From picking the wrong Alexander to supporting the opposition || My Hive FPL week 1 experience
Over the weekend, the English premier league returned with a basket full of drama, upsets and entertainment. From Liverpool struggling to a stalemate against Fulham, to Manchester United losing at home again against Brighton and Hove Albion, it was a weekend that to a large extent delivered on the anticipation we had for it.
Also with the premier league came the week 1 of the Hive FPL. For people like me who are having their first wade in the FPL waters, it was kind of weird. I had picked my team weeks ago, only having to make tweaks to it based on the happenings in the transfer market and from articles read on this platform.
As the first match kickoff drew closer, I was convinced that I would have a fruitful week based on the team I had picked. But nothing in football is ever guaranteed and I'm going to talk about my experiences over the weekend.
Picking the wrong Alexander
Following his heroics from last season and his performance against Man City in the Community Shield, I (just like many others), was very confident of Alexander Arnold's abilities and consistency to deliver as one of my defenders.
The English man not only did not turn up for the match, but he was culpable for the first goal as he was easily outmuscled by another Alexander, Mitrović who headed in the opener at the far post. Alexander Mitrović would then win and convert a penalty in the second half after getting the better of VVD who is usually very assured.
It just wasn't Liverpool's day and Alison who was also my goalkeeper had conceded 2 goals. It made me start imagining what if I had gone with the less popular Alexander? Well, all the same, it's still early days, and Arnold will definitely come good eventually, or so I believe.
So I'll stick with him and if Mitrović continues to be dominant in the next few weeks, then Mbeumo might have to make space for him.
Aston Villa Debacle
Aston Villa is one of the teams that I had utmost hopes and belief in as a result of their summer business, but the performance I saw over the weekend was just simply disastrous. They were completely outplayed, outsmarted, and outfoxed by Bournemouth. To think that I made last ditch changes to draft in Cash and Mings in place of Castagne (who scored a screamer against Brentford).
From what I'm seeing, Cash might survive, but Mings looks like a shoe in for a transfer either this week or next. Though I still believe that Villa will come good eventually, I don't believe in Mings still being in my team. I'm not even a big fan of his, and I'm still wondering how I ended up with him in my team.
Not Spectacular, but Not Bad
This is where the Arsenal trio comes into play. The gunners ran out uncomfortable winners against Palace with the likes of Saka, Odegaard and Jesus, struggling to really affect the match. Unfortunately for me, the likes of Zinchenko and Marinelli stole the show, finishing with an assist and a goal respectively.
But I'll still stick with Saka and Jesus with the only one of that trio standing a risk of being replaced being Odegaard. Jesus and Saka definitely have goals and assists in them and will eventually come good.
James Ward-Prowse and Maddison are the other two in this category. Maddison is a shoe in for me anytime, he had an assist over the weekend and I know more are coming. Ward-Prowse on the other hand checked in with a fantastic goal, and you can bet he will score a few more over the course of the season including set pieces.
Supporting The Opposition
This has got to be the weirdest part of it all. I'm a United fan, and I don't like seeing the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, City and even Arsenal prosper. If they succeed, then where will the banters come from? But because of my FPL team, I ended up wishing that their players perform, wishing that they keep clean sheets, score more goals, and put in exceptional performances. At some point I had to pause and try to get my priorities straight.
But I guess there was no need, because all the big teams avoided defeat, except Man Utd. Normally you wouldn't see any of their players in my team, but because of club affiliations, I decided to draft in Fred.
I decided to choose Fred because I don't believe in any of their attackers to show up plus the fact that he deceived me with his preseason performances. And no, the defense was never an option. I hope next week will get better with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal turning in better performances.
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Images are from my FPL screenshots
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Hahah... The wrong Alexander?
That's brutal 😂.
I had him and VVD in my backline. First week was a freak show for me. Remove Salah in my team and I will be sitting at the bottom of HiveFPL table. Haha
😂😂😂
I avoided the VVD temptation though,but I know they'll both pick up eventually.
Talk about saving, and I have Haaland to thank for lifting me
Hahah... This is the funny thing about football. Those two lads messed me up the most because I expected so much from them but they didn't show up to the party.
Yet, I'm not even thinking of kicking them out of my team because I know that they are always a very good investment on the long run. Haha.
That's just the beauty of football and FPL. Tomorrow your savior can easily end up being the villain and vice versa.
Arnold is definitely not going anywhere in my team. And like I said, if Mitrovic continues in this form, then I'll draft him in ahead of Mbeumo
Yeah. Mitrovic had a very clean season last year and he started very well this season.
His team will surely affect his overall performance especially when they are up against the big guns, but if they are playing other middle table team, the guy can really good points.
Well.... Liverpool aren't a midtable team and he still scored two. I can see him scoring goals even when they're losing. He's just an old school no9, and if they keep feeding him those crosses, he'll definitely score goals irrespective of the opposition
Hahah... 'Oldschool No.9'
That's the word and I think we really need that pattern at the moment because we have played with false 9 for several seasons and having someone who is ready to run behind the line of defenders will really help TAA and Robertson to bang in more assists.
The season is still fresh and that is the hope I have. Hehe.
Very true. I think Nunez is much more orthodox than Firmino and that's why Klopp got him. He's more physical and direct. It's just a matter of time before he starts ahead of Firmino.
And with TAA and Robertson, hell definitely score many goals
Sure. I already think Nunez will start next game from first minute because, to be fair, the guy participated in all our pre-season and nobody wants to see 30 minutes of game time from the main guy we splashed money on this pre-season.
If he starts calling bangers, he will also relieve the pressure from Salah and this will make it easier for all the front three to play their best style and get good goals.