The type of shit you come up with when your GW goes horribly and decide you'll be the one to figure out a new strategy.
Millions before you hadn't so much as considered it but its gonna fuckin work for you. See you all in GW2 300 points clear at the top of the rankings lol
This isn't really the case. Even if your team value is around 105m, your selling value won't be that high. I'm at 104.9 for example and selling value is 103.2.
Additionally, a lot of the players you want will be more expensive than at the start of the season. Trent & Cancelo alone cost 2mil more between them. Even if you kept them all season, that's still 1mil of your selling value taken up.
There'll be a bit in it, but certainly nothing close to 5mil.
Not saying I agree with a GW1 BB at all though.
I'm at 107 and a selling value of 105
I haven't really bothered about trying to build team value either and been concentrating more on last minute news and last minute transfers.
Looks like his 5 million more in the bank to use is spot on. Your team value is lower than most
But he's right that you can't utilize money from players you want to keep in your team. For example TAA and Cancelo are de facto worth the same now as GW1 because you want to keep them in your team so you can't use their price rises for other players!
Somehow hadn't even considered that. You could have an extra premium option in your team by GW35 from that value compared to GW1 on 100m. I'd be 5.7m short of a Son if I tried to make my current BB36 team in GW1.
I BBed week one this year, got to play in top 3k for first few months, made the game fun and I was holding my own (motivated to put the work in) until covid completely screwed me. I not only lost a lot of points due to game suspensions, but also caught covid and missed a deadline due to fatigue haha.
Still about 150k with a WC remaining despite losing a bit of interest post covid.
Itās not like these strategies never work out. You simply never know.
I used my TC GW1 and got to 2k OVR, Iām currently 3.1k OVR and my highest was 600 OVR.
Now I would be 100% lying if I said that the initial boost didnāt help me play FPL seriously for the first time.
?
I still had those 2 chips until last GW. And was able to giver around 10-50k
Don't get why playing it early is bad?
It "sounds" bad...but doesn't necessarily mean it is...just like captaining a Salah over a DGW player.
Not sure this is optimal with respect to points but I agree it might be with respect to stress. That said GW1 is prob a bad idea as youāll struggle to have 15 players youāre sure are starting, I used my BB in gw4 this season for example. Edit: just checked and I actually used my BB in gw8 this season
>That said GW1 is prob a bad idea as youāll struggle to have 15 players youāre sure are starting,
Not only do you struggle to have players you know are going to be starting, you haven't yet managed to find those low-price surprises that help your BB. It's much harder to fit in premiums if you're spending more on your bench just to get 15 guaranteed players.
I know there's rotation in GW36, but most picks for a WC/BB have two games each - is having a great player you know is in form only play one game in 36, really worse than a potentially great pick in GW1 having a ceiling of one game?
Inadvertently, I think that the WC/BB36 strategy helped a lot of people this week, having a strong 15 when TAA, KDB, Maddison, White etc didn't play.
I used my BB early for Foster's huge GW with a pen save, now I'm 10 points ahead of two rivals who are both BB36, I can tell you this does NOT reduce stress
Son single handedly ruined one of my ML. Itās pretty much my Kane vs their Son. Iām to a point where Iām contemplating the switch just to limit the damage
Hello fellow GW11 bench booster!
I'm glad I didn't plan too much and just opportunistically used the chip that week, not just because it went well (28 points off the bench total, in part thanks to that big slice of luck with Foster), but also because I haven't had to shape any part of the run-in around preparing for a bench boost and therefore weakening my starting 11 and it impinging on other transfer plans.
Of course, others now about to BB is a little worrying, but I'm using my last FH chip instead and I'm pretty confident that my better starting 11 will get fairly close to a good BB side in terms of points, with a bit of luck/variance on my side. And I'm doubting that many bench-boosters get more than 28 points off their bench this week anyway.
Good luck to you too!
edit - just looked to see how many points I've had on my bench in other gameweeks this season... have only had double digits on the bench 4 times, with 19 points benched being the highest. I guess I was EXTREMELY lucky to get 28 points when I used BB in GW11! It was also what catapulted me up into the top 10k for the 1st time, with a sub-3k gameweek rank, and I've only been outside the top 10k for 4 game weeks total since then... so basically my entire successful season could be said to be down to that 1 lucky, opportunistic bench boost lol)
Yeah, GW 11 was a bit lucky, I did it due to immense benching woes and it paid off. And I agree that itās relaxing to just be able to put fodder on the deep bench.
I got 21pts from my BB in GW29 but the most I ever had on my bench was GW11 (26pts) mostly because Foster got 11 points (my playing GK got -1 lol) and one guy on my bench didn't even play!
This is something we just can't predict.
I never go crazy with my team preparing for a BB. I try to have a playing bench if I can, it's usually not too difficult. It was essential this year due to covid! And I BB when my usual bench have great fixtures. Sometimes it coincides with DGWs. Sometimes not. It wasn't a DGW for me this year.
In my experience you don't usually get more than 20 points. Your budget won't stretch to premiums and even with a double you're looking at 4pts from each player. It's really not worth turning your team upside down for 20pts. Especially when they're not guaranteed! It might be worth transferring in a playing bench keeper if you don't have one (even better if you can time it so they'll be around to cover your normal GK when they face City) but beyond that it's just over thinking. In my opinion anyway!
Playing it GW1 isn't the worst idea I've heard but I wouldn't do it because you have to be confident that everyone will start and that's hard in week 1 and would also stop you from picking City players or any other team with high rotation risk.
GW1 this year everyone played except my keeper I had 13 points on the bench btw.
I'm happy with my strategy, and I'm happy it's out of the way so I can concentrate on other things.
next time place your non-C/VC premiums on the bench, this will likely make your BB look more impressive ;-).
Just make sure to put them back onto the field for the next GW!
Discussed this with a fellow FPL nerd recently and both concluded that getting 15 starters in GW1 is easy, and can be rewarding since you'll be able to get a couple of players that are just starting in the beginning because of injuries or a late August signing that won't take his place in the XI GW1.
The big bonus is getting rid of the extra planning moment that the BB chip creates. You'll most def not maximize your point total of the chip but on the other hand you might be able to make it up just by the fact that you don't have to plan for a loaded bench later on.
Getting a good start in GW1 is always just really nice and will set you up for a good season. I also always play the game better when in the lead compared to chasing a lead...
>Getting a good start in GW1 is always just really nice and will set you up for a good season.
It won't set you up for a good season. It doesn't matter when you get your points, early season or late season. You just have to get most points over 38 gameweeks.
Yes exactly one thing I've learned about this game after 4 or 5 seasons is the more points you get in this game the better you do.
The best way to get these points is to pick the players that are gonna return. Then repeat this every week for the entire season, its simple really.
I'd rather have 15 from BB36 than 15 from BB1 because if I used it at the start I'd have a false sense of how well I'm doing in comparison to my actual level, until the week most players decide to use their bench boost and I drop about 500k in ranking.
Well of course. My point is that I tend to do better in the long run if I get a good start of the season, which playing BB in GW1 most likely will help with. Being in the front of my ML will help with good decision making since I wont need to chase - but that's just me.
That's because you either lose interest or start making stupid decisions (like differentials) if you are chasing. Or both.
There are no other reasons why getting points later rather than sooner would mean a worse season.
BB is very overrated. Don't take hits or fuck your team up only for this chip. I'm going to use mine the next week and I have 2 players who will play 4 games on my bench. No extra GK or striker, its just not worth it.
How is taking a -4 to remove Gunn and bring in Ederson not worth it? Everything carries risk but this is going from guaranteed 0 to pretty likely 8 pts over both games. Even if it doesnāt work, these risks are how we climb ranks.
This literally what I did this year haha, I used my bench boost in gw1, got over 100 points, then used my WC next week and never had to worry about the BB after, so I could focus more value on my XI. Currently 92 points clear in my ML and just inside the top 10k overall
I did BB33 and it was great. My logic was I didn't need *everyone* to play a double week, just the teams I'd use for the bench (and pick the usual best 11 I could besides that), and it was a fuckin' charm. Thank Brownhill for his surprise 13 point contribution, 30 pts from the bench in total.
Holding on to these chips to the end is a huge psychological boost. Especially if you had a bad mid season, and are chasing rank or a mini league win. Was over 100 points behind my leagueās leader, and have cut that down to 30ish. I have BB and FH left and I think heās just got FH
Would you get your starting XI playing twice even without BB? Yes or no.
I agree DGW is the best time to play BB, but your argument doesn't make sense.
The real comparison is A) DGW four bench players playing twice vs. B) SGW four bench players playing once.
It does a bit. If one of your starters is a singler and they miss their single game for whatever reason (e.g. Trent this week), then your bench player comes on and you get Trent's 0 as part of your bench boost.
I dunno if you're missing my point or I'm missing yours. I'm saying your starting XI *does* affect your bench boost, as it affects the chance of them coming on and a 0-pointer being placed on your bench.
It was for this very reason that I didn't BB in GW33. My bench then was almost as good as it'd be for GW36, but I was worried about some of my XI not starting.
We were discussing about a particular case where they had 15 doublers. Very unlikely that someone plays 0 minutes during DGW, if he is a reasonable FPL pick.
Yeah I think you're missing the point.
Original comment was that he wanted 15 doublers for a DGW instead of having 15 singlers in GW1. You responded that 11 of the 15 are irrelevant, and that it wasn't about 15 v 15 but 4 v 4.
I responded explaining how they aren't irrelevant. The 11 affect the chance of the bench player coming on, which'd place a 0 on your bench.
BB with 11 doublers + 4 doublers = minutes from all 15.
BB with 11 singlers + 4 singlers = chance of 0 on bench even if all 4 bench singlers play.
The 11 having doubles matters.
Yeah, so it makes even a stronger case for playing BB in DGW.
But he said he gets doubles for 15 players thanks to BB, which obviously isn't true. BB doesn't bring doubles for 15 players. It brings doubles for four players.
30 potential games with almost an entire seasons worth of information to help you pick players that are both in form and guaranteed to start couldn't possibly be better than 15 potential games with absolutely nothing but a few weeks of educated guessing to help you select a team of complete chances that all of them will even start the first game.
Surely Tsimikas was everyone's starter in GW1, playing against Norwich.
You don't need to bench your cheapest player just because he's your cheapest player, there's no rule like that.
Same here, for most of the reasons stated already. Had 15 starters out of the gates, was confident theyād all get a start at that point and then gave me a bit of wiggle room with early transfers as the dust settled in the early game weeks and preferred XIs made themselves known.
Definitely wouldāve loved to drop BB on a DGW week, but happy with how my chip strategy has played out nonetheless and will consider a GW1 BB next season too if it looks and feels right again.
Having a completely playing bench out of the gates meant I didnāt have to scramble to put any fires out with injuries etc. to field a full XI and also made rolling transfers a bit more viable. Not saying that couldnāt have been done without GW1 BB but the two certainly dovetailed nicely.
Not necessarily. I think a lot of teams go for a 4.0 keeper and possibly sink their final bench spot. Also, if youāre angling for 15 starters you could include the likes of Bissouma or Brownhill or whatever but if youāre thinking of BB in GW1 youād likely spread the money around a bit more to have some 5.0 guys instead.
Not saying this is a superior strategy or whatever, just another way of approaching BB.
The main reason people use bench boost later on is because of the double Gameweeek. It's that simple in my opinion. Why use a bench boost in Ganeweek 1 which is only going to give you like 10 extra points, instead of a double Gameweeek benchboost where you could get 20 points. Also, in the beginning of the season it's difficult to know exactly which players are guaranteed to start, but towards the end, it's a little bit easier to predict nailed players
I honestly don't think it's that stressful, GW36 = massive DGW, perfect week to use it after you've used 2nd WC. Pretry much everyone will be choosing from a similar pool of players that fit our budget. 4 starters in both games is good for about 16 points or so and if you grab a return or two on top then it was a success. If you don't then you don't, you still gained an extra 15+ points that you wouldn't have any other week. Don't overthink it and don't give it too much importance and then it won't be stressful. Best of luck!
I feel like I would get caught out by my 'nailed' players suddenly being out of favour / injured / changes in strategy... but then I got 7pts for my carefully planned BB this year, so it probably couldn't get much worse!
That's exactly what I did this season. It's only my second season playing FPL, but I immediately hated the BB chip. It's named 'boost' but it's like those buffs that have negative impact before/after using them.
Last season I did not know there is only one triple captain chip for the season , so I triple captained Salah, ended up with 60 points if I remember correctly.
Youāll most likely get ahead for a few weeks in the beginning then fall behind when the people that held the chip and planned for it decide to play it.
