Toby Margetts - Fantasy Premier League: Unlocking The Secrets To A Top 1% Finish

Published by Ockley Books Ltd /
Monument Creative & Publishing Ltd

First published 2019

All text copyright of the authors.

The moral right of the authors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted.

Editing and layout by Rob MacDonald

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior permission in writing from the author and publishers Ockley Books and Monument Creative & Publishing.

Front cover and interiors designed by Ollie Farthing

Printed and bound by:

Ashford Colour Press

Unit 600, Fareham Reach

Fareham Road

Gosport, Hampshire

PO13 0FW

For my mum, Francesca Margetts. Though no longer with me Im forever grateful for the immense support and enthusiasm you showed me in everything I ever did, not least when I told you I wanted to write this book. I miss you.

It was 5pm on a rainy Sunday when I got a Whatsapp message from a certain Gianni Buttic. A mate and I have written a book, it said, and wed love to get you involved. Now Ive known Gianni for quite some time we met back in 2011, when he worked as a producer on a TV show I was hosting. Hes a talented, lovely guy, but never in a million years did I think hed ever be writing a book. I had no idea who his mate was (turned out to be Toby, who, being a fellow Brightonian, is a good guy by default!). And to be honest, my immediate thought was, what the hell could they be writing about?!. Somewhat sceptical, I asked Gianni the question, and he duly replied with the three sweet words that all us fanatics love to hear: Fantasy. Premier. League.

My love affair with sport began at a young age. I was born in Brighton, but spent most of my childhood in Jamaica with dreams of making it as a pro tennis player. Football was always a hot topic in my house, particularly among my cousins its them I have to thank for turning me into a Brighton fan. Im sure anyone who has watched the Fantasy Premier League Show or BT Sport Score will attest to me often harping on about the Seagulls while hosting the programmes. It was on the latter in November 2017 that I awkwardly celebrated a Glenn Murray goal, live on air, only to realise it was the halftime broadcast and I was watching a replay of the first half. Cringe! A small hit to my pride, but sometimes you just cant put a lid on the passion. Plus, the goal was that good it was worth celebrating twice (so I tell myself anyway!).

I discovered Fantasy Premier League in 2013 and, much like Toby and Gianni, became a shameless addict. It became apparent to me just how much time and thought I was dedicating to it during a recent flight home from Rome. As I settled into my seat I realised I had little in the way of reading material and the WiFi situation wasnt looking good, rendering my iPad fairly useless. So I did the only thing any self-respecting FPL nut would do and drafted no fewer than eight versions of my next Wildcard team, using some good old-fashioned pen and paper. Seeing how engrossed I was, the guy next to me became curious and peered over my shoulder like he was missing out on something. It was only after I said it that I realised how weird Im planning for my next Wildcard sounded! Needless to say that killed the conversation stone dead. Absolute amateur!

When we landed, I realised that Id spent over two hours obsessing over my eight teams. Worst of all, the exercise was ultimately pointless later that gameweek, I made one measly transfer and banked my Wildcard for another week, making my draft teams pretty much redundant. Two hours wasted, you say? Absolutely not. I loved every second of it.

Thats the beauty of FPL. Yes, winning is great, and good God this book will show you how to do it, but and it sounds clichd the taking part is just so immersive. So multifaceted. Endless variables and freak gameweeks mean even the most diligent of FPL managers can have a shocker. Theres so much to consider. So much to ponder. Like the actual Premier League, its just so hard to predict. It feels impossible to master and thats why I cant get enough. The futile pursuit of unattainable perfection.

And thats why I love the idea behind this book. Im ridiculously competitive and FPL is a great outlet for it. Id like to think Im doing ok at it too, having finished just outside the top 1% last season. But in FPL, if you stand still, youre going backwards. Theres always something new to learn and Ive truly not come across anything in the FPL world that is as detailed as this book. Take it from a woman that has spent hundreds of hours reading blog posts, working with the experts, listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos.

The lads sent me the first few chapters and, despite being a fairly involved FPL manager, there were a bunch of oh my God moments and major revelations. I simply had to agree to a foreword in order to see the rest of the book before anyone else!

Ive been hosting the Fantasy Premier League Show since the 2016/17 season. If youve ever watched it, youll know that its fast-paced and the discussions tend to be gameweek-specific. We invite the crme de la crme of fantasy pundits onto the show and they never disappoint as we prepare FPL managers for the gameweek ahead. By contrast, this book offers a multitude of tips over the course of a season and the ability to revisit specific chapters or sections when you need to brush up on your theory. It delves into the nitty-gritty topics that true FPL geeks like me will appreciate, like understanding the bonus points system, how to manage your inner chimp and how to distribute your spend so that, statistically, you give yourself the best chance of success. It will show you how to build team value and where to find the OOPs. It will help you optimise your chip usage and theres even a very funny first-person diary that documents Giannis innermost thoughts throughout the 2018/19 season. Youll find out a lot about him here. Hilarious!

And theres one final ulterior motive for this foreword. Ive been reminded on several occasions that, between them, Toby and Gianni have both finished above me in every season Ive played. Well, the jokes on them, because Im confident thats about to change. And nothing would be sweeter than beating them with their own book.

Jules Breach

Toby and Gianni met at university in 2007 and quickly bonded over a mutual love of football. Having dabbled in various newspaper Fantasy Football games, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) going mainstream was perfectly timed, providing a welcome respite to their studies and a focal point for discussions during frequent trips to the library students union bar.

What started out as just a bit of fun turned into something of an obsession for the pair who almost certainly to the detriment of their degrees began debating the intricacies of how to maximise their FPL points each week. Over time, these shared learnings shot them to the top of their ever-expanding mini-leagues. It even pocketed them some much-needed cash after convincing a group of friends to make it interesting by fronting 10 into a prize-pot for some winner-takes-all action.