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Football Director is the latest in a long line of attempts at simulating the job of the manager of a Football League team - not a director. In fact, the only connection between this and a director's job is that you can spend £300,000 on a new stand.

The game runs in text only Mode 7 with next to no sound and there's nothing that makes up for the omission. I quickly found that, despite the long list of features mentioned on the packaging, there's actually little to do.

Your aim is to lead a team up through all four divisions of the Football League. As well as trying to gain promotion to the First Division, there are the two domestic competitions - the FA and League Cups - plus, if your team qualifies, three major European competitions. There are 79 other teams competing against you.

Playing for the first time, you are presented with a choice of 80 teams - which always start in the Fourth Division with £500,000 and 12 players. I have a soft spot for Cardiff City, so I chose that.

Next came a menu of options: Check Match tells you your next opponents, the form of each team and its league position. Check Squad lists all your players, their positions and form. And it's here you can change their positions in the team, sell them or edit their names. The Transfer Market lists players available for you to buy.

Other useful options include Bank from which you can make loans or obtain mortgages - both at exorbitant rates of interest - and one which enables you to employ a scout to keep an eye open for players you want - a waste of £200 a week. You can also hire or fire a physio to treat injured players or a coach to run a youth squad. You can alter the level of difficulty, which is good, but what I detest is that the program itself changes it if you get too good.

Every time I built a team which was in the running for promotion to the Third Division the level increased and, suddenly, a team which was practically unbeaten for 12 or 13 games failed to win any more that season. I don't mind it re-setting difficulty, but it should have waited until the end of a season.

The main option is Play Match, which lasts about 15 seconds - not nearly long enough to build any tension. Also once it starts you can't do anything to improve the performance of your side. At the end of the match you get the rest of the divisions results and then a rundown of the club's financial position.

I've seen a lot worse, but with a bit more work it could have been a great deal better.

Llewellyn