Why I Love.........
"Kevin Tom's Football Manager Series"
"I've written copious amounts of words on the subject of Football Manager but for that I DO NOT apologise in any way.
The original Kevin Toms Football Manager released on a multitude of home computers in the 80's was the game that hooked me into video games completely.
To be more specific, it hooked me into football management video games and has never let me go. A trip after school at the age of about 8 to a friend's house to play on his Amstrad CPC was the setting for my video gaming epiphany.
As the tape loaded and I saw the loading screen image appear on the screen I was transported into a world of transfer deals and skill ratings that would grab hold of me tightly through the 80's, 90's and early Noughties.
The genre has let it's vice like grip go from me slightly as my gaming interests have broadened but I still to this day write often on the subject of Football Manager and football manager Sims.
Why did the original game grab me so tightly?
I think it was all about the match highlights screen. It created drama in a computer game that I had never experienced previously.
The thing with the highlights was the fact that you never knew what was going to happen when that screen came up, was an attack from your team that might end up in a goal conceded? Could it be a glaring chance missed!?
It made you care about the team you had picked and the tactics employed. It made you live the highs and lows of your season like no other football manager game at the time could. It was a simple yet complex and had a layer of detail that was just right for diving into and playing a season in a session.
The thing that I also remember vividly from my first play with the game was the excitement of the transfer market. That transfer market feeling is something I still get to this day when I play one of the latest versions of FM. The feeling of being able to affect your team's performance with a shrewd purchase and buying in a fans favourite who bags a hatful of goals. This was truly mind blowing at the time.
The other thing I loved was a small thing but something that played a large part in your teams fortunes. The introduction of Sponsorship deals into the mix meant that success could not only bring silverware but also virtual financial reward to invest into the development of your club.
I think that's what Kevin Tom's Football Manager gave every avid player, a sense of owning and managing your own club.
You called the shots and watched your decisions play out in dramatic fashion both on and off the pitch.
When I eventually played Football Manager 2 on my friend Paul's Spectrum +3 on Disk it was like my favourite game in the whole wide world just got improved beyond my imagination.
The main thing with FM2 was the great looking upgrade to the match engine. What a beautiful sight it was to see more lifelike players with a certain amount of personality about them taking to the pitch. At the time it felt like I was watching an actual match such was the improvement that I felt I was witnessing.
I've written about my love for Championship Manager recently but that couldn't have happened without Kevin Tom's Football Manager Series and that's why I love Kevin and his awesome Football Manager series.
Viva Football Manager —Viva Kevin Toms!"
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