“I’ve been doing Dream Team for 20 years,” Jeff Hannell told The Sun after he was confirmed as the winner of Dream Team’s season fantasy game for 2023/24. “I remember when you had to phone up to make changes!”
Experienced gaffer Jeff racked up a whopping 4,329 points to land the £50,000 top prize, beating over 325,000 rivals worldwide.
In an interview with The Sun, the 68-year-old West Ham fan revealed that while he’s played Dream Team for many years, this past season was the first time he set his sights on the overall leaderboard.
“I’ve had some health problems since I retired,” Jeff told us. “Rather than just trying to win my Mini League, this year I decided to take it seriously. I was looking at statistics, which I’ve never done before.
“Being retired and having things that I normally do taken away from me because of these heart problems… Dream Team’s been a saviour for me this last season because I can put all my effort into it.”
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Jeff’s focused approach coincided with several improvements to Dream Team’s fantasy game, from a new scoring system to the revised transfer allocation.
“Short-term thinking, rather than monthly planning, suited me more,” he explained.
“I think The Sun Dream Team is the near-perfect format this year. I did FPL [Fantasy Premier League] for the first time this year but I just think Dream Team is the best out there.
“You’ve got the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup, European competitions. I think you’ve got it near-perfect now! I can’t praise you enough really.”
Jeff was happy to reveal the key players that set him apart from the rest.
“I owned 55 players during the season. Ones that spring to mind… obviously Palmer. Kudus. Luis Diaz I had at times when nobody else did. I had Foden all season, from the start.
“Around Christmas time, I was looking for players other managers in the top 20 or top 100 didn’t have. I brought in Eze for a one-week punt. I bought Isak in at the right time. I brought in Jackson at Chelsea towards the end.”
Jeff’s decisive stroke of genius came in the form of a brave captaincy choice in Gameweek 34 that saw him back Erling Haaland over Ollie Wakins, despite the latter having a fixture advantage.
“Towards the end, I had Haaland as captain and only 15 out of the top 100 had him. Everyone else went Watkins because he had two games. I stuck with Haaland and he scored four goals [against Wolves]. That shot me up to first place!”
That inspired decision put Jeff in pole position but his victory wasn’t confirmed until the final whistle of the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City at Wembley.
“Coming into the final weeks I must have changed my mind about players 25 times. I was nervous watching the cup final. My pulse rate was racing. I’ve never been in this position before or taken it this seriously.
“As it worked out, even though I had a lot of Man City players and they got beat, I was still picking up three or four points, which was enough.”
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Jeff described the moment his triumph was secured as “a release of tension” and revealed a heartwarming moment among the subsequent celebrations.
“I was keeping a check on the people chasing me and I knew I’d won it. I went out to celebrate with friends. The bar I go to, that my friend owns, they all stood up and applauded me.”
Jeff was keen to give thanks for the advice offered to him via YouTube by Dream Team Tonic and Dream Team Professor, recommending both channels to Dream Team bosses of all levels.
“They’re really informative and really helpful. And they’re good lads.”
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With £50,000 pocketed from the domestic season, Jeff is now turning his attention to Dream Team’s Euros fantasy game.
“I’ve never done the World Cup or the Euros with Dream Team before but I like to think I might be on a roll,” he said.
Without giving too much away, Jeff revealed some of his plans with the deadline for Matchday 1 fast approaching.
“I’m looking to go for a cheap defence and goalkeeper, then try load up on midfielders and strikers because there’s now six points for a goal.
“I’ve only got two England players. I’ve had Kane in and out after their poor performance the other day. Obviously England are favourites but I can’t quite see that.”
Jeff predicted a Portugal v France final when asked about which teams he fancies to do well this summer, perhaps another indication of his Dream Team Euros strategy.
Naturally, gaffers new to the world of Dream Team should heed advice from a man who has proved himself to be the best in the world this past year.
“Look for as many helpful tips as you can,” Jeff offered as introductory advice. “I like to see players coming into form so I would say try watch as many games as you can. If I see a player I quite like the look of, I look up the statistics.”
Inspired by Jeff’s victory? Sign-up to play Dream Team Euros now and you could be celebrating a big win of your own in July!
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
