After a summer of reflection on my first season of serious competition in the Premier League Fantasy Football, I thought I’d highlight a few of the (numerous) mistakes that made the difference between 8th place in The Chumpions League, and the all-important top three spots.  So for your benefit, in no particular order, I give you my Top 10 Premier League Fantasy Football Mistakes:

1. Excessive transfers
Bringing in the right players and keeping your team fresh is important, but multiple transfers every gameweek soon add up.  Over the course of the season I used around 100 points in needless transfers, 100 points which may have made the difference between 8th and 3rd.  It’s all about finding the balance between bringing in players you desperately need, and making use of your whole squad, which leads on to my next point:

2. A weak bench
It’s great when you have an impressive XI lined up for the gameweek ahead, but if you don’t have strength in depth, with a couple of quality players on the bench, any automatic substitutions will take their toll on your points total.  The moral of the story, don’t spend the bulk of your budget on you first XI, make sure you have good replacements too!

3. Not looking further than the current gameweek
If you only look closely at the current gameweek, you will find yourself doing a few transfers before every deadline.  Look ahead and pick players who have a few points-filled games ahead.

4. Buying late
When a key player returns from injury, everyone dives straight for him, sending the player’s value through the roof.  Staying on top of all the injury news means you can save as much of your transfer budget as possible by getting the player in a gameweek before he is due to return.

5. Selling late
This works on the same principle as above.  If a player is losing form, or picks up an injury, act fast and transfer him before his value drops and you lose out on what could be a key £0.1m in your transfer budget.

6. Spending your entire transfer budget
It may seem like common sense to have the best squad possible and use your entire budget, but the most expensive players can be outperformed by cheaper alternatives!  That £1m in the bank may come in handy at any point in the season.

7. Being tempted by one week wonders
A striker hits a lucky hat trick and couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo beforehand.  Probably best not to follow the crowd and get him in.  Remember form is temporary, class is permanent.  It’s obviously a blip and next week he’ll be back to missing sitters, so don’t waste your budget.

8. Spending too much on strikers
Strikers are the most expensive players in the game, but it’s easy to forget that defenders and midfielders often score far more points on average.  A solid defence and midfield is important.

9. Using your wildcard too early
Unless the majority of your squad is injured or suspended early on, it’s not worth making wholesale changes using the wildcard within the early part of the season.  You may really need it at the business end of the season, and using it to reshape your team at the right time can mean you can gain points and positions over your rivals.

10. Picking the same team as your rivals
The old adage “if you can’t beat them, join them” is useless in fantasy football.  Don’t try to guess the team your rivals will pick with the intention of matching their line-up so you don’t lose any ground.  Picking your own team with a few unexpected players means you are more likely to gain ground on your rivals and keep them guessing, rather than them keeping you guessing.