WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

8 years of football dream team and only 5 champions despite over 60 different managers entering over the years. Many have come and failed, some never to return ever again because they just couldn't hack the pace...or they didn't pay their way [ very few ] and then there's those that continue to try and win it ......and then there's those that have won it....some more than once. Who are they? and are they still in the competition to this day? after nearly 10 years of heartbreak and heart strain ?

3X CHAMPION - LEE SLAUGHTER [ 2004/5, 2005/6, 2007/8 ]

Lee made a good debut in the 2nd ever dream team comp of  2003/4 and produced a top 4 finish as the Daddy Joff Walkey surged on to win his second title. This annoyed Lee despite beating many respected rivals in that, his debut season in the comp.

Back he came in 2004/5 and after looking like he'd cooked his goose with just 5 weeks to go, he stormed back to win his maiden title by just 7 points.

Another title followed the following year as only his dad Derek put up any kind of fight, but Lee won with so much authority, it totally eclipsed Joff Walkey's back to back titles from 2 years earlier.

In 2006/7 the dream team was shocked when young Ben Harris ended Lee's 2 year reign at the top and Lee narrowly missed the wooden spoon in a year to forget.

He regrouped for the 2007/8 season, and with no Ben Harris and a more determined push than ever before, Lee regained his title, his third in total in just 4 seasons.

This feat put him up at the very top of feared dream team managers, and he has started favourite for the title ever since.

Strangely, in the last 2 seasons, Lee has failed to even reach any of the prizes and will be back for a shot at a record 4th title in 2010/11.

It just shows that if Lee is in the money, he doesn't settle for 2nd best...he  goes on to win it.....

2X CHAMPION - JOFF WALKEY [ 2002/3, 2003/4 ]

When the dream team first kicked into action there was no-one more feared than the Daddy himself, Joff Walkey.

A total master at his game and he was very tough to beat. Ian Dunn took Joff all the way to the final match in the 2002/3 season but still lost out.

Joff won more convincingly the following season against much stronger opposition to really make his mark.

The 2 years that followed Joff's 2 wins were thwarted with problems and he was not seen challenging for any prizes as the competition increased it's numbers 3 fold.

Joff bounced back in 2006/07 and 2007/8 with 3rd place on both occasions to show he still has some firepower left in his belly.

Joff again finished in the minor prizes in 2008/9 and 2009/10 but rarely looked like mounting a challenge to the leaders.

With Joff failing to challenge heavily for the title at all since his 2 wins back in 2003 and 2004, he has left many managers unafraid of his attacking dream team style selections. He is not feared as once he was, Lee Slaughter ended his reign, and Joff has never fully recovered.

Joff is as ready as ever to do battle for 2010/11 and is fresh from winning a mediocre World Cup dream team this summer.... but he has some improvements to make for the big season ahead, especially as his son now seems to have got the better of him for the moment.

1X CHAMPION - BEN HARRIS [ 2006/7 ]

Has the best record of any dream team manager that will probably never be beaten. He only entered on one occasion and truly took the title in fine style leaving other managers in tatters as to how he did it.

The win was as clear cut as you like, leading from the front and seemingly winning at a canter.

It looked like the dream team had a new manager to fear, but, as suddenly as he had come onto the scene and won......he was gone.

A serious criminal event where a man died was connected to Ben [ he was later cleared of the accused ] although close associates were very strongly linked to the case and prosecuted. 

Ben was never seen again.

In 2009, some 2 and a half years after his last contact with dream team HQ, he showed signs of a comeback. It came to nothing.

For now he will not be entering, but if he does put his best foot forward at some point in the future...he could well be back.

1X CHAMPION - RICKO BARKER [ 2008/9 ]

By 2009, Ricko was quickly becoming the nearly man of dream teams.

He has never been out of the top 7 in all of the 8 seasons of the contest which is some going.

He started with a 3rd place, then came his 7th in 2003/4.

In 2004/5, 2005/6,  2006/7 AND 2007/8  [ that's 4 years running! ] , Ricko came home in 5th place, picking up odds and sods of prize money along the way.

And this was after putting in some strong challenges for the title but fading close to the finishing line.

As well as the 2007/8 5th place, he had his best result also that year with his other team that came home as runner up to Lee Slaughter, who took his 3rd win in 4 years.

Ricko finally shut his critics up with a classy title victory in 2008/9 while also taking the runners up spot to become the first manager to have a 1-2 in the competition [ and not even Lee Slaughter can claim that! ]

Ricko ended the 2009/10 season as runner up for the 3rd season running to show he is as good as ever in this field of managers and must surely be one of the favourites for the upcoming 2010/11 season after also finishing runner up to Joff Walkey in this summer's World Cup dream team.

1X CHAMPION - NEIL 'HOOPS' SLAUGHTER [ 2009/10 ]

Hoops became the latest manager to take the crown with a gutsy win after years of heartbreak.

Neil enetered in 2003/4 for the first time but suffered 3 seasons of midfield finishes as he watched his brother Lee take title after title after title , and his dad was up in the prizes to.

Neil finally had a promising season in 2006/7 when he got the jump on the seasoned pros and looked like being the man to beat until debutant Ben Harris suddenly found a couple of extra gears to leave Hoops licking his wounds in a best finish of runner up.

There were mixed fortunes for Neil as he not only narrowly missed out on his maiden title....he also collected the wooden spoon prize for a last place finish for one of his other sides.

He could not build on his runner up finish the year before in 2007/8 and came nowhere while the following year he led for many months before tailing off back into 4th place which was still respectable.

The signs were there [ just like with Ricko ] , he was definitely starting to knock on the champions door, and he dually got that win under his belt in 2009/10 as he romped to victory by a dream team record margin of 243 points.

He will be looking to become only the 3rd manager [along with Joff and Lee] to try and defend their title when the new 2010/11 season kicks off in August 2010.