When playing the Assistant Manager chip, the lure of the ‘table bonus’ can be hard to resist.
A reminder: Premier League bosses get extra points if they beat (+10) or draw with (+5) a team five or more places ahead of them in the table.
But just how often does this happen?
We’ve gone back over the season’s results (FPL only started keeping tabs from Gameweek 23) to find out.
We look at the top managers for win/draw bonus had the Assistant Manager chip been in operation all season – as well the teams who have drawn/lost the most against clubs 5+ places below them.
Our analysis starts from Gameweek 2 onwards, as teams were only sorted alphabetically before the opening round!
You can click here to skip the Gameweek-by-Gameweek summary.
GAMEWEEK BY GAMEWEEK
GAMEWEEK 2
Match
Result
Brighton (1st) v Man Utd (7th)
Man Utd lose 2-1
Fulham (15th) v Leicester (10th)
Fulham win 2-1
Man City (4th) v Ipswich (18th)
Ipswich lose 4-1
Southampton (16th) v Nottm Forest (11th)
Southampton lose 1-0
Spurs (12th) v Everton (20th)
Everton lose 4-0
GAMEWEEK 3
Match
Result
Everton (20th) v Bournemouth (14th)
Everton lose 2-3
Ipswich (18th) v Fulham (10th)
Ipswich draw 1-1
Nottm Forest (7th) v Wolves (19th)
Wolves draw 1-1
West Ham (9th) v Man City (1st)
West Ham lose 1-3
Chelsea (8th) v Crystal Palace (17th)
Crystal Palace draw 1-1
Man Utd (11th) v Liverpool (4th)
Man Utd lose 0-3
GAMEWEEK 4
Match
Result
Southampton (19th) v Man Utd (14th)
Southampton lose 3-0
Brighton (3rd) v Ipswich (17th)
Ipswich draw 0-0
Liverpool (2nd) v Nottm Forest (9th)
Nottm Forest win 1-0
Man City (1st) v Brentford (6th)
Brentford lose 2-1
Aston Villa (7th) v Everton (20th)
Everton lose 3-2
Spurs (10th) v Arsenal (4th)
Spurs lose 1-0
Wolves (18th) v Newcastle (5th)
Wolves lose 2-1
GAMEWEEK 5
Match
Result
West Ham (14th) v Chelsea (8th)
West Ham lose 3-0
Aston Villa (5th) v Wolves (18th)
Wolves lose 3-1
Fulham (12th) v Newcastle (3rd)
Fulham win 3-1
Leicester (15th) v Everton (20th)
Everton draw 1-1
Liverpool (4th) v Bournemouth (11th)
Bournemouth lose 3-0
Crystal Palace (16th) v Man Utd (10th)
Crystal Palace draw 0-0
GAMEWEEK 6
Match
Result
Newcastle (6th) v Man City (1st)
Newcastle draw 1-1
Arsenal (4th) v Leicester (15th)
Leicester lose 4-2
Wolves (20th) v Liverpool (2nd)
Wolves lose 2-1
Ipswich (17th) v Aston Villa (3rd)
Ipswich draw 2-2
Bournemouth (13th) v Southampton (18th)
Southampton lose 3-1
GAMEWEEK 7
Match
Result
Crystal Palace (18th) v Liverpool (1st)
Crystal Palace lose 1-0
Arsenal (3rd) v Southampton (19th)
Southampton lose 3-1
Brentford (12th) v Wolves (20th)
Wolves lose 5-3
Leicester (17th) v Bournemouth (11th)
Leicester win 1-0
Everton (16th) v Newcastle (7th)
Everton draw 0-0
Aston Villa (5th) v Man Utd (13th)
Man Utd draw 0-0
Chelsea (4th) v Nottm Forest (10th)
Nottm Forest draw 1-1
GAMEWEEK 8
Match
Result
Bournemouth (13rd) v Arsenal (3rd)
Bournemouth win 2-0
Wolves (20th) v Man City (2nd)
Wolves lose 2-1
Nottm Forest (10th) v Crystal Palace (18th)
