How the club runs

First week

Sign in, name a club, then run it from the office.

• What is Gaffer Manager?

  A football club career. You pick the eleven, train, buy and sell, and keep the books honest. When you play a week the whole pyramid resolves and your match writes a report — there is no live highlight reel.

• Do I need an account?

  Yes. Sign in with Google, X, or email — but those are three different accounts. Use the same method you used last time or the club will look missing. The career is saved to that account. This phone also keeps a backup: if you sign in and the club is not there, the home page can attach the local copy. Forgot the password? Sign in another way if you can, then menu → Set password.

• Can I use light mode?

  Yes. Once you are signed in, Menu → Appearance. Dark is the default. Light is paper with dark type. The choice saves to your account so the next device matches.

• Where does my club start?

  You take a seat in Division 4, the bottom of the shared pyramid (Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4). Opening balance is 1.35m cr. You get a Division 4 opening ground and support — not the bot club's bowl. The board set a finishing target on the office page — in Division 4 they usually want top 8. The three-letter short name is made from the club name. You do not pick it.

• What should I do in week 1?

  1. Tactics — pick a formation and name eleven (or tap Best eleven / Fit eleven). 2. Training — set a focus and tap Train squad. One session a calendar day. 3. Dressing room — up to three conversations (the buttons match the issue), and a plan for the next five games. 4. Wait for kick-off if Auto-tick is on, or Office → Play week if it is off. Read the report. 5. Inbox — open notes, mark them read. The PA on the office will nudge you if you skip a step. Check Finances before you spend.

• Where did League / Club / Finances go?

  On a phone the bottom bar is Office, Squad, Tactics, Training and Matches. The menu (top right) is grouped: Club, Market, World, Community, More. Support, the handbook, and What's new sit in More. Admin (if you have it) sits at the bottom with Sign out. On a wide screen the same groups are in the left sidebar.

• What is the PA?

  The office has a tick list: trained today, eleven named, who is injured or banned in the XI, fitness, physio treatments, academy intake, next season's shirt, season brief. Unticked rows have a jump button. Extra notes sit under PA (contracts running down, pitch, books, dressing room). Season brief is the job you pick for the board — stay up, their target, top half, go up, or win the division. Hit it and they pay a bonus scaled to that division (winning Division 4 is not Division 1 money). The brief locks after week 3.

• What does premium change?

  Same club, a few extra seats: 8 training groups instead of 4 (plus auto-train and a weekday Off plan), 6 academy lads a season instead of 2, and 2 physio treatments a calendar day instead of 1. Premium is not billed yet.

• What do I do between matches?

  Dressing room is the job when the ball is not rolling. Squad: three conversations a week, buttons match the problem. Matchday: the next-opponent file and sit in / press / stretch for the next five games — each fixture shows their likely XI overall so you can pick a plan. Board: the directors' weekly question and optional tunnel noise. Inbox drips through the day — a press quote after a result, reserves on afternoons the first team is idle. Also: train, tactics, market, the ground.

• Am I playing against other people?

  Yes. One pyramid, one auction, one set of cups. When you start a club you take a seat in Division 4 of that world — same table as every other signed-in manager. Bot clubs fill the rest of the shirts. Kick-offs run on the London clock. Community (the dugout) is the same board. The match uses your last saved tactics. If someone in that XI is injured, banned, or already below a hard fitness floor, the server sits them and fills the shirt from the rest of the squad the same way Fit eleven does — same position first, then related. It will not start an unavailable player, and it will not leave you with ten men if cover exists. After the match the inbox names who was pulled and who came in. Missing the window is not a forfeit.

The week

Kick-offs sit on the clock when auto-tick is on.

• How do I play a match?

  If Auto-tick is on (Admin), matches kick off at the printed UK time (GMT/BST). You cannot tap Play week to skip ahead. Watch is commentary-first (newest at the top). The 2D board only appears for highlights — goals, close shots, cards and VAR. Circles are squad numbers; keepers wear a different colour. The ball stays with a player until they pass or shoot. The report has a Lineups tab: starting XI with overall and the match rating, plus anyone who came off the bench. To rewatch a game from this season: Matches → This season → Watch (or open the report and tap Watch again). The film uses the current viewer, so older games this season pick up engine fixes. Skip to full time whenever you want. The film is wiped when the season closes; scores, xG, ratings and lineups stay.

