Football Manager 2010 Review

Substitutions

Behind the changes to the interface, FM2010 is very much just a polished and refined version of FM2009 – not necessarily a bad thing considering the popularity of last year’s version. Nevertheless, features such as player search, scouting and training all remain exactly as they were last year, which will be a disappointment for those looking for a big update, especially considering the improvements to the training and scouting systems in CM2010.

However, we found Champ Man’s additions somewhat overwhelming, and FM2010 has clearly focused on getting things right rather than adding needless extras. The scouting might be simple, but your scouts do the business and can be set to automatically ignore unrealistic targets. Training remains a frustrating, as it's still unclear what attributes a coach needs in order to be really effective.

The lack of new features shouldn’t be a surprise though, as FM games typically run in two year cycles with the first bringing in radically new features (as FM2009 did with the 3D match engine) and the subsequent year’s release polishing up and improving on the previous year’s foundations. Polish is the key word here then, and while FM2010 lacks any huge new features of note, there are rafts of minor improvements.


These range from fairly small tweaks, such as being able to apply your assistant manager’s advice on your opposition with a single click when setting up match tactics, to the new inclusion of back room staff meetings in which your coaches bring you up to speed with what’s happening behind the scenes at the club. These are particularly useful for helping you handle the many managerial duties you’re tasked with, and can include recommending a player learn from a more experienced colleague, suggesting an addition to the coaching staff and advising you on the perennial problem of managing those infamous footballer egos when a player’s been benched one time too many.


In-game advice as to why your team is losing is in plentiful supply in fact, in contrast to previous versions where you were often left mystified as to why you’d lost or why a certain tactic hasn’t worked. In the run up to games the back room staff will offer you a rundown of the opposition and which tactics might work best, and where your team hold advantages and disadvantages over them. You also get a better half time analysis from your assistant manager than in FM2009, pointing out where your team are out playing or losing out to the opposition. When the final whistle’s blown, there’s a rudimentary tool to show you the distribution of passes and shots on the pitch.

While Champ Man’s Pro-Zone post game system is so in-depth it’s used by real life teams to analyse games, FM 2010 delivers post-match analysis so in a way that doesn’t overwhelm or coddle the player. The assistant manager says crosses aren’t working too well and the star central midfielder isn’t having a great day – it’s your decision to sub him or not, or to play a more simple passing game through the middle of the park, or to switch play out your wingers. The game simply provides you with more information with which to make these sorts of decisions, a feature that football manager games have been in need of for a while.