Higashi Rinkan FC Week 3

Ah, the Fantasy Premier League wildcard. Such a confusing, exciting, perplexing thing. So many questions: When to do it? How many players to change? Do you keep under-performing stars you already have in your team? Why do I always feel sick two seconds after I press the "Play Wildcard" button?

Well, if you haven't already guessed, I pulled the trigger for Week 3. I usually like to keep it up my sleeve as long as I can, but in this season of trying to do things differently, an early wildcard was something that went along with that strategy, and the decision was made a little easier by the fact that starting this season we have a second one available in January.

So I'm writing this over a week after the conclusion of Fantasy Premier League Week 3, mainly because it has taken that long for my frustration over a few of the decisions I made to die down. I ended-up with 60 points on the week, 2nd-most in the Last Man Standing, but right now I wish I had another wildcard, because poor choices and bad luck has me wanting to make another 4 changes for Gameweek 4!

The ball started rolling the Sunday of Week 2, right after The Geordie Messiah's hat-trick against Villa. Boselli from Wigan had already dropped 0.2 in value (to 5.8) and I was still able to get T.G.M. at 5.0, then on the next Thursday I decided I had to have Bale (already up 0.2 to 6.7), which made me a bit sick coz I'd had him in my team almost all of the pre-season, and took out M. Petrov.

At that stage I was prepared to eat the 4 point penalty for making two transfers, but then on Saturday afternoon (Japan time), I got panicky about my keepers, Sorensen away at Chel$ki, and Mignolet at home to City (who had battered Liverpool the previous Monday night). And thats when things spiralled out of control, and five more changes later (making it seven in total), I got the cold sweats as the mouse hovered over "Play Wildcard."

Here are the seven changes then (please excuse my rough cutting and pasting, as I wanted to list them chronologically so I removed the time stamps and all formatting went to pot):
    OUT:                    IN:
Boselli (5.8)          Carroll (5.0)
Petrov (6.0)          Bale (6.7)
Bent (8.5)             Van Persie (9.9)
Shawcross (5.0)   Dawson (5.5)
Evans J (5.5)        Skrtel (5.5)
Mignolet (4.0)      Stockdale (4.1)
Sorensen (4.9)     Cudicini (4.5)


Of the 8 players that I kept, Drogba and Alex were probably the only two I didn't consider getting rid of. I stuck with Stevie, Arteta (despite a 0.1 drop), Essien and Routledge in MF, and Dann and Perch in DF.

I had a certain sense of calm at having removed my only Scumchester United player, but I got the feeling things weren't going to work-out as I'd planned, when, in the first half of the early kick-off on the Saturday, Robin the ###### took a knock and went off. Then, I was sick in my mouth twice in quick succession when Sorensen saved a Fat Frank penak, and Wigan, who had scored 0, conceded 10, in their first two games, took the lead against Cudicini and Dawson's Sperms Spurs.

The Geordie Messiah scored and The Skrtelator got two bonus on top of his cleany on the Sunday, but in the end only three of the seven players I put in scored more than the guys they replaced, and following Dawson's injury picked-up on England duty, I now have him, Stockdale and RVP injured, and big doubts over Cudicini, with Gomes maybe ready to return or new signing Pletikosa a chance to step in until Gomes is back.

Wildcard madness. Carnage.