One Dream Team gaffer now £100 richer thanks to two hat-trick heroes – despite Park the Bus clanger!

FIRST things first, credit where it’s due to Samuel Bexton.

He earned a whopping 158 points in Gameweek 22 to beat every other Dream Team manager in the world to the £100 weekly prize.

But he did so in an unorthodox manner.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN £500 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

There’s a lot to admire about Samuel’s XI but for the sake of shared information, his sub-optimal use of the Park the Bus Booster has to be analysed.

Park the Bus is the most-powerful Booster in the game as it doubles the points of all your defenders for the duration of the Gameweek – essentially giving you extra captains.

To make the most of this special effect, you should use your transfers to ensure you have FIVE defenders in your team at the time Park the Bus is activated.

Whereas Samuel opted to play the precious Booster in Gameweek 22 despite having just three defenders in his team.

Kieran Trippier (£4.8m) played his part with a goal and an assist amid the chaos of Newcastle’s 4-4 draw with Luton for a nine-point return but Pedro Porro (£3.8m) and Matty Cash (£3.2m) combined for just four points.

All in all, Park the Bus earned Samuel an additional 13 points, which is significantly under par.

He would have been better off saving his best Booster for a future Gameweek where he could craft an XI with five defenders, all with two fixtures to fulfil.

While this alternate route would have been much better for Samuel in the context of the entire season, the fact remains that he wouldn’t have won £100 through Dream Team had he not activated Park the Bus, such are the fine margins at the top of the weekly leaderboard.

At the end of the day, he’s earned himself some spending money through a fantasy football game so he probably doesn’t care one jot that his strategy wasn’t fully optimised for maximum returns across the season – that’s the beauty of the weekly prize!

Now that we’ve picked holes in Samuel’s approach, let’s lavish him with overdue praise for his smart selections.

Emi Martinez (£3m) was the top-performing goalkeeper in Gameweek 22, mostly thanks to his nine-point return against Sheffield United.

Familiar favourites Cole Palmer (£4.2m) and Bukayo Saka (£5.5m) scored a goal each with the former benefiting from some extra points via his midweek outing at Villa Park.

And Kevin De Bruyne (£6m) continued his ominous comeback with fantastic assist against Brentford on Monday night as part of an eight-point haul.

However, Phil Foden (£5m) was the star of the show at the Gtech Community Stadium with a classy hat-trick.

The England international’s 21-point haul saw him draw level with Saka at the top of the overall season rankings.

But the Manchester City wonderkid wasn’t Samuel’s only hat-trick hero as Matheus Cunha (£4m) produced something very special against Chelsea for a massive 25-point return.

Samuel was among the 2.5% of gaffers who benefited from the Wolves forward’s latest exhibition – an inspired choice!

Captaining Ollie Watkins (£4m) always looked a smart decision as Villa had the luxury of playing the Blades prior to their FA Cup replay with Chelsea.

As it happens, Unai Emery’s men were soundly beaten by the Blues but their top scorer had already produced the goods in the form of FOUR goal involvements (one goal, three assists) against Chris Wilder’s beleaguered troops.

Last but not least, Samuel did very well to resist the temptation of Erling Haaland (£7.6m) as the Norwegian poacher was outscored by team-mate Julian Alvarez (£4.3m) in West London.

The World Cup winner registered eight points and was unlucky not to hit double figures as he notched five shots on target – it’s rare such a barrage doesn’t result in at least one goal.

Well played, Samuel – enjoy your winnings!

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk