Fantasy Football: A marathon, not a sprint

Well, well well, some of you did very well out of the first week of the Insurance Times Fantasy Football League, didn’t you? 

As the Premier League kicked off for the 2024/25 season last weekend (16 August 2024), Fantasy Football managers across the country watched in glee – or horror – as the familiar feeling of points racking up returned – or didn’t. 

Congratulations are in order for the top performer of gameweek 1 (GW1) Michael Smith, whose Josimar’s Giants were the only team in the league to top 100 points. 

The top 10 teams for GW1 all made mighty efforts but, as the football parlance goes, the season is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Do last week’s top 10 have what it takes to remain on top for this weekend’s fixtures and beyond?

If you spot yourself at the top of the table, do get in contact with us by emailing deputy editor Yiannis Kotoulas at Yiannis.Kotoulas@Insurancetimes.co.uk

With just over 420 of the insurance industry’s finest tactical minds now battling it out for bragging rights in the Insurance Times League, there are sure to be twists in the tale yet.

GW2 considerations

Many of GW1’s top performers opted for a team that involved a combination of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.

But, based on the expensive prices of these players, many of opted to go into the season without Manchester City forward Erling Haaland. 

And, with Haaland set to play promoted team Ipswich on Saturday afternoon, could this short-term win exclude them from a big points haul? 

Solanke

Managers should also take note that Dominic Solanke has been ruled out of this Saturday’s Premier League clash with Everton.

The striker, who was a hot property going into the first game week, picked up an ankle injury in the season opener with Leicester.

Manager Ange Postecoglou said: ”Dominic picked up a knock in the last game, he got through the game, but he flared up the day after and he’ll miss tomorrow.”

Pedro Porro, however, will be fit for the match against Everton despite being forced off late in the last match.

Price droppers

Continuing to manage your team across the 38 game season will involve a considered management of risk – something that our specific league should be well familiar with. 

Ensuring you have the right players for the right fixtures in the future can require careful planning to compete with the very tops of the table, but another consideration is to the rising and falling prices of many players. 

Lots of managers opted to start the season with players who, for whatever reason, have not ended up playing. So watch out for price drops of your own players, which occur when a sufficient amount of other managers in the game decide to transfer out the same player.