FPL Game Week 30: How Did You Do?

Project Restart delivered us a perfect FPL storm: Not only would GW 30 offer doubleheaders for four teams, but all FPL managers were granted free unlimited transfers to overhaul squads that had gone dormant during the long layoff. Add those wrinkles to concerns over rest and rotation due to sketchy fitness reports, fixture congestion, and rule changes allowing for more substitutions, and GW 30 forced FPL managers to contend with an unprecedented set of challenges and opportunities!

Not surprisingly, debate raged over the best approach to the unusual game week, with most managers identifying it as a perfect opportunity to deploy the Bench Boost or the Triple Captain. On the other hand, some managers who continued to make trades during the lock-down opted to play Free Hits, preferring to revert to the teams they had already built after optimizing a temporary squad for the DGW.

Well, GW-30 is in our rear-view mirrors now, and the numbers are in, so let’s take the opportunity to review our results and see how we did. I squandered my Triple Captain chip back in Gameweek 24 and stopped managing my team as soon as the pause was announced, so for me the decision about which chip to play was simple. Here’s my Bench Boost squad for FPL GW 30:

My goalies both did quite well. Ederson kept two clean sheets for 12 points. And although Dean Henderson was shelled 0-3 by Newcastle, his huge performance against Aston Villa meant he still emerged from the DGW with 13 points — even more than Ederson.

As my luck would have it though, among my stable of defenders I somehow managed to hold both of the week’s big red-card dogs: Enda Stevens and David Luiz. Stevens at least rewarded me with a clean sheet in his first match before receiving his marching orders in the second, but Calamity Dave was sent off during a shambolic substitute appearance in Game 1. That locked in a -3 return for the Brazilian — for a DGW. You’re dead to me, Dave.

Photo by Matt McNulty - Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

My other defenders didn’t exactly shoot out the lights either. John Lundstram put in a full shift in Game 1, but he collected a yellow card to go with his clean sheet. He was then afforded only a sub-cameo in the second match, and SHU conceded twice while he was on the pitch. The end result was 5 points for the DGW. Matt Targett did a little better, playing 180 minutes and keeping one clean sheet for a total of 7 points. But in the end, none of my DGW defenders could best Trent-Alexander Arnold, whose clean sheet and bonus point in Liverpool’s one and only game was enough to match Targett’s production over two.

Returns from my midfield were a mixed bag too. Todd Cantwell did nothing noteworthy in Norwich’s single game before being hauled off at the hour mark, and Jack Grealish’s clean sheet point in Game 1 was negated by his YC in Game 2. Adama Traore played just 26 minutes of Wolves’ only game, but he was still able to notch an assist. Bukayo Saka also bagged a helper over his two full shifts to come away with a total of 7 points — the most of all these men.

But not more than Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian eked out a measly 1 point for his sub appearance in Manchester City’s second game, but he did more than enough to satisfy his owners in Game 1: a goal, an assist, a clean sheet, and full bonus points. Plus, in one of the few good captain decisions I’ve made this season, the armband I placed on him doubled his return to a tidy 30 points!

Photo by Matt McNulty - Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Like my midfielders, my forwards were also hit and miss. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played 180 minutes but did nothing productive despite his high price tag. Same for enabler Mbwana Samatta, who was only granted 54 minutes across Aston Villa’s two matches.

On the other hand, Sergio Aguero played the same minutes as Samatta but still managed an assist in each of City’s two games. Unfortunately, in a massive blow to the Argentinian, to Manchester City, and to Kun’s fantasy owners, he was cut down by a knee injury just before halftime in Game 2. He’ll now seek treatment in Spain, and the remainder of his season is in serious jeopardy.

Photo by Martin Rickett/Pool via Getty Images

In the end, I finished on 109 points in a round where the average was 66 and the global high score was 165. For the week I settled out at #146,697 overall, and my total score of 1748 places me #113,156 in the world. That moves me up to #280 in our Never Manage Alone “BTB” mini-league.

I had hoped for more (as I always do), but I’ll take it.

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What strategy did you play in GW 30, and how did it work out? Who was your biggest producer, your biggest disappointment, and your biggest surprise? Please let us know how you did in FPL’s wild and unprecedented GW 30 by posting your results in the Comments below.

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