What is your Twitter handle?
@FPL_Gaffer
Who do you support?
Southampton
Why do you support them?
Geographically closest Premier League side. I completed my teacher training in Southampton.
How often do you get to attend matches?
I’m working abroad right now, so not at all. Though I’m returning to the South East for the next academic year so I’d like to attend at least 10 games throughout the season.
Who is your favourite ever player?
Jorg Albertz (Glasgow Rangers) AKA The Hammer! Dad’s a Rangers fan and I was growing up, I still very much am. But I never get to go see them any more.
What win in your lifetime means the most to you?
Not necessarily a win, but when Saints qualified for Europe that was unreal. Rangers also making the European final young adulthood too.
Which goal meant the most?
I accidently placed a £100, instead of £10 bet on Barcelona when they were losing in the 85th minute (I’ll never remember who to). They scored twice in the last 5 minutes to win me £600!
Which team would you most like to beat this season?
Liverpool. No question.
Are you happy with your manager?
Early days, but it changes so much it’s hard to get fully settled but he kept us up and I can’t ask for much more right now.
Are you happy with your Board/Chairman?
They say the right things but actions speak louder than words. Where on Earth is the money that we’ve banked in the last 3-4 seasons? Certainly not reinvested in the squad or toilets at St Mary’s!
Where do you realistically think your club will finish this season?
We underperformed last season. We should be finishing top half.
What opposition player do you secretly admire?
Virgil Van Djik. Despite screwing us over.
Is there a youngster at the club who could become a regular in the side this season?
I’d love to see a lot of Josh Sims.
Who do you think will be your club’s top FPL points scorer this season?
Alex McCarthy. Ended the season very strong and I expect him to continue this. Brave backing a keeper. But, look at what happened with Swansea.
Can you tell us about your FPL history?
Been playing for about 5 seasons. Never really spent time understanding it fully and was outside the top million. Last two seasons I’ve been inside the top 300,000 – so hoping to build on that this season, which will be my first full season as part of the FPL community.
What would be a successful FPL finish for you this season?
I use too many differentials and try to be too clever with my captain picks. I will be approaching this season much differently and will be aiming to finish inside the top 50,000.
What formation do you generally favour for FPL?
3-5-2 generally suits me best. I like to have one premium and one mid-priced striker and three premium defenders. This usually leaves me with 5 mid-range midfielders.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned playing FPL?
Save the chips, including the wildcard. GW 3-6 is often when you feel your squad could use sharpening. Try to hold it for a little longer. The Free Hit chip I also blew on a weekend that looked like it had horrible fixtures. But, it had fixtures, which is what some gameweeks towards the end were short of.
When did you use your chips last season and was it successful?
I used my wildcard in GW6. I used my free hit when the top 6 were all playing each other and I used my bench boost and triple captain near the end. I will be saving my first wildcard and Free Hit next season.
Anything else we should know about you?
You may recognise my handle from @FPLAcademica – the home of differential 101. We’ll be building on a very successful debut season and teaming up with @The_FFAcademy to create the podcast: Academica Vortex so make sure you’re tuned in for all our updates. I’m generally very level headed and tend to call hypocrasy out on Twitter quite often. Can be quite controversial but feel I’m justified.