Johnny Rep
“With so many great players in one team, you make art.
You don’t mean to but you do.”
Having decided to start with the 3-5-2 formation
driven by the BGW1 and the good opening fixtures for TOT & ARS
it was time to decide on my “backbone or Silo” for the season.
My backbone for the season is defined as those 5-6 players
that I will place my FPL trust in their long-term season output.
Reminiscent of the Dutch totaalvoetbal tactical
theory in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other
player in a team. I have decided to concentrate on a pool of players for
my transfers to maximise form in a small group of players and use the advantage
of fixtures to reap the rewards.
Already walking the planet during the 1970 and 1974 World
Cups although too young to understand the footballing spectacle. My days
of reading “Shoot” introduced me to the initial proponent of
totaalvoetbal in Johan Cruyff. The Ajax team of the early 1970’s under Rinus
Michels redefined the game in Europe with football that was simple in its
execution and devastatingly effective.
I was looking forward to the spectacle of the 1978 World
Cup, a chance to see “Pythagoras in boots” and finally to see what was all
the hype about this Dutch maestro. Then news broke that Cruyff would not be
appearing in Argentina, no reason given but we all now know what transpired.
Utter disbelief on my part, how could he?
In the absence of Cruyff the World instead witnessed the
sublime goals and outrageous talent of Johnny Rep. Consequently, for the
rest of my life when anyone spoke of the great Dutch side of the ‘70’s Johnny
Rep springs to mind over Johan Cruyff.
Hence if Salah, KDB or Bruno
have a no show then I need to find my Johnny Rep from a pool of alternatives.
The re-classification of some of last season’s FWDs to MIDs
and a group of players in the £10-12M bracket places greater emphasis on
hopping on or off these Premium players depending on form. More so than in previous
years.
To make this a possibility I have decided to choose a group
of 5 or 6 ever present outfield players and define the Silo of my squad
who should in theory remain untouched for the entire season (from GW5). Ideally,
I would like to view these core players as a “Set & Forget” group of
players but with such a long season and a multitude of unknowns ahead this is
an ideology that could be difficult to maintain.
This will reduce the number of transfers and allow me to concentrate
on MID and/or FWD players with a view to quick changes depending on form and
fixtures. This is something I was
contemplating but I am not alone as I have seen threads on this from @FPL_Swe
& @PirlosPen to name but a few.
To help define my “Silo” I created a simple Venn
Diagram with 3 different sets:
- Set & Forget Defence
- Premiums
- Watchlist
This method allows you to easily visualize logical relations
between the three different sets and this is something I can modify/adjust
throughout the season depending on form, injury suspension etc.
Adopting this approach, I converged on KDB, Salah,
Bruno, TAA, Doherty & this seasons “Lord” if he
reveals himself. I am mindful that I need to cover potential Burnley
CS’s as my budget did not enable me to choose Pope from the start so Taylor
could be part of the Silo.
The last piece of my squad puzzle is the keeper situation.
In the past I have adopted various strategies in this area but this year I am
adopting the “Set & Forget” keeper strategy.
I amassed 161 pts through the use of 4 GKs last season, Ederson,
Pope, Ryan, Henderson which in the large scheme of things
is not bad considering Henderson scored 160 pts and Pope 170 pts.
However, how much budget was tied up in Ederson and how many transfers
were used throughout the season. More importantly how much mental energy was
dispensed choosing a keeper when a “Set & Forget” would have achieved the
same result provided that you pick the right “Set & Forget” of course.
This season has a precarious start due to the global
pandemic situation, late start, no fans, etc and for this reason I am treating
my Silo as those from GW5 onward.
As a starting strategy I am treating GW1 to GW4
as a mini-season where I plan to exploit good fixtures, the BGW1 and the
general upheaval that currently exists. The form of some of my Silo is a
concern and the late return of the Manchester squads is at the forefront
of my mind.
Starting with 2 up front (Werner & Ings) and the necessity
for at least 3 strong Mid (Auba, Salah/Mane & Son) while keeping
faith in 2 defensive stalwarts (TAA & Doherty) leaves only 9.0m for
2 MID to complete a 3-5-2 as detailed in Wilde Card.
If I choose 2 x DEFs that start over 2 x starting MIDs
then the potential for CS points proves a higher reward hence my switch to a
5-3-2 for the opening GW1.
⚽ An
interesting read ⚽
One of Dutch football's greatest talents, Johnny Rep, with
just 42 caps to his name, would find fame and glory in France during his
career.
Johnny Rep: The natural total footballer who weaved his way
into legend.
⚽ The Magic
Number ⚽
This season I will be highlighting my preferred 3 Differential
Players (<10% ownership) for a period of 3 GWs.
For GW 1-3 challenging my picks is the well-known @or_fail
who selected Sterling, Firmino and Digne.
To level the playing field, I also choose a player blanking
in GW1 in Rashford, with Firmino and Willian to complete my trio.
The objective is simply to see who scores the most FPL
points in the 3-week period.
⚽ Rogue-grams ⚽
Coming Soon: Walks on the wild side…….
⚽ Next Post ⚽
Next post I will take a look at the PPM metric and how it can be used to your advantage. Some repossessions are also in order and the Manchester Cruyff is coming back to replace Rep, perhaps!
So until then, enjoy the FPL madness, interact with the
Community and remember rule no.1 “Play
your own game”.
#RogueAgainstTheMachine
@FplRogue
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