Who’d want to be a football manager these days? With the large volumes of cash entering the beautiful game and the appearance of team owners willing to sack their staff at a moment’s notice, the pressure on the man in charge has amplified exponentially. It’s not unusual for a manager’s lifespan at a new club to be measured in days rather than months.

Still, there’s a certain allure to being the guy in charge and that’s why computer-based football management simulations have been so amazingly popular over the past decade or so. Normally the preserve of powerful home computers, this genre has since moved onto more humble hardware and Gameloft’s Real Football Manager has become the series of choice for portable touchline strategists.

This 2010 update doesn’t tinker too much with the impressive formula showcased by last year’s variant; it’s certainly not a bad thing when you consider how brilliant the 2009 flavour was.

As you might expect, you’re given charge of an up-and-coming football club (it’s up to you which one – although sadly the developers have had to be somewhat inventive with the team names as the game doesn’t come with an official licence) and must oversee every aspect of its day-to-day operation.

This includes making major choices in the transfer market and having a say in financial decisions, but it’s equally important to keep an eye on your team’s training regimen to ensure they’re all in peak form when it comes to the weekend.

All of these actions are executed from the exceptionally well-animated “cityscape” screen which displays your team’s stadium, the training ground, the local news headquarters and the club’s offices, all of which serve as separate menu options.

Naturally you’re only as good as the information you have to work with and thankfully Real Football Manager 2010 features an intuitive news delivery system where all vital events – be they scout reports, transfer speculation or simply schedules for future matches – are flashed before your eyes so you’re armed with all the data you need in order to run your team as efficiently as possible.

Of course all of your pre-match preparation is undertaken with one aim in mind – to beat your opponent when Saturday comes along. This is arguably the highlight of the entire game - those of you that recall the early editions of old 16-bit titles such as Player Manager and Championship Manager will no doubt remember the crude visuals.

Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for matches to simply be played out in text form. However, such memories can be banished for eternity because in Real Football Manager 2010 the action unfolds before your very eyes.

The brilliantly animated 2D players run around the isometric pitch with real gusto, and the accompanying crowd noises only add to the feel of realism. If you’re not impressed by such visual trappings then you can always speed up the match or simply skip it altogether, although doing this obviously means you negate the opportunity to make substitutions or change your tactics as the match unfolds.

Even though it’s not a quantum leap ahead of last year’s edition, Real Football Manager 2010 is nevertheless a startling achievement. Gameloft has successfully taken the traditional football manager template and somehow shoehorned it into the confines of your mobile phone without having to remove any key elements.

The lack of an official licence is somewhat disappointing and will come as a blow to those of you that strive for authenticity, but no other aspect of the game suffers from any annoying compromises.

This is pure and full-bodied football management in portable form, and will provide weeks of touchline entertainment.

Real Football Manager 2010 info

Longevity:
Graphics:
Gameplay:
Enjoyability:
Overall:

Platform: Java

Category: Sport

Price: £5

Publisher: Gameloft

Website/Demo: Gameloft's website

Buy mobile games here