Dream Team winner reveals how he won £50,000: Eberechi Eze, Manchester City defenders and the wisdom of doing nothing

The Sun

5 days ago

FOR most Dream Team managers, winning the top prize is nothing more than a fantasy.
For Tony Minehan, it became reality.
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The experienced gaffer from County Clare in Ireland mastered Dream Team in 2024/25 to earn more points than all his rivals and scoop the £50,000 jackpot.
'I realised with a few weeks to go that maybe I had a chance and then the nerves kicked in,' Tony told Dream Team over the phone from New York, a holiday funded by his winnings.
'My wife has no interest whatsoever in football… but she got interested when there was fifty grand on the line!'
Incredibly, Tony's triumph wasn't officially confirmed until the final whistle of the Premier League campaign, when his two Manchester City defenders earned clean sheet points away to Fulham.
Speaking about the winning moment, Tony said: 'I remember hugging my wife and I said 'we're going to the pub' which we wouldn't normally do on a Sunday evening.
'I rang a few friends to meet me there who didn't know what was going on because I hadn't told anyone about it. I explained it to them and bought them all free drinks for the night. We had a great night, I didn't want it to end.'
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As well as his thoroughly-deserved trip to New York, Tony revealed he has upgraded his car having won the £50,000 prize.
Every Dream Team manager can fantastise about what they would do with the money but how does one achieve such greatness?
Tony advises caution at the start of the campaign and tends to adopt a risk-adverse strategy for the first few months.
'I'm a pretty conservative player early on in the season because I think you have to be.
'I find if you get off to a bad start it's very hard to claw it back.'
When asked to identify specific players that set him apart from his rivals, Tony was quick to sing the praises of Eberechi Eze.
'He was my star man pretty much all season. I had him when a lot of others didn't.'
Crystal Palace's No10 amassed 315 points via 15 goals and 11 assists in 2024/25.
Many gaffers were hesitant to select the England midfielder because he was not active in Europe but Tony recognised that Eze was able to compensate for that with healthy returns in the league and FA Cup.
The 27-year-old scored four goals during the Eagles' successful cup campaign, including the historic winner at Wembley.
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Tony also went against grain by backing two Man City defenders when others shied away.
City endured a joyless campaign by their usual high standards and many Dream Team bosses were quick to ditch their Etihad assets but clean sheets came easier for Pep Guardiola's troops when Josko Gvardiol reverted to centre-back and Tony reaped the rewards.
Perhaps the most important lesson gaffers can take from our reigning champion is that sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all.
Speaking about a particularly crucial crossroads when the pressure was most intense, Tony revealed: 'There was a week towards the end of the season and I actually made a decision not to make any transfers.
'That was probably the best decision of the whole season. I was happy with my team… it was a fifty-fifty decision but not using the transfers worked out well for me.'
Tony resisted the urge to make changes just for the sake of it, a common mistake among Dream Team bosses with itchy fingers.
Incidentally, it will be much easier for gaffers to stick by their existing XI this coming season as both transfers will rollover to the following Gameweek in such cases.
We've increased our top prize this season so if you are able follow in Tony's footsteps you will win a whopping £60,000!