Crystal Palace lose 1-0
GAMEWEEK 9
Match
Result
Leicester (14th) v Nottm Forest (8th)
Leicester lose 1-3
Aston Villa (4th) v Bournemouth (11th)
Bournemouth draw 1-1
Brighton (5th) v Wolves (20th)
Wolves draw 2-2
Man City (2nd) v Southampton (19th)
Southampton lose 0-1
Everton (16th) v Fulham (10th)
Everton draw 1-1
Crystal Palace (18th) v Spurs (7th)
Crystal Palace win 1-0
GAMEWEEK 10
Match
Result
Newcastle (12th) v Arsenal (3rd)
Newcastle win 1-0
Bournemouth (11th) v Man City (1st)
Bournemouth win 2-1
Nottm Forest (7th) v West Ham (13rd)
West Ham lose 3-0
Man Utd (14th) v Chelsea (5th)
Man Utd draw 1-1
GAMEWEEK 11
Match
Result
Crystal Palace (17th) v Fulham (9th)
Crystal Palace lose 2-0
Brighton (8th) v Man City (2nd)
Brighton win 2-1
Liverpool (1st) v Aston Villa (6th)
Aston Villa lose 2-0
Nottm Forest (3rd) v Newcastle (11th)
Newcastle win 3-1
Spurs (7th) v Ipswich (18th)
Ipswich win 2-1
GAMEWEEK 12
Match
Result
Leicester (15th) v Chelsea (3rd)
Leicester lose 2-1
Aston Villa (9th) v Crystal Palace (18th)
Crystal Palace draw 2-2
Bournemouth (12th) v Brighton (6th)
Bournemouth lose 2-1
Everton (16th) v Brentford (11th)
Everton draw 0-0
Fulham (7th) v Wolves (19th)
Wolves win 4-1
Man City (2nd) v Spurs (10th)
Spurs win 4-0
Southampton (20th) v Liverpool (1st)
Southampton lose 3-2
Newcastle (8th) v West Ham (14th)
West Ham win 2-0
GAMEWEEK 13
Match
Result
Brighton (5th) v Southampton (20th)
Southampton draw 1-1
Brentford (11th) v Leicester (16th)
Leicester lose 4-1
Crystal Palace (19th) v Newcastle (10th)
Crystal Palace draw 1-1
Nottm Forest (7th) v Ipswich (18th)
Ipswich lose 1-0
West Ham (14th) v Arsenal (4th)
West Ham lose 5-2
Chelsea (3rd) v Aston Villa (8th)
Aston Villa lose 3-0
GAMEWEEK 14
Match
Result
Newcastle (11th) v Liverpool (1st)
Newcastle draw 3-3
Southampton (20th) v Chelsea (3rd)
Southampton lose 5-1
Arsenal (2nd) v Man Utd (9th)
Man Utd lose 2-0
Fulham (10th) v Brighton (4th)
Fulham win 3-1
Bournemouth (13th) v Spurs (7th)
Bournemouth win 1-0
GAMEWEEK 15
Match
Result
Aston Villa (8th) v Southampton (20th)
Southampton lose 1-0
Crystal Palace (17th) v Man City (4th)
Crystal Palace draw 2-2
Man Utd (13th) v Nottm Forest (7th)
Man Utd lose 3-2
Ipswich (18th) v Bournemouth (9th)
Ipswich lose 2-1
Leicester (16th) v Brighton (5th)
Leicester draw 2-2
Spurs (10th) v Chelsea (2nd)
Spurs lose 3-4
West Ham (14th) v Wolves (19th)
Wolves lose 2-1
GAMEWEEK 16
Match
Result
Arsenal (3rd) v Everton (15th)
Everton draw 0-0
Liverpool (1st) v Fulham (10th)
Fulham draw 2-2
Brighton (7th) v Crystal Palace (17th)
Crystal Palace win 3-1
Man City (4th) v Man Utd (13th)
Man Utd win 2-1
Chelsea (2nd) v Brentford (9th)
Brentford lose 2-1
Southampton (20th) v Spurs (11th)
Southampton lose 5-0
Bournemouth (8th) v West Ham (14th)
West Ham draw 1-1
GAMEWEEK 17
Match
Result
Brentford (11th) v Nottm Forest (4th)
Brentford lose 2-0
Ipswich (18th) v Newcastle (12th)
Ipswich lose 4-0
West Ham (14th) v Brighton (9th)
