Alex Ferguson's Player Manager 2001
It’s difficult to know where to begin 
describing ALEX FERGUSON’S PLAYER MANAGER 2001. Like most 
management simulations it’s incredibly comprehensive, offering 
players an enormous amount of information and statistics to 
absorb, tinker with and juggle: The menus are newly designed, 
easy to navigate and accessible from all other game screens: 
there are several improvements to the game engine but, most 
important of all is the input from 9 premier league managers, 
drawing on their knowledge and expertise to make this the 
definitive title in its genre. 


Sir Alex himself spent a considerable time with the developers 
before allowing his name to be lent to the game, ensuring that
 he would not be associated with anything less than the best. 
His high standards, unquestionable knowledge of football and 
crucial suggestions have all been taken into account, giving 
players everything they need to guide their favourite team to
 the top and, most importantly, keep them there. 


You begin by selecting to play either the English or Scottish 
league, choose a team and take a good look at the players. You 
can also choose to be a manager only or, as the title implies, a
 player manager, integrating yourself into the squad with 
comparable stats and abilities. Each player comes complete with
 accurate statistics and attributes focussing on their skills 
and weaknesses. These cover such points as stamina, aggression,
 composure, intelligence, pace and spirit, plus many others, any
 of which can be decisive when selecting squad members.
 

Behind the scenes you’ll have contracts to negotiate, transfers
 to arrange and many other administration duties to perform. The
 fun part, however, is in planning your match strategy and
 tactics, formulating your dead ball situations with the new set 
piece designer, positioning your players, issuing your 
instructions to the team and then watching all your hard work 
come together on match day. 
 

Obviously this is only a very brief description of what the game
 entails and footy fans will get out of it much more than they
 put in. Statistically, it’s top of the league, much easier to 
control than before and packed with fascinating options to fine 
tune and customise.