WSL Gameweek 2 Review & Gameweek 3 Team Reveal: Russo Finally Loses Her Place

Right. We're making changes.

Gameweek 2 was, to put it politely, not my finest hour. After starting the season with 85 points, I came crashing back down to earth with just 43 points. It definitely gave me a few things to think about, and some of my players have now moved firmly into the "we need to talk" category.

The good news is that I had three free transfers available for Gameweek 3. For once, I decided to actually use them rather than staring at the transfer screen for three days, changing one player, changing them back, and then doing absolutely nothing. Three players are out, three players are in, I've got £4.5m left in the bank, and Alessia Russo is no longer my problem.

Sorry, Alessia. But also, please don't start scoring now that I've sold you. I really don't need that sort of behaviour from you.

Gameweek 2: Yeah... that could have gone better.

Going from 85 points in Gameweek 1 to 43 in Gameweek 2 is quite the drop. Obviously, one bad week isn't enough to rip the whole team apart, but it did make some of the decisions I'd already been questioning a lot easier.

The biggest issue was that I wasn't getting enough from some of the places where I'd spent a decent chunk of the budget. When you have limited transfers, I don't want to be constantly rebuilding the team, but I also don't want to stubbornly hold onto players simply because I picked them two weeks ago.

That's probably the biggest thing I've taken from the opening two Gameweeks. The original team was always going to be a starting point, not something carved into stone. I've now got two weeks of points, minutes and performances to work with, so it makes sense to start acting on what I've seen.

And then there was the captaincy...

My Gameweek 2 captain was Alessia Russo, which didn't exactly turn into the masterstroke I was hoping for. Russo scored 3 points, which became 6 points once the captaincy was doubled.

After two Gameweeks, Russo had just 5 points to her name and no goals or assists. That's not really the return I want from one of the most expensive forwards in my squad, particularly when there are other options available.

So while the captaincy certainly didn't help my Gameweek 2 score, it wasn't the only reason for the poor week. The bigger question was whether I still wanted to keep that much money tied up in Russo going forward.

Two Gameweeks in, things are starting to make sense

I'm actually quite glad Gameweek 2 went badly before I got too attached to the original squad. The opening week gave me plenty of encouragement, but Gameweek 2 has made it much easier to see which players I'm genuinely happy keeping and which ones I'm holding onto because I don't want to admit I got the pick wrong.

That's particularly important with the cheaper players. They're not expected to be massive point scorers every week, but I still need them to be useful enough to justify their place. If a cheaper player can free up money and still contribute, that's a very different proposition from someone simply occupying a squad spot.

With three free transfers available, this felt like the right opportunity to make some proper changes rather than trying to patch up the team with one move. And, yes, I did briefly consider doing absolutely nothing. Naturally.

Three transfers. Let's just do it.

I went into Gameweek 3 with three free transfers and decided to use all three. That means there are quite a few changes to the squad, but each one has a slightly different reason behind it.

First up is Ashleigh Weerden out for Daniëlle van de Donk. Weerden had only managed 1 point in the opening Gameweek and, after another quiet outing, I wasn't convinced she was giving me enough reason to keep her.

Van de Donk immediately gives me something different. She's only £4.5m and had picked up 17 points across the opening two Gameweeks, while the transfer also frees up £2.5m to use elsewhere. That extra money is actually the important part here, because it helps fund the bigger change I'm making up front.

Then we get to the big one: Alessia Russo out, Khadija "Bunny" Shaw in. Russo has 5 points after two Gameweeks and hasn't produced a goal or assist, so at £11.5m I'm ready to move on. Arsenal also have Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City coming up, which hasn't exactly made me desperate to keep the faith.

Shaw costs more at £12.5m, but she's already returned 27 points across the opening two Gameweeks. I'm spending more, but at least I'm spending it on a forward who has actually given me a reason to trust her.

