After the Mystery Chip was revealed as the Assistant Manager chip, some of the world's top Fantasy Premier League mangers share their reactions and their initial plans for when and on which manager it could be best utilised.
Lee Bonfield (@FPLFamily)
The Assistant Manager chip will definitely make me think differently about how I play the second half of the season. It's a new and different dynamic that will test new and experienced Fantasy managers alike. Creating up to £1.5m for a manager sounds tricky to do, but the upside is there for points if you can get it right.
Utkarsh Dalmia (@ZopharFPL)
The Assistant Manager chip has the potential to be more impactful for FPL managers than either the Triple Captain or Bench Boost chips. If we manage to get lucky and back a team like Oliver Glasner's Crystal Palace at the end of last season, it could be worth 50+ points. Saving transfers just got even more important!
Pranil Sheth (@lateriser12)
My first thought is punting on Glasner or Ruben Amorim, as I think they have the potential to rack up the table-bonus points.
Gianni Buttice (@GianniButtice)
The Assistant Manager chip sounds really fun and my initial impression is that it comes with huge upside. More so than the other chips, where 30 extra points extra feels like a huge win. Knowing Glasner, for example, could have earned you 67 points from GW34-36 last season, I do think I might target the Double Gameweeks later in the season, and having used my Triple Captain chip already, I perhaps have a little more flexibility than most.
Pras (@Pras_FPL)
The chip is a great idea - it adds a new dimension to the game where we pick teams and managers, and not just players.
It has the potential to be the most powerful chip, with over 30 expected points, and therefore it needs careful consideration. You could use it in conjunction with a Double Gameweek, perhaps at the end of the season when results and motivations can be very different for clubs up and down the table, or even shortly after it becomes available in Gameweek 24, when league position is not a true reflection of ability, so the table bonus can be taken advantage of.
My first instinct is to play the chip over Gameweeks 36-38 to really target some upsets and maximise the potential of the chip.
Sam Bonfield (@FPLFamily)
When the Mystery Chip was mentioned as the 2024/25 game launched, I was expecting something like a Limitless chip or maybe the return of the All Out Attack chip from seasons gone by.
The Assistant Manager chip is very different from what many Fantasy managers were expecting but, if played correctly, I think it has the potential to be the most important chip in the game. My gut feeling is to look at those managers with teams at the mid to lower end in the table to try and exploit the table bonus, but also to maximise the potential for wins, especially while the table is so congested.
But I also love the idea of waiting until Gameweek 36 to play it, so that I can target those managers battling to avoid relegation or targeting European football.