Football Manager 2007 ^(PC)

Genre: Sports Simulation Publisher: SEGA Developer: Sports Interactive (SI Interactive) Players: ?

By Keith B (11th Jun 2007)

Almost the most fun you can have on your own. Unless you don’t like football.

It’s late October and Spurs are topping the Premier League, having just thrashed Arsenal 2-0 at White Hart Lane. Now I realise in real life that’s highly unlikely, but I don’t care because it’s Football Manager 2007 and I’ve just won manager of the month for the third time this season. I’m delighted. My girlfriend texted me last night, telling me we were over, but I couldn’t reply because I was just at a crucial phase of my plan to redevelop the reserve team training schedule. 
 
FM07 is a game that will take over your life. It should carry Government warnings. Of course, SCI have past form. Championship Manager kicked off the whole thing back in the 91/92 season has been destroying social lives ever since. It’s been one of the best-selling franchises ever seen in the gaming world, and has made SCI the undisputed daddies of the genre, regarded with awe by their loyal fans. Fast forward fifteen years and SCI, now with Sega, have released Football Manager 2007 and it’s bigger and shinier than ever. 
 
Why, you might ask, should I buy what is essentially the same game as last year? 
Well, quite apart from anything, there’s the fact that you get all the up-to-date transfer dealings and player information, compiled by SCI’s devoted army of intelligence gatherers who, thankfully, use their powers for good and not evil. So your favourite club will now have all its proper players and you can set about telling them what to do. I’d imagine we can expect patches for the January Transfer Window at some point as well. 
 
But it’s more than just that. CM and FM aficionados will know that SCI are always improving, always fine-tuning. They listen to our feedback, and then they do what we wanted. It’s marketing genius. And according to SCI, there’s supposed to be 100 new things that make FM07 better than FM06. Here’s just a few of the best… 
 
One of my favourite new touches is the ability to give your manager profile a football background; such as an international legend or conference part-timer. If you style yourself as a bit of a Glenn Hoddle, then this carries expectations in itself. Careful consideration is advised; as with everything in this game, there’s carefully calculated consequences. Equal and opposite reactions and the like. Everything you fiddle with will have an effect somewhere. It’s very, very clever. 
 
Interaction with your players is now much improved. Team talks are expanded and can now be given before the match as well as half-time. Your coach gives you feedback on individual reactions to your team talks, so you can fine tone your ‘softly softly’ approach with your temperamental Italian striker. 
 
Your players can now help you out as well, recommending potential signings or new staff to you, although don’t always believe everything they say. 
 
You can recommend senior players as future coaches or slag off your lazy central defender to the press in the hope he’ll pull his socks up. Experienced players can take the younger ones under their wing and tutor them. All of this helps you develop a bond with your players; you get to know them, celebrate when they score, get upset with them when they play rubbish. 
 
Interaction works up as well as down. You as a manager have got more to worry about �" takeovers, player embargos, new chairmen; more pressure to get results…it’s a dog-eat-corporate-dog world out there, exactly like the real world of top-level football. And if you’re not performing, they’ll sack you. Just like that. Also they’ll sell players from right out under your feet, if it makes the club enough money. Ultimatums may stop them, but may also find you looking for new employers. 
 
Another of the shiny new things to play with is the addition of feeder and associated clubs; something FM fans had long been clamouring for. Well now it’s here, and it’s ace. Small clubs can sign up with bigger clubs and get youth and reserve team players to aid their cause, and maybe a pre-season friendly every year. Parent clubs get first dibs on the best new talent from the feeder club. Associated clubs share players and generally are nice to each other. Youth academies play more of a part, with full squads of fresh new faces progressing through your ranks. It’s all lovely. 
 
Of course, one of the beautiful things about this game is that you can get involved as much as you want. If you just want to pick the team and play the matches, you can leave everything else to your backroom staff. They’ll offer their advice when you need it, leaving you to concentrate on the pitch. On the other hand you could be designing intricate training schedules for the youth team and scouring the database with a fine toothcomb, looking for that hidden gem. 
 
There’s an improved tutorial to ease you into the menu system, pop-up tool tips and even useful information displayed on the processing screens; even if it does flash by a bit quick sometimes. So if you’re a bit slow to start, don’t panic. You’ll soon get the hang of how to get around. If you’re already an expert, the new’ quick flicks’ and shortcuts will have you plucking data out of the air like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. Anyone who’s ever played either Championship or Football Manager before already knows what it’s like �" a piece of cake to find out anything about pretty much anything. I’m still hoping to find a screen that tells me what my players’ favourite curries are. 
 
Scouting is beefed right up, with much more information available from your scouts, and ‘knowledge’ levels of countries and leagues allow you make informed decisions on which scouts gets sent where. 
 
Your scouts compare players to your existing squad and offer views on how good they could potentially be and whether or not you should sign them. You can also ‘tap up’ players by commenting on how much you admire them, although at risk of upsetting their current managers. In all, there’s more media interaction than ever, and it’s jolly good fun. 
 
Like real life, FM07 referees are under the spotlight and you can choose to speak out about decisions you felt were harsh �" but beware a ticking off from your FA. You might even get a touchline ban if you’re very naughty 
 
And all of this is just a tiny selection of the reasons why FM07 is so engaging and so addictive; it’s just so realistic. And because fiddling with things actually does work, and isn’t just there to look nice. It’s a football management game. It does exactly what it says on the box, but better than anyone else out there is doing it. If I had one pseudo-negative thing to say, it would be that there’s almost too much to play with. Too much to monitor and adjust and corroborate. It’s almost enough to make you go mental. I’ve lost days in the lower divisions of Argentinean football, hunting out that wonder child with a left foot like a traction engine. I recently spent one entire Tuesday giving every player in my squad individual match instructions for every standard formation, and saving them all, just in case I ever need to change from my trusty 4-1-3-2. 
 
In summary, this is a mammoth Herculean epic of a game, as in-depth and as challenging as you want it, with huge, accurate player databases put together lovingly by SCI so that each and every football fan the world over can live the dream of either leading their team to the top, or like me, getting sacked midway through the season.