Major thanks to ESPN Soccernet for a great season of fantasy soccer. Sir John has ideas for the new season, but first here are thoughts of gratitude.

1. Thanks for an improved format and user-friendly site that made it easier to transfer players and have instant fantasy scoring while games were in progress.
2. Thanks for more statistics that include the percentage of fantasy managers who own different players.
3. I appreciate the excellent summary of player performances that show trends.
4. Thanks for a value system that fairly reflected player performance.
5. Ta for the quick responses from game managers when questions were asked.
6. It is good not revealing manager’s lineups until the first match of the week begins.
7. Big thanks to Dale Johnson for his excellent blog entries on Fantasy players.
8. While they are not involved in the fantasy game, huge thanks to ESPN for the outstanding telecasts they provided during the season and the absolute brilliance of Ian Darke and Steve (Macca) McManaman. The pregame pieces were superb, especially for those in America who have not seen or been inside the stadiums of the Premier League or to cities where the teams are located. Although all Premier League play-by-play announcers and commentators on ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel (except Martin Tyler) are terrific, Darke and Macca make up the best team on the air.
9. Thank you for keeping the game free!
10. Thanks to ESPN for giving me the opportunity to have the Premier Fantasy blog and for all those who commented on the entries. I appreciate the input. Some of you liked what you read and others took me to task. I hope the material shows that those of us in the “colonies” have an understanding and love for the “beautiful game”.

Suggestions:
1. Please incorporate a system next season that rewards or punishes managers for having players whose value drops or increases. The budget should not be frozen at 100 million pounds. Free enterprise must be returned to fantasy soccer!
2. Keep the assist points at three; however, I think goalkeepers should get four points for a clean sheet. Keep defender clean sheets at three and the additional point for goalkeepers at one for every three saves. A minus point for every other goal allowed is good. The scoring points of four, six, and eight work well. With as rare as a goalkeeper scoring a goal is, that should be worth at least 15 points. Double-points for a designated captain is a great feature.
3. Do not require that managers carry two goalkeepers or five defenders. It should be one goalkeeper, three defenders and the rest of the 15-player roster left up to fantasy managers.
4. Have more updated information on player injuries. When you click on their name, often the news is a week or two old.
5. Do away with the split season.
6. To bring more strategy into play, reduce the transfers from 40 to 30 (either all in one season or half in each segment).
7. If the split season is retained, allow managers to carry over unused transfers to Segment 2.
8. Use different photos on the fantasy home page. You had John Terry the entire season.
9. Please use the revised fantasy game for the Champions League fantasy competition.