One of the fastest growing fantasy games is the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) - a season-long version of fantasy soccer for the English Premier League (EPL). With millions of players each year, the FPL game is becoming a fixture for soccer enthusiasts across the globe.

Having played the game for the last twelve seasons and largely languished in mediocrity (apart from a top 30K finish in 2009/10), I was ready to finally put my largely wasted knowledge of football statistics to use and strive to become one of the game's elite players. Last season, I finished around the 250K mark and in the process won my family league - but that is not enough for me.

Tired of wasting my time with meaningless, emotion-fueled transfers, I have decided to make a concerted effort to not only destroy my fantasy league this year, but improve on last year's finish and - hopefully - have a good amount of fun in the process. Thanks for joining me on my journey through EPL's Fantasy Premier League. I hope you enjoy the embarrassment that is about to unfold and, just maybe, pick up a piece of advice from a self-described non-expert on the game.

EPL Diaries - Fantasy Premier League

The Squad:

GK: Rui Patricio (4.5M), Maarten Stekelenburg (4M)
DF: Benjamin Mendy (6M), Ben Mee (5M), Connor Coady (4.5M), Jan Bednarek (4M), Scott Malone (4M)
MF: Mohamed Salah (13M), Christian Eriksen (9.5M), Riyad Mahrez (9M), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7M), Dale Stephens (4.5M)
FW: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (11M) , Chris Wood (6.5M), Aleksandar Mitrovic (6.5M)

Analysis:

We've all been there - you make a squad as soon as the game becomes available, only to change it hundreds of times before the season truly starts. After playing with the various Salah vs No Salah variations to my lineup and spending many late nights attempting to justify my logic of neglecting to invest in defenders, I believe that I have a team that I will be happy with to start the season. Although my efforts will likely be destroyed by several factors that will seem to be out of my control (but, after painful later reflection, appear to be obviously my fault) and I will be forced to wildcard within the next few weeks, I still have hope that my team can produce at a certain level until that point.

Going with Rui Patricio as my starting goalkeeper seems to be a risky choice, but at $4.5M and the pedigree that he has it was too good to be true, even if he is playing for a newly promoted side. Nevertheless, I rate Wolves, making Patricio a good option to start the season. Hopefully I have enough ability to be able to scout out this season's Nick Pope - an undervalued goalkeeper who has a career season. I believe that Patricio may be that person this season, but this is purely based on "non-statistical analysis" and the fact that I think Wolves will have a good year. If Patricio doesn't perform in the first few weeks, it's an easy fix for me at the position given his price.

My three starting defenders are Benjamin Mendy, Ben Mee, and Connor Coady. Looking at that lineup on paper, I am not filled with promise. How did it get to be like this? Nevertheless, I still have some hope in the lads to perform early in the season. Mendy will hopefully not be injured in the first few weeks of the season and justify my selection of him over Liverpool's Andrew Robertsen. Man City seem to be thin at left back, so hopefully Mendy can capitalize on that and become a solid playmaker from the back line. Ben Mee was a very solid pickup for me last year (that I combined with Nick Pope, who I had from the week he became a starter) who was able to capitalize on Burnley's fantastic defensive form. Although I anticipate some regression from the team in the clean sheet department as a result of Europa League involvement and overachievement last year, hopefully they will start the season strong and carry on from where they left off last year. Finally, Connor Coady, the Wolves captain, gets slotted into my backline with a similar tactic to what I had last year - when Wolves keep a clean sheet, both Patricio and Coady will benefit. Alternatively, if Wolves are unable to do so on a consistent basis, things get a little trickier, as my backup defenders are $4M budget options who I hope will be starting-caliber players. Wish my defense luck.

In the midfield is where things get interesting. I ended up forgoing a balanced lineup and selecting Mohamed Salah to be my premium midfield option and captain. With his ridiculously high ownership levels in the game, not selecting him seems like too much of a risk for me if I want to finish in the top few thousand for the first time ever. Even with some regression, Salah should still be one of the top midfielders in the game, making him an indispensable option as an OOP midfielder. Christian Eriksen has been a stalwart in my fantasy team for the last few seasons, and at his price he once again finds himself in my lineup. I don't believe I will ever drop the Great Dane, even if he is put deeper in midfield. His weekly consistency is something I have witnessed firsthand for several seasons and he is a joy to watch - into my lineup you go, Christian.

Continuing my strategy of loading up on premium midfielders, I have gone with Riyad Mahrez as my third option. Although I plan on switching him out for Kevin De Bruyne (I have $1M in the bank) after the first few weeks, for now I will rely on the Algerian winger and Man City's record signing to score early in the season before making way to Guardiola's inevitable rotation policies. For my fourth midfielder, I have gone with a lower priced, high ownership player in Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Although there is always the risk that he is a rotational option, I believe that he will be a starter for the first few weeks at least and am also a believer in an Arsenal resurgence. Mkhitaryan was lethal for Borussia Dortmund and should find his form again if he is given the chance, making him a solid option as an OOP midfielder.

Up top, my premium forward is none other than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Banking on his connection with Mkhitaryan as well as his efficiency last season and throughout his career, the Gabonese speedster is a joy to watch. His high goal-scoring potential made him the choice for me over Roberto Firmino, who was a god-send for me last season. A difficult decision, to be sure, but one that I stand behind nonetheless (even though I am likely picking the wrong option, as per usual). My other two forwards are the true lottery tickets of my team - Chris Wood and Aleksandar Mitrovic, both $6.5M options who many believe are overvalued. However, I think that both represent fantastic value and could blow up the scoresheets early in the season. Although it is risky to have them both in my lineup, it is all that my budgets would allow. Furthermore, I believe that I can move my team around if I need to sell one of them, but the fact that both are the main strikers of their sides and had very good seasons last year is enough to get them in my lineup.

Well, that's my team, everyone. Hopefully "Martin's Meanies" don't completely embarrass themselves to open up the season, even with their abhorrent team name. If they do fail, however, there is always next season. Wish me luck this season; hopefully you stick around to see me fail a few times and perhaps even have a good week hidden in the mix.

That's all for this week - good luck gents!