Advice From Former FPL Champions

If you're an Fantasy Premier League manager overwhelmed by the volume of advice and analysis available, this is the essay for you. Inside is the advice from the past eleven winners of FPL, from record points-scorer Jon Reeson to last season's champion Joshua Bull. Who better to learn from than the best?

​2009/10 Winner Jon Reeson (2,668 points - FPL record)

In the early part of the season I would transfer in the form players quickly, maybe on the Monday, so when they rose in value that week your total team value increased. In the latter stages of the season, I would wait, so I could avoid bringing in a player who might not be fit, I was less worried about the cost of the player rising.
 
I have always sworn by the idea of having the cheapest defenders possible and rotating them so you’d try and play them at home or against weaker teams to give them a chance. That said, I did start off with Ashley Cole for a few weeks and finished with Bale and Baines. So you need to be flexible with your strategy. But I wouldn’t have 2 defenders on the same team, too risky for me.
 
I think you’re better off making wholesale changes early on in the season, so you can bring in players who are going up in value and dump the ones going down in value. It just doesn’t seem to stack up to make more than 2 transfers. You’re asking a lot of your transferred in players to make up the 8 point deficit. So I try and plan in advance so I don’t need to take such a big hit.
 
Courtesy of Fantasy Football Scout
 

2010/11 winner Chris McGurn (2,372 points) 

I have generally taken a fairly conservative approach with few risks, preferring to go with the more reliable ‘big four’ players where possible with some cheap guaranteed starters to make up the numbers. Also two cheap keepers to rotate; this usually works well. I have probably been a bit more aggressive this year and not been afraid to sell players who have scored well if there is a better option elsewhere, and this seems to have paid off.
 
I have mixed views on taking points hits. I didn’t used to like doing them as I was never confident enough that I would gain at least 4 extra points to cover the hit, except perhaps for some double gameweeks or when struggling to raise a team. This season, I have started to take a longer term view on points hits and more often decided they are worth it, particularly when you have a number of transfers you want to make, as you are not just benefiting from the extra points that week but also from the extra transfer it frees up for the next week.
 
When looking at the DGW, I would always plan a few weeks ahead. I would generally only load up on DGW players if I was happy to keep them for more than just that week. Otherwise I tend to avoid as, after the DGW is over, I wouldn’t want my team full of players I wouldn’t normally consider.
 
Courtesy of Fantasy Football Scout
 

2011/12 winner Sam Pater (2,414 points) 

My one tip for anyone is this: Never, ever believe a hunch. Hunches never pan out - the higher you get in the league the more you think everything you touch will turn to gold, but whenever I went on a hunch it always completely failed. Play the odds, that's my advice.
 
Courtesy of the Premier League
 

2012/13 winner Matt Martyniak (2,472 points)

You have to play the game to how it is set up. The way Fantasy Premier League has been set up favours the attacking players, so I invested heavily on a front seven. They are more likely to get the goals and assists but it is not just those points, it is the bonus points, too. You have to look at which players are going to attract bonus points, those who shoot on target more, dribble more.
 
One basic policy is pick players who are going to start. Many managers go for wild punts but I tried to make sure I had players who were going to start week in and week out and play at least 60 minutes to get you two points. I also kept my choice of captain simple, mainly Van Persie or Bale, players who were consistently good, rather than gambling on someone who may perform that Gameweek alone – the one-hit wonders.
 
I would advise against too many transfer hits because they often do not work out. Some people keep switching their players around too much. Lots of my rivals got rid of Van Persie towards the end but I stayed faithful to him and to Bale and they repaid me.
 
Courtesy of the Premier League
 

2013/14 winner Tom Fenley (2,634 points)

It was part of the planned strategy to use free transfers to maintain a balance in the squad in relation to fixtures and to get the form players in with a hit if it looked like paying off. Hits can quite clearly be successful, I think you have to weigh them up on an individual basis and I did incredibly well with them this season. It is all about the effect it has on your team, if you are bringing in a better player it allows pivotal transfers when faced with injury pileups and provides economic benefit which helps the squad develop over time. This is also illustrated by the fact I didn’t use my wildcard until Gameweek 30, it is all about the long term value of a player and maintaining momentum.
 
