Player Manager: A Sports Progression Fantasy

Player Manager, Book 1

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

Truly amazing

First off, I’m not a soccer fan. I’m such a non soccer fan that I am going to keep calling it soccer. Having said that, absolutely love this book. If you like LitRPG, then this book is like a palette cleanser. It washes away the bad taste of all the redundant isekai stories about some guy who suddenly is a prince in a run down town.

The level of detail in this story is addictive. The author paints a picture of football that sucks you in. On top of all that, it’s clever and funny and passionate. It’s just good quality writing.

And now I have a new favorite litrpg flavor

this was a really good book. Just like the time i found out I really liked sports anime this book has opened up a whole new subgenre for me. everything about this from the narrator to the story was absolutely enjoyable. As the credits rolled i immediately purchased the next book.

Amazing Series

Just finished with book 6 and felt compelled to come back here to share that this is currently my favorite series and thoroughly entertaining on a number of levels. The premise is wonderful, the characters engaging and the performance perfection (the accents in particular are spot on).

I listen to hundreds of hours of Audible each year and have finished countless fantasy and LitRPG series and this is now firmly up there with several of my favorites. If you're even slightly tempted, I urge you to give it a try!

Hate Soccer? Doesn't Matter.

I honestly would never have expected to enjoy a book centered around soccer. Feels strange for a litrpg and Max can be a wanker for sure, but you truly get drawn into his story. Really slaps.

This book made me love soccer!?

I have never been a soccer fan, I’ve always been an American football fan. But this book made English soccer seem like the greatest sport in the world! I am now fascinated by the sport, and I am following it through the Internet. The book is well written, the characters are all great, and the story is just engrossing. Well done!