Anne’s first fantasy winner

It was first time lucky for a Black Country mother when she won the inaugural manager of the month prize in this season’s Express & Star Fantasy Football competition.

Anne Washbrook, 48, of Thorne Road, Willenhall, had never played a fantasy football game before but decided to have a go with the Express & Star’s competition.

She came top of the table for August with her team CJ’s Allstars, which amassed 36 points in just two matches – two points more than her nearest rival.

The £100 monthly prize is provided by Wickes, the sponsor of the Express & Star Fantasy Football game.

Anne’s winning team consisted of: J Reina (Liverpool), P Chimbonda (Tottenham), K Toure (Arsenal), D Agger (Liverpool), N Vidic (Man Utd), Geremi (Newcastle), F Fabregas (Arsenal), Nani (Man Utd), F Lampard (Chelsea), R Santa Cruz (Blackburn) and D Healy (Fulham).

Anne, who also supports Willenhall Town, said: “When I saw it in the Express & Star I decided to give it a go. I thought I would just try and do it myself. My son Christopher helped me with my team.”

More than 3,900 people have already registered to play this season’s game, organised in association with Wickes.

So if you fancy yourself as a rival to Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho or Rafael Benitez, this is your chance to prove it.

HOW TO PLAY:

• Go to www.expressandstar.com/fantasyfootball
• Enter the registration password: Wembley
• Choose your team, from a budget of £55 million. It must contain no more than two players from any one Barclays Premier League club and conform to a 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 formation.
• You’ll receive a weekly e-mail telling you how your side performed and looking ahead to the coming games.
• It’s easy to switch players in and out, with a maximum of 25 transfers allowed in total once the scoring has begun.
• The only way you will be able to make changes is by using the transfer password, which will be printed in the Express & Star every Wednesday