Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2778 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sega
• Released on: 2004-11-02
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platforms: Windows, Macintosh

Amazon.co.uk Review
There's little point beating about the bush, Football Manager 2005 is a staggering achievement and the finest football management game ever to appear on any format. Its success, ultimately, is down to the fact that it pulls off a spectacularly tricky balancing act. On one hand, there's a gigantic database of teams, players and statistics with staggering depths of detail; and on the other is an extremely user-friendly interface that always puts you at the heart of the game, and allows you to easily and succinctly use the vast reservoirs of tools and options at your disposal. It might be putting things simply, but the two have been married up to create a standout game.

But then all this is hardly a surprise. Football Manager 2005 has been created by the team behind the Championship Manager series, and whilst they no longer have the rights to use the brand name, the actual game's origins are never in question. Frankly, there are so many improvements, it's impossible to scratch the surface of them.

So we'll focus on two. The media section really hangs together properly for arguably the first time, with intriguing options that allow you to play mind games with other managers for instance. And the match day segment has come on at speed, with a smooth and useful highlights option that feels far more natural and integrated than previously.

Does it have flaws? The odd one or two, which are minor niggles caused more as a result of extreme ambition on the part of the developers rather than sloppy work. Yet the real worry is the amount of time the game will sap. Make no mistake, for any armchair football fan who has ever dreamed of taking their team to glory, Football Manager 2005 will rob them of months of their life. In short, its easy-to-use, it's desperately challenging, incredibly addictive and downright unmissable. Accept no imitations.--Simon Brew

The Times
"Once you accept your first management job, you can bid farewell to months of free time 5/5"

Manufacturer's Description
Football Manager 2005 will feature teams from 158 divisions in 51 countries. With the inclusion of reserve and youth teams, the number of league teams available to players of the game exceeds 5,000, while the international teams (with the senior squads augmented by their under-19, under-21 and under-23 counterparts) brings the total to 5,300.

FM 2005's scope easily exceeds that of Sports Interactive's previous most comprehensive football management game, which showcased teams from 42 nations. FM 2005 includes leagues from a number of countries which have not featured in Sports Interactive's previous titles, including Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile, Iceland, Malaysia, Peru, Romania, Slovenia and Uruguay.

Customer Reviews

Unbelievably addictive yet relentlessly annoying
Well, I have been playing the FM series for such a long time now, since the days of the Amiga when it was Championship Manager until today.
As fan's of this series, we go without any form of light or food until we play 'one last match'. Always 'one last match' we keep telling ourselves. The game is so addictive, you can't help but to buy that extra striker and serenade yourself in all the glories when the goals start flying in. As fan's of this series, we KNOW we can do a better job than Steve McClaren - after all, we have done it all on FM.
The game is of a unique breed of games that can frustrate you to death but keep you going back for more every time. I can't recall the amount of times that I have uninstalled this game, only to re-install it a few days or weeks later. It is inevitable. As fan's of this series, it is our destiny to keep going back, despite the fact that we can not see any reason why our under-strength recently-promoted Championship sorry mob of players can not go to Stamford Bridge and at least scrape a draw with Chelsea.
What drives us to put ourselves through defeat after defeat in the season after promotion? The promise that next season, once survival is guaranteed, we can get a few more results, climb the table, and in the period of a few years build a title winning side. It's all possible in FM2005. The game gives you immense joy when you lift a trophy and win the plaudits. As the game tells you, 'the fans sing your name after your side won the FA CUP'.
As fans of FM, we recognize several unavoidable inevitable truths. Firstly, don't expect to beat Liverpool. Liverpool are by far the greatest side in FM, for some reason, your goal will become bombarded with 'great Liverpool move!' after 'great move by Liverpool!'. Of course it does not matter if you have Ronaldinho, Robben and Drogba up front - the Liverpool GK will save anything you throw at him. Forget scoring anyhow - when the ball lands in the back of the net it will be disallowed. And even if they do not score they will be awarded penalties.
Secondly, no matter which side you build after promotion, you are guaranteed to hover just above relegation, unless you are really bad. Anybody disputing this, simply use the editor to change the ability of your players to superplayers and behold, you still wont win anything.
Thirdly, the match commentary is annoying. 'HE MUST SCORE' is used too often for good players who always miss.
Overall, a superb game but slightly flawed by the game engine. If it has decided beforehand on a result, forget about tactics, the result has already been decided!
Definately worth a buy from Amazon at this great price though.

Football Mananger - Basic Review
An excellent game for all football fans :D. The game is easy to install, and is really easy to get the hang of, even though it may seem slightly complex at first. It gives you a very realistic look at managing, in which you complete transfers, train your squad, hire staff etc. Even the little inclusions, such as 'Go On Holiday', and the oppertunity to praise other managers adds to it's overall fun-ness. A great game. You can even manage lower division sides as you climb the managerial ladder to premier league status

Better than Championship Manager
I love this game n i luv it evn more than Championship manager a game i hav played on since 98/99 version so it must b a gr8 game if i stuck with it till now! For those hu didnt hear tht i sed its better than championship manager the fifa of managment, the pick of the bunch, the brazil of pc games! It has a wide range of players n staff! The control is like neva b4! And the 2d pitches ROCK!Contracts reserves under 19s board requests cheat u name it u can do it! Its GREAT