Gameweek 31: Sons and Doherters

With time running out, Jockin’ Jeeves surprised the field by playing his Wildcard. Could it give him the edge needed to turn the title race on its head?
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​As the remaining gameweeks grow fewer, the result of every decision becomes more magnified. At this stage of the season, it’s less about what players can do over the remaining gameweeks, and more about what sort of immediate impact they can have, with the Gentlemen knowing that there simply isn’t the time left to give players patience. During the title run-in, transfer pressure is at its greatest, and the outcomes can be both magnificent and devastating.

Jockin’ Jeeves knows this as well as anyone. His two League of Gentlemen title triumphs have come on the back of the infamous Juggernaut momentum, with his late charges up the table the stuff of legend. He plots, he plans, then he makes his move and finishes as strong as anyone. There’s a reason why he has only finished outside of the medal places once in eight seasons, and that’s because he knows what it takes in the business end of the season, and he knows how to thrive in an environment that causes so many to wilt. Not only that, his obsessive nature has honed in on the previous two seasons in particular, ones which saw King Ding launch a sensational slow-burn comeback to claim the crown on the Final Day, and which saw Dan the Dragon take the title after using his Wildcard in Gameweek 31. The Townhead Gunner knows his history, and he knows the power that a Wildcard wields, and he chose this gameweek as the one to unsheathe his most powerful sword.

The move paid immediate dividends, with a 23-point gain based on what he would have scored with his Gameweek Thirty team. Without the Wildcard being used, he would’ve been left with only eleven available players in his squad, only two of whom secured any returns. In stark contrast, seven of his clean slate team produced returns, a situation which looks like a successful move, on the surface level at least. However, to examine in greater depth, we could well look back on this as the gameweek which ended Jeeves’s title dreams for good – the one where he was seduced by the stars, at the expense of the squad.

In a move which sent shivers down the spine of his rivals, the Rap Rob Roy brought in de Bruyne, not instead of Salah or Kane, but alongside them. The three best players, from the three most dangerous teams, all of whom with something to play for. Genius, the casual observer cries. There’s no chance Lord Geord or Go Cartin will replicate that move. Go Cartin doesn’t have a Wildcard, and it would take a dangerous amount of hits to create the funds. Lord Geord doesn’t have the transfers, and he won’t use his Wildcard in this gameweek. This is how the two-time champ gets back in the game.

Those casual observers would be correct; there was no chance of me playing my Wildcard in Gameweek 31, despite having previously planned to do so. One reason is because my team was in good enough nick to get me through Gameweeks 31 and 32, before I deploy my Free Hit in Gameweek 33 and Wildcard in Gameweek 34. The other reason is the sacrifices Jeeves has had to make in order to squeeze in the three big-hitters. No Alexander-Arnold. No Robertson. No Cancelo. No James. No Doherty or Reguilon. In a season where the explosive attacking defenders have stolen the show, Jeeves has sacrificed them all at the altar of de Bruyne. The defenders he has selected – Matip, Chalobah, Laporte, Stones and Tierney – are all fine options in isolation. As a unit, with no Wildcard left for the season, it’s an extraordinary gamble that even a player as talented as de Bruyne will struggle to make into a success.

Go Cartin took a gamble of his own, choosing to back his current squad and roll his transfer, and it’s one that, on the whole, probably paid off. Of the highest-scoring players this gameweek, only Jota, Bowen or Richarlison were really worth taking a punt on signing, and none of his rivals owned those players. Indeed, with three Liverpool players already in his squad, Jota wasn’t a realistic option, while Bowen and Richarlison carried similar elements of risk to players he already owned, and with no Wildcard left to play, Go Cartin has to plan for the remainder of the season, not just an individual gameweek. He emerged with 49 points, six above the worldwide average, and with two free transfers to reshape his team ahead of the now-announced double gameweeks. Indeed, had it not been for spectacular shock defeats for Arsenal and Chelsea, he could well have closed or even overhauled the gap to top spot. As it is, he finds himself a further nine points away from where he began the gameweek, and now the pressure is on for him to make the right calls next time out – a situation complicated by the injury to Tierney and the unavailability of Broja.

