Although I always strongly advise against doing anything about actually choosing your initial squad until close to the Gameweek 1 deadline,... since that is now only just over two weeks away, I thought I would start dropping a few posts (mostly shorter, hopefully!) over the next week or so on some of the most basic principles I believe you need to follow in this game of Fantasy Premier League.
You might start with some of the similar posts I wrote around the beginning of last season:
A good rotation pair beats a premium keeper
A very basic point about goalkeeper selection - but many people seem to fail to grasp it!
Two mid-price picks beat a premium and a dud
While this point is not as invariably and incontrovertibly true with other positions as it is with goalkeepers,.... it is very nearly so.
Many people ignore and disparage their Bench. But it is super-important, and it is foolish to 'go light' on it - even at the start of the season.
'Dead men' earn NO POINTS; and they LOSE VALUE
In particular, you cannot afford to leave empty seats on your Bench - with injured or non-starting players.
And always keep in mind THE MOST IMPORTANT THING about the game!
More soon......
Yep, over the subsequent week or so, I've added several more entries to this 'Essential Tips' series:
Why you have to prioritise your midfielders over other positions in building an FPL squad.
The fifth midfield slot is where the value lies
You can't afford to skimp on the 5th seat in midfield. In fact, you should be constantly rotating it, to wring the most value from players who've hit a run of scoring form.
A simple guide to categorising the major price steps in FPL, and their implications for building the initial squad.
And this slightly later companion piece...
How thinking of season-long points-equivalent performance, and points-performance categories can guide your squad-building.
Attacking returns will still (usually) beat 'defensive points'
My analysis of the likely impact of the 'defensive points' newly introduced into the FPL scoring framework this season.
Defensive premiums aren't usually worth it
Sorry, Virgil - but I maintain that you can almost always find 'better' defensive picks at slightly cheaper price-points.
The super-premiums aren't usually worth it
Brilliant as Mo Salah and Erling Haaland are, it is just about to impossible to justify the prices that FPL has set for them; you can earn so many more points from the rest of your squad by redistributing that money across several positions.
Beware of double-ups and treble-ups
There are a lot of risks inherent in taking multiple players from one club; risks that are, for the most part, better avoided.
What to watch out for in filling up the last few - cheaper - positions in your initial squad.
Here, I explain why it is foolish and unhelpful to expect to be able to rely on any player for the entire season. Sometimes it happens that you can: but that's a rare and pleasant surprise, not something you should be planning around.
Don't take a chance on uncertain starters (or new arrivals)
There are so many uncertainties at the start of the season, such an elevated risk of unexpected dropouts from your starting line-up, that you simply cannot afford to take risks in the initial squad on players whose playing minutes - or successful transition into a new club - are in any doubt.
The true meaning of 'differential'
What most FPL managers seem to understand by the overused buzzword 'differential' is a dangerous delusion. I offer SIX more appropriate and useful ways to consider the concept.
And in this follow-up post, I emphasise why regarding a 'differential' as being merely a less-owned option is so misguided and self-harming.
And finally.....
People are extraordinarily resistant to this obvious and undeniable truth about our game of FPL. There's no getting away from it: outcomes are determined far more by luck than by skill, especially at the upper end of the rankings. That doesn't mean there's no point in trying to get better. But it does mean there's no point in attributing every success to your astonishing brilliance.
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