EPL GW-1: How Did You Do?

What a great opening week! There were some surprises, especially newcomers Fulham and Bournemouth getting solid results.

Speaking of newcomers, Man City’s Erling Haaland opened his account in style. His second goal was a thing of beauty, starting with the pass from Kevin De Bruyne. I think this could be something we see over and over. Liverpool newbie Darwin Nunez also made an immediate impact despite starting on the bench. And despite Manchester United’s overall disappointing performance, Christian Eriksen looked lively and posted good numbers in Fantrax.

There are going to be some points to be had from the back. Chelsea’s Reese, Newcastle’s Trippier, and Arsenal’s Zinchenko were all frequently on the ball and set pieces. Trent Alexander-Arnold always is. And Joao Cancelo might as well be listed as an attacking mid (also, Pep is a fantastic manager).

Here’s a quick look at how I did (meh) plus some shout-outs to the top mini-league point-getters on the week!

FPL

Here I settled for 65. Better than the global average of 57, but nothing to write home about.

I went with Captain Salah, which I was happy with. I got my forwards wrong, but then again so did a lot of people with Jesus (73%) who looked so good in preseason. I’m disappointed in Kane’s production, as I really went through lots of other ideas in the build up.

I’m pleased with my back line and keeper. I feel I can ride that group for a while.

I’m not ready to give up on Jesus, Saka, or Diaz. I think they can produce over the season, but I’m already looking to get Haaland into my squad.

In our Never Manage Alone “BTB” mini-league, Daniro FC was tops for the week with 101 points — the only NMA BTB manager to break the 100 point mark. Great stuff! In second place was T_T, followed by Casual Recruits and Anfieldwing Caleb. There was a four-way tie for fifth, with Shabba FC, Gen gen press, Zed ck, and hook team fc all finishing on 92.

Fantrax-11

I finished on 110.5 points here, which sounds fine until you put it into perspective: That landed me in 91st place!

There’s a similar theme here, which is to say I got my forwards and big money choices wrong (not counting Salah). Saka and Kane cost me $35, but earned only 14 total points. That just doesn’t cut it.

Also, I got 2 points from a combined three players (both points from Matt Doherty, who didn’t start, and none from Luis Diaz or Jesse Lingard). That really hurts.

The NMA-11 mini-league GW-1 winner was Ano’s Team 2022/2023 with 168, getting it right from top to bottom, including five goals, five assists, and four clean sheets. In second place was Team BrotherGreat, followed by Pigs F.C., Wednesday23, and Toni’s Win.

Fantrax-17

Here’s how NMA-17 panned out for me:

I tallied a respectable 152.5 here, for 27th place, mostly because I was able to bring in Haaland and Martinelli. Chilwell was also solid, but there’s clearly going to be some rotation. I’m looking at bringing in Darwin Nunez upfront for Kane and using that money elsewhere.

Our mini-league winners were Team mmdan112 and Team Sakiv, who each scored 172.5. Rounding out our podium finishers were Team Stormtrooper84, HELLENIC PRIDE & Fantastic XI (tie), followed by Sir Boy United FC & LatchkeyKid (tie).

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So how did YOU do? Did your last minute tinkering pay off? Were you pleased with how you started your season? Please comment and take the poll below!

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