https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💥" title="Symbol für eine Kollision" aria-label="Emoji: Symbol für eine Kollision">EXPLOSIVENESS IN #FPL https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💥" title="Symbol für eine Kollision" aria-label="Emoji: Symbol für eine Kollision">

On this week& #39;s pod, we discussed Explosiveness among captaincy options an answer to a Correspondence question from @mccollio09 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📩" title="Umschlag mit nach unten zeigendem Pfeil darüber" aria-label="Emoji: Umschlag mit nach unten zeigendem Pfeil darüber">

We gave a comprehensive answer on the episode but, as promised, here& #39;s a short THREAD with these findings visualised https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖼️" title="Bilderrahmen mit Bild" aria-label="Emoji: Bilderrahmen mit Bild">

METHOD https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🪡" title="Sewing needle" aria-label="Emoji: Sewing needle">
With help from @SeekingDusan, data from 2018-now was collected + tallied to give us recent historical outcomes for the usual captaincy candidates:

Kane
Son
Salah
Mane
Sterling
KdBAguero
(no Auba; see cavs)

In terms of:

Return = 6-9pts
Haul = 10-15pts
Explode = 16+pts

Here& #39;s how that turned out! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧮" title="Abacus" aria-label="Emoji: Abacus">
Already, you can begin to see some initial patterns here, but it& #39;s far easier to read if it& #39;s just summed up (next tweet)...

I& #39;ve ranked the players here by *any* captain return (over 6) in the last 2 years https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📊" title="Balkendiagramm" aria-label="Emoji: Balkendiagramm">
Findings https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔎" title="Nach rechts zeigende Lupe" aria-label="Emoji: Nach rechts zeigende Lupe">
o Salah leads the way wrt reliability, both in terms of frequent 6-9s and any
o Mane is 2nd for returns and also the "haul king" (10-15s)
o Sterling has exploded (16+) most frequently

We& #39;ve defined "explosion" as 16+ points scored.
This means that
"Sterling was the most explosive over the last 2 years
is a true statement https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen">
(this obvs doesn& #39;t mean Raz is always better!)
We can also use this data further: to see reliability of DOUBLE DIGIT returns (next tweet)

Looking at the proportion of any return being over 10 points, it& #39;s fascinating https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👀" title="Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Augen">

Son, KdB & Sterling will have scored double digits *over half of the time* if they returned anything https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Feuer" aria-label="Emoji: Feuer">

Obviously, Son/Kdb (historic injuries) have a smaller base total to start with though https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚠️" title="Warnsignal" aria-label="Emoji: Warnsignal">

From @WGTA_Nick:
Just to mention Bruno Fernandes https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇵🇹" title="Flagge von Portugal" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Portugal">
18 games played (14 last season, 4 from this)
8 hauls, 5 returns = no returns in only 5 games (a 5 pointer doesn’t count as a return under this reading)
This means a 72% games-to-returns+ ratio https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😲" title="Erstauntes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Erstauntes Gesicht">
One to watch in this context https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👀" title="Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Augen">

Summary (last 2 years& #39; data):
o Salah/Mane: reliable returners/haulers
o Sterling: explosive & good DD proportion
o Son: likeliest to get you 10+ points
o Mix of return frequency + proportion of DDs for Salah&Mane can& #39;t be ignored!
(Yeah, obvious findings. BUT proved with data!)

Thanks for reading!
Might develop this into something further (provided the idea isn& #39;t stolen by others, please keep an eye out for it!) as it& #39;s an angle which is often asserted ("xx is explosive") but rarely corroborated by data in the #FPL zeitgeist.
Explosivity Index? Will see

Considerations:
- Happy if you come to a different conclusion!
- No Auba; historically not a consistent (c) option
- Base sizes eg Son/KdB/Kun https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤕" title="Gesicht mit Kopfbandage" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Kopfbandage">
- Data done manually: can& #39;t guarantee no errors (but shouldn& #39;t change story)
- Chrctr limits
- Contextual concerns eg restart, covid

The question asker himself @mccollio09 has also added his thoughts on how this translates into how he& #39;ll approach captaincy in the upcoming weeks, with a slightly different take - as well a controversial No Mo plan!
Read here: https://twitter.com/mccollio09/status/1319191627827740673?s=20">https://twitter.com/mccollio0...

Here& #39;s the pod itself https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎙️" title="Studiomikrofon" aria-label="Emoji: Studiomikrofon">
Worth listening to for the whole thing of course (I promise, we& #39;re rather good), but the Correspondence section kicks in around ~43:15: https://twitter.com/WGTA_FPL/status/1318503524431429632?s=20">https://twitter.com/WGTA_FPL/...

And finally, if you want to hear the sound of an Irishman squealing with delight ( @FPLStag) as he reads out emails, do mail your questions/pet theories/addendums (not exhaustive) in to us to be analysed for the Correspondence section!
Mail tohttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉🏻" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts (heller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts (heller Hautton)"> whogottheassist[at]gmail[dot]com https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📩" title="Umschlag mit nach unten zeigendem Pfeil darüber" aria-label="Emoji: Umschlag mit nach unten zeigendem Pfeil darüber">