When I heard this game was going to be released I just couldn’t contain myself.  A football manager game..on the go?? That was going to take up my whole life and I couldn’t wait! MYFC brings a clean, packed interface of countless options from transfers and finances to tactics and contracts while you take your football club to the top of the league! It’s out now for £5.99 in the App store, but think you’d be paying a lot more for a portable football manager on the DS or PSP…

Obviously the hardest part of bringing a football manager game to a touch screen platform like the iPhone is how you are going to get all the options into an easy to use interface.  What they’ve done is simple and intuitive to use.  All the the options are categorised in a small bar at the bottom of the screen with squad info and tactics in one, Transfers and contracts in one, League and cup information in one and finally the proceed button in another.  Then you just tap on one of these buttons and a pop up menu gives you the sub-categories and the actual options you want.  With this system the screen is never that cluttered and makes it fairly easy to get around once you get used to it. But as with any football manager game the first time you pick it up it feels as if you’ve been thrown into another world and you can easily get overcome with all the immense stats and options available.  The graphics are smooth, simple but work and they seem very similar to Sega’s Football Manager which is a good thing.  Remember this game is not about the graphics, but about the information and tactical ability to outwit your opponents.

The developer has done such a good job to get everything packed into the game. It’s not like Fifa Manager where you control merchandise and expanding your stadium, MYFC is the real deal where you control the team and assistants helping you.  The focus is winning trophies and you obviously get targets at the start of the season like avoiding relegation or qualifying for Europe.  There is nothing major missing in this game that you would definitely expect in a football management game and for a first release MYFC is amazing. Just wonder what they can do with updates! Like other football manager games, MYFC runs in a turn based fashion where you can either proceed to the next day or proceed to the next match.  This enables players who want to get really involved to go through each day checking and maintaining training whereas the players who want to just have a quick management experience can hop right over and play the next match.  It’s a great option and especially during the tense transfer window, the day option is a god send. Thank you!

Honestly there is so much to customise and change it is unbelievable.  Formation, aggression, style, free kick takers, penalty takers, corner takers, captain, positions etc. Obvioulsy if you don’t want to, you don’t have to fiddle with half of them but when you do it increases the satisfaction when you lead your team to victory because you believe you are personally responsible for your team’s success.  Changing style and kick takers is very simple and uses easy scroll bars and name selections to choose however the formation changes could do with some work.  In normal computer football manager games you choose a formation then usually drag players onto that formation.  However in MYFC you choose a formation, then have to remember where each shirt number is on the formation, then return to the squad list and change the order round correctly.  It may sound simple but you always forget which one goes where and you have to double check the right numbers because you don’t want a Defender playing in Attacking Midfield.  It just seems counter productive and I think this is the biggest let down in the game because I can’t be bothered to keep changing formation for different situations because I have to go through the whole hog of checking positions etc. I just want a quick, easy touch system where the empty formation appears and I tap on the position and then select the player I want to play in that position.  Even then showing the players name under the position would clarify who was who.  I know the developer has already got this technique because it is implemented on how to change the kick takers so why not put it in with formations?

As large as the information database is in MYFC it only covers the English league from the Premiership down to and including League Two.  You can manage anyone of those teams and you can really taste success when you bring up an underdog from League Two to be in Premier League!  However the problem is, unlike usual computer football manager games, you can’t buy a young Spanish kid to train and grow up into a wonderkid.  There is no foreign transfers in this game unfortunately although the software developer has said it may be a possibility if enough people demand it.  This doesn’t take away from the awe inspiring achievement of the game but it does mean you have to take a different strategy than you usually would.  If you don’t like the English football league this game may not be for you.

Another thing that is missing is a “search” facility.  The transfer system works fairly well but it can be hard to find a specific player you want.  You can either search the league table and choose the football club then the player, or you can change the filter on the transfer list page to include everyone from a specific position or ability.  It can take more time than necessary and I’m sure a simple text box input would benefit most managers so they can get that talent they want instead of being frustrated and missing out.  Also while on the topic of transfers, I was surprised there was no filter in the transfer list for players whose contract was running out.  I’ve seen many a time players who have joined other clubs on free transfers but I don’t understand how to find them before my opponents teams grasp the player.  Maybe it’s just me and I don’t know how to do it but if you can’t then it would bring another tactical edge to the game.

So in my opinion the best portable football manager for the iPhone to date, amazing technical ability (even if some of the players have a bit unrealistic scores) and an easy to use, clean appealing interface.  I have had no bugs or crashes so far and I have already devoted all my spare time to it.  If the developer keeps up with just fixing some of those negative points like the formation and player selection process and adding extra leagues, then this game will be totally unstoppable!