Probably the strangest season in Premier league history is now over. Leicester, the 5000-1 outsider for the title, were crowned champions, while Chelsea and Liverpool failed to even qualify for Europe. In Fantasy Premier League (FPL) terms, this season was also odd, with the introduction of three new Chips that changed the dynamic of the season and early on skewed the overall rankings. Money was also no object, as cheap high-performing options like Dele Alli and Riyad Mahrez freed up funds that few Fantasy managers had previously had access to in other seasons.
For the veterans I’ve been tracking since Gameweek 15 they had a slow start, with their lowest ebb coming with Gameweek 17’s average overall ranking of just 245,000. This group, made up of FPL winners, FFScout moderators and contributors and those riding high in the Hall of Fame, clearly had a tough job on their hands to claw their way up the rankings. Here I take a look at the final Gameweek of the season to see whether they managed to claw back their respectability.
TRANSFERS
Transfers by positions (% of all transfers in bracket)
– Goalkeepers: (6.90%)
– Defenders: (10.34%)
– Midfielders: (60.34%)
– Forwards: (22.42%)
Veterans made 1.71 transfers on average in Gameweek 38 (2.56 in Gameweek 37)
Transfers Out:
– Dimitri Payet (WHU): 24.14%
– Roberto Firmino (LIV): 17.24%
– Andy Carroll (WHU): 8.62%
Transfers In:
– Dušan Tadić (SOT): 25.86%
– Sadio Mane (SOT): 17.24%
– Olivier Giroud (ARS): 8.62%
Dimitri Payet‘s injury and high hopes for Southampton’s in-form midfielders were the main factors behind the veterans’ final Gameweek moves. More than 43% of their transfers involved Saints men Dušan Tadić or Sadio Mane. But there were mixed fortunes for those who invested in the South coast club. Southampton’s penalty taker Tadić failed to register a return and to add insult to injury was substituted just a few minutes before Southampton earned a spot kick. Meanwhile, Mane scored, assisted and earned maximum bonus. The veterans’ best buy, though, was Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, who scored a hat-trick at the Emirates.
CAPTAINS
Alexis Sanchez was the most popular captain choice amongst the veterans and also the top 10,000 managers. The desire to play it safe with rankings and mini-leagues in the balance was key. However, with no attacking returns they could have been better off taking risks. Sergio Aguero was another popular choice and fared marginally better than Sanchez with an assist.
MOST POPULAR PLAYERS
Top starting players
OVERALL RANKINGS
Among veterans 55.88% gained a red arrow in Gameweek 38 and their average score was 46.76. That was better than the overall average (39.20 points) and top 10,000 average (43.60). At the end of the season the veterans finished the season with an average overall rank of 14,725. This was their best average overall rank of the season and was a key factor in half of the 34 veterans finishing within the top 10,000.
The chart bellow shows the average overall position of our veterans in the previous seasons. Of course, last year all of them participated (34), while, for example, in the 2008/09 season just 21 of 34 veterans were active so the average overall position for that year is based on 21 managers, not 34. We can see that this season was by far the best season for our veterans.
Considering their slow start, with Gameweek 15’s overall average ranking just 156,550 and then slipping back to 245,000 two Gameweek’s later, this is an incredible achievement.
Key factors in their success was the speed in which they adjusted to the new Chips, especially by saving their second Wildcard, bench boost and triple captaincy Chips for the double Gameweeks.
This was the final article for season 2015/16. I hope that you have enjoyed following the veterans’ journey. A key reason I started this was because, despite their lowly rank early on, I firmly believed that this group of managers, rather than those in the top 10,000 at the time or overall, were the best ones to follow. Their incredible progress has proved that assertion right.
NEXT SEASON’S PLANS
Next season I plan to once again track the veterans but this time use a larger sample and start from Gameweek 1. As their experience this season showed I think the wider Fantasy Football community can learn a lot from this group.
Before the season gets underway I will offer the chance for more to take part with certain criteria in place. While not finalised, this is likely to mean having at least five FPL seasons under their belt, with a minimum of two top-10,000 finishes.
A few days before new season starts, I want to publish how many managers are included, what their average overall position the season before was and their average Hall of Fame position. I will also run a mini-league in which everyone will have a chance to participate and to beat the Veterans, regardless of whether they are rookies or experienced managers. You will be informed about details on Fantasy Football Scout before the new season starts.
At the end I would like to thank Jonty, Torres Magic, Smarty Pants and all of you who read these lines week by week. See you next season.
7 years, 10 months ago
While it was no surprise that the veterans managed to do much better in the last part of the season what really surprised me was it was their best yet. The narrative that the veterans suffered this season has been blown out of the water by this analysis.
Thanks as ever for this article series - looking forward to next year's.