For myself, this gameweek feels massive. I now have a Wildcard in hand over both of my title rivals, and I managed to outscore them both. It may only be an extra nine points added to the lead, but they are nine points that could well prove absolutely pivotal. While both of my rivals have sacked off Son in the last three gameweeks to bring in Kane, I have kept faith with the South Korean superstar, and that faith has been rewarded, with him bagging an extra point in that time while also enabling me to own what I believe to be the strongest possible defence in the game. Alexander-Arnold, Robertson and Cancelo are undeniable, while Doherty is in fantastic form and rewarded me with fourteen points this gameweek. Bringing James back in was a gamble, one that did not pay off with zero points scored, but the risk of not signing him, watching my rivals do so and then seeing him haul – as has happened twice already this season – was too great to take. Now, I have him, Jeeves can’t get him without a hit, and Cartin faces a real dilemma as to whether to use one of those free transfers on perhaps the most explosive, yet injury-prone options in the game. I know from experience it’s one of the scariest decisions either way, and I’m glad it’s not one I have to take this gameweek.

With seven gameweeks to go, the Gentlemen are cashing in their chips and leaving it all on the table. The stakes could not be any higher.

The Cup Chronicles

These lower-scoring gameweeks are always the most dramatic when it comes to the cups, and Gameweek 31 was no different. The Ox has proven himself somewhat of a cup specialist this season, and though Brad the Lad began as favourite, there was a sense in the air that an upset might be on the cards. At the halfway stage, that is very much the case, with The Ox establishing an eleven-point lead courtesy of owning Jota instead of Salah. While it is by no means an insurmountable advantage, few would bet against The Ox riding his cup wave all the way to the Semi-Finals. Another heavy favourite ahead of the second leg is Dan the Dragon, who saw Son and Doherty fire him to a fourteen-point lead over Deadly Daz. With both men having drastically different squads, however, the Dragon simply cannot afford to be complacent in the second leg. The other two ties were far closer, with only a point separating the teams in each fixture. Go Cartin remains in the hunt for a remarkable treble by taking the advantage over the Hitman, even though last season’s Gentlemen’s Classic winner used his Wildcard. That being said, only the decision to leave Maddison as second-sub cost the Hitman, and you have to feel that mistake will not be repeated. Meanwhile, in the war of the underdogs, Slick Rick takes a one-point lead into the second leg courtesy of captaining Kane instead of Lionheart’s Salah. With his squad struggling for fitness, however, it is all to play for in the second leg, as we find out who will become the most unlikely of Semi-Finalists.
 
Gentlemen’s Trophy, Quarter Final, First Leg scores:

Gameweek Round-Up

The Irrelevants

​There were no changes in the bottom five this gameweek, though Wooden Spoon Helling’s 51 points saw him establish a comfortable margin between last-place Lethal Lee, Glorious Gaz and himself. All three will be competing for bottom spot with Grinchy Vogt before long, with the Grinch’s desperation for notoriety seeing him sabotage his own team every week. His latest strategy is to take multiple transfer hits to sign players who won’t play, in an attempt to tank his ranking as much as possible. It’s a strange move, but some people would rather be talked about negatively than not at all. Lionheart Lamb climbing above him was the only positional change in the bottom twelve, then we see Professor Storey rise two places to 26th and Flash Funk steal a place to reach 24th, while The Ox and the Masterchef also rose in the table as the result of a four-place fall for Mack Daddy McMahon. Despite his cup defeat, Deadly Daz rose a place to sixteenth, while a two-place fall for Brad the Lad saw Stone Cold Stephen Levins move into twelfth place, just twenty points off the top ten. A poor start to the season has been forgotten amid a sea of differential captaincy calls, with Stone Cold’s eschewing of Salah’s credentials in favour of alternative options the driving force behind his climbing the table. Reaching the Elite may prove beyond reach, with eighth place still 66 points away, but with his innovative approach to the captain’s armband, nothing can be ruled out. Though ninth-place Red Hot Rob is 45 points away, Ash the Bash and Terminator Tris could both be captured this coming gameweek, and will have to be at their best to stop Stone Cold climbing even further.
 

