If you think Guardiola, Wenger and Ranieri are the cream of the football-management crop, you should have seen me take Bishop’s Stortford from non-league obscurity to Champions League glory in less than a decade.
Admittedly, this was in the last version of Football Manager on my computer, but my translatable skills for real-world management are surely clear. Old Trafford, I’m waiting for your call …
In the meantime, the age-old football management genre is translating smoothly to mobile devices – especially for lapsed Football Manager addicts who don’t have the time for desktop play any more, but do have long commutes or other free time for mobile managing.
If that might be you but you’re unsure of which games to try, here are seven of the best mobile football manager games.
Football Manager Touch 2016
Android / iOS (£14.99 + IAP)
The closest thing to desktop Football Manager on a tablet is, unsurprisingly, the official tablet version of Football Manager. This is excellent: a pitch-perfect port of the “Touch” mode from the desktop version with touchscreen controls.
There’s a massive database of players; the option to go as deep or shallow as you like with tactical and training tinkering; and an impressive 3D match engine to showcase the results.
Stattos will love the inclusion of Prozone analysis, while the ability to create your own club from scratch is welcome too.
Top Eleven 2016
Android / iOS (Free + IAP)
Football Manager remains focused on the solo management experience, but if you want to pit your wits against players around the world, Top Eleven 2016 is the best option on a smartphone or tablet.
You’re still doing the regular management tasks of team-building, training and tactical trickery – developing a giant stadium is also on your to-do list here – but the fact that you’re playing in a universe of real humans doing the same adds an interesting twist.
As an attempt to bring football management into the world of casual, social gaming, this is the best effort yet.
Football Manager Mobile 2016
Android / iOS (£6.99 + IAP)
There are now two official Football Manager games for mobile devices: this is the one focused more on smartphone players – although it has tablet versions too – with stripped-down gameplay akin to the Football Manager desktop edition a few years ago.
That’s not to say it’s shallow: Football Manager Touch aside, this is probably the deepest management game available on mobile. There’s lots of scope to build your squad, bring young players through and train them up, and develop (almost) unbeatable tactics.
It works well for short bursts, but is just as rewarding for longer sessions when conditions allow.
Football Chairman Pro
Android / iOS (£2.99 + IAP)
This isn’t the first sim to pitch you into the business end of running a football club – I have fond memories of Football Director on the Commodore 64 from a couple of decades ago – but Football Chairman feels fresh nonetheless.
You start as a non-league scrabbler, and have to drive your team to the top by sanctioning player transfers, hiring and firing managers, and upgrading your facilities. You can blast through seasons quickly too: an important thing in the narrative arc of your path to glory.
As with the Football Manager games, in-app purchases are a (genuinely) optional extra if you need a bit of a hand – here in the form of funding injections rising from a “local businessman” to an “Arab billionaire”.
Champ Man 16
Android / iOS (Free + IAP)
The original developers of the Championship Manager games split with their publisher and moved on to Football Manager, with Champ Man having continued – albeit never rivalling the fanbase of its rival.
Its latest reinvention is as a free-to-play game fuelled by in-app purchases, which may raise the hackles of old hands, but actually works well. You play through 20 seasons of training, tactics and transfers, with scope to dive deep or skim your way through according to preference.
Champ Man 16 remains in the shadow of the two Football Manager games, but if you’re looking for an alternative, its free status makes it worth a try.
PES Club Manager
Android / iOS (Free + IAP)
As a football action-game brand, PES is on the up again: its latest console version is giving Fifa a run for its money, and for veterans conjuring up memories of its glory days as ISS Pro Evolution Soccer. As a management brand, its history is somewhat lower profile.
Like Champ Man 16, PES Club Manager is a freemium game: a risky move if aggressive in-app purchase selling were to trump strategic skills. It avoids that pitfall: you don’t have to buy its PES Coins currency unless you’re really impatient.
The big draw is matches visualised using the console game’s match engine, and while it looks good, you may find yourself wanting to play the actual console game instead as a result.
Championship Manager:All-Stars
Android / iOS (Free + IAP)
Finally, the second Championship Manager game: one that steps outside the regular league structure in order to take on Top Eleven as a worldwide social management game.
The other appeal here is that you’re building a team from players drawn from hundreds of clubs – a familiar dynamic in the console world of Fifa Ultimate Team gameplay – with human opponents adding spice, and a choice of modes to test your abilities.
Taking on Top Eleven isn’t the same as beating it – the latter game appears to have more momentum – but if it doesn’t suit you, Champ Man All-Stars could be an alternative.
What do you think of this list? The comments section is open for your thoughts on the games above; your recommendations for games that we’ve missed; and your anecdotes about stuffing Barcelona 4-0 playing as Hucknall Town at 3am on your smartphone while pretending to sleep.
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