In the 2016/17 Fantasy Premier League season Jon Pears managed to win the FantasyYIRMA.com mini-league. This is no mean feat when you consider there were approximately 8000 teams competing for the £100 prize.

Let’s put this into perspective though – because in the entire game.. 4,500,000 teams Jon boy not only won the YIRMA league – he finished 5th in the ******* WORLD!!! An unbelievable achievement and one I am not afraid to admit I am incredibly envious of!

As part of our series of preparation articles for the new season I reached out to Jon to give us some insight into what he felt was the key to his success.

There may/may not have been blackmail implemented in the form of “write me an article or you don’t get the £100” but that’s besides the point! Thanks to Jon for his contribution – Let us know your thoughts on twitter @FantasyYIRMA

6 #FPL TIPS FOR SUCCESS

1) Don’t get downhearted by poor performances in the early gameweeks.  Many of my friends quit after the first 2-3 weeks of the game starting.  I didn’t actually start moving up the ranks until October/November last year, I’m not sure what a good start even feels like!

2) Take advantage of the early price rises.  Despite our best efforts no-one really knows who is going to hit the ground running this year.  Sure Harry Kane seems like a good pick now but so did Eden Hazard in the 2015/2016 season!  Take advantage of the early price rises and reap the rewards in the 2nd half of the season by having more value to spend.

3) Don’t neglect your defenders!  During many of the close gameweeks I was able to beat my rivals by having goal scoring defenders.  Equally I have never seen the point in having expensive goalkeepers, they tend not to make many saves so bonus points are limited.

4) Stick to your guns- If you have a good team on paper stick it out and try not to waste a needless points hit. Looking back now,  I do not think many of the -4’s I made last season were worth it.

5) Plan ahead, we know there will be double gameweek opportunities later in the season, try not to waste chips in the first half of the season to lose out on a mega score points haul later on in the later gameweeks.

6) Finally when picking a captain go with form every time regardless of a home/away fixtures.

Written by Jon Pears

The FantasyYIRMA.com Mini-League is back up and running. As always there’s £100 up for grabs for the winner and Jon is already signed up to defend his title – Join our FREE Mini-League Here or use code 3575-1308

You can find Jon on Twitter @JonAVFC  drop him a follow, talk up Villa’s chances in the Championship and send him #FPL questions… I’m sure he’ll love it!