Proof that the world's gone mad - Eidos release a footy management sim when there's no footy being managed. But could FA Manager turn out to be a blessing in disguise?
Ben East

It seems like a bad idea at first. Release a football management game with all the teams, players and stats from a season that's well and truly over. Raise the hopes of a nation of would-be PlayStation Alex Fergusons by casually mentioning it's from the same company as the benchmark management game Championship Manager 3, while knowing that it can never match it.

Oh yeah, and say it's got live action footage. We all know, from painful experience of Premier Manager 99 and Player Manager 98/99 that PlayStations simply can't do that. Even Champ Manager 3 on high-end PCs doesn't bother. It's not looking good for Eidos' FA Manager, is it?

Which is why this latest footy management sim is such a pleasant surprise. With nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon except try to feign interest in the Copa America, FA Manager fills a gap until the first week of August. Or at least until the next EA Sports football game comes along (the second week in August).

The key is its simplicity and speed. There are no nasty pre-season friendlies here, and no horrible loading times. You're pitched straight into the action, and with a £20m overdraft facility, you can immediately begin creating a team in your own image, using the easy transfer and loan system.

Unlike most management sims, the players won't turn their noses up at the long trip up the A11 to Norwich, for example, which means you really can have fun with the transfer list. When you're bored of that, you can search through everybody else's team and make offers the chairmen simply can't refuse. It's exciting, if a little unrealistic. We sold Norwich City reserve team players to penniless Scarborough for £600,000!