Dream Team

DREAM TEAM gaffers are inherently a greedy bunch.This season we’ve been spoiled by the likes of Erling Haaland (£9m), Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) and plenty of other free-scoring forwards and yet the hunger for more potentially prolific poachers never ceases.
Enter Evan Ferguson (£3m).
A future starCredit: GETTY
The 18-year-old is enjoying a breakout season at Brighton having been a first-team regular since December.
On Sunday, the Republic of Ireland forward scored two goals in a game for the first time in his professional club career as the Seagulls made light work of Grimsby to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Obviously there are caveats when a Premier League player comes up against a side in the bottom half of League Two but Ferguson showed his class, particularly with the Bergkamp/Berbatov-esque touch that preceded his first goal.
Solly March (£3.8m) actually scooped the Star Man award when all was said and done but Ferguson banked 13 Dream Team points at the Mariners’ expense for his biggest single-game haul yet.
The talented teenager has scored seven goals and provided three assists in 16 appearances this season.
Those numbers boil down further for an average of one goal involvement every 86 minutes.
To put his efforts into perspective, only five strikers average more than his four points-per-game this term: Haaland, Rashford, Ivan Toney (£6.3m), Mohamed Salah (£8.7m) and Harry Kane (£7.8m).
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Needless say, all those assets are at least twice as expensive as Ferguson.
A welcome sight for Irish eyesCredit: GETTY
It may be a relatively small sample size but those stats have put the Brighton youngster on the radar, if not for the remainder of 2022/23 then for future campaigns.
It’s not just Ferguson’s raw numbers that have fans excited, it’s the nature of his performances too.
He’s leaps and bounds ahead of most forwards his age in terms of physicality but he’s already shown a deftness of touch that indicates he’s more than a bullying target man.
The stars seemed to have aligned to aid him in the infancy of his career with Roberto De Zerbi encouraging enterprising attacking play that generates plenty of chances and a host of in-form midfielders providing a healthy supply line in March, Alexis Mac Allister (£3.4m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£4.2m).
All 6ft 2in of himCredit: GETTY
If the south coast club end up qualifying for a European competition at the climax of this season, something they will feel confident of achievement, then they will have extra fixtures to bolster their schedule in 2023/24.
It’s not unthinkable that Ferguson will be the starting striker for an attacking team as busy as any other fixture-wise next season.
If that’s the case then he’s likely to be a value-for-money option worth serious consideration. More

CAN you believe that Gareth Southgate has picked (insert a player you don’t like) over (insert a player from your club in decent form) again? The man’s clueless!Now that’s out of the way we can get down to the (un)serious business of selecting a hypothetical England XI using this season’s Dream Team points.
Generally, we let the players’ current totals determine the line-up but we had to intervene on occasion to ensure the team adopted a semi-realistic structure – for example, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.3m) misses out despite being among the top four defenders in terms of points because it would be ludicrous to select him as a centre-back.
Let’s get into it…
GOALKEEPER: Aaron Ramsdale (£3.7m)
All smiles when you’re top of the leagueCredit: GETTY
In reality, Jordan Pickford (£1.9m) is the Three Lions’ No1 but the Everton custodian is just the fourth-best asset in his position among his compatriots.
Nick Pope (£4.2m) leads the way but we’ve omitted him because he has withdrawn from Southgate’s squad with an injury concern.
And so it’s Arsenal’s keeper who takes the gloves for us by virtue of his 86 points – 35 short of Pope’s tally but 40 more than Pickford has mustered.
Ramsdale is neck-and-neck with the Newcastle man in the race for the Golden Glove with both having contributed to 12 clean sheets in the Premier League so far this campaign.
DEFENDERS: Kieran Trippier (£5.8m), Ben White (£4.3m), Dan Burn (£4.3m), Luke Shaw (£4.4m)
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Unlucky to miss out?Credit: GETTY
Trippier (195 points), Shaw (128) and White (128) actually make up the podium places among Dream Team defenders this term, suggesting England have the luxury of in-form players at their disposal in defence.
In reality, Southgate has overlooked Arsenal’s No4, much to the bewilderment of the Emirates faithful.
White has predominately played as a right-back in recent times but he’s a centre-back by trade so he can easily slide into the middle for the purposes of this exercise.
