This confusing Football Manager stadium is actually based on a real-life ground

While the football world has become more cartoonish by the day, we have to credit the gaming world for keeping up with the trends, however outrageous they seem.

We've seen Paul Pogba's dab in digital form, signing-on and buy-back fees for the ages, and even things as seemingly ridiculous as Jamie Vardy becoming a world-class striker. But we could have forgiven Football Manager for taking one look at the Tampa Bay Rowdies' Al Lang Stadium and responding with a tap on the shoulder and a quiet "come on guys, we're not doing that". That's right, this is the ground where Joe Cole plays his home games, and it played host to his sensational bicycle kick last month. https://twitter.com/TheHoopedSleeve/status/739516995289415680 We're not sure if this is just what happens when you repurpose a baseball ground for football (/soccer), or whether it truly is a one-of-a-kind design. The uneven heights of stands, the car park behind the goal - hell, one side of the ground even backs onto a fucking pier. It looks like what would happen if several sets of blueprints were presented to the person in charge and their response was 'build all of them...but all in the same place at the same time". Or, as redditor 'speni194' puts it, 'I think the architects of my stadium were drunk'. In short, it's brilliant.

Pic via Reddit

Thanks to friend of JOE Jonny Sharples for bringing this to our attention. If you've seen any similarly weird or wonderful Football Manager images then get in touch on Facebook or Twitter, or email Hello@JOE.co.uk. Read more: