University student is doing their dissertation on Football Manager and it's gone viral

A university student has decided to do their dissertation on Football Manager and has been met with an incredible response to their survey.

Jordan is in his third year at UFCB's Wembley campus and has been tasked with coming up with a dissertation.

Anyone who's been to uni will know that the thesis is a long, long piece of writing and research that can result in an awful lot of stress and lack of sleep.

But the beauty is that typically you can tailor it to a topic that interests you - within reason of course. And so FM nut Jordan elected to explore ‘the reliance of stats and player likeness and the influence it has on stakeholders’, based on the popular Sports Interactive franchise.

He enlisted the help of the strong and passionate FM community and put together a survey which quizzed gamers on how much time they spend playing their saves, the impact it has on them and their overall opinion on the game.

Ridiculously, the support from fellow FM lovers was so monumental that a second link to the survey had to be posted because it turns out you can only have 1000 on the document at anyone time.

Overwhelmed by the response, Jordan told SPORTBible: "Back in the day I couldn’t put it down and would play it weeks on end! I still play it now but in moderation with uni and work, but I still love it! – Some of my achievements do not stack anywhere close to most of the other people that play but a few years back getting Leeds from League One to the Premier League would have to be up there!

"Studying Football Business & Marketing, I wanted to do it on FM because I wanted to combine my two passions; football and gaming. Also, FM has had such a positive impact on so many people, I wanted to understand the influence of this game as a core case study whilst looking at the gaming landscape as a whole and how it continues to develop with more and more users, plus those now making a living out of it. Plus FM have an incredible community and it just made sense!

"He [Jordan's tutor] couldn’t believe it! He’s an incredible academic and said I’ve certainly got a decent sample size! I'm hoping he will help me put it all together nicely.

"The FM community are the best, so to each and every one that completed it, thank you!"

The addiction to FM is real for many. There are cases of where people have fully suited up to manage their team in the Champions League because of how much it means to them.

Others have travelled far and wide to visit the teams they have led to success in the virtual football world, while it's detailed information has helped real-life managers.

The current record for the longest game of Football Manager is held by UEFA Grassroots C football coach Pawel Sicinski, who completed an insane 416 seasons and 134 days in his save.

The Manchester United fan from Poland won an ridiculous total of 1258 trophies and scored 58,900 goals in 22,300 matches.