Tempted AGAIN??

Just last week I warned that hazarding the PRECIOUS Triple Captain chip in a Gameweek straight after an international break was usually unwise, because of all the uncertainties of form and match outcome that follow from fatigue, availability problems, and lack of preparation after such a disruption of the usual club training schedule.

The same concerns apply even more strongly.... to the entire month of December.

The absurd fixture log-jam we land ourselves with over the holiday season - 7 Gameweeks in the next four weeks!! -  combined with the adverse impact of cold, wet weather (and perhaps even the shorter hours of daylight having a negative impact on some players' moods...?) means that:-

1)  Most players will get some 'rest rotation' at some point; but it's pretty much impossible to predict when. (Though we might imagine that older - and historically injury-prone - players like Chris Wood, Danny Welbeck, and Callum Wilson would be most likely to receive heavily rationed minutes.)  So, even if you can count on your favoured star performer - Salah, Palmer, Saka or whoever - starting every game, so long as they remain fit, you can't be at all sure who's going to be playing with them for each game, or how well their team is going to function around them.

2) All players, even the most superhumanly resilient of them, are going to suffer from some fatigue - mental, perhaps, as much as physical - during this onslaught of quickfire games; and it is very unlikely that anyone will maintain anything like their best form throughout the whole month.

3)   A higher rate of injuries is, alas, inevitable amidst this constant stress of over-exertion, reduced recovery time, and often bitterly cold playing conditions.

4)  Cold, wet, blustery weather also makes the game harder to play, and greatly increases the likelihood of mistakes.... which may lead to unexpected, against-the-run-of-play goals, and perhaps some topsy-turvy results.

5)  With the tight turnaround between so many of the games, and the more frequent changes in team selection, it's very difficult for managers to do adequate tactical preparation.

6)  And it's that time of year when things start to get really critical for the clubs struggling down at the bottom end of the table; and some of them may begin fighting that bit harder - and more effectively - to improve their position. Hence, 'upset results' could become a bit more common over the next few weeks than they have been so far.

All of this means that there is huge UNCERTAINTY about results over the coming month, even in games that look like they should be very one-sided match-ups. And moreover, it is very unlikely that any of our beloved star players will often be able to perform anywhere near their best, because of all these adverse circumstances around them. It is, I think, much better to wait until January or February to play the TC chip - no matter how inviting some of the December fixtures may appear.

[Of course, as soon as I've said this, Bukayo Saka goes and has a monster of a game against a predictably flakey West Ham! I can only say in my defence that this game was technically on the 30th November (although December had already started where I was watching the game from...). But the basic principle is still sound: results are much more unpredictable at this time of year. The early months of the New Year will offer bigger - and more reliable - opportunities to take advantage of your Triple Captain.]