Fantasy Football enjoyment is not just about the accumulation of points. There are many different levels on which we eke pleasure out of the game and can be the real victors.
Fantasy Football’s Real Victories Explained
Of course we enjoy getting lots of points and a green arrow each week. But what can you do with that, really? Chances are there will be many other Fantasy managers with a far better weekly score.
The types of highs that really make Fantasy football enjoyable are not point based at all. Some are from making the right call on a particular player. Ditching the right player just before a lean spell, for example, or keeping a player in time for his first goal of the season. These are the levels of fun that Fantasy managers really aspire to. Here are the top six key victories that set the real champions of Fantasy Football apart from the rest.
- I brought this player in before his big run of points and price rises
- I dumped this player before he stopped scoring
- I gave the armband to an unheralded player who scored well
- I bought a really cheap player who suddenly started scoring
- I resisted buying that player everyone said was essential just before he blanked
- I flouted some time-honoured Fantasy Football rule, such as never captaining Everton’s Leighton Baines and still did well.
Gameweek 8’s Real Victories
This forthcoming Gameweek’s key decisions are a case in point. For those that drafted in Angel Di Maria weeks ago and have already pocketed his 43-point haul, victory is almost within their grasp. It would surely be secured if they were to ditch him now and the Manchester United man failed to score against West Brom. Imagine the kudos, especially over the 125,000 late reacting managers that have waited until this Gameweek to draft him in.
For those with Diego Costa, and that is most Fantasy managers currently, there is the chance to get even more glory by not only opting to place the captain’s armband elsewhere but cutting loose the Chelsea man altogether. Imagine then that he scrapes through with six points while the alternative captain or new recruit gets a double-digit haul. You see where I’m going with this. What is better, getting a great weekly rank or being able to say you were first or different and still did well?
Tips on Winning The Real Fantasy Football
So what can you do to make sure you win these small, banter-laden victories, even when you’re not winning the fight for overall rank? First, buy players who are not scoring. I mean, where’s the glory in just soaking up the same Costa points everyone else is getting? Lose Costa and look for a player who’s not scoring like, say, Robin van Persie. Of course he’s expensive and might unbalance your team, but think about how much fun it will be to lord your prescience over your rivals when he does score.
Armband selections require a similar kind of discipline. We’ve all heard the tropes about picking the player you think is likely to score the most points. That’s taking the easy way out. If you want to rule the comment boards and lord it over your rivals you need to dig deep and find the courage to captain West Ham’s Stewart Downing or Leicester’s Leonardo Ulloa. Nobody ever made a splash on a Fantasy Football comment board by saying, “sweet, I captained Costa, and stayed in the top 1,000!” What you want is to say, “sweet, I captained Sunderland’s Jack Rodwell, and rose from 1,800,000 to 1,100,000!”
Other key questions to ask when making transfer decisions are not “which midfielder has been scoring well?” Instead you, the real victors in Fantasy Football, will be thinking, “who else will have brought in a Leicester midfielder like Esteban Cambiasso to make an impact this week?” When you make that gutsy call and put an unheralded player your starting 11 you set yourself up for a richly rewarded gloat. Admit it, “I got a sweet assist and clean sheet from Cambiasso” feels so much better than “yeah, yeah, I too got the 13 points from Di Maria”.
Conclusion
If you keep your eye on the ball, you can set yourself up for hours of enjoyment at the expense of your rivals. I urge you to transcend points and find the true heart of the game, where those who take a different path can mock others for a few minutes on the weekend and be the real champions of the game.
9 years, 6 months ago
Excellent article...I love getting points myself but must admit getting the right differential at exactly the right time is a nice victory to have too.