Day 16

Eight people responded to my advert for a goalkeeping coach, but I already signed someone (player/goalkeeping coach Chris Adamson joined the club last week). So I cancelled the ad, and didn't approach any applicants.

Curtis Woodhouse came back with a report for potential loan signing Alex Woodyard. He's a talented lad, but not good enough to bother bringing on for a short-term deal.

I called another staff meeting, mostly because I needed something to do. Coach Grant Brown suggested a scout three left midfielders and two right backs, while Jason Fowler recommended a couple of strikers. I've never heard of any of them, so I just said, "Sure, why not? Get the scouts to check them out." There were also requests to put some players on individual training regimes—Rodney, Russell, and Christophe are all now under preferred move training, while Nicolau and Nutter have individual focus training to improve a specific aspect of their game (quickness and penalties, respectively).

Brown also revealed a concern that Josh Gowling is unsuited to the vice captaincy. I agree, so I've named veteran Angolan Rui Marques the new vice captain.

We now have some tutoring going on, too. Fifteen-year-old Jordan Thomas is being mentored by Matthew Barnes-Homer. Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick didn't take kindly to the suggestion that he learn from Salomon Olembé, however. The volatile young winger has not done his career any favours with this reaction. I'll remember that he refused to even try it out.

He's on thin ice now—another open act of defiance and I'll boot him from the club. I need unity and respect, not friction like this.

The Kanouté deal went through just before midnight. He's a real talent, so I'm delighted to have him.

Day 15

Less than three weeks before the season officially kicks off, and we're still way short of being tactically prepared. Our starting tactic "familiarity levels" are mostly on the lower end of competent, which means I still haven't seen these guys playing anywhere near their potential as a unit. I hope that means I've got a pleasant surprise coming up over the next few months.

Simon Russell, who up until this point looked likely to be the starting right winger in our opening match, picked up a heel injury in training today. He'll be out of action for two to three weeks, so we'll almost certainly be missing Russell for the start of the league season.

This presents a problem, since the man who would challenge Russell for a spot in the side, Francis Laurent, is also injured. Laurent has a torn hamstring, and won't be ready to play until the new year. If the Kanouté transfer goes through, I'll be able to push Bore up from right back to fill in (with Kanouté slotting directly into Bore's regular spot). Otherwise, I have no idea what I'll do.

At the recommendation of my Assistant Manager, I approached Huddersfield about loaning central midfielder Chris Atkinson until the end of the season. He'd give us some much needed depth.

I also asked Woodhouse to look for right-sided midfielders I could sign on loan deals. It looks like we'll need somebody for at least the first half of the season.

Day 14

I swore when I entered the office this morning. Prat, a semi-professional Spanish club, offered Couñago a contract. They're in the Spanish Third Division Group 5, apparently, which appears to be a lower level than Lincoln play at. But he's Spanish, and I'm worried he'll sign for Prat instead of Lincoln.

It will be a huge blow if we miss out on this signing. He's good enough for League 1—two divisions above us. He's likely to dominate most Blue Square Bet Premier (I'm this close to calling it Conference National) defences.

I had a lot of time to stew on the problem, as that was the only thing that happened today. I tried staring at the wall, building towers of cards, and playing pranks on the other staff to pass the time. I even imagined a strange world where days could roll into each other and I could fly through weeks in mere hours.

Instead of this wonderful fantasy world, I'm facing nineteen more days before the league season begins. I'm sure that some of those days will be fascinating, others hectic, but most are likely to be just like today.

Sometimes the life of a football manager is rather less than glamorous. In fact, it's damn right dull.

Day 13

My groundsman asked for pitch size alterations. I declined to make any, since I still haven't figured out how this team best plays—or even will play while I search for the "best" strategy. A wider pitch suits a team with skilled wingers and attacking full backs, because it allows those players more space; by contrast, a narrow pitch fits with teams that play predominately through the middle, with powerful central midfielders and a traditional centre forward. Shorter pitches are better for possession-focused play-styles, while longer pitches fit a counter attacking, long ball approach.

I don't think I'll ever have enough tactical nous and foresight to know how I should change the pitch dimensions before a season starts—I'm more likely to adjust the team's style to fit the squad, then fine tune according to the pitch size (by, say, adding counter attack and faster tempo to a short passing style if the pitch is long).

*Puts on best Marvin the Martian voice* Ooooh, this makes me very angry.