• When do I hear that a match has finished?

  As soon as kick-off has been played — whether you were away or already sitting in the club. A card comes up: reveal the score or watch. Scores stay hidden until you do one of those. Dismiss only when you are done with the list.

• The report said nothing, then appeared. What happened?

  The week writes the match, then the report page opens. If it ever flashes empty for a second, wait — the write-up is landing. Open Inbox later and tap the match note to read it again.

• What is xG?

  Expected goals. Each shot is given a chance of going in (a penalty is about 0.76, a tap-in maybe 0.6, a speculative drive around 0.08). Add them up and you get a team xG. Scoring more than your xG means you were clinical; less means you wasted it. Player xG lives on their Season tab. It does not change the result — it describes the chances.

• How long is a season?

  A season is one real week, Monday to Sunday. Twenty clubs, you play each once — 19 league games packed into those seven days (two or three kick-offs a day: 12:30, 15:00, 19:45). Cups go in a 10:00 spare slot if you are still in. Sunday evening the association processes promotion, prize money and the next season. Players age one year per real month (~4–5 seasons), not per season.

• What if I sign up in the middle of a season?

  You take over a live Division 4 club rather than waiting. The table, remaining fixtures, squad and bank are already in motion — the previous manager (a bot seat) is gone. If the association is closing the season (Sunday 16:00) sign-up waits until that hour is done. Later, when many humans share one pyramid, this is the same idea: claim a vacant AI club in the lowest open division.

• What do the kick-off times mean?

  19 league games a season, plus cups. That is about 2.7 league games per real day — some days have three (12:30, 15:00, 19:45 UK), Saturday and Sunday have two. All kick-offs are UK time (GMT or BST). When that time passes the clock plays the match; you do not tap Play week. Rotate the squad; fitness still matters.

• I have no fixture this week?

  Cup weeks can leave you idle in that competition if you are out, not drawn, or have a bye. Advance week still pays wages, recovers fitness, and moves the rest of the pyramid. A bye is not a rest week if you still have a league game.

Squad and tactics

Name eleven shirts and nine on the bench.

• How do I pick my team?

  Open Tactics. Plans (Default, Alternate) sit above a line; Best eleven / Fit eleven fill the current plan's shirts. Tap the shirt you want to change, then tap a bench player, someone from Available, or another shirt — they swap. If someone in the eleven or on the bench is injured or banned before kick-off, the next best available player is promoted so you are not left a man short. The inbox names who sat and who came in. Injured names carry a +; a ban shows a red card.

• Which formations can I use?

  4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 3-4-3, 5-3-2, 4-1-4-1. Changing shape keeps whoever is already named, slot for slot, so check the XI after you switch.

• Can I play someone out of position?

  Yes, but they lose a chunk of rating. Natural role is full, secondary roles are close, related positions (a right-back at left-back) are usable. The number on the tactics list is always for that shirt. Goalkeepers outfield, or outfielders in goal, are a last resort. Position keys do most of the work; the other attributes still add a little (about a tenth), so a well-rounded player is not the same as a specialist with empty other stats.

• How do squad numbers work?

  Every player at a club has a shirt number. Number 1 is reserved for a goalkeeper; other keepers take the next free number. A signing is assigned automatically. When they leave, that number is free again. The 2D match board shows those numbers on the circles.

• Why is a 70 not always a 70?

  Overall is the best of their listed positions, using only the attributes that role cares about. A centre-half's shooting does not feed DC rating; tackling, heading, positioning and strength do. Train him as a poacher and the 70 can be empty in the places that matter. On the player page those key stats are in bold. Squad lists keepers, defenders, midfielders and attackers (primary role), still sorted by overall inside each group. On Tactics, Available sorts by the shirt you tapped.

• What is transfer value based on?

  Mostly their rating in their first position (a defender is priced as a defender), age, and remaining potential. A little of their best other role can lift it, but max shooting on a centre-half will not turn him into a striker's fee. Age after 30 drops the fee hard — a Division 4 squad keeper past 30 is tens of thousands; a young Division 1 shirt is millions. The association floor is 85% of that figure.

