FPL Gameweek 3 Review & Gameweek 4 Team Reveal: Thiago Out, Barry In

Gameweek 3 ended with me scoring 40 points, finishing 11 below the average and immediately staring at my squad wondering which problem I needed to deal with first.

The defence wasn't really the issue. Guéhi, Virgil and Ajayi all gave me decent returns, and while I wouldn't describe the rest of the squad as perfect, I wasn't about to start throwing players out for the sake of making changes.

Up front, though?

Yeah. That was a different story.

Thiago had managed just four points across the opening three Gameweeks. I'd already given him another chance in Gameweek 3 because I was trying very hard to be a sensible FPL manager and avoid making transfers every five minutes.

He responded with another two points.

So, unfortunately for Thiago, my brief experiment with patience has officially come to an end.

Thiago out. Barry in.

Before Gameweek 3, I said that Thiago was the player closest to testing my patience. By the end of the Gameweek, I think it's fair to say that patience had been tested, stretched, exhausted and eventually packed its bags and left.

Four points across three Gameweeks just isn't enough for a forward spot, especially when the rest of my attack hasn't exactly been carrying the team either. João Pedro had just scored one point as my captain, while Calvert-Lewin also managed one.

Suddenly, that forward line looked like the obvious place to make a change.

I had four names on the shortlist: Isak, Havertz, Wissa and Barry. All had reasons for being there, which was useful because I managed to turn one fairly straightforward transfer into several days of looking at the same players and changing my mind.

Eventually, Barry won.

This isn't me claiming Barry is definitely the answer or pretending I've discovered some genius transfer that everyone else has somehow missed. I am very much still figuring this FPL thing out as I go along.

I just reached the point where Thiago's four points were no longer enough to convince me that another week of patience was going to suddenly fix everything.

Barry has been scoring points. Thiago hasn't. Sometimes, even an FPL beginner can work with that information.

So, Barry has Spurs.

Barry's first fixture for me is away at Spurs.

Normally, I might look at that fixture and immediately decide it was a difficult one because, well, it's Spurs. But after three Gameweeks, this season is already making that sort of thinking feel slightly pointless.

Spurs are currently bottom of the table. They have picked up one point from their opening three games and haven't scored a single goal.

That doesn't automatically mean Barry is going to walk into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and score a hat-trick. I would quite like that, obviously, but I don't think that's how any of this works.

It does mean I'm not looking at the fixture and automatically thinking that Barry needs to be benched because of the name of the club on the other side.

Three Gameweeks isn't enough to decide exactly what every team will be this season, but it is enough to remind me that the league table and current form can sometimes matter more than the reputation a club had last year.

Basically, I'm starting Barry.

Whether that turns out to be a brilliant decision or another thing I'll be complaining about in next week's review remains to be seen.

Raya gets the gloves back.

One of the smaller decisions this week is in goal. Raya has Sunderland away, while Kelleher travels to Bournemouth.

Last Gameweek, I started Kelleher because João Pedro was facing Arsenal. I didn't particularly want to spend the match hoping my captain would score while also needing my goalkeeper to stop him. That felt like asking my FPL team to have an argument with itself.

This week is simpler.

Arsenal are unbeaten, have won all three of their opening games and have conceded just one goal. Raya is also playing a Sunderland side that has scored three goals in three matches.

That's enough for me.

The defence mostly picks itself.

After Gameweek 3, I'm not particularly interested in messing around with the defence. That unit was probably the strongest part of my team last week, and I don't see much reason to start changing things just because a new Gameweek has arrived.

Gabriel is an obvious start against Sunderland. Arsenal have started the season well, and while I never like calling a clean sheet before the match has actually happened, he feels like one of the safer options in my squad.

Virgil is also starting at home to Fulham. Liverpool haven't been perfect so far, but Virgil has already shown that he can pick up points even when the rest of my Gameweek is heading in a completely different direction.

Tarkowski also starts away at Spurs. I know Spurs away sounds difficult when you say it quickly, but this isn't me looking at the club name and deciding the fixture is automatically terrible.

Spurs are currently bottom of the table, have one point from three matches and are still looking for their first goal of the season. That could all change in Gameweek 4, because football loves making people regret things they said on the internet, but based on what we've actually seen so far, I don't think Tarkowski is an automatic bench.

Guéhi gets the final spot in the defence. He's got Manchester United away, which isn't exactly an easy fixture, but after eight points in Gameweek 3, I didn't really fancy rewarding him by immediately putting him on the bench.

So Guéhi stays in. Ajayi drops to the bench against Chelsea.

