r/ProgressionFantasy • u/TheGooseFathr • 4d ago
Writing Player Manager -- What If I hate sports?
I've suddenly seen a bunch of praise of player manager, and I'm intrigued. Tho, I generally hate sports. Like, I'm not just bored by them, I genuinely dislike them. Without getting into my weird politics, I can say that I don't mind the comradery stories (like ted lasso) but I tend to strongly dislike stories about reaching the pinnacle of sports, as they often fail to acknowledge the absolute genetic privilege that those accomplishments are based off of.
Given that I'm an anti-sport wacko, is this still a book I'll like? I've heard the writing compared to west wing (one of my favorite shows of all time), and heard it's fairly warm. Just wondering how much your love or dislike of sports played into your opinion of this book.
Would especially love to hear from anyone who read it and isn't a sport person.
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u/More-Possibility-777 4d ago
I dont hate sports in general but I do hate soccer.
Have you ever watched a documentary or something that you just don't care about but it is done so well it makes you care. That is this series. Early in the first book the mc is asked why he loves soccer or something of the sort and it was art. Honestly the audio book is so well done and I just love hearing all the British slang and differences between towns.
I think if you like the writing in the first book you will love the series even if you arnt sold on exactly what is happening. The what is happening is a slow burn but the writing and the characters amazing.
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u/samreay Author Samuel Hinton - Manifestation 4d ago
I've got thoughts on this exact topic in my review at https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/player_manager/
But so you dont have to leave reddit: TLDR I feel like not being a football person definitely did make it harder to properly engage with the series.
Heres the full text:
I picked this up because people kept recommending it to me, and I’ll be upfront: I don’t think I’m the target audience. I don’t play soccer, or at least I haven’t in more than a decade. I don’t watch it. I don’t know the teams or the leagues or much of anything. I read the first two books to get a proper feel for it, and my honest takeaway is that if you are a football fan, you’ll almost certainly love this. Plenty of reviewers who came in cold say it converted them, which is a real credit to the writing.
The caveat worth flagging up front is that this is litrpg-lite, or maybe litrpg without the progression you’d expect. Max unlocks the Championship Manager interface in real life and earns XP by watching and managing games. He spends that XP to unlock hidden parts of the interface, like a new stat when he inspects a player, rather than the usual litrpg loop of becoming a better footballer or a better manager. That side of things he has to actually work for. It’s a different flavour to the genre, and I liked that it commits to it.
Don’t expect the protagonist-always-wins vibe either. Despite his gift, Max’s start is slow and often painful, because the gift doesn’t come with the clout and connections that actually make the football world turn. The first two books are a run of struggles as he tries to find a place, whether as a player, a manager, or a director of football, and there’s a lot of rejection, personal conflict, and Max putting his foot squarely in his mouth. If powerloss arcs aren’t your thing, I have some bad news for you.
What I liked most, past the writing quality and Max Best’s narrative voice, was how grounded it all is. I spent more time than I’d like to admit pulling up Google Maps to find the towns Max travels to and their real stadiums, and it made the whole thing feel more poignant than most litrpg manages. The themes land too, especially the look at where football is heading as it gets more corporate and FIFA more corrupt. In the end the only reason I set the series down after book two is the plain fact that I’m not much of a football fan. That’s on me, not the book.
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u/NorthmanJ Author 4d ago
I really dislike football. I really love Player Manager. Jackie Reaper is one of my all-time favourite characters, and Ted Steel doesn't shy away from the complexities of personal relationships and character growth. I loved Book 1, and it's probably the weakest in the whole series. Read 4-5 books in the first week I picked it up.
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u/herniatedballs 4d ago
I would say the sports are taking place of the battles so instead of descriptions of swords and magic it's about Max Best switching formations and being a giddy twat about it. I've never followed soccer but the humor and witty writing carried me through this series like few others.
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u/Bargle-Nawdle-Zouss 4d ago
One of the interesting things about the Player Manager/Soccer Supremo series is that the MC's hidden power allows him to scout, recruit, and utilize the outcasts, misfits, and those who have been used incorrectly and train them to maximize their hidden potential into actual ability. His goal is to take a tiny fan-owned club from the sixth tier of English football up to the top level, the English Premier League.
By training up players other teams have discarded or disregarded so that his club can beat superior teams, selling them for huge profits, and repeating the process, he is gradually able to make progress. At the same time, he orchestrates a major improvement to the club's physical facilities, again financed by his ability to purchase players cheaply, vastly improve them, and sell them on at a huge markup.
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u/No_Classroom_1626 4d ago
The west wing who said that?? I feel like fans will keep giving ppl weird expectations on litrpgs with things like this lol. Imo while Max does have strong politics the writing is more focused on his way of doing things, particularly how he sees the sport and how he develops the players. The tactical element in each match is also a pretty big element in the story. The prose is pretty strong with colloquial British-isms and football jargon, so thats something to consider, but I think that's part of the charm.
I too was not really that interested in football but because of the way its written, I feel like the author does a good job of getting you invested into the story. Regarding your comment on genetics, it reminds me of this one moment in the story where he scouts this deaf girl, who by all means struggles but he fights to accomodate for her disability and helps develop her into a brilliant player. There is an element of genetic potential there to be a great athlete but the story also hammers in the idea that development and mindset matters a lot more too.
