Sports Interactive Announce Football Manager 2006 News

Rumoured last week, Sports Interactive and SEGA Europe today finally announced the development of Football Manager 2006, with the startling revelation that the franchise would be heading towards the Sony PSP.

Boasting a â??multitude of new and upgradedâ? features, SI Games assure us that the changes talked about during todayâ??s announcement form only a small indicator of what to expect from the final title.

Bowing to fans demands, managers will have greater control when it comes to negotiating with their directors, not only for improved contracts, but also for improved wage budgets, increased transfer funds and stadium expansions. More importantly, half-time team talks have finally been included, allowing players to target individual players or speak collectively to the whole team.

Individual man-management is claimed to benefit from one of the most significant enhancements in the shape of an all-new â??Player Interactionâ? feature, with unhappy players having a huge impact on the overall morale of the team and subsequent performances â?“ now you have the power to sort it out... Having confused players with all manner of abbreviations, weâ??re reliably informed that SI have gone back to the drawing board with a player position indicator, detailing information such as preferred positions and moves.

Training once again has undergone a significant overhaul in the on-going attempt to get it right, with an overall module that simplifies schedules and progress placing greater emphasis on your backroom coaches. In addition media interaction has also received a healthy boost, with managerâ??s making a variety of comments on cup draws, man of the match and various other issues.

â??The new game is destined to build on the outstanding commercial and critical success of the last,â? Matt Woodley, Creative Director of SEGA. â??Football Manager is now the genre benchmark and once again our colleagues at Sports Interactive are creating a game which their fans will be delighted to play.â?

"Just like the real-life game, Football Manager continues to evolve as each new season comes and goes," says Miles Jacobson, Managing Director of Sports Interactive. "As has become traditional over the years, the changes that we've made this time around have been inspired not only by events and trends in the real world, but also by changes which have been suggested by our ever-keen fan base."

The PSP version has been specifically designed to address the formatâ??s strengths yet at the same time retaining the hallmark realism and excellence. Players can select a league from a minimum of 6 countries, with accurate data provided by the world-renowned SI database. With up to 30 players in a squad, managers have complete control along with support from the backroom staff. In addition weâ??re promised agent approaches and dressing room unrest; realistic simulated media dealings and a fully interactive transfer system.

â??From the moment that we got our hands on our first PSP we knew that we were finally looking at a portable system that could do our game justice,â? comments Miles Jacobson, Managing Director of Sports Interactive. â??Football Manager is well-known as being a game that people carry with them in their hearts and minds â?“ pretty soon theyâ??ll be able to carry it in their pockets too. â?

â??This has to be one of the most exciting games coming to PSP. Iâ??m going to start getting the train into work so I can play it in the mornings!â? commented Matt Woodley, Creative Director of SEGA.

We'll have further information soon...