Jesus in Martinelli, hopefully in terms of PTS can stay on the shirt-tails of Jesus, 2.5 saving & a price rise
Mahrez out, in Bowen good league fixtures to come, 1st Europa game at home next Thursday, hopefully play him build an unassailable lead, maybe doesn’t play 2nd leg, but starts on bench, to do damage if required.
Out Dalot, in Cancelo, could go Dias & save funds, which could be used on Jonny & Bailey in the future, but you want the best you got to pay top dollar.
Not worried about Mahrez hauling against Bournemouth Dave? With City playing first, you could wait to see if he starts and then make the move IF he’s benched?
I like the Martinelli move. He really stood out as value to me when the prices were released. If he returns half of what Jesus does then you’re up on the deal.
Kinda wish I found a way to get Cancelo instead of Mahrez from the start. It’s just too stressful owning Mahrez!
will you post the updated team before?
I’ll definitely post an update – on here, in the Facebook group and in the WhatsApp group when I make the transfers.
Got to do it Thursday Chris, players I want in will go up Friday, players I’m taking out will go down, not leaving me enough funds to do all, trying to increase team value, think Laporte is good value @ 4.5, played 33 games out of 38 in the league last year, one to look out for when he comes back if I can build up enough funds will do the double up, Walker at 4 you would think is good value, will go up in value on Friday, even with the clean sheets, his 7+ rating is poor, if I can get laporte in at the end of the month or early September, will leave me back 4 of James, Robbo, Cancelo, & Laporte, just leave indefinitely, alot will happen before then though.
Anybody know what algorithm is used to determine price rises & falls, may get rid of Jonny @ 2 million & Dalot @ 2.5 both conceded 2 goals, & how much will Ake rise by with a clean sheet & a 7+ rating.
It’s traditionally very hard to predict, I’d imagine Dalot will drop by 0.2m. I’d expect Ake to rise by 0.3m as he scored more than double his original value.
That would be doable just Paul thanx, let’s wait & see.
I could be way off though, I’m literally just guessing.
Anyone thinking of Harvey Elliot now Thiago is out for 6 weeks?
Klopp has basically said that position will be filled by Elliot. Did a good before the injury last time.
Its’s certainly crossed my mind but I didn’t hear the Klopp quote about the position being his whilst Thiago is out. Where did you hear/read that Jamaine?
I would have thought Fabio Carvalho might be vying for the spot as well. If Elliott does well against Palace though it’s certainly a move that appeals if Bailey fails to deliver this weekend again.
I read it on a article online, I would of thought Carvalho as well to be fair, then again Keita is coming back to full fitness too. I have Bailey also but giving him this weekend to get me some points otherwise he’s out for another cheap alternative, could even be for Lanzini.
Yeah Lanzini stood out to me as a potential bargain pre-season too. Certainly worth keeping an eye on this GW.
If I was fairly flush with transfers I’d be tempted by this one but I’ve got too many other fires to fight at the moment.
Talk of Fofana joining Chelsea for a whopping £85m! As decent as he is that feels awfully steep. I’d want top level proven for that level of wedge (ie Champions League etc).
Seems massively steep for a player like that. I was surprised they signed Cucurella for the price they paid for him as well considering that they’ve got Chilwell and Alonso.
Here’s where I’m currently at in terms of making transfers later today:
Kane out, Haaland in (certain transfer)
Then:
Dalot out, Ake in (how long will Ake keep starting games?) favouring making this transfer at the moment
or Sancho out, Kulusevski in (will Kulusevski deliver against Chelsea?) I want to make this transfer but I don’t want to use 3 transfers so I may hold Sancho for longer
I then plan to review Mahrez when I see the City line up. If he doesn’t start, I’ll be tempted to swap him for Bowen.
Hi men.
Good read as always.
I have Coutinho in atm and if I’m honest I’m not sure about him.
I have no other funds so only have 3m unless I swap Martinelli for Jesus. Will obviously get a increase in him as well
Any thoughts?
Thanks in Advance
Apologies for not joining the chat. Wife’s in hospital and I don’t have a good signal in there when visiting 😂🫣
Let’s start again.
I’m thinking about 4 changed now.
My team atm
Ramsdale
TAA
Ake
Saliba
Doherty
Coutinho
Mahrez
Saka
Kane
Salah
Jesus
Kane to Haaland is definitely happening
I’m thing Jesus to Martinelli
Doherty to Zinchenko
Coutinho to Kulusevski.
I realise I’ve gone big with the Arse block at the back but if you look. They have some decent fixtures for the next couple of months.
I could go Coutinho to Bowen for the extra games as I will have 5m to spend on a midfielder.