It’s a similar story for Burn too who used to play as a centre-back alongside White at Brighton but now occupies the left-back slot in Eddie Howe’s frugal back four.
The clean sheets may have dried up for the Magpies in recent weeks but they still boast the best defensive record in the league and the 6ft 7in defender’s total of 112 points remains highly impressive.
Interestingly, Southgate’s long-established first-choice partnership of John Stones (£5.6m) and Harry Maguire (£4m) are nowhere near our line-up.
MIDFIELDERS: Bukayo Saka (£5.3m), Phil Foden (£5m), James Ward-Prowse (£3.6m), Solly March (£3.8m)
Saka is in tremendous formCredit: GETTY
Okay, here’s where we get really funky.
4-4-2 is the best formation if we hope to forge a semi-realistic line-up.
Saka is nailed-on at right wing as they only Premier League player with 10+ goals and 10+ assists to his name at this stage of the campaign.
Arsenal’s No7 has been inspirational in his side’s title challenge this season and his tally of 172 points (helped by a haul of 20 at the weekend) makes him the third-best midfielder in Dream Team right now – only Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) and Bruno Fernandes (£6.2m) are above him in the rankings.
Foden is fourth in the list having plundered 152 points overall despite a relatively barren run after the World Cup when affected by injuries.
The Manchester City wonderkid will be our No10 meaning Ward-Prowse will have to sit.
Southampton’s skipper has done brilliantly to amass 99 points given his side’s place in the table (20th) and of course he’ll be on free-kicks.
March madness!Credit: GETTY
Lo and behold, March is our other winger having registered 115 points, only seven midfielders have produced more to date this term.
Brighton have entertained under Roberto De Zerbi’s guidance and we certainly don’t mind the idea of England borrowing a piece from the Seagulls’ enterprising set-up – Southgate’s side are prone to risk-adverse football which can frustrate fans.
The elephant in the room here is Jude Bellingham, who isn’t subject to Dream Team scoring while an employee of Borussia Dortmund.
A quick check of WhoScored suggests the talented teenager would have earned seven Star Man awards this season which is equal to Erling Haaland’s (£9m) tally…
FORWARDS: Harry Kane (£7.8m, Ivan Toney (£6.3m)
England’s top marksman
Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) would have led the line for us had he not also withdrawn from the squad with an injury problem – he’s amassed a whopping 256 points, the most of any Englishman.
As a result, we’re aligned with reality with Kane as the focal point and you’ll get no complaints from us – Tottenham’s season is collapsing as the conclusion draws nearer but their all-time top scorer has pulled his weight and more.
The 29-year-old has 23 goals in all competitions with 21 coming in the league – only runaway poacher Haaland has more domestically.
Kane has produced 205 points and is once again on track to finish among the very best Dream Team assets of the season.
Last but not least, a deserved place for Toney, who should have made his actual England debut a while ago.
Brentford’s top scorer has 17 goals and five assists in 27 appearances this season for a return of 155 Dream Team points.
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Here’s the full team presented through the prism of classic Football Manager graphics…
Unlikely…Credit: SHAREMYTACTICS
There’s slim to nil chance you’ll see this line-up in reality but the Dream Team rankings must be respected – are you reading, Gareth? More

THE international break has cut Game Week 27 shorter than most but Mass Hosseini won’t be complaining.He racked up 125 points at the weekend, making him the Game Week’s outright top gaffer.
Let’s take a closer look at his XI to see how he did it…
A lot of Manchester with a sprinkling of north London
David de Gea (£3.9m) failed to keep a clean sheet at home to Fulham but it proved to be a decisive weekend for the Spaniard as the three points he earned for a 7+ rating meant he overtook Nick Pope (£4.2m) to become Dream Team’s top goalkeeper.
Similarly, Luke Shaw (£4.4m) compensated for the Cottagers’ goal with an assist for Marcel Sabitzer (£2.2m) to bank five points, promoting to second in his position overall – Kieran Trippier (£5.8m) remains top dog by a distance among defenders.
It was smooth sailing for Manchester City in their FA Cup quarter-final as they dispatched Burnley 6-0.
Kyle Walker (£3.5m) and Ruben Dias (£6.2m) both added 7+ ratings to the clean sheet to combine for 16 points.