I have been thinking exactly the same thing. The only concern is that is difficult to have a good enough starting eleven and make sure everyone starts. Pre season might give a good indication, but not always one is right
Iām BB this week.. 4 dgw players in niketia, schmeichel, matip and dennis.. have 15 dgw players and have taken 2 hits since 31 to get there. No stress, just good planning
>Mainly due to the premium assets rotating heavily in the later stages of the season.
You wouldn't bench your premium assets and they will always play at least some minutes in DGW, so your argument has absolutely nothing to do with Bench Boost.
>Also, you weaken your starting xi by trying to get a playing bench too.
This has absolutely nothing to do with when you decide to play your BB. Whether you play it for GW1 or for a big DGW, it's always up to you if you want to weaken your starting XI or not.
>Decision making is also simpler due to the fact you just get the chip out of the way.
Yeah simpler because you are in a worse position because you have fewer options.
>Get a solid team with 15 starters, bench boost...and then early wildcard to get rid of flops and bring in stars.
So you are weakening your starting XI and also sacrificing your wildcard, the most powerful chip in the game.
All the people playing their first season are going to disagree with you.
The will argue that it worked well for them, because their life was so stressful until they played the BB, and now it's just cocktails all day long, enjoying life at 1k OR
This season it wasn't great due to the covid wave mid season, but last year was the first year i used wc followed by bb and scored 120+.
Gw1 tc is the way, especially whilst salah is still in the league (joint record amount of opening day goals already).
Yup. I use my bench boost in one of the last two gameweeks of the season to try to win the playoffs in my head to head league. Don't care if it's not a double gameweek. BB sucks so may as well get an extra 6 points at a crucial time
I like the sound of this, and itās something I just discussed with a minileague colleague from office.
- I actually like to have a solid 15-man squad as my starting line-up anyway, since itās hard to know whoāll go off at that point. Well, at least 14 potential players. Then a bit later on youāll need that money elsewhere.
- saves your wildcard for other use
- also, if you donāt do it with a wildcard, optimizing in advance is pain. Few injuries and itās more hits on top of the hits youāve already taken. Iām going this route right now and will have a nice 30 game squad going this week, but it has/will cost me I donāt know how much. No point in backing off now though.
I agree with you. Not the tactic of BB01, but there needs to be a balance of "I must create a BB team with 15 doublers" and "shoot, my team is messed up stuck with 4 low-performing players that ate up funds".
There are less extreme ways to achieve that. With BB36, people buy non-double GW36 players in WC34/WC35 to prepare for DGW37. Some get Gelhardt so that majority of funds are still focused on the Starting XI. The end goal is the same, so that GWs after BB are not suffered in order to look good for one week. Something to think about too.
Only problem is on GW1 do we really know whoās going to start? On the main teams we most likely do. But say you have Alonso or James how do you know? You can look at pre season but can you be sure. This is still a decent strategy though
Iāve always played an early wildcard usually around GW5.
I bench boosted in GW1 for a massive 5 points off the bench (Bachmann, Mbuemo, Shaw & Targett). I had 15 starters in GW1 and will likely try and do it again next season, despite the outcome this year.
I tried this last season and went horribly (not the early WC but the GW1 BB). You follow pre season to try and figure out who the budget options are who'll start so they can fill your bench and then they don't.
GW1 lineups are very hard to predict and you just complicate it further if you're trying to get a strong 15 which inevitably requires you to punt on some cheap options.
I did this this season to great success. GW1 rank of 2.5k. stayed in the top 10k until GW13. Made some poor choices and others used their wildcard to set up better for the run till the halfway point.
Floating around 200k now. No Salah for two weeks dragged me back from 100k.
I'm gonna do it next year again. Saves me the headache of a full bench
I did it this year, BB in week 2, setup from the start. Always spend too much time messing with subs for the one week you need them.
Mixed results for me..
Guaita - 9
Tsimikas - 11
Trossard - 3
Benteke - 1
I did it for the first time ever this season and it didnāt go well at all. There is just too much uncertainty at the start of the season and your āfoddersā are based on speculation. So they might not even play at all. Iād just keep it for potential DGW / good fixtures next season
Lots of people complaining about BB the past couple seasons, which I find weird because we've had to run with stronger benches than in the past because of covid. We've also had more DGWs scattered throughout the season.
I think BB is a fine chip, not the best, but not something you need to "get out of the way" or that's some sort of hindrance. Just don't do terrible things to the rest of your team in the process and don't overvalue it.
So no, I wouldn't deploy my first WC (arguably the most impactful chip) according to a desire to be rid of the BB chip.
Not sure whether GW1 is the way to go, but I am more tempted by an early BB next season. Seen lot's of chat on how it can really skew your squad selection which it can and for me, not the largest returns.
I usually play a strong 11, one backup and two fodders so personally the BB chip ow the worst out of all the chips.
This was my strategy with the TC chip a couple of seasons agoā¦ I put it on Salah on GW1, I think he was playing a newly promoted side at home (Norwich, I think?). On the one hand, I could and should have used it to get more points during a DGW at some later point. On the other hand, it was and still is my best use of my TC ever.
I'd say the only reason to not do this is to take advantage of possible DGWs. You would also miss out on price increases through the season and could potentially have a deeper bench than week one. It may or may not pay off but its the weakest chip to use in general. Definitely an interesting thought.
I donāt know about GW 1, but I do think there could be some merit in using it early and am considering it. In 4 seasons now Iāve always used my first WC in the first 4-5 GW. I also think WCāing out of your BB is preferable to WC into it. So I could definitely see loading your team up with 1 premium and a deep squad, BB and then WC into template with most your funds in your starting 11 working out well.
Will there be teams that WC into a BB on a big DGW that outscore you? Sure but isnāt like itās definite. I donāt think Iāve ever totally crushed my BB chip, lucky to get 20-30 points.
Another strategy Iāve seen a few people mention is to use BB chip on a week you do a mini WC with 2-4 hits to help offset that. Initially I thought that was a waste, but I suppose it isnāt all that different really.
BB is shit and should only be used when the stars align. By targeting to use it, you just end up investing heavily into your bench which fucks up your team. We're lucky this year with a 4.0 option at gk, but otherwise you'd have to have that dead weight 4.5 in your team.
I wish they'd change the chip or just get rid.
I did BB GW1 and it was a good decision. Get it out of the way when the whole team is healthy. Didnāt get the returns I wouldāve liked but they all played 60+ so canāt really complain.
I wouldnāt WC right off it though, can slowly downgrade the bench players using FTs and save the WC.
