The first post is always the hardest.

But not on this occasion. Because this first post is an introduction, a kind of entrance point to the world of the mighty, mighty River Medway Riot, perennial bottom-feeders in the FML Keane GW. While other blogs may be able to give you a clue as to what it takes to remain competitive at the very highest level, or keep you entertained with tales of the fiercest of rivalries, here at "Gold Shoes From Chockers", we have no such lofty ambition. We just win a few, lose quite a few more, and talk in the third person to sound like we know what we're talking about. But enough of that.

I'm Law Martin, and I'll be your guide through these murky waters down here in the X-hundred rankings, and I'd like to say I'm more than qualified for the job. It would probably be enough simply for me to be a lifelong Gillingham fan, but my track record in Football Managers '08 and '07, and in Championship Manager for years and years before that, will more than back it up. No, it isn't for me to take Liverpool to the treble, nor to coach England to the World Cup final. My joy comes from knowing I've safely got a contract at Brighton for another season, as we grind out a 0-0 draw to stay up on goal difference. It's taking a foreign lower league club I've never heard of in the real world- say, someone like Siena of Italy, or Creteil of France- with players who are just names to me, and getting to know them, their quirks, the way they play, and doing what I can to make the place a little better than when I arrived. I am the journeyman manager- I play games of 20+ seasons, in which I'll manage maybe ten different clubs. There will be promotions, there will be relegations, there will be cup runs- for me, the FA Cup means a chance to manage Accrington at Goodison in the Third Round, where even the most optimistic of fans are predicting something of a spanking. Joy is then taking that shock 1-0 lead after six minutes. Sure, we may well end up losing 5-1, but for the briefest period of time, that feeling of doing the unthinkable, of upsetting the odds, of doing it for the little club with no money and a dilapidated stadium... that, for me is football, and that, for me, is Football Manager.

It's inevitable that in FML, River Medway Riot have sat in the middle of the rankings since day one. Of some 600 clubs, we've been somewhere between 200 and 350 for pretty much the entire time. Somewhere in the middle.

In the first season of the CWA Premiership, the team finished 12th out of 24. Mid-table obscurity.

As I write this, we sit 13th out of 22 in the second season of the Prem, with 14 wins and 15 defeats. Mid-table.

The Riot's current senior ranking is 323rd, the lowest it's been for a while, after a poor run of form- 323 out of 573. Somewhere comfortably in the middle.

And, for completeness- the youth team, a glorious 81st out of 216. Pretty middling as well.

As you may have gathered by now, this doesn't bother me in the slightest. In fact, I quite like it. I win a few, I lose a few. Likewise, some of the players I sign turn out to be heroes (you'll be hearing plenty about names like Arouca, Jozef Michalik and Marco Criscuolo) and some turn out to be zeroes (you won't see "Jamie Mole" or "Heidar Helguson" in this blog again, trust me). I don't play FML to win- if I did, I wouldn't be playing it, because I'm not going to win. I play FML for fun, and there's plenty to be had- pulling off a transfer coup, scoring that last-minute winner against a team ranked far above you, or even just hanging out in the lobby, talking about the game, the beautiful game and who knows what else (Pub Manager Live, anyone?).

With the game going to box very soon, and with stadiums due to come in any minute now, it seems like FML is really about to get interesting. And all the time writing this blog is fun, I'll be here with a word or two about what the view's like from Average Joe Tracksuit.