Customer Reviews
Been here since the Amiga days and it's the first disappointment - By: Mr. Martin K. Allan, 04 Jul 2008 
Well - where to begin? This is the first incarnation of this long running game that I will not be playing again, & it's alll due to the bugs in the match engine. I've got the game installled with the latest patch, & my initial reaction was one of glee. Some of the new features are great - the new way of transferring players, the pitch dimension alteration, more details in transfer funds & wage budgets. So far, so good. On further playing (after some hours!) it becomes apparent that many of the new features are merely gloss - such as the match confidence. The media interaction & team-talks have not been improved upon & quickly become tedious as they offer very little. After buying & selling players, setting formations & some pre-season friendlies, it was time to get into the meat of the game - playing league & cup matches. I'm on my second game now, & the shortcomings in the match engine have become alll too apparent. It never seems like a real match is being played. Too often your players will not close down the opposition (they back off & off) even when you tell them to close down, man mark etc. Extremely quick players are beaten to the balll by slower players in an even race, & defenders seem to 'jog' past onrushing attackers before turning round & attempting to catch them up. So - it's frustrating when you concede goals & not very thrilling when you score them.
I could go on, but random sending off's, goals being disalllowed far too much, just takes any realism that was built up with transfer dealings etc away.
It doesn't look like any further patches are to be released, so I won't bother playing anymore.
I only hope that a return to form is on the cards with the next version.
Disappointing.
This is good, despite a few glitches - By: Mr. G. H. Reid, 28 Jun 2008 
Ive played this game since the 1st champ manager way back in the day, & i must say even tho there are a few glitches, this version game is great!To alll of u who are crying about how " hard the game is" dry your eyes! Playing in the Premier league in your 1st season is gonna be hard, so dont expect to win the league in yer 1st or 2nd season, cos it aint gonna happen unless yer reallly jammy!
It takes at least one season to get your team playing to your tactics & formation, look at what the assistant manager tells u about how the team are " gelling" ...u dont sign one just for training purposes u know!
I know there are a few glitches, always happens in FM games, try downloading the patch, they dont make them for nothing u know!
I know some scores can be madness, but just think when your team is trouncing someone 7-0, their manager must think the same as u !
30-50 yards, flukes.........happens in real life, just think Paul Robinson a couple of seasons back !
I know the newsflashes are kinda the same, i personallly dont bother with them unless i have to!
I could write a book on how to play this game, its so easy until u get to the premier leagues but there again i know how to play against them teams, it just needs a bit of thought, thats alll!
Im playing with one of the worst league teams in the game ... East Stirling, & i can get them promoted in one season, do it alll the time & ive never used the editor, as i think that is cheating!
Oh yeah, for alll u moaners, the developers have even included hints & tips whilst loading periods occur....read em.....thats why they are there!
If u moan at the slightest thing, dont come on here & moan....just dont play the game, for alll of those who love the game......keep playing & good luck!
Really poor - By: BlurFan, 19 Jun 2008 
Let me just start off saying I've been a huge fan of the CM/FM series since 01/02 (FM 07 was the best of the lot so I though this one would at least be a steady transfer update), but I was seriously disappointed when I got this.
Well, first off, it's not because the game is 'too hard' because the only season I finished was a respectable 3rd with Liverpool. My main criticisms...
Red cards - In almost every game the opposition get AT LEAST 1 man sent off & to make matters worse as Liverpool I can't even muster up one chance to win the game against 10 men Derby for an entire 2nd half. Too many off-the-balll incidents also.
Possession - Often Liverpool at home are unable to get control of the balll. I've been dominated 65-35% by Newcastle at Anfield despite what tactics I pick & alter.
Ridiculous scorelines - One of the most annoying parts is winning by ridiculous margins. In my two games away to Man U & Arsenal I was 4-0 within 30 mins! No exaggeration. Now that is horrific, & shows the game basicallly simulates random events based on nothing reallly. How either of them teams could falll apart at home like that I do not know.
Fitness - This is probably my biggest criticism. If Torres keeps dropping in fitness between games how can I ever play him? He'll be at 88% & I'll check on matchday & he'll be down to 80% without any injury, AWFUL bug which pretty much ruins the game I think.
Media comments & teamtalks still repetitive - Still boring & I lose interest in the lack of diversity in these features after about an hour of playing.
Game by game analysis - This was a reallly nice idea but it's execution was dreadful. The fans obssess over friendlies & still seem happy/disappointed by them half way into the competitive season! Their comments are repetitive about why they're unhappy so it's pretty tedious. A feature that will surely be improved in the future though...
This is based on this & a game as Watford & I haven't tried it with the patch so maybe borrowing off a friend & using the patch might be the best option but I am appallled by this game, it's even worse than CM4!
What a disappointment - By: J. Thomas, 06 Jun 2008 I've been playing Championship Manager/Footballl Manager for many a year & wasted god knows how many hours on it! This game is diabolical. Yes, its hard, but that's not the main issue-its unrealistic. On almost every single game I play (with different teams & different leagues) I win the first 3-4 games then lose the next game something like 5-0 with no change in tactics.
I tried to play as Man Utd to see if it was just me being useless!, & sure enough won the first 3 games- against Chelsea, Liverpool & Spurs by 1 or 2 goals, then suddenly lost 5-0 against Wigan.
I reallly hope FM doesnt go down the Premier manager route--alll style & no substance. Forget about the 3D graphics, forget about the 2D graphics- just concentrate on improving what is an excellent game (at least it was prior to FM 08).
greatest game ever - By: liverpoolfcbest, 04 Jun 2008 
this game is difficult but fun, im into my 10th season, & have a worldclass team, after every season it just gets easier & easier