The former is actually the worst-performing defender among Pep Guardiola’s squad from a Dream Team perspective this season with 46 points while the Portuguese centre-back is the best with 114 points, a total bettered by just seven defenders overall.
Dream Team’s new top goalkeeperCredit: GETTY
Mass’ midfield features the best-performing quartet of the season and it was Bukayo Saka (£5.3m) who enjoyed himself the most at the weekend with a brace and an assist against Crystal Palace – a performance that earned him the Star Man award as well.
Bruno Fernandes (£6.2m) wasn’t far behind having benefited most from Fulham’s implosion – he converted the penalty before sealing his side’s place in the semi-finals with a stoppage-time thump.
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Neither Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) or Phil Foden (£5m) got on the scoresheet against the Clarets but they assisted half the goals between them for a combined 12 points.
Mind you, it’s not like Mass missed out on City’s rampage as he backed Julian Alvarez (£3.6m) as well as Erling Haaland (£9m), who is something of an obligatory inclusion at this stage.
The Norwegian poacher his SIXTH hat-trick of the season but it was actually the Argentine World Cup winner who claimed the Star Man award by virtue of his expert brace.
Alvarez has 109 points to his name in total despite playing a subsidiary role for most the campaign.
Not a bad back-up option…Credit: GETTY
Last but not least, Tottenham may be imploding at the back end of this season but Harry Kane (£7.8m) continues to provide healthy returns for his owners.
The England captain scored his 21st Premier League goal of the campaign as Antonio Conte’s side drew 3-3 with Southampton on Saturday.
In doing so, he became the fourth player to breach the 200-point mark in 2022/23.
Superb effort, Mass, good luck to you everyone else in Game Week 28, which will get underway once the international break is done and dusted. More

THERE was a changing of the guard in Dream Team this weekend that may have gone unnoticed.Having led the way among goalkeepers since the first month of the season, Nick Pope (£4.2m) has finally been dethroned, with David de Gea (£3.9m) taking up the mantle.
Neither man kept a clean sheet but the Spaniard leapfrogged the England international by virtue of a 7+ rating against Fulham, something Pope failed to achieve away to Nottingham Forest on Friday night.
De Gea now holds a slim one-point lead over Newcastle’s custodian (122 points to 121) but with Manchester United still active in the FA Cup and the Europa League, it seems likely the former will finish as the top asset in his position given the extra fixtures at his disposal.
Nick Pope with all the clean sheets he’s kept in the last two monthsCredit: GETTY
This ascension links to a question tens of thousands of Dream Team gaffers have been asking of late: where have Newcastle’s clean sheets gone?
The Magpies haven’t repelled their opponents since January 24th when they beat Southampton 1-0 in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.
They have conceded in eight consecutive fixtures since which, naturally, has resulted in a serious drop-off in returns for Pope and the defenders ahead of him.
Kieran Trippier (£5.8m) remains the leading asset in his position by a huge margin (67 points to be exact) but it’s notable that he’s registered just 16 points across his last eight outings – an average of two points-per-game in this spell represents a massive reduction from his season average of 5.7.
For a long time, Fabian Schar (£3.8m) held second place among defenders but he’s recently been overtaken by Luke Shaw (£4.4m), Ben White (£4.3m) and Gabriel (£3.9m).
The Swiss centre-back has incurred minus three points across his last eight games!
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Still Dream Team’s top defenderCredit: GETTY
Eddie Howe’s side still boast the best defensive record in the Premier League having conceded just 19 goals in 2022/23, six fewer than Manchester City, and no goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets than Pope but Dream Team bosses should always pay attention to recent form.
Trippier and company have provided twice as many points as expected this season but it’s simply a fact that Arsenal, Man City and Man United defenders (even with the 7-0 thumping at Anfield) have all proved to be better options in the last two months.
Pope, Schar and Trippier are all among the most-popular assets in their position but their backers have a decision to make during the international break.
In regards to the England right-back, his ability to earn regular 7+ ratings without clean sheets, plus his creative output, means he’s got more credit in the bank than his peers but the others probably need to go. More

IT turns out Erling Haaland was just toying with Dream Team gaffers.Between Game Weeks 20 and 26, the Norwegian poacher trundled along at a relatively modest rate while Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) closed the gap at the top of the rankings.
