Football at the top level is a game of squads rather than teams – and now, so is fantasy football, thanks to PlayTheGame. This season, you can rotate your forwards, change your lineup to suit the opposition or to allow for injuries and suspensions, pick up out-of-contract players and negotiate transfers with other managers.

In other fantasy leagues, any team could have any player depending on a transfer budget – so everybody owned Thierry Henry, which was not realistic. In your PlayTheGame league, as in the real world, there will be only one Wayne Rooney, or Frank Lampard, and only one team can own him. Like the Barclays Premier League, your fantasy league will have a maximum of 20 teams and the top-flight players will be distributed among them. What is more, the higher you rate a player, the more likely he is to end up in your team.

Each team will be allocated 20 players, of which 14 will be active at any one time. The players must fit into a 4-4-2 system of goalkeeper, right back, two centre backs, left back, right midfield, two centre midfield players, left midfield, and two forwards. The three extra active players – the substitutes – are a defender or goalkeeper, a midfield player and a forward.

Players can only be used in a position for which they are eligible. For example, at the moment you can only use Joleon Lescott, of Ever-ton, as a centre back. But if he plays a Premier League match at left back, he can play there for you too for the rest of the season.

It is not difficult to PlayTheGame but it is unlike any other fantasy football game. First, you will need either to create or join a league and then the fun starts (see facing page).

PLAYER ALLOCATION RANKINGS

On this page you will see a list of all the available Premier League players. When your league was created, a date was set for players to be allocated to teams by the game computer. There is a random element in the computer’s choice of the order of teams, but after that, each fantasy manager has a considerable influence over which players come his or her way. This is your chance to alter the preset rankings, which are based on last season’s performances in the case of established players, or on predicted fantasy performance in the case of players new to the Premier League. Because the other managers in your league will also be ranking their players, these moves do not guarantee that you will be allocated the players you want, but they improve your chances considerably. It is worth bearing in mind that the computer will make sure it fills your 14 team slots before it allocates your reserves. So depending on how your competitors’ lists are ranked, you may not have a particularly well-balanced bench.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Once the players have been allocated, you can pick your team for the opening weekend of the season. You can make team changes between Saturday’s matches and Sunday’s games, and again before the midweek matches. But beware – each slot in your team can only be used 38 times. So if you have Lucas Neill in your right-back position for West Ham United’s home game with Manchester City on Saturday, August 11, then replace him with Gary Neville to take advantage of Manchester United’s home game with Reading the next day, you have only 36 more starts for that position - yet every Premier League club have 37 matches still to play. Careful scrutiny of the fixture lists will be required to see where your resources can best be deployed.

The size of your squad may allow you to negotiate injuries, suspensions and loss of form, but you have two other recourses. First, there is the unallocated player pool so you can drop an underperforming player and sign a replacement. Or you can negotiate a player exchange deal with another manager in your league.

SCORING CATEGORIES

PlayTheGame strives to capture the true value of players by tracking a number of statistical categories as well as qualifying those performances with the ultimate judge of any performance: the result. To capture the truest measure of all the players on the pitch, we have split the starting XI into two groups - one consisting of a goalkeeper and four defenders whose primary task is to stop the opposition from scoring and one covering the midfield players and forwards whose primary task tends to be the scoring of goals - and tailored their statistics accordingly.

Goalkeepers and defenders score points in five categories: clean sheets; goals/assists (goalkeepers can score goals - remember Paul Rob-inson’s against Watford); defence; average goals against; and team points. Midfield players and forwards score in five categories: goals, assists, successful passes, average goals for and points.

SCORING SYSTEM

PlayTheGame uses a rotisserie scoring system, a name that has less to do with the roasting of chickens than the name of the restaurant where a group of supporters invented it. Teams are ranked first to last in each statistical category with the highest point total available in a category equal to the number of teams in the league. The lowest point total available for that category is one. The manager’s overall score is determined by adding the manager’s points in each category. The manager with the highest overall score is in first place.

The accumulation of points and the constantly changing table in leagues using rotisserie scoring will keep many a manager mesmerised by the many possible routes to success.

As you can see, PlayTheGame is the most sophisticated online football game yet devised and requires José Mourinho's gift for squad management, Arsène Wenger’s eye for a player and Harry Redknapp’s ability to wheel, deal and pick up a bargain. We are confident that this will be your most complete fantasy football experience ever. All you have to do now is think of a team name - and PlayTheGame.

£50,000 worth of prizes for football fans

SEPTEMBER Barclays Premier League game of your choice with three friends, including hotel and spending money

OCTOBER Premier League sitting room makeover, including TV, sofa and Sony PS3

NOVEMBER Watch David Beckham in LA, including flights, hotel and match tickets

DECEMBER The complete fan’s package, including TV, fridge, lager and table football

JANUARY Barcelona weekend for four, including flights, hotel and Nou Camp tickets

FEBRUARY Madrid weekend for four, including flights, hotel and Bernabéu tickets

MARCH Milan weekend for four, including flights, hotel and San Siro tickets

APRIL The Armchair Supporters Kit, including a Lazy Boy Armchair, fridge and inflatable pitch

MAY Munich weekend for four, including flights, hotel and Bayern tickets

FINAL Euro 2008 final tickets, including flights and accommodation for two in Vienna

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