Our Career Hall of Fame has been updated with the final 2016/17 standings – and for the first time in four seasons, this elite list has a new leader.
Here we take a look at the new top ten, their career track record and key strategies for success during the season.
For those unfamiliar with our Hall of Fame ranking system, this is applied to everyone who takes part in our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) mini-leagues – both the free and members’ leagues.
This tracks the performances of every manager over each of the seasons they have participated and awards a “HoF rating accordingly – this is viewable to all via this link or the top menu “HoF” link.
More information about the Hall of Fame from Mark and Rate My Team’s Chris Atkinson is available via this movie.
Leaping from third spot at the end of the 2015/16 campaign to first is Peter Kouwenberg (aka My Pretty Pony). Peter is a frequent commentator on the site and his regular discussions with Top Marx, who has been tracking the progress of last season’s career Hall of Fame top five through his weekly community articles, have already offered an excellent insight into his strategies.
His final rank of 138 was enough to secure top spot in the Hall of Fame over a season where he stuck to a popular chip strategy of focusing the Triple Captain, Bench Boost and Second Wildcard on the Double Gameweeks towards the end of the season.
From Gameweek 27, when he triple captained Sergio Aguero, to the final Gameweek he accrued nine green arrows and rocketed from 19,452 into the top 1,000 in Gameweek 32.
However, his first Wildcard was less successful.
Used in Gameweek 4, his rank fell from 65,231 to 243,702 over the next three set of fixtures before he turned it around in Gameweek 8, thanks to double-digit hauls from Arsenal’s Theo Walcott and Watford’s Jose Holebas.
This focus on potentially high-scoring differentials helped offset poor performances from his heavy hitters that week, with Captain Alexis Sanchez only scoring five and Sergio Aguero’s penalty miss leaving him with -1.
Another pivotal factor in Gameweek 8 for Peter involved him switching temporarily to a 3-5-2 formation, with Hull City’s Adama Diomande as a makeweight.
According to the FPL Statistico tool, this was a formation he was to use a further six times, with 3-4-3 the most popular (24 times).
Alexis Sanchez was his most-used captain, with the Chilean receiving the armband 10 times and handing him an average score of 21. However, with an average score of 22.8, Romelu Lukaku was his most successful source of double points.
Chelsea players also dominated his squad, with Antonio Conte’s troops racking up 59 appearances for Peter, followed by 49 from Liverpool’s assets.
Incredibly, this is the third season in a row where he has finished within the top 500, with a rank of 129 last year and 289 the year before. Across his 11 seasons, he has also finished in the top 10,000 a further four times. No other FPL manager can boast stronger recent form.
In terms of hits, Peter was something of an addict, spending points 25 times to bring his total transfer tally to 60.
It is also worth noting that Peter is one of only two managers from last season’s Career Hall of Fame to retain a top ten berth this time around.
A sensational rank of 29th has seen Graeme Sumner leap from 32nd in the 2015/16 Career Hall of Fame to second spot.
This is his eighth season over a career that has seen him rack up two other top 1,000 placings and finish inside the top 10,000 on three other occasions.
His first Wildcard proved successful, seeing him move from 756,236 in Gameweek 5 to 248,121 when triggered in Gameweek 6.
Although he dipped briefly below the 300,000 rank mark over the next three Gameweeks, it gave him the platform to gradually creep up the overall placings. He broke into the top 100,000 in Gameweek 11, the top 10,000 in Gameweek 19 and then the top 1,000 from Gameweek 26.
As with Peter Kouwenberg, he focused his second Wildcard and Bench Boost around the Gameweek 37 double set of fixtures. His Triple Captaincy chip was handed to Aguero in Gameweek 27.
This tactic helped him break into the top 100 in Gameweek 32.
Another similarity with Peter was his switch to 3-5-2, also involving Diomande, in Gameweek 6. He used this formation a further 10 times, eight times less than he used his favoured 3-4-3.
In total he used 12 different captains with Sanchez was used most frequently, though Lukuku proved the most successful.
