What will you feel like when you play EA Sports' new football management sim? Will you feel like a relaxed, fulfilled boss who laughs and quips with journalists, who takes one game at a time? Or will you wear rings under your eyes to go with that dark, haunted look as you begin to suspect that the huge investment you've just made up front isn't paying dividends...
Gideon Kibblewhite

"Go on Michael! Stick it away! Oh, for f**** sake, you stupid little f****** t***! Michael f****** Owen's f****** Soccer Skills indeed... B******! My b****** f****** c****** granny could have put that away!"

Who would want to be a football manager, eh? All that stress and hard work... and for what? For some little bugger to miss a sitter which costs you your job? Well, if you want to try a sheepskin on for size with Football League Manager 2000, beware: the speed at which you can find yourself on the dole is one of its most patent features. For although it's one of those management sims which sacrifices detail for clarity and ease of navigation, its difficulty level is realistically high, so you'll need to get your club running like clockwork if you don't want to see your blood running down the board room wall...

FLM 2000 has most of the features you would demand of a decent management sim, without burying you under a mass of menus and statistics. You're able to control everything at your club from wages, ticket pricing, merchandising and facility development to team tactics, training and player selection - and all this is very user-friendly and easy to get the hang of. Sending a scout out on a spying mission, for example, is just a matter of making a couple clicks with the 'X' button, as is making or accepting an offer for a player. FLM 2000 also has an 'EA Mail' system which keeps you informed of developments 'upstairs' in the directors' offices, and this makes you feel involved. Nice, you think, after spending a few minutes looking around the place - it's smart and clear.