Dream Team Winners Net Half A Million Pounds

LONDON, June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A GROUP of friends who work in Wakefield have won the biggest prize EVER to be awarded in fantasy football today, netting a phenomenal 500,000 pounds between them.

The Sun Dream Team winning entry for 2010/11 football season is Redkins Utd, managed by Peter Radford aged 60 of Kinsley, Pontefract.    

And rather than pocket the half a million pound prize himself, Peter will take away just a quarter of the cash - 125,000 pounds.

He's splitting half his winnings with other 35 members of his mini-league, most of whom he works with in the freezer section of Morrisons supermarket distribution warehouse in Wakefield.  They will each take home over 7,000 each pounds.

Peter is giving the remaining 125,000 pounds to close friend Dave Barry.  He said:  "I'm due to retire next year so this really means I can do it in style.  

"To be honest I'm a bit shocked I won.  I left all the big name players out and went for a mixture of moderate seniors and players with up and coming talent. It paid off as the big players like Lampard, Drogba, Torres and Rooney have had poor seasons.  

"The team started steady but after the first transfer window got into the top 10 and stayed there until the new year when I got the top spot -- and haven't been knocked off since."

The group of 35 friends and colleagues from Wakefield in West Yorkshire were brought together by organiser Benn Cockroft, 36, who organised the mini league.  

Benn said: "I have been playing Dream Team for at least 15 years and the main reason we play is for the mini league.  We never expect to win anything, so it's come as a really unexpected surprise.

"The majority of us are Leeds fans, along with a few Liverpool, Bradford and Manchester United supporters.

"It's great all the Leeds fans having to cheer for the Man Utd players we have in our team. As you can guess it has created a lot of banter around work!

"Me, I'm just going to enjoy mine as my wife is presently battling bowel cancer, so it's just putting a smile on our face and relieving some of the financial pressure we are under."

And when The Sun turned up to give Paul Radford his cheque, they discovered that football runs in the blood in his family -- as his brother was 1960s and 70s Arsenal legend John Radford, number 24 in Arsenal's Top 50 Gunners Greats.  

Mick Robins, Head of The Sun's Dream Team, said: "Redkins Utd have stood out in the league for a while and beaten almost 200,000 people to the coveted title.  

"The manager's made a great selection of players.  Aside from Tevez, who was the most popular and highest scoring player this season, Redkins Utd have shunned the big guns in favour of some really steady performers.  

"The gamble's paid off and they've had a phenomenal win -- and it's especially good to know it will go to such a great group of people."  

For all the latest news on the No1 Fantasy Football game and to be the first to hear about next season's game, follow The Sun Dream Team on Twitter @dreamteamfc and Facebook at www.facebook.com/dreamteamfc and online at www.dreamteamfc.com.    

The Winning Team: Redkins Utd - 2019 points

1. Joe Hart, Man City 149 points:
2. Vincent Kompany, Man City 144 points:
3. Nemanja Vidic, Man Utd  53 points:
4. Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea 154 points:
5. David Luiz, Chelsea 8 points:
6. Nani, Man Utd 193 points:
7. Jack Wilshere, Arsenal 50 points:
8. Samir Nasri, Arsenal 202 points:
9. Javier Hernandez, Man Utd 34 points:
10. Carloz Tevez, Man City 241 points:
11. Robin van Persie, Arsenal 104 points:

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The Sun Dream Team 10/11: Fast Facts and Stats

Most Popular

Man City's Carlos Tevez was the most selected player this season. The Argentina striker was in 40% of Dream Team managers teams.

The most popular Dream Team players this season were:

1. Carlos Tevez, Man City was in 40% of Dream Team managers' teams.
2. Gareth Bale, Spurs – in 36% of teams
3. Vincent Kompany, Man City – in 31% of teams
4. Rafael van der Vaart, Spurs – in 26% of teams  
5. Wayne Rooney, Man Utd - 25% of teams

Top Scorers

Carlos Tevez justified Dream Team managers faith in him with a massive 241 Dream Team points, making Man City's Argentine Striker the top scoring player in the game.  

Here are the top 5 scorers of Dream Team points:

1. 241 Points: Carlos Tevez, Man City
2. 221 Points: Dimitar Berbatov,  Man Utd
3. 208 Points: Robin van Persie, Arsenal
4. 207 Points: Yaya Toure, Man City
5. 204 Points: Joe Hart, Man City

Bottom of the Table  

The wooden spoon for worst player of the Dream Team season goes to West Brom defender Gonzalo Jara who managed a grand total of -16 points.

The bottom 5 Dream Team players are as follows:

1. -16 Points: Gonzalo Jara, West Brom
2. -11 Points: Michael Mancienne, Wolves
3. -6.7 Points:  Herita Ilunga, West Ham
4. -4 Points: Chris Kirkland, Wigan
5. -3.5 Points: Pascal Chimbonda, Blackburn Rovers

About Dream Team

The Sun 1m pounds Dream Team is the No1 Fantasy Football game on the planet with over 165 prizes to be won including a first prize of 500,000 pounds.  You pick an 11-man team using a budget of 50 million pounds, based on the values that we have given to each of the players.

Points are awarded during the season depending on how your players perform. Players will score points for goals, clean sheets and good performances whilst losing them for conceding goals, bookings and red cards.

During the season there are three FREE transfer windows to make changes to your team.  For all the latest news on the No1 Fantasy Football game follow us on Twitter @dreamteamfc and Facebook at www.facebook.com/dreamteamfc

To see a video of the lucky winner, visit The Sun.

SOURCE The Sun Dream Team