There is no trick, or one key area that helps you to do well in FPL, it is always a combination of factors and being able to bring all the various bits of news, information, stats, comments, gut feeling, offbeat thoughts and strategy together with a bit of luck so that you make the right transfer. If there was one piece of advice I’d give it would be to use common sense, it’s not actually that common. Be rational, this is not football, it’s Fantasy Football.
 
Courtesy of Fantasy Football Scout

 
2014/15 winner Simon March (2,470 points)

If there was a single principle that defined my season it was flexibility. I set my initial team up with a fairly even distribution of player value, which meant I could transfer in-form players without the need for major surgery. Wherever possible, I banked my free transfers because you can make so much more of a difference to your team with two transfers rather than one and I made my transfers as late as possible to take into account team news. Finally, I kept my wildcard until GW34. I usually use it within the first four weeks! That allowed me to take advantage of the late double Gameweeks and set my team up for the final run-in. There were probably occasions where I sacrificed the opportunity of scoring more points in favour of maintaining flexibility but, in the end, this long-term view was probably what made the difference. That and a big dose of good fortune.
 
The best piece of advice I can think of, and a surprisingly hard thing to do over the course of a whole season, is to try and keep it simple. That means not trying to be too clever with your initial team selection, minimising risks with your captain choices and not wasting your transfers chasing points from the previous week. Keeping it simple becomes harder the more experienced you get at FPL so it’s possibly good advice for all levels.
 
Courtesy of the Premier League
 

2015/16 winner Dimitri Nicolaou (2,458 points)

Go with your gut, rather than your head. It tends to be a better indicator. Think outside the box. I didn’t need [to use my first Wildcard]. I was happy with the team I had evolved and could see it was strong enough.
 
Courtesy of FPL Happy Hour

One key within fantasy football is the transfers and using them wisely, however you should not feel obliged to use them, just because you have them. If your fantasy team is performing well, you shouldn’t be afraid to ride a strong team a week or two longer.
 
Another thing to consider is to transfer cautiously, try to keep up with the ‘obvious’ ones or the ones that have a good run of fixtures. For example, it would be wise to bring in Aguero or Sanchez when Manchester City or Arsenal have a run of easier fixtures, but more importantly identify players with potential from mid to bottom table teams. Often you can find a gem, which will see you shoot up the ranks if it pays off.
 
Player prices constantly fluctuate in the fantasy game, as people bring in and take out their performing players. To gain an advantage, it is important to keep an eye on the player prices, especially those in your team and those potential transfer targets. Once you start seeing huge price increases, snap them up if you don’t have them already, as you won’t want to be in position of not being able to afford them.
 
Many gameweeks in my winning season were saved by clean sheets from the goalkeepers and defence. It is important to ensure that you maintain a well-balanced team throughout the whole of the season, ensuring that the 100m budget is spent wisely. This means that the attack is not too heavy, but it also means that the defence should also not be too heavy. It is hard, but important to find the right balance.
 
It may be a simple and obvious approach to such a complex game but, the hardest challenge in Fantasy Premier League is often doing the simple things consistently throughout a whole season. 
 
Courtesy of FPL Updates
 

2016/17 winner Ben Crabtree (2,564 points)

For me, the 3-4-3 remains the generic FPL formation, just because you want as many attackers as possible. I would rather not take the risk of fielding just two up front and, over my season, I felt I always had the four main midfielders I needed. I was most comfortable with three big-hitters in attack. At one point I had Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Diego Costa. 
 
I definitely feel that I had mixed fortunes with a third “cheaper” striker. Charlie Austin of Southampton was probably my most successful. I only had him over a short spell but I think he got me two or three double-figure scores. Of the others, I started the season with Burnley’s Andre Gray, who did okay for me. It is always important with these third strikers that you show some patience. You can only expect so much, given their price-tags. 
 
Courtesy of the Premier League

The best single tip I can offer any FPL managers is to guard against both long and short-term thinking. I have found it is far better to base decisions on a timeframe of maybe five or six Gameweeks. This is certainly true when selecting the initial squad. Do not think about who could prosper over the full season, because it is very unlikely you will have that player for the duration. You only need to focus on who is going to start well and take it from there. 
 