I'm giving the midfield another chance.

Semenyo has been one of the more reliable players in my team so far, and while Manchester United away isn't the sort of fixture where I'm expecting guarantees, he's still starting.

Szoboszlai also stays in the team. His first Gameweek for me only brought three points, which wasn't exactly the dream start, but throwing him straight back out after one quiet week would be ridiculous.

Well. More ridiculous than some of the things I've already done.

Liverpool are at home to Fulham, and I'm happy enough to give Szoboszlai another chance to show me why I brought him in.

Rice gets the nod as well away at Sunderland. Arsenal have started the season strongly, and although Rice isn't exactly the sort of player I'm expecting to score every single week, I want some Arsenal involvement in the midfield.

That means Anderson drops to the bench this week.

It isn't some dramatic declaration that he's suddenly a terrible FPL option. I just prefer the players ahead of him this Gameweek, and with only three midfield spots available in the starting XI, someone has to miss out.

Le Fée also stays on the bench against Arsenal.

The new-look forward line.

With Thiago gone, my forward line now looks a little different. João Pedro, Barry and Calvert-Lewin are all starting.

João Pedro is at home to Hull City, but I'm not going to pretend that's automatically an easy fixture just because Hull have recently come into the league.

Hull are third after three games, unbeaten and have conceded absolutely no goals so far. They've won two and drawn one, which is a much better start than plenty of teams around them.

So yes, João Pedro is still starting at home. He's still a player I want in my team, and Chelsea are capable of scoring against anyone. But I'm also not going into the Gameweek assuming this is going to be a comfortable afternoon and guaranteed points.

If anything, that makes the fixture more interesting.

Barry makes his first start for my team away at Spurs, while Calvert-Lewin gets another chance at home to Newcastle.

Calvert-Lewin is definitely not completely safe in this squad. One point in Gameweek 3 didn't exactly help his case, and he's another player who could find himself under pressure if the points don't start arriving soon.

But I can't transfer everyone out at once.

Apparently.

Pedro gets another chance.

After captaining João Pedro in Gameweek 3 and getting one point, which became two points with the armband, you might reasonably expect me to look elsewhere this week.

And I did consider it.

For a while.

But I'm going back to João Pedro as captain.

This isn't because I'm convinced he's definitely going to score. Hull have started brilliantly and have yet to concede a goal, so I'm fully aware that this could go very differently to how I hope.

I'm just backing the player I already have in my team, playing at home, and hoping that Chelsea can finally find a way through Hull's defence.

Pedro giveth. Pedro taketh away.

And apparently, Pedro gets another chance with the armband.

My Gameweek 4 team.

After all the staring at fixtures, overthinking the transfer and briefly convincing myself I needed to change half the squad, this is where I've landed for Gameweek 4.

The bench.

After the 16 points sitting on my bench in Gameweek 3, I'm trying not to spend too much time thinking about what could happen this week.

That is a lie.

I will absolutely be checking the bench points throughout the weekend.

So, how am I feeling about Gameweek 4?

Honestly? Reasonably happy.

Which probably means something terrible is about to happen.

I've made one change instead of tearing apart the entire squad. The defence is mostly staying together after doing a decent job in Gameweek 3, Raya comes back into goal and Barry gets his first chance to prove that transferring him in wasn't just another one of my impulsive FPL decisions.

I'm also trying to look at fixtures based on what's actually happening this season rather than automatically deciding that a fixture is easy or difficult because of a club's name.

Hull being third and unbeaten makes João Pedro's fixture more interesting than I first thought. Spurs being bottom with one point from three means I'm not automatically terrified of starting Tarkowski or Barry against them.

None of that guarantees anything, obviously. We're only three Gameweeks into the season, and football has a habit of changing very quickly.

But I'm not an FPL expert, and I'm not going to pretend to be one. I'm just trying to make decisions that make sense to me, avoid transferring half my squad every week and hopefully score more than 40 points this time.

That's the plan, anyway.

FPL has other ideas.

Gameweek 4 verdict.

One transfer. Thiago out. Barry in.

Raya returns to the starting XI, Guéhi joins Gabriel, Virgil and Tarkowski in a four-man defence, while Anderson drops to the bench. João Pedro gets the captaincy for another week despite Hull's impressive start to the season.

Am I confident?

Absolutely not.

But the deadline is coming, the team needs submitting and at some point I have to stop staring at the transfer screen.

See you after Gameweek 4, when I'll either be celebrating Barry's arrival or writing several paragraphs about why I should have chosen someone else.