The final move is Olivia Smith out for Alana Murphy. Smith has 5 points after two Gameweeks and has only played 93 minutes, while Arsenal's upcoming fixtures don't make me particularly keen on keeping another Arsenal player at that price.

Murphy is just £5.0m and has already picked up 25 points across the opening two Gameweeks, including 11 in Gameweek 1 and 14 in Gameweek 2. Yes, there is always a danger of chasing points when you see a cheap player putting up those numbers, and I am absolutely aware that this could come back to bite me.

But at £5m, I'm happier taking that chance. She gives me a completely different option from Smith, frees up another chunk of the budget, and means I can strengthen the more expensive areas of the squad.

So, here's the Gameweek 3 squad

The transfers are done, but I'm not actually going to pretend the starting XI is completely locked in yet. One of the nice things about WSL Fantasy is that we can make changes between matchdays, so there's no reason to make every decision before the first ball is kicked.

Manchester City and Liverpool get us underway on Friday night, which means I can get some information before the majority of my squad even plays. That gives me a chance to reassess the players involved in that match and make changes for Saturday if I need to.

Current Starting XI

We're not locking it all in yet

The first decision comes on Friday night. Manchester City host Liverpool at the Joie Stadium, and I've got Yamashita, Casparij, Shaw and Endemann involved in that match.

That means Friday is effectively our first little scouting mission. I'll start with those players in the team, see what happens, and then use the information before Saturday's matches to decide whether any changes are needed.

It's particularly useful because Chelsea don't play until Saturday lunchtime, while Arsenal play later in the afternoon. So if the Friday players don't give me much, I can still look at the likes of Lauren James, Ona Batlle and the other Saturday options before their matches kick off.

And the bench...

The captain is currently Shaw... but that's not final

This is where the flexibility really comes in. Rather than immediately handing the armband to Lauren James and hoping for the best, I'm starting with Shaw as captain because Manchester City play first on Friday.

Shaw has already returned 27 points across the first two Gameweeks, so if she has a big game against Liverpool, there's no reason to get clever for the sake of it. I'll happily leave the captaincy where it is and enjoy the points.

If she doesn't do much, though, I still have options. Lauren James has 23 points already and Chelsea face Birmingham at home on Saturday, so she remains a very obvious alternative. The beauty of this is that I don't actually have to decide until I have seen what Shaw does.

So for now: Shaw is captain, James is the obvious fallback. Future Jenna gets to make that decision once Friday night is over.

The biggest change isn't actually the transfers

The biggest difference between this team and the one I started the season with is how I'm thinking about the squad. After Gameweek 1, it was very easy to look at 85 points and think I'd somehow cracked WSL Fantasy.

Then Gameweek 2 happened and reminded me that, yes, I am still me. Forty-three points later, I'm back to looking at every player as if they have personally offended me.

Players I'm keeping an eye on

Emily Syme

Syme survives the transfer window, but she's definitely on my radar. At £7.5m, I need a little more from her going forward, particularly when there are cheaper midfield options now available to me.

Poppy Pattinson

Pattinson is one of those squad players where the price makes it easier to be patient. At £4m, she doesn't need to be producing huge numbers every week, but I still need her to give me something when called upon.

Brooke Aspin

Aspin is another cheaper option I'm happy to keep for now, but she's not completely safe. The next few Gameweeks should tell me whether she's genuinely useful as a budget defender or whether I need to find another way to use that £5m.

So, what happens now?

Three transfers made, £4.5m in the bank, and all three free transfers gone. But with the Gameweek spread across multiple days, I'm not quite done yet. Friday's City vs Liverpool gives me a chance to reassess both the starting XI and captaincy before Saturday.

Shaw gets the armband for now. If she delivers, she keeps it. If not, Lauren James is waiting with Birmingham at home.

Of course, this is WSL Fantasy, so I'm fully expecting one of my new signings to score two points while the player I sold scores 15. That's future Jenna's problem.