There probably isn't a footie fan in the country who hasn't fantasized about managing his or her favourite national or local team and doing a darn sight better than the current man in charge. It was therefore inevitable that when the mighty Championship Manager (now re-named Football Manager) series began, it would find an eager and plentiful fan base.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Gremlin launched the rival Premier Manager in 1992 and, via successive developers and publishers, the latest version has emerged with the emphasis squarely on being more user-friendly, fast moving and less complex than its main adversary.

So, once you've chosen your name and your team (from over 400 possible options) you're presented with a Home page where everything is writ large. The bulk of the frame is filled with News relating to transfer deals, etc., involving other clubs as well as financial statistics, upcoming fixtures and the overall state of your club. The right-hand margin contains a new character bar with icons relating to key personnel such as the chairman, physio, coach, scout and other clubs looking to secure transfers or loans, as well as press reaction to your decisions.

Interaction with your personnel is flagged by an exclamation mark and often involves two-way conversations where you are asked to make decisions yourself or delegate responsibility to others. There are well over 12,000 players in the database so you have plenty of scope for wheeling and dealing but it's noticeable that many of the pre-selected team squads contain out of date line-ups.

New elements that will appeal to fans of the genre include a training centre where you can set to improving a player's perception, will-power, memory, intelligence and charisma (though why the latter will make them a better player is beyond us) as well as injury diagnosis which will effect how much of a risk you'll want to take that a player will be match fit.

The match engine has also been updated so that any changes you make during play are now illustrated on the pitch view as the game progresses and you can then perform a full analysis, post-match, to try to correct your mistakes.

There are some features that are annoying, especially the way the News bulletins on the Home page flash on and off before you have time to properly scan them, and the choices in your interactive conversations with staff are severely limited. But if you're new to the soccer manager scene then this is a relatively painless way to try out your dreams of being the boss.

Verdict
Some significant improvements in training and user interface make this introduction to football managing fun, fast and entertaining, although diehard fans who love micro-management would do better to wait for the next Football Manager.

Company: Zoo Digital Publishing

Tags: premier manager championship manager sports soccer arsenal f.c. football games roleplaying