Using LiveFPL’s vast array of tools, we look at the squad make-ups and chip usage of the world’s leading Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
We will examine the 1,000 names in LiveFPL’s ‘Legendary Managers’ list – the historic cream of the crop, much like our own Hall of Fame – but chiefly those in the top 10k in the current overall rankings.
Between the two groups (where there will of course be some overlap), these are the managers who can offer us a better gauge of FPL ownership and chip strategy, as opposed to the overall figures that are skewed by the growing number of untouched ‘ghost teams’.
There is heaps of useful information beyond overall and top 10k figures on the LiveFPL site, of course, such as ownership stats for different rank tiers.
TOP 10K AND ‘ELITE’ MANAGERS: GAMEWEEK 29 CAPTAINCY
Above: Gameweek 29 captaincy stats for the top 10k (left) and the all-time greats (right)
Let’s get the easy bit out of the way first: after a wide-open captaincy race and a polarising set of scores in Gameweek 28, the vast majority of the leading managers handed the armband to Mohamed Salah (£13.3m) this time around.
Almost 98% of the FPL bosses who used their Triple Captain chip backed the Egyptian, unsurprisingly.
READ MORE: Everything Jurgen Klopp said about Mohamed Salah’s injury
TOP 10K: CHIP USAGE
There were a fair few Bench Boosts deployed in the top 10k this week but the Triple Captain was the most popular chip, with not far off one in four of the leading bosses using it.
Fewer than one in five FPL managers in the top 10,000 still have three or more chips to use, whilst not far off half (45.9%) have either maxed out their allocation or have only one chip remaining.
Bench Boosters have had a good start to the Gameweek, with Crystal Palace v Manchester City and six more ‘doublers’ to follow in the coming days.
TOP 10K AND ‘ELITE’ MANAGERS: TEMPLATE SQUAD FOR GAMEWEEK 29
While the ‘template’ goalkeepers and forward-line remained unchanged compared to Gameweek 28, there were a few notable tweaks elsewhere.
Andrew Robertson (£7.2m), Kieran Tierney (£5.1m) and especially Matt Doherty (£4.8m) all saw interest spike, with Lucas Digne (£5.1m), Joao Cancelo (£7.0m) and the injured Reece James (£6.2m) falling out of favour.
In midfield, the Spurs duo of Son Heung-min (£10.9m) and Dejan Kulusevski (£6.2m) came to the fore at the expense of Villa pair Jacob Ramsey (£4.8m) and Joao Coutinho (£7.4m).
OWNERSHIP STATS FOR THE 1,000 ‘LEGENDARY MANAGERS’ IN GAMEWEEK 29
TOP 10K: TEMPLATE WILDCARD SQUAD
The template Wildcard squad is unsurprisingly big on Gameweek 29 ‘doublers’: there are 10 of these players in total, with budget fillers accounting for the other five.
Gameweek 30 has also been factored in, with nine of this XV in action in the upcoming decimated round.
TOP 10K: AVERAGE NUMBER OF PLAYERS OWNED PER TEAM FOR BLANK GAMEWEEK 30
The average manager within the top 10k will likely require a hit or two to get a full playing XI out in Gameweek 30, although with only four fixtures to choose from, some FPL bosses may settle for 9 or 10 assets with an unaffected fixture.
The two north London clubs account for well over half of the 8.511 average, with Bukayo Saka (£6.6m) the most widely owned player.