At one point, it looked as if it was only a matter of time before Manchester United’s homegrown hero would ascend to the throne.
However, Manchester City’s No9 has responded with a frankly ridiculous 66 points across the last two Game Weeks to reassert his dominance.
A centre-back’s worst nightmare
This explosive burst started with a clutch penalty at Selhurst Park but he truly burst into life with FIVE goals past RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Haaland was withdrawn just after the hour mark on Tuesday night having plundered 38 points at the expense of the Bundesliga club.
He then registered his sixth (yes, SIXTH) hat-trick of the season at home to Burnley on Saturday as Pep Guardiola’s side booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a comfortable 6-0 victory over the Championship leaders.
The Norwegian poacher’s treble against the Clarets, again produced in just over an hour, resulted in a 23-point influx.
Suddenly, Haaland is 88 points clear of Rashford at the top of Dream Team’s rankings and the contest for individual supremacy once again looks to be a procession.
A proper No9Credit: GETTY
Having moved onto 344 points overall, he’s now odds-on to breach the 400-mark before the campaign’s end, something achieved only once before in Dream Team history.
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Cristiano Ronaldo became a quadruple centurion in 2007/08, the season that resulted in the first of his five Ballons d’Or, and while the likes of Mohamed Salah (£8.7m) and Harry Kane (£7.8m) have come close since, the Portuguese’s record tally has never truly been threatened.
With 42 goals in all competitions so far this term, Haaland has to be considered a phenomenon regardless but how close will he get to Ronaldo’s all-time record of 477 points?
A memorable seasonCredit: GETTY
He’s 133 adrift of that humongous tally at this stage meaning he needs to average approximately 10.2 points every Game Week from now until the end of the season.
To put that into perspective, he averages 9.6 points-per-game so far this term.
With Man City likely to make the FA Cup final and intent on Champions League glory, Haaland will have more fixtures at his disposal than most.
Whatever happens, the prolific 22-year-old’s debut Dream Team campaign will be remembered as one of the most spectacular introductions in the history of the game. More

RARELY have a team capitulated in such a short space of time as Fulham did at Old Trafford on Sunday.The visitors were leading with a quarter of the game still to play when Willian (£3.2m) was sent off for a handball on the line.
Amid the VAR deliberations, Marco Silva was shown a red card for his complaints before Aleksandar Mitrovic (£3.8m) was dismissed for a brainless shove on referee Chris Kavanagh, making it a trio of reds in a mad minute that ultimately cost the Cottagers a place in the FA Cup semi-final.
Erik ten Hag’s side rallied to win 3-1 with Bruno Fernandes (£6.2m) being the main beneficiary from a Dream Team perspective.
The Portugal international converted the resulting penalty from said handball, added the cherry on top with a thumping stoppage-time strike, and claimed the Star Man award to bank 18 points when all was said and done.
A monumental head lossCredit: GETTY
And so it proved to be the 28-year-old’s biggest single-game haul of the campaign so far, one that moved him onto 200 points overall.
Fernandes is the first midfielder to become a double centurion this term with his closest rival, Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m), now 20 points adrift.
Manchester United’s No8 has been on a tear of late, registering 80 points across the last seven Game Weeks.
What’s really interesting is that Dream Team gaffers still prefer the aforementioned De Bruyne by a considerable degree.
The Belgian playmaker is over twice as popular as Fernandes, as is Bukayo Saka (£5.3m).
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Phil Foden (£5m) and Martin Odegaard (£3.7m) also feature in more teams than the game’s leading midfielder, whose ownership reads 19.4% currently.
The Arsenal and Manchester City assets remain excellent options of course but it feels as if Fernandes’ supremacy isn’t being properly recognised.
Dream Team’s top midfielderCredit: GETTY
Not only that, it’s a great time to back Man United assets more generally as the Red Devils remain in contention for the FA Cup and Europa League having already lifted the Carabao Cup.
These extracurricular pursuits will ensure the Old Trafford residents are among the busiest set of players for the remainder of the campaign – more fixtures equals more points.
Marcus Rashford (£6.7m), David de Gea (£3.9m) and Luke Shaw (£4.4m) are all superb options and Fernandes deserves to be mentioned in the same breath.
