53: Super League Manager

Number 53
(106.4 points)
Super League Manager
1995: 38 (50.4)
1996: 45 (56.0)

If your football management sim doesn't allow you to sip coffee and water your potted plant before tackling your inbox, then it's clearly not as good as Super League Manager.

Taking charge of a lower-league English football team, this game sets itself apart by eschewing statistics in favour of more abstract and esoteric features. Your players' performances are described in simple terms, you control what kind of training they undergo and who is in the team for each game, but there are other aspects you need to deal with, such as responding to letters from fans and answering the phone to your chairman. The game tries to bring events off the pitch into the main focus, similar to On the Ball, and is a charming and unique offering as a result.

This is, amazingly, the first commercial game I have encountered that has not been modified into a WHDLoad version, so unless I'm missing something, you're stuck with playing it from disk. There was a version for OCS/ECS machines, but the AGA version was the first one reviewed in the magazine, so I figured I would jump straight to that one. As for the game, I can see that this might appeal to the kind of player who finds the Championship Manager-style of endless stats a rather dry affair, but I've always been terrible with footy management sims so I'm not the best to judge. It has lots of character, though, so it might still be fun to try.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Super League Manager (1995)(Audiogenic)(AGA)(Disk 1 of 2)[cr PSG]
Super League Manager (1995)(Audiogenic)(AGA)(Disk 2 of 2)[cr PSG]