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''LMA Manager'' is a
football management video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
series developed and published by
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Octo ...
. Developed primarily for consoles, the franchise differs from the PC-based ''
Football Manager
''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...
'' and ''
Championship Manager series'' by focusing on visual details such as a fully 3D match engine, although still maintaining the realism and level of detail craved by fans of the genre - a unique combination when the series was first released.
The series has different titles in different regions: ''LMA Manager'' in the UK (named after the
League Managers Association
The League Managers Association (LMA) is the trade union for Premier League, EFL and national team managers in English association football. The LMA awards the LMA Manager of the Year award annually.
History
The union was founded in 3045 as ...
), ''BDFL Manager'' in Germany (basically the German equivalent of the LMA), ''Manager de Liga'' in Spain, ''Football Manager Campionato'' in Italy, and ''FC Manager - La Passion du Foot'' in France since the 2006 edition (the French edition of the series was previously named ''
Roger Lemerre
Roger Léon Maurice Lemerre-Desprez (born 18 June 1941) is a French professional football manager and former player. During his managerial career, he was in charge of the French, Tunisian and Moroccan national teams. He also managed numerous ...
- La Sélection des Champions'' after the former coach of the
French national team).
''LMA Manager''
The first ''LMA Manager'' video game was released in 1999 for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
, featuring 8,000 players and 294 clubs in 32 countries.
''LMA Manager 2001''
The second LMA game was released - also on PlayStation - in March 2001. Two versions were released, one for the English leagues as before, and another specifically covering the
Scottish Premier and Football Leagues. The in-match action is presented by former footballer turned
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
analyst
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen (born 13 June 1955) is a Scottish former footballer and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, for the successful Liverpool team of the late 1970s and 1980s, and for the Scotl ...
. Sometimes this version gets caught in between the retro style of the original game, and the 2002 version. Although practically the same as the 2002 version, this contains some differences in the in-match play, and is famed for wingers cutting inside to shoot from ridiculous angles, and goalkeepers who tend to tip shots just inside the far post, making this an often frustrating game. There are also a few mistakes on the game, such as Birmingham City's
Bryan Hughes
Bryan Hughes (born 19 June 1976) is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
He played as a midfielder from 1994 to 2015, notably Premier League for Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic and Hull City as well as featuring ...
being 29, instead of his proper age at the time, which was 24. It is also occasional for defenders to pick up the ball in their own penalty box, and proceed to kick it out like a keeper, as well as people scoring from their kick-off.
A slight difference from the original is the length of gameplay - this version finishing after 30 seasons in football management while the previous version finished after 50 seasons.
''LMA Manager 2002''
''LMA 2002'' was the final version in the series to be released on PlayStation, launched on 2 November 2001. Although principally just an update from the 2001 version, the game did prove to be quite a stepping stone from the LMA of old and the LMA seen today.
The first
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
incarnation went under the same name when released in April 2002. A significant update from PS1, it allowed players to manage in one of six European leagues, all of which were processed by the game simultaneously (the top two divisions in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
were added, in addition to the existing top four divisions in England and Scotland). On the PS2, matches played out in full in a 3D match environment, followed by post-match highlights voiced by famous BBC presenter
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has p ...
alongside the returning Hansen. The game play advanced in this game from the 2001 version, in particular the in-match style. Players tend to shoot early, from around thirty yards, rather than enter into the penalty area.
''LMA Manager 2003''
Originally slated for release in October 2002, but releasing ultimately on 15 November 2002, this was the first edition to be released on
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
, alongside the PS2 release. The version added no additional leagues and contained minor enhancements from the previous game.
''LMA Manager 2004''
The next in the series was released on 12 March 2004 on PS2 and Xbox, and added a variety of enhancements to the match, as well as new commentary in the post-match highlights voiced by renowned commentator
Barry Davies
Barry George Davies MBE (born 24 October 1937) is an English retired sports commentator and television presenter. He covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.
Although best known for his football commentary, Dav ...
and analysed by Lineker and Hansen as before. New 'Fantasy Team' mode (replacing the 'Challenge Mode' in earlier games) whereby users could build up a team from scratch using a preallocated budget, based loosely on the popular
fantasy football game. Once the user had compiled a squad and selected a team name, stadium and kit, the newly created club would compete in one of the leagues in the game. Another new feature in this version was the option (on Xbox only) of issuing tactical instructions to your team via the Xbox Communicator headset during a match. A second edition of the game was released, updating the squads from the January 2004 transfer window.
