Interview – Matt Martyniak – FPL Winner

We start a summer of interviews at the very top, as we get one-on-one time with the new Fantasy Premier League (FPL) champion and Scout League winner, Matt Martyniak.

In an extraordinarily candid interview, we find out how Matt spent the final day on a pilgrimage on foreign shores, far away from the noise and bluster of the Premier League, only to find that, while he dedicated his time to others, his Fantasy squad was doing the business back home.

Thanks for Matt for taking time out to answer our questions.

Can you describe your emotions on the final day, with so many FPL managers in with a chance of winning and your eventual victory being decided by such a slender margin and on bonus points?

I had amazing emotions on the final Sunday from start to finish. It was so special to me not just in the world of FPL, but in the world outside of Fantasy football. I was away on a pilgrimage (not a holiday) with Church in Medjugorje, which is a beautiful village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I woke at 5:30 am local time (they are one hour ahead of the UK) and we climbed to the top of Cross Mountain. At the summit, I found a quite spot to pray, although not to win FPL, of course. After prayer, I immediately realised that I needed to make my final decisions there and then as I wouldn’t have time later in the morning due to descending the mountain (which was tricky at best) and getting ready to attend midday Mass.

Strangely enough, at the top of the mountain, my mind was very clear: it was an easy and quick decision to go with my final team. Marouane Fellaini to Philippe Coutinho was the transfer that came to me, and then I just trusted in the players I already had to hopefully do the job.

I was completely oblivious to anything to do with FPL during the afternoon on the Sunday. I completely switched off for the whole afternoon as I was attending a charity funded rehabilitation unit where young people gave testimonies on how they turned their lives around from drug addcition, to become better people through prayer and hard work in their community. During this time, I didn’t know any of my rivals teams and tactics, I didn’t know the line-ups, and I didn’t even know what was happening during the matches: a stark contrast to what I had been used to for the previous 37 Gameweeks. However, I was completely relaxed and at peace the whole day. It was only when I got back to the hotel at 5.30 UK time that evening that my mind turned to the FPL. I found a free wi-fi spot and immediately used my phone to see what was happening. I was very nervous and was actually physically shaking as I logged on to FISO, FFS and FPL. Once logged on, I still didn’t really know what was happening apart from that someone sitting provisional at the top of the league had captained Javier Hernandez. I couldn’t quite believe that a rival had given Hernandez the armband on the final GW: it was almost a masterstroke.

Then I saw on my “support spiderm4tt thread” on FISO, and also info in the FFS Dugout discussion, that the final standings may come down to bonus points.

I was in agony during this time and I’d arranged to go out at 8pm local time to the Church again for more prayers. I really struggled to concentrate in Church during this time, but I somehow managed it. I went to a café bar for a drink after around 10pm and found a free wi-fi spot again, but I couldn’t log on which was just torture. After quite a few attempts trying to connect and resetting my phone, I eventually connected and browsed the sites. I still didn’t know the final outcome but I saw the bonus point predictions (thank you Bap Chap for your work this season, much appreciated, especially on the final day). It was then that I realised I may have won it.

I relaxed and smiled at my family and friends for the first time that evening as they didn’t really know what I was doing, or going through. It was extremely difficult to hide my feelings, which had been on a roller-coaster for hours, that evening.

It was only later, when I got back to my hoteI that I checked my phone again saw it confirmed that I was FPL Champion. I was overjoyed to win it, but relieved at the same time that it was all over. It was the perfect end to a great season for me: I feel so blessed. I couldn’t sleep properly that night, but I was happily brought firmly back to reality the next day by a day of prayers and another visit to a rehabilitation unit, which was another amazing experience.

What does the victory mean for you after seven years of playing the FPL game?

It means a lot to me. FPL has been easily my favourite Fantasy football game ever since I first played it seven years ago. The victory still hasn’t really sunk in yet though. It will probably mean more to me as time goes on, especially when I’m struggling, in future seasons, to break the top 10,000.

You have had variable success over your seven seasons of FPL but with one top 1,000 finish already you clearly know what you are doing. What did you do differently this season to reach the top?

