The Basics
The Golden Gamble
Choosing Your Side
Top 10 Tips on selecting your Dream Team

The Basics

Our Dream Team game is the BIGGEST and BEST. . . and playing is so easy.

All you have to do is pick 11 Premiership players from our lists who you think will perform the best over this coming season. You'll see that we've broken the players down into Goalkeepers, Defenders, Midfielders and Strikers.

Each one of your players scores valuable points - or loses them - each time they play in a Premiership, FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions League or UEFA Cup game until the end of the 2003/4 season.

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The Golden Gamble

We are constantly improving Dream Team and a couple of seasons ago we introduced our Golden Gamble innovation. Quite simply, it makes Dream Team even more exciting by giving you the chance to take managerial risks.

The Golden Gamble gives you the flexibility to decide when your team starts scoring. Enter your team before noon on Saturday August 16 and it will begin scoring from day one of the season, with ALL the games counting towards your total.

But here's where you can take a risk.

You can choose to enter your team - or an extra team or teams - for a further four weeks after the start of the season. If you choose this option, you have until Saturday September 13 to get your entry in. The registration period is then over.

So, enter by noon (UK time) on Saturday August 16 if you want your team to start scoring on that Saturday; by earliest kick-off time on Saturday August 23 to start scoring from then; by earliest kick-off time on Saturday August 30 to start scoring from then; and by earliest kick-off time on Saturday September 13, the FINAL deadline, to start scoring from then.

The games you miss - up to five rounds of matches if you leave it right until the last minute - will NOT count towards your team's score. However, you will have the chance to study form, avoid injuries and reap the benefit of late signings before the Premiership transfer window closes on August 31.

You could snap up an in-form player - or avoid being stuck with a striker in a dry spell. It's up to you. But once you have decided when you want to enter, you need to choose your side.

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Choosing Your Side

Study the lists of players by clicking on the Goalkeepers, Defenders, Midfielders and Strikers links. Also, remember to check up on the crucial rules and scoring details.

The player lists open in new pop-up windows and include all the details you need to know, such as their price tags and how many points they scored in Dream Team last season.

So, who will you pick, Carlo Cudicini or Paul Robinson? Both cost £4.5million - but with five points for a clean sheet they could be priceless.

Up front the most expensive players - Ruud Van Nistlerooy and Thierry Henry - will set you back a cool £7.5million each. But if they rattle in the goals like last season, their price tags will look like peanuts! You will find our easy-to-use Register page makes it a doddle to follow the three main rules:

1. Your team's value cannot exceed £40million.
2. You must pick no more than two players from any one Premiership side.
3. Your team must have one keeper, four defenders, three or four midfielders, and two or three forwards.

So, if you're ready to start picking your team, click through now.

1. Take your time
There are over 360 players to choose from - broken down by position that's 40 keepers, over 120 defenders, 120 midfielders and 80 strikers.

2. Study the form
Our fabulous Dream Team website allows you to see when and how each player scored their points in last season's game. For example, defenders and strikers tended to outscore goalkeepers and midfielders, but will history repeat it itself? For the record, here was the top line-up last season:

And here is the best performing XI from two seasons ago:

3. Hunt out the bargain
Even with a budget of £40m it's still a real squeeze getting an 11-man line-up that hasn't broken the bank. The key is to find a bargain-basement player who will rack up the points. In 2002/03, Bolton's Jay-Jay Okocha was a real steal at £2m as he picked up 124 points. Leeds stopper Paul Robinson was another great buy at the same price of £2m, and he netted 169 points.

4. Bigger doesn't always mean better
The bigger clubs tend to have squad rotation systems that cause a negative effect on potential scores. This is particularly the case with strikers who are often rested for less important games (where in theory they should find it easier to score).

5. Remember Europe
Clearly players from the seven Premiership teams in Europe (Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Blackburn) have increased opportunities to score in Dream Team. And a big run in Europe can bring valuable extra points.

6. And don't forget the domestic Cup competitions
Players from sides that produce good FA Cup or Carling Cup runs also consistently score well in Dream Team. So pay particular attention to clubs with good track records in the Cups.

7. Avoid the bad boys
Despite having a superb season and managing to avoid relegation, Birmingham had the worst disciplinary record in the Premiership last season. The Blues picked up 72 yellows and four reds.

The Premiership's worst offender in terms of reds was Middlesbrough's Franck Queudrue, with three dismissals.

Remember, bookings and red cards will cost you precious points.

8. Goalscoring defenders are real gems
Everton's David Unsworth looks sure to be a popular purchase as he scored six goals last season. Unsworth's team-mate, Steve Watson, also netted six and was even used as an emergency striker!

There's also two defensive gems to look out for among the Premiership's new boys. Portsmouth's Matthew Taylor scored seven times in 2002/03, while Leicester's Matt Elliott was just one behind with six in Division One.

9. Beware dodgy keepers
Last season Leeds and Charlton let in the most goals among the teams not to be relegated. Paul Robinson, despite proving to be one of Dream Team's better stoppers, picked the ball out of the net 57 times. And Dean Kiely also found himself bending over on a regular basis as the Addicks conceded 56.

But the award for worst purchase in terms of keepers has to go to Nigel Martyn. The Leeds veteran lost his place as the club's No1 and did not play a single game, despite costing £4m.

10. Use your transfers
The two mid-season Transfer Windows (October and January) allow you to ditch six duds (three in each window) and bring in fresh legs. If your team does get injury hit or a player loses form, this is your opportunity to sort things out.