The Elite

The jostling for position between the Hitman, the Dragon and King Ding continued, with a poor gameweek for the King seeing him drop two places after scoring just 31 points. With the Dragon now 27 points away in six places, the King will have to act fast to get back up the table, but what helps him is still having a Wildcard in hand over the two men directly above him. While all three of those rivals still retain a Bench Boost, the King’s ability to hand-pick a squad to maximise its effects could well be the difference-maker he needs. Though it is an intriguing battle between the previous two champions and last year’s Gentlemen’s Classic winner, all three will struggle to catch Mighty Mouse in fifth, 31 points clear of the Dragon and with three chips still to play.
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Though he will be aware of what is going on behind him, Mighty Mouse has his eyes on climbing further in the table, a task that became much easier after halving the deficit to Ginger Ben in Gameweek 31. It feels like momentum is slipping away from the Ginger Goliath in the run-in for the second-successive season, and he looks very vulnerable to the extra chips Mighty Mouse holds over him, and he faces the fight of his life to avoid a title challenge fading away to fifth once again. He will still hope to reach the medal places, but with Jockin’ Jeeves now 52 points away and with a chip in hand, it will require mistakes from those above for the Mackem Messiah to secure the bronze. Jockin’ Jeeves will only be looking above him, but the danger facing him is that, in striving to climb higher, he leaves himself vulnerable to those behind. In loading up so much of his finances in three attacking players, he affords Ginger Ben the opportunity to make gains through defence. It’s a gamble Jeeves clearly feels he must take to close the 72-point gap to top spot, because it’s the only strategy he knows I won’t adopt, and it’s one that makes the run-in even more tantalising. Of course, his first target has to be catching Go Cartin, and with 43 points to find to do that, you have to believe his Bench Boost will be crucial. Cartin will know, however, that twenty points is traditionally a good Bench Boost, so it will take something spectacular to pull it off. With Kane, Salah and de Bruyne, Jeeves is giving himself every chance of finding that spectacular event.
 

The Man Who Would Be King

For me, this was one of the more satisfying gameweeks of the season. Not only did I outscore my two closest rivals, but I also did so while one played a Wildcard, and knowing I now have the chip advantage over both of them. My strategy is set in place, which means that my Gameweek 32 transfer becomes a one-gameweek punt; in those situations, I always like to take a chance, and I will be doing so on Saint-Maximin, the most exciting player in football to me. It’s a gamble because it means selling a striker who plays Norwich, but given Weghorst has been so deeply disappointing – he ranked eighth-highest of Burnley players for xG this gameweek, behind a defender who only played one of the two games, and that being against Manchester City – it’s a gamble I look forward to taking. I’m in a strange position where I don’t expect to actually make that many transfers on my Wildcard, but those I do make should have a great impact. Before that, I have a Free Hit next gameweek, which is always exciting, and the maverick Saint-Maximin this gameweek. Of course, the likes of Kane, Havertz, Gabriel and Coutinho still hold fear for me, knowing that Cartin could overhaul me and establish his own gap at the top of the table through those four players alone, but my Lords have done me proud so far, and I have to trust them to do so one last time before the overhauls. With seven gameweeks to go, I’m on 2,081 points – a higher total than I finished with in all but the last two seasons of my FPL career – and I’m ranked 22,518 in the world. I can’t quite fathom it. One gameweek at a time.
 
 
That concludes our review of Gameweek 31 of the League of Gentlemen, which saw the Gentlemen’s Trophy ties hang in the balance, which saw Jeeves throw his Wildcards on the table, and which saw the Son keep shining on the Lords. Ahead of Gameweek 32, may all your transfers be successes, may all your arrows be green, and may the FPL Gods be in your favour.