For the purposes of the game, being manager covers a multitude of tasks and duties. Mostly, the manager will be dealing with the team itself: lineups, tactics, transfers and training schedules. In addition, there is a staggering number of other things to get involved in, from designing stadia and securing sponsorship to working with the youth team and improving club facilities. The manager can also build a team around him by hiring staff such as trainers, doctors and business managers.

Assistant managers can be used to delgate tasks from the manager's portfolio - picking substitutions, for instance. Money is a consideration you can't escape, however. Much of the minutiae of decision making has financial effects, and managers will need to take heed of this.

All this is designed to realise the player becoming the best manager possible. Each manager will have certain objectives and tasks assigned to him by the board (for instance, getting one player to score 20 goals in a season). As tasks are completed, the manager's skill level increases and objectives become harder. It's a great way to tie the game together and can focus the player a lot better than just the achievement of the team on the field.

As a manager, players can participate in a number of different leagues around the world. The number of leagues and cups to compete for is quite impressive, and during the manager's career, transferring to a different club or league is quite possible. For instance, if the player starts in the 3rd Division, he could either manage an existing team to get to the Premier League or negotiate his way through several teams to end up coaching in that league. Such is the freedom of the game's structure.

Managers can get data on individual players, other clubs and other leagues and compare almost anything. Players who thirsted after the highest attendance in the league could easily get information about the other stadiums and track attendance over the course of the season.

Most sports games get the blood pumping fairly quickly, yet Total Club Manager only manages to do this during the 3D matches. For each of the team's fixtures, the player has the choice of getting a quick result, watching a 3D match or playing a match through FIFA 2004. The 3D matches turn out to be quite exciting affairs, and are one of the more interesting aspects of the game as it is the result of your week's work. Whatever tactics or training have been implemented during the week are put into practice in the match. Work on passing during the week, and gamers will be able to watch closely during the match for any improvement.

It is quite an unusual feeling to not have full control of the gameplay in 3D matches, and this can be quite stressful in crucial games. Luckily, there are several ways managers can become more involved. Pre-match tactics such as formations and kicking assignments can be implemented. Both before and during the game the team's determination level can be set. This is a guide for players as to how aggressively they play during a game, making it possible to try for an early lead or a last-minute push before the end of the game. Substitutions can also be controlled.

During the game, the manager's main way of being involved is actually by shouting. Shouting is controlled with the d-pad and covers both offensive and defensive areas. The shouts range from something simple like 'pass' or 'shoot' to something more involved like an all-out attack. Whether the players actually listen to these shouts is up to them, as in real life. Quite often the game moves quite quickly, so a 'through pass' shout would need to come quite quickly to be effective. It is still possible to be a silent manager and just watch the game.

One of the new options implemented for Total Club Manager is the integration of FIFA 2004 for gamers who have both titles. Labelled Football Fusion, managers can take the team they have worked with during the week, import them into FIFA, and play the scheduled match. The results can then be ported back to Total Club Manager to continue with the rest of the week. It's a neat idea with quite simple implementation. It does, however, take away from the purist management game. Good players in FIFA will be able to take even the worst managed team and have a decent crack at a victory. Part of the attraction for watching a 3D match is to get a real impression of where the team is at despite the frustration at not being able to control the action directly.

Visually, the game is where it needs to be. Menus are clear and well laid out, and icons are easily recognisable. In a game such as this, the visuals are secondary. Total Club Manager does, however, excel in its presentation and it uses the FIFA 2004 engine for simulating 3D matches. This makes watching games even more enjoyable and makes it easier to monitor how the team is progressing. The game can also be customised to individual preferences with a range of camera angles available.

As good as Total Club Manager is, we still have a laundry list of improvements we would like to see for a sequel. Improving the flow of the menus would help, as well as making more relevant information more accessible. Tutorials relating to some of the finer aspects of the game would have been good, such as detailing setting up good training sessions. The loading times in particular are quite atrocious.