But there were some notable differences with Peter. Liverpool players were used in his squad the most, making 58 appearances, with Chelsea’s troops used 56 times.
In addition, Graeme, who is the Hall of Fame top ten’s highest placed manager in 2016/17’s overall rankings, took a more modest 14 hits.
Jay Egersdorff will go down in Fantasy Football Scout history as the first manager to unseat long time Hall of Fame leader Ville Ronka, who had been top since the end of the 2013/14 season. Although he failed to cling onto the summit he finishes 2016/17 third in the Career Hall of Fame, up from 16th at the end of last season.
His stellar finish of 105 is his second best, after reaching 101 in 2009/10. Across his 11 campaigns, he has racked up a further seven top 10,000 finishes and, incredibly, his lowest ever rank was 14,954, achieved last year.
When looking at his use of chips, he is another to focus these on the end of season Double Gameweeks while also deploying the first Wildcard early on and switching to a 3-5-2 formation.
His Gameweek 6 overhaul saw him turn to Diomande as a makeweight as he moved from 44,695 to 12,177. A move into the top 10,000 followed in Gameweek 7, where he remained for the rest of the season, breaking into the top 1,000 in Gameweek 21.
Unlike Peter and Graeme, Jay was a more ardent supporter of 3-5-2, deploying it 19 times and only relying on 3-4-3 on 11 occasions.
In terms of the captaincy, he mirrored his fellow top three managers, captaining Sanchez the most but gaining more success when handing the armband to Romelu Lukaku.
Jay took just ten points hits, with three of these coming in Gameweek 28, where he used them strategically to tackle the reduced fixture list. It worked well, with his 20,993 Gameweek rank his best of the campaign.
In fourth is Matthew Jones (aka Numb), who was just outside the Hall of Fame top ten, in 11th, at the end of last season.
His rankings finish of 367 was his best yet over an eight-season career that has seen him accrue two other top 1,000 finishes. Indeed, his only finish outside of the top 10,000 was his debut campaign in 2009/10 when he ended with a highly respectable rank of 15,535.
His chips record is familiar to those above him, with an early Gameweek 6 first Wildcard, followed by Triple Captaincy in Gameweek 27 and a second Wildcard and Bench Boost used over Gameweeks 36 and 37.
Unlike Jay, Peter and Graeme he was less keen on 3-5-2, using this just twice while favouring 3-4-3 29 times. This was typified during his first Wildcard where he drafted in Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, with Charlie Austin replacing him for eight Gameweeks shortly afterwards.
Again, Sanchez was handed the armband more than any other player but Lukaku was his most successful captain across a campaign that saw Matthew take just eight hits.
Our very own Mark enters the Career Hall of Fame for the first time, moving from 51st at the end of this season to fifth spot.
A placing of 115th in the overall rankings is the fourth time he has ended a campaign in the top 1,000 and is his second best season conclusion after 2014/15’s finish of 42. He has finished outside the top 10,000 just three times, with 2013/14’s 192,837 something of an anomaly.
In terms of chips, he also focused his Triple Captaincy on Double Gameweek 27 for Manchester City and Stoke City, and his second Wildcard and Bench Boost around Gameweek 36 and the following double set of fixtures.
He chose to trigger his first Wildcard in Gameweek 4, an early revamp that saw him stick with 3-4-3, a formation he used on 17 occasions, with Jermain Defoe taking the third striker spot.
A switch to 3-5-2 to take advantage of the wealth of midfield options followed in Gameweek 15, when Sunderland’s budget forward Victor Anichebe took on makeweight duties. This paid off, as within three Gameweeks he had breached the top 50,000 mark, where he stayed for the duration, moving into the top 10,000 in Gameweek 21 and the top 1,000 in Gameweek 29.
Across the season, Mark spent points 14 times and was happiest turning to Sanchez with the armband, although as with his fellow elite managers, Lukaku proved the most lucrative regular recipient of the captaincy. Unusually for our top ten, Sunderland players, including Defoe and Anichebe, made the most appearances in his squad.