West Ham draw 1-1
Crystal Palace (15th) v Arsenal (3rd)
Crystal Palace lose 5-1
Everton (16th) v Chelsea (2nd)
Everton draw 0-0
Fulham (8th) v Southampton (20th)
Southampton draw 0-0
Man Utd (13th) v Bournemouth (6th)
Man Utd lose 3-0
Spurs (10th) v Liverpool (1st)
Spurs lose 6-3
GAMEWEEK 18
Match
Result
Man City (7th) v Everton (15th)
Everton draw 1-1
Bournemouth (5th) v Crystal Palace (16th)
Crystal Palace draw 0-0
Chelsea (2nd) v Fulham (9th)
Fulham win 2-1
Nottm Forest (4th) v Spurs (11th)
Spurs lose 1-0
Southampton (20th) v West Ham (14th)
Southampton lose 1-0
Wolves (18th) v Man Utd (13th)
Wolves win 2-0
Liverpool (1st) v Leicester (17th)
Leicester lose 3-1
Arsenal (3rd) v Ipswich (19th)
Ipswich lose 1-0
GAMEWEEK 19
Match
Result
Leicester (18th) v Man City (7th)
Leicester lose 2-0
Everton (15th) v Nottm Forest (4th)
Everton lose 2-0
Spurs (12th) v Wolves (17th)
Wolves draw 2-2
West Ham (13th) v Liverpool (1st)
West Ham lose 5-0
Ipswich (18th) v Chelsea (3rd)
Ipswich win 2-0
Man Utd (14th) v Newcastle (5th)
Man Utd lose 2-0
Brentford (11th) v Arsenal (2nd)
Brentford lose 3-1
GAMEWEEK 20
Match
Result
Spurs (11th) v Newcastle (5th)
Spurs lose 2-1
Aston Villa (9th) v Leicester (19th)
Leicester lose 2-1
Bournemouth (7th) v Everton (16th)
Everton lose 1-0
Crystal Palace (15th) v Chelsea (4th)
Crystal Palace draw 1-1
Man City (6th) v West Ham (13th)
West Ham lose 4-1
Southampton (20th) v Brentford (12th)
Southampton lose 5-0
Brighton (10th) v Arsenal (2nd)
Brighton draw 1-1
Fulham (8th) v Ipswich (18th)
Ipswich draw 2-2
Liverpool (1st) v Man Utd (14th)
Man Utd draw 2-2
Wolves (17th) v Nottm Forest (3rd)
Wolves lose 3-0
GAMEWEEK 21
Match
Result
Brentford (11th) v Man City (6th)
Brentford draw 2-2
West Ham (14th) v Fulham (9th)
West Ham win 3-2
Everton (16th) v Aston Villa (8th)
Everton lose 1-0
Newcastle (5th) v Wolves (17th)
Wolves lose 3-0
Arsenal (2nd) v Spurs (12th)
Spurs lose 2-1
Ipswich (18th) v Brighton (10th)
Ipswich lose 2-0
Man Utd (13th) v Southampton (20th)
Southampton lose 3-1
GAMEWEEK 22
Match
Result
Brentford (11th) v Liverpool (1st)
Brentford lose 2-0
Leicester (19th) v Fulham (10th)
Leicester lose 2-0
Arsenal (2nd) v Aston Villa (7th)
Aston Villa draw 2-2
Nottm Forest (3rd) v Southampton (20th)
Southampton lose 3-2
Ipswich (18th) v Man City (6th)
Ipswich lose 6-0
Chelsea (5th) v Wolves (17th)
Wolves lose 3-1
GAMEWEEK 23
Match
Result
Brighton (9th) v Everton (16th)
Everton win 1-0
Liverpool (1st) v Ipswich (18th)
Ipswich lose 4-1
Southampton (20th) v Newcastle (6th)
Southampton lose 3-1
Wolves (17th) v Arsenal (2nd)
Wolves lose 1-0
Aston Villa (8th) v West Ham (14th)
West Ham draw 1-1
GAMEWEEK 24
Match
Result
Nottm Forest (3rd) v Brighton (9th)
Brighton lose 7-0
Bournemouth (7th) v Liverpool (1st)
Bournemouth lose 2-0
Newcastle (5th) v Fulham (10th)
Fulham win 2-1
Wolves (18th) v Aston Villa (8th)
Wolves win 2-0
Chelsea (6th) v West Ham (14th)
West Ham lose 2-1
Everton (16th) v Liverpool (1st)
