Well, there it is: another long, arduous season in the books. The draft for the 2018/19 Fantrax FPL season seems an awfully long team ago now (because it was) and a lot has happened since you picked your team on a warm (mild) summer’s day in July or August.
Whether you narrowly avoided the wooden spoon or plundered your way to the title, there will have been plenty of heroes and zeroes that have made or broken your season along the way.
The Fantrax fans have spoken and you have voted in your thousands for your team of the season. Here is who you have picked, what a team!
Goalkeeper: Allison Becker
293 Points | 21 Clean Sheets | 76 Saves
The top scoring goalkeeper, the most clean sheets and your Fantrax Goalkeeper of the season. It’s fair to say Allison Becker has made a good impression in his first season as Liverpool’s number one and will, most likely, be the first stopper to fly off the board in next season’s drafts. The likes of Lukasz Fabianksi and Neil Etheridge were incredibly impressive and scored well due to their high number of saves but the Brazilian clean sheet machine score a tasty 293 points to finish top of the pile.
Right Back: Trent Alexander Arnold
425.25 Points | 16 Clean Sheets | 1 Goal | 13 Assists
Yes, you did read that correctly: THIRTEEN assists. Clean sheets and goal contributions are a deadly combination and is one that makes Trent Alexander Arnold an incredible player to own in Fantrax FPL. Despite missing nine games this campaign, the Liverpool youngster finished 5th in the defender rankings and finished with the highest average score of any defender (a staggering 14.66 points per match). Matt Doherty was extremely unfortunate to miss out on this spot having finished as the third highest scoring defender but there is no doubt that TAA has made a mockery of the “don’t draft a defender early on” strategy.
Centre Back: Virgil Van Dijk
480.25 Points | 20 Clean Sheets | 4 Goals | 4 Assists
You guessed it. Wherever you look, there’s people waxing lyrical about Virgil Van Dijk’s first full season as a Liverpool player and rightly so. Winning PFA player of the season as a centre back is no mean feat but one that is also fully deserved. The Dutch giant is also the top scoring defender in Fantrax FPL thanks to a staggering 480.25 points. What is probably even more impressive is the fact that he is the seventh highest scoring PLAYER in the whole game, meaning if you picked him in the first round of your draft last summer, you would be fully justified. Crazy.
Centre Back: Aymerick Laporte
312.25 Points | 18 Clean Sheets | 3 Goals | 3 Assists
Affectionately known as a double gameweek hero in the official FPL game, Aymerick Laporte has proved to be more than handy to own in Fantrax FPL. With has marauding style of play and threat in the air from set pieces, the Frenchman often looks good for an attacking return as well as always being in with a good chance of keeping a clean sheet. In a defence minus Vincent Kompany, Laporte will surely be the go-to Manchester City defender next season.
Left Back: Andrew Robertson
427.75 Points | 21 Clean Sheets | 0 Goals | 12 Assists
Another defensive spot up for grabs and another Liverpool player in your Fantrax Fans team of the season. Andrew Robertson has been phenomenal and as the 4th highest scoring defender has fully justified his draft pick in your team this season. Twenty one clean sheets is incredible, twelve assists is deadly. Put them together and you have a dream fantasy full back. Having said all of that, I can’t help but feel Lucas Digne has been hard done by here. Despite keeping far less clean sheets and providing seven less assists, the Everton left back outscored the Scot by 46 points in Fantrax and finished as the second highest scoring defender. One to watch in this summer’s drafts.
Midfielder: James Maddison
443 Points | 7 Goals | 7 Assists | 99 Key Passes
James Maddison looks set to become a FPL diamond for years to come. In a sparkling first Premier League season, Maddison has key passed his way into your Fantrax team of the season, and deservedly so. Seven goals and assists is a nice first return but I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits double figures in both columns next season. Meanwhile, 99 key passes is just ludicrous. He’s made a mockery of his average draft position of 104 last summer and, provided he ignores the temptation of any calls from the big boys and remains the creative centre of an exciting Leicester City team, Maddison’s name should hit the board in the 2nd or 3rd round this time around.
Midfielder: Gylfi Sigurdsson
489 Points | 13 Goals | 6 Assists | 75 Key Passes
After a couple of years in the wilderness, FPL darling Gylfi Sigurdsson is back! Previously famed for his assists, Siggy has added goals to his game this season; 13 of them to be exact. Marco Silva is building what looks to be an exciting project up at Goodison Park and he’s building it around Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Icelandic international is firmly back to his best and finished the season as the top scoring midfielder in Fantrax with a massive 189 points, having played in every single Premier League game this season.
Midfielder: Ryan Fraser
487 Points | 7 Goals | 14 Assists | 93 Key Passes
If I had to pick a Fantrax player of the season for 2018/19 it would, without question, be Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser. The Scot’s average draft position this summer was 139. He finished as the 6th highest scoring player in the whole game. Incredible. Why? A lot of that was down to a staggering 14 assists that he claimed. Similar to the aforementioned Maddison, Fraser will retain much more FPL value if he ignores the apparent attentions of Arsenal and stays with Bournemouth. With the form he’s shown throughout 2018/19, it’d be hard to begrudge him of his big move.
Midfielder: Bernardo Silva
410.5 Points | 7 Goals | 8 Assists
The guy who took Bernardo Silva in the second round of my main draft this season was ridiculed. He must have known something that no one else did at the time. Silva has had an incredible campaign, so much so that he looks to be the one player immune from Pep roulette. Early in the campaign, Guardiola said “it’s Bernardo Silva and 10 others” when he selects from his embarrassment of riches. Thanks to his sparkling campaign, Silva is now a genuine second round player in this summer’s drafts.
Forward: Sadio Mane
499 Points | 22 Goals | 3 Assists
Sadio Mane was the first forward to be voted into this team of the season and, as his final day brace gave him a share of the golden boot, it’s easy to see why. Mane went at the tail end of the first round or the start of the second round in most Fantrax drafts but his best Premier League season yet will surely see the Senegalese man promoted to 4th or 5th pick overall next season.
Forward: Mo Salah
568.5 Points | 22 Goals | 12 Assists
The one season wonder is in the conversation once again. Mo Salah had to settle for second place behind Eden Hazard in the overall rankings this season but with the Belgian all but confirming his departure from the Premier League, Salah will most likely be the 1st overall pick in most drafts once again this summer. You’re looking for 10 goals and 10 assists from your best player on your Fantrax roster. Once again, Salah has achieved that comfortably.
Fantasy Football 92 