One of our biggest climbers is Lester Cheng, who moves from 98th to sixth after completing 2016/17 with an overall rank of 85. This is his highest finish over a ten-season career which has included two other top 1,000 placings and a low of 38,084, in 2009/10.
A good start, with a Gameweek 1 rank of 78,582, was key to his success over a campaign in which he took 17 points hits. After briefly dipping below the 200,000 ranking mark in Gameweek 3, he moved into the top 100,000 within two weeks and never left, eventually moving into the top 1,000 in Gameweek 29.
Unlike those above him, he opted to use his Triple Captain chip in Gameweek 38 rather than Gameweek 27. But the result was similar, with his choice of Alexis Sanchez matching Aguero’s Gameweek 27 score of nine.
The rest of his chip use mirrored those above him in the Hall of Fame, with a first Wildcard used in Gameweek 4 and a second revamp and Bench Boost used around the Gameweek 37 double.
In terms of formation, he is clearly not keen on 3-5-2, deploying this just once while using 3-4-3 an incredible 32 times. Sanchez was also his favoured captain, with Lukaku again proved the most profitable.
Cormac O’Shaughnessy’s ascent from 132 in last season’s Career Hall of Fame update to seventh this campaign is down to an impressive finish of 51 in the overall rankings.
This is his second top 100 ranking and makes up for last season’s disappointing final placing of 63,398 – his lowest ever conclusion to a season. Over his nine-year career he also has four other top 10,000 finishes under his belt.
While he also deployed his first Wildcard early, in Gameweek 4, his use of his remaining key chips differed from those above him. He opted to Wildcard in Gameweek 35, hand the triple captain chip to Alexis Sanchez in Gameweek 36 and Bench Boost the following week.
Over these two pivotal Gameweeks, he recorded his two highest weekly ranks to move from just outside of the top 1,000 into the top 100.
So far in our run-down, Cormac has been the most successful deployer of chips, with Sanchez’s 42-point triple captaincy haul outstripping the returns of Manchester City’s assets in their double Gameweek 27.
Cormac was just as happy with 3-4-3, which he used 17 times, as 3-5-2, which was utilised on 14 occasions. As with other elite managers, he favoured Sanchez with the armband, handing it to him 17 times, but saw better returns from Lukaku.
Cormac also kept hits to a minimum, spending points just 13 times.
Up from 48th to eighth is Phil Ampleford (aka Philman), who finished at 365 – his highest placing in an eight-year career that has seen him finish in the top 1,000 on one other occasion. He has been in the top 10,000 every year, except for 2010/11’s disappointing 43,432 conclusion.
Phil has stuck to the elite manager’s textbook chip use, employing his Triple Captaincy in Gameweek 27 and navigating Double Gameweek 37 via his second Wildcard and Bench Boost.
A Gameweek 6 Wildcard proved effective, moving him inside the top 50,000, where he remained apart from a brief slump between Gameweeks 14 and 15. After flirting with the top 10,000 in Gameweek 22, he cemented his seat among this elite rankings group three weeks later. A combined score of 288 for the final two sets of fixtures propelled him into the top 500 for the first time in the season, and his eventual finish was his highest ranking of the season.
Sanchez was also his favoured captain, although Lukaku, Aguero and Ibrahimovic all rewarded him with more points when handed the armband.
He took 20 hits over the season and was flexible with formation, using 3-4-3 a total of 19 times but relying on 3-5-2 on 12 occasions. However, it was the latter that offered him stronger returns.
Kane was captained seven times by Phil, who was keen on Spurs assets this season, with Mauricio Pochettino’s charges appearing most often in his squad.
The only other Career Hall of Fame top ten manager to retain that accolade is David Meechan, who dips from fifth to ninth after finishing 2016/17 with a rank of 2,560.
David is among FPL’s most consistently high-performing managers. Across his ten seasons, he has finished in the top 1,000 twice, the top 10,000 a further five times and his lowest-ever rank is 15,420.
A first Wildcard use in Gameweek 6 was par for the course among our elite. But his decision to use his second in Gameweek 30 marks him out.