I’m also thinking that all players I’m swapping in will go up in value.
You’re thoughts are welcome.
Cheers
It’s tricky because I personally wouldn’t be comfortable using all those transfers after 1 game week but as you say, they might all go up in value so could pay off. I’d personally keep Jesus and Coutinho for now
That’s the trouble about picking different players, it’s all about the Rotation and who stays and who needs to be changed ? in my other league I’m 35th so hoping for some good changes
It’s difficult when a few haven’t got off to a bad start. Sancho and Coutinho on their last chance this weekend for me.
Thoughts on putting scamacca in for Jesus I know it’s a risk put West Ham have some really good fixtures
Too risky for my main team but I’m putting him in 3 others that I’m less bothered about.
I need help! 15 points I am bottom of every Leauge I am in with this team
Ward
TAA
Andy Robertson
Doghtety
Mahrez
Courinio
Lingatd
Saka
Son
Salah
Jesus
I was thinking of taken Robertson out for Diaz
Son out for haaland
Really need some help here guys
I’d worry about not having Haaland and it would probably be Son out for me as well. I’d keep Robertson, maybe Doherty for Sessegnon?
Good read Paul.
Good luck for GW2.
Squads at 32 Points:
Pope
TAA(-1, Obviously staying in the team for the long run)
Ryan Ait (-1, Still expecting things from him so will keep despite his drop in value)
Saliba (8, decent return on 2.5M defender only 5.8% ownership)
Lingard (0, Will be looking at other players)
KDB (5, Stays in the team)
Sancho (0, United pick up where they left off, Sancho looked good in pre season but now seems to be missing on the pitch, considering the move)
Saka (2, Stays)
Kane(3, shifting for Haaland 100%)
Jesus(3, considering his worth. Martinelli?)
Salah(8, long term)
Planning to go:
Kane > Haaland, free up 0.5
Sancho > Kulusevski
Jesus > Martinelli, which frees up funds to move on Lingard, but to WHO? Bowen clear cut?
Cheers
Tough start for those of us without Haaland. I’m making the Kane to Haaland transfer as well. I’m keeping Sancho but purely because I don’t want to blow my transfers after one game week and I’ve decided to take Dalot out. Not sure about Martinelli, think Jesus will be better longer term but I thought that last week before he scored as well and was proven wrong.
Rice or Bowen in midfield think rice had a good game even Cresswell in defence if your thinking of putting West Ham players in?
I’d personally go Bowen, I’ve put him in a few teams and haven’t got Rice in any. Think Cresswell is a decent option as well.
Most lineups suggesting Stones will replace Ake this weekend.
I hope not because I’ve put him in, it wouldn’t surprise me, but it shouldn’t happen from what I’ve read.
Hi guys, interested in people’s thoughts on west ham with there double fixture this game week, I’ve read that declan rice is banned for 2 games and am I right in thinking cresswell is also banned for 1 game as he was sent of in West hams last game in Europe which was the 2nd leg semi final europa league last season? If so is soucek and possibly coufal/Johnson near on guaranteed 2 games due to rice and cresswell suspensions? I can see both defenders starting against forest due to west hams defensive injuries and lack of fitness. Johnson will more likely cover cresswell midweek. And soucek will be the only cdm midweek given rice’s suspension. Would people be interested in those players. Can see possible clean sheets for west ham against forest and a Danish team who finished 7th in poor league. But also the threat of the odd goal from soucek against both teams. Obviously bowen and strikers stand out but just looking at taking advantage of players who are more likely going to play both games as could see a big player like bowen being rested midweek. Interested to hear everyone’s thoughts?
I think it’s a bit of a lottery but can see the logic in the players you’ve pulled out. I’d also throw Scamacca and Berahmra into the equation, I’ve put Scamacca into a few of my teams as a gamble.
I’m considering Johnson aswel Gaz, some good input their.
Just trying to read up myself, Rice definitely out for 2 games and Cresswell got a red after 18minutes in the last european game. Can’t see nothing confirmed on him but sounds like a 1 game ban for him also. Thanks Gaz as I wasn’t even aware of this
I’m also thinking Bowen starts midweek, just to try & kill the tie in the first leg.
Arghh so annoying. Nothing is in plain black and white saying is he banned or not, but yes i’m thinking Bowen now for probably Mahrez. City have 3 out of 4 home games though now for this month !!!
Same here. Rice and Moyes only can’t see nothing regarding Cresswell but like The Studier says he did get a red card ?
I couldn’t see anything about Cresswell but sometimes the info on these playoff games is hard to find.
Coutinho having a rubbish game at the moment
He’s gone on Thursday night for me. Gone off injured