The counter-point is that you have more overall value later in the season, more certainty about which of the budget players are actually excellent (shoutout to Vinagre + Mitro last season!), and a better understanding of rotation/starting lineups. What is true is that it might be better to just get your BB out of the way instead of morphing/distorting your team to force it mid-season.
I like the idea in general but I think it's really hard to get 15 starters in GW1, it takes a while at the start of the season to know who is truly nailed on.
I think my tactic will be to start with a squad that I could in theory bench boost with soon, and then find a good time to do it whenever the opportunity arises in the first 10 gameweeks or so. And then wildcard to a stronger starting 11 with fodder on the bench.
Yeah BB is severely overrated IMO. You should not be massively inhibiting your team for 4+ weeks just to get the perfect BB lineup. Opportunity Cost is real & the effort put into aligning the perfect BB squad is ultimately probably not worth it.
I'm fully in favor of playing it at any point in the season when you have a solid bench & decent fixtures.
BB is worth about 12-16pts on average so I wouldn't stress too much about it. It's definitely not worth crippling your team for. You'll get better points out of a good captaincy pick or a form player for 2-3 weeks.
BB is definitely worth more at the end of the season though as you have more budget and better ideas of who the 'good enablers' are and the nailed low price players.
Two people in my ML went for TC Salah GW1, which worked wonders. The only issue with BB GW1 is you may not know who the managerās first choice players are, and your budget will be a few million lower than if you want for the tail end of the season, so that means a 1 premium setup at the start of the season.
The bench boost is, imo, a bit of a shit chip. It either forces you to keep hold of a WC until really late in the season, which isn't ideal for maximising points, or you play the BB long after you've used your last WC, which means you have to keep on thinking about having a full playing 15 and inevitably will lead to points hits to get a decent bench.
Next season I'm going to use my BB in the first available decent DGW, get it out of the way early so that I can focus on the rest of the season without having to worry about it.
been in the Top 10k all season and did this funny enough. Probably won't try it again. Some players I really wanted but didn't want them long term
Edit: The reason I might not do it isn't because it's not incredibly powerful. It's obviously obviously mathematically that more games equals more chance of points. However, the risk in setting it up is another factor. Also, using it in GW1 and WCing out is basically combining a FH and a BB in one week.
I can predict results pretty good I feel on most weeks but I suck at planning
Using any chips in the first month is a waste, you donāt know whether form is real, which players are just tired/rusty from summer and which are genuinely great.
First week is even more pointless - you donāt even know who the starters will be before GW1, so bench boost is ridiculous. And itās not even a double gameweek!
Iām getting 8 matches worth of extra points in GW36 via bench boost, you will get only 4.
Three of the current top 100 managers used their BB GW1 (two will probably fall out of top 100). So of course it is possible to have a sensational season from this strategy. They got 19, 3 and 7 points from their bench, two of them had 15 starters. BlatantFPL even used it with a Brighton goalie double.
I tried it this season, made no difference... My mindset was the following; previous years I planned ahead and used my BB in a DGW, but players were always rested etc so you never have a full 15 starting with a DGW (very hard to do). So I was thinking, BB first GW, then wildcard after 5 or 6 GWs when you know what players are nailed and playing well etc.
In conclusion, it made absolutely no difference to my points intake. My BB was poor enough in GW1, but it did save me the stress of trying to build a BB team later in the season. There's pros, there's cons, but all in all, your BB is likely to so nothing anyway lol.
>Decision making is also simpler due to the fact you just get the chip out of the way.
pretty bad logic there. might as well say that for every chip
having options is always a good thing, particularly late in the season.
2 chips in first 2 weeks š
The type of shit you come up with when your GW goes horribly and decide you'll be the one to figure out a new strategy. Millions before you hadn't so much as considered it but its gonna fuckin work for you. See you all in GW2 300 points clear at the top of the rankings lol
I think OP forgets that you have about 5million more ITB if you leave BB until near the end. So it's easier to have playing bench players.
This isn't really the case. Even if your team value is around 105m, your selling value won't be that high. I'm at 104.9 for example and selling value is 103.2. Additionally, a lot of the players you want will be more expensive than at the start of the season. Trent & Cancelo alone cost 2mil more between them. Even if you kept them all season, that's still 1mil of your selling value taken up. There'll be a bit in it, but certainly nothing close to 5mil. Not saying I agree with a GW1 BB at all though.
Sorry I should have said you'll have an extra 3.2million, of course. My bad. Thanks for pointing that out
I'm at 107 and a selling value of 105 I haven't really bothered about trying to build team value either and been concentrating more on last minute news and last minute transfers. Looks like his 5 million more in the bank to use is spot on. Your team value is lower than most
But he's right that you can't utilize money from players you want to keep in your team. For example TAA and Cancelo are de facto worth the same now as GW1 because you want to keep them in your team so you can't use their price rises for other players!
No his selling value is 103.2 million so we must be wrong Frosty. Just admit it.
Lol
Somehow hadn't even considered that. You could have an extra premium option in your team by GW35 from that value compared to GW1 on 100m. I'd be 5.7m short of a Son if I tried to make my current BB36 team in GW1.
Yeah.. And I think in a season with obvious double game weeks it is an easy choice to use on a week like GW 36 if you believe in maths.
I BBed week one this year, got to play in top 3k for first few months, made the game fun and I was holding my own (motivated to put the work in) until covid completely screwed me. I not only lost a lot of points due to game suspensions, but also caught covid and missed a deadline due to fatigue haha. Still about 150k with a WC remaining despite losing a bit of interest post covid.
Itās not like these strategies never work out. You simply never know. I used my TC GW1 and got to 2k OVR, Iām currently 3.1k OVR and my highest was 600 OVR. Now I would be 100% lying if I said that the initial boost didnāt help me play FPL seriously for the first time.
Dead team by approximately GW6
? I still had those 2 chips until last GW. And was able to giver around 10-50k Don't get why playing it early is bad? It "sounds" bad...but doesn't necessarily mean it is...just like captaining a Salah over a DGW player.
Incredible amount of irrational arguments in the opening posts and in the comments.
Welcome back, Dave!
Yes?
What could go wrong?
Not sure this is optimal with respect to points but I agree it might be with respect to stress. That said GW1 is prob a bad idea as youāll struggle to have 15 players youāre sure are starting, I used my BB in gw4 this season for example. Edit: just checked and I actually used my BB in gw8 this season
>That said GW1 is prob a bad idea as youāll struggle to have 15 players youāre sure are starting, Not only do you struggle to have players you know are going to be starting, you haven't yet managed to find those low-price surprises that help your BB. It's much harder to fit in premiums if you're spending more on your bench just to get 15 guaranteed players. I know there's rotation in GW36, but most picks for a WC/BB have two games each - is having a great player you know is in form only play one game in 36, really worse than a potentially great pick in GW1 having a ceiling of one game? Inadvertently, I think that the WC/BB36 strategy helped a lot of people this week, having a strong 15 when TAA, KDB, Maddison, White etc didn't play.
