It’s the final 2025/26 article of The Great and the Good, in which Greyhead analyses the transfers and strategies of some well-known Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
‘The Great and The Good’ this season are the FPL Godfather Mark Sutherns, the BlackBox pair of Az and Andy North, Scouts FPL General, Joe and Tom, the FPL Wire trio of Pras, Lateriser and Zophar, FPL celebrities FPL Harry, Martin Baker, Pingreen, FPL Frasier and Luke Williams, Hall of Famers Ben Crellin, Fabio Borges and Tom Dollimore, and last year’s mini-league winner Huss E.
“This is the end.”
Gameweek 38 arrived not as a mere Gameweek, but as an FPL apocalypse galloping over the horizon to take us to our bitter end. We were promised rotation; instead we got mass extinction. Teams changed beyond recognition, hits were taken, and those who had saved transfers were annoyingly smug.
Leading the charge of destruction one final time was Pep Guardiola, who pulled the lever on ‘Pep Roulette’ with the enthusiasm of a Bond villain pressing the big red arrow button.
As the leaks dropped, the pain continued. Erling Haaland was nowhere to be seen. Any recent Antoine Semenyo to Rayan Cherki transfers continued their supernatural curse, and Arsenal appeared to name a B-side. Or even a C-side.
- READ MORE: 11 things we learned from FPL Gameweek 38
Panic spread, allowing nostalgia to become the drug of choice. Some managers looked towards happier times, transferring Mohamed Salah back in for one last dance. Looking around, hits rained down, with many taking their first points deductions of the season. After all, what’s a minus four between friends?
So, as the dust settles on another season, let’s unpick who has bragging rights amongst ‘The Great and The Good’ in this defensive contribution (DefCon) dominated, chip-tastic campaign.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
Standing atop the scorched remains of FPL civilisation is a new ruler. Before this season he was relatively unknown, but not anymore. Huss E has conquered ‘The Great and The Good’, claiming the crown with an astonishing finish of 1,828th overall. What’s particularly impressive is that he also finished 41st in 2024/25. He’s no one-hit wonder.
Meanwhile, one of FPL’s original horsemen, Mark Sutherns, rolled back the years with another formidable campaign. He narrowly missed out on what would have been an extraordinary 11th top-10k finish. One of his beloved Nottingham Forest players, Morgan Gibbs-White, carried him upwards during the final weeks, making it look like he’d found one of those magic beans.
Elsewhere, Tom Dollimore, FPL Harry and Ben Crellin all delivered excellent seasons, even if the gates of the top 10k stayed shut this time.
Andy North deserves a special mention, too. Not only has he proven himself utterly impervious to my relentless Mickey-taking, but he can now claim the significant honour of finishing above Fabio Borges. On this occasion, at least.
One suspects Fabio has already pinned this sentence to a wall and circled next year’s fixtures in red.
In fact, an impressive eight of the elite achieved top 1% finishes. In an era where player numbers continue to rise, and every man, woman and family pet now appears to have an FPL account, this level of performance continues to be worthy of an appreciative nod.
However, Az appeared to spend the season actively provoking the Fantasy gods. It was as if he’d walked under every ladder available, smashed every mirror, and somehow managed to kick over a field of four-leaf clovers while wearing cursed boots.
Then there was FPL General, who deserves credit of a very specific kind. He stuck resolutely to his ‘No Haaland, No Salah’ approach and still finished at 387k. The commitment is admirable, though maybe not the soundest survival strategy. Next season, General, maybe try a slightly less hazardous challenge.
TRANSFERS
The final transfer deadline brought panic everywhere, as people made irrational decisions and some inevitably tripped over while picking Omar Marmoush. Four hits were taken across this group.
Overall, with more transfers to roll, there has been a noticeable reduction in reckless behaviour. On average, a ‘The Great and The Good’ manager made just two hits.
Leading the charge on the hit highway were Mark Sutherns, FPL Harry, Martin Baker and Az, all recording four over the season, for a total of -16.