Was it successful? Arguably it was, as it halved his 14,564 rank and maintained a top 10,000 placing for the duration. It also allowed him to use his Triple Captaincy successfully in Gameweek 36, with Sanchez returning him 42 points. His Bench Boost the following week helped him net 177 points.
Over the season he took 16 points hits, with three coming in the final trio of fixtures to ensure he could keep pace with those Wildcarding later.
Interestingly, David was among the strongest advocates of 3-5-2, which he used 20 times, but he also had the lowest overall rank of our top ten.
He is another who heavily backed Sanchez with the armband, handing it to him 16 times, but as with the other top ten managers Lukaku was the more lucrative option, although he only entrusted him with the captaincy twice.
Sunderland players featured the most prominently in his squad, accruing 60 appearances for David – the same tally as Chelsea assets.
In tenth spots we find another high riser, Paul Marshman (aka Back on the Horse), who makes the leap into the top ten from 40th last season. His finish of 523 in the rankings is the fifth time he has ended a campaign in the top 1,000, across a chequered 11-season career. On three occasions he has finished outside of the top 100,000, with 2007/8’s 512,345 his worst to date.
It is back to the Hall of Fame top ten template regarding his chips, with Triple Captain used in Gameweek 27, a second Wildcard in Gameweek 36 and Bench Boost triggered the following week. His Gameweek 6 Wildcard was also typical of the top ten.
This campaign, in which he took just seven hits, started badly with an overall rank of 724,616 and dipped to a season low of just outside the one million mark in Gameweek 3. His first Wildcard helped stop the rot, propelling him into the top 500,000 within a week and the top 100,000 by Gameweek 11.
From Gameweek 26, he cemented a top 10,000 berth by only notching red arrows on three occasions before the season end.
He is among the least keen on 3-5-2, using it just seven times and instead deploying 3-4-3 on 23 occasions. Lukaku was also his most successful recipient of the armband, but he only entrusted the Everton striker with this honour on two occasions. With nine captaincies, Sanchez was his favoured option.
A final mention goes to Ville Ronka, who slips to 14th after dominating this end of season list in recent years. His 2016/17 finish of 21,905 was his worst to date – and the first time he had finished outside the top 5,000 across his incredible career. In the final Gameweek, he didn’t even make a transfer or switch captaincy.
A look at his chip use offers no clue as to why this Finnish enigma had a relatively torrid time in 2016/17. As with the majority of the current top ten, he Wildcarded in Gameweeks 4 and 36, triggered his Triple Captaincy in Gameweek 27 and played his Bench Boost in Gameweek 37.
The answer may lie in his trademark patience in a season where hopping on bandwagons proved crucial for many. Across the campaign, he took just two hits, far fewer than the average in our current elite top ten. It remains to be seen whether he will stick with his patient approach next season, or whether this latest campaign will persuade him to find a balance.
Hall of Fame FAQ
How is my rating calculated?
The “HoF Rating” is based on your points scores from previous FPL seasons, with the latest season weighted the heaviest and each corresponding season weighted at roughly 80% that of the previous season. So, in other words, those who performed best in 2016/17 will receive a bigger HoF Rating boost from those who did best in 2006/07. The “HoF Ranking” even allows for those with missing years, adapting the formula accordingly to allow to rank alongside the veterans of the FPL.
How do I join the Hall of Fame
Simply sign up to our leagues next season, either the Fantasy Football Scout Classic League or if you’re a member, the Members Classic League – the code will available on the dashboard of the Members Area once the FPL game re-opens for registration.
How do I find myself in the Hall of Fame?
The search box at the top of the ranking tables allows you to search by surname or by FPL id.
What if I don’t want to be listed?
Either notify us via support@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk or simply leave the Fantasy Football Scout league and you’ll be removed on the next update.
When does the Hall of Fame get updated?
The Career table is available to all and is updated at the end of each season to display the latest rankings. The Live version of the Hall of Fame is updated every week to use the latest season data.
