Awesome work as always! At the end of the day, I have and always will play FPL for fun. I don't feel bad about losing to people who spend hours a day researching or pay for premium guides. I know if I did those things, it would no longer be fun to me and defeat the whole purpose. I think the main issue with FPL is that it interferes with watching the games, you get so focused on the little "fantasy" things that you often missed out on the "real" big things.
I think some of it is down to human’s natural competitiveness, especially among friends where a rank is quantifiable.
My issue is mainly about creators who offer a paid service. You can have the right processes in selecting a team, but nobody can know what will happen on the pitch.
There’s huge amounts of luck, trends, hype, uncertainty in FPL. Some people have a ‘knack’ at being able to do well, but I do agree that a once fun game has gone too far.
BBC have FPL articles, with taxpayers money presumably going towards paying for the ‘experts’ opinion, most of which have pretty poor ranks, especially considering their reputation.
I’ve read that some creators have gambling sponsors which is obviously unhealthy.
Another commented mentioned the FPL Draft version. My group has a 13 player draft this season, highly recommend for anyone reading this !
I enjoyed this so much!!! In Italy we have a totally different system, although people complain about similar problems. Over-analysis and too much content is also something we’re facing, however I think in Italy it’s much healthier because of the structure. We have a single “auction” at the beginning of the season, and the you’re stuck with your 25 guys. We also play in leagues with 8/10 people, facing 1v1 every weekend. This brings much more personal competitiveness as well as attachment (good or bad) to the guys you bought in september. I’ll write about Fantasy Football in italy and how it’s actually the only positive things happening for Serie A marketing.
I think you may have omitted the biggest difference of all? The prize money is rubbish nowadays. I used to play them when even monthly winners got £10,000 and were eminently winnable.
But never mind that.
The thing that bemuses me about the sheer effort people go to to do well in PFL and the incredibly detailed knowledge they have is that it never seems to occur to them that just a fraction of that knowledge and understanding is enough to win significant money from betting on outright markets throughout the season.
Scrutinising how the fixtures fall is a crucial part of trading outright markets.
I genuinely didn't know there was prize money involved at all. I thought the overall winner got like a shirt of their choosing or something completely inadequate.
Interesting. I was wondering whether people knew there used to be decent prize money. I’m talking about in newspaper fantasy football you understand? And there still is prize in the couple that are still going but it’s much less than it was for some reason.
Draft version is so much better. Lock in the same group each year, have a forfeit for last and a prize for first. And a WhatsApp group to trade insults.
Every player only on one team, plenty of drain and drama.
I had a bit of an existential crisis trying to get a team in before the deadline yesterday. Finally decided that I just dont care enough about it anymore to make the commitment
Good read. I've never bothered with FPL at all, although I can see the appeal of the basic setup. My pet theory is that this is the root of the fascination with transfers, with loads of fans suddenly seeing themselves as value-for-money gurus.
Agree totally, plus there’s nothing more annoying than people talking about their fantasy teams as acceptable conversation at a match on Saturday. No one actually cares that you triple-captained Salah this week.
In Africa talking about fantasy teams is part of fandom. For one, followers of FPL use it as their form of individual player analysis. It’s a simple way to tell how well a player is doing over the course of a season before the complex details by Opta.
Great read! I tried fantasy once or twice in my life. Even when it was simpler, it was not for me: I'd have to pick dudes from teams I despise; plus, even back then it required tons of research! Even in high school I did not have time, never mind now as as an adult!
Fantasy football is what you make it. It was always going to go the way of rotisserie baseball, which is where it all started. However, fantasy sports are at their best when it is a league played between friends. To really make this so, you want to be in a keeper league and build a squad via a draft over a number of seasons. Get a few friends together to do that (like I once did in baseball) is rewarding and good fun. So, who wants to be in a keeper league with me?
Awesome work as always! At the end of the day, I have and always will play FPL for fun. I don't feel bad about losing to people who spend hours a day researching or pay for premium guides. I know if I did those things, it would no longer be fun to me and defeat the whole purpose. I think the main issue with FPL is that it interferes with watching the games, you get so focused on the little "fantasy" things that you often missed out on the "real" big things.