Everton draw 2-2
GAMEWEEK 25
Match
Result
Brighton (10th) v Chelsea (4th)
Brighton win 3-0
Leicester (18th) v Arsenal (2nd)
Leicester lose 2-0
Aston Villa (8th) v Ipswich (19th)
Ipswich draw 1-1
Fulham (9th) v Nottm Forest (3rd)
Fulham win 2-1
Southampton (20th) v Bournemouth (7th)
Southampton lose 3-1
West Ham (16th) v Brentford (11th)
West Ham lose 1-0
Liverpool (1st) v Wolves (17th)
Wolves lose 2-1
Aston Villa (8th) v Liverpool (1st)
Aston Villa draw 2-2
GAMEWEEK 26
Match
Result
Leicester City (19th) v Brentford (11th)
Leicester lose 4-0
Arsenal (2nd) v West Ham United (16th)
West Ham win 1-0
Bournemouth (5th) v Wolverhampton Wanderers (17th)
Wolves win 1-0
Fulham (8th) v Crystal Palace (13th)
Crystal Palace win 2-0
Ipswich Town (18th) v Tottenham Hotspur (12th)
Ipswich lose 4-1
Southampton (20th) v Brighton and Hove Albion (10th)
Southampton lose 4-0
GAMEWEEK 27
Match
Result
Crystal Palace (13th) v Aston Villa (8th)
Crystal Palace win 4-1
Wolverhampton Wanderers (17th) v Fulham (10th)
Wolves lose 2-1
Chelsea (7th) v Southampton (20th)
Southampton lose 4-0
Tottenham Hotspur (12th) v Manchester City (4th)
Spurs lose 1-0
GAMEWEEK 28
Match
Result
Crystal Palace (12th) v Ipswich Town (18th)
Ipswich lose 1-0
Liverpool (1st) v Southampton (20th)
Southampton lose 3-1
Chelsea (5th) v Leicester City (19th)
Leicester lose 1-0
Tottenham Hotspur (13th) v Bournemouth (7th)
Spurs draw 2-2
Manchester United (14th) v Arsenal (2nd)
Man Utd draw 1-1
West Ham United (15th) v Newcastle United (6th)
West Ham lose 1-0
GAMEWEEK 29
s who the bookies think have the best chance of prospering in Gameweek 29:
Ipswich Town (18th) v Nottingham Forest (3rd)
Ipswich lose 4-2
Leicester City (19th) v Manchester United (14th)
Leicester lose 3-0
OVERALL RECORD
So, then, discounting Gameweek 1, there would have been 170 chances for managers to win a ‘table bonus’ this season had the Assistant Manager been in operation from the start of 2024/25.
The article was a useful reference that to get the table bonus is quite unpredictable.
It may be more useful as an analysis to also compare to GWs 24-38 from last year as that is more reflective of when the table bonus would be relevant. With the table not really being set properly until after the first few gameweeks, comparing GW2 to GW24 is not really like for like.
I personally am using it on Slot/Arteta at the moment to play safe. I'd rather have a guaranteed 35 odd points from the chip rather than sometimes 50 and sometimes 0. But I guess that is why some people put 50/1 accumulators on...
I quite liked this bit - tempted by the Glasner punt if it still exists after tonight
" On the flip side, Fulham have only won two of the eight games they’ve contested against a side who themselves would have qualified for table bonus. So, in 15 pertinent Premier League fixtures involving the Cottagers, 13 of them have seen a side emerge with a win/draw bonus! "
I guess that is what I mean by how you want to play it.
