The Double
Copyright/Publisher: Peter C Martin/Johnson Scanatron Limited, Created By:
Peter C Martin, Release Year: 1986, Genre: Football/Soccer, Number Of Players: 1

INTRODUCTION

AT LAST...THE REAL THING.
1000 Players each with individual running, passing, shooting and tackling abilities play 42 weekly fixtures from 3 divisions.

BUY and SELL players on the TRANSFER MARKET where each player commands his own Wage and Transfer Fee.

Other Clubs will enquire after your services if you are successful...
ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE
STAFF & PLAYER WAGES
TRANSFERS (1000 PLAYERS)
CROWD CONTROL & POLICING
SCOUT REPORTS FOR
-INDIVIDUALS & TEAMS
INJURIES & PHYSIOTHERAPY

Also at your request are ... PLAYER AND TEAM REPORTS
LEAGUE CLUB STATISTICS
MATCH GOALSCORERS (All fixtures)
FIXTURES LEAGUE & CUP DRAW
MATCH PROGRAMMES
LEAGUE & CUP RESULTS
CURRENT LEAGUE TABLES

'Live action' graphics of your chosen fixture using an 'artificial intelligence' method with player commentary, offsides, goalkicks, goalscorers and injures.

THE GAME

The DOUBLE is not just a management game where you simply select players and win matches. It is designed to emulate accurately and as extensively as possible the role of a football manager as he attempts to achieve personal success by overcoming the variety of problems and situations that arise not only during a season but within the course of his career.

To achieve this we have carefully carried out extensive research involving successful league managers at all levels. None more so than former Leeds United and England defender Terry Cooper, who is currently enjoying success with 1986 Freight Rover Cup Winners Bristol City, Former Manchester City and Bristol City midfielder, Gerry Gow, who is also making a name for himself as manager of one of the countries top amateur clubs Yeovil Town.

Plus of course, Howard Kendall, whose award of 'Manager of the Year' for the season 1984/5, in which he not only brought the League championship to Everton but reached the Cup Final at Wembley, speaks for itself.

OBJECTIVE

A Third Division club will offer you a managerial contract. As you do not Possess a proven track record you will not be offered a choice of clubs. However, if you are able to convince other clubs that you have something to offer, who knows.

You may decide your future would be better elsewhere, as opposed to remaining with your present club. Without skill levels, computer trickery or hidden pitfalls, you will compete against 65 COMPUTER OPERATED LEAGUE MANAGERS, to build a successful team by buying, selling and competing in the transfer market.

This will involve handling your clubs financial a ffairs, coping with injuries and attempting to improve your squads with the 1050 PLAYERS AVAILABLE, EACH WITH INDIVIDUAL ABILITIES. TRANSFER VALUES AND WAGE REQUIREMENTS. You may have a physiotherapist and 2 scouts to assist you. You will be able to send your scouts for reports, or visit personally any of the 65 league grounds to WATCH WHICHEVER FIXTURE YOU WISH TO SEE THAT WEEK.

This will enable you to assess any particular player who may interest you. You will be called upon to put to the test your powers of wisdom, astuteness, courage and flair while also making decisions which could 'make or break' you. Such is the path to success.

CLUB REPORTS

RUNNING OF YOUR OWN CLUB. You will be doing your 'Hiring and Firing' of staff, handling finances, banking, match preparation, and running your club's affairs.

CROWD PREPARATION

You will need to inform the POLICE of your estimated gate for your forthcoming HOME match. Their job is to adequately control the crowds and efficiently segregate rival supporters. A considerable underestimation of your gate could cause skirmishes. An FA. ENQUIRY may see your club fined for negligence. Overestimating the gate will incur extra policing costs. This will not be tolerated by your directors too often.

The size of a club's gate depends not only on the amount of 'home team support' in respect of the teams' league positions, but also the away team's following.

SQUAD DETAILS

This shows your current squad, their wages, field positions plus the number of games played, and goals scored during the season. You have the option to sell players. The other 65 league managers are then notified. Will look at their players, and by comparing the transfer listed player with their corresponding players, will decide whether to make a bid.

STAFF

Here you can hire and fire your assistants, physiotherapist and scouts.

FINANCE

Summary of all your transactions, expenses and income for the PREVIOUS WEEK. This detailed breakdown enables you to see your profit or loss. Gate Receipts The income from your HOME gate is recorded here. ALL TURNSTILE PRICES are £3 PER HEAD.

Player Wages and Transfers A player's wage and transfer value is determined by taking the average of the players individual abilities. Staff Wages Weekly wages for your physiotherapist and scout(s) (if employed). Travel and Hotel This is a fixed sum of money depending on the club's division. This expense only occurs on AWAY fixtures, taking into account travel costs, overnight stay, breakfast and pre-match lunch. Unfortunately, available memory space within the computer does not allow exceptions for 'local Derby's' etc. As this affects only a few clubs we do not feel that this omittance would detract from the game.

