Pilkington Fantasy Football
The season is over and football fans up and down the country are left to fill the soccer void by either picking a top team to support in Euro 2008 or by becoming a fan of cricket or rugby. No matter what sport he chooses to follow this summer, Steve Ramsden will be watching it in style on a 42inch HD ready wide screen TV, because he has been crowned the Pilkington Fantasy Football Manager of the Year.
Named after his beloved Springer Spaniel, Saffy, Steve’s side was set up in a 5-3-2 formation, which proved ideal. Steve supports League Two side Bradford City, which he thinks is one of the reasons he reigned supreme this season. He says: “Lots of people pick players from clubs they support, but I was more impartial, and went with who was in form. My formation helps too because it lets you choose the best defenders as well as high scoring attackers.”
Steve had some Aston Villa players ever present in his side throughout the season, defender Martin Laursen who provided 116 points, and midfielder Ashley Young, who amassed 142. However, he wasn’t afraid to chop and change his side when needed, for example he soon realised the error of his ways after selecting a Newcastle defender. That was in contrast to David Pinder, whose Pindermonium side remained static throughout much of the season (much like Derby). David’s decision not to tinker proved successful at times, with striker Carlos Tevez offering 172 points, and defender Patrice Evra scoring 129. But he lost points by persisting with players like Elano after his early season form dipped – the Brazilian only provided 43 points in total.
Steve’s rotation policy was the essence of simplicity, he says: “I just checked for any injuries in the paper on Saturday mornings and made sure to substitute any players who weren’t going to play.” This meant he got the best out of players like Robin van Persie and Bacary Sagna, whose seasons were disrupted by injury. The Dutchman offered 43 points for Saffys Springers, despite playing just eight games, while the French full back chipped in with 61 points over 18 appearances.
Such simple tactics saw Saffy’s Springers finish the season on 1513 points, while Pindermonium’s inactivity meant they ended up on 1415 and in 83rd place – a far from disappointing showing.
So how will Steve take full advantage of his prize? He says: “I’ll be watching Euro 2008 on it this summer. It’s disappointing that there won’t be England or any home nations in the tournament, I even would have supported Scotland if they were in it.”
Now the season is over it’s time to look back on your season to by logging on to www.pilkington.com/fantasyfootball to assess your campaign.
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