Rob.
Being new to it you might not know this yet:
One thing about restoring pinball machines is that the minute you place a parts order, it somehow makes room in the brain for further thought or something because you immediately remember one or two things you already thought of but forgot and should have added to that order. Order those nuther two items and a couple more come to mind, and on and on. There seems to be no escaping it. I think everybody here will agree.

Take advantage of the time you will be taking not fixing the footballer pin by starting a list of parts you want/need. Keep a clipboard and pencil near the machine and the second an item comes to mind, scamper to the clipboard and add it to the list.This will help a lot.

The not-fixing time is also good for just closely observing things too of course. There are so many little parts in an EM game that it's easy to miss stuff. I think Clay (from pinrepair.com fame) is definitely correct regarding EMs, especially newly acquired non-working ones - a systematic approach for going through the entire game saves time in the long run rather than trying to chase down specific problems. Tighten all the switch stacks, clean and check all the contacts, DON'T start wholesale adjusting lots of blades, etc.. Study his EM guide, and even better (because it's fun and educational) buy or borrow and watch "This Old Pinball" DVDs, specifically #1 which will learn you tons of helpful information.

So to sum up:
1. get and watch TOP #1
2. start a parts list and keep it handy