League Fines and Revenue This is directly related to the Crowd Preparation. Fines may occur due to insufficient preparation Police Expenses Police expenses are annual payments. However, we have altered this to a weekly basis as pant of your estimated gate.

If you considerably over estimate your gate when informing the police you will receive a higher than normal policing bill due to the increase in manpower required. Ground Rent Each club shall pay a weekly ground rent to their respective landowners.

Ground Improvements Ground capacities are the MAXIMUM amount of people the ground can safely accommodate. Increasing this capacity will cost £25000 per 1000 spectators, to cover building costs and the improvements to facilities and safety regulations. This will be a cash transaction NOT a weekly instalment. If you are unable to afford the improvements your application will be refused.

INJURY REPORTS

Injuries may occur during matches. This may affect a players selection for a period of time depending upon the injury. If a physiotherapist is employed you will be offered the opportunity to arrange treatment for each player. If the correct treatment is given the players' injury will heal faster However, should if the prescribed treatment is incorrect, then it is likely he will suffer a relapse.

NOTICE: TO AVOID ANY ACCIDENTAL EMBARRASSMENT NO DETRIMENTAL ASSESSMENTS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN. WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO STATE THAT THE ASSESSMENTS PROVIDED BY THE SCOUTS ARE NOT TRUE ASSESSMENTS OR OPINIONS OF ANY SPORTSMAN OR ACTUAL PEOPLE BOTH PAST AND PRESENT.

BANK AND LOANS

YOUR CLUBS CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION All financial transactions involving Staff Wages, Transfers, Ground Improvements etc. are IMMEDIATELY UPDATED. Regardless of the size of loan, repayments are at 2% per week, and interest accumulated at 0.2% per week.

Each club is individually assessed. Certain clubs, therefore, are more likely to obtain higher loans than others depending upon their financial situation. Take into consideration are their average gates, league status plus their squad.

LEAGUE DETAILS

LEAGUE TABLES . LEAGUE FIXTURES . LEAGUE RESULTS Here you may see all the latest results, fixtures and tables for ALL THREE DIVISIONS.

CLUB STATISTICS

Other Clubs This option allows you to look at other club's squads. It will also show each club's goalscorers, injured players, and their AVERAGE GATE and GROUND CAPACITY.

THE MATCH

You can select to watch any fixture, (in any division), or go straight into results as an alternative.

This is where the heart of the game lies. All results arise from MATCHES BEING PLAYED USING A METHOD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

The computer plays all 33 league matches. Each player takes into consideration his position, the positioning of his team mates, plus the whereabouts of his opponents and the ball before deciding upon his own movement.

NOTE: Due to the complexity of the ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE for every player within the remaining available computer memory space (only 64 k bytes) I was not able to provide graphics to the highest standards. This however would involve removing other aspects of the game, such as " ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ", which would seriously detract from the gameplay.

Players individually decide upon their direction of movement, who they are going to mark, when they will shoot and where they will pass to. Individual ability controls their accuracy of passing and shooting while their strengths affect running and winning tackles. Errors, may happen when passing or shooting and can also occur as a result of a player being harassed by an opponent or shooting on the volley etc.

Each player has the knowledge of what every other player on the pitch is doing. Therefore, with the use of ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE they really ANTICIPATE Situations. to add authenticity to the game we have introduced the 'Banana' kick.

TACKLES

The outcome of tackles depends upon the abilities of the players involved. The ball may spin off or be won by either player depending upon the situation leading up to the tackle. Should both players go in extremely hard it is quite likely that somebody may get injured.

MATCH COMMENTARY

A running commentary allows you to follow the action accurately. This can be exceptionally helpful when the pace becomes fast and furious especially within packed penalty area's and midfield.

OTHER MATCHES

As these matches are not being graphically displayed each game will only take approximately TEN SECONDS to play. Superb programming has enabled each player to make several 1,000 gameplay situation assessments per second. The screen will show the match result, and list goalscorers.

THE FA. CUP

Due to memory space available within the computer, I was unable to include Fourth Division and Amateur Clubs The statistics of all the players representing their clubs during cup matches are updated. Cup matches ending in a draw adopt the European Cup method of 'Penalty Shoot-outs'. This will involve the customary five players from each team until a result has been concluded. Each computer manager will choose his five players.

END OF SEASON

The TOP THREE CLUBS from each division shall be PROMOTED to the next division (with the exception of the 1St division where the top club will claim the title of 'League Champions'). The BOTTOM THREE CLUBS from each division will be RELEGATED to a lower division (with the exception of division three). You may also be offered the opportunity to manage another club if your managerial qualities have attracted any.