Fantasy football has been a staple for fans of the beautiful game for a while now, so it’s no surprise people have invented new ways to play the game.
And the latest method will really play tricks on your fantasy football instincts – who can select the lowest-scoring side using all £100 million of the available budget?
I've brought back the Fewest Points Wins fantasy league this year. Rules are as follows:1. You need to spend the full £100m2. No transfers allowed during the season3. The team with the fewest points wins4. It's at https://t.co/cmghvRJVLs, sign-up code 624289-136790
— Tom Victor (@tomvictor) July 17, 2018
“My friend Huw Davies actually set up the first version of the league back in 2013/14, and I’ve sort of inherited it from him,” freelance journalist Tom Victor told the Press Association.
“I liked the idea of a fantasy league game where you can pick your team in August and leave it for the rest of the season – it felt like a good way to test your instincts.”
The league takes place on the Premier League’s official FPL site, which hosted more than five million managers in the 2017/18 season, but most of them will be used to picking a team that succeeds rather than flunks.
So when it comes to winning (or losing) this particular league, what should you be doing?
“There’s no rule against picking players who then go on to leave the league,” said Tom. “In that first season, the people who did best were the ones who gambled on Gareth Bale leaving Tottenham during the August window.
“Aside from that, it’s probably what you’d expect: back-up goalkeepers and long-term injury victims are usually sound bets, but you’ll need the odd gamble on a high-priced player failing to deliver.”
Tom’s experience running this league might have taught him a few things about how to lose, but what else has the league opened his eyes to?
“You can find yourself cheering injuries if you’re not careful, which isn’t a great look,” he said.
“But I suppose it’s not that different to smiling when a player scores against the team you support because you’ve mentally totted up the fantasy points in your regular game.”
So what about the 2018/19 season? Which players should entrants to this league of opposites be looking to select this year?
“I was early enough to select Daley Blind and give him the captain’s armband, which ought to serve me well seeing as he plays for Ajax now,” said Tom.
“In terms of high-priced gambles, it might be tempting to back Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez to each lose a bit of their magic without the other one in support.”
But beware filling your squad with want-away players, especially if there’s a chance they could move to a Premier League rival and thrive.
“The worst thing to do is grab a want-away or out-of-favour player like Anthony Martial, only to then see him move to another Premier League team and rack up points,” said Tom.
Think your team is rubbish enough? It’s time to find out.
