FPL Gameweek 3 Team: The Transfer Button Won

Gameweek 2 finished with 63 points, João Pedro doing almost everything possible to keep the score respectable and me promising myself that I wouldn't overreact.

That promise lasted for approximately five minutes.

After Gameweek 2, I had a few players I was starting to feel less confident about. Wilson had managed just four points across the opening two Gameweeks, while Senesi wasn't giving me enough reason to keep him ahead of the alternatives I was looking at.

I could have rolled the transfer and carried on. In fact, that was probably the sensible thing to do.

Instead, I made two changes.

The transfer button won.

So, what did I actually do?

The two transfers were fairly straightforward in the end. I didn't completely rebuild the squad, but I did decide that two players had done enough to lose their places.

The funny thing is that neither transfer feels particularly wild. I'm not chasing a player after one huge haul or making five changes because I've suddenly decided my entire squad is terrible.

I'm just making two moves that I think improve the team.

Whether FPL agrees with me is, of course, a completely different question.

Pedro gets the armband again.

After everything João Pedro did for me in Gameweek 2, there was never much doubt about who would captain the team this week.

He scored, assisted, scored an own goal and somehow still finished with nine points.

With the captaincy doubling that to 18 points, João Pedro was responsible for a huge part of my Gameweek 2 score.

So despite Arsenal away in Gameweek 3, I'm sticking with him.

I know Arsenal away isn't the easiest fixture, but I'm not going to drop a player I trust just because the fixture looks harder on paper.

Hopefully this time he can keep the goals going in the right direction.

And Szoboszlai gets the safety net.

With Liverpool travelling to Ipswich, Szoboszlai gets the vice-captaincy.

This is partly because I like the fixture and partly because I've just transferred him into the squad. There would be something slightly embarrassing about bringing a player in, immediately putting the vice-captaincy on him and then watching him do absolutely nothing.

So naturally, that's probably exactly what's going to happen.

João Pedro captain. Szoboszlai vice-captain.

Then there was the goalkeeper decision.

The goalkeeper decision was actually fairly simple this week once I looked at the fixtures properly.

Kelleher comes in for Raya, and the main reason isn't really about Sunderland being a better fixture.

It's because João Pedro is my captain.

Chelsea travel to Arsenal, and I don't really want to spend the game cheering for my captain to score while also hoping my own Arsenal goalkeeper keeps a clean sheet.

I've been trying to get better at blocking out those unnecessary conflicts in my team. If one of my players is going to benefit from something happening in a fixture, I don't really want another player in my squad actively working against that outcome.

Obviously, I can't avoid every conflict. That's FPL. But if I can remove an unnecessary one without weakening the team, I'll take it.

So Kelleher gets the nod.

I'm not saying Raya is suddenly a bad goalkeeper, and I'm not pretending Kelleher is guaranteed a clean sheet. I'm just trying to avoid spending 90 minutes wanting two completely opposite things to happen.

João Pedro scoring is good. Arsenal keeping a clean sheet is not.

I know which one I'm backing this week.

The defence gets a new face.

The defence has had one change this week, with Ajayi coming in for Senesi. The rest of the back line stays exactly as it was.

That means Tarkowski gets Manchester United at home, Guéhi gets Coventry City at home, Van Dijk travels to Ipswich and Gabriel faces Chelsea at home.

Gabriel is the interesting one here because he's another Arsenal player in a fixture where my captain, João Pedro, is playing against him.

The difference is that I'm not going to start removing every possible conflict from the team. Gabriel is there because I believe he has a good chance of returning points, and I'm not going to bench him simply because João Pedro is my captain.

Tarkowski has quickly become one of the more reassuring players in the squad after another strong Gameweek, and I'm very happy to keep him starting.

Guéhi gets another chance despite his two-point return. One quiet Gameweek isn't enough to change my opinion on a player who gave me 10 points in the opening week.

Virgil is the one I'm watching most closely. Three points across the opening two Gameweeks isn't what I wanted from a £6.5m defender, but Liverpool's trip to Ipswich gives him another opportunity to put that right.

And then there's Ajayi.

He's the new addition, so naturally I'm hoping he gives me a reason to feel clever about the transfer rather than immediately reminding me why I should have just rolled the transfer.

For now, I'm backing the defence.

Szoboszlai changes the midfield.

The big difference this week is obviously Szoboszlai replacing Wilson, giving me another attacking option in the squad.

Semenyo stays in midfield and gets Coventry City at home, while Anderson and Rice remain on the bench.

I'm still not completely convinced by every midfield decision, but Semenyo is one player I don't want to give up on after only two Gameweeks.

Rice is another player who is staying around for now. He isn't exactly setting FPL on fire, but I'm not expecting him to be the player carrying my midfield every week either.

Anderson gets a promotion.

Anderson is still on the bench this week. The difference is where I've put him.

After what happened in Gameweek 2, I don't think I need to explain why. Anderson was a fitness doubt, so I moved him down to third on the bench. Then Manchester City named him in the starting XI.

Which meant I had a player who was actually starting a Premier League match sitting third on my bench.

Not my finest moment.

There isn't really much more to it than that. I still prefer the players I've put ahead of him, but Anderson is now the first player waiting in case something goes wrong.

One small change. Hopefully one less thing to regret.

The forwards stay together.

The forward line hasn't changed.

João Pedro remains the obvious star after his 18-point captain haul in Gameweek 2, while Calvert-Lewin gets another chance after his eight-point return.

Thiago is the one I'm watching most closely.

Three points across the opening two Gameweeks isn't the start I wanted, and he's probably the player I'm closest to losing patience with.

But I've already made two transfers this week. I'm not going to turn that into a third simply because I'm frustrated with a player I've only owned for two Gameweeks.

He gets another week.

After that, we'll see.

Gameweek 3 XI

Two transfers made, the goalkeeper debate finally settled and enough time spent staring at the squad, this is the team I'm taking into Gameweek 3.

So, was making the transfers actually worth it?

Ask me again on Sunday.

That's the beauty of FPL. I can sit here and explain exactly why I've made these changes. Szoboszlai gives me the attacking option I was missing. Ajayi gives me a fresh defensive option. Wilson wasn't giving me enough. Senesi wasn't convincing me.

On paper, it all makes sense.

Then the Gameweek actually happens.

Maybe Wilson immediately scores. Maybe Senesi keeps a clean sheet. Maybe Szoboszlai blanks and I spend Saturday evening wondering why I ever opened the transfer screen.

Or maybe the opposite happens and I get to spend the weekend feeling like a tactical genius.

We all know which version of FPL I'd prefer.

The important thing is that I've made the changes I wanted without completely losing the plot.

Gameweek 2 taught me to be patient. Gameweek 3 is where I find out whether I've actually learned anything.

Now it's over to the players.

See you after Gameweek 3. If the transfer button was right, I'll claim the credit. If it wasn't, we never had this conversation.