Take Football Manager's ultimate challenge

Wednesday 20 September 2006
Football Manager 2007, the latest update to the best footie management game in existence, will feature feeder clubs, a brand new youth system, an enhanced match engine and a massive level of interaction with both your players and your bosses in the boardroom. Have a look at the new screens below to see many of these new updates in 'action' - like club takeovers or player discussions.

Sports Interactive has gone all-out to beef up Football Manager 2007 with new bits and bobs, and there are over 100 additions to the new game. The feeder club system will enable you to create an agreement with a domestic or foreign club, giving you benefits like first refusal on the purchase of their players. The boardroom will have the last word, but the interactive enhancements mean you can influence or make suggestions to sway its decision.

You'll also be able to assure your players that their worries are being considered - like contract problems - or release specific comments to the media about players from your team or transfer targets in a rival's squad. And when it comes to kick off you can now give instructions on how your players should deal with individuals in the opposing 11, as well as mixing and matching different view panels (pitch view, over view, stats, etc.) in the split view mode.

At the same time, you might find your club is the subject of a takeover bid - potentially putting you out of a job if the new owner fancies bringing in a different face to head up his brand new toy. If all this sounds too complex, don't worry - Sports Interactive has included a helpful hints system within the game in case you get stuck. Football Manager 2007 is due out in November, so get yourself in shape for the new season by pointing your eyes at the images below.

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.