Amidst all the recent talk surrounding the impact of DEFCON on the game, the other rule changes this season have taken a backseat. As a reminder, managers will be given five free transfers in Gameweek 16 in light of players departing for the Africa Cup of Nations. This means that managers will have plenty of transfers to use during this period, seemingly rendering moot the previously popular strategy of saving the Wildcard until right before Gameweek 19. Thus, if we want to harness the full power of the Wildcard, the “deadline” by which we need to use it is now much closer. Could the optimal time be as early as Gameweek 8? After all, as Jacob so eloquently put it, the sooner we “exorcise” the “chaff” from our teams, the better. Moreover, with ever-rising doubts over how “essential” Salah truly is and the potential for Isak to become a superior asset very soon, a Wildcard may be the perfect opportunity to restructure one’s team. Another change to the game that Jiayang had completely forgotten about is the addition of a second Triple Captain chip—and boy oh boy, Haaland at home to Burnley looks awfully enticing…