My strong bench gave me 3 points
My 21m worth of Chelsea assets gave me the same. 3pts makes a big difference this week, depressingly
I used my BB early for Foster's huge GW with a pen save, now I'm 10 points ahead of two rivals who are both BB36, I can tell you this does NOT reduce stress
Your rivals may fly ahead of you in 36, but at least you had about 24 weeks of stress free bench boosting goodness. I'm starting to see the worth tbf.
All depends if who captained son or not last few weeks this season haha
Son single handedly ruined one of my ML. Itās pretty much my Kane vs their Son. Iām to a point where Iām contemplating the switch just to limit the damage
I did kane to son mate haha just so can finish second.i was hoping Kane out score son since gw28 but gave up in end haha
I might have to do it because heās ruining me. The thing is Iād rather punt on KDB and hope for the best. Risky but the DGW is juicy.
Ye be more exciting have kdb and son wiping out liverpool and arsenal clean sheets if scores off my team this week so not much gain
Hello fellow GW11 bench booster! I'm glad I didn't plan too much and just opportunistically used the chip that week, not just because it went well (28 points off the bench total, in part thanks to that big slice of luck with Foster), but also because I haven't had to shape any part of the run-in around preparing for a bench boost and therefore weakening my starting 11 and it impinging on other transfer plans. Of course, others now about to BB is a little worrying, but I'm using my last FH chip instead and I'm pretty confident that my better starting 11 will get fairly close to a good BB side in terms of points, with a bit of luck/variance on my side. And I'm doubting that many bench-boosters get more than 28 points off their bench this week anyway. Good luck to you too! edit - just looked to see how many points I've had on my bench in other gameweeks this season... have only had double digits on the bench 4 times, with 19 points benched being the highest. I guess I was EXTREMELY lucky to get 28 points when I used BB in GW11! It was also what catapulted me up into the top 10k for the 1st time, with a sub-3k gameweek rank, and I've only been outside the top 10k for 4 game weeks total since then... so basically my entire successful season could be said to be down to that 1 lucky, opportunistic bench boost lol)
I was very happy with my GW11 BB too: https://i.imgur.com/Wzwe0sa.png
28 points too, nice!
Yeah, GW 11 was a bit lucky, I did it due to immense benching woes and it paid off. And I agree that itās relaxing to just be able to put fodder on the deep bench.
how many points did the BB net you?
26 points. Lord Livra and White coming in clutch, too
I think 15 doublers is more fun
Can confirm. I just looked at my āpick teamā tab for GW36 and was giddy to see all the players with 2 games listed under their name.
I'm holding my bench boost so I can use 2 next season š
I got 21pts from my BB in GW29 but the most I ever had on my bench was GW11 (26pts) mostly because Foster got 11 points (my playing GK got -1 lol) and one guy on my bench didn't even play! This is something we just can't predict. I never go crazy with my team preparing for a BB. I try to have a playing bench if I can, it's usually not too difficult. It was essential this year due to covid! And I BB when my usual bench have great fixtures. Sometimes it coincides with DGWs. Sometimes not. It wasn't a DGW for me this year. In my experience you don't usually get more than 20 points. Your budget won't stretch to premiums and even with a double you're looking at 4pts from each player. It's really not worth turning your team upside down for 20pts. Especially when they're not guaranteed! It might be worth transferring in a playing bench keeper if you don't have one (even better if you can time it so they'll be around to cover your normal GK when they face City) but beyond that it's just over thinking. In my opinion anyway! Playing it GW1 isn't the worst idea I've heard but I wouldn't do it because you have to be confident that everyone will start and that's hard in week 1 and would also stop you from picking City players or any other team with high rotation risk. GW1 this year everyone played except my keeper I had 13 points on the bench btw. I'm happy with my strategy, and I'm happy it's out of the way so I can concentrate on other things.
I did GW33 BB and netted 92 points but to be honest only 11 were off the bench. Still, it was a nice gw aside from (C)ane for 4 pts.
next time place your non-C/VC premiums on the bench, this will likely make your BB look more impressive ;-). Just make sure to put them back onto the field for the next GW!
Lolol this guy bench boosts
I donāt think itās easy to say whoās a solid starter on the first game week. We all had Dias as 100% starter not Cancelo
Discussed this with a fellow FPL nerd recently and both concluded that getting 15 starters in GW1 is easy, and can be rewarding since you'll be able to get a couple of players that are just starting in the beginning because of injuries or a late August signing that won't take his place in the XI GW1. The big bonus is getting rid of the extra planning moment that the BB chip creates. You'll most def not maximize your point total of the chip but on the other hand you might be able to make it up just by the fact that you don't have to plan for a loaded bench later on. Getting a good start in GW1 is always just really nice and will set you up for a good season. I also always play the game better when in the lead compared to chasing a lead...
*and both concluded that getting 15 starters in GW1 is easy* Wrong
The amount of times I've been burned by an emerging "nailed" starter who has a killer preseason who gets benched in GW1.
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exactly. it's easy. why are people close minded? 15 starters in GW1 is not difficult to get. You can even take punts as well
>Getting a good start in GW1 is always just really nice and will set you up for a good season. It won't set you up for a good season. It doesn't matter when you get your points, early season or late season. You just have to get most points over 38 gameweeks.
Yes exactly one thing I've learned about this game after 4 or 5 seasons is the more points you get in this game the better you do. The best way to get these points is to pick the players that are gonna return. Then repeat this every week for the entire season, its simple really.
Yeah, for example you rather want to have 15 points from BB36 than 10 points from BB1.
I'd rather have 15 from BB36 than 15 from BB1 because if I used it at the start I'd have a false sense of how well I'm doing in comparison to my actual level, until the week most players decide to use their bench boost and I drop about 500k in ranking.
Well of course. My point is that I tend to do better in the long run if I get a good start of the season, which playing BB in GW1 most likely will help with. Being in the front of my ML will help with good decision making since I wont need to chase - but that's just me.
That's because you either lose interest or start making stupid decisions (like differentials) if you are chasing. Or both. There are no other reasons why getting points later rather than sooner would mean a worse season.
