FPL Gameweek 3 Review: The Bench Did It Again

Gameweek 3 was supposed to be the week where I found out whether those two transfers were actually worth making. I'd spent the previous week convincing myself that I had made sensible decisions, improved the squad and generally knew what I was doing.

Which was probably my first mistake.

I finished Gameweek 3 on 40 points, which was 11 below the average of 51. Not quite the complete disaster I was worried about when the weekend started, but definitely not the reward I had pictured after making two transfers and feeling quite pleased with myself about them.

The annoying thing is that the Gameweek wasn't actually terrible across the whole team. There were some decent scores, the defence did a lot of the work and I even had a couple of players returning reasonable points. Unfortunately, most of the players I needed most decided to have a quiet weekend, which is how you end up finishing the week 11 points below average.

So, were the transfers worth it?

Before Gameweek 3, I made two transfers. Wilson left for Szoboszlai, while Senesi made way for Ajayi. At the time, I was pretty happy with both moves. They weren't panic transfers, I wasn't chasing a random haul from the previous week and I had actual reasons for bringing both players in.

So, were the transfers worth it? Ask me again in a few Gameweeks. Ajayi made a decent start and Szoboszlai didn't exactly set the world alight, but I'm not regretting either move yet. One Gameweek isn't enough to decide whether I've made a brilliant decision or whether I should be banned from going anywhere near the transfer screen.

Pedro, we need to talk.

João Pedro was the captain again, and after Gameweek 2 I didn't really think twice about it. He had scored, assisted, scored an own goal and somehow still finished with nine points. With the captaincy, that became 18 points, and I was feeling pretty good about having him in my team.

Naturally, FPL noticed.

João Pedro didn't get a return and finished on one point. The captaincy doubled that to two, which is technically better than one point.

The goalkeeper decision was... fine.

I started Kelleher ahead of Raya, mainly because João Pedro was playing Arsenal and I didn't particularly fancy watching the game hoping my captain would score while also needing my goalkeeper to stop him.

Kelleher scored two points. Raya scored three from the bench. So I lost one whole point from the decision. I'll take that. Considering the amount of drama FPL can create from a goalkeeper decision, losing one point feels almost satisfactory.

The defence saved me.

If anyone deserves credit for stopping Gameweek 3 from becoming a complete mess, it's the defence. While the forwards were busy forgetting where the goal was, the defenders quietly got on with the job.

Guéhi led the way with eight points, Virgil added six and Ajayi marked his first Gameweek in the squad with five. Tarkowski chipped in with three as well, so four of my five defenders gave me something useful.

Gabriel was the disappointment with two points, although calling two points disappointing feels slightly unfair when I had forwards who were also scoring one and two.

I was particularly happy with Guéhi. After his quiet Gameweek 2, there was every chance I could have started looking at other options and convincing myself that he suddenly wasn't worth having. Instead, I left him alone and he responded with eight points.

The midfield was... there.

Semenyo gave me six points, which I'm perfectly happy with. He's quietly ticking along without causing me any stress, and frankly, every FPL team needs at least one player who doesn't make you want to completely rethink your entire squad every weekend.

Szoboszlai arrived with three points, which I've already covered, and the rest of the midfield was less exciting from my starting XI. The biggest issue was actually sitting on the bench, where Le Fée decided that this would be the perfect Gameweek to score eight points.

And then there was Thiago.

Going into Gameweek 3, I said Thiago was probably the player I was closest to losing patience with. I also said I would give him another week because, believe it or not, I was trying to be a sensible FPL manager for once and not make a transfer every time someone had one quiet Gameweek.

Thiago then scored two points.

Again.

So, that patience has now been tested quite significantly. He's on four points across the opening three Gameweeks, and while I'm not saying the relationship is over, I've definitely started looking at what else is on the market.

João Pedro scored one point, which became two because I captained him, while Calvert-Lewin managed another miserable one. Suddenly, the forward line that I was happy enough to leave alone before Gameweek 3 has become the part of my squad I'm looking at most closely.

So, who's on the shortlist?

Thiago is now firmly on my radar, and unfortunately not in the good way. Four points across three Gameweeks isn't what I was hoping for, and giving him another chance in Gameweek 3 hasn't exactly made me feel better about the situation.

Calvert-Lewin hasn't exactly made himself completely safe either. I'm not quite at the point where I'm throwing both forwards out and rebuilding the entire attack, mainly because that feels like the sort of thing I would do after one disappointing Gameweek and immediately regret, but I've definitely started looking around.

The names currently on my shortlist are Isak, Havertz, Wissa and Barry. Four perfectly reasonable options, which naturally means I've given myself four different players to stare at while changing my mind every five minutes.

I'm keeping the full reasons behind each option, and more importantly who eventually won this particular transfer battle, for the Gameweek 4 team post. Otherwise, I'd be giving away the entire next post before we've even got there, and I do enjoy pretending that my FPL transfers come with some level of dramatic suspense.

Let's just say one of those four eventually made the team, and getting there involved exactly the amount of overthinking you would expect from me.

The bench did its thing again.

16 points.

I refuse to comment further.

So, what actually happened?

Looking back at the team, Gameweek 3 wasn't one huge disaster or one terrible decision. That's probably why it's so frustrating. There were good performances, and the defence did exactly what I needed.

The problem was that the players I needed most didn't turn up. My captain scored one point. Calvert-Lewin scored one point. Thiago scored two. Meanwhile, 16 points were sitting on my bench just to make sure the whole Gameweek had a little extra frustration.

I think they call this FPL character building.

Gameweek 4 is where things get interesting.

I'm disappointed with 40 points, obviously, but I'm not about to tear the entire squad apart because of one below-average Gameweek. I've done versions of that before, and it usually ends with me making several transfers, convincing myself I've fixed everything and then discovering that I have simply created brand-new problems instead.

The defence is fine. Guéhi reminded me why patience can sometimes work, Virgil delivered again and Ajayi made a perfectly good start. I'm not saying I'm never going to touch the defence again, because that would be ridiculous, but it definitely isn't where my attention is right now.

Up front, though? Yeah. We have a problem. Thiago has four points across three Gameweeks, Calvert-Lewin isn't exactly banging down the door demanding to stay in the team and I've already got four different replacement names floating around in my head.

So another transfer is looking likely. I've got a shortlist, I've got reasons for each option and I'm sure I've convinced myself that this time I'll make the right decision.

Gameweek 3 verdict.

Forty points. Eleven below average. The defence did its best to rescue me, the forwards did very little to help and my bench once again decided it had plenty to say.

Not a disaster, then. Just one of those Gameweeks that leaves you immediately opening the app, staring at your squad and wondering which decision needs fixing next.