GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

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The cheering crowds
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The streamlined tactics
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Sliding transfer budget controls

Cons

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The limited movement of players in the match engine
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The 'pot luck' player psychology
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The rock hard difficulty

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We were really impressed by the new Championship Manager, so big rival Football Manager has tough competition at last. And the final result is in… it’s a narrow win for FM after extra time and penalties.

All in all, this year’s Football Manager has seen some pretty useful new features added. The new tactics creator – a massive help to those who find Football Manager’s huge depth daunting – helps to both save time and simplify setting up how your team will play. There is a wealth of new strategy options to try out, and we love the idea of assigning roles to your players. Now rather than going through each player’s individual instructions, you can simply order your midfielder to play as a 'deep lying playmaker,' 'a wide winger’ or ‘a money-grabbing mercenary.’ Well, maybe not that last one.

Developer Sports Interactive says that it’s spent the last year adding some hard polish to its stat-heavy behemoth of a football game. Areas such as transfer negotiations work better than ever, while we love the improved feedback and interaction from the backroom staff. You can now call staff meetings and receive feedback from your backroom team on all manner of subjects. They won’t necessarily agree with each other, either.

While we were underwhelmed by the series’ first forays into 3D last year, we’re impressed by the new stadiums, pitch degradation and cheering crowds now. These are the best supporters we’ve yet seen in a footy game – FIFA and PES should take note – and seeing them jump up and go wild at your team scoring adds the cherry onto this sheepskin-coat-wrapped cake.

The hugely agreeable database remains while the customising options are second to none. It’s a good result for Football Manager – Champ Man needs to equalise once more.

Nov 2, 2009