Football Manager 2009 Release Date Announced

The Football Manager series is the best, most realistic soccer simulation game out there, bar none. It satisifies the itch you can't even begin to scratch by playing games like FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, which don't delve deep enough into off-field matters and what it's really like to build and lead a team.

In FM, actual game play is important, but it's more about what you do before and after the matches themselves. You can buy and sell players. You can hire staff members. You can create custom practice schedules. You answer questions in press conferences. Essentially anything that a real-life soccer manager does, you do in this game. The best part? Pretty much any team you can think of in real life is available to manage and the depth and accuracy of the player ratings and skillsets is unbelievable.

This season's edition will be coming out for PC on November 14, and I can't wait. You have no idea how many hours I've spent playing these games over the years -- probably far too many, but this game is so addictive that it's just hard to quit. Once you get into it, you're going to find yourself saying, "One more day, just one more day, one more day and I'll save it, one more day", then finally save after a month on the game calendar.

I encourage you strongly to pick up a copy when it comes out, which you can do by going to the official website (http://www.footballmanager.com/) and downloading it right there, or by going to that site and following the links to pre-order it through amazon.co.uk. It's not going to be cheap, but it's worth the price -- about $60 here in the US. While you're there, check out the game features and screenshots, and watch a couple videos about the product. There's a community forum there too, where you can connect with other fans of the series across the world and just shoot the breeze about whatever you want.

November 14 -- remember that date. Football Manager '09, a can't miss item for fans of the beautiful game.