You are the director of football, not the manager.

The idea

• Every signing is made on incomplete information

  You never see a player's true attributes, only a range that narrows as your scouts spend time on him. The name is the phrase every transfer announcement ends on — for an undisclosed fee — and it is also the central mechanic.

• The head coach has his own opinions

  He has a formation, a style, a view on youth, and a relationship with you. He picks the team. Buy a player who doesn't fit what he wants and you own an expensive bench-warmer whose value is falling.

• A transfer is three parties who want different things

  The selling club wants money, the player wants status and minutes, the agent wants his cut and will blow up a deal over it. Deals resolve over weeks, so a window is a planning problem rather than a shopping trip.

• The press is a system you can play

  Leak genuine interest in a rival's unsettled striker to depress his price, or fabricate it more cheaply and risk exposure. Credibility decides whether journalists run you at all; goodwill decides how they cover you when it goes wrong.

• You start unproven, and the board is always watching

  Only clubs nobody else wants will interview you, so the opening choice is which mess to inherit. From there the board judges you on results against their expectation, on the books, and on whether you did what they asked.

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