Why LeManager Exists

Twenty-two years ago, lemanager.net was registered for a Championship Manager fan site. The domain sat unused while I moved on to other things, occasionally renewed out of nostalgia. Three weeks ago, I finally decided to give it purpose.

The Problem with Modern Football Management for Me

Football Manager has evolved into something incredibly deep and sophisticated. For players who want comprehensive simulation and have time to master its systems, it delivers an unparalleled experience. But somewhere along the way, I lost the thread. What I loved about Championship Manager 3 and 4 was the immediate accessibility. You could jump in, understand the core mechanics quickly, and start having fun without extensive tutorials. Modern FM’s depth is impressive, but it requires an investment of time and attention that doesn’t fit my current life. I worked on Championship Manager 2008 and 2010 at Eidos, so I have deep appreciation for both eras. Will I buy Football Manager 26? Of course I will, but there’s room in the market for FM’s comprehensive approach and something simpler that captures the essence of those earlier games.

The Vision

LeManager aims to recapture that Championship Manager 3 feeling; addictive simplicity with hidden depth. Modern web technology with classic gameplay philosophy. The kind of game where you lose hours without realizing it, not because you’re managing complex systems but because you’re having fun. The technical approach reflects this philosophy. We built a sophisticated match engine that produces realistic statistics, but we present it through text commentary that lets your imagination fill in the tactical brilliance. Like the original Championship Manager, the depth is in the simulation, not the interface complexity.

Built with AI

This project demonstrates practical AI collaboration in software development. The match engine spans 30 files with complex probabilistic systems, work that would traditionally take months. Through systematic prompting and iterative refinement, we’ve compressed development cycles while maintaining quality standards. The AI partnership handles implementation while I provide domain expertise and architectural decisions. This division of labor has proven remarkably effective for building sophisticated simulations quickly.

Early 2000s by Design

The visual aesthetic deliberately evokes the early 2000s era when football management games prioritized gameplay over graphical flair. This isn’t nostalgia for its own sake; it’s about focusing development effort on systems that matter rather than visual polish that doesn’t enhance the core experience.

The Road Ahead

LeManager launches between March and August 2026 for 5 euros. A fair price for a focused experience without the bloat of modern football management games. No season passes, no microtransactions, no artificial complexity; just pure football management distilled to its essential elements. The next few months will document the development process, interesting technical challenges, and occasional amusing bugs. Building a football simulation reveals fascinating edge cases and unexpected behaviors that make for entertaining stories.