Other reviews of this game bemoan the fact that it's a cut down of the PC version - no 2d game engine etc. Not so welcome are the presence of the now obligatory (anti) social options, allowing you to bug your friends by spamming their Twitter or Facebook feeds with news of your progress. But if you're really intent on living out your football management dreams the way that Sports Interactive used to, the best bet is to keep things simple and opt for the iOS version.

Trust me a lot of love and care is put into the handheld games - however we have a very small team (was 2 programmers - up to 3 this year) working across a number of platforms in comparison to the PC/Mac team which numbers vastly larger (for comparison purposes there are more than 2 times the number of people working on the 'match' area of the PC code than on the entire handheld team).Maybe throw in a few crafted asides about taking your plucky band of strugglers to improbable European glory, and then go about the business of discussing the shiny new features, before finishing up with a tearful account of how your partner shacked up with the editor of the Angling Times because it was a better option than hearing about contract negotiations and tactical nuances before bed. That one-more-fixture, one-more-transfer feeling creeps into the lives of all but the most disciplined players, and this uncontrollable, bona-fide addiction is responsible for more than the odd divorce and relationship headache along the way. If all you want to do is focus on the team selection, in-game tactics and an occasional dip into the transfer market, then it's all here, and couldn't really be any more intuitive.

Now I don't know you or your history in the games industry or any business in general really but it seems like it is funded on the wrong premises.

It's quite likely that you're a bit like me - a former football management addict who had to go cold turkey and leave it far behind - and not just for the predictable reasons of it being 'too compulsive' and being threatened with justifiable violence by your significant other. If you decide you want a little more depth, then there's a modicum of boardroom, player and media interaction that you can get involved with, but it has been tucked away a little.

They have already admitted they could do very little with the PSP as the game was hitting the limits a few years ago. SI have over 80 employees and I would say at least 60 of them are for FM and the other 20 are FMH (though 18 would be QA as only 2 code). It is especially good for passing time on long journeys as it is based on strategy rather than button bashing so games can be left to run at certain times without interference. The shoulder buttons, meanwhile, act as 'back' and 'next', and within minutes the general navigation becomes almost as easy as the full game.

and you gain absolutely no satisfaction from achieving anything because you never get lost in the game.