38 Gameweeks – I Want to Beat my Son in English Premier League Fantasy Football

Lessons learned in my first year

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I’m relatively new to fantasy football. I’m a Canadian who fell in love with Manchester United after watching my first premier league game on Sportsnet Ontario after overdosing on World Cup 2002. I didn’t even know fantasy football existed until last year.

I learned many things in that year. Many important tips came from Son of Cheeky Backheel (SCB), who at first felt sorry for his clueless mother. One of the most important tips SCB shared was don’t be afraid to use an extra transfer (which subtracts 4 points from your gameweek total). It can pay out, as I soon discovered. Once I finally began to climb in the league, SCB stopped giving me advice.

One of the most important rules I learned the hard way, sadly, was don’t follow your heart. There is no room for sentiment in fantasy football. I had a friend who chose her players based on their reputations as good guys. She finished last in the league.

Picking a team based on favourite players, especially based on their last season’s performance, is not a good way to go. For example, I always had a soft spot for Sol Campbell, seeing him play in his glory years, so happily, but stupidly, added him into my first team. Mistake #1. Campbell earned negative points.

I also thought that choosing any old players for my starting team would be fine because I could  tinker as the season progresses. Mistake #2. This move ensured I stayed low in the league for months.

I didn’t read the transfer rules closely. Mistake #3. This is related to Mistake #2. I thought I could make many transfers per week, so my starting team didn’t matter. Last year, the Fantasy Football League allowed 1 free transfer a week, after that each transfer subtracted 4 points from your weekly total. The week I sold three players in order to bring in Vidic gave me heartburn … but that change in the long run earned me many, many points.

These three mistakes ensured that my team remained in last place for over month. After that it was an uphill climb to finish in fourth place by the end of the season. SCB finished in first place.

What I learned from experience and from SCB:

• Begin seriously — don’t just throw a team together hoping for the best
• Choose your transfers based on the games coming up; for example, if Chelsey is playing a bottom team, you might not want to transfer in a defence man from the bottom team
• Choose the best midfielders you can afford — play as many as possible in each game week; they have the potential to earn big points
• Choose your captain carefully — pick someone who may possibly get bonus points, score or get an assist
• Talk with other fantasy football players to share opinions and possibilities — a great site filled with helpful people is Fantasy Football Scout – but don’t follow advice blindly, use your noggin’ as my dad used to say
• Understand the rules of the fantasy game
• Read as much as possible on the teams

ABOVE ALL:

• Always try to beat your son — blood is not thicker than water when it comes to fantasy football. Repeat after me: there is no room for sentiment in fantasty football.

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