How to keep the balance in the fantastic premier league

Fantasy Premier League can be great, Writes the expert FPL Blake Hurst.

This is my favorite hobby, but it can also test your patience and your state of mind. Each manager – even the best – will experience ups and stockings in a season.

This is why it is crucial to remember that FPL is a marathon, not a sprint – and even after the most difficult weekends, there is always room to bounce back.

As a person who loves psychology, I often apply it to my own FPL management. The truth is that FPL can have an impact on mental health if it ceases to be pleasant or becomes the main outlet for stress.

Here are some simple ways to keep the perspective and protect your state of mind during the roller coaster mountains.

FPL 2025/26: Back and continue in perspective

The disappointment in FPL is inevitable. Perhaps you sold Mohamed Salah and watching her mark a hat-trick or put the player who came back big.

You will feel frustrated, and that’s normal. But in the wider context of 38 weeks of game, a white captain, a fogted goal conceded or a painful bench decision counts barely.

When things go wrong, remember: will it really matter in a year?

Will you care that a Cole Palmer captain in GW23 was bleached in a year? Probably not.

Doing mental perspective helps reduce the size of the problem and facilitates the future.

Fantasy Premier League: focus on what you can control

You cannot control what is going on in the field. You cannot control deviations, penalties or managers pulling your player after 59 minutes.

At the end of the day, he is 11 men who kicks football on a field. What you can control is your reflection process – using data, the eye test and the intestinal instinct to define your team.

Once the deadline is, you have done everything you can. Just like taking an exam, the result is out of your hands. Do not waste the energy that stressed beyond this point.

Play FPL: Process on the result

The right FPL managers are experiencing the difference between a bad decision and an unlucky result.

If you captain Haaland against a defense in difficulty and he blocks, it is always an intelligent and logical call.

Do not let bad luck convince you that your process was defective. In the long term, the right decisions made in a coherent way will transport you later than the pursuit of each individual result.

“Good decision, bad result” is a very common sentence in FPL.

Fantastic team: kiss the stockings

It may seem strange, but the stockings are what makes the tops so gratifying. If each week of play was a green arrow, the thrill would disappear and the game would lose meaning.

The bad weeks sharpen the good and this challenge is part of the value of FPL and why we appreciate it so much. You must realize how important the stockings are in FPL (and in life!)

Disconnect and reset the Fantastic Premier League

If FPL happens to you, detach it for a while. Get out, hit the gymnasium, cook, call a loved one – do everything that creates a distance between you and the game.

Do not dwell on the “What Ifs” of a single movement that went wrong. Changing your attention to something positive in which you are good can reset your state of mind.

Limit social media when you play FPL

Browse x (Twitter) after a difficult week, rarely helps. See others celebrate their features while you are on a red arrow amplifies frustration.

If you feel tilted, log out a bit. Protection of your head space is always more important than getting involved in each discussion or highlighting.

Find humor in the Fantastic Premier League

Sometimes you just have to laugh about absurdity. This own goal in the 93rd minute or your captain briefs a penalty – he stings if you have the player, but objectively it’s funny.

Even in my best season of all time, when I finished 149th in the world, I had weeks when each player was vigorous, I had weeks when I put a pointer of 14 points, I had unlucky weeks.

At the time, it was painful – but looking back, I can smile because FPL is really full of these bizarre little stories.

Remember why you play FPL

In his heart, FPL is supposed to add joy – to deepen your love of football, create connections and make the observation matches more immersive.

Yes, it is competitive and sometimes discouraging, but it is never worth sacrificing your mental well-being. If it ceases to be fun, take a step back.

And if you have trouble, don’t forget that you are not alone. My DMS are open on X (@dyche_ball) if someone wants to speak.

It’s just a game but, for some of us, it’s much more than that. The community and the friendships that you build along the way are worth each top, low and between the two.

Lots of love and good luck for the coming season.