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Being something of an armchair soccer fan, I was curious to see what Gremlin had to offer the Electron market with this intriguing title - Footballer Of The Year. So while a nicely drawn loading screen was being displayed, I had a quick glance through the English section of the instructions.

The game begins with you adopting the role of a 17-year-old professional footballer who is on the threshold of his career. Now, with £5,000 in the bank and the entire footballing world at your feet, you endeavour to develop your status as a player. Using skill and judgement, you strive to achieve the ultimate accolade of being nominated Footballer of the Year.

With an exploratory trial under my belt, I got the impression that the gremlins had finally taken over and banished the graphics to the broom cupboard. Having recovered from the initial shock of Gremlin without Graphics, and not being one to stand on ceremony, I decided that having been firmly rooted in the fourth division on my first attempt, a more serious approach was necessary.

When you have entered your name and selected the division you wish to start in, you are prompted to choose a team to play for. It is recommended that you start in division four, and develop your skill from there, the easiest level. Division five by the way, is the super league, and apparently not the lowest level, as I first imagined.

From here you enter into the main menu where I would advise you to experiment with the various options. I would also point out that the instructions are somewhat misleading, so you can forget about icons and an arcade section.

Once under way there is a far bit going on; you can buy incident cards, apply for a transfer to another division and, of course, check your current status and league position. I found playing the matches a bit hit and miss. Perhaps I was the way I was standing as I took my shot? When the Q - left and W - right keys do I can only hazard a guess; perhaps you may be able to find out.

I wasn't impressed with the way the league table shows only your current position. This for me, destroys any real feeling of competition. You never know the strength of the team you are playing against - it could be first or last in the division.

Judging from my own performance, the game must have a hidden strategy. However, after several unsuccessful attempts, I'm afraid I found things rather dull. Gremlin is capable of producing some excellent titles, but this falls below its usual high standards. The Electron market needs and deserves better.

Footballer Of The Year offers a good challenge at a budget price, though I suspect it may be one for the connoisseur of the sport only.

Football simulation games always seem to do well in the software charts, and this offering from Gremlin is competing with some well established games. Like the competition, there aren't any graphics, but this doesn't detract from the gameplay at all, as the fun is in buying and selling, allocating funds and so on. A must for all soccer fans.

Steve Bissell