Another season of triumph and disaster is over in the English Premier League — for the analysts and brokers in the Shipping Research Fantasy Football League.
This year’s competition had a new record number of players, 68, with a record prize pot of £680 ($785).
The final manager of the month — for May — was Mosvolds Rederi’s chief executive/investment director Peder Nicolai Jarlsby.
The former shipping analyst began the month ignominiously with only 43 points in the generally low-scoring game week 35, organiser Vivek Srivastava, a shipping economist, said.
“But he is a well-known tinker-man and turned his ship around with some well-timed transfers and an eye on the fixture list for double game weeks,” he added.
Jarlsby brought in Newcastle hot-shot Callum Wilson, who obliged with three goals, an assist and six bonus points (and a yellow card) in their two games against Leeds and Brighton.
This was five points more for Jarlsby on his own that week than his whole team managed the previous week.
Then the canny manager bet on Spurs legend Harry Kane and Liverpool marksman Diogo Jota to finish things off.
“In another well-timed move, PNJ last year gave up a lucrative high-profile career promoting unsecured Seaspan bonds at Fearnleys to take the helm at Mosvolds, which is focused on alternative-fuelled ships and fuelling networks,” Srivastava said.
“So well done Peder Nicolai, you are a master of timing and your prize money is on its way,” he added.
But even Jarlsby's acumen was not enough to win the overall prize for the season.
Ulstein triumphs again
That honour went to Maritime Asset Partners' Oscar Ulstein, who also came top in 2021.
He finished an incredible 4,604th out of 11.4m managers worldwide, putting him in the top 0.04% globally.
“He is indeed the elite of the elite of the elite. Even if MAP hasn’t done a deal for a while, at least that left him with plenty of time on his hands to work on his team. Congratulations, Oscar (I’m sure your investors will be very understanding),” said the organiser.
Runner-up was TMS Group ship-finance executive Eugenia Soula.
The George Economou company representative was the first woman ever to win a manager of the month prize in 10 years of the game when she topped the charts in April.
“Her deft deployment of chips cut the lead at the top from 48 points to just 33 points over that month, and for a brief moment it looked like she might snatch it at the death,” Srivastava said.
“But, alas, in the final analysis, it proved just too wide a gap. Nevertheless, the patriarchy has been well and truly smashed,” he added.
“Now, we must narrow and eliminate the gender pay gap in shipping. I’m not saying your runner-up prize money will move the needle, but every little helps, right? Tell the big boss we all support you having a fat pay rise, one which will really move the needle,” Srivastava told Soula.
Third place was taken by Oslo Shipbrokers’ esteemed S&P broker, Nicolai Schlytter, a debutant this year.