I reverted back to the tactics of the first two seasons I played, which was to go “all out” on a powerful front seven or eight, whilst spending minimal outlay on a back three and keeper. I think in those early FPL days when I had a top 1000 and 5000 finish, I remember playing two or three very cheap enablers all season. It was only towards the end of this season that I spent more on the back three as I looked to shore up my defence for the run-in. Also, this season, I spent a lot more time researching and picking my team. Each decision was reasoned carefully before each Gameweek deadline, using all the resources possible. My research only increased once I broke into the top 20.

While my tactics and decisions were heavily thought out, I had a great deal of good luck to go with it, which helps. Even the best Premier League football managers need luck on their side.

What is your strategy and what key pieces of advice for playing the FPL game would you give to our community (eg keep points hits to a minimum/ or form versus fixtures)

I just kept it simple and played to get as many points as I possibly could in the very next Gameweek. I didn’t think too far ahead as FPL, like real football and life in general, is dynamic, not static: things change daily, not just over the Gameweek weekend. In fact I decided to play and base my tactics in blocks of three Gameweeks. It was completely my own strategy from the start and I stuck with this until the final weekend, where it was then a one off Gameweek decider. In other words, my team was always set up to its near maximum potential for the next Gameweek, with the following two Gameweeks in mind. I only looked ahead when there were double Gameweeks to consider, for obvious reasons. Also, for me, there was no such thing as a “season keeper” or a “template midfield”: I found that this can cause me to be too static or rigid with my strategies. Personally, I consider it to be very difficult to pick or predict who will be fit or in form beyond the next one to three Gameweeks.

I also decided not to “chase the points” after a poor, average or good FPL player brought in a surprise haul. In the main, the likelihood of them doing this again in the following week, or weeks is often very low. For me, only exceptional players like Gareth Bale, Robin Van Persie, Luis Suarez, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, and possibly Theo Walcott, are likely to get back-to-back hauls due to their individual class, form, position on the field and set pieces duties.

Another of my key strategies was not to waste hard-earned points on transfer hits. This is a tricky one, as a good hit can work out very well. However, if I wanted a player, I tried to work them into my team via the free transfer route within the next one to three Gameweeks.

My strategy also was to pick the most likely players to get me the most points each Gameweek, irrespective of the fixtures. I prefer to select players with class and quality, who are definite starters, play in advanced positions and are on set-pieces or penalties. I always prefer “form over fixtures”, as it’s been proven this season that players like Van Persie, Bale, Suarez, Mata, Hazard, Michu, Rickie Lambert and Leighton Baines can score points regardless who they face. To me, these players are ‘fixture proof’.

In addition, it’s been seen many times that lesser teams can hold out against the odds, like Reading at Man United, or QPR away at Liverpool. So form over fixtures, where possible, was the way for me to go throughout the campaign.

I was also mindful not to “knee jerk” and get rid of the quality players, even if they had a run of poor returns. I believed in the players I picked and I had to trust in them even after a run of poor returns. Bale, Van Persie, Lambert, Michu, Mata and Suarez all had barren spells but not all your players can possible score well every Gameweek. I knew that class players are always in the mix when their teams are attacking and that, in all probability, they would come good again.

Also, if possible, I tried not to make any transfers before the latest team news, which is usually 24-48 hours before the Gameweek deadline.I wasn’t concerned about about price rises, or price drops unless it affected my three Gameweek transfer plan. Transferring a player in or out prior to team news just to make or save 0.1 or 0.2 in cash or team value is, in my opinion, not the best strategy as players can get injured right up to the deadline. When you’re on a wildcard, it’s different; then it’s beneficial to jump on the price rises to increase your team value. My team value wasn’t that high by the end of the season, but I still had most of players I wanted throughout the campaign.

Finally, perhaps my most important strategy was to make my own final decision and stick with it.

How important are stats and research, such as those available through Fantasy Football Scout, to your game? Do you base decisions largely on such research or by watching games and going with a gut feeling?

I did lots and lots of research, not just statistics, but opinions from individual sites such as FISO as well as FFS. I also looked regularly at fan forums: I liked to get a feel of what the local fans were saying about players and what was the “bib theory” for that Gameweek. I also watched as many games possible. All this, along with the added gut feeling, helped me to make an overall decision based on sound reasoning prior to each deadline.