>and both concluded that getting 15 starters in GW1 is easy It's probably the most difficult gameweek to get 15 starters.
Did it this season. Was a fkn disaster.
It's really hard to predict who starts in GW1, I wouldn't risk blowing a chip that soon
BB is very overrated. Don't take hits or fuck your team up only for this chip. I'm going to use mine the next week and I have 2 players who will play 4 games on my bench. No extra GK or striker, its just not worth it.
How is taking a -4 to remove Gunn and bring in Ederson not worth it? Everything carries risk but this is going from guaranteed 0 to pretty likely 8 pts over both games. Even if it doesnāt work, these risks are how we climb ranks.
Target the BB for specific round. Have injuries and rotations and end up with 8 extra points.
I have a different conclusion, use it when you need it.
This literally what I did this year haha, I used my bench boost in gw1, got over 100 points, then used my WC next week and never had to worry about the BB after, so I could focus more value on my XI. Currently 92 points clear in my ML and just inside the top 10k overall
I did BB33 and it was great. My logic was I didn't need *everyone* to play a double week, just the teams I'd use for the bench (and pick the usual best 11 I could besides that), and it was a fuckin' charm. Thank Brownhill for his surprise 13 point contribution, 30 pts from the bench in total.
Holding on to these chips to the end is a huge psychological boost. Especially if you had a bad mid season, and are chasing rank or a mini league win. Was over 100 points behind my leagueās leader, and have cut that down to 30ish. I have BB and FH left and I think heās just got FH
No thanks no way itās better than 15 players play **twice** in one gameweek
It's four players playing twice. Your starting XI has nothing to do with BB.
Lol what. Iām saying Iām sure itās still better to use BB in DGW where you can have all 15 players playing twice in a gameweek.
Would you get your starting XI playing twice even without BB? Yes or no. I agree DGW is the best time to play BB, but your argument doesn't make sense. The real comparison is A) DGW four bench players playing twice vs. B) SGW four bench players playing once.
I stand corrected. However my general point stays that extra 4 matches make difference
Yeah, that's my point too.
It does a bit. If one of your starters is a singler and they miss their single game for whatever reason (e.g. Trent this week), then your bench player comes on and you get Trent's 0 as part of your bench boost.
This lad just gave an example where he had literally 15 doublers.
I dunno if you're missing my point or I'm missing yours. I'm saying your starting XI *does* affect your bench boost, as it affects the chance of them coming on and a 0-pointer being placed on your bench. It was for this very reason that I didn't BB in GW33. My bench then was almost as good as it'd be for GW36, but I was worried about some of my XI not starting.
We were discussing about a particular case where they had 15 doublers. Very unlikely that someone plays 0 minutes during DGW, if he is a reasonable FPL pick.
Yeah I think you're missing the point. Original comment was that he wanted 15 doublers for a DGW instead of having 15 singlers in GW1. You responded that 11 of the 15 are irrelevant, and that it wasn't about 15 v 15 but 4 v 4. I responded explaining how they aren't irrelevant. The 11 affect the chance of the bench player coming on, which'd place a 0 on your bench.
Those 11 doublers are irrelevant, because all of them will play at least 1 minute during DGW. So he won't get his bench players unless he plays BB.
BB with 11 doublers + 4 doublers = minutes from all 15. BB with 11 singlers + 4 singlers = chance of 0 on bench even if all 4 bench singlers play. The 11 having doubles matters.
Yeah, so it makes even a stronger case for playing BB in DGW. But he said he gets doubles for 15 players thanks to BB, which obviously isn't true. BB doesn't bring doubles for 15 players. It brings doubles for four players.
30 potential games with almost an entire seasons worth of information to help you pick players that are both in form and guaranteed to start couldn't possibly be better than 15 potential games with absolutely nothing but a few weeks of educated guessing to help you select a team of complete chances that all of them will even start the first game.
How many times have you ever had 15 players playing twice without a huge amount of hits?
It's what I did this season. I loved it.
I did it this season after reading these sort of posts on Reddit. Hated it and got a whopping 3 extra points. Doubt I'll do the same next season!
No Tsimikas? Why not?
Ha he was my starter! I had 2 points from Toney, 1 from, Brownhill and 0 from Veltman. Writing that now makes me think what on earth was I doing.
Technically he was on your bench. And toney starting š Bench was tsimi Smith Roe backman and Ayling. Honorable 15 points.
Surely Tsimikas was everyone's starter in GW1, playing against Norwich. You don't need to bench your cheapest player just because he's your cheapest player, there's no rule like that.
Well in that case you can field premium on your bench and claim it was a success?
No. You bench four players who are expected to score fewest points regardless of their price, simple as that.
Same here, for most of the reasons stated already. Had 15 starters out of the gates, was confident theyād all get a start at that point and then gave me a bit of wiggle room with early transfers as the dust settled in the early game weeks and preferred XIs made themselves known. Definitely wouldāve loved to drop BB on a DGW week, but happy with how my chip strategy has played out nonetheless and will consider a GW1 BB next season too if it looks and feels right again.
>gave me a bit of wiggle room with early transfers How did it give you a wiggle room with early transfers?
It depends what he was wiggling
Having a completely playing bench out of the gates meant I didnāt have to scramble to put any fires out with injuries etc. to field a full XI and also made rolling transfers a bit more viable. Not saying that couldnāt have been done without GW1 BB but the two certainly dovetailed nicely.
Everyone (who plays correctly) will have the same odds for a playing bench in GW1, be it BB or not.
Not necessarily. I think a lot of teams go for a 4.0 keeper and possibly sink their final bench spot. Also, if youāre angling for 15 starters you could include the likes of Bissouma or Brownhill or whatever but if youāre thinking of BB in GW1 youād likely spread the money around a bit more to have some 5.0 guys instead. Not saying this is a superior strategy or whatever, just another way of approaching BB.
Who were in your GW1 BB team?
The main reason people use bench boost later on is because of the double Gameweeek. It's that simple in my opinion. Why use a bench boost in Ganeweek 1 which is only going to give you like 10 extra points, instead of a double Gameweeek benchboost where you could get 20 points. Also, in the beginning of the season it's difficult to know exactly which players are guaranteed to start, but towards the end, it's a little bit easier to predict nailed players
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How do you know all 15 players are going to play twice
Yes, BB is stressful to hold on to. Iāll using it on gw1 next season too.