Thanks for reading, Luke!
I stopped playing when I lost top spot on the final day of 2017/18 and let it ruin the last 2 days of my holiday. When the fun stops stop!
Great post🙂
That is crazy.
Maybe it’s something to do with me more than the game!
I think some of it is down to human’s natural competitiveness, especially among friends where a rank is quantifiable.
My issue is mainly about creators who offer a paid service. You can have the right processes in selecting a team, but nobody can know what will happen on the pitch.
There’s huge amounts of luck, trends, hype, uncertainty in FPL. Some people have a ‘knack’ at being able to do well, but I do agree that a once fun game has gone too far.
BBC have FPL articles, with taxpayers money presumably going towards paying for the ‘experts’ opinion, most of which have pretty poor ranks, especially considering their reputation.
I’ve read that some creators have gambling sponsors which is obviously unhealthy.
Another commented mentioned the FPL Draft version. My group has a 13 player draft this season, highly recommend for anyone reading this !
I enjoyed this so much!!! In Italy we have a totally different system, although people complain about similar problems. Over-analysis and too much content is also something we’re facing, however I think in Italy it’s much healthier because of the structure. We have a single “auction” at the beginning of the season, and the you’re stuck with your 25 guys. We also play in leagues with 8/10 people, facing 1v1 every weekend. This brings much more personal competitiveness as well as attachment (good or bad) to the guys you bought in september. I’ll write about Fantasy Football in italy and how it’s actually the only positive things happening for Serie A marketing.
Thank you for taking the time!
I think you may have omitted the biggest difference of all? The prize money is rubbish nowadays. I used to play them when even monthly winners got £10,000 and were eminently winnable.
But never mind that.
The thing that bemuses me about the sheer effort people go to to do well in PFL and the incredibly detailed knowledge they have is that it never seems to occur to them that just a fraction of that knowledge and understanding is enough to win significant money from betting on outright markets throughout the season.
Scrutinising how the fixtures fall is a crucial part of trading outright markets.
I genuinely didn't know there was prize money involved at all. I thought the overall winner got like a shirt of their choosing or something completely inadequate.
Interesting. I was wondering whether people knew there used to be decent prize money. I’m talking about in newspaper fantasy football you understand? And there still is prize in the couple that are still going but it’s much less than it was for some reason.
Draft version is so much better. Lock in the same group each year, have a forfeit for last and a prize for first. And a WhatsApp group to trade insults.
Every player only on one team, plenty of drain and drama.
In Italy we do it this way, it’s become increasingly popular and super entertaining
I'd love to join your league if you have a space!
I had a bit of an existential crisis trying to get a team in before the deadline yesterday. Finally decided that I just dont care enough about it anymore to make the commitment
Enjoy a season of utter peace and tranquility.
Love the art up top. Canva masterclass
🫡
Good read. I've never bothered with FPL at all, although I can see the appeal of the basic setup. My pet theory is that this is the root of the fascination with transfers, with loads of fans suddenly seeing themselves as value-for-money gurus.
Far better off, Mike! Thanks for taking the time to read as always.
Agree totally, plus there’s nothing more annoying than people talking about their fantasy teams as acceptable conversation at a match on Saturday. No one actually cares that you triple-captained Salah this week.
In Africa talking about fantasy teams is part of fandom. For one, followers of FPL use it as their form of individual player analysis. It’s a simple way to tell how well a player is doing over the course of a season before the complex details by Opta.
Great read! I tried fantasy once or twice in my life. Even when it was simpler, it was not for me: I'd have to pick dudes from teams I despise; plus, even back then it required tons of research! Even in high school I did not have time, never mind now as as an adult!
Thanks Gonzalo!
Fantasy football is what you make it. It was always going to go the way of rotisserie baseball, which is where it all started. However, fantasy sports are at their best when it is a league played between friends. To really make this so, you want to be in a keeper league and build a squad via a draft over a number of seasons. Get a few friends together to do that (like I once did in baseball) is rewarding and good fun. So, who wants to be in a keeper league with me?