Football Manager 2022: Breaking fresh ground with Hull in the Premier League - The Athletic

Last year, The Athletic asked Holly Percival to play Football Manager for the first time. Since then, she has fallen down the rabbit hole and become obsessed with the game. After getting the sack at Aston Villa, surviving Championship relegation with Hull and promotion to the Premier League, how will she do with Hull in the top flight?

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After a post-season party no one will ever forget, I pulled the strings of party popper drabs from my hair and sat at my desk in my office at the MKM Stadium. The music was faintly shaking the glass of water next to me. I was content. I never knew what it was like to be a winning manager. I wanted to soak up every minute of this moment but I also knew I couldn't waste any more time.

I opened a new diary and I started planning. Surviving relegation from the Premier League was not going to be easy. Even heading into my third-ever season of Football Manager, I still felt nervous heading into the transfer window. Learning how to navigate the scouting page was still new to me.

First of all, I had to stop individually searching players to see if they would have the right level of attributes and were also within my budget. I sent my scouts out to venture the world while I planned our pre-season.

"Fight bravely," said my board. That felt patronising but I could tell that they were merely trying to reassure me that even if we get relegated, I would still have my job next season.

The new campaign was approaching quickly and I had found my main target for the transfer window: Lorenzo Lucca.