It seemed like a bad idea to give Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers a two-week international break to dwell on the epic awfulness generally suffered in Gameweek 29.
However, two announcements provided a well-timed distraction.
A new game - Fantasy Challenge - was launched on Monday, which is essentially a series of independent Free Hits, each with a unique stipulation.
Additionally, the finalisation of Double Gameweek 34 quickly got managers thinking ahead, settling on a chip strategy for the final stretch.
With this in mind, here are a few suggestions from Fantasy Football Scout about when could be best to use a precious Wildcard.
Gameweek 30
Firstly, right now. Those who still have a Free Hit in their pocket can make unlimited transfers with this Wildcard, knowing there’ll later be a one-week pause of their choosing.
Of course, the desire to immediately squeeze a fully-fit Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) back into squads is another reason to activate. Even if it means sacrificing Phil Foden (£8.1m) or a Tottenham midfielder just before they host Luton.
Blank Gameweek 29 absentees can be re-bought and defences have a chance to be tidied up, whilst highly-picked but frustrating goalkeepers Alphonse Areola (£4.3m) and Martin Dubravka (£4.2m) can be moved on.
Gameweek 33
After this is a quicker-than-usual sequence of Gameweek 31 and Gameweek 32 deadlines that limit Wildcards to extremely short turnarounds.
Therefore the next idea is to use it in time for the positive fixture shifts of Manchester City, Manchester United and Brentford.
This strategy maximises the potential of triggering the Bench Boost in Double Gameweek 34, an occasion where more teams will feature twice than in Double Gameweek 37.
In fact, cheap assets who’d usually be FPL back-ups have stronger-looking fixtures in the former.
Names like Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.2m), Alejandro Garnacho (£4.9m), Antoine Semenyo (£4.5m) and Pablo Sarabia (£4.7m) boost the prospects of Bench Boost 34.
Gameweek 35
Meanwhile, others will dead-end into that double, knowing that the other one has completely different teams.
Focus on the first with free transfers then Wildcard for the second, allowing both to be attacked.
For example, Spurs are the only team not to feature in Gameweek 34, yet both they and Chelsea expect to double twice in the final four rounds.
Throw in Newcastle’s good fixtures alongside a possible Bench Boost 37 and these managers will hope for a big finish.
The main issue is that using this valuable chip so late feels wasteful. It could prove more beneficial to Wildcard earlier.
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