For the Fulham - Palace game, the bookies have it roughly, 50% Fulham win, 25% draw and 25% Palace win. So, to get the table bonus you are calling a 50/50.
A draw would get you 8-10ish.
Whereas, Arsenal have an implied win chance against West Ham of 80% odd. An Arsenal would get you 8-10ish.
So, I would rather an 80% chance of getting 8-10ish points and a 20% chance of 0.
Versus a 25% chance of 20ish points, 25% chance of 10 points and 50% chance of 0.
And that is one of the closer ones.
But all comes down to one's appetite for risk versus reward.
I'm not sure how Slot can be considered safe, away to Man City this week? If Slot draws with Villa this evening, I'd say the Slot selection would be a fail overall
Ah I see, yep makes sense. TC Salah option definitely didn't help you're right, but that's just got to be removed from the equation to fairly judge the AM
Feels like FH29 is right for my team however I'm keen to be as flexible as I can, to see if it becomes clear that I should FH / take hits and keep FH which leaves me with the below plan
GW26: Amad > Dango GW 27: Watkins > Cunha GW 28: Roll GW29: Leaves me with 8 players (not including Fabinaski) and 2 FT's. So could get to 11 with a -4.
Thoughts?
Current team: Henderson Robinso / TAA / Gabriel Palmer / Salah / Dango / Mbuemo Watkins / Gakpo / Mateta
In the 1990s, Arsenal team had a player named David Dicks.When he got injured the newspaper wrote "Arsenal to play without Dicks" The Coach was very upset so the newspaper changed the headline to be read, "Arsenal to play with Dicks out...A number of women attended the match!!!!
Now that it's had time to settle and sink in, would you say the MC/AM has proved to be successful, after the initial mostly negative reaction to its reveal? I think it's been a great addition, and would be happy if it were a regular weekly feature next season, whereby we'd select 15 players and one manager to start the season
if it was from the start of the season that would have been better, they shouldnt be changing the rules half way through the season.
for me the new chip is moving away from what the game is as you arent picking a player you are picking a team, there are loads of options of chips that could have been introduced that were much more in line with the game as it stood.
I also think its not good for casuals as they dont understand the intricacies of the chip, i mean even on here people dont understand it which cant be a good sign.
if its a manager chip you should also receive minus points if the manager gets booked
It would be nonsense at the start of the season. But they could announce at the start of the season that it would become effective from say Gameweek 20.
I don't like Arteta as a pick at all this week tbh. I don't think they're a banker to win with their current injury issues. Would rather hold onto Slot/Emery and save the transfer.
I don't understand why people keep comparing this new chip to gambling, when the entire game is based around chance - what makes "I think Liverpool will win" different to "I think Salah will score"?
Hello....For me fpl is based on players performance regardless of win, draw or lose over a (longer) period of time,... not just 3 weeks and not guessing team performance excluding red and yellow cards.... but I'm only 800k so I'm happy to be publicly humiliated and corrected
You're still building a team based on predictions though, and hoping for a desired return. AM is just another part of that team, but they earns points in a different way.
For the record, FPL isn't gambling as you're not staking anything except personal pride.
Routes to points are different for players. You arent reliant on goals necessarily. Nobody can predict the bonus system for example. Plus you generally own players for longer than 3 gameweeks.
Whereas for assman its all about do I think this team will win? Betting essentially. Even on the table bonus games its the win which is the important bit, draws generally reward about the same as the 'banker' wins. I can see the game ending up like Super 6 where you need a betting account to play I believe even if its not used and they put links and adverts everywhere to try and get you to bet on your predictions. Its a huge potential gateway.
As FPL players, we've always been able to distinguish the difference between football betting and FPL. There was a clear difference and no questions asked. However, the line is now distorted even if only a little, but enough for the questions about it's similarity to accumulators and betting, to begin to get asked. Gambling ads were prevalent on this site over last Summer. They know there's a market to tap into. The cynic in me questions if they had some say in the AM chip implementation knowing it would get people at the very least thinking about betting and game odds, perhaps.
Third person to avoid the question and tell me in very simple terms - what makes "I think Liverpool will win" different to "I think Salah will score"?
