Stop Making Sense

“There is a party, everyone is there
Everyone will leave at exactly the same time”

The wall of sound comes crashing through the terrace’s entry points onto the concourse nearly knocking us off our feet. The crescendo rising as Darren Fletcher finds the back of the net with a headed goal and the realisation around OT sinks in, United have taken the lead against City and F*** we missed a goal!

[20 minutes earlier] As the Manchester Derby veered towards 1-1 at half time, the OT crowd were baying for blood with the familiar “Attack, Attack, Attack” but in all honesty we were under the kosh. My big brother nudges me and indicates that its time to beat the half-time rush and get to the bar asap. Are you off your rocker I scowled back at him, like a man possessed?

Then, that all too familiar sound of the half time whistle rings around the ground and the race is on, for the bar. My hesitation to miss the action results in us taking our places at the back of the queue. Heh no worry, nothing ever happens straight after kick-off!

[1 minute later] S*** let’s get back to the action.

Having missed that 2^nd United goal we knock back our warm “brown bottled” beer (no product placement allowed in this blog) and make our way back to our seats. The look of disdain on the fans around, “you guys missed a goal” was emanating from the thought bubbles hovering above the crowds.

[60 mins later] We emerge out on to Sir Matt Busby Way, my voice is gone, who cares about the missed 2^nd goal,  I just witnessed what Sir Alex described as "probably […] the best derby of all time" and for Rogue it was the best live game of football I have ever seen in my life.

For those familiar with Stop Making Sense it starts with just Byrne and a drum machine, and then adding more band members and more scenery, song after song, until the four core members and all of the supplementary players are standing on a completed set, playing the band’s biggest hit “Burning Down the House.”

In a similar vein we all start with our pre-season picks, then we add (and subtract) players to our FPL squads, diligently planning our moves, our transfers. our chip plays until we reach our own crescendo in GW38. After GW38 it will all Stop Making Sense to us and we will saunter off into our summer delights before starting our concert all over again.

Before I divulge further on why I choose Talking Heads to discuss FPL, first the regular;

Rearview Mirror

For FPL Rogue the “Act Five” Strategy outlined in Verona Beach needed a revamp based on the COVID-19 adjustments to life, football and FPL.  I took the opportunity to avail of the Unlimited Transfers but in reality, I only needed to make a few changes to plug the gaps. The previous plan revolved around starting the Chips around GW32 but that started much earlier than expected so how did I get on.

⚽ Heaven ⚽

Adamant that I wasn’t going to fall into the DGW player “trap”, Arsenal anyone! I tried to focus on the long-term strategy until the news broke of an injury to Fleck. I rejigged my team and as a result I ended up with 7 DGW players in the end.  Despite a Salah blank, a cameo from Gomez and a red card from Egan I still ended up on 112pts which propelled me back into the Top50k ending up at 32,764. I ended GW30 at the bar and “The bar is called heaven”

⚽ Once in a Lifetime ⚽

No rest for the wicked, GW30 ends and one day later GW31 starts. There seemed a clear trend on Twitter to play the WC in GW31 and I can totally understand why. However Official FPL put a kibosh in that preplanned strategy by NOT adjusting any prices.  Personally, I had planned to wait until the league was sewn up before playing my WC. Speaking of the league, at the time of writing Liverpool have just won the Premier League for the first time since 1990. Klopp’s team played superb & entertaining football and fully deserve the title, one non-salty United fan here. For the younger generation of Liverpool fans, they may ask themselves “How did I get here?”

⚽ Slippery People ⚽

A 79pts followed by a 63 pts results in a drop back to 40,734 in OR. The Captain pick surely has to be the biggest metric that you need to get right to maintain ascent and keep with the pace. My Captain picks in GW31 & GW32 backfired but my saving grace is the strength in depth of my squad. Sticking to the plan and “You were rollin' over” gives me solace for GW33.

Strategies

Having held onto my FH, BB & 2^nd WC for what was meant to be Act Five and a defined chip strategy, COVID-19 meant we had to redraw our battle plans for the final 8 GWs. With the BB dispensed for the restart and GW31, and having the 2^nd WC in my pocket negated the FH chip but purely because my squad was in good shape.

My plan therefore is to pocket the FH for GW38, an ace up my sleeve if I am still chasing my ML and/or to have some fun on the final day. I am watching closely how Klopp & Pep roll their dice after the big showdown at the Ethiad. It could mean offloading high value players but wont we all have that luxury & the playing 11 and 1^st sub will become vital. I am going to rotate aggressively between a 3-5-2 & 4-4-2 with no sentiment to players in my squad from GW1.

