If you’re anything like me, you followed the final week of the WSL transfer window with a mix of excitement and trepidation: excitement at the prospect of so many big international names joining WSL for the 2020-2021 campaign – Tobin Heath and Christen Press to Manchester United; Pernille Harder to Chelsea; Rachel Daly to West Ham; Alex Greenwood and Lucy Bronze to Manchester City; ALEX FLIPPING MORGAN TO TOTTENHAM FLIPPING HOTSPUR – but trepidation because fixtures had already begun, and you, like me, had already selected your fantasy team. Argh.
There are now two weeks until the next WSL game as we pause for the international break and the outstanding 2019-2020 FA Cup quarter-finals. This gives us all a breather, a chance to reflect on our team selections so far (and perhaps try to squeeze in some of these big signings) and time to do some strategic planning.
Here are some key things to consider as you do so
Squad selection:
While it is always tempting to pick your favourite players, especially if they are from the tops 3 or 4 clubs (Chelsea, Arsenal, etc), their performances don’t necessarily translate into fantasy points. Similarly, picking ‘the best players’ (such as the more expensive ones), will not automatically translate into points unless their team is scoring goals, and ideally, winning games, therefore creating chances for players to accrue additional points based on assists, clean sheets, number of passes, chances created, and so on.
Look ahead to future fixtures
Are one of the top four playing one of the bottom two?
Consider transferring in a player from one of the top clubs for these fixtures, even if it’s only for a week or too. Chelsea and Arsenal’s very big wins over Reading, West Ham and Bristol City over the last 2 weeks are testament to this. Of course, no one can predict the future, and as we all know, in football, anything can happen. However, this is a fairly reliable method of accruing points (albeit a painful one if you are, for example, a West Ham fan), especially early on in the season.
Substitutes
I had 2 of my starting 11 not feature in their games at all for Round 2 (Chelsea’s £70,000 midfielder, Guro Reiten being one of them), so having some reliable players on your bench – ones that will at least be likely to feature in starting line-ups – is wise. These don’t have to cost the earth, and there are some real bargains to be had as player prices currently stand. Check out players from Brighton & Hove Albion (Felicity Gibbons, Maya Le Tissier, Megan Connolly), Reading (Molly Bartrip), West Ham (Grace Fisk) and Birmingham (Emma Kelly, Claudia Walker, Lucy Whipp) – who are all regular starters currently priced at £17,500 or under.
This opinion piece has been written by Charlotte Young and reflects her personal opinion only. Charlotte’s team is ‘Kirby your enthusiasm’ and you can challenge her in ‘The ShePlays Community League’, with the code ‘SPAdminCup’.