Try role-playing with an avatar of a fictional character as your manager in FM20. Win by being remarkably mediocre in Football Manager.
David Brent – Life on the Sidelines, or how to win FM20 by being remarkably mediocre in Football Manager.“I bloody love football!” David Brent in The Office
David Brent is the main character of the British TV Series “The Office” created and portrayed by Ricky Gervais. He is the manager of an obscure paper merchants based in Slough. But in an alternate universe, after enjoying a mediocre career as a football player, Brent dreams to become a manager. And it’s up to us to help him do that, in Football Manager 2020.
Here are a few tips on role playing David Brent and having a blast in doing so.
1. League selection
England is a must. How further down the pyramid you go is up to you and so is any other foreign leagues. I would suggest the other top 4 European Leagues and maybe Scotland.
2. Manager creation
You should definitely use a David Brent picture to generate a 3D model. The results are absolutely hilarious.
While Brent would be 56 in 2019, I suggest using his age at the start of “The Office” – 38. This will make it more realistic, as a former player who just starts his journey as a manager. This would mean setting 1981 as the year of his birth. His actual birthday is not mentioned during the show, my personal preference here is to use Ricky Gervais’ one, June 25th.
No second nationality, nor a second language should be added to Brent. Set his height to 1.73 meters and weight to at least 85-90 kg, which will give him that short and bulky look we all love. Place of birth and favourite club should be Reading, facts mentioned by Brent in the series or the subsequent film “Life on the road”. A grey suit/white shirt would be my choice of attire for Brent. Continental A License and Professional Footballer (regional level) are a good place to start, but that depends on the club you’ll manage, which we’ll talk more later.
For the style, I like to pick motivator, and don’t mess with the skill points too much, after all Brent thinks of himself as a great motivator and mentor.
3. Choosing your club
My preference is to start in the Championship with Reading FC, Brent’s hometown club.
Alternatively, if you install an expanded English League System, you could try your hand at a lower league challenge with Slough Town (National League South). Use the suggested badge and experience for either club. Another option is to start unemployed and see what job you can get based on your coaching badges and reputation.
4. Other role-playing tips
Now that you have created your manager and selected your club, it’s time to get down to work.
Brent views himself as a brilliant innovator, so you should try some kind of outlandish tactic for your team. Also, being such an innovator, you can try to use one of your best players out of position and try to retrain him.
Use a passionate tone when your talking to the press or your team and spice up your comments with David Brent quotes such as “Live fast. Die old.”, “I bloody love football.”, “Um, I’m an educator. I’m a motivator of people. I excite their imaginations.”, or other memorable remarks. Try to be as cocky as you can with every chance, even though your results won’t necessarily back you up.
Occasionally, brag about your dancing and singing skills, or your high alcohol tolerance. Your players should view you as "A friend first, and a boss second, probably an entertainer third", so always have your door open for them, even if you don’t always have the best interactions with them.
Final Thoughts on David Brent Football Manager Challenge
As a last tip, don’t try too hard to succeed. Be mediocre and enjoy it, the goal here is to keep your job at the first club you take over as long as you can, just by being utterly unremarkable. If you get sacked, get a new job and start again.
You can have short bouts of success, like a Premier League promotion, or a giant-killing cup upset, so that you can brag about those feats later on. But please... don’t go on and win the Champions League, that’s not the point of this challenge. I know, maybe it doesn’t sound so appealing, but I promise, you will be surprised how fun it is to just try and cling on to your job.
Will you be trying this Football Manager challenge? What other fictional characters do you suggest as potential managers in FM20?
