Football Manager 2005

There is 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.