Championship Manager
Encyclopedia
Championship Manager was the very first game in the popular Championship Manager series
of association football management
simulation games. The game was originally released on the Amiga
and Atari ST
in September, 1992 and then ported to the PC/DOS platform soon after. The game was written by Paul and Oliver Collyer
(the co-founders of Sports Interactive
) in their bedroom.
and The Manager. Critics berated the lack of any real graphics, other than coloured text on top of a background image, and the complete lack of any sound effects. Also, what became known as the "match engine" was very basic, consisting of a clock, 3 small meters showing each team's possession and lines of text commentary describing the match action. Rival game, The Manager, included a small screen showing TV-style clips of match action. Another drawback was the absence of real player names - each team was populated with players generated at random by the computer.
Also included were all of the major domestic cups of the time (including the Anglo-Italian Cup
) and the 3 major European trophies (including the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup).
Any teams outside of the four playable divisions and all foreign teams had no player names at all. Instead, players were simply called "No.3" or "No.10" depending on which position they played.
One of the most innovative things about the game was the introduction of "average ratings" for players - after each match the performance of every player was graded from 0-10 and as the season went on the player's average rating would allow the manager to easily see how each player was performing.
manager). It was fully localised for France
and included the French first and second divisions as playable leagues, and all text and commentary in French. The Guy Roux Manager franchise has since become a very popular and long running franchise in France with games on many platforms.
Also in 1993, the first Norwegian version was released, and the year later, an Italian version. While the Norwegian version was very much similar to the English one, in the Italian version you could substitute up to 4 players in any game and the transfer deadline occurred much earlier in the season. Both the Norwegian and Italian versions featured real named players though, adding to the popularity of the game.
Championship Manager series
The Championship Manager series is a series of British football-management simulation computer games, the first of which was released in 1992.The Championship Manager brand and game was conceived by two brothers: Paul and Oliver Collyer...
of association football management
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
simulation games. The game was originally released on the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
in September, 1992 and then ported to the PC/DOS platform soon after. The game was written by Paul and Oliver Collyer
Collyer brothers (game designers)
Paul Edward Collyer MBE and Oliver Charles "Ov" Collyer MBE are two English computer game designers and programmers. They founded the development company Sports Interactive in 1992 and created the Championship Manager series of football video games, which became the Football Manager series in 2004...
(the co-founders of Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...
) in their bedroom.
First impressions
The release of this first version of the game was not an outstanding success, and sales were steady rather than spectacular. Reviews ranged from the encouraging to the dismissive. Even by early 1990s standards, the graphics of Championship Manager were primitive and there were many other management games available that were much more visually pleasing, such as Premier ManagerPremier Manager
Premier Manager is the name of a football management video game series started in 1992. Published by Gremlin Interactive, it was first developed by Realms of Fantasy, later passed to Spanish company Dinamic Software...
and The Manager. Critics berated the lack of any real graphics, other than coloured text on top of a background image, and the complete lack of any sound effects. Also, what became known as the "match engine" was very basic, consisting of a clock, 3 small meters showing each team's possession and lines of text commentary describing the match action. Rival game, The Manager, included a small screen showing TV-style clips of match action. Another drawback was the absence of real player names - each team was populated with players generated at random by the computer.
Gameplay
The game featured four playable English divisions (First through to Fourth; the newly-formed FA Premier League did not appear until CM 93/94). Perhaps most notably, each division contained only 20 teams, whereas in real life they contained 22 or 24 teams at that time.Also included were all of the major domestic cups of the time (including the Anglo-Italian Cup
Anglo-Italian Cup
The Anglo-Italian Cup is a defunct European football competition that was played intermittently between 1970 and 1996 between clubs from England and Italy. Founded by Gigi Peronace in 1970, following the success of the Anglo-Italian League Cup, it was played as a professional tournament until 1973...
) and the 3 major European trophies (including the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup).
Any teams outside of the four playable divisions and all foreign teams had no player names at all. Instead, players were simply called "No.3" or "No.10" depending on which position they played.
One of the most innovative things about the game was the introduction of "average ratings" for players - after each match the performance of every player was graded from 0-10 and as the season went on the player's average rating would allow the manager to easily see how each player was performing.
Other versions
In 1993, Intelek and Ubi Soft used the Collyers' game code to produce a version for the French market, known as Guy Roux Manager (named after the legendary AJ AuxerreAJ Auxerre
Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise is a French association football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Auxerre plays its home matches at the Stade l'Abbé-Deschamps on the banks of the...
manager). It was fully localised for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and included the French first and second divisions as playable leagues, and all text and commentary in French. The Guy Roux Manager franchise has since become a very popular and long running franchise in France with games on many platforms.
Also in 1993, the first Norwegian version was released, and the year later, an Italian version. While the Norwegian version was very much similar to the English one, in the Italian version you could substitute up to 4 players in any game and the transfer deadline occurred much earlier in the season. Both the Norwegian and Italian versions featured real named players though, adding to the popularity of the game.
Trivia
- Electronic Arts reportedly turned down the chance to publish Championship Manager in 1992.
- In an episode of Football FocusFootball FocusFootball Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...
in the late 1990s, then-Coventry CityCoventry City F.C.Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
manager Gordon StrachanGordon StrachanGordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...
was interviewed with a copy of Championship Manager clearly visible on his Highfield RoadHighfield RoadThe Highfield Road Stadium was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. until the club moved to the new Ricoh Arena after the 2005-06 season...
desk in the background.
External links
- Reviews at classicgaming.com - A website containing several old magazine reviews of Championship Manager
- Official game info - Championship Manager 1 section on the official Sports Interactive website