How To Be A Great Fantasy League Manager
You may fancy yourself as having the footballing nous and man-management skills of a Sir Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourihno, but unfortunately since you enter data for a living the world will never know. Unless, that is, you assemble a team of world beaters and then defeat all comers in fantasy football. We at Videojug are going to show you how.
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Step 1:
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Choose your Game
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Most Fantasy Football games are accessible on-line so you can keep an obsessive eye on your team while you are supposed to be working. In the UK most of the major newspapers have versions of the game and offer prizes to the best managers. Find one you like the looks of and join up.
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Step 2:
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Set-up
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You'll get a maximum budget to spend on your team and will have to choose players and formation. Don't forget that strikers are expensive so if you choose to play three up front and buy the three most expensive strikers out there you're not going to have a lot left for the rest of the team. And for god's sake read the rules. All the games will have subtle differences in the regulations regarding points, substitutions and formations, so make sure you know what you can and can't do before the season starts rather than after 10 games when you desperately want to change that underperforming striker.
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Step 3:
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Pick Your Players
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In general, look for the players who'll perform regularly for their clubs, score goals and not get injured.
Defence
Defenders score points based on two factors. Firstly and most importantly, is the ability of their team to keep clean sheets. So go for a defender who plays within a good defensive unit rather than a good defender in a team that ships goals. Secondly, defenders get points for goals and assists so look to see if they go up for corners and free kicks or if they deliver set pieces.
Midfield
Midfielders generally pick up points for goals and assists so there's no place for your hard tackling defensive midfielder. Look for the regular starters who take the set pieces or who chip in with goals.
Attack
It's all about goals – well, goals and assists. Look for the striker that is generally injury free and starts every game rather than the one who makes the substitute's appearance.
TOP TIP - Look for out of position or misclassified players.
If you see a midfielder classified as a defender, or a striker classified as a midfielder then snatch them up as they'll be good for a few more goals than you might expect for a run of the mill defender or midfielder.
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Step 4:
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Join a Mini-League
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Honest competition's great and all, but nothing beats securing bragging rights over the rest of your office by scoring more points than them over the weekend. So set up an office mini-league, get everyone else involved and prepare to gloat.
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Step 5:
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Manage the team
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Throughout the year you're going to have to deal with injuries, players being sold, players being rotated and players starting to play like one legged donkeys. Transfer them out and see if you can spend your cash on someone a bit better. The real skill is to transfer out players when their team is about to get a thrashing from one of the league's big boys and substituting them for someone with got an easy game coming up. Learn to predict who's going to beat who and tailor your team accordingly and you'll be winning the silverware in no time. Just bear in mind that to do this properly you'll need to be glued to the fixture list day in day out, so by the time you have a league-winning team you're unlikely to still have a job or girlfriend.
