It's Debatable What the biggest waste of time is: the annual Football Manager update or my annual review of it Seasoned readers will know what to expect: a denial that I'm addicted to the game, a list of new features, a whimsical tale that suggests that perhaps I am still slightly addicted, all topped off with a shiny conspiracy-theorist baiting 90% score and a reminder that it's still the best game of its type available to mankind.
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Here goes then. I gave up playing Football Manager (or Championship Manager, as was) years ago, following a wretched existence of meaningless campaigns that were a waste of life, the hours ticking by in a fetid existence of lower league survival. All things considered, I'm better off without it - you have more time on your hands, enabling you to embark on other arguably equally pointless pursuits.As such, when the annual update (and it is just an update) comes around, it's with a vague sense of superiority that I boot it up and scoff at its array of new features, all designed to lure me into its sick world.
So what is this year's model offering? 100 new features. Yep, that's the message coming out of the Sports Interactive office, although what their definition of a feature is remains unconfirmed. If you call having an official club badge for every league team a feature, that's 92 of them taken care of already.
Chairman Of The Bored
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Football Manager 2014 (commonly abbreviated to FM14) is a football management simulation video game developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. It was released on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux on October 30, 2013. Our Football Manager Careers section lets fans track and share their Football Manager Stories. You can track what you win season by season and post screenshots, text or video updates so others can follow along. Football Manager 2013 Demo 1.0 for Mac is available as a free download on our software library. This Mac application was originally designed by Sports Interactive. Football Manager 2013 Demo for Mac is included in Games.
Churlishness aside, there is a host of new stuff to be found here, from boardroom level right down to the youth team. As is becoming commonplace in modern football, the board can now overrule the manager should they receive an offer for a player that's too good to refuse. Again reflecting real life, they can also decide to up sticks and move to a new stadium. Furthermore, should they lose interest in the club or run out of cash, they may invite offers for the club, which will certainly impact on the security of your job.
As for the aforementioned youth team, the entire process has been overhauled. Instead of simply regenerating retired players, the boffins at SI have come up with a way of creating a lot more youth players. As in real life, the vast majority will slip into obscurity, but there's always the slight chance of unearthing the next Wayne Rooney (although one look at his face and you might want to re-bury him).
Feed Me
Elsewhere, a big step forward has been made with the addition of affiliate clubs. On paper an ideal symbiotic relationship, the feeder club gets the chance to loan theoretically superior players from its parent' club, which in turn gets to blood a few youngsters and immediately recall them should they prove to be any good. It can also prove to be a bit of a money-spinner for the feeder club if you can convince the big boys to come down to your place for a friendly once a season.
Deva-Stated
As for the rest of the 100 'features', the majority of them are subtle little things that become apparent over time, including numerous tweaks to the match engine and the way your players interact. Unfortunately, during the course of this review, time wasn't on my side. Having installed the code to my laptop, I was promptly informed that it would expire after four days. By chance, this coincided with a four-day press trip to Ireland for the annual Pro Evolution Soccer European 5-a-side tournament.
Tucking straight into a season as The Mighty Chester, it was business as usual, feigning indifference at the mainly poor pre-season results before realising I had a week until the real thing. With a budget of nought pounds, desperate attempts were made to bring in loan players as the team rapidly slumped to the bottom of League Two.
Naturally, I was unconcerned by the situation at Deva Stadium, as I'm not remotely interested in the game. That said, I did briefly forego free food and beer and the attention of 20 teenage models dressed as referees in an attempt to arrest the slide, putting together a four-match unbeaten run.
And I may have once woken up at 2am and played through til 8am before going for breakfast There's also a possibility that I've been ignoring the editor of this mag for a week as the deadline slips over the horizon. And I may have just opened the laptop to discover with horror that the code has expired. But at least Im not addicted.
With The Championship Manager series mounting a resurgence of almost Manchester City-style proportions, it's time to see how the champ responds to Beautiful Game Studios' challenge.
After last year's slightly disappointing debuting 3D match engine, Sports Interactive have clearly taken many of the criticisms on board. One hundred new animations and animated crowds have been added, giving the game match day experiences that are beginning to do justice to the unrivalled realism of Football Manager 2010s engine. But a 2D pitch view and commentary options have been retained for the purists.
With the visual improvements in place, watching matches has now become an even more enjoyable experience. Viewing games in their entirety is akin to watching the real thing, while it's always clear how your tactical tweakings are influencing what's happening on the field.
The full-screen match action also possesses a collection of superb and unobtrusive shortcuts that allow you to make myriad changes without ever taking your eye off the ball. Touchline orders can now be barked at your players, and range from commands to retain possession to sitting deeper or pushing up the pitch.
Cup Winner
While Championship Manager 2010 may have raised its game in a number of key departments, FM2010 remains in a league of its own in the field of match realism, though once again you should prepare yourself for a smattering of irritating bugs and glitches, such as the on-pitch action occasionally jamming for extended periods.
Wherever you cast your eye you discover tweaks, and while most of these are minor rather than revolutionary, FM2010 does feel more accessible than its predecessor thanks to its complete navigational overhaul and a fresh new look that employs a clear, tabbed and windowed interface not too dissimilar to FIFA Manager's. But don't let that put you off as within a couple of hours you'll start seeing the redesign's benefits, which are bolstered by streamlined and improved player guidance and an intuitive, step-by-step tactics creator. It's also easier to define player roles, eg. box-to-box or holding midfielder. Newcomers have never been better catered for, though the game's sheer depth could still prove a stumbling block for FM virgins.
Another small but useful tweak is the bolstered back room staff feedback, which lets you grill your coaches on a cornucopia of topics, such as recommendations for new scouts to opinions on how certain players can improve. This tool quickly becomes one of several invaluable aids that you use to decipher where your club's setup is succeeding and failing, and despite a few contradictions, the guidance you're given is generally very useful.
Media Woes
Another neat touch is the revamped news section that allows you to keep track of key football-related events from across the globe, while an excellent filter system lets you customise exactly which news stories you're fed.
On a less positive note, there are a number of balancing issues, such as your squad mewling that you're not giving them enough credit three games into pre-season, despite the fact you've sent them flowers and jam after every match as a token of your appreciation, while the team talk options remain as uninspired as ever.
There's also little evidence of improvement in the press conference department, with answers still feeling a little too obviously tiered.
Th is is certainly the slickest FM to date: a hugely engrossing management experience that will have lawyers adding an extra box labelled 'FootballManaged to divorce forms. However, there is an underlying, niggling feeling that the game lacks enough serious innovation.
For the first time in its history, the franchise finds itself second best to Championship Manager in a number of key departments - most noticeable, training, scouting and set pieces - and while its superiority remains intact, its dominance isn't as clear cut as in previous years. Football Manager is still the best but the chasing pack is slowly, but very surely, closing the gap.