Day 12

I posted an ad for new scouts on Day 1. Eight people responded. None are good, but I offered the two least-bad a job. John Milton refused to accept a £300 per week salary, but Ian Gardner took the deal after some attempted haggling. Now we have two scouts, which will make finding new players a bit easier.

I held a press conference to show off my big new signings, Rui Marques and Salomon Olembé. The journalists in attendance didn't make anywhere near as much fuss as I think these players deserve. And I'm beginning to dislike press conferences as a rule. The questions always seem to be rote and boring. They asked about my "relationship" with the players, whether we'll need to sell anyone, how they'll adapt, and whether or not I'm excited. I nearly fell asleep.

Use your bloody imaginations, people! Catch me off guard with a clever question. Make me say something contentious. I dare you.

New signing number three confirmed his arrival this evening. Matthew Barnes-Homer made a big impression on me during his trial, with a man of the match performance in a friendly against Bolton Reserves. And to my utter dismay, the fans are excited about him—a 25 year old who's spent most of his career playing in this division—but not international stars with top level club experience Marques and Olembé. I don't get it.

There's no appreciation for regular working hours in this business. Chris Adamson finalised his arrival as player/goalkeeping coach at 11pm. He'll be continuing a career-long trend of sitting on the bench in his kit and watching another goalkeeper play, but with the added bonus that he's on the coaching staff.

Day 11

Trial Day—four teams consisting of free agents strut their stuff in front of scouts and managers, hoping to impress enough that they'll be offered a contract.

I have no idea how the players are broken into teams, but the match I watched—England Trialists IV against England Trialists III—was a fairly one-sided affair. The Trialists IV team never looked like losing, and took the game out 3-nil. I asked my scout for reports on the players who impressed me.

I was inundated with reports after the match, but only chose to act on one: Javlon Campbell, who was the standout performer in the match I watched, looks like a star in the making, so I offered him a trial until the end of pre-season. I'd go for a permanent deal right away if it weren't for fear of having too many strikers on the books.

Earlier in the day, Curtis Woodhouse, my Assistant Manager, came back with a list of potential central midfield loanees. I elected to scout them all, since I can't see their attributes—Football Manager implements a kind of fog of war attribute hiding for "non-famous" or unknown players.

I got my man Salomon Olembé. The veteran Cameroon international has spent most of his career in Ligue 1, the top division of French football, with a couple of years Premier League experience along the way, so this is a huge signing for little Lincoln City, fifth-tier English club.

Day 10

As expected, Jason Fowler joined our coaching staff. He's taken over tactical training duties for both the first team and youth team, and is handling defensive training for the first team.

I took this opportunity to evaluate the pre-existing staff. I asked Chris Moyses, a youth coach, to leave the club (and he accepted, for a fee of £6), and I offered Grant Brown a step up from youth coach to, um, "Coach," which comes with a healthy pay rise. It must have been an exciting day in the Brown household—perhaps Mrs Brown thinks they can finally pay off that mortgage, while little Grant Jr dreams of playing with the big boys like his daddy. Or maybe he's single—I never thought, nor could I see a way, to ask.

I noted that we neither possess a goalkeeping coach nor a coach capable of coaching goalkeepers at any level of competence, so I had a quick look for someone to bring in. My choice: Chris Adamson, a perpetual 2nd or 3rd choice keeper at Championship level who has a coaching certificate and decent ability on both fronts.

The Rui Marques transfer went through. The veteran Angolan had been available as a free agent, and agreed to sign for us on the cheap—just £325 per week! I expect that his experience and quality will add a lot to our defence. And now Josh Gowling is really in a precipitous position—if he doesn't put his head down, stop whinging, and work hard to keep his spot, he'll spend the entire season on the bench (or more likely get sold, since he earns £900 per week).

We're one step closer to being competitive. If I can bring in a few more high-calibre players across the park, we might just do well.

Day 9

Six people responded to my ad for a new coach. I offered a contract to Steve Brown, but he refused to accept my terms. Jamie Shore and Colin Omogbehin were likewise unwilling. Jason Fowler agreed, however, so I should have a second coach on board soon.

I then had a meeting with the existing staff, who advised me on training ground matters and recommended signings. I ignored their suggestion to remove Jamie Taylor from the transfer list (he's not good enough).

I asked my Assistant Manager Mark BradshawCurtis Woodhouse to compile a loan players availability report—a fancy term for finding out who we can, I guess you might say, borrow from other clubs—on central midfielders.

