pointer ruined my week': An FPL allegory

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In our latest community article, FPL_Runpharm shines a light on the ‘grass is always greener’ mindset that can permeate Fantasy Football.

This is a true story. It happened to someone I know, and it may have happened to you, too. In the FPL community, there won’t be a shortage of similar examples every single week.

This FPL manager owned Omar Alderete (£4.1m), planned to Bench Boost, then saw the yellow flag. He thought about swapping to Nordi Mukiele (£4.0m). The same price point, the same team – why not? However, he decided to wait for more news instead. When photos surfaced of Alderete back in training, he felt brilliant. “See? Patience pays off,” he told himself, proud of not wasting a transfer like those “impatient” managers. Now he can Bench Boost without wasting a transfer.

Matchday arrived. Alderete started. Sunderland kept a clean sheet. This manager celebrated his genius move until he checked the details. Alderete missed defensive contribution (DefCon) points by one. Such a waste, but fine. No bonus points. Fine.

But then he saw Mukiele got DefCon. His face turned pale. Mukiele got all three bonus points. His jaw dropped: how did that happen? And finally, the killer blow: a goal. A 17-point haul for Mukiele, only six for Alderete.

His smile vanished. The same patience he was once proud of now felt like a mistake. He spiralled. Cursed his luck, cursed others’ luck. “They don’t deserve those points,” he muttered. “I should have just done the transfer, I should have known!” The gratitude he had moments ago, for Alderete’s start, the clean sheet, the successful Bench Boost… it all evaporated. He wasn’t happy with what he had anymore; he was angry about what someone else got.

And that, really, is life. We often start contented, with our jobs, families, or simple wins, until we start comparing. Someone else earns more, looks happier, gets luckier, and suddenly what we have feels smaller. Happiness doesn’t vanish because our reality changes; it vanishes because our focus does.

So, maybe the next time you get your own clean sheet (literally or figuratively), stop comparing. Celebrate your win – because happiness isn’t about letting someone else’s score steal the joy from yours.

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