With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) live for 2025/26, we’re welcoming back our team of guest writers for the new campaign.
Here, Zophar – who usually holds a weekly Q&A session for us – asks: are you an ‘Elliot Anderson’ type of manager or not?
Make sure you sign up for the new season to get all the Member-only articles, tools and features to make 2025/26 your best FPL campaign yet!
“Is this the real life? Is this just Fantasy?”
Before we get to the usual Q&A structure starting next week, I thought I would just use this week as an opportunity to pen my thoughts on Elliot Anderson (£5.5m). He’s a perfect example of the dilemma currently in my head about how I want to play this season.
To start off, let me give some context.
I put this tweet out last week:
I had two players in mind when writing this, both of whom I was considering as my £5.5m midfielder – Simon Adingra and Anderson. This would be an eighth attacker, whom I would bench most weeks, except for probably a Bench Boost in Gameweek 1. But somebody I could play in the case of a short-term injury/suspension elsewhere
About a thousand people voted and the split was 53/47 in favour of the pick with more variance than the steady eddy, nailed-on, defensive contribution (DC) points accumulator.
This led me to ask myself: why do I play this game and what do I want from this season?
MORE REASONS TO SHOP FOR MORRISONS
I’ll share with you a story from my second year playing FPL.
Manchester United were away to West Brom Albion. It was around the festive congestion time, so rotation was unpredictable. I had Nani in my starting XI, who randomly missed out. So, coming into my starting XI was James Morrison from West Brom. It was just somebody I had picked because he had some attacking potential and was getting regular minutes for the Baggies at just £4.5m.
Morrison proceeded to score an absolute worldie, and I remember very little else from that season except that moment. Not my overall rank, not the transfers/captains I made, the bandwagons I avoided or the effective ownership (EO) picks that I covered.
I remember how I celebrated with my mates, where I was, with who I was and perhaps even who I was at the time. This was about 15 years ago and it is still fresh as the day.
The biggest joys come from navigating through the most difficult constraints. Unpredictability brings joy.
I play Fantasy Premier League because it makes football more engaging for me. It enhances my viewing experience. I play it because I love football. I play it for the dopamine hit I get from my player scoring a goal or assist.
Is watching Anderson get 4-5 points a week going to give me that? Nope. Will it potentially lead to a higher rank, though? Probably yes. But then, is it Fantasy Football for me anymore? The uncertainty of knowing whether it’s going to be a two-pointer from Adingra or a haul is what keeps me playing.
AM I GOING TO ENJOY WATCHING YOU PLAY, MR ANDERSON
Now, this isn’t a slight on Elliot Anderson in any way. He registered six assists last season and two goals. So on any given day, he’s still capable of randomly getting three points for an appearance and a clean sheet, two DC points, three points for an assist and some bonus. So you are looking at potentially 8-9 points, which is still tidy for a £5.5m midfielder. However, he had 20-odd shots in the box in 37 games last season, zero of them ‘big chances’. Is watching him going to be fun? Probably not.
Above: Elliott Anderson even had a lower xG than two Forest defenders last season
I see a lot of teams on this site and on YouTube/social media even looking to start someone like an Anderson every week. Perhaps that’s the way forward now with this scoring system.
Is this a personality thing? Is it an Analytics FC vs Grass FC thing? I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. All I’m saying is take the time to ask yourself why you play this game and how you want to approach this season.
Yes, I definitely want to get a good overall rank, especially after having my worst finish last season. But in the end, what difference is that overall rank at the end of the year going to make to my life? Will I remember it 10 years from now? Probably not. Is Adingra coming off the bench to score a brace, in the most unlikely of occasions, going to be more memorable? Yes.
Again, I’m only using these specific players to illustrate a larger point. Play the game how you want to play it. If you’re in the Anderson camp, that’s absolutely reasonable. Please do not perceive my article as a slight on that. It’s important to know your personality as an FPL manager.
Roald Dahl said, “A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.” Have fun playing it whatever way you like.