I didn’t have access to all your stats as I only discovered FFS towards the latter part of the season and I am not a full member. Visiting your site on a daily basis helped me towards the run in and I’m sure, if I had the FFS stats available from the beginning, it would have only helped me even more. I can see how becoming a full member of FFS would be valuable to any Fantasy football manager wanting to improve their overall ranking, or wanting to win their mini-league.

What were you most difficult decisions this year?

Keeping Van Persie during his barren spell and also when United had Norwich at home. There was lots of talk in forums that he may be injured and/or would not be risked for the Madrid game the following midweek; also, United had a blank fixture to follow. I would have struggled to buy Van Persie back if I had got rid of him before the Norwich game and I almost made that mistake. If I had got rid then, in all likelihood, I wouldn’t have had his valuable captain points during the Gameweek 33 double and the matches that followed – including the final day.

Also buying Gervinho was an extremely difficult decision. It wasn’t planned. Like I said earlier, FPL is “dynamic not static” and this was most evident by Bale getting injured in a Thursday night Europa League game, less than 48 hours before the Gameweek deadline. I had two free transfers available and I was planning on using just one, allowing me two for the double Gameweek 33, but Bale’s injury changed things: he looked as though he’d be out for weeks so he had to go.

I really wanted Baines for Gameweek 33 in order to keep him for the remainder of the season. My defence was already rocking: Ian Harte was dropped, Luke Shaw picked up a knock, Guy Demel was out of favour. Bale getting injured helped me use one of my two free transfers to trade Harte to Baines, which worked out very well. But that left me with around 6.8 or 6.9 left to spend in midfield. I wanted a double Gameweek player and, with Walcott injured on international duty and looking doubtful, I felt that Gervinho would provide a nice differential.

He actually did well for me in the initial Gameweek 32 and got me seven precious points. As I expected, he started the first of the double Gameweek fixtures against Norwich and I remember watching him round Mark Bunn, only to fail to score in an open net. Norwich then scored at the other end and Gervinho was hauled off for Walcott; he never really got a look in from that point on.

The next difficult decision was not selling Gervinho for the final Gameweeks. I didn’t want to waste a transfer or take an unnecessary points hit just to get rid with just a few Gameweeks to go. In the end, that worked out for the best.

What is your captain strategy? Who did you captain the most?

I feel that I played it safe throughout the whole season. I just stuck to captaining the best players such as Van Persie, Bale, Suarez, Mata, Hazard and Michu. Even if they only got a few points, it often didn’t matter too much as everyone else around me tended to captain the same players each week. Also, I feared that if I chose a differential captain, I could get left behind if the big players then gained hauls. This strategy worked out and it’s what made me captain Bale over Coutinho or Lambert in the final week: I just stuck to captaining the big guns right to the very end.

What prize will you claim? And who will you be taking?

I would like to choose the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong. Though I would rather send one of my best friends and his daughter, if possible. They are both from Manchester and are passionate Man City supporters. I only found out recently that this was the winner’s prize and also that Man City are competing in the tournament. On the very same day I got these details on the prize, I also found out that his mother had cancer.

Though obviously I would be happy to go, seeing my best friend and his daughter watch their beloved team in Hong Kong would make me, and more importantly them, happier. If this is not possible with the Premier League then, of course, I will happily go with my friend.

Will you play again next season, or give up as it can only be downhill from here?

Yes it will surley be downhill from here! I’m a very optimistic person in life, but even I doubt I will win it again, especially back-to-back titles. If I was to play next season, I would take a top 5000 or 10,000 finish right now.

At this very moment, I’m not ready to go again next season. At the moment I’m just glad it’s all over. A few months back I was thinking that I won’t be playing this again next season. It was draining as FPL became the focus of my life and it distracted me from my daily things. It was very hard to switch off. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole challenge and experience despite this, so I most probably will be back to defend my title next season.

Any final thoughts or shout-outs?
I would like to congratulate Kelvin, Julian and Evs for the great season they had. It was a great challenge to the very end.

I would just like to thank all the people on FFS and FISO for your help and support. And last but not least, I’d like to thank the Barclays FPL for having such a great Fantasy football game.