The Hype Train's 2015/16 FPL Season Awards
The Hype Train has nearly come to the end of its coverage of the 2015/16 FPL season, and it's been one long, memorable journey. The Season Awards, celebrating the FPL's best individual performers and moments will act as a snapshot to commemorate the final days of the season. Soon, hype and excitement for the 2016/17 season will take over, but before that we honour those who served FPL players well for the past 10 months. It's award season.
The Hype Train's 2015/16 Team of the Season
A tremendous season of Premier League football is well and truly over. In relation to Leicester City taking the crown of Champion, even though we want it to be the case between now and the end of time, a feat of that magnitude that might never be repeated again. This one in a lifetime season dictated the destiny of the Fantasy Premier League, and in The Hype Train's frantic debut season we've had the challenge of assembling the Avengers of the FPL. Our 2015/16 Team of the Season truly represents the unpredictable flavour of the season, and is capped off by the unveiling of our Player of the Season. Not many guesses are needed to guess who was in contention for that latter award. Sit back, enjoy the graphics that we've crafted, and if by any chance you are reading this as a nostalgic memento, we hope that you were part of this fantastic season, both real and fantasy. It's been a first class journey.
To read our full Team of the Season article, click here, or on cover star Riyad Mahrez below.
Category One: Goalkeeper of the Season
First up, the four nominees for the Goalkeeper award reflects another Premier League season, where most of the shot stoppers on display, are among the best in the world. The reliability of Petr Cech, even at a different club was evident, and the rise of Butland was dramatic and refreshing, whilst Schmeichel has been a title winning sensation, and Gomes was a big reason Watford stay in the top flight.
The Nominees:
Jack Butland (STK)
Kasper Schmeichel (LEI)
Heurelho Gomes (WAT)
Petr Cech (ARS)
Congratulations to Jack Butland on an unforgettable breakthrough season. It's such a shame it had to end early after being injured on England duty against Germany. Get better, Jack!
Category Two: Defender of the Season
Up next, 4 of the top defenders in the BPL were also some of the top FPL performers. Christian Fuchs has come out of nowhere to become a major player, whilst Toby Alderweireld's move to Spurs has been fruitful, whilst Hector Bellerin no longer suffered from rotation (like he did in 2014/15). Chris Smalling tops off the 4 as he is the top player outside of Arsenal, Leicester, and Spurs, in terms of FPL points for a defender.
The Nominees:
Christian Fuchs (LEI)
Hector Bellerin (ARS)
Toby Alderweireld (TOT)
Chris Smalling (MUN)
Despite being pegged back for much of the vote, Arsenal's Hector Bellerin picks up the Defender of the Season award, after a strong end to the season. Chin up Toby, there's always next season. Oh, and Hector, please don't go to Barcelona!
Category Three: Midfielder of the Season
The 4 midfield names dominating the FPL this season all make our list for Best Midfielder. Mesut Ozil had a brilliant season, racking up 19 assists for Ozil. Newcomers Dele Alli and Dimitri Payet became essentials, and the rise of Riyad Mahrez from Ligue 2 to Premier League Champion is nothing short of a fairytale.
The Nominees:
Mesut Ozil (ARS)
Riyad Mahrez (LEI)
Dimitri Payet (WHU)
Dele Alli (TOT)
The Algerian international has been nothing short of spectacular this season, and deserves the Midfielder of the Season award. Mahrez is up for more than 1 award in this article, so stay tuned.
Category Four: Forward of the Season
There was a huge gulf in class throughout the 2015/16 FPL season, with Vardy and Kane proving to be near undroppable for large chunks of the season. Sergio Aguero ranks amongst the top 4 despite another injury blighted season, and Lukaku hit another 18 goal season in the Premier League. The nearest contenders? Watford's duo Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo.
The Nominees:
Jamie Vardy (LEI)
Sergio Aguero (MCI)
Romelu Lukaku (EVE)
Harry Kane (TOT)
Vardy and Mahrez have dominated the FPL season, with Vardy being more vital than Kane due to his cheaper price. Contratulations to Vardy. Next up for the Englishman, Arsenal?
Category Five: Newcomer of the Season
3 of the 4 Newcomers of the year are situated in midfield, with Odion Ighalo rounding off the nominees. The Watford striker was clinical in the lower leagues, and for a large patch of the season, proved his worth at the top level. Liverpool, Swansea, and West Ham, all drafted in big money midfielders, and whilst Firmino and Ayew were regular outlets for goals, Payet has developed a reputation for being one of the best signings in Premier League history.
