In case you haven't seen Jose Mourinho's smug mug on one of the 876 Sky Sports adverts that have been running every evening this week, the Premiership season kicks off tomorrow. Time, then, to get the fantasy football team sorted.
For my money, the best fantasy football game around is Fantasy Premier League, not least because it doesn't take any of my money - it's absolutely free. Being gratis, the prizes are pathetic. If you just so happen to beat the other 1.4 million players you win a VIP trip to a Premiership game. Be still my beating heart.
Nevertheless, fantasy football is more about beating your mates than beating 1.397665 million people you've never met, so here are a few tips on how to succeed at Fantasy Premier League.
1. It's all about the defence
Don't throw your £100m budget away on over-priced strikers: defenders usually offer the best value for money. With 6 points for a clean sheet and 6 points for a goal, good defenders who go up for corners can pay dividends. Last year, only Nicolas Anelka (179) scored more points than the top five defenders (Vidic, Lescott, Carragher, Bosingwa and Hangeland) and yet top strikers usually cost at least two million more than the best defenders. Stock up on defenders from the big four, and you won't go far wrong.
2. Choose your captain carefully
Skippers score double points, so make sure you run a careful eye over the fixture list and review your choice of captain on a week-by-week basis. Look out for players playing twice in the same gameweek, as they can really rack up the points. Be wary of picking forwards as captains, as they're not guaranteed points, and big strikers (such as Torres) are often rested for games against lesser opposition. Goalkeepers and defenders that are likely to keep a clean sheet are a good choice.
3. Watch for emerging stars
Keep an eye out in the early weeks for cheap newly-promoted players, foreign signings or products of the youth team that suddenly burst on to the scene. Last season, for example, Geovanni from Hull and Zaki from Wigan fired out of the blocks, picking up huge amounts of points in the first few weeks and increasing their transfer value massively.
4. Don't be too loyal to your points scorers
Don't be afraid to drop the emerging stars once they've been found out. Both Geovanni and Zaki ran out of steam by Christmas last year, but many people left them in their team in the hope that their early-season form would return. Be more forgiving of established stars such as Lampard, Gerrard or Vidic if they have a couple of poor weeks - their form is much more likely to resume quickly.
5. Find out of position players
Scour the lists for forwards or attack-minded players that are listed as midfielders. Andrei Arsharvin, for instance, is listed as a midfielder, which means he'll score five points instead of four for every goal, plus get bonus points for clean sheets. Assists have also been increased to three points this season, so midfielders who cross the ball into the box (Milner, Ashley Young, Lennon) will be more valuable than before.
And to give you a glimpse of what you're up against, here's how my team - Setanta Ate My Cat - will start the season. That VIP trip to Hull vs Blackburn is all mine, mine I tell you.
Recent Comments