@davidoff_7 is one of the best FPL managers in the world. He’s currently ranked 63rd out of 5.7 million managers! On top of that, he’s also finished in the top 10k on four occasions. He shared his seven tips for FPL success with us this week.
- Patience
I can’t stress this word enough. To be a successful FPL manager, you need to be patient. Very patient. I am against making early Transfers and usually wait until Friday’s press conferences to make my decision. Early transfers should only be made when it is absolutely necessary and that is a very rare occasion. Wait until you have all the necessary information to make the best decision that you cannot regret.
Secondly, give your players a chance! Numerous times I see managers transfer a player in, he blanks and they take him straight out. Remember why you bought that player in the first place and as long as they are getting the chances and still have good fixtures, there’s no reason to take them out straight away.
- Balance
Your team needs to be balanced. The Premier League is a crazy League. There are weeks with many goals and then there are weeks that are very low scoring. If you have a balanced squad, you are prepared for whatever results the league throws at us. Having a ‘power front 7’ is useless if it’s a week where all the expensive defenders come out on top and your rank will suffer. Similarly, having 4/5 expensive defenders with a weak attack will cost you dearly in weeks where there are plenty of goals. Pick defenders from teams that keep clean sheets and have some sort of attacking threat. That way you still have a choice of getting points should your defenders concede a goal. Balance is key in the long term!
- Be Boring!
Sorry to say, but in my opinion, you need to be boring to do well! Pick the obvious captain, transfer in the obvious player and don’t make a knee-jerk transfer. It has been an effective strategy for me and anytime in the past when I have tried to be a bit clever, it hardly ever works out and you miss out on easy points.
- Transfers
I cannot stress this enough. DO NOT take minus points for transfers unless absolutely necessary. For example, your player is injured/suspended and the player you are bringing in is has the form and fixtures. By not taking minus points, you technically are starting with a green arrow, as you will pass people above you that have taken -4/-8, great start to the gameweek! This season, I have only taken two hits and the first one was in Gameweek 14 where I felt Morata was essential as he was home to Swansea and was highly owned. The fear of him hauling and severely affecting my rank forced my hand. (My players out would have got 14 points, players in got me 4 points..red arrow week!) Saving a transfer is a tactic I have deployed this season more than ever before and it works wonders. It gives you the chance to do a ‘mini wildcard’ with 3 transfers for only a -4. (Both of my hits have been in this format).
- Plan
Plan ahead! There are always blank and double gameweeks so you need to make sure that the transfers you make before these weeks should take the double and blanks into consideration. Also, look at the non-premier league fixtures the team of your players have. The top teams always have Champions League and will go far in the domestic cups, so players will tend to be rotated. Make sure you have playing players on the bench. Every little point helps!
- Overall Rank
We all have our aims in FPL; the main one being to win a particular mini league. This can lead to decisions that might not maximize your points due to concentrating on beating one or two particular managers. If you only concentrate on your overall rank, then all these other things will fall into place. Don’t put too much emphasis on beating a rival as this might affect your transfer and captain decisions. Concentrate on your own team! A good example of this was a couple of seasons ago I had my highest ever finish (573rd). I had a big rivalry with a friend that went to the final gameweek. I decided to risk it to overtake him and captained a particular donkey by the name of Benteke when the obvious captain was Aguero. Aguero scored and we all know that donkeys don’t score goals so I gave up the chance to be in the top 500 which I always regret!
- Be the Manager!
Finally, I feel like due to all the information available to us, as well as a lot of top managers on FPL revealing their teams, people just tend to copy others. Pick your own team/players! Watch the live games/Match of the Day and make your own decisions based on these as well as stats. Believe in your own judgment and it will pay off!
Good luck for the rest of the season.
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