This season saw Fantasy Football Scout jump on board with the Metro’s Fantasy Football offering. A Scout League was set up and, as it turned out, our eventual winner ended his season as the runner-up in the overall game – not only earning himself an iPad for his Scout League exploits, but also a tidy sum in Metro prize money.
We caught up with Pascal Evans – a Fantasy Manager who also boasts a very decent record in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game…
FFScout:A fairly obvious one to start us off. How does it feel to not only come second in the world and top of the Fantasy Football Scout league but walk away with £2500 and an iPad for your efforts?
Pascal: Clearly I am delighted to have won such a fantastic prize from a free competition. On the final day I have to admit that my initial reaction was disappointment as I went for broke for the win and chose Van Persie rather than Berbatov as my captain. I was close to winning overall and £15,000 is a life-changing amount. Had Glen Johnson played and done nothing he would have scored 15 points and, assuming the winner was not stupid enough to have him also, I would have sneaked it by a point. However, after a couple of days I was very happy and reflected on the luck I had had. Having Lescott and O’Hara scoring and Tevez (who I could not afford) doing nothing was certainly a stroke of luck. Now I am certainly in my wife’s good books for a few weeks.
FFScout: After a World Cup foray this was the first time we here at Fantasy Football Scout had branched out into a game that was noticeably different to the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game. Apart from the prizes, what did you like about the Metro game?
Pascal: I have to admit that the prize was the main reason for entering. I have done FPL since 2005/6 and including this year have 5 top 1000 finishes out of 6 seasons. I thought it might be nice to have a chance to win a prize as FPL is not exactly generous with prizes and I never gamble. My second game had been the excellent PTG from the Times for which there were no prizes. I also tried the Daily Mail Game this year but instantly preferred the Metro Game. It relies on more than just goals, assists and clean sheets so it is more predictable. Like FPL there is one transfer a week so that you know where you really stand in the rankings. It also looks good.
FFScout: How do you feel stats based games like the Metro compare to classic rulesets like the FPL game?
Pascal : In some ways I prefer them. A player can score no goal or do final assists but nevertheless outscore someone who does. However, with FPL you get more satisfaction when your player scores and games such as Blackburn vs Bolton can suddenly seem interesting. With Metro this year I relied on gut instinct, whereas with the FPL, more thought is required.
FFScout: You’re one of the many managers who utilised the multiple team approach allowed in the Metro game, did you have a set out strategy in doing so or did you just play it by ear as the season went on?
Pascal: Early on my teams were fairly even in standard but I tended to choose different captains. My second team was quite competitive and in the final month or two I tried different differentials in that team.
FFScout: Did you have a particular soft spot for anyone on your roster and were there any players who ultimately became the bane of your managerial tenure?
Pascal: Only Ashley Cole stayed in my team throughout. Lampard and Van Persie were in whenever they were fit. I missed out on Charlie Adam and wrongly thought his bubble would burst.
FFScout: Having seen the history of your FPL team over the last fives years you’ve had an incredibly successful past in this game too. What are you general strategies in the FPL regarding Wildcards and points hits?
Pascal: I took about 80 points in hits this year which is rather higher than usual due to many high profile injuries this year. I try to avoid hits but will consider them for a new captain, a double gameweek or if my team is looking weak due to injuries or players not being guaranteed starters any more. Sometimes the new player does well a few weeks later and it pays off. I nearly always wait until Friday night for transfers. I don’t like the Wildcard (possibly because I have not used it well). I always intend to use it to fix a team that has become poor due to double Gameweeks, but I don’t recall a wildcard making much of a difference for me. This year I wasted it in Week 3 to undo damage after rashly bringing in Walcott during the International Break.
FFScout: Most people consider FPL to be their game of choice, how much time do you spend on each game and how do you think that ended up affecting the results you got?
Pascal: I spend much longer thinking about FPL. I am a regular marathon runner and I decide my FPL transfers while I am running. It gives me something to think about and avoids knee jerk transfers. On Metro I spent about 10 minutes a week in total on Saturday mornings apart from the final few weeks when my team became competitive. Sometimes one’s gut instinct is better and maybe it helped in the Metro. By spending less time on Metro I hardly took any hits and that may have helped. Also, the fact that player values do not change means that no thought is needed in the Metro until near the deadline. However, if as many top players played the Metro I suspect that my final finish would be similar to my FPL one.
FFScout: How did you FPL and Metro squads compare – did your transfers in one influence those in the other?
Pascal: The teams were quite different due to the values and the fact that Metro has no automatic transfers. In FPL I missed out on Baines and Cole. In Metro you want goal scoring defenders and assists are less valuable. Metro is also more generous so you can afford a better team. In Metro I had 3 very cheap players (who were regulars) and they remained on my bench and allowed me to buy more expensive players for the first eleven. I chose different players on purpose towards the end. In FPL I did not have Lescott and I chose Berbatov rather than Van Persie as captain in the final week.
FFScout: If you care to share, any grand designs planned with your prize and prize money? Is there a Mrs Pascal Evans a little more forgiving of the hobby right now?
Pascal: I told my family a few weeks ago that I had a chance of winning something but my wife had little faith in my ability and so it was all a pleasant surprise for her. We go to Japan every summer (my wife is Japanese) and we may use the money for a trip with the kids and my parents in law to an area we have not visited. My wife is more a running widow than an FPL widow and now that the London Marathon is done, my next one is Berlin and it will pay for the trip. My older daughter is very excited about the iPad and we will all use it. It will also mean that I am less likely to hog our main computer on Friday evening or Saturday morning.
