I must admit that I woke up Sunday morning feeling dejected from my fantasy football world.
I received just 20 points from seven players. Kai Havertz was also added to the squad with a four-point penalty. Kai managed to remain the only Chelsea player to not return the ball in the 7-0 defeat of Norwich.
Mohamed Salah then did his Mohamed Salah thing in Manchester United. I, along with over 3,000,000 managers, benefited to the tune of 48 points.
The only reasonable knee-jerk reaction is to get Salah in, but it's not my intention.
However, I advise against emotional and knee-jerk reactions.
Take Havertz, for instance.
It seems obvious to switch him for Mason Mount following his hat-trick against Norwich and 24-point win over Norwich. This will save you 0.6m.
Mount is a great player, and he can get into a lot of attacking positions. He also takes some set-pieces. Chelsea have a great run of fixtures.
We brought Havertz in because he is playing that forward role in the absence Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner. Who's to say he will not be the one scoring the goals away from Newcastle this weekend?
While it is easy to chase fantasy football's form, it's important to allow players enough time to make an impression in your teams. This week, I will stick with Havertz but with an eye to removing him when Werner and/or Lukaku are available.
Max Cornet from Burnley and Joshua King from Watford would be two more players who could fall into the 'knee-jerks' category.
Both players put in outstanding performances in gameweek nine. They offer great value at 6m/5.6m, but is it likely that they will repeat that performance in the following weeks? Burnley and Watford have both very difficult fixtures.
Emile Smith Rowe may be a better choice in the budget midfielder position at 5.5m. However, you could argue that this is a somewhat reactive pick considering that his 13 points against Aston Villa was his second attacking return of season. I do hope that he can produce more consistently as Arsenal becomes more consistent.
Armando Broja, Southampton's Premier League player, has caught everyone's attention with his two goals in his Premier League debuts. It might be worth getting down on one knee to grab him.
At just 5m, he's a great deal. He has games against Watford and Aston Villa as well as Norwich. However, we need to make sure he's fit for gameweek 10, since he currently has a yellow warning flag.
Tino Livramento, his teammate, is not a quick pick and has genuine John Lundstram vibes. He is a great budget pick this season.
A defender in the 4.4m range who loves to play down the right. He has only one goal so far. Although he was not able to play last week, many managers left him on the bench. However, he can be a great sub for when your Chelsea or Manchester City defenders are unavailable.
Let's end with Salah, whose extraordinary form seems to have transformed the fantasy narrative this season as Statman Dave pointed out on Fantasy 606 this week.
It was all about finding a way to include the 'big three', Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lukaku in our teams a few weeks back. It's now about trusting Salah as our premium player. Let him wear the captain's jacket every week, and let him go.
This allows us to strengthen our squads by adding more high-performing mid-price players like Ben Chilwell and Phil Foden, which helps us deal with the problem of squad rotation.
This story will change if Lukaku is fit or Harry Kane recovers. Tottenham's fixtures are likely to be easier after gameweek 12. And Salah will represent Egypt at January's Africa Cup of Nations.
It wouldn't be as much fun if it were just about Salah captaining the entire season.
Alistair Bruce-Ball hosts Fantasy 606 with Chris Sutton, a former Premier League winner, and Statman Dave. Subscribe to the BBC Sounds App 606 feed for the latest episode that previews gameweek 10.
