Season Verdict

  • GW3
  • Pre-launch

Triple Captain Haaland now, or wait?

A record week for Triple Captain, and a goalkeeper call on the side.

Published · Updated with result

Flipped before the GW3 deadline with a coin app, before FPL Shrine existed. Each call was flipped once and never re-rolled, and the screenshots below are the originals.

Captaincy wasn't the question in GW3: Haaland at home to winless Coventry was everyone's pick. The question was whether to spend the Triple Captain on it. We also had two keepers and one place in goal.

Flip 1 · ChipTriple Captain now, or save it?

The dilemma

Triple Captain Haaland at home to Coventry, or save the chip for one of his other home games against promoted sides: Ipswich in GW7 or Hull in GW16. The Premier League's own Scout article set out exactly that choice.

We'd switched the chip on a few minutes before flipping, as a fallback in case we missed the deadline. It's easy to switch off, and we had a slight lean towards using it. The flip decided whether it stayed on.

The case for Triple Captain now

  • Projections had Haaland well clear of everyone, at 7.2 to 7.9 points.
  • Coventry hadn't won a game.
  • He had just scored twice at Palace.

The case for waiting

  • Two more home games against promoted sides were still to come.
  • One chip, one use. He had blanked at home to Bournemouth in GW1.

Why it was genuinely 50/50

No data settles "now or later" for good. Every argument for GW3 had a matching one for GW7.

The flip

  • Coin's pick Triple Captain Haaland v Coventry (H)
  • Save it Keep it for later

The coin said Triple Captain

Coin app screenshot: Triple Captain chosen over No
The original flip for our GW3 chip call, Triple Captain Haaland or not, before FPL Shrine existed.

See this flip on FPL Shrine

What happened

Haaland scored once in a 1–0 win and took maximum bonus: 9 points, 27 with the chip. Solid, not the haul people were dreaming of. 1,787,071 managers played Triple Captain that week, an all-time record for one gameweek.

Points
Haaland9
As a normal captain18
With Triple Captain27
Extra from the chip9

Chip-timing flips stay out of the right-or-wrong count, because the other option, playing it later, can't be scored yet.

The verdict Long-term call

The chip added 9 points. Fine, not famous.

Flip 2 · BenchKinsky or Verbruggen?

The dilemma

Two £4.5m keepers, one shirt. Kinsky (Spurs) was away at Nottingham Forest. Verbruggen (Brighton) was at home to Leeds. We flipped for the one to bench.

The case for starting Kinsky

  • Verbruggen had just conceded four at Chelsea and scored 0.

The case for starting Verbruggen

  • A home game.
  • A clean sheet in the 4–0 against Villa in GW1.
  • Spurs had conceded five in two games, and Kinsky had 3 points to show for it.

Why it was genuinely 50/50

Both cheap, both shaky, and both with a fixture you could argue either way.

The flip

  • Coin benched Kinsky Spurs at Forest (A)
  • Verbruggen Brighton v Leeds (H)

The coin said bench Kinsky

Coin app screenshot: Kinsky chosen over Verbruggen, so Kinsky was benched
The original flip for our GW3 bench call, Kinsky or Verbruggen, before FPL Shrine existed.

See this flip on FPL Shrine

What happened

Spurs drew 0–0 at Forest: a clean sheet and 6 points for Kinsky, on our bench. Brighton drew 1–1 with Leeds and Verbruggen scored 3.

OptionGW3 points
Kinsky (benched by the coin)6
Verbruggen (started)3
The verdict Wrong

The keeper the coin benched kept the clean sheet.

What some well-known managers did

Every one of these five played a chip and captained Haaland, but only FPL Mate went with Triple Captain, like the coin. FPL Harry and FPL Raptor played it too, for 53 and 55. Let's Talk FPL and Pras Wildcarded into almost the same squad, which is why their scores match for the next three weeks.

ManagerChipCaptainGW3 points
Ben CrellinFree HitHaaland55
FPL MateTriple CaptainHaaland49
Let's Talk FPLWildcardHaaland44
PrasWildcardHaaland44
FPL FocalWildcardHaaland40

From public FPL team data. Links open X in a new tab. These managers have no connection with FPL Shrine and are mentioned for comparison only.

GW3 in summary

  • 52Our GW3 points
  • 51FPL average
  • 298,697Our overall rank

A low-scoring week almost everywhere. Haaland's 27 was more than half our total, and the 6 on the bench stung. Our rank slipped again, from 255,722.

The Coin's record

  • 1Right
  • 2Wrong
  • 1Level
  • 2Long-term calls

After GW3. A head-to-head flip counts as right if the coin's pick outscored the other option, wrong if not, and level if they tied. For a bench call, the coin's pick is the player it benched, so it's right if that player scored less. Long-term calls (chip timing, and squad moves like which keeper to keep) play out over weeks, so we report what they've returned but leave them out of the right-or-wrong count. All GW1 to GW5 flips are pre-launch. See every Verdict.

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