Football Manager 2008 (PC) review on HonestGamers

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Review by Ben Lee
December 24, 2007

Lawrie Sanchez of strugglers Fulham has just become the seventh managerial casualty in the Premiership this season. He’ll have plenty to cheer on Christmas Day. And last month, England’s shocking performance against Croatia at Wembley – costing them a place in Euro 2008 – lost unproven Steve McClaren his job as England head coach.

Such is football. But is it the toughest job in the sport, as is often cited? Playing Sports Interactive’s Football Manager 2008 is probably the closest you’ll get to finding out from the comfort of your own home.

Take control of Man United. With supporters and the board of the Red Devils expecting silverware, the pressure is on to get results. You can make the most out of the large transfer budget you’ve been given, or with the club’s stellar youth facilities, you can spend your time nurturing your younger players and devise training schedules for different positions. A striker, for example, would benefit more by practising his shooting, while centre backs will want to focus on tackling and strength. Of course, being at Man United, the fans aren’t afraid to be vocal; you’ll feel their wrath if you lose against a fellow title challenger.

But the fun isn’t limited to leading an already-established and feared team to trophies year in, year out. It’s far more rewarding to watch a team’s meteoric rise from obscurity to top-flight glory.

Step into the Leicester City hotseat, and drive the once-European outfits back to where they were, earning promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship and then onwards. Getting them into the Premiership isn’t an easy task and may take more than a while to clear out those that won’t cut it and to build your team around the likes of Steven Clemence and James Chambers. In addition to learning more about your opponents and their tactics and key players, why not send your scouts out and unearth some gems, be it from a lower division or overseas?

Or maybe you want to jump into the unfamiliar.

Go abroad and manage Serie A strugglers Cagliari, as you try to keep the board off your backs by guiding them away from the relegation zone. Funds are low, so you may be better off loaning a few out-of-favour players from higher teams. New to 2008, you can now use your excessive transfer budget to expand your wage bill and vice versa, which will undoubtedly be handy here. With the chairman willing to listen to offers regarding a possible takeover and your job insecure, the pressure of getting results has never been so high.

If you really want a challenge, start employed as a nobody. Search for your first job and set your sights to one day be England manager. Apply to be Gillingham manager and get laughed at, publicly humiliated. Though times will inevitably be tough, success will feel that much sweeter when you take over a non-League Redditch side and lead them out of the relegation zone after a twelve-match unbeaten run. And it will be that much sweeter when more successful clubs approach you, offering you a way up the managerial ladder.

Though all the teams have similar long-term goals (to get results and help the team move up), each one poses a separate set of challenges and decisions for you to make. Leeds – with key players David Prutton and Alan Thompson – start the season with fifteen points deducted. A newly promoted side is bound to find it tough to attract top players, especially with a tight wage budget. A top team like Chelsea has to ensure their next multi-million pound foreign signing will fit in and adapt to English football. And if you decide to replace Sven and manage Man City, you’ll have to make a key decision within your first month in the game. Do you put up a fight to keep wonderkid Micah Richards at the City of Manchester Stadium, or are you willing to cash in as much as you can as Chelsea and A.C. Milan have been heavily scouting his matches?

I fought tooth and nail to keep him. He wasn’t happy that I prevented a possible move to a more ambitious team like Chelsea, but being a professional, he got over it and pulled out some stellar performances, helping to steer the side into a strong top five position in the Premiership. Of course, that wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the first signing I made – a ten million pound deal with Newcastle for England international Michael Owen. Already, he has established himself as a massive fan favourite, banging in twenty goals in the Premiership by the end of the season and ending up the second-highest goalscorer. An absolute bargain.

And after two years at the club and leading them narrowly to third place and a Champions League spot, I myself became popular and the board didn’t hesitate to offer me a new contract. They didn’t hesitate to give in to my demands, either, when I greedily asked for an extra twenty grand a week.

Not only is Football Manager 2008 an extremely rewarding game – from netting a late winner against a superstar team to winning your first trophy – but it’s also one that’s hard to stop playing. With thousands of teams spanning all corners of the world, including clubs from Northern Ireland, America’s Major Soccer League (complete with David Beckham!), and South Korea you won’t find yourself running out of things to do so quickly. Yes, this is essentially the same game as Football Manager 2007 last year with an updated database and a few new minor but welcome changes, but that won’t stop you from becoming addicted all over again.

“One more match”, you’ll say.

“Time to change your underwear”, the game taunts back.

Rating
8	Excellent Most of the elements of this game come together in fine form, meaning it's an experience you won't want to miss.
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Game Profile & Content

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Football Manager 2008 (PC) game cover art

Staff Score (Avg): 8.0 User Score (Avg): N/A Press Score (Avg): N/A
Reviews: 1 Guides: 0 Cheats: 0 Ratings: 2	High Scores: 0 Screenshots: 3 Videos: 0

Title: Unknown
Genre: Strategy Sports (Football)
Developer: Sports Interactive
ESRB: E
Platforms: X360, PC

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