FPL Harry emerged as the Wolf of FPL Street during the final afternoon, delivering a remarkable net gain of 25 points from four transfers. He had carefully stockpiled transfers over recent weeks like a prepper hoarding canned food ahead of societal collapse. It was an impressive late flourish, but with one lingering regret: Marmoush.
Mind you, Harry’s pain barely registers compared to Az’s descent into Fantasy horror. He saw the news that Haaland wasn’t around and reacted by picking this Egyptian teammate, and with confidence levels soaring, handed him the captaincy.
Yet Marmoush then failed to play at all. Which meant Jack Hinshelwood grabbed the armband and promptly blanked.
Whereas those brave souls making the Haaland to Jarrod Bowen move prospered handsomely.
It all should have been marvellous for FPL General’s no-Haaland strategy. But he found a fresh route to agony by choosing precisely the wrong moment to sell Ollie Watkins. In FPL, timing is everything.
CAPTAIN KING
As expected, captaincy descended into chaos. Phil Foden appeared. Pedro Porro somehow entered the conversation. Eli Junior Kroupi even emerged, maybe a season ahead of being seen as standard.
FPL Harry, FPL Fraser and Andy North emerged as the calm survivors, making sensible decisions while the rest fought over supplies. Their choice: Bruno Fernandes. The Manchester United midfielder delivered haul number 12 of the season, to once again reward the faithful.
Somewhere Roy Keane is still staring down a camera and muttering that he’s “not impressed.” Fernandes could save humanity from extinction, and Roy would probably complain about his body language.
Yet despite the playmaker repeatedly dragging managers to safety, he still couldn’t escape the gravitational pull of Haaland.
The great Norwegian war machine remained captain 46.9% of the time here, compared to Fernandes’ mere 23.2%. Despite the latter recording more hauls, managers simply kept returning to Haaland.
Ultimately, the captaincy crown for ‘The Great and The Good’ goes to Joe Lepper, whose selections amassed a formidable 613 points. A masterclass in leadership through the end of days.
BIGGEST BANKER
Once again, ruling the economy from his fortified bunker was Mark. Finishing with a mighty £105.9m team value, he continued his familiar strategy of making early transfers to squeeze every possible penny from the market ahead of FPL’s all-important chip season. While others sleep, Sutherns tracks price rises.
At the other end stood Fabio Borges and his modest £100.9m, seemingly showing no interest whatsoever in stockpiling resources.
CHIP CHAMP
The undisputed king of chip strategy this season was Pras. Which, honestly, should surprise absolutely nobody. This manager approaches FPL with a macro strategy mindset. Every chip deployment seemed calculated years in advance on giant maps covered in arrows and probability charts.
Alongside his strategic partner Zophar, the pair chose a different route to most managers towards the end of the season. While others followed the crowd, they took the side road.
Perhaps more surprising was Ben Crellin not quite enjoying his usual level of success.
NEXT SEASON
As another FPL season ends, attention turns to the feeder leagues – where hopefuls fight for a place among this elite. Think Mad Max, with more spreadsheets and fewer leather jackets.
First through the gates is Andrew McKinnon, winner of the open-to-all league. His worldwide finish of 424th is hugely impressive, but even more ominous is his consistency: top 10k last season and top 15k the year before. Not a lucky scavenger, this looks like a man arriving with a mission.
Also joining the ranks is Ben McCrum, winner of the invitational league. He finished 1,940th after coming 32nd in 2024/25, further cementing his credentials. But now comes the real test, entering ‘The Great and The Good’ spotlight.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Right, time now for me to put on my flip-flops, apply some sun cream and avoid the garden centre trips so often enforced by Mrs Greyhead during the summer.
Thanks again for reading along – a massive debt of gratitude goes to Top Marx for providing so much of the data via Mini League Mate. And, of course, Neale, Tom and Marc, who patiently edit my rambles and spend so much on red pens.
Plus, a massive nod of appreciation to all of ‘The Great and The Good’ for being such good sports and not having me cancelled.
Enjoy your summer, unless you are playing World Cup Fantasy – in which case you best start brushing up on your Mexican goalkeepers.
