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Player Manager: A Sports Progression Fantasy

Player Manager, Book 1

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About this listen

Could a seemingly average Premier League fan oversee a football club better than a top manager? Max is starting to think so . . .

Max Best is not living his—ahem—best life. His job's a drag, his home's a shooting gallery, his hopes are nil, and lately, even his beloved game of football has devolved from a chaotic, ecstatic delight into a cold, calculating equation complete with stats, tech terms, and mindless lingo. But then Max rescues a mysterious old man from a mugging. "Nick" seems friendly enough . . . until he innocently asks his savior, "Would you sell your soul to be a top football manager?"

Naturally, Max says yes, and in that instant, everything changes. Suddenly, whenever he watches a footie match, the skills and attributes of every player are visible to him within an eyes-only display. While he's terrified at first, he quickly learns to appreciate his abilities—even embracing them to gain his own level-ups and experience. And he's going to need them.

Because his otherworldly talent is about to have a massive effect on his real-world existence, catapulting him from small local matches to the insanity of top-tier football. But the more he succeeds, the more he's torn between the simple, happy fanatic he once was and the master of the pitch he's becoming. Soon Max will have to ask himself: Is football really a matter of life or death? Or is there something more important worth fighting for?

The first volume of the hit progression-fantasy series—with more than 700,000 views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

©2023 Ted Steel (P)2023 Podium Audio
Action & Adventure Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Sports Paranormal Royalty
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As someone whom at one point had gone past the year 2020 on Champ Man 99/00, this story really speaks to me. There's a few plotholes though, like "why doesn't he just watch MNF, MOTD, or clips of Maradona on Youtube to gain XP, rather than sitting at some 5aside league?", but it's an enjoyable story nevertheless.

A must for a Champ Man Enthusiast

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Very suited to FM players and LitRPG fans (of which i am). Was recommended this hy the authornof Quest Academy (excellent book). Interesting and slow growth in protagonist.

Starts slow, good

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The protagonist's perspective of football as a soap opera for men was both funny and touching. The characters just leapt off the page. I don't think there was a single character who felt two dimensional or a cardboard cutout. It's very difficult to write realistic characters and Ted Steel nails it. Even the antagonists are normal people with sensible motives and measured responses. Even if you aren't a football fan I would recommend this book for the character driven aspects.

The setting is northern England and the narrator of the audiobook really sells it. The author must come from that part of the country as it's as grounded as any setting could hope to be. The plot was great too. I continually envisioned a sudden time skip or leap forward but there was a slow, steady reasonable progression with highs and lows throughout.

Great book. Great narration too.

I'm not a football fan but I really enjoyed this.

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I was browsing reddit and looking for an ' easy listen' series that I could use my credits on as I had a lot leftover.... and I came across a post called something along the lines of ' What are your favourite good but obscure LitRPGs' and this series kept coming up in the discussion and I was intrigued!

In my experience, LitRPGs are often based around a fantasy dungeons and dragons/final fantasy style powers. I had never seen someone base one around a sports game. I was really curious about how someone getting the powers that you have in a football manager sim would work.

I don't watch football or have any interest in it. What I really like about this book is that the author manages to introduce a lot of terminology around tactics and explain it all in a way that is funny and accessible and make you feel really interested in what is going on. I didn't realise how important it was to correctly position players on the pitch, or that managers did things other than decide the line up and give pep talks.

I found the book really funny and I loved all the references to Manchester and British culture at the time the book takes place.

I don't even like Football....but I liked this book!

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honestly brilliant, just edge of your seat book. if you like footy this is a must hear, and the performance is memorable, well enacted. not a dull moment.

best footy fantasy book

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