• Fitness, energy, form, morale — what matters?

  Match rating uses that week's fitness — a tired player plays below their usual overall for that match only; attributes on the profile do not drop. Training and matches drain energy; rest weeks and Play week restore some. Green is 80%+, amber under 70%, red under 55%. Tactics and Squad colour the number. Fit eleven rests the amber/red shirts if a fresher option exists. The physio room can treat 1 player a calendar day (2 on premium). Each treatment lifts fitness by 6–11 points, up to a ceiling set by physio level (78% at level 1, 98% at level 6; a worn room sits lower). Treat from Facilities → Physio or the player page. Injured lads wait.

• How do injuries work?

  A knock in a match puts a player out for 1–5 rounds (a round is one of the 19 games in the week, so that is usually a day or two). They cannot start until rounds left hits zero. Physio staff and a better pitch cut the chance. Names carry a + when injured and a red card when banned — squad, tactics, dressing room and the office line that names who is out of the eleven.

• Do mentality and pressing do anything?

  Yes. Mentality is the big one (attack vs sit in). Tempo, passing, pressing, width and the line each nudge shots and how open you are — a few percent, not a different team. Who you pick still matters more. You cannot tweak live at 70 minutes. On Tactics, If the score turns lets you pre-set a switch — e.g. minute 60, if losing, go attacking. It only fires if that score is true at that minute.

• Who takes penalties, free kicks and corners?

  Tactics → Set pieces. Pick from the eleven, or leave Auto. There is no separate set-piece stat — the number is built from shooting, technique, passing and heading. Training the Set pieces group raises those. If the named taker is not in the XI, the match picks someone else.

• Do captain and vice-captain do anything?

  A very small edge if they start (about 1.5% and 0.8%). The number is leadership — age, overall, morale and minutes — not a new attribute. Tactics → Armbands.

• Can I use a different tactic for one game?

  Yes. On Tactics, tap New plan, name it (Cup away), set the shape, mentality and eleven. On Matches, each upcoming fixture has a Plan menu. Pick that plan for the cup tie; the rest keep using the default. Kick-off uses the plan for that fixture only.

• Can I make substitutions and change approach during a match?

  Not live — the game plays out on the clock. On Tactics, Changes from the bench: at minute X, this shirt off, that one on, always or only if you are losing / drawing / winning. Up to 5 named changes. Both players must still be available (starter on the pitch, substitute on the bench, nobody sent off). A knock can force one from the bench even if you did not plan it. If the score turns: same idea for mentality, tempo, pressing and passing. The report Lineups tab shows who started, who came on, overall and the match rating.

Training

One session a calendar day. Potential is the ceiling — coaches guess it.

• How does training work?

  Open Training. Split the squad into groups (four on free, eight on premium) — each with its own focus (balanced, attacking, defending, fitness, technical, goalkeeping, set pieces) and intensity (light / normal / hard / sharp). Tap Train groups once a calendar day, cap of 7 a week. Unassigned players rest and recover a little. Academy lads you bring in go into Youth; new signings and promotions go into First team — rest them if you want them off the grass. Younger players handle a harder load; older ones empty faster. Injuries from training are rare (one knock a session at most) — it is mostly energy. Keepers in an outfield group still work hands. A better ground and coach mean more XP. Happy players work harder; a low-morale player banks less. Report tab is the season log of XP and which stats ticked. Premium: auto-train runs each group's plan; mark a day Off to rest.

• When do attributes actually go up?

  XP banks against each worked attribute. When the bank fills, that stat ticks up one, toward the player's potential (a little over is allowed). Young players with a gap to potential grow fastest. Training → Report lists season XP and which stats moved. Players age one year every real calendar month — a 16-year-old who lasts to 35 has about 19 real months, roughly 80 seven-day seasons. New academy lads start at 16 on the day they sign; their first birthday is one real month later, then monthly from that date. From 30 potential can slip on a birthday.

• Does training tire the squad?

  Yes. Intensity is the main lever: light barely drains, sharp empties tanks and can throw a rare knock. Age matters — a 19-year-old on hard is not the same as a 33-year-old on hard. Unassigned players rest. Do not hammer a tired XI the morning of a match.

League and cup

Numbered divisions, three cups.

