Marcelo Bielsa having the last laugh, Diego Reyes deserving credit and Andrea Radrizzani making demands - Leeds United Football Manager 2021 review

My return to Football Manager, after a 15-year absence, was a bewildering experience. FM21, released this week, is as immersive as you could possibly imagine, if you want it to be that is.

Since the start of lockdown I have whiled away too many hours to admit playing the 2001/02 version of FM’s predecessor Championship Manager, a simple but hugely satisfying baked potato to the new game’s gratin dauphinois.

What made CM01/02 so good, for me, was how little time it took to find players, sign them if you had the funds, put them in the team and crack on with getting to the top of the Premier League. Seasons flew by, titles were won and international job offers flooded in.

Loading up Football Manager 2021 to be presented with the option to have your own face attached to the body of your in-game avatar, is the warning shot across the bows of simplicity.

There are no features in the game that are difficult to understand or tricky to use, because the interface is so well thought out, so slick and clean and clearly signposted. Besides that, there is a tutorial for everything.

Yet it still, initially, baffled and terrified me because it is just so involved. There is so much to do, so much you can do.

Selecting the appropriate body language as you praise Jamie Shackleton for his impressive performances in training, adding umpteen clauses and potential fees to the deal to sell Gjanni Alioski to Jiangsu Suning, deciding which of Leeds’ dozens of youth prospects deserve contracts, convincing data analysts to turn down that offer from Fulham and fending off the loaded questions of BBC Leeds [the absence of The YEP from press conferences appears to be the game’s most glaring crime against reality] and sifting through scouting reports from across the world is just dipping your toe in the water.

The many layers to your club’s vision and Radrizzani’s expectations – are we signing enough Under 23 players with future saleability? The numerous training sessions you can set, being able to make enquiries through a potential signing’s agent, the minute tactical detail you can bring to your side’s pre-game preparation and the in-game shouts of encouragement, it goes on and on. There is so much to it and to a new user, the season could feel like it was passing in real time were it not for the magical art of delegation.

I leave Victor Orta to handle staffing, I choose which of his suggested signings to go for, chastise League Two managers for not giving my youngsters game time, pick the formation, the team and obviously handle the press. Reyes does the rest.

The seventh-place finish Leeds achieved under my watch was testament to the Chilean’s work rate and tactical acumen.

The game doesn’t have to move slowly, once you get your tutorials out of the way you can give Reyes the reins at Thorp Arch and assume a ‘big picture’ role.

As for managing Leeds, each player’s experience will differ but what I most enjoyed, other than an unexpected win over runaway champions Liverpool that snapped a slump in form, was getting to know what kind of approach to off-field issues would grow my relationship with players and spending money with reckless abandon.

Keeping the board, the fans, the players and the media happy is a balancing act – for every action there is a reaction.

Trying to placate a terse Stuart Dallas after Luke Ayling forced a move having become disillusioned with my failure to strengthen up front and Ian Poveda’s uncharacteristically surly demeanour were unexpected challenges in a season that ended with a ‘B’ grade from the board.

The fingerprints of FM’s Leeds researcher and features designer Seb Wassell, a Whites supporter himself, can be found in the in-game potential possessed by a number of youngsters rated by Bielsa in the real world.

As for the man I replaced at Leeds, he had the last laugh, taking charge of Spurs 24 hours before our trip to north London and beating us 1-0.

I remained gracious in the press conference after the game, but we’ll meet again next season and I have every faith in Reyes to mastermind a result for which I can take full credit.