A father-of-two from Newport has proved he is on the ball by winning the Shropshire Star’s Fantasy Football manager of the month competition.

Lee Jones, 35, received a cheque for £100, courtesy of game sponsor Wickes, after topping the table in February.

His team Red Devils, named after his favourite football team Manchester United, amassed 66 points during the month, beating more than 2,750 rivals to top spot.

The nearest rival to Lee, who works as a marketing engineer at Schneider Electric in Telford, was just one point behind.

His team of Premier League stars is: D James (Portsmouth), J Lescott (Everton), M Laursen (Aston Villa), G McCartney (West Ham), P Evra (Man Utd), D Bentley (Blackburn), T Cahill (Everton), A Young (Aston Villa), C Ronaldo (Man Utd), F Torres (Liverpool) and E Adebayor (Arsenal).

Lee achieved the feat without making a single transfer in February.

He says: “I left things as they were so I was very pleased to win the prize.

“Joleon Lescott scored and then Torres got a hat-trick, which seemed to swing things for me.”

Lee adds: “My dad was a Wolves fan so I have sympathies for the Molineux club. That’s why I picked Lescott but I didn’t expect him to score so many this season.”

Unsurprisingly, Lee is predicting Manchester United will retain the Premier League trophy this season.

“It is going to be close,” says Lee. “We have got a bigger squad and more quality than Arsenal and that will tell in the end.”

Fantasy football fan Lee enjoys the Shropshire Star game, which is free to enter.

He says: “I signed up because my colleagues had started a sub-league. There’s a friendly rivalry. They have already started trying to plan how I am going to spend my £100.”

Fans can still sign up to stand a chance of winning the three remaining £100 manager of the month awards.
Simply go to www.shropshirestar.com/fantasyfootball and enter the registration password: Wembley