Surprise packages and major disappointments of the season

The Fantasy Football season always throws up plenty of surprises, and You The Manager 2006/07 was no exception. Who could have foreseen Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring more points than Thierry Henry? Or Stephen Hunt and Ashley Young claiming more points than Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes? Let's take a look at this season's best and worst performers for each position.

Goalkeepers

Pepe Reina was, perhaps predictably, the top 'keeper this season, with 123 points. But few could have foreseen that another early favourite, Jens Lehmann of Arsenal, would come in a lowly eighth position. The big man started 36 games, one more than Reina managed, but kept only 10 clean sheets in that time. Arsenal were, of course, missing defensive lynchpin William Gallas for a good portion of the season, but still, you'd hope they could keep more clean sheets than Reading (13) and Aston Villa (12). Lehmann's special talent for attracting the attention of referees also played a part in his downfall - he collected a remarkable eight bookings this term, despite hardly committing a foul.

The best value player in this position was Reading's Marcus Hahnemann. At just £2.0m, the big American collected 82 points, including 13 clean sheets, and started every single Premiership game.

Defenders

The leader in this category was Matt Taylor, boosted by the fact that he spent a good portion of the season playing in midfield. At just £5.0m, he outshone many of his higher priced rivals.

Nicky Shorey was another great value pick at £2.0m, grabbing 87 points and forcing himself onto the radar of any serious Fantasy Manager.

Major disappointments for Fantasy Managers included Manchester United duo Mikael Silvestre and Gabriel Heinze. At £7.0m apiece, they garnered just 32 and 29 points respectively. Philippe Senderos was another underperformer - at a hefty £6.5m, a combination of injuries and poor form meant that he could manage only 14 points.


Midfielders

Cristiano Ronaldo's excellent season for Manchester United meant that he was the season's stand-out performer, scoring 212 points, with Chelsea rival Frank Lampard not far behind. They both seem to have made cemented their positions as essential picks for any team with ambitions of winning the top prize next season.

Ashley Young was the season's surprise package in midfield, earning 120 points for a meagre asking price of £2.0m. Villa's former Watford man is a prime example of a player capable of making the step up from the Championship to the Premiership - so perhaps studying the form players from this season's promoted clubs is the key to ensuring that you spot all the bargains!

Chelsea's Joe Cole was the season's major disappointment in midfield - bad luck with injuries meant that he could score only 14 points. Similar tales of woe affected the scoring potential of big-money buys Arjen Robben, Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill. Others, like Kevin Nolan and Freddie Ljungberg, could not recapture their devastating points-scoring form of previous seasons, and also represented poor value for our Fantasy Managers.

Strikers

Big names like Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba had great seasons, and dominate the top of our leaderboard.

But there are still some great-value picks jostling for position with these heavyweights - Gabby Agbonlahor surpassed all expectations by achieving a score of 121 points at an asking price of just £2.5m, while Reading's Kevin Doyle scored 116 and would only have set you back £3.0m. Nwankwo Kanu turned back the clock to notch 10 goals and 111 points, proving that a change of scenery can really revitalise a player.

There were many let-downs for our Fantasy Managers among the list of expensive forwards. Injury blighted the seasons of popular picks Michael Owen and Thierry Henry, though the latter remained the fourth most selected player by the end of the season. The likes of Marlon Harewood and Mido failed to reproduce their goalscoring form of last season, and at £7.0m each, they proved poor value indeed.

A special word, too, for Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko - hailed as the solution to Chelsea's striking problems, the £31m man was outplayed and outgunned by his team-mate Didier Drogba. As he struggled to impress boss Jose Mourinho, his touch deserted him in front of goal, scoring only four Premiership goals and finishing behind the likes of Kieron Dyer and Hameur Bouazza in the race for the golden boot.

The key question is, who will be next season's great value players - Sunderland's Daryl Murphy or Carlos Edwards? Birmingham's Colin Doyle or Cameron Jerome? Or perhaps a player already plying his trade in the Premiership - a resurgent Michael Owen under the guidance of Big Sam, one last big season for the likes of Giggs or Ljungberg, or even a wounded Andriy Shevchenko with a point to prove?

If you can sort the Premiership wheat from the chaff, you could be one step closer to the You The Manager hall of fame!