Fantasy Premier League is back. The website’s had a lick of paint and they’ve got rid of West Brom. Now it’s time to pick your side. If you’re fed up of finishing mid-table and looking for an edge, this core Fantasy Premier League strategy is for you. It’s not about picking individual players based on past performance or hope. It’s built on the rules of the game and the psychology of the masses. It works. Enjoy.
Play 3-4-3 Or 3-5-2
Goalkeepers and defenders aren’t as much fun as midfielders and attackers. But more fundamentally, they just don’t score as highly. Don’t go spending your money on them, because unlike José Mourinho, you don’t need a spine of steel in your side. Challenge your brain to disregard the aesthetics of what your squad looks like on paper. Instead, look for value. Buy cheap defenders at lesser clubs with crap kits who you think are going to run a tight ship at the back this year. But don’t overthink it, because this bit’s boring, frankly.
Work on the Weekends
Here’s the money. The
fantasy.premierleague.com website updates players valuations based on their ‘transfers in’ and ‘transfers out’ ratio. To take advantage of the swing in valuation, you have to make your move before anyone else. Even if the very first thing you do on a Monday at work is your fantasy transfers, you’re already too late. Deal, and deal quickly. A good strategy is to make 1 or 2 transfers on Saturday or Sunday and keep one in the bank in case of injury or squad rotation.
Buy The Hype
In Gameweek 1, someone’s going to grab a brace and an assist, be the top scoring midfielder and light up Match of the Day. Don’t envy those who got lucky, just buy him as soon as you can. The sooner you buy him, the cheaper he’ll be. Then, when everyone else gets into work on a Monday and clunks into gear, you’re already the winner because you got him at the cheaper price. It’s almost the complete opposite of a sensible stock investment strategy. Instead of buying for the long term, you have to jump on every bandwagon that comes your way because you’re guaranteed to make money. You’re the new wolf of wall street. Just lay off the lemo and don’t wait until Monday.
The 2 Week Rule
If a player doesn’t perform for two weeks in a row, ship him out. It doesn’t matter if he’s your favourite player in the world, there’s no room for emotions in fantasy football. Seriously. It doesn’t matter if he’s due a goal, once gave you an autograph or is called Mohammed Salah. You have to ship them early because otherwise your total team value is going to suffer as other, less sentimental people take action. Get rid.
Fantasy Stoicism: Sit With Mediocrity
This is the hardest part of the core strategy, because you know you’re putting in more work then your mates. The truth – I guarantee – is that you’re going to beat them. But the secret to winning the marathon is to be comfortable taking the transfer hits to your total in the early game weeks. It costs your points to make transfers, but the long-term reward is far more powerful than the short term satisfaction with your league position and bragging rights. Make the transfers, build your value and by Christmas time you’ll have be rolling in dosh.
The Last Mile: Chips + Pix
Tips 1-5 above will be enough to win your league 90% of the time. The final 10% is the hardest part of the puzzle and requires the most effort. It all depends how serious you are. Maybe you just want bragging rights, but maybe you’ve bought into a league or are gunning for an Xbox. But to put you in contention for the big prizes, you need to get down in the nitty gritty. I recommend three things. The first is to think carefully about the FPL Chips. The four chips are All Out Attack, Triple Captain, Bench Boost and Wildcard and I’ll be writing more about these once the season kicks off. The second – for hardcore fans only – is to look at investing in Fantasy Football Fix. I have no affiliation with these guys, but if you’re a serious player, this is where the money’s at. Last but not least, despite its LUDICROUSLY NAFF cover, reading this will put you in an elite club (4 top-1000 finishes under his belt).