• How is the pyramid structured?

  Numbered divisions of twenty — Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4 at the bottom of the list today. Division 1 is the top. 3 go up, 3 go down. League prize money lands when you start the next season. As more managers join, extra divisions (Division 5, 6, …) open underneath. The names stay numbers so the pyramid can grow.

• Can I look at another club?

  Tap a club name on the table, a fixture, or a match report. You get their squad, ground and facilities — not their books. Wages stay private. Open a player from their squad to bid if they are at another club.

• What happens if thousands of people sign up?

  The plan is more numbered divisions, not a bigger jump between the top and the bottom. New managers take over a vacant seat in the lowest open division mid-season — they do not sit out until August. Extra divisions (5, 6, …) open underneath as the player count grows.

• How do the cups work?

  Three knockouts. GM Cup — every club, the big one, winner 180k cr. League Cup — every club, smaller cheque (110k cr). Football Trophy — Division 3 and 4 only (70k cr). Drawn ties go to extra time then penalties. If a round has an odd number of clubs, one gets a bye through to the next round. You will see that on League and in the inbox.

• What does the board want?

  A finishing position (top N) and a supporter count. Beat both and confidence rises; miss either and it falls. Confidence is on the office. Separately you pick a season brief (stay up / their target / top half / promotion / title) — hit it and they pay a small extra cheque scaled to that division. Don't spend yourself into the red — see Money.

• Where are the top scorers and player values?

  Menu → World → Stats. Scorers, assists, average ratings (four or more apps), transfer values, and U23. Filter All or a division. League still has the table and that division's scorers.

Money

Credits in, credits out. You cannot spend yourself into a hole.

• Why am I in minus credits?

  Wages and facility upkeep leave every week. Ticket money only arrives on home matchdays. Shop, social club and museum pay a smaller weekly amount (museum is the slowest — it is more about growing supporters). An away week with a fat wage bill can dip you red even if the opening balance looked fine. Upgrades and transfer fees come off immediately. Finances shows the projection, including outer-ground takings — read that before you spend.

• What happens if I go red?

  Spending is blocked while you cannot afford it. If a week still finishes negative, you sit in the red until the Sunday recap. After prize money, if the books are still short, the board covers the hole and you start the next season at zero. They will not fire-sale a player or inject cash midweek.

• Can I go into debt?

  Not on purpose. Fees and upgrades are blocked if you do not have the credits, or if the spend would leave the season projection in the red. New wages are blocked if the weekly bill would sit above typical income (association grant + sponsor + a share of home tickets). If a week still finishes negative, you wait for the Sunday reset — the board then writes it off to zero.

• Where does money come from?

  A flat association grant of 7,000 cr every week in every division, a shirt sponsor (weekly money plus extras), matchday tickets at home, transfer fees in, league prize when you start the next season, and cup wins (GM Cup 180k cr, League Cup 110k cr, Football Trophy 70k cr). Raise the gate with stands, roofs, condition, morale — or cut the ticket price.

• How do I grow revenue?

  Finances → Growing the till offers a few hints based on your club — tickets cheap for the division, a full house, an empty outer ground, a tired stand. It will not spell out a playbook. Ticket price lives on Facilities. Price above the fair rate and the crowd thins; the gate is crowd × price. Each outer-ground upgrade (shop, fan zone, social, parking, museum) shows the estimated weekly take and next-home extras at your forecast crowd before you spend.

• How much is league prize money?

  Each division has a pot, split by finishing place — 1st takes 22%, 10th about 8.5%. Division 1 champion 140.8k cr; Division 2 champion 115.5k cr; Division 3 champion 94.6k cr; Division 4 champion 77.7k cr. It is a bonus, not a fortune. The opening 1.35m cr is there to set the club up; training-ground upgrades after the first couple of levels cost more than a title cheque.

• How do shirt sponsors work?

  From week 12, open the menu → Finances → Shirt (or the Shirt deal card on the office). That tab lists next season's offers. Each sponsor is 1–5 stars. Stars follow your division, league place, crowd, reputation and form — Division 1 draws better deals than Division 4. Deals mix a guaranteed weekly cheque with extras (home wins, title, top four, stay-up, cup final). You must lock one in before you start the next season. The current shirt keeps paying until that season ends. Offers are not there in week 1.

