A classic style football manager. As in the case of other representatives of the genre, the visual setting of “Football Manager 2004/2005” is negligible and is limited to a number of tables, charts and information windows, and the fun begins with the selection of one of the many football teams available. Despite the fact that “Football Manager” does not have official licenses of the biggest European leagues, possible deficiencies can be remedied very quickly thanks to the built-in editor of the database of players, teams and leagues. In addition, the player has the ability to paste photos with the colors of the selected club or change the appearance of the background.

The course of the game does not differ much from what other titles present, the player must perform traditional manager’s activities – manage the entire club (players, finances), organize games or improve the tactical settings. An important role is played by trainings, thanks to which available players successively improve their skills. But be careful, because too intensive exercises can lead to unfortunate injuries, which will exclude them for at least a few meetings. Last but not least, transfers play an important role. The player has to recruit new players for the team (through negotiation), he can also sell those he does not need at the moment. The finances of the team are quite extensive and are not limited to paying players or other employees of the team a fixed salary. The player must also take care of the team’s stadium, attract new sponsors or look for other ways to get cash (for example by setting ticket prices).

An important role in the course of the game is played by the coefficients of individual players, which have a key influence on their capabilities on the pitch. These coefficients are divided into three categories, the team information assesses the usefulness of a given player, also speaks of his health condition or willingness to cooperate with the rest of the team. Football skills directly determine a person’s capabilities on the pitch, describe, among other things, the player’s agility or the ability to perform certain types of behaviour (e.g. long passes or maintaining the ball). General skills describe not only the physical conditions of a player (strength or dexterity), but also more unusual features, such as innate intuition.

Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions regarding this description.