Football Manager Experiment - Episode 1

Picture the scene. Super rich Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, bored of his investments in Real Ovideo and homeland clubs Leon and Pachuca, and Suleiman Kerimov, fed up of investing in the boring Russian league with Anzhi Makhachkala, go head-to-head in the battle to plough money into Bolton Wanderers. But the super rich duo are pipped to the post by AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi, keen to bring his Bunga Bunga parties to Lancashire.

Yes, this thought is utterly ridiculous, but it's pre-season and we have nothing else to talk about, so let's entertain the thought and imagine the riches that could come Bolton's way should such a miracle happen.

With that thought in mind comes the launch of our Bolton Wanderers Football Manager Experiment on everyone's favourite strategy game, Football Manager 15.

To set the scene, I've started a new game on Football Manager as unemployed manager Lion Of Vienna Suite, born on 25th May 1952. See what I did there?

I've used the Football Manager in-game editor tool to give Bolton an overhaul, with boosted reputation, a huge bank balance and a sugar daddy. I've then gone in and updated the squad to our current desperately sparse state of affairs, and taken the liberty of making Zach Clough quite good and giving some of our youngsters a potential ability boost.

I'll simulate the first season and then report back on Wanderers' progress in the virtual world in Episode 2 of our Football Manager Experiment.