The return of this blog coincides with an early return of the English Premier League. That also means a return of the Fantasy Premier League on Friday night, when Crystal Place host Arsenal. I have addressed this issue a number of times in the past, most recently here in 2017.
The game is a great lesson in opportunity cost. A budget constraint of £100 million pounds is applied to all players as they seek to maximize the impact of their spending. The graphics below present the most and least expensive teams available at the start of the 2022/23 season. The latter costs just £64 million, while the former is unobtainable, costing £129 million.
The team on the right is the least expensive team, with the highest points during the 2021/22 season. For example, Brandon Williams is just £4 million but score the most points for a £4 million pound defender during 2021/22. All 15 players scored at least 1 point during 2021/22. Of course, the trick of the game is to try and get as close to the team on the left, with a budget constraint of £100 million.
Every season highly productive players emerge that are great value for money. Selecting these early in the season is often the difference between a good and poor league campaign. It will be interesting to compare these teams in May 2023. No doubt some of those on the left will prove to be inefficient while some of those on the right could prove to be valuable assets.