I got a surprise call at 11:15pm telling me that defender Josh Gowling took exception to his change in squad status, which I okayed at the staff meeting at Bradshaw's suggestion. Gowling spat the dummy at me, and now he's going to have a little cry. He said, "I don't think I can work with you any more after this treatment."

What a prima donna—all I did was change his status from "Key Player" to "Important First Team Player." I'll be interested to see how this drama unfolds. He's been one of the better performers in our opening few friendlies. And my staff tell me that he's our best centre back. But I'm confident that I can find a capable replacement if we need to sell him.

One man does not make a team, nor will he be allowed to break it, or stand above it.

Day 8

I was invited to the English Trial Day. I said sure, 'cause why not? I mean, it's not like I'm happy with my current squad. Maybe I'll find a gem in this lot.

Lee Peacock arrived on trial just in time to sit on the bench for today's friendly match.

We were off to a flyer against Bolton Reserves. Koroma had a goal disallowed early on, before trialist Barnes-Homer scored on the break in the 18th minute. We went close again twice before half time, with Bolton Reserves restricted to long-range efforts. The thought crept into my mind that I should sign all four of the trialists in the starting eleven.

We scored again on 51 minutes, in a carbon copy of the first goal. Then Bolton Reserves pulled one back from a corner at the 63-minute mark. They had a goal disallowed for offside ten minutes later, as we looked increasingly vulnerable to an equaliser.

But we held on, and even came close to scoring another—first from Olembé's excellent wing play, then from a Barnes-Homer strike on the edge of the area.

After a performance like that, I was convinced that Barnes-Homer is a worthwhile signing. I offered him a contract.

My scout maintains that Frank Sinclair would be a good signing, although he cautions that Sinclair is "a fairly inconsistent performer." I already knew that. And I've seen nothing to allay my fear that he'll be as much a hindrance as he is a gain to our hopes of success.

The next match isn't scheduled for another five days. I guess I can look forward to a week of wheeling and dealing...and afternoon naps, and attending that Trial Day.

Day 7

[Sorry about missing yesterday's post. Technical difficulties kept me from running the game.]

Yet another trialist arrived. Matthew Barnes-Homer is a lot better than any of the strikers I've got, according to my backroom staff. I'll reserve judgement until I've seen him play.

Then, before lunch, two more trialists turned up at my door. Youngsters Omar Koroma and Jake Inglis look to have a bright future ahead of them; I'll be watching them closely in the friendly against Bolton Reserves tomorrow.

A dull afternoon followed, punctuated only by the news that two potential transfer targets had signed for other clubs.

I spent the evening reading scout reports. Bradshaw still thinks that Barry Hayles would be a good signing. I wonder if he comes with a wheelchair.

Bradshaw also suggests I offer a contract to one-time England international Michael Ricketts. I won't be doing that; he wants too much money.

Day 6

Another trialist, Patrick Suffo, came to train with us. He's technically gifted, and a former Cameroonian international, but is way over the hill. Just look at those physical attributes: 5 for acceleration, 4 for natural fitness, 6 for pace, and 6 for stamina.
I can well imagine him alternating between walking and ambling around in circles, hoping that he and the ball could cross paths, which may not be often, since he has crap positional ability and so-so concentration.

My scout recommended I sign aging defender Frank Sinclair. I still remember when he had a streak of goals against his own team one season playing for Leicester in the Premier League. I'm hesitant to go ahead with it; I asked the scout to take another look.

A glowing report of 33 year old Angolan centre back Rui Marques was enough to convince me to offer him a contract, though.
Some young bloke called Liam Darville also popped in for a trial. He seems half-decent—might be worth signing as a back-up right back, if he'll take a low wage. Apparently he came through the Leeds United youth system. That's always an encouraging sign (Leeds have one of the best youth programs in England—or rather they had, before the club fell into administration five or so years back).

Then one final arrival before bed came in the form of Salomon Olembé, a left-sided player and erstwhile international star with huge pedigree. It looks like he's still got enough chops to perform above this level. Consider him on my wanted list. Contract offered.
A productive day, if I do say so myself.

Day 5

I faced my first test as Lincoln manager, and I came away extremely worried.

It was a friendly match, at home, against League 2 side Morecambe. They play in a higher division, so I never expected us to win. But the performance was woeful. We gave the ball away, lost every 50-50 contest for possession, couldn't shoot straight, and barely held it together at the back. There were a few signs of encouragement towards the end of the match, but nothing worth writing home about.
Short of sacking them all and signing a new team—not possible—or praying that time will perform miracles, I'm not sure how I can get these boys to stave off relegation—let alone challenge for promotion.

