It takes a steely nerve to put a curly-haired, bearded chap smiling on the cover of something and then expect it to sell well. In truth this only really happens once a decade it being Bob Ross’ (Deceased) turn the decade before. However when Kevin Toms appeared, smiling on the cover of his Football Manager – No. #83 in the Your Sinclair Top 100 – nobody expected the gaming world to shake as much as it did.
Football Manager was the first game of its kind; originally appearing on the TRS-80 and the ZX-81 it quickly became ported to the ZX Spectrum released via Addictive in 1982. Though programmed in BASIC, this football management strategy game saw you juggling players in your classic 1980’s team. Football Manager was nominated for a Golden Joystick award and hailed as a classic from numerous magazines and fans alike.
Though myself I was never a football fan and I never owned Football Manager nor ever wanted it either. The idea of the pigs bladder – real or virtual – even rolling towards my feet makes me wants to stick a fork in it and end it all!
Kevin Toms last year attempted to launch a new Football Manager on the mobile platforms via Kickstarter, but unfortunately didn’t reach the target. However he’s continued to build the game and you can follow his progress on his Facebook page.
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Originally published June 6, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
