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            <p><em>Former HOF Number 1 FPL Manager <a href="https://twitter.com/richclarkefpl">Richard Clarke</a> is an FPL veteran and has one of the most enviable best records out there, notching 2 top 500 finishes, 7 top 10k finishes and has never finished outside the top 33k in every single one of his 13 seasons. His articles take a detailed 'longer-term' view of the approach and FPL strategy to achieve success in a season. The aim is to exclusively give Fantasy Football Hub members perspective on the recent/upcoming period of games and relate this to their own team's position. Rich articulates his learnings and FPL strategy as we move through each phase of the season where international breaks, chip timing and fixture turns all come into play.</em></p>
<div id="attachment_12945" style="width: 807px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12945" class="wp-image-12945 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Capture-6.jpg" alt="Rich Clarke's FPL record" width="797" height="584" /></p>
<p id="caption-attachment-12945" class="wp-caption-text">Rich Clarke's FPL record</p>
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<h2><strong>Summary of my current position:</strong></h2>
<p><strong>Current Rank</strong>:  <strong>45k</strong> (+42k on GW26) (Top 0.6%)</p>
<p><strong>Team Value</strong>: <strong>105.5M</strong> (no change)</p>
<p>#transfers made in since GW27 and during Lockdown: <strong>11</strong> (<strong>No hits</strong>)</p>
<p>(<strong>In:</strong> Pope, Holgate, Williams, Cantwell, Doherty, Wood, Fernandes, Jimenez)</p>
<p>(<strong>Out:</strong> Ryan, Stephens, O'Connell, Fleck, Soyuncu, Ings, Grealish, Vardy)</p>
<p>#transfers this GW: TBA</p>
<p>Chips played: None</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><strong>FPL Strategy - Observations</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>I enjoyed a steady climb up the rankings with my squad prior to lockdown, but was fortunate purely from a ranking perspective from some of the cancellations that ensued</li>
<li>I remained 'active' through the remaining regular season gameweeks, taking advantage of the available free transfers to build a fixture focused squad for the re-start</li>
<li>After some uncertainty, the game has re-started with Unlimited Transfers for all managers prior to the first game week. This means a key decision has to be made in the next few days - whether to take advantage of these free transfers and save a chip, or whether to Free-hit and revert to the team set up during the break in GW31+</li>
<li>We are all heading into very unknown territory with the re-start - there are no 'experts' and the remainder of the season is likely to be highly volatile from a fantasy football perspective!</li>
<li>I remain optimistic of a strong finish to the season with some more ambitious targets to aim for</li>
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<h3><strong>Looking Back (Gameweek 27 to present)</strong></h3>
<p>This really does feel like a previous life going all the way back to early March to review moves and outcomes prior to the lockdown. So much has changed in the world and like everyone else, priorities have been away from fantasy football. Nevertheless, the game is still continuing and I have continued to play within the limitations and get ready in the same way we would for a new season.</p>
<p>Before play stopped I was really starting to make up some ground, having enjoyed several big jumps up the Top 100k in Gameweeks 27 to 29.  When the virus stopped play I was sitting just inside the top 45,000 with, crucially, three chips remaining (Wildcard, Free-Hit, Bench boost) for the run-in.</p>
<p>If you can remember back that far, fantasy managers were navigating a tricky period of blanks and potential doubles and also a midweek set of FA Cup games that would shape the upcoming 'Gameweek 31' where many teams were expected to be without a fixture. Planning was in overdrive and many were using early second wildcards and about to deploy other chips in anticipation of a hastily arranged Man City v Arsenal fixture, adding a double in Gameweek 29..</p>
<p>I had made some good gains in Gameweeks 27 and 28, with the <strong>Mane</strong> and <strong>Salah</strong> midfield combination starting to pay back the patience.  Getting on <strong>Bruno Fernandes</strong> early also helped, Gameweek 28 was a very low scoring week, with 42 points actually a pretty decent return.  Going into Gameweek 29, I made the risky decision to avoid further investment in Arsenal and Man City players, as I didn't think the game was certain to go ahead before the deadline, and the investment did not fit with my chip strategy or Gameweek 31 plans at the time. It certainly could have backfired, but with the main protagonists from Man City and Arsenal not returning in the first game, the second game was then cancelled just days after it was announced as Mikel Arteta became one of the early cases of Covid-19 and the Arsenal squad went into isolation...</p>
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<h3>Lockdown Transfers</h3>
<p>My first reaction to the suspension of the season was that it would not last long and we would see a resumption of football in late March! I was on a ski-trip and prior to the weekend deadline, finally took out <strong>Matt Ryan</strong> for <strong>Ben Foster</strong> to avoid a price drop and play the immediate fixtures. I made several goalkeeper transfers in lockdown, before finally settling on <strong>Nick Pope</strong> - whom I should have never sold in the first place.</p>
<p>I settled into a rhythm of making transfers in two's after this, with a two Gameweek break in between; this allowed for flexibility to reshape the squad and work with a tight budget. My approach was to closely look at teams with favourable remaining fixtures, something still to play for and to try and maintain team value if possible. I felt I wanted to keep the three Liverpool players that have served me so well recently in <strong>Alexander-Arnold,</strong> <strong>Mane</strong> and <strong>Salah</strong>, but with £33m covering these three players, this meant some careful tinkering was needed. I do think this is still the right play, and Liverpool will go all out to secure the title in the first 3 weeks back.</p>
<p>I also squeezed in <strong>Matt Doherty</strong> during the break as Wolves have exceptional remaining fixtures and he was in superb from in February and March. Having two 'premium' defenders (I considered Alonso also) means the remaining defensive spot will be shared between three budget players, <strong>Jamal Lascelles</strong> (NEW), <strong>Mason Holgate</strong> (EVE) and <strong>Brandon Williams</strong> (MUN). As the fixtures fall (granted we only know the first three weeks for sure but it looks like the former schedule is being followed), these three budget options should dovetail nicely and give me some bench cover too.</p>
<p>The midfield needed less work, with <strong>De Bruyne</strong> and <strong>Bruno Fernandes</strong> already in place and staying there. I brought in <strong>Todd Cantwell</strong> (<strong>for John Fleck</strong>) as the fifth mid, following a price drop and ahead of some kind home games for a battling Norwich. I may well play <strong>Cantwell</strong> over one of the strikers in a 3-5-2 during the run-in.</p>
<p>Just one change up front for me was to lose the out of form <strong>Danny Ings</strong> for <strong>Chris Wood </strong>to generate some funds and hopefully take advantage of Burnley's decent fixtures. Unfortunately it looks like he may have an achilles injury now so perhaps an early change needed there before we resume.  <strong>Dominic Calvert-Lewin</strong> and <strong>Raul Jimenez</strong> make up the other places in my 're-start' squad</p>
<h2><strong>Squad Reveal for Re-start (before any Gameweek 30+ transfers)</strong></h2>
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