The latter may be prone to the odd meltdown when things aren’t going his way but his talent can’t be denied.
He has ten goals and 12 assists to his name in all competitions and no player has earned more 7+ ratings at this stage of the season.
Fernandes has TEN fixtures scheduled for April once the international break is complete! More

THE likes of Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m), Mohamed Salah (£8.9m) and Harry Kane (£7.5m) have plundered plenty of Dream Team points so far this season but their success is almost taken for granted at this stage of their careers.Gaffers will always rely on a host of big names but it’s often the savvy differentials who make the difference when it comes to the mini-league rankings.
This season has featured its fair share of surprise packages and here we’ve identified the five most impactful.
Fabian Schar (£4m)
A clean sheet machine
Newcastle’s defensive dominance has been one of the defining features of this Dream Team campaign.
The Magpies have conceded just 18 league goals this term, seven fewer than Manchester City and Arsenal, the next-best defences.
Kieran Trippier (£6m) leads the way among defenders with 192 points and while the extent of his success has been a surprise, the fact he was among the most-selected players prior to Game Week 1 is proof that gaffers had faith in him.
In contrast, few if any would have anticipated the Swiss centre-back’s towering points tally.
Schar made his intentions clear with a 18-point haul in Game Week 1 and his current total of 126 is still only bettered by Trippier overall.
The 31-year-old started at just £2million and has returned 15 clean sheets to date – gaffers who jumped on early were handsomely rewarded.
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Kaoru Mitoma (£3.9m)
A breakout starCredit: getty
Brighton’s No22 averages 4.4 points-per-game, a rate only bettered by Phil Foden (£5.2m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) among midfielders to have played at least three games.
A skilful winger, Mitoma has scored eight goals and provided four assists in the last 14 Game Weeks for one of the league’s most enterprising attacking outfits.
Solly March (£3.5m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£3.2m) have also benefited from Roberto De Zerbi’s entertaining tactics but it’s the Japan international who leads the way among the trio with 109 points.
He’s the leading asset in his position among those without European commitments to bolster his schedule – and he didn’t register his first point until Game Week 12!
Gabriel Martinelli (£3.7m)
A soon-to-be Premier League champion?Credit: GETTY
In many ways, Arsenal as a whole have been the surprise package of the season.
The Gunners failed to make top four in 2021/22 but are in a great position to win the Premier League this term with 11 fixtures remaining.
And their Brazilian No11 has more than played his part with 12 league goals, including five in his last five outings.
Bukayo Saka (£5.4m) and Gabriel Jesus (£5.3m) were well backed back in August but it soon became apparent that Martinelli was the value-for-money goal threat.
The 21-year-old’s form deserted him briefly but he’s responded brilliantly in recent weeks and is now the sixth-best forward in the game.
Having previously been either a rotation option or an impact substitute, Martinelli is now firmly a regular and, given his age, he should only get better in the coming years.
Miguel Almiron (£3.3m)
The season of his lifeCredit: GETTY
The Paraguayan winger has scored more Premier League goals this season than in his previous four campaigns combined!
That stat alone justifies his presence in this list as many of the Dream Team managers who previously wouldn’t have given him a second thought have transferred him into their XIs in recent months.
Only five players have netted more than Almiron’s 11 league goals and he’s among the eleven midfielders with a century of points to their names.
And like Mitoma, he’s done it without European fixtures.
Casemiro (£3.1m)
Look at the broader picture
A pair of red cards have checked the five-time Champions League winner’s progress of late but in the context of the whole season he deserves plenty of praise.
He too is among the select group of midfielders on 100+ points having provided superb value-for-money from the get-go.
Casemiro arrived at Manchester United as a decorated, world-class player but the reason his success in the world of Dream Team has come as a surprise is because he primarily does the dirty work in midfield.
Defensive anchors are a vital component of any team but, generally speaking, Dream Team gaffers should utilise wingers, playmakers and borderline second strikers when selecting their midfield.
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Old Trafford’s new favourite Brazilian has improved the solidity of Erik ten Hag’s side but he’s also chipped in with ten goal involvements (five goals, five assists).
Of course, he’s now got to serve a four-game domestic suspension so his backers will need to find a replacement. More