The Nominees:
Andre Ayew (SWA)
Odion Ighalo (WAT)
Dimitri Payet (WHU)
Roberto Firmino (TOT)
By an absolute landslide, West Ham's Payet takes the Best Newcomer of the Season award. Same next year, Dimitri, just don't get injured over the Xmas period again.
Category Six: Best Value of the Season
Sixth on the bulletin board is the Best Value player of the season. All 4 nominees have been put up for other Team of the Season Awards, and it's fitting that the cheaper than chips trio of Alli, Alderweireld, and Ighalo (all priced at £5.0m to begin the season) make the list. Butland started as everyone's favourite back-up keeper at £4.5m, and would eventually be the shot stopping FPL favourite.
The Nominees:
Odion Ighalo (WAT)
Jack Butland (STK)
Dele Alli (TOT)
Toby Alderweireld (TOT)
From the depths of the Football League, to a key started for England at Euro 2016, Alli has been great value for fantasy players, and another reminder that the lower divisions are full of promising talent. Congratulations to the Spurs man, and Alli, give us a wave!
Category Seven: Favourite Chip of the Season
The 2015/16 FPL season saw the addition of extra 'chips' to help provide FPL players with potential boosts to their teams. Mostly reserved for Double Gameweek options, we asked how you rated the Triple Captaincy, the Bench Boost, and the All Out Attack. Alternatively, we also threw in the option to dislike all of the chips.
The Nominees:
All Out Attack
Triple Captain
Bench Boost
None
Triple Captaincy wins the day, but was unable to get 50% of the vote. For us, the jury is still out on the three additional 'chips' Do you think the FPL should add or take away Chips? We'll be discussing this soon in an upcoming article, as well as our suggestions for future additions.
Category Eight: Flop of the Season
The season was not all about the glory, and those high moments. There were a lot of lows, and we have narrowed down our options for our 4 biggest flops of the season. Rooney makes the cut after being an early season favourite, without any serious points. Team mate Memphis Depay came into the FPL with everybody thinking that the Dutch international would be on set-piece duty, but that never happened (we thought he was going to be this seasons Payet). Liverpool's capture of Benteke did not translate into fantasy points, with the Belgium forward being dubbed by our Hype Team as 'Benchteke'. Lastly, Hazard's form from 2014/15 couldn't be duplicated, and a poor Chelsea season saw Hazard struggle through form and injury. A season to forget, for all 4 nominees.
The Nominees:
Eden Hazard (CHE)
Christian Benteke (LIV)
Memphis Depay (MUN)
Wayne Rooney (MUN)
Depay's season to forget was ratified by FPL players, voting him as the biggest Flop of the Season. It was also a season to forget for Hazard, and our @sweatymongoose Phil Jones lays down who his favourite players from Chelsea were this season.
Category Nine: Player of the Season
Leicester City's amazing title win was the only place to look for Player of the Season, and it is only right that the two talisman feature. Mahrez and Vardy. Would Mahrez take another award, or would Vardy's goals seal him the title?
The Nominees:
Riyad Mahrez (LEI)
Jamie Vardy (LEI)
By an absolute landslide margin, the winner, and subsequent 2015/16 FPL Player of the Season is Algeria's own, Riyad Mahrez, claiming his second award from our awards. Congratulations to Riyad, and to Leicester for an unforgettable title victory. Here's to more next season!
Category Ten: Player of the Season Showdown
In our last category we have pitted the 2 best FPL players from the 2014/15 and 2015/16 season's, in a showdown to decide who you thought was the better champion. Mahrez or Hazard?
The Nominees:
2014/15: Eden Hazard (CHE)
2015/16: Riyad Mahrez (LEI)
A Thank You from The Hype Train
This first season for us as a team has been a rewarding experience. We've grown from nothing into a growing part of a vast FPL community. We've not the exposure of some other wonderful FPL sites and social media accounts, but we are confident that if we stay true to our values of quality and differential expertise, there is no bar too high for The Hype Train. Throughout the season we believe that we provided some of the best written, graphically appealing fantasy football articles that you'll find on the world wide web. We even had a brief period as guest writers for the heavily popular Fantasy Football Pundits (@FFPundits).
In our first year alone our Twitter account has 1400+ followers, and since May 2015 we have amassed more than 1 million unique views. Our ad-free website has been visited by 5,000 unique visitors, and above all else we have enjoyed speaking to the many FPL addicts and football enthusiasts that interact with us. Our Hype Team always has room to grow, so if you are a football or review writer looking for some decent exposure, get in touch with us today. We're not hard too find, and friendly on the eyes.
So thanks for those who have boarded our vision, and we look forward to growing even more next season, with old and new faces alike.
All aboard.
