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Ahead of the Premier League finale this weekend with top flight clubs in a fight for the trophy, Express checked in with those vying for a top 10 position in Jersey’s biggest and fiercest football league... which isn't played on a pitch.
'Fantasy' football may sound bizarre to some, but it is taken very seriously by fans who believe they have the managerial prowess of the likes of Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta and lead their team to the top.
In brief, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is where real-life Premier League players are hypothetically bought and sold into new teams – but score goals and suffer injuries that reflect the real-life game.
Managers, who decide on their line-ups via smartphone apps and online, are given a fantastical £100million to spend for the season.
Players that score goals on the telly earn their Fantasy teams points, defenders that keep a clean sheet in Premier League games also collect points for their Fantasy sides... and the trend continues.
The aim is to collect as many points as possible.
Pictured: Jersey's current 'top 10' at the time of writing.
Around the world, over 10 million fantasy PL teams have been battling it out for the top slot this season, with almost 5,000 'managers' living in Jersey.
Express spoke to some of those in the running for a top 10 spot in the league about their season, and their tips for FPL success...
Real-life team: Juventus
Occupation: Data scientist
Harris has done impeccably well this Fantasy season, especially considering it's his first.
Not only has he come out on top for Jersey, but he was also in the top 0.00001% of the global Fantasy game for 11 weeks, his season peak at 28th out of over 10 million.
Though he has never played football in Jersey, or “not well anyway", he was pleased with his teams performance.
"I take a very numbers-based approach to the game" he said.
"If you want to do well, you’re better off listening to Phil Tetlock [author of Superforecasting and Political Judgement] than Phil Neville.
The main thing, though, is to be lucky.
“This will probably be my last season as well as my first, as I find that I get too annoyed when the results don’t go my way."
Real-life team: Man City
Occupation: Greenskeeper
Nicknamed "Trees", Manager Trehiou has completed his best Fantasy season yet.
Ranking in the top 0.0001% globally, his success is down to keeping it simple. " Stick to the best players [in the Premier League] and don’t keep taking minus points” he said.
"FPL allows you 1 transfer a week for free, any more transfers they take points from you. Stick to one transfer a week and save points.”
Real-life team: Spurs
Occupation: Finance worker
Naming his team as an ode to his favourite 80s film The Princess Bride Coppen has had his best result in 15 seasons. "The Brute Squad" ranks not only in Jersey's top ten but also in the world's top 1,000 teams.
Positions in the Jersey table have been in close competition in the final games of he PL with Coppen dropping to 5th from 4th. “I’m a bit bitter”, he said.
His tips for top points are “trust instinct more than the [FPL community]."
“Look at budget players and enabling players" he added, "cheap players like Cole Palmer, have done really well this season."
Real-life team: Liverpool
Occupation: Corporate Services Manager
Aside from his full-time job, Corcoran has also had his best season, having played FPL since 2013.
Currently spending around two hours per week on FPL, he has devoted more than 500 hours to his team over the years.
“It’s a bit of a religion,” he said.
“It's most successful season so far, so it’s a bit of an ego boost [to be in Jersey’s top 10], but it's annoying that there are people better than me.”
Explaining his strategy, he added: “I watch the highlights of every game and look for the underlying data.
"As well as regular game stats, you have expected stats which offers a different perspective on the game. If say, Liverpool lose 4-0, that might look awful but the expected stats might say something different on performance.
“The dream at the start of the season is to finish in top 10k [worldwide] and I'm in the top 2,000 so I'm pretty pleased with that."
Real-life team: AFC Wimbledon
Occupation: Currently travelling
Even while their manager travels Australia and South-East Asia, Nolan's team has remained strong and he finishes with his best result in eight seasons.
Despite the change in time zones, Nolan still managed to keep up with GMT to pull off every week's team choice deadlines (bar one).
"Some deadlines have been at weird times but I’ve only missed one because I didn’t have any signal," he noted.
Asked about his approach, he reflected: “I do a little bit of research, content creators mostly.
"All I'd say is, don’t be swayed by Twitter.”
Real-life team: Leicester city
Occupation: Auditor
Placing right behind his ex-colleague, Manager Waddington's team has performed well and lands in the top 5,000 of the global league.
Revealing his FPL tips to Express, he said: “Don’t overthink or overanalyse.
“Go with your gut – it’s not always about statistics.”
Real-life team: Newcastle United
Occupation: Investment Director
After six seasons consistently placing in Jersey's top 10, Jon Proudfoot's team have kept a solid record.
An avid watcher, keen casual player and a ex-writer of FPL content during the pandemic, Mr Proudfoot enjoys all aspects of the game.
"I love all kinds of football", he said.
He has managed his Step Brothers-inspired team with a mixed approach.
"It's a combination of using underlying stats of players and fixtures," he said.
"[The FPL community] call it an 'eye-test' when looking at a player's form, so it's a bit of both."
Express reached out to some of the other teams in Jersey’s top ten – Jordan Dixon's 'Ukraine Bolt', Peter Goddard’s 'CMPC United', and Harry Adam's 'MuchAyewAboutNothing' – but they must be too busy with the game...
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