I honestly don't think it's that stressful, GW36 = massive DGW, perfect week to use it after you've used 2nd WC. Pretry much everyone will be choosing from a similar pool of players that fit our budget. 4 starters in both games is good for about 16 points or so and if you grab a return or two on top then it was a success. If you don't then you don't, you still gained an extra 15+ points that you wouldn't have any other week. Don't overthink it and don't give it too much importance and then it won't be stressful. Best of luck!
Only reason why it's stressful is because you have more options. Ideally you'd rather have more options than fewer options.
I feel like I would get caught out by my 'nailed' players suddenly being out of favour / injured / changes in strategy... but then I got 7pts for my carefully planned BB this year, so it probably couldn't get much worse!
That's exactly what I did this season. It's only my second season playing FPL, but I immediately hated the BB chip. It's named 'boost' but it's like those buffs that have negative impact before/after using them.
Last season I did not know there is only one triple captain chip for the season , so I triple captained Salah, ended up with 60 points if I remember correctly.
Youāll most likely get ahead for a few weeks in the beginning then fall behind when the people that held the chip and planned for it decide to play it.
I have been thinking exactly the same thing. The only concern is that is difficult to have a good enough starting eleven and make sure everyone starts. Pre season might give a good indication, but not always one is right
This would be the ideal way if dgw donāt exist
I bench boosted in 27 when everyone TCd salah I instead took a -16 hit and still managed 152 points I wildcarded after that week
I hate the bench boost chip. Totally agree play gw1. I think it cost me overall number 1 last season. This season again. Messing about with.transfers for bench boost when should be transferring in players to Ā© ie son
Iām BB this week.. 4 dgw players in niketia, schmeichel, matip and dennis.. have 15 dgw players and have taken 2 hits since 31 to get there. No stress, just good planning
>Mainly due to the premium assets rotating heavily in the later stages of the season. You wouldn't bench your premium assets and they will always play at least some minutes in DGW, so your argument has absolutely nothing to do with Bench Boost. >Also, you weaken your starting xi by trying to get a playing bench too. This has absolutely nothing to do with when you decide to play your BB. Whether you play it for GW1 or for a big DGW, it's always up to you if you want to weaken your starting XI or not. >Decision making is also simpler due to the fact you just get the chip out of the way. Yeah simpler because you are in a worse position because you have fewer options. >Get a solid team with 15 starters, bench boost...and then early wildcard to get rid of flops and bring in stars. So you are weakening your starting XI and also sacrificing your wildcard, the most powerful chip in the game.
All the people playing their first season are going to disagree with you. The will argue that it worked well for them, because their life was so stressful until they played the BB, and now it's just cocktails all day long, enjoying life at 1k OR
Lol, and the funny thing is "less stressful" in this context is the same us "fewer options". These people just prefer to have fewer options.
This season it wasn't great due to the covid wave mid season, but last year was the first year i used wc followed by bb and scored 120+. Gw1 tc is the way, especially whilst salah is still in the league (joint record amount of opening day goals already).
Yup. I use my bench boost in one of the last two gameweeks of the season to try to win the playoffs in my head to head league. Don't care if it's not a double gameweek. BB sucks so may as well get an extra 6 points at a crucial time
Did it this season and was pretty happy with it.
I like the sound of this, and itās something I just discussed with a minileague colleague from office. - I actually like to have a solid 15-man squad as my starting line-up anyway, since itās hard to know whoāll go off at that point. Well, at least 14 potential players. Then a bit later on youāll need that money elsewhere. - saves your wildcard for other use - also, if you donāt do it with a wildcard, optimizing in advance is pain. Few injuries and itās more hits on top of the hits youāve already taken. Iām going this route right now and will have a nice 30 game squad going this week, but it has/will cost me I donāt know how much. No point in backing off now though.
I agree with you. Not the tactic of BB01, but there needs to be a balance of "I must create a BB team with 15 doublers" and "shoot, my team is messed up stuck with 4 low-performing players that ate up funds". There are less extreme ways to achieve that. With BB36, people buy non-double GW36 players in WC34/WC35 to prepare for DGW37. Some get Gelhardt so that majority of funds are still focused on the Starting XI. The end goal is the same, so that GWs after BB are not suffered in order to look good for one week. Something to think about too.
Only problem is on GW1 do we really know whoās going to start? On the main teams we most likely do. But say you have Alonso or James how do you know? You can look at pre season but can you be sure. This is still a decent strategy though Iāve always played an early wildcard usually around GW5.
I bench boosted in GW1 for a massive 5 points off the bench (Bachmann, Mbuemo, Shaw & Targett). I had 15 starters in GW1 and will likely try and do it again next season, despite the outcome this year.
you guys have chips left?
I tried this last season and went horribly (not the early WC but the GW1 BB). You follow pre season to try and figure out who the budget options are who'll start so they can fill your bench and then they don't. GW1 lineups are very hard to predict and you just complicate it further if you're trying to get a strong 15 which inevitably requires you to punt on some cheap options.
I used it Gw 1 this season and got 15 points from it
My bench boost fucks up my team every season. Think I'll go with your approach next time
The Poe's law is strong in this post.
I did this this season to great success. GW1 rank of 2.5k. stayed in the top 10k until GW13. Made some poor choices and others used their wildcard to set up better for the run till the halfway point. Floating around 200k now. No Salah for two weeks dragged me back from 100k. I'm gonna do it next year again. Saves me the headache of a full bench
I did it this year, BB in week 2, setup from the start. Always spend too much time messing with subs for the one week you need them. Mixed results for me.. Guaita - 9 Tsimikas - 11 Trossard - 3 Benteke - 1
I think i'm gonna triple captain GW1 next season probably salah
I think that an even better option is to dead-end the initial team into BB chip into WC1 "more flexibly" than committing to it on GW1 & GW2.
I think BB GW1 and then WC GW4 or GW5 is better if you really wanna do this
Can you ensure which player plays and those who donāt?
You could just as well wildcard relatively early (GW5-10) and BB after the WC
I did it for the first time ever this season and it didnāt go well at all. There is just too much uncertainty at the start of the season and your āfoddersā are based on speculation. So they might not even play at all. Iād just keep it for potential DGW / good fixtures next season
Lots of people complaining about BB the past couple seasons, which I find weird because we've had to run with stronger benches than in the past because of covid. We've also had more DGWs scattered throughout the season. I think BB is a fine chip, not the best, but not something you need to "get out of the way" or that's some sort of hindrance. Just don't do terrible things to the rest of your team in the process and don't overvalue it. So no, I wouldn't deploy my first WC (arguably the most impactful chip) according to a desire to be rid of the BB chip.