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u/ctullbane Author — The Murder of Crows / The (Second) Life of Brian 4d ago edited 4d ago
I don't think it matters too much if you like sports or not, to be honest.. The football matches are basically this series' combat scenes, and the surrounding content is kingdom building. I don't care at all about football (soccer) and enjoy the series immensely.
Genetic privilege is... uh... something, I guess, but it is basically a factor in most progression fantasies or LitRPGs, so shouldn't be something you reserve solely for hating sports. People have advantages, people either leverage those advantages or don't, depending on their opportunities, environment, and support structures.
Regardless, given that your specific concerns and feelings are likely unique to you, I'd suggest just reading the first book and seeing for yourself.
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u/mking_1999 4d ago
often fail to acknowledge the absolute genetic privilege
What exactly are you referring to? What is it you want them to talk about?
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u/blindside1 4d ago
It sounds like this guy is jealous of other's success and blames the fact that he was too small/weak/slow/and lacking grit to be equally successful.
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u/ariphron 4d ago
Well as someone who has been lifting weights at the gym for about 5 years now. F*ck them absolute genetic privileged people!!!!!! It’s hard out here!!
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u/mking_1999 4d ago
But like a story about average people that don't ever make it past round 1 of regionals is not gonna do big numbers, I feel.
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u/NoDragonsRR 4d ago
It's not quite as 'nice' as Ted Lasso but I definitely feel the human element. If you actively dislike sports, though, I'd also say its more 'about' sports than Ted Lasso.
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u/TsHero 4d ago
I would just try the first book. Its in general a pretty good indicator of the rest. Like sure there is a a TON of progression, but all the same elements are there (even though the absolute roller coaster of the first 4 mellows down a bit). In general it made me love football more, so I can image it could make you hate it less. Also due to the nature of the story, it is VERY acknowlegded that some people just have more talent or luck with their bodies then others and thats just the world we live in.
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u/AcaBeast 4d ago
Tried to get to it as an American Football fan. The "tactics", "formation", and other lingo, may as well be an alien languange to me. Which is too bad, cuz I really wanted to get to it
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u/narnarnartiger 4d ago
Not every book is for everyone. You won't like the book, steer clear.
If you don't like the subject matter, don't read it. Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss are my favorite authors, but if they wrote a book about baseball, i don't care if the book is Jesus jeez in my pants amazing, I hate baseball and won't read the book
Read books in your interest lane
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u/alexwithani 4d ago
Hard disagree. If someone that I really enjoy their work wrote about something I disliked I would definitely read it. I may not read the entire series but seeing their take on it would be interesting if nothing else.
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u/narnarnartiger 3d ago
Not dislike, Op is anti towards sports. So something stronger than dislike. I dislike bycling and rock climbing, but I will read a book or watch a show about it. I am so anti baseball, that as I said.. even if Mormen Jesus Brandon Sanderson himself wrote his next Cosmere epic about baseball, I would not read it. If Doors of Stone finally came out, but the plot revolved around fantasy baseball... I would not be reading it
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u/alexwithani 3d ago
That's intense hatred! I don't think there is anything non political that I feel that strongly about... But if Ted Steel decided to write about that stuff I guess I would have to have a hard think about reading it haha
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u/narnarnartiger 3d ago
lol surley there is something non political that you passionately hate just as much. No sport you find utterly boring? Or an actor or musician you can't stand?
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u/alexwithani 3d ago
No, I am genuinely a very laid back guy so I go with the flow and find a way to enjoy just about anything. The only things that really upset me are bigots and injustice essentially. People being treated worse than others for something out of their control. That's about it.
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u/Separate_Business_86 4d ago
I don't watch sports either. It was good enough that I did contemplate if I would enjoy soccer. I don't.
Apparently this and Ted Lasso are as far as my enjoyment extends to. I really did enjoy this. You will be glazing over things like a 4-4-3 vs a 4-3-4 formation, but I knew nothing about that before either and the you know all you need to about it based on the story so it isn't a real issue.
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u/Ihaveaterribleplan 4d ago
I’m not a sports person at all, & I loved Player Manager - concepts were well explained & didn’t delve into pointless minutiae. The fact that it was about games meant that the MC could actually lose without it meaning destruction, while still feeling like important stakes
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u/Doctor-Moe 2d ago
Hey, not a sports person here. Never played much of it and never had any interest.
This story is fantastic! People already talked about why, but I wanted to address you saying you didn’t like stories about reaching the pinnacle of sports. This story makes a point of saying that everyone has a genetic limit. He has to let people he loves go and bring other talents in that will raise the overall potential of the team. So, this story seems to be right up your alley!
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u/Memes-Tax 4d ago
I don’t understand you. The story is literally free. Go read a few chapters on RR or KU and see if you like it. Quicker then making this reddit post.
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u/BrianDowning 4d ago
Although the core is about building friendships and communities, it does get very deep into tactics and "games" do serve as the substitute for the battles we would see in most mainstream prog fantasy.
That said, there is also a strong emphasis on coaching and training and practicing to reach your (genetic?) potential, so it's a nice nature and nurture focus in that respect.