Player Manager

A disillusioned football fan rescues a mysterious old man and wakes up able to see every player's attributes in a real-time display. What begins as a terrifying novelty becomes the foundation of an unlikely career — from local amateur management toward the top tier of the game.

Max has made a name as an amateur manager, but it's not enough to escape his dead-end job. The next logical step: become a player himself. From rehabbing an injured ankle to evaluating his own athletic potential, he's discovering just how large the gap is between knowing the game and actually playing it.

Just as Max is about to accept a manager role at Telford, a more intriguing offer arrives: director of football at Chester FC — a position that doesn't quite exist yet. Convincing the club's fan-representative board he's for real means navigating the hard realities of professional football, where playing hardball off the pitch can cost you everything.

As director of football for Chester FC, Max has the team climbing and the transfers working — until a promising prospect is poached, an old adversary starts playing dirty, and Max begins to suspect the mysterious figure who gave him his gift may be behind all the chaos.

Someone tried to murder Max. Waking in hospital with a fractured skull and no curse — Old Nick temporarily recalled it — Max must navigate his responsibilities to players, staff, girlfriend, and a watching public without the one ability he's come to rely on.

Recovered and re-armed with his scouting ability, Max leads Chester into the FA Cup — facing big-money clubs with big attitudes. Success on the pitch attracts enemies off it, and a vicious press campaign threatens to destroy everything he's built.