I'm not arguing that gambling is overly-prevalent in football, both online and off, but I'm interested in what makes people think wishing for points from individuals is okay but hoping for team results is not.
what makes "I think Liverpool will win" different to "I think Salah will score"?
I'd say this is a huge shift in how our brains process FPL.
All FPL seasons prior, I have never ever, ever (!) had to hope/worry about a teams result
I guess I'm totally comfortable associating players traditional goals/assists/cleanies with FPL, and I've associated match results or wins and losses, with gambling. Now the line is ever so slightly blurred. Could just be me though.
Hoping your players score, assist and keep clean sheets is linked to their teams' results though, so saying you never have to worry about a result isn't exactly true.
An example is say if Newcastle go 5 up against Spurs, then Porro gets an assist so 5-1, I'd be over the moon if I only owned Porro.
But my point is, at no time in FPL am I ever hoping one team draws or loses, I'm only thinking of cleanies and g/a. I see what you're saying though, that the result is linked to them, so maybe it's all a perspective thing
Saying FPL is only about player performance doesn’t make sense to me. We are constantly talking about teams performance on here and you pick your players based on fixtures etc
True but we then pick the players we think will benefit from those fixtures I think.... an attacking mid rather than defensive mid whereas the AM chip bets for a win or draw if 5 places below
I see your point but I still think comparing the new chip to gambling is a bit far fetched for me. I just see it as another dimension to the game and a good addition imo. It seems the room will always be split on this one though haha
Please show me where the A.M. associated blurb says 'bet. To bet you have to place a stake. Are you seriously saying that choosing an A.M. is a stake, really? Some people honestly, I give up.
Because I'm not buying Salah for 1-3 games. Hes probably not the best example being a season keeper. Bournemouth mids... I wasn't thinking do I think they'll score vs Southampton I'm thinking will they score me decent points over the next 6-8 gws? And I don't really care how those points get distributed or where they come from to be honest. Perhaps I'm a bit too simplistic in my decision making process. I know Review and all the other models do factor in betting odds so its obviously not completely detached from FPL without assman. If assman was a pick one manager for the season type jobby with different price tiers like the players and it was a question of budget management I'd be more for it maybe as you aren't thinking about the outcomes of a small number of matches.
"Gambling is when a person bets or risks something of value (like money) based on a chance outcome that is out of their control or influence with the understanding that they will either gain increased value or lose their original value determined by the specific outcome."
There's nothing you risk on AM that you don't risk on players as well.
I don’t gamble but I see how making predictions based on your football knowledge can be compared to gambling. It’s the same thing apart from you put a stake down with gambling. It’s one of the reasons I play FPL and choose not to bet on football matches because it gives me the same feeling and gives me a great reason to be invested in every PL match. I couldn’t agree more that you can’t compare FPL to gambling because one big factor is missing which is a stake (excluding your mini league entry which is spread over a whole season not 1 game)
Thanks. I would say most of us play FPL for the ‘personal pride’ that you mentioned earlier. It’s a chance to show your football knowledge without gambling and be fully invested in Wolves vs Palace for example because you’ve got Cunha and Sarr in your team 🙂
If I place a tenner on Leicester to win the league, I couldn't argue I'm not betting because it's spread over the whole season and not just one game, though
If it all stopped here at this point with the AM chip then fine, I'd be okay with it. But, it feels like the first step, like they're testing the water. I can see them making future little subtle changes, so subtle that noone can accuse FPL of being overtly gambling. For instance like they added in to the player stats the XG and XA tables, I can see a manager having the XW bookies odds next to their fixture. Oh and there's a handy link to Bet365 if you want to look up the odds yourself.
Suddenly, in 5 years time, we look back at all these little changes..
Good point. If my plan is correct, I should have 2 fts by 29 and 10 players so I think I should be ok. I'm actually just considering Fabianski, Martinelli to Flekken, Dango now and bench Gakpo.
Pointless to start counting table bonus from gameweek 2 when there have been only so little points on offer. Would be better to start the comparison e.g. from gameweek 5-10 when we actually have some idea which teams will be good and which will be bad.