Some teams are having serious re-adjustment issues notably Leicester, Sheffield, Bournemouth, Norwich, while others have hit the ground running United, Chelsea, Newcastle.

⚽ Burning Down The House ⚽

 “Some things sure can sweep me off my feet” and that Michael Own goal did just that. If I can offer just one piece of advice for the closing stages of any FPL season that is “have no regrets”. Go for broke, gamble, chase down that ML rival, go for the that personal best in OR, if you don’t succeed then so what, its just a game and after all there is always next year to try again.

Did you know?

Boomboxes, baggy suits, pogoing, pendulum-swinging kneecaps – there will never be another film like Stop Making Sense. Part of this is owed to Talking Heads, a band at the top of their game turn 1983. But it wouldn’t exist in its dynamic, unique form if it wasn’t for director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, The Manchurian Candidate).

Psycho Killer
Qu'est-ce que c'est

⚽ Biochips Predictions ⚽

I added a section each month and asked 3 guest FPL players on Twitter to represent Rogue’s 3 Biochips i.e. Gunner, Bagman & Helm to provide their predictions for the following categories:

Monthly Maestro (Top Scorer over calendar month/specific period)

Cech Mate (Top Keeper)

Bandwagon (Next Pukki)

Tom Daly (Biggest flop)

For our final recap and the June (should have been March) Biochips predictions, thank you to all 3 for contributing @DSexton_11, @FPL_ROSSIE and @1tommoriarty.

GW30-32 in June instead of March*
Prediction	FPL Player	Score (Adjusted)	Month
Monthly Maestro	@Dsexton_11 @FPL_ROSSIE	19 Pts	*
Cech Mate	@Dsexton_11 @1tommoriarty	18 Pts	*
Bandwagon	@1tommoriarty	222.926 Net Transfers	*
Tom Daly	@1tommoriarty	0 Pts	*

So, the final leaderboard for FPL Season 19/20 stands as follows:

Leaderboard
Prediction	FPL Player	Score (Normalised)	Month
Monthly Maestro	@FPL_RubberDucky	27 Pts	Nov
Cech Mate	@Dsexton_11 @1tommoriarty	18 Pts	*
Bandwagon	@FChieftan	1,856,499 Net Transfers	Sept
Tom Daly	@1tommoriarty	0 Pts	*

Very difficult for the March volunteers to remain their composure throughout the lockdown and still remain steadfast with their predictions, chapeau gents. It actually resulted in 2 leaderboard positions changing names at the death. Bravo to all 5 Leaders mentioned above for their courage in taking up the challenge, well done lads.

To all the contributors to the Bio Chip Predictions over the season I salute you. Not an easy task to say the least but a worthwhile exercise for all to undertake. I would recommend following the accounts listed below for their enthusiasm, dedication and football “nous” in all things FPL.

⚽ This Must Be The Place ⚽

Talking Heads never did things the way they were supposed to and #RogueAgainstTheMachine was never meant to follow the normal route of FPL mainstream décor. I started the project as a means to document my progress across the expanse of an FPL Season. I wanted to see if I could learn from my mistakes but also provide some solace and respite to other FPL Managers.

Talking Heads expanded into world-hopping funk that was as much about expanding the brain as it was about moving the feet. Likewise, I set about expanding the realm of FPL to see if I could synchronise it with life memories, motivations and world experiences.

I hope you enjoyed the journey?

⚽ Next Update ⚽

Back next season with a new emphasis so until then enjoy the FPL madness, interact with the Community and remember rule no.1 “Play your own game”.

#RogueAgainstTheMachine @FplRogue

Credits: Biochips:

@FPL_Bully, @FChieftan, @ohheyystranger @johnsmithspurs , @FPLLens a@or_fail @Oldirish007, @DhillonAjit @FPL_RubberDucky @BlinderFpl, @fplhangover  @FPLLens @RenegadesFpl, @2010davidjsmul @FplUncorked, @allorinFPL @FantasianPL @FPLdrunk, @arogantni_ @FplFrenzy  @DSexton_11, @FPL_ROSSIE @1tommoriarty

Credits: Direct & indirect inspirations/contributions:

@SkyPlayerinFPL @FPL_Guidance @PlanetFPLPod @PremierFPLTools @FFSCout @hailcheaters @FPL_RubberDucky @OfficalFPL @FplGaz @FPL_Zebra @BenCrelin @fplAnalytics @PremierFantasyTools @JoremSigurd @2010davidjsmull @FPLHAL @RenegadesFpl @FPLHokage @BlinderFPl @chrissyrowes @FPL_RubberDucky @ginger_assassin @FPL_Rockstar @FplJeb @Linn_FPL @FantasianPL @FplStatsdan @FPLSpectrum @fplsalah1