A few months ago, before FM 2008 came out, I wrote an article; its main point was that Sports Interactive was stuck in a kind of a stalemate, as far as the whole series of its flagship game is concerned. Unfortunately, the new FM only proved that my fears were not unfounded. And I do not mean it in a sense that there was no revolution, no, it’s even worse – there aren’t even any signs of – simply – progress. Now, of course some new frills HAVE been added, but they are only that and nothing more – visual frills, ‘face lifting’ measures (new skin, Fan days or – in my view totally misguided – FaceGen) or simple changes only upgrading modules already in place, such as module of managing national teams, or – what I see as the only completely successful part of the game – interaction with the fans and the board. I could mention further little novelties like these, but in truth it seems as though they were there only to ‘fill in the empty spaces’ and I would say the only purpose they serve is for SI to have an excuse to  publish yet another version of their game. What’s more, I feel that with time the game has been getting more and more schematic and detached from reality of football. Interaction with the media and motivation talks are good example of this. I let my views on these be known in the last article, what concerns me now is to find an answer to why the things are in a state they are.

In my opinion, this volatile situation can be attributed to the following causes. First one would lie in the way that Sports Interactive was created and evolved. The subject was explored by me in the first part of my Football Manager History. As we know, Paul and Oliver created CM 1 in the study in their little flat. They intended it to be a totally non commercial amateur project. It turned out to be a hit, so much that they were forced to establish a company employing about 20 people and cooperating with 2500 others. In their HQ in north London there are tens of computers, amongst them there are quite a few really massive machines, designed to deal with database tests. They have come a long way from their very modest beginning – despite this, we should never forget about how it all started.

It goes without saying that the greatest strength of the first CM was that it was realistic. Obviously, the realism was, in a way, symbolic – it reflected the game very well (due to magnificent database) but it still called for considerable use of imagination of the user. This did not appeal to all.

With time, however, the game’s popularity steadily rose, which meant bigger profit for the company. In 1990s the world of computer gaming as a whole started to develop rapidly. And so the game’s producers – in order to satisfy the needs of the market and the publishers, and to fulfil their own ambitions – quite suddenly had to change the character of the series. The need arose for switching from a realism that was symbolic and imaginary to one that was more direct and palpable. This is why CM 4 appeared – 2D pitch mode was meant to be its main asset. Only now, after few versions of the game appeared, we can say that this module is working as it should have been right from the start. Such a revolutionary change should have been followed by few others, which would create a management game fit for 21st century, but sadly, this did not happen; some new options still work on principles established 10 years ago,  others are as if hastily made up and implemented without due care or consideration. Such vital elements of the game as tactics, training or transfers are not very realistic at all. In the tactics section we could do with detailed instructions on how our players should take free kicks and generally more precise defensive play instructions. Moving the bars from Defensive to Attacking is no longer enough, really. As for training, it seems SI have utterly run out of any ideas whatsoever; it’s high time to put training camps into the game, which would hopefully not only result in the rise of players’ individual statistics but also in higher morale. Transfers and scouting modules merit a separate article – on one hand we have an impressive database, on the other – such primitive and schematic scouting. All in all, I think that SI do not care to make a truly revolutionary game – instead, they prefer to make what they can from the established FM brand and from archaic, no longer satisfactory solutions.

Another problem for SI springs, oddly enough, from their desire  to progress as time goes. At first glance it would seem a paradox that such attitude should cause any problems at all. However, what I mean by that is not a novel approach to the PC version, but SI’s expansion into the realm of other  gaming devices; at present the company is working on the game’s version for PS Portable and Xbox, and above all on much discussed FM Live, their  first ever  MoM. This project may turn out to be either a great triumph or an abysmal failure. Expectations are high and the firm’s programmers are devoting the bulk of their work time to it. Obviously, this drives towards increasing the number of products on offer (and let’s not forget that they’ve already made a hockey and a baseball management games during the last few years ) is inextricably connected with their desire to multiply their profits. In my view this lack of focus on one thing does not do the Londoners any good, as it certainly does not do justice to the fans, to whom the PC version of FM still remains a priority. Sadly, there seems to be no turning back from SI’s engagement in multifarious projects, and all we can do is hope that they do not follow that road even further.

It would be fitting to end this article with something uplifting, to give some proof that there is, after all, hope for tomorrow, but, unfortunately, I can think of no such thing. SI leaves me with the impression that the company is in a sort of a ‘coma’, a state of over confidence in the magnificence of their game. And they could be excused, given that sales figures for FM still are very good. I still spend hours playing FM myself, but it is more out of pure nostalgia and routine rather than out of enjoyment. Losses do not depress as they used to, wins are no longer as satisfying. And from what I read in e-mails from fans both in Poland and abroad, it would appear I’m not alone in what I feel. What’s disappointing is that statements and actions of the SI Towers team do not, in any way, show that they are even conscious of dark clouds gathering over their heads, nor is there indication that some magic tricks are being prepared to dispel them.

Translated by Sol