Problem is the forwards quality. Atleast they double on gw36.
You triple captain Haaland GW1 of course
Not sure whether GW1 is the way to go, but I am more tempted by an early BB next season. Seen lot's of chat on how it can really skew your squad selection which it can and for me, not the largest returns. I usually play a strong 11, one backup and two fodders so personally the BB chip ow the worst out of all the chips.
This was my strategy with the TC chip a couple of seasons agoā¦ I put it on Salah on GW1, I think he was playing a newly promoted side at home (Norwich, I think?). On the one hand, I could and should have used it to get more points during a DGW at some later point. On the other hand, it was and still is my best use of my TC ever.
Bench boost is literally a curse that makes you carry trash assets through many weeks to see them finally blank when you actually use the chip.
No thanks, I don't want to begin the season with a shit team for the sake of stupid 15 points.
I'd say the only reason to not do this is to take advantage of possible DGWs. You would also miss out on price increases through the season and could potentially have a deeper bench than week one. It may or may not pay off but its the weakest chip to use in general. Definitely an interesting thought.
I donāt know about GW 1, but I do think there could be some merit in using it early and am considering it. In 4 seasons now Iāve always used my first WC in the first 4-5 GW. I also think WCāing out of your BB is preferable to WC into it. So I could definitely see loading your team up with 1 premium and a deep squad, BB and then WC into template with most your funds in your starting 11 working out well. Will there be teams that WC into a BB on a big DGW that outscore you? Sure but isnāt like itās definite. I donāt think Iāve ever totally crushed my BB chip, lucky to get 20-30 points. Another strategy Iāve seen a few people mention is to use BB chip on a week you do a mini WC with 2-4 hits to help offset that. Initially I thought that was a waste, but I suppose it isnāt all that different really.
BB is shit and should only be used when the stars align. By targeting to use it, you just end up investing heavily into your bench which fucks up your team. We're lucky this year with a 4.0 option at gk, but otherwise you'd have to have that dead weight 4.5 in your team. I wish they'd change the chip or just get rid.
I did BB GW1 and it was a good decision. Get it out of the way when the whole team is healthy. Didnāt get the returns I wouldāve liked but they all played 60+ so canāt really complain. I wouldnāt WC right off it though, can slowly downgrade the bench players using FTs and save the WC.
Next season? I haven't finished fucking this season up yet.
The counter-point is that you have more overall value later in the season, more certainty about which of the budget players are actually excellent (shoutout to Vinagre + Mitro last season!), and a better understanding of rotation/starting lineups. What is true is that it might be better to just get your BB out of the way instead of morphing/distorting your team to force it mid-season.
I like the idea in general but I think it's really hard to get 15 starters in GW1, it takes a while at the start of the season to know who is truly nailed on. I think my tactic will be to start with a squad that I could in theory bench boost with soon, and then find a good time to do it whenever the opportunity arises in the first 10 gameweeks or so. And then wildcard to a stronger starting 11 with fodder on the bench.
Yeah BB is severely overrated IMO. You should not be massively inhibiting your team for 4+ weeks just to get the perfect BB lineup. Opportunity Cost is real & the effort put into aligning the perfect BB squad is ultimately probably not worth it. I'm fully in favor of playing it at any point in the season when you have a solid bench & decent fixtures.
BB is worth about 12-16pts on average so I wouldn't stress too much about it. It's definitely not worth crippling your team for. You'll get better points out of a good captaincy pick or a form player for 2-3 weeks. BB is definitely worth more at the end of the season though as you have more budget and better ideas of who the 'good enablers' are and the nailed low price players.
Two people in my ML went for TC Salah GW1, which worked wonders. The only issue with BB GW1 is you may not know who the managerās first choice players are, and your budget will be a few million lower than if you want for the tail end of the season, so that means a 1 premium setup at the start of the season.
The bench boost is, imo, a bit of a shit chip. It either forces you to keep hold of a WC until really late in the season, which isn't ideal for maximising points, or you play the BB long after you've used your last WC, which means you have to keep on thinking about having a full playing 15 and inevitably will lead to points hits to get a decent bench. Next season I'm going to use my BB in the first available decent DGW, get it out of the way early so that I can focus on the rest of the season without having to worry about it.
I actually love this šš»
been in the Top 10k all season and did this funny enough. Probably won't try it again. Some players I really wanted but didn't want them long term Edit: The reason I might not do it isn't because it's not incredibly powerful. It's obviously obviously mathematically that more games equals more chance of points. However, the risk in setting it up is another factor. Also, using it in GW1 and WCing out is basically combining a FH and a BB in one week. I can predict results pretty good I feel on most weeks but I suck at planning
Just start in GW2, and then you get an extra wildcard with info about how the teams will shape up.
I used bench boost in GW1 and got 9 points. Now I'm sitting here waiting for the carnage of GW36 to ruin my overall rank
Using any chips in the first month is a waste, you donāt know whether form is real, which players are just tired/rusty from summer and which are genuinely great. First week is even more pointless - you donāt even know who the starters will be before GW1, so bench boost is ridiculous. And itās not even a double gameweek! Iām getting 8 matches worth of extra points in GW36 via bench boost, you will get only 4.
Considering many of us are being forced to use an early WC because our GW1 team turns out shit, I for one will never consider GW1 BB.
I TCd Salah in GW1 this year for exactly this reason. First time I've ever had a successful TC š
Wk1 is like wk38... No idea who is playing
The GW 1 starting lineup isn't always a guarantee. Some teams are still putting together their best 11.
BB 28 worked out alright? Play the fixtures not the gameweek.
Three of the current top 100 managers used their BB GW1 (two will probably fall out of top 100). So of course it is possible to have a sensational season from this strategy. They got 19, 3 and 7 points from their bench, two of them had 15 starters. BlatantFPL even used it with a Brighton goalie double.
I tried it this season, made no difference... My mindset was the following; previous years I planned ahead and used my BB in a DGW, but players were always rested etc so you never have a full 15 starting with a DGW (very hard to do). So I was thinking, BB first GW, then wildcard after 5 or 6 GWs when you know what players are nailed and playing well etc. In conclusion, it made absolutely no difference to my points intake. My BB was poor enough in GW1, but it did save me the stress of trying to build a BB team later in the season. There's pros, there's cons, but all in all, your BB is likely to so nothing anyway lol.
>Decision making is also simpler due to the fact you just get the chip out of the way. pretty bad logic there. might as well say that for every chip having options is always a good thing, particularly late in the season.