As far as I could remember i was always a football fan. My earlier memory is the final of the European Cup Final in 1991 between Marseille and Red Star Belgrade. I was not allowed to watch it, sent to bed, and woke up in the morning aghast and weeping at the news that Red Star had won it, against all odds, after a penalty shootout. 

It took me a good decade for the passion to finally wear out, due to the constant influence of money and politics in football. I thought that football had nothing to offer other than spoilt millionaires running after a ball for the entertainement of masses.

And then... I discovered Fantasy Premier League and i became hooked again, and discovered a way to gain interest again in football. I'm sure you have heard it. I'm sure some of you play it. I'm sure you know what i'm talking about when i say it's probably the most addictive football fantasy game invented. 

What is Fantasy Premier League ?

Fantasy Premier League is a fantasy game of football based on the statistics and results of the English Premier League, known today as the Barclays Premier League.

This is a game played by more than 3 millions people around the world. I don't have the numbers but i would say that a good third of all the people who create account around the world actively setup a fantasy team based on the players of the Premier League teams and watch weekly the results of each fixture in order to create the most successful personal team possible.

The rules of Fantasy Premier League ?

It's pretty straightforwards, hence the succcess.

Once you have created an account, you login and select a team of 15 players chosen from the 20 teams composing the Barclays Premier League.

You can select a maximum of 3 players from the same team.

You have at the start of the season a budget of £100.0 which you must manage carefully because some players, the best players of course based on their status and their statistics from previous seasons, are worth more than others. The prices range from £4.0 to £13.0 (sometimes above).

Once you are setup and the fixtures start, each player win points in functions of their activity on the pitch: playtime, red card, yellow card, assists, goals, clean sheet, everything is taking into account.

Between each fixtures, you can make 1 free transfer. All other transfers will deduct some points from your total. 

And of course, depending on the performance of each players, thousands of other people around the world sell and buy the players, which make their tag values fall or increase. Like any stock in any stock exchange, you must be a shrewd businessman in order for your team value to steadily increase. This will not give you any extra points but give you leverage when selling or buying new players.

As I said, it's pretty straightforward, but it's far from easy : the player you were betting heavily upon can suddenly be injured, or can suddenly become a hopeless hack. It involves a good deal of management, and of course... luck!

You can of course join a public league or create your own private league in order to compete with friends and colleagues infected by the same virus.

What makes a great team ?

I have been playing now for a few seasons, and even if i have the knack for it, i'm far from being in the top 100... or top 1000... or even top 10000 for all that matters! But the pleasure is the same : when your team performs and you suddenly see on a sunday morning your team has won more than 80 points, there is no better feeling.

My advice for any new player would be:

-at the opening of the season, try to select the players who are sure to have playtime in their team (even if they are not the superstars bought for astronomical fees from Italy or Spain) ;

-at the opening of the season, try to keep at least £3.0 or £2.0 in the bank because it will turn out very quickly that your perfect team is crashing down and the players you just dismissed first hand are outperforming all others ;

-try to keep up with the injury news relative to the players in your team (nothing more annoying than having to bench the star you bought for +£13.0 because he has a running nose or something) ;

-avoid the last minute rush before kick off where you sell a player who will eventually score a hat trick ;

-select a formation of 3-5-2 because in my opinion it's better to bet on the players who will score than to bet on the defenders keeping a clean sheet ;

-don't sell/buy off any player right after the latest fixture and wait until 24/48 hours ;

-keep a keen eye on the fixture list : you want to make sure that your players are facing some weaker teams in order to have the maximum points.

Those are the first tips i can think about. There are dozens more of course and you are welcome to discuss it in the replies, if you are a fan like me. 

Who is in ?

So, are there fans of Fantasy Premier League on Steemit ? 

Would you like to set up a private league and share thoughts and tips and banters ?