“I am the Secret Football Manager” is both a declaration and a device.
When I started managing a football club for a living, I vowed I would never turn out like the embittered older managers that my previous clubs seemed to have made a point of collecting.
It is often said that 95% of what happens in football takes place behind closed doors and, believe me, the truth is far stranger than fiction. You might see us at a press conference or 90 minutes on a Saturday and form your opinions about us on that fleeting appearance. You might watch analysts drone on about our tactics without realising what they are saying is pre-designed to fit a narrative and barely scratches the surface.
The only way you would ever find out what really happens behind closed doors is to read a blog that was written in total anonymity by a manager that has played at the highest level.
In this blog I will try to explain exactly how football really works, away from the prying eyes of the outside world, by drawing on my own experiences. Many of these stories I shouldn’t tell, but I will.
My aim for TSFM is to tell the story from the manager’s point of view and their journey through the life of a Football Manager save. If you’ve read The Secret Footballer, you’ll know that part of the charm is trying to figure out who the player is and I want a sense of that in this blog – I’m not trying to hide myself, the team or the players but instead adding a sense of intrigue to some words on a page.
As the year goes on I will still be focusing on the strategy as well as the story, I want to include analysis, tactical reasoning and much more, I also want to push myself to improve my graphics skill set creating bespoke assets to display my Football Manager adventure without giving too much away.
I really hope that you, the reader, will enjoy the ride and I encourage interaction to make the series better.
That’s all for now, on the run up to FM20 I will be working on the site itself, creating assets and potentially cocking up the anonymity before the game actually comes out.
Thanks for reading. TSFM.
The Secret Football Manager 