• Why isn't Division 1 wildly richer than Division 4?

  On purpose. Prize money and gates step up gently, and the association grant is the same everywhere. That keeps the wage ceiling in the same neighbourhood so a promoted club is not a lottery winner and a relegated one is not instantly bankrupt.

• What is the wage bill?

  Weekly pay for every player at the club plus staff. It is not transfer value. Finances shows it. Division 4 shirts are a few hundred a week; a young 80 is several thousand, a prime one more. Ability above a modest floor does the lifting — an 80 costs several times a 66, not a few hundred more.

• How do contract renewals work?

  Open the player → Contract and sit down. He names a weekly wage and a length in seasons — peak years cost more, older lads ask less. You can talk him down a bit (about 30% off his number is the most he will wear). Meet his figure and he is happy; beat him down and morale drops even if he signs. Walk away or lowball him and he leaves the room — morale down, try again the next real day, and only if his head is in a decent place. Horrendous morale: he will not sit at all until you lift it (dressing room talks, minutes, a promise kept).

The market

Club-to-club deals go to a 12-hour auction. Free agents are the exception.

• How do I sign someone?

  You cannot buy a player off another club in private. Make an offer on their page — if they accept, it opens a 12-hour auction with your figure as the first hidden max, so anyone can bid. Or go to Market → Auctions and set a max on a live lot. That max is reserved from your balance so you cannot bid on everyone and go red if you win. Free agents (youth who never joined, or players whose release auction found no buyer) sign for a small signing-on — a few weeks' wages, capped at 80k cr — plus the weekly wage. No transfer fee. Association floor on auctions is 85% of value. 28 in the senior squad. Every club in the pyramid bids, lists surplus shirts and signs free agents under those same rules — they stay around their division's level. With few managers signed in, the other seats still trade with each other so the window stays live.

• Why is my bid disabled or rejected?

  Not enough free credits after reserved max bids, the spend would leave the season projection in the red, the extra wage would push the weekly bill above typical income, the fee is under the 85% association floor, the wage offer is too low, the senior squad is at 28, or he is in a cooling period after a recent move.

• Can two managers sell each other cheap players?

  No. Accepted offers still go to a 12-hour public auction, and every deal has to clear the association floor (85% of valuation) and a realistic wage. No £1 superstars, no dumping millions on junk. Every club in the pyramid uses those rules — including sides without a signed-in manager. Newly signed players cannot be flipped for 3 rounds.

• How do I sell?

  Open the player. Incoming offers sit at the top of his page — Accept opens a 12-hour auction, Reject turns it down. Same buttons on Inbox and on Market → Offers. 12-hour auction lists him yourself; unsold, he stays. Release to auction is the same 12 hours, but if nobody buys he becomes a free agent. You cannot sell privately — even an accepted offer goes to auction. Asking cannot sit below 85% of value. Once a max bid is in you cannot pull the lot. A player you just signed cannot be sold for 3 rounds — after that you can flip him if you want.

• Where is transfer history?

  Menu → Market → Transfers for your club. The market page also lists the latest deals across the pyramid. Other clubs: open their public file and the Transfers tab. Filter by season. Auctions, free signings (with the signing-on fee) and releases are logged. It starts from now — older deals were not stored.

• How does scouting work?

  Hire a scout on Club → Staff (up to three). Send them from Scouting (under Market): youth hunt, anyone, or a watch update on files you already hold. Two weeks later the inbox and Scouting → Reports name the players. Other clubs are never an exact number — the scout's ability sets the band (world-class ±2, poor ±8), same idea as your own staff. A second look tightens it. Watch is the running file: club, range, how many looks, whether they moved or went to auction. Your own squad is always a range from the trainer (or GK coach) plus scouts. The low end never sits below current ability. Wonderkid badges only show if the staff's floor is actually that high.

Stadium and staff

The ground and the buildings, plus a small backroom.

• How do I run the ground?

  Menu → Facilities → Stadium. Drag the bowl to turn it, or tap N E S W. Seats take your kit colours. Floodlights follow the stand level — a raw ground has dim pylons and a dark pitch; as you expand, gantries and a wash of light land on the grass. You can rename the ground on that tab. Outside: shop, fan zone, social club, parking and museum. Training, Academy and Physio each have their own isometric view that grows with the upgrade.

