Football Manager 2006

There are many great managers out there.  Bobby Robson, Alex Ferguson and José Mourinho, just to name a few.  But they’re still always getting grief from the likes of us who think we can do better.  “What is he thinking?!  He’s nowhere near top-flight standard!” are the sort of things that will be being screamed by football fans worldwide as the summer transfer windows opens, not to mention the abuse bound to be thrown at World Cup managers returning home without the prize.  It’s all well and good complaining, but could you do any better?  Now’s your chance to prove yourself!

PC gamers have been enjoying the fantastic Football Manager and Championship Manager series’ for years, while management sims have never really found the net on home consoles.  LMA manager has been relatively successful on the PS2, but it’s always been considered to be in a different league to the premiership quality of PC’s Football Manager.  Sports Interactive have tried a shot at console gaming before when they made Championship Manager, with 01/02 edition appearing on Xbox, but the transition from mouse and keyboard to clunky Xbox controller made for a messy affair.  On a good run of form, having signed for giants Sega and acquiring the ‘Football Manager’ license, Sports Interactive have made another assault on goal with Football Manager 06 for Xbox 360 (and a PSP version).  Have they coolly slotted the ball home, or sliced it high and wide?

Football Manager 06’s main game is identical to it’s PC counterpart.  Players chose from over 5000 teams to manage from all over the world, in an attempt to lead them to success.  You can chose a rich top team, and enjoy spending the cash, or take a semi-professional side up to Champions League stardom.  Careful though, the better the team, the higher the expectations, so there’s no easy choice!  Once you’ve picked your team it’s time to start making it your own, as you get rid of those whiny trouble makers and bring in expensive stars and undiscovered bargains.  While of course a good knowledge of players helps in your quest for talent, you’ve always got scouts and coaches on hand to assess players for you.  Once you’ve made a bid for a player, you must await the sellers’ decision.  Then it’s down to you to offer the player a contract if the bid was accepted, or chose whether to up a bid if it’s rejected.  It’s not all down to money though, just like in real life!  This game really is so unbelievably detailed, in almost every aspect, everything is considered.  Just because a club accepts your bid, doesn’t mean the player will accept your contract – no world class player will want to go to a struggling team, even if you are rich.  On the other hand, you can throw all the money in the world at some clubs, but they will simply not sell their star player to their rival.  All clubs are up to date upto and including the January transfer window (opposed to the PC version which is only to August 05).

Each individual player has a personality.  Small details may seem irrelevant, but every tiny thing has a bearing on the game.  For example, each player has a list of ‘friends’.  If one of those friends is at your club, they’re much more likely to be tempted over and sometimes you’re even listed as one of them after a while meaning if you change club, you may be able to sign them over!  Other such factors include language and favourite team are taken into account and all players have feelings and morale too.  If you leave a player out of your starting line-up a lot, release a negative media story or needlessly fine a player he’ll become unhappy – with all sorts of implications.  If your team is unsuccessful, some of your players will want to leave, and some players will feel particularly determined to win a match if the opposition manager has had a go at your side.  It is all these tiny details that make Football Manager the critically acclaimed and best selling series that it is.

All your work ultimately comes down to the all-important match on Saturday.  You’ve done the bussiness through the week, now you’ve got to trust the players, but your responsibility never gets a rest.  First, you have to pick the side for the match, and choose the (highly customisable) winning formation.  Maybe you even feel like releasing a media story to unsettle the opposition.  For those used to the likes of Fifa and Pro Evo, it may be hard having to watch the matches unfold, instead of winning the game yourself, but you must remember that is not what this game is about.  The matches are shown in a basic 2D mode, and while you can watch the whole 90 minutes, the sensible thing is to have it show you the highlights.  At any time during the game you can make a substitution or change the formation, and at half time you even get to give a team talk.  One phrase can be said to the whole team or each player’s message can be chosen individually.  It’s important not to underestimate the significance of this section, as it really can change the game.  Send out a message full of praise and it could cause complacency, but give a totally negative talk and your men could lose their confidence.  Always remember though, you’re the boss!  Such talks can be given at the end of the game too.