Fantasy Football Tips
Top tips from the footy experts
We ask legends of the game
Mickey Thomas,
Tommy Docherty,
Dave Bassett,
Bruce Grobbelaar, and
Dale Tempest for their expert tips ahead of the 2009/10 Fantasy Football season. With a whopping
£20,000 up for grabs, you will want to read this!
Wayne Rooney would be my must-have player for Rock & Roll Fantasy Football. I think Rooney will play centrally now Tevez and Ronaldo have left and will have a lot more goal-scoring responsibility. What he achieved for England last season (scoring 10 goals in a season) shows he can do it. At the other end Nemanja Vidic is always good for a goal and plays in a team that doesn’t concede money so probably another good man to have.
Mickey Thomas
Former Man Utd and Wales winger.
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Paul Scholes would be my must have player for Rock & Roll Fantasy Football, were he a few years younger because of his ability to get goals and assists. But it’s not clear how much he’ll play this season. Michael Owen isn’t as expensive as the likes of Fernando Torrez but I think is a great signing by Fergie and will likely score a few, so may be a budget option. As I understand it, goal scoring defenders are important in Fantasy Football so then you have to look at Vidic and Terry.
Tommy Docherty
Former Man Utd and Chelsea manager.
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My must-have Rock & Roll Fantasy Football player would be Steven Gerrard. He’s a fantastic player for Liverpool and England. And, in particular the thing he has on other players is the ability to score goals regularly for Liverpool football club. He may be expensive but could get three times as many goals as another midfielder making him pretty good value. Frank Lampard is another player who falls into that category.
Dave Bassett
Former manager of Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City and Southampton.
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One to watch out for me is David Villa. He’s still in Spain, but if he moves to a Premier League club he’s one to look out for and he would be my must-have Rock & Roll Fantasy footballer. Liverpool should have won the league last season, so I expect players like Gerrard and Torres to be even more determined so they’d be good buys. I also think Michael Owen will likely be amongst the goals at Man Utd – as long as he stays injury free, you need to check his fitness regularly.
Bruce Grobbelaar
Former star Liverpool goalkeeper
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The key is scoring goals with your midfielders and attackers and then not conceding them at the back. In the first category you can’t ignore players like Gerrard, Torres and Lampard. As midfielders go, Everton’s Tim Cahill is a cheaper option and going into the season free from injury so could be a great signing for any fantasy football team. At the back, Joleon Lescott has a great goalscoring record and doesn’t let many get past him either! Generally though, Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea concede the least goals, so look out for their cheaper players – Wes Brown, for example. As for strikers, I’ve already bet on Wayne Rooney to be top-scorer in the Premier League and I’m expecting big things from Eduardo at Arsenal and Yakubu at Everton, who are fit for once!
Dale Tempest
Former Fulham and Huddersfield player now Head of Publicity for Sky Bet
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More tips from our presenters...
People will say spread your money thinly to make sure you have a strong squad across the board. Now, that’s all well and good if you’re a Premier League manager, but if you’re a fantasy football manager it may be worth splashing the cash on a few select players. For example, I always try and have Steven Gerrard AND Frank Lampard in my team because they score so many goals and play in winning teams. Even if it means getting a couple of shabbier lads in to make up the numbers, it’s worth getting a couple of the expensive top performers. Also, it’s very import to check football news pages before a weekend’s football to check on the fitness of players. If a player’s injured he can’t do anything for you! Finally, be realistic when he comes to selecting a manager – you may support Wigan, but if you want to be in the running you’ll need to have Fergie or Rafa at the helm!
Ed Draper
Breakfast Show Sports Presenter
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It's all very well the experts telling you to pick Gerrard, Lampard and Torres but what happens when the £55mill runs out. I would suggest start backwards and pick 4 or 5 cheap players you think will do well and then see what's left for the good players. Penalty and corner takers are good to pick like Fulham’s Danny Murphy and Bolton’s Matt Taylor at £4m. Even better is Darren Fletcher who will assist more now that some top Man Utd players have gone, and you know how much Ferguson rates him. He's a measly £3.7m. Wigans Cattermole might be another. If all else fails just use the "Random Pick"... Geoff Lloyd does!! Have fun and I hope I haven’t given away too many clues as to the team I shall be picking.
Neil Francis
Absolute '80s Presenter
Pick your fantasy football team nowGet more from the football legends for free on the
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Your fantasy football tips
with drogba on international duties ive replaced him with anelka who will be depended on to get the goals in his absence! good start with 2 today
Try and pick as many players as you can who are the designated penalty takers. More chances to get 3 points.
think about shawcross ot stoke the boy likes a header
Neil Francis is the only 'pundet' to not sit on the fence and state the obvious. New boy Vermaelen is looking like a bargain
Nemanja Vidic, Bane Ivanovic & Nenad Milijas are going to have a storming season!!!
Get a top 4 manager - i reckon they're more reliable than players - especially if you buy a player who's a grafter, but might no score or assist
you need cech in goal not one got past him yet
Don't get sentimental about players from your favourite team, pick players on merit. Rooney for top goalscorer.
no matter what team you decide on, make sure you're very careful with your transfers, not every player will do well every week. save changes for injurys etc
lampard will always score points because he always plays
Rooney! Will set chances up and take them as well. More so now Ronaldo has left
has to be Arshavin at Arsenal, scores goals and gets assists, only came in january, look at the points he got
defoe is the must have accsesory ...and cahill...
Arshavin may cost a bit but will get a boat load of goals from midfield
Have your say...