Football Manager 2010 Review

Pitch Invasion

One area that FM has struggled with a little in recent years has been the depth of tactics available to players, especially following Champ Man 2010’s impressive new tactical system that allowed tweaking to a ludicrous degree. As with so many of the aspects of FM2010, Sports Interactive has chosen to polish the system already in place rather than rebuild from the ground up - the game benefits greatly as a result

While the choice of where to place players on the pitch is still fairly limited, and the underlying tactical options remain unchanged, there’s now a much more intuitive interface for managing what individual players do, replacing the array of slider bars from previous versions (although the “classic” slider bars are still available for those who can’t let go).

Players can now be individually set to fulfil a variety particular roles, with the game automatically setting a player’s individual instructions – it’s a little odd at first, but soon makes setting a player as a ball winning midfielder, a wider lying striker or out and out winger that much easier. The level of customisation is impressive, with dozens of different roles for players to fulfil and plenty of room for experimentation.


FM2010 also offers the ability to tweak and modify tactics directly from the touchline in the 3D match engine, with a drop-down menu overlaying the action and giving extra tactical options such as “Get Stuck In,” or “Exploit the Flanks.” These give the game a new dimension and allow the player to have an instant direct impact on the run of a game without diving into the full blown tactics menu, although that option is still present too.

We also really like the way the player roles have a brief description to tell you how a player will behave if given that role. Previous football manager games have struggled to explain themselves well, leaving only the die-hard of football fandom able to follow and understand many of the settings. FM2010 feels more inclusive and helpful, which will help less knowledgeable players get to grips with the game. Don't for a second think that FM2010 is dumbed down though - it's arguably more complex than the previous version - so there's plenty for the experienced football follower or virtual manager to get stuck into.

Results on the pitch aren’t all down to tactics though, and FM2010 still makes managing player egos and reputations off the pitch just as important if you want to get the best out of a player. How you answer questions in post-match news conferences, and whether you chose to praise or criticise a player’s performance, and by how much, can have a big effect. Get it just right and the player will be even more motivated to turn in match-winning performances, get it wrong and you'll provoke a strop. This is another way that FM2010 brings depth to the genre, and while basically unchanged from FM2009, it's still a welcome inclusion.


With so much polish and so many minor additions improving the game, there is one thing that is disappointingly unchanged – the press conference system. FM2009 already had a robust press conference system that allowed you to unsettle players and feud with managers, but all too often you’re asked the same repetitive questions with the same identical set of five responses. After a season of play you’ll have answered all the questions the game has to ask possibly dozens of times over, and in exactly the same way. While it remains fun to play mind games and bait rival managers, the press conferences remain as repetitive as they were in FM2009. Thankfully, your assistant manager can attend in your place, and usually does a decent enough job in your stead when you skip the less important press meetings.