Football System: Touchline God
Eric Maddox, a 70-year-old American retired football coach once hailed for his tactical brilliance, now forgotten by time—closes his eyes for what he believes is a normal nap in his quiet Florida retirement home.
But when he opens them, he's not staring at ceiling tiles, instead, he's on a touchline.
Wearing boots In the rain.
With players running on the pitch, fans jeering behind barriers, and the smell of cheap turf pellets in the air.
"What the hell is this?"
He’s twenty-five again, but it’s not Earth. It’s a world where football reigns supreme. A world where the sport is religion, its practitioner's deities in cleats. Coaches are revered, players are worshipped, and even the kit man gets treated like royalty.
But there's one catch: none of it is familiar. The clubs, the players, the leagues, the competitions, and even the currency—they're all different. Alien. Like waking up in a dream where the rules are the same, but the language is foreign.
As if that wasn’t enough, the body he’s now in? A youth coach with a laughable win record, a looming divorce, and a measly fifty thousand in the bank that his ex-wife is fighting tooth and nail to take. All of it.
Just when the spiral seems inevitable, a monotone chime pierces the noise.
[Initiating Golden Finger…]
[…45%… 75%… 100%]
[System Integration Complete.]
[Welcome, host. You are now bound to the Pro Manager System. Objective: Dominate the Football World. A new era begins]
From washed-up has-been to chosen one of destiny, Eric Maddox is about to trade arthritis pills for tactical boards, and shuffleboard for Prestigious Cup glory.
Because in this world, tactics are power.
And on this touchline, he’s about to become a god.
This book began with a simple idea: What if a washed-up tactician got one more shot, only this time, in a world built entirely around football? I didn’t want to write another generic “real players” football novel where you see the same boring names popping up here and there. I wanted this to feel... different, raw, a little messy. Full of new elements and that distinct rhythm of the beautiful game. Eric Maddox is more than a manager; he's a man who had everything, lost it, and is now clawing his way back, not in his own world but in one where football is the measure for success. I hope that writing this will be an enjoyable experience, especially blending Football Manager-style mechanics, RPG system dynamics and that unique energy of a live match. There'll be underdogs. There'll be snakes. There'll be moments where you’ll yell, “sub him off!” before Maddox does. And there'll be moments where the system gets it wrong, and Maddox gets it right. If you love football, tactical mechanics, redemption arcs, relationship struggles, and that itch you get during extra time, you’ll feel right at home. Welcome to a world where managers are royalty. And Eric Maddox is learning to wear his crown again, one step at a time.