Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
KingFut’s Omar Khairallah interviews the current number one in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Egypt’s Ahmad Fahmy, in a quest to understand more about his progress to the top of the infamous game; learning more about his strategies, patterns, and what differentiates him from the other three million players.
It’s not everyday when someone not only from your country, or city, or hometown, but from the same neighbourhood that tops the worldwide leaderboard of the world’s most famous sports fantasy game. Here at KingFut, we couldn’t miss the chance to interview the current number one in Fantasy Premier League, especially since he’s Egyptian.
Omar Khairallah: Good afternoon Ahmad. We’re very happy to have you on board to discuss Fantasy Premier League. Thank you for taking some time from your busy schedule to let our readers know more about your journey to the top of the FPL rankings worldwide.
Ahmad Fahmy: Good afternoon Omar. I’m very happy to be doing this interview. Let’s get cracking!
OK: First things first, how did you go on with planning your team in preseason? Did you focus on certain statistics? Any specific websites?
AF: Well as a start, I followed up with the pre-season games, at least the news you can’t really watch all pre-season games aside from your favourite team. I started mainly following the new signings, new managers and especially the record signings for each club, which became a trend these days. I only made my team like 3-4 days before the season starts. I had some players in mind like Mane, Lamela and Negredo. I had a feeling that these players would do something for their team. I didn’t really use stats or certain websites for that the start, but now I do to catch up with everything. P.S: Twitter is a life saver sometimes.
OK: How do you guarantee consistency for several gameweeks?
AF: Consistency is the keyword for this game, if you can guarantee consistency then you’ve already won the game. You need to always try to have a balanced team from the goalkeeper to the forwards. You also need to at least have 13 starters out of your 15 players, and always remember that your bench can sometimes be the key to glory. You need to plan forward for at least 4-5 gameweeks and always remember that it’s not the most expensive players.
OK: In your opinion, who are the the must-haves this season?
AF: A Liverpool midfielder, a Spurs defender, a budget goalkeeper, Sanchez and Aguero; even though I didn’t have Aguero for the past four gameweeks. My key strength this season was Chadli, he earned me 46 points since gameweek four.
OK: How do you decide on budget players?
AF: Well if you look into the league in a big picture, it’s not only big teams who score. Everyone is scoring, everyone is winning. Mid-table teams always have key players, and those are the ones who’ll shoot you up the table, just like Vardy and Mahrez last season for Leicester.
OK: How do you plan your transfers?
AF: First you analyse the fixtures difficulty for at least the upcoming three gameweeks, then you select two or three teams who are having an easy run. Start comparing their players and check the key players for each selected team then you do your quick analysis. Just a small note here, if you plan your transfers based on their points and you barely watch the games, you better quit the game.
OK: How long do you keep a player before selling?
AF: If he did not perform for three gameweeks in a row he’s out.
OK: Do you jump on popular bandwagons?
AF: Not at all, but I sometimes I use a different technique which is signing a famous player just to block him, and use my budget players as differentials. Works sometimes.
OK: How important is your ‘trust your gut’?
AF: Trust me, it’s the most important thing in the game. Otherwise you’ll be a boring player ending up ranked 2.7M overall.
OK: Do you try to watch all the matches?
AF: On Saturdays I watch most of them, yes. However, on Sundays it’s not easy to watch all of them but I still try my best to follow all the games.
OK: Which under the radar player do you tip to shine for the rest of the season?
AF: Chadli, Costa, Sterling, Sanchez and Lukaku.
Quick-Fire Questions:
- Aguero or Ibra? Aguero any day.
- Best budget player? Chadli
- De Gea, Cech, Lloris, or a budget keeper? Heaton or Foster for me.
- One player from Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and City: Sanchez, Coutinho, Costa and Aguero.
- Will Son continue his form? It already stopped, no?
- Who’ll be this season’s Alli and Vardy? Chadli and Lukaku.
- One captain for the rest of the season? #AlwaysCaptainAguero just to maintain the lead and block others from overtaking me.
KingFut would like to thank Ahmad for his valuable time and advice and wishes him the best of luck in his current Fantasy Premier League endeavours.
