Ranking the greatest all-time fantasy football icons

Scanning the newspaper, inky fingers and fuzzled minds, scrambling for the calculator and jotting down the codes for Julian Dicks and Juninho. These lads will carry the team until you remember to pick up the house phone and cash in a transfer a few months down the line.

Before templates and triple captains there was a world of fantasy football that existed by writing out your XI and ringing in the names. Parents used it as a summer-holiday maths lesson.

Yet whether in print or online, there's nothing quite like the satisfaction of unearthing an absolute bargain. That free-kick taking defender, the undervalued forward, out-of-position goal-getter or cheap keeper posting clean sheets.

Since it began for the 2002-03 season, Fantasy Premier League has evolved into a huge database boasting millions of players across the globe, with substitutions and wildcards and the maths done for you.

But who, over the past quarter of a century of the competition's official game, are the biggest icons of all time?

With the help of our resident FPL expert Thomas Woods and some extensive research by the Fantasy Football Scout, that's what I'm digging into this week.

Based on stats and a touch of sentiment - Michu, we see you - I've ranked my top 10 below. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, too.

Firstly, let's look at what makes a player iconic. Is it purely posting massive numbers? Thierry Henry's total from the inaugural season, for example, still ranks seventh overall. Indeed the Arsenal man was top scorer in three of the first four campaigns, but also the most expensive.