My plan is always to pick an initial team to take me through the first two Gameweeks. I always look to save my first free transfer and give myself those two weeks of information before making my first changes. Reacting to short-term form can also be damaging. I have found it is important to give players enough time to deliver. I am often close to selling a player and then, having decided to give them one more week, they produce a big score. You need to have a little patience and remember why you were drawn to that player and deliberate before you sell them on, even if their form is wavering.
 
Courtesy of the Premier League
 

2017/18 winner Yusuf Sheikh (2,512 points)

I try to figure out who might be a breakout star for the season and try to get someone before everyone else catches up. I integrate them with players like Aguero who I know will be consistent from previous seasons.
 
Courtesy of Bleacher Report
 
Back in March, when I was second, the FPL Daily Update video analysed the top 10 managers and their chips. When they talked about my team, they mentioned that I’d used both my Wildcards and my Free Hit. I was practically ruled out. But that just motivated me. I remembered last season when goals were flying in over the last two Gameweeks. I said, 'OK, I'll save my two chips for that time.' The Gameweek 38 fixtures made up my mind. Gameweek 37 I would use my Bench Boost and, at the end, I would Triple-Captain Mohamed Salah. That was a no-brainer.
 
Yusuf scored 27 points from his Bench Boost and 33 points from his Triple Captain.
 
Courtesy of Give Me Sport
 

2018/19 winner Adam Levy (2,659 points)

My approach has changed over the last two seasons. I have tried to take a consistent approach to decision making – making specific decisions on the same basis right through the whole nine months of the game. My suspicion is that consistency is more important than the approach itself. As Simon March long ago said: ‘Consistency is your differential’.
 
For me, something going wrong is doing something against your own system of decision-making without good reason. I have never got over the feeling that Richarlison is an FPL ‘question mark’. Certainly, at the £7.1m price tag he got to, I felt he was not proven value for that. But he got moved up front and everyone was getting him in, and I convinced myself he was ‘out of position’ value at the £7.0m I bought him for. But it always felt like a decision that had been made for me rather than one I’d made, and the moment Calvert-Lewin started a match up front I transferred Richarlison out. My point is that, to my mind, something ‘going wrong’ is not a player you got in on the basis of a considered, consistent transfer approach not providing you points. It’s doing something against your better judgement, irrespective of the results.
 
Work out for yourself a consistent approach to dealing with the overwhelming mass of information and opinion that’s out there. There’s nothing wrong with that information and opinion, there’s just too much of it for one human brain. Go out there having decided what it is you’re looking for and don’t get distracted by every passing stat and tweet.
 
Courtesy of Fantasy Football Scout
 
I decided I would try to favour proven FPL performers. I was much slower to jump on ‘bandwagons’ for unproven players. I let Doherty rise from £4.4m to £4.9m before I bought him. My feeling was that if he kept up his level of performance, he would be good value at any price under £5.0m. I took a while to get in Jiménez for the same reason. I don’t think this is necessarily the ‘right way’ to play – but it’s a consistent approach I took this season.
 
I was far less concerned about recent form, either for players I was transferring in or who were already in my team. I was happy as long as they were proven FPL assets at their price point, with good fixtures ahead, and the ‘eye test’ suggested that their FPL potential was not diminished in some way (because of a positional change or some other observable change, other than simply ‘hasn’t scored lately’).
 
I also decided not to worry at all about a couple of factors. One of those was home and away form. It appears to me that, just as soon as it is the accepted wisdom that a given player is likely to blank at home or away, they go on a run of returns in their supposed ‘weaker’ fixture. An example of all the above was Callum Wilson. Bournemouth had a couple of poor results in Gameweeks 32 and 33. Following the 3-1 loss at home to Burnley, the mantra ‘Bournemouth are at the beach’ started appearing everywhere. Bournemouth had also had a run of poor results away. My view was that Callum Wilson was a proven FPL asset, Bournemouth had good fixtures coming up, they weren’t yet completely safe from relegation and there was no particular reason to think they were ‘at the beach’ as opposed to just having a couple of bad games. Wilson got three goals and three assists in Gameweeks 34 to 36 and that really helped me close out the season.
 
Chip Strategy: Like a lot of us, I’m moving away from the approach of trying to bench boost 15 Double Gameweek players. I like having Double Gameweek players but we’ve all learned to keep an eye out for single Gameweek players with good fixtures in the Double Gameweek or with good fixtures coming up after it.
 
