Cianan’s Column: GW10: Where do we go from here?

Approximately 70% of us are living in a cruel, cold, Van De Ven-less world. His 23-pointer against Everton has saved the gameweeks of everyone who owned him, dooming everyone else, as most of the top-owned FPL assets (Haaland, Semenyo, Pedro, Kudus, etc.) failed to haul. To quote the official FPL X account, GW9 was “a bleak week for a lot of popular picks”. Regardless, we have to dust ourselves off ahead of GW10 and keep on carrying on. That or give up, as several managers already have. At least it means there’s less competition for the rest of us.

Moving on to actual sporting discussion, it’s wise to grab some Crystal Palace coverage for their strong fixture run until GW16. Between now and then, there are no matches where you’d need to bench any of your Eagles, so I’d look to have at least two. The best options are probably Mateta, Sarr, Muñoz, and, if you want to save some funds, look at Richards (if confirmed fit). Though up against a surprisingly tricky Brentford side this week, Palace are at home and have been high-fliers this season, so there should be potential for returns.

Another team with long-term viability as a result of a great fixture run is Manchester United, who just thumped Brighton 4-2. Mbeumo picked up a brace and three bonus points, highlighting himself as a serious FPL option. For £0.7m less than Fernandes, the Cameroonian winger provides a cheaper way into the United attack, although I still prefer the Portuguese midfielder on the whole because of penalties and DEFCON potential. Still, you’d do well to pick up either.

There’s been a lot of talk about the two-point maestros up-front: Pedro and Gyökeres. They’re in 52.4% and 22.2% of teams, respectively, making them the second and fourth-most-owned forwards in the game. There are two clear options here, given both have averaged just two points per game over the past five weeks: sell or stick. Selling is the safer option, since both have been budget burdens for the past few weeks. Keeping them, however, could be a great opportunity to go against the grain, especially since both forwards have exceptional fixtures coming up.

There are great replacement forward options if you do choose to jump ship. I’ve already mentioned Mateta, who’s probably the standout of the bunch, but Woltemade and Welbeck also offer value and goal-scoring prowess seemingly far greater than the aforementioned duo. If you have the transfers to spread the funds across the squad, that’s a great option, ridding you of much frustration. If not, patience could reward managers who stick with them longer, especially Gyökeres, who has Burnley (A) this weekend. The safe choice is certainly to sell, though.

The theme I’ve picked up from many managers heading into GW10 is one of pessimism. When you come out of a week where everything seems to have gone wrong, it’s easy to stew and get frustrated, but we’re barely a quarter of the way through the season. There’s more than enough time to get back at your mate who’s taking the mick out of your mini-league standing. Back your team – many of the best assets who underperformed in GW9 will doubtless be back with a bang.

Rapid recommendations

● Arsenal continue to excel, particularly defensively. Gabriel is showing the value in splurging on more expensive assets. If I haven’t said enough in this column, ensure you have him and another Gunners defender.
● Haaland is human! Don’t worry, I’m sure it was just a glitch in the system; he’ll probably be back in the goals this weekend.
● If he’s only a rotational asset, Reijnders is still passable; if you need to play him regularly, however, you will want to look for upgrades.
● Minteh is a solid differential. He’s cheap, offers excellent value, and faces newly-promoted Leeds (H).
● If you haven’t used your wildcard yet, get to it. Remember, everyone gets topped up to five free transfers in GW16 (ahead of AFCON).

The Boar standings

1st: Dwight Club (554) – managed by Cianan Sheekey
2nd: parths11 (554) – managed by Parth Malik
3rd: leif the door open (534) – managed by Hannah Guthrie