Lincoln was relegated from League 2 last season. Now I know why.

We did win the match, though, thanks to dumb luck. Nicolau came off the bench to score a penalty.
In other news, I took on another trialist—former Scottish international and West Brom forward Scott Dobie. I probably won't offer him a permanent deal, but he could win me over. And my scout thinks I should sign Barry Hayles, the now-ancient Jamaican who started at Stevenage and rose through the leagues before falling back down them. I'll think about it.

Day 4

Not much happened today.

Another trialist arrived. Jonti Richter, an uncapped Australian striker, seems a pretty well-rounded player, and is clearly better than the forwards I have on contract (which, I hate to admit, isn't saying much). I'll hold off on offering him a deal for now, though, because I might be able to get someone even better than Richter.

My scout reported that Trevor Benjamin, who in his early twenties was a first-team regular in the English Premier League (four divisions above us) for Leicester City, is nowhere near good enough to play for us. He's only 32, and has spent the past few years playing non-league football; it's amazing how far he's fallen.

And that's about it. I added two "backup tactics" so that the team can one day change formation if the situation calls for it. By not having these backup tactics, I risk having a team that can only play one way—never adjusting for the situation—which is a very dangerous thing indeed. What if all but one of my strikers gets injured? What if our opponents are vastly superior through the midfield and we need an extra man in the middle to combat this?

I guess I'm thinking ahead. We've got another match tomorrow—the first friendly in front of our fans. That should be interesting.

Day 3

I let my Assistant Manager pick the team, then did my best to alter the tactics to fit the lineup and the strengths/weaknesses I've been able to gauge from coach reports and player attributes.

I noticed that only an "average" workload was being put in to match preparation, while the team had poor familiarity with the starting tactic. I rectified this immediately, switching the workload to "very high" and setting the "additional focus area" to teamwork. Hopefully this will get the lads used to working together in a typical 4-4-2 lineup before the season starts.

Then it was off to watch the Lincoln first team face off against the combined forces of the Reserves and Under 18s (the Reserve squad is too small to fill out an entire 11-man starting lineup).

Day 2

I'm still baffled what to do, despite having put a few hundred hours (as Torquay manager) into another save in FM 12. This game moves slowly, but then so does real life management.

I awoke to the news that one of the youth team players has left the club. He doesn't appear to be particularly talented, so I'm not sure why he apparently refused to a sign a professional contract. Eh, no big loss—like I said, he's kind of crap.

I got a few reports from my scout and Assistant Manager on players they think would improve the team. Racked with indecision, which stems mostly from my lack of knowledge of my current squad, I offered trials to the two of them who are free agents. I hope I don't miss out on any great signings through this timidity, but I have to be careful or I'll blow what little money we have on someone who just sits on the bench.

I need every new signing to be a star player for Lincoln either now or, in the case of youngsters, later.

Are you f-ing serious? I've been here for one day.

An introduction + Day 1

I am, for the purposes of this experiment, Juan Day, a 40 year old former Sunday League Footballer with a Scottish father and Puerto Rican mother. I am a football manager, in my first job at Lincoln City. I know nothing of this club or its players. But if I take it one day at a time, I might just succeed.

I'm no stranger to this game, however. I am also, for real, Richard Moss, a 25 year old freelance writer and Football Manager addict. This is my experiment in playing the game under a strict limitation of one in-game day for every real-life day.

Why am I doing this?

Sports management games, more than most other kinds of video games, are predicated on wish fulfilment and role play. Many sports fans wish they could control their favourite team; we all want to believe that we'd do a better job than the person in charge, even if that person is as successful as Alex Ferguson. We despair when key players or promising youngsters leave, scream obscenities and call for management blood when our team falters, and insist we know the best players to sign, tactics to play, and substitutions to make.

And we like to think our successes in games such as Football Manager prove we could do it. But we play these games under highly unrealistic conditions. We expand and contract timelines to fit our wants and needs. We stop halfway through a match to study tactics online (or think about how to turn the score around over lunch) for two hours, then fly through three weeks in an hour.

What if we couldn't do that? What if we could only play one day, per day, and never pause matches? How would this affect the experience? Would it feel more or less authentic? Would player engagement increase or decrease? I can't wait to find out.