The Elite XI: Team Reveal feature allows Fix Premium Plus members exclusive access to the greatest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers. The combined Elite XI boasts an extraordinary 36 top 5k finishes and 46 top 10k finishes. Offering real-time tracking data, push notifications and detailed insight into manager’s strategies, the Elite XI is unlike any other team reveal.
This weekly article will take you deep into the mindset of the world’s best FPL managers, allowing you to match your playing style to individual members of the Elite XI and use their incredible insight to help inform your own FPL decisions.
This week we talked to Mark Mansfield (Ginger Assassin) a true veteran of the game and a manager who boasts six top 5k finishes, seven top 10k finishes and came 227th in the world in the 2014/15 season. The longer you play FPL, the more of an accomplishment it is to maintain consistently lofty ranks, yet Mark has done this since 2006.
Mark doesn’t identify with any particular group when it comes to classifying his own playing style, describing himself instead as a ‘flexible opportunist’.
Maximum flexibility! I dip in and dip out of all the techniques (eye test, stats, models, etc). There is no one thing that I won’t do if I think it will get more points. I don’t follow any kind of dogma in FPL; whatever looks like it is going to work, I’ll do it. I know some people like to project a certain persona; I don’t care about any of that. I just do whatever will lead to the most points.
One of the reason’s Mark cites for having a flexible approach is the unpredictable nature of the Premier League. He believes that models alone cannot account for the unexpected happening. As a self-confessed ‘mercenary’, Mark is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to exploit.
There’s so much randomness and unpredictability across the season. I’m always waiting for something strange to happen – you know, an injury or something like that – so I can take advantage of it.
James Maddison scored an average of 5.2 points per game in the 2021/22 season - taken from the Opta Player Heatmaps tool
Mark has no problem taking points hits but recognises that there is an art to doing this successfully. He believes that taking hits for the right reasons is an important part of the game, but it is crucial to know when and when not to do it.
It’s fine to take a hit for captaincy, if you’re stuck. Or if you’re going to get absolutely destroyed if you don’t. So, if Haaland goes off in Week One and you don’t have him, a hit is fine. But if a Nottingham Forest guy goes off, you’re not taking hits there. In the final ten gameweeks of last season, I took a -12 twice. I wouldn’t portray myself as a risk taker, but I will do whatever it takes to get points and if I can get more points by taking a hit, I’ll do it, no problem.
As a veteran of the game, Mark remembers the pre-online era of playing fantasy football, when players made their weekly changes via telephone or the post. Perhaps, as a result, he is not overly keen on any of the chips and preferred the game before they were introduced. It is testament to his ability to adapt that Mark has maintained his consistently good record even after the introduction of elements he doesn’t like.
I don’t like any of the chips; it’s just randomness. I think it was better when people had to pay for their mistakes. When I get into chip season, my rank always goes up. They are good for me but I don’t like them from a purity point of view. The Wildcard is fine. It’s part of the game. The Bench Boost is an absolute waste, in fact, it is detrimental. It’s just a distraction; playing it is like removing a millstone from around your neck.
A common trait of consistently successful managers is the ability to objectively analyse their own season and be able to differentiate between bad decision-making and misfortune. In keeping with his self-described ‘flexible opportunist’ playing style, Mark strongly believes in the value of looking back to see where he has made mistakes, learn from them, and correct his style in the future.
The whole thing is error correction for me; I spend the whole season trying to identify my vices. ‘How did that happen? Why did you make that bad decision? How do you make it so that you don’t make that mistake again?’ Same at the end of the season, walk back through it, find the patterns that were wrong.
Mark’s favourite Fix features are the Fixture Planner and the Opta Stats Sandbox area. As regards the former, Mark particularly likes the fact that team’s difficulty ratings are dynamic and powered by the Algorithm.
The Fixture Planner tool is powered by the Algorithm and shows opposition difficulty (defence and attack) using colour-coded rankings
The Fixture Planner I find really good because it is simple but also unbiased. I don’t like these FDRs where someone has decided for you that, for example, Everton away is an easy game. I also like the Opta Stats Sandbox, especially because you can customise your own stats tables, which help me find players who stand out and aren’t being talked about.
Mark’s current draft reveals he may be opting for a 5-3-2 with a delicate balance of price points across his back line. Highly owned pair Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) and João Cancelo (£7m) will play alongside Kieran Trippier (£5m), James Justin (£4.5m) and Neco Williams (£4m) who, following a move to Nottingham Forest, is expected to be first choice.
This has enabled him to play two mid-range midfielders, Riyad Mahrez (£8m) and James Maddison (£8m) alongside Mohamed Salah (£13m). With so many promising midfield candidates in the mid-price range, Mark is maximising the opportunity to jump onto some of these assets early.
Riyad Mahrez scored 11 goals in the 2021/22 season but only started 42% of games - taken from the Opta Player Heatmaps tool
Interestingly, Mark is not following the crowd as regards his premium striker position and has opted for Harry Kane (£11.5m) – who is owned by 16% of managers – over the highly popular Erling Haaland (£11.5m), owned by over 64% of managers.
Track the best managers in real time - choose your favourite Elite XI members and sign up to their push notifications
If you would like to keep up-to-date with Mark’s moves, then head over to the Elite XI: Team Reveal area and sign up to his push notifications – this will ensure you can track his moves in real-time and stay one step ahead of your mini-league rivals.
Join 89% of our members who won their main mini-league last season.
TRY IT NOWAlready a Premium user? Login here
© fantasyfootballfix 2024 | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