This season I thought: Bottom line, avoid a Triple Captain fail. So I thought: ‘If there’s a chip I can play on only one player once in a season, who is the player most likely to give me something, even just an assist?’ On that basis, Sergio Aguero stands out above all players for his consistent productivity in the Premier League across an extended period of time. While he’s good to get you at least an assist, he’s also got a proven high ‘ceiling’. To me, particularly if he has a Double Gameweek, he’s your unparalleled ‘single roll of the dice’ player. I’ve come to the conclusion that captaincy is the most overthought aspect of FPL. This season, the first time I looked at my team for the new Gameweek after the update, I would try to not think at all and just click on my instinctive captain choice. I only ever once changed the captain after doing that, other than a few times when I transferred a player in and captained them.
 
Courtesy of Fantasy Football Scout
 

2019-20 winner Joshua Bull (2557 points)

My strategy last season was basically: have some reliable premiums, some risky mid-price players, and some fairly punty cheap people that you can swap easily. The key is finding the cheap players who will get you points though, and that's obviously not the easiest thing in the world at this point of the season.
 
Captaincy Strategy: I tend to try and pick a premium player with good form and a good fixture, in that order. And if I can't decide then I stick it on Salah again. Towards the end I leant more towards Utd assets, just because they were so heavily captained. I hate not captaining a high ownership player, seeing that the effective ownership is through the roof and then hoping that my own player will do badly - I'd rather be on the same bandwagon as everybody else, but cheering for my team. I tend to see captaincy more as a bit of a bonus than anything else so it doesn't normally stick in my mind. It's obviously frustrating if there's no captaincy return, but at least the higher scoring player you should have captained was in your team. I think pick a premium player who's in good form, especially if they have a good fixture too. I almost never captain someone who isn't a midfielder though, unless their name is Jamie Vardy and they're scoring for fun. That extra clean sheet point can be very useful indeed and, as you say, this year basically everyone in the game is a midfielder anyway. If you struggle to choose a lot of the time, try a set and forget on a premium - they'll score big for you at least a few times when you aren't expecting it.
 
My gut is that the winner will normally be someone who took a lot of risky punts, but that you'll generally score more points if you make fewer changes. The 18/19 season was the first time I really started paying attention to the game, and I made a lot of mistakes there that I made a point of trying to avoid. In particular, I took some really bad hits that cost me a lot, and I made lots of transfers that pointlessly lost me team value. Being really patient with my players paid off this year. I think it also explains why I had lots of solid gameweeks without really having any spectacular gameweeks, because you spread the variance across the whole team rather than just trying to catch every player in their highest scoring weeks.
 
When you make transfers, do it with the aim of keeping them in your team for at least a few weeks. Sure they've got great fixtures this week and next, but if they start a horrible run in 2 weeks time then you'll just be trying to get rid of them again while fighting even more fires in the rest of your team! That, and pay attention to the gossip to try to get a feel for what other people think are good moves. That doesn't mean go for the template, but if nobody is talking about the player you want to get in then it's worth trying to see if there's a reason for that. I was trying to make a point of being reluctant to transfer out players who I thought should do well. That sounds like a really common sense thing to say, but every week there's a player who has a standout performance and the temptation is to tear your team apart to get them in. Generally speaking, there's a lot of variance in player performances and the moment you take out someone who can play well to fit in someone who had a good week, you know that you're going to watch your ex-player start scoring. If you try and hop between [premium players], I think you're more likely to get a 2 pointer from everyone and miss the week when your previous captain scores 20.
 
I'd try to bring in the premiums that you want to build the team around for the long term, then worry about green fixtures for the cheaper folk. If you have to sacrifice one of your premiums to get 11 players that all have something going for them, then it's probably worth it. I try to ride out the variance of premiums by keeping them in every match while using my cheaper players to try and find the in-form bargains."
 
courtesy of Reddit.com/r/FantasyPL

♦◊♦

The FPL Nightmare:
​How to Lose the World's Greatest Mini-League in 38 Simple Steps

Available now on Kindle and the Kindle App for smartphones, just £1.99:

​bit.ly/FPLNightmare