''LMA Manager 2005''
''LMA 2005'' was released on PS2 and Xbox on 31 October 2004, and chief amongst the enhancements was the addition of the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
leagues and English
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
division, the first new playable leagues to be added since 2002. Another unique feature was the option to download a mid-season player roster update via
Xbox Live
The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...
or the
PlayStation online service, the second edition release had the updated squads by default at the expense of the online features. PS2 owners with access to an
EyeToy
The EyeToy is a color webcam for use with the PlayStation 2. Supported games use computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the EyeToy. This allows players to interact with the games using motion, color detection, and also ...
camera could take a photo of themselves, which would appear on various newspaper articles seen in the game (for example, a celebration photo after winning a trophy, or an unhappy image after being sacked by their club).
''Manchester United Manager 2005''
At the same time as the normal version of ''LMA 2005'', a special themed edition was also released on PS2 and Xbox, entitled ''Manchester United Manager''. As the name suggests, this version was tailored around
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, and contained various photos and video clips of the club. However, the game itself was unchanged from LMA, allowing players to manage any club, not just Manchester United.
''LMA Professional Manager 2005''
Released alongside ''LMA 2005'' and ''Manchester United Manager'', this version was notable for two reasons - it was the first game in the series to be released on
PC, and the first developed externally (by
Kuju rather than Codemasters). The change of platform required a redesigned interface, with the straightforward joypad-based navigation of PS2 replaced by a mouse-driven control system more similar to a
graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
such as
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. Each screen the user progressed to was housed on a separate window, which made finding one's way from section to section rather awkward.
Content-wise, the PC version contained the same playable leagues, 3D match engine and transfer system as the console version, although there were extra non-playable countries added from around the world to bolster the transfer market.
''LMA Manager 2006''
''LMA 2006'' was released on 18 November 2005 for PS2 and Xbox, with a further three playable divisions included from
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
leagues, as well as further enhancements to the 3D match, transfer market and player training setup (including playable 3D Training Matches for the first time). In keeping with the series' visual roots, a new option allowed players to create a 3D model of their manager, who could be seen pacing along the touchlines during a match or featuring in one of the new video headlines (introducing a new transfer signing to the press, for example) included in the game world's TV station.
This game provided the most complex transfer processes yet, with the ability to swap players and give instalments. However, the game limits you to only having four transfers made via contract clauses (i.e. 10% sell on clause or £75,000 to be transferred after fifteen appearances). Using contract clauses, you can usually pick the player up for a cheaper transfer fee than what you would if you didn't use a contract clause, but after you've used all four and try to use another, it will say that the club who the player currently plays for cannot afford to let him go. Once you sell anyone you have used with a contract clause, you may then buy a player using another contract clause.
After the third-party conversion of ''LMA Professional Manager 2005'', a second PC version was being developed by Codemasters themselves and was scheduled for release in Spring 2006 alongside the first
seventh-generation iteration on
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
. However, these versions' development slipped back, making LMA Manager 2007 a tri-format release.
''LMA Manager 2007''
This was released on 22 September 2006 on PS2, PC-DVD, and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
, with transfer updates available for download. Like other versions of the PC, it uses a graphical user interface like LMA 2005. Its main theme is "
Hands Open
"Hands Open" is the second American single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, ''Eyes Open''. It was released June 2006.
It received substantial radio play on modern rock radio, peaking at number 21 on the US ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart. H ...
", by
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...
. The lack of subsequent titles, and the fact that the PC version of LMA 2007 would not run on
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
and
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
due to its use of a
StarForce
The Starforce is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Its first appearance was in the comic '' Avengers'' #346 released in 1992, as part of the " Operation: Galactic Storm" storyline.
The team are a ...
DRM, and its limited availability on
7th generation games consoles, meant as of 2009 the LMA series became effectively defunct.
''LMA Manager 2008''
LMA Manager 2008 was developed by
Glu Mobile
Glu Mobile LLC is an American developer and publisher of video games for mobile phones and tablet computers. Founded in San Francisco, California, in 2004, Glu offers products to multiple platforms including Java ME-based devices, Android, Wind ...
and released on mobile on January 23, 2008.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:LMA Manager
1999 video games
Association football management video games
Multiplayer hotseat games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation (console)-only games
PlayStation 2 games
Electronic Arts franchises
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video game franchises
Windows games
Xbox games
Xbox 360 games
J2ME games