FPLHINTS’ Five Festive Hints

Written by @FPLHints

Before I say something that masquerades as advice on how to navigate the annual assortment of Premier League matches with short turnaround times, I need to provide full disclosure.

DISCLAIMER

From an FPL perspective, I’ve never done well during this time of the year and in some ways love to hate it at times due to some unforgotten memories. You can probably stop reading now.

With that said, I think there are ways in which we can best position ourselves by re-evaluating our thought processes and decision making. After all, it’s often the simple things that can help us go a long way or at the very least give us a fighting chance of not tumbling rapidly down the overall rankings in a fast manner by the turn of the year.

1. Sync the FPL Calendar to your smart phones

To the best of my knowledge, this is a fairly recent feature from FPL. I only synched it to my smart phone calendar earlier this year and have ignored it for most Gameweeks. However, it goes without saying that this will become incredibly useful in the days ahead when we’ve forgotten what day it is inbetween having last night’s dinner for breakfast and not hitting the save button or choosing our FPL captain on a whim.

To sync the calendar click here and select the FPL option. This may also work with computer-based calendars too. Try it. What’s the worse that can happen? At least you won’t forget the deadline.

2. Use your own smart phone calendar for FPL reminders

Speaking of calendars, there’s more you can do with them! We all have mental notes of when we want to buy/sell certain players – and then we forget. There’s only so much space in our minds. So in steps your smart phone calendar.

Set reminders in advance for a day before each Gameweek of potential transfers. The chances are you may not even act upon your draft transfers most of the times but at least you have a potential move to make in the event that you’re unsure of what to do minutes before the deadline.

3. Centre-backs over Wing-backs

Apart from goalkeepers, defenders’ transfers are not always high up on FPL managers’ radars, be they addicts or casuals. This seems all the more true around this time of the year when clean sheets are a premium. In general, we’re more likely to chop and change our midfielders or forwards due to their high yield points potential. Even if you are looking to buy a defender, no FPL team is complete without a marauding wing-back that can pick up a yellow or bag a green arrow assist in equal measure.

I’m no expert and have no stats to back it up, but the risk of rotation always seems to be high among wing-backs in comparison to centre-backs at this time of the year. The fact is that wing-backs are likely to make more runs and cover more ground (in comparison to their centre-back counterparts) which can put them at risk of even more fatigue. Don’t be surprised if you’re established wing-back sees reduced minutes in the games ahead or simply has a random no show – he’s due a rest after all and this will inevitably be the case among Premier League teams with larger squads.

On a side note, make sure you have an active bench as you’ll need it. If you’re going to make a transfer for a defender it may be safer going for a centre-back. And if you’re worried about their points potential, be assured that three of the five highest scoring FPL defenders are centre-backs at this moment in time.

4. Make use of the FPL Watchlist

No doubt you’ve seen it every season and simply ignore it like I have. But it can actually serve a greater purpose.  You can free up some space in your mind by having this list as a reference point. In many ways it can complement calendar reminders perfectly well when used in tandem. With limited time to make decisions during the festive period, having a pool of potential transfers can come in handy.

To make use of this function, click on a player, scroll down to the bottom of their information screen and click on ‘Add to Watchlist’. You can then access this by clicking on ‘Transfers’ and then finding it on the first drop down.

5. Try and think about FPL as little as possible

I guess it’s a hard sell for me to tell you to not overthink FPL when I’m a fully-fledged addict and coming to the end of an article about fantasy football advice.

Nevertheless, it goes without saying that 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone for obvious reasons. There’s more to life than FPL. Don’t let a game get you down. Don’t let the prospect of red arrows worry you – your season isn’t won and lost during this period. For every bad Gameweek there are plenty of amazing Gameweeks.

I’ve had far more red arrows than green this season and have taken it in my stride. Make the most of the time with your loved ones. Establish meaningful rapports. Filter out content. Go for a run during a match and then tune in to discover the results rather than agonise after every minute in fear of a captain’s blank.

But whatever you do, don’t captain Olivier Giroud on Boxing Day! That’s the only thing you need to worry about on the FPL side of things. Take it easy – you deserve it. To learn more about avoiding FPL burnout, click here.

Finally, if you have a moment, I would encourage everyone to check out the Premier League’s No Room for Racism initiative – https://www.premierleague.com/NoRoomForRacism

Many thanks and all the best for the festive fixture rush!

Ash

The chances are you can find me on Twitter by typing ‘FPL’ in the search bar