What do I do with my FPL 'enabler' this week?

Every week a big talking point emerges from the Gameweek’s events that shape decisions moving into the next one.

At some point in the action, there will be a player who performs over another one you could’ve picked causing a decision to be made, or an injury that crops up meaning you’re scrambling around for a replacement.

Each week, I’ll take a look at the key talking point in FPL (which may overlap one of the other articles I’ll write, but I’ll give another angle where I can if that happens) and give my thoughts on the situation.

Many teams this week had performers all across the pitch, but one slot in particular has come under scrutiny for many managers: the cheap enabler spot in midfield, commonly occupied by Wolves’ Pedro Neto (£5.5m, ~15% owned) or Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey (£5.0m, ~14% owned).

Neither has produced in the opening weeks of the season, and some managers – especially those with a couple of free transfers stored up from banking one last week – are restless when it comes to these players.

It’s an unfamiliar situation to be in to be focusing on these “enablers”, a situation which has developed because a lot of the “likely lads” in many of our teams have performed well to begin with.

The question many are asking is: what do I do with this kind of player? Is it worth moving them on?

Because many of us have Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (£4.5m) in our squads who could come on and be fielded this week against Brentford at home, there’s a way to kick the can down the road for those with other matters to attend to in their team - if you don’t have any other issues but don’t have 2 frees banked, for example, I’d roll this week.

But if you are looking to move on Bailey or Neto and are confused about what to do, here’s what I think: it’s perfectly OK to be totally confused, I am too!

That’s because there’s no clear escape route from them at the moment other than Josh Dasilva at Brentford who has risen to £4.6m after two goals from two shots.

At the price point we’re talking about, expectations should be low – you’ll not be expecting any more than around 87 points on average for the whole season for individuals in this price slot.

That means we’ve got the opportunity to have a proper punt on our hands. 

👉 @EbereEze10 👈#CPFC pic.twitter.com/zr0oKyoCXY

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 16, 2022

In the £5.5m price bracket, admittedly no-one has put their hand up yet. I’m currently between a few options, namely Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Pablo Fornals (West Ham), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton) and Brenden Aaronson (Leeds). Of those names, Eze feels the more exciting pick, so I might end up going with that. 

Overall, what’s important to remember here is that there’s no guarantees; if you take a player here, as we did early doors with Neto/Bailey, do it with your eyes wide open to the low expectations and enjoy any small return that comes your way.

Plus, if a bigger curveball is seen, deprioritise this and focus elsewhere: this should only be a side point, a transfer you make when you’ve got the luxury of nothing more pressing to do.