The conclusion of the English Premier League season also means it’s the end of the Fantasy Football season so here’s Sports Pundit’s own awards night.
Best Team of the Season
Zenit, Stanislav Vas, 1682 points
Joe Hart (Manchester City); Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City), Leighton Baines (Everton); James Morrison (West Bromwich), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Vaughan (Blackpool); Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Steven Fletcher (Wolverhampton); Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
Forever England, Chris Younger, 1650 points
Glory Hornets, Chris Spackman, 1596 points
Best Players of the Season
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart – Manchester City – 9.5m; 102 points
Undeniably the best goalkeeper in the game and not bad value either. A must-have for any fantasy coach who had hopes of consistently big scores
Petr Cech – Chelsea – 11m – 91 points
Another solid performer, even through Chelsea’s form slump
Defenders
Leighton Baines – Everton – 6.2m – 137 points
Clearly the best defender and at brilliant value. Sensational season from the full-back who provided plenty of assists from his flank play and dangerous set-pieces. Solid at the back too
Nemanja Vidic – Manchester United – 7.5m – 115 points
All good teams are built from the back and fantasy teams are no different
Patrice Evra – Manchester United – 7.5m – 113 points
Although he doesn’t really offer the enterprising forward play of your typical full-back, he’s quite solid at the back in England’s best team
Branislav Ivanovic – Chelsea – 7.2m – 112 points
Another solid performer in a tight defence, who offers a goal threat from set-pieces
Midfielders
Nani – Manchester United – 17.8m – 185 points
Didn’t play every single game for the Red Devils but easily got the most points out of any player in the fantasy football. Plenty of assists and goals in a team who were hard to beat
Rafael van der Vaart – Tottenham – 17.8m – 169 points
Debut season in England, impressed everyone, especially fantasy coaches
Florent Malouda – Chelsea – 18.2m – 169 points
Tad expensive but seldom let fantasy coaches down
Strikers
Dimitar Berbatov – Manchester United – 20.5m – 161 points
Another United star who might have posted even more had he been used more often towards the end of the season. When he scored, he scored in bundles
Carlos Tevez – Manchester City – 21m – 160 points
For sheer consistency, Tevez is arguably the best fantasy forward option. Tad expensive but delivered week after week
Darren Bent – Aston Villa – 17.8m – 159 points
An absolute bargain buy for his return. The move from Sunderland to Villa didn’t affect his output either, unlike Andy Carroll
Managers
Sir Alex Ferguson – Manchester United – 11m – 115 points
Obviously the title winning manager would be top the list, but he really represented the best value quite comfortably
Best Cheapies of the Season
Mark Schwarzer – Fulham – goalkeeper – 7.6m – 46 points
Good value, but some distance behind the more expensive options. Suggests it’s better to spend on goalkeepers in Sports Pundit’s fantasy game
Brede Hangeland – Fulham – defender – 6.1m – 98 points
Part of Fulham’s rock-solid defence and a regular goalscorer from set-pieces. Great value
Sylvain Distin – Everton – defender – 6.2m – 98 points
Chipped in with the odd goal, while helping the Toffees keep it tight after a slow start to the season
Clint Dempsey – Fulham – midfielder – 14m – 152 points
The American represented outstanding value, with his regular goals and consistent goal threat culminating in points from assists
Charles N’Zogbia – Wigan – midfielder – 11m – 149 points
We’ve written about the Frenchman in this weekly section often enough, but he was arguably the best value player in the game at 11m. Ridiculous value
Charlie Adam – Blackpool – midfielder – 10.5m – 134 points
Hard to leave him out really
Peter Odemwingie – West Bromwich – striker – 12.5m – 145 points
Another who you’d put in N’Zogbia’s category of being ridiculous value. Really exploded onto the scene and never dropped off
DJ Campbell – Blackpool – striker – 12m – 119 points
When you look at his points return it may not be great in comparison to other strikers, but strikers are expensive in this game. Fine value
David Moyes – Everton – manager – 8.9m – 75 points
Slow start to the season may have scared off some fantasy coaches but he was great value as the season wore on
Okay, so the season’s over but don’t forget to sign up for next season, if you haven’t already, for Sports Pundit’s Fantasy Premier League with plenty of weekly prizes up for grabs yet again.