This season’s Premier League has been criticised for its lack of believability compared to the computer game Football Manager.

FM aficionados have turned on the long-running Premier League series, now in its 24th edition, thanks to its entirely unrealistic depiction of a wide-open title race, a struggling Chelsea, and the unlikely presence of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

“I’d always enjoyed the Premier League for its immersive realism and its attention to detail,” said disillusioned fan Roger Lawrie. “It’s no Football Manager, of course, but you can tell the Premier League creative team have spent a lot of time studying the real thing.

“But for this latest release they’ve really taken their eye off the ball. It’s so obvious that it’s been put together by Leicester supporters. The best player in the game is Jamie Vardy, followed by Riyad Mahrez. And they seem to hate Chelsea, because none of their defenders are as good as Chris Smalling, which would never happen in real life.”

Fans have also complained about the presence of a fictional Tottenham player, Dele Alli, who is believed to be either a friend of the designers or a competition winner, and who has been dubbed “the To Madeira for the Snapchat generation”.

“The Premier League has always been about escapism, but this year it’s turned into fantasy,” Lawrie continued. “I can cope with surprises. But this is insulting to the millions of loyal fans who just want a product they can believe in.

“Newcastle are pitiful, though, so at least they got one thing right.”

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