2026/27 · GW1 deadline Aug 21, 6:30pm UK
Stop drafting
on vibes.
Gaffer searches every legal squad — 550 players, all the rules, your budget — and hands you the one with the most projected points. Takes about four seconds. Costs nothing. Doesn't rate your gut, replaces it.
free · no account · real mixed-integer optimisation
- 1HaalandMCI · FWD34.6
- 2B.FernandesMUN · MID30.5
- 3GabrielARS · DEF24.7
- 4SemenyoMCI · MID23.9
- 5SakaARS · MID22.9
live from the official FPL API · updates hourly
The routine
Three touches, one teamsheet
Set the brief
Your budget, how far ahead to plan, who you refuse to leave out and who you refuse to touch.
The solver does the arguing
A mixed-integer optimiser weighs every legal fifteen — budget, formations, three-per-club, transfer hits — and proves which plan scores most. Not "rates". Proves.
Read your teamsheet
Optimal XI, bench order, captain, and a week-by-week transfer plan: when to roll, when to bank, and when a −4 actually pays for itself.
The difference
Built like the paid tools. Priced like a corner flag.
Proof, not ratings
The same solver engine (HiGHS mixed-integer programming) that powers the premium FPL tools. It doesn't shortlist a good answer — it proves the best one.
Thinks in gameweeks, plural
Plans 3–8 weeks ahead: when to roll a transfer, when to bank up to five, and when taking a hit beats holding your nerve.
Knows who you actually play
Every projection is fixture-adjusted, gameweek by gameweek — blanks and doubles included when the calendar turns nasty.
You stay the gaffer
Lock your must-haves, ban your never-agains, re-solve in seconds. The optimiser handles the other 550 egos.
Fair questions
Before you ask
What is an FPL solver?
A solver uses mathematical optimization — the same technique airlines use to schedule flights — to find the squad that maximises projected points under all FPL rules: budget, formations, three-per-club, transfers and hits. Ratings and gut feel look at players one at a time; a solver weighs every valid combination of the 550+ player pool at once.
Is Gaffer free?
Yes. The draft solver, projections and transfer planning are free, no account required. It exists because we sell season-long FPL tools and would rather earn your attention than rent it.
How are the predicted points calculated?
Projections blend each player's last-season points per 90 with a price-based prior, scaled by expected minutes, availability flags and per-fixture difficulty. Honest estimates for ranking decisions — not guarantees. It's still football.
Can I import my existing FPL team?
Team import by FPL ID arrives once the 2026/27 season kicks off — the official FPL API only exposes picks after Gameweek 1 starts. Until then, the draft solver builds your GW1 squad from scratch.
Can I force or exclude specific players?
Yes. Lock anyone into your squad or ban them outright, and the solver re-optimises everything else around your calls. You keep the armband; it does the arithmetic.
The deadline doesn't care
about your gut.
August 21st, 6:30pm UK. Arrive with a squad you can defend to your mini-league — because you can show your working.
Run the solver