The Winning Team - Analysis

As Adrian Walshe begins life as a You The Manager champion, it's time to take a look at just how he went about winning our £120,000 top prize.

His initial picks were:

D James

M Dawson
S Campbell
M Taylor
B Assou-Ekotto

C Ronaldo
F Lampard
S Gerrard

L Lita
L Saha
B McCarthy

So, to secure a decent start, Adrian splashed the cash on a very strong midfield, a sound strategy given that by the end of the season the competition's top four points scorers all came from the middle of the park. Even veteran Gary Speed ultimately outscored all the defenders and goalkeepers, and trailed top strikers Rooney and Drogba by a mere three points.

A strong starting XI means very little, though, without prudent use of transfers when those crucial windows open. Adrian chose to make only one alteration to this team when the first window came, replacing the struggling Leroy Lita with Reading's surprise package, his team-mate Kevin Doyle. This proved a lucrative decision, as Doyle hit the goal trail, earning plenty of points for 'BazFran 17'.

It was a different story when the second window came, with Adrian choosing to make a radical overhaul of his team, implementing a massive seven transfers. Out went the entire back five, as it seemed that Adrian correctly recognised that Portsmouth's good defensive form could not last forever. In an inspired move, he brought in the entire Liverpool back five, probably the decision that went furthest to pushing his team to Fantasy Football glory. Liverpool's imperious defensive form over the next few months provided a points bonanza for the team that would ultimately net Adrian the £120,000 top prize. In order to fund this move, Adrian also replaced McCarthy and Gerrard with solid budget picks Ashley Young and Nwankwo Kanu.

When window three came along, Adrian used his four remaining transfers, setting up his team for the run-in. Crucially, he recognised that removing McCarthy and Taylor was not the best long-term strategy, and brought them back into the fold at the expense of Saha and Agger. Further changes came in the removal of Finnan and Kanu, to be replaced by Baines and Anelka.

This left a final eleven of:

J Reina

J Carragher
JA Riise
M Taylor
L Baines

A Young
F Lampard
C Ronaldo

B McCarthy
K Doyle
N Anelka


This was, of course, a huge risk, as Adrian had no transfers left from mid-January until the close of the season in May. Like all the best gambles, though, this one came off, and Adrian's players largely avoided injury and suspension for the crucial closing stages.

The only ever-presents in the line-up were the competition's two highest scoring players, Frank Lampard and Cristiano Ronaldo.

So, all things considered, this was a stellar performance from Adrian. Can you match, or even better his achievements next season? There's huge prize at stake if you think you have what it takes to be the next name in the You The Manager hall of fame!