What you actually do here

Eight things. That is everything a manager does here, in this order.

1. Read your squad. 18–25 players, each with a position, attributes, potential, age and character. The stars next to positions say where he is actually worth something.
2. Set the lineup. Eleven on the grass, a bench, a penalty taker. If you don't — the assistant will, and you live with his choice.
3. Tactics. Shape, mentality, pressing, tempo, width. Every lever costs something. High pressing burns legs.
4. The live match. On Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings the engine plays the match on the clock, minute by minute, and you react from the bench. That gets its own post — it is the heart of this version.
5. Training. A focus per player. The young grow fast, the older slowly, nobody passes their ceiling.
6. The market. Auctions, free-agent talks, loans, renewals. Agents talk; the maths decides.
7. Money. Wages every week, a gate every home match, sponsors, a league grant. Wage-to-income under 0.85 — that is the rule.
8. Fans and the ground. The mood builds from form and expectations, and moves the crowd at the gate. Ticket price, expansions, the away end — yours.

Ten minutes a day cover most of it. A live match is about 20 minutes — and you can let it run.

Tomorrow: 2019 vs 2026, in one table.