Basingstoke Rejects manager Steve Rayner (right) was crowned as champion of the TopUp Tax Fantasy Football League for the 2013-14 season.
Steve, who is the Taxassist franchise holder in Basingstoke, was a dark horse. He rose to prominence in the league’s Southern Division during the early part of the season, and then left everyone else in his wake when he entered the 136-tream AccountingWEB/TopUp Tax main league in January.
So how did the champ react when he heard the big news?
“It’s very pleasing, actually,” answered Steve, adding, “I’m not a football supporter, so I don’t try and build a team. I try to put together a selection of point-scoring opportunities.”
Spoken like a true accountant.
Statistical prowess and consistency were the hallmarks of the Rejects’ march to glory, which saw Steve gain 2,483pts and 713th place in the 3.2m strong Fantasy Premier League.
His final selection (pictured right) ended up with a 3-4-3 formation packed with free-scoring attackers Suarez, Giroud and Aguero, along with creative midfielders of the calibre of Juan Mata and Christian Eriksen alongside Yaya Toure (top midfield player this year) and Aaron Ramsay, who replaced Steve Gerrard for the run-in.
The defence was another matter, featuring “who’s he play for?” journeymen such as Stoke’s Marc Wilson and Crystal Palace’s Joel Ward.
This pattern is all part of Rayner’s masterplan. “I do try to get defenders as cheaply as possible. Attackers tend to score more points overall, while you can pay twice as much for the bigger name defenders than a cheaper player who will score a reasonable level.”
While professing not to be much of a fan, after playing fantasy football for four years Steve admits, “I am starting to enjoy football.”
Where before he never used to give more than five minutes’ thought to the game, he admits to occasionally watching Match of the Day to cast an eye on his team. With his Basingstoke Rejects performing so well through the season, he says, “It’s become a pleasure to watch.”
Steve will be presented with a trophy for his efforts this year, along with the customary Marks & Spencer voucher courtesy of our league sponsors, TopUp Tax.
Also receiving prizes are our regional winners, who all put up excellent performances over the past nine months.