We're at the business end of the 2005-2006 season in the English football leagues at the time of Championship Manager 2006's release: time perhaps, for a reminder of just how much of one's life can be frittered away by assuming the role of a virtual Steve McLaren. Yes, it is time, once again, to don the virtual sheepskin coat and get down to some serious Harry Redknapp-style wheeling and a-dealing. Your mission? To assemble a squad of players that can take on the best in not only the domesti ... more >>

We're at the business end of the 2005-2006 season in the English football leagues at the time of Championship Manager 2006's release: time perhaps, for a reminder of just how much of one's life can be frittered away by assuming the role of a virtual Steve McLaren. Yes, it is time, once again, to don the virtual sheepskin coat and get down to some serious Harry Redknapp-style wheeling and a-dealing. Your mission? To assemble a squad of players that can take on the best in not only the domestic league, but in foreign fields too. Time to give Wayne Rooney a rest, maybe, as opposed to the one he's unfortunately going to have to take this summer.

Championship Manager 2006 (CM2006) allows you the chance to take your club to glory, but only by taking full responsibility in dealing with everything: from tactics and training to transfers and contract negotiations, improving the morale of your squad and the moods of individuals, and some things that even the likes of Big Sam Allardyce and Little Stevie Coppell wouldn't dream of having to do, such as accepting a cash injection from a wealthy benefactor or doing your own scouting.

CM2006 includes a brand new 3D match engine where players can watch games unfold in the same way they watch the match on telly, but with the ability to tinker with tactics, player positions and formations. Those in a hurry can use the Highlight Filter to select the best bits to watch. Authentic fitness regimes devised by ex-Leeds United goalkeeper and current first team coach at Charlton Athletic, Mervyn Day have been implemented to add a sliver more reality to your management experience. You can study the opposition's current form through what the developer calls 'parallel match processing', which means you can watch other team's previous matches through the Gameplan 3D engine, before you face them.

CM2006, then; another footy management game with the power to destroy any meaningful relationships you may have/may be thinking of initiating. Let's be careful out there. << less