• What is the supporter count?

  How many people follow the club, not how many sit down on Saturday. Attendance is a slice of that list — ticket price, stand condition, pitch, the outer ground, recent form and who you are playing all change how many actually walk in. Price above the fair rate for the division and the crowd thins; the gate is crowd × price so a dearer ticket can still raise the take until you empty the ground. Wins grow the list; losses and a greedy ticket shrink it. The board set a supporter target next to the league target.

• What do the facilities do?

  Facilities has four tabs. Stadium is the bowl, tickets and pitch. Training (max 8) feeds XP. Academy (max 6) sets how many youth shirts you can keep — 10 at level 1, 20 at max — and lifts the quality of lads you bring in. Intake is 2 a season on a free club, 6 on premium, whenever you like. Physio (max 6) cuts injuries and sets the daily fitness-boost ceiling — 1 treatment a day on free, 2 on premium. Each of those three has a condition that slips with use — a session on the grass, the academy ticking over, knocks and treatments in the physio room. Repair cost follows the level and how rough it is. A worn building works below its level. Outside the ground (shop, fan zone, social club, parking, museum) wears the same way and needs repairing or takings drop; each upgrade shows estimated weekly and next-home extras at your forecast crowd. Upgrades are steep after the first step so you cannot max them from the opening pot. Pitch quality is facility level plus wear — home matches chew it up, returf puts it back to 100.

• Who should I hire?

  One first-team trainer, one goalkeeping coach, one physio, and up to three scouts. Open a member's profile from Club → Staff. Release is only on that profile, and it asks you to confirm. Staff wages count toward the weekly wage bill.

• Can I design the kit and badge?

  Club → Kit & badge. Ten shirt cuts in your club colours. Six badge shapes, and a mark inside — lion, cannon, cockerel, castle, letters and the rest. Pick Letters on their own, or an icon with the three-letter code underneath. Other clubs have their own look. It is identity only for now: the football does not change.

• What is the dugout?

  A small forum for signed-in managers. Menu → Community. Posts show your club name, not your real name. Each board has a short description. Threads and replies can use bold, italic, links, and a photo. Posts from an operator carry an Admin mark next to the club name — that mark comes from the operator list, not the post itself. Admins can archive or delete a board. Board mods (and operators) can remove a thread or a reply. For a private word with operators, Menu → Support — that is a ticket, not a public thread.

• How does the academy work?

  Youth sit on Squad → Youth until you promote them. They train with the first team. You bring lads in yourself, whenever you like during the season (a real week): 2 on a free club, 6 on premium. Unused slots do not carry over. Every new boy starts at 16 on the day you generate him; he turns 17 one real month later, then ages monthly from that date. The academy holds 10 at level 1, up to 20 at max — upgrade the building for more shirts, or release a poor lad / promote him to free one. The office This week tile ticks when you have used the lot. Most are ordinary. A few have a high ceiling (roughly 1 in 80 is a true superstar, 1 in 25 a talent). Academy level and coaches develop them — they do not spawn a squad of 90s. Sell a gem at auction and a smaller club can bank a fortune; a bigger club with the staff can coach him to the cap. Other clubs keep an academy to their building's size and take in new kids as they promote or let lads go, so the pyramid stays young. Own squad potential is a staff range on the player page and the Pot column (better coaches, tighter band, never below current ability). Other clubs stay hidden until a scout files, then you get a range from that scout's eye — not the exact number.

Inbox

Match reports, bids, the board, scouts.

• How do I open a message?

  The envelope next to the Gaffer Manager mark, or Menu → More → Inbox. Tap the body of the note. Match notes go to the report; player notes go to that player. The unread badge is notes you have not marked. For a direct question to game admin, Menu → Support — not the inbox.

• How do I mark messages read?

  Opening a note marks it. Each row also has a mark-read control so you can clear it without leaving. Mark all read clears the lot. The inbox keeps the latest 40 notes.

• How do I contact an operator?

  Menu → Support. Open a ticket — help, something's broken, or other. Five can sit open at once. An operator replies on that same page. The dugout is public natter; this is a private line.