We don't envy the life of a football manager. Sure, if your team plays well then it's plaudits all round, but the minute your bunch of overpaid prima donnas start under-performing you'll be down the Jobcentre faster than Michelle from Pop Idol.

Many people may be put off management sims because of the huge number of daunting menus involved, but thankfully LMA cuts right through these like a Premiership striker would a flabby Sunday league defence, stripping down the number of menus and tables to a required minimum. For all the Arsene Wenger pedants out there, LMA 04 does provide the option to go into considerable depth in all the usual areas, such as fine-tuning your squad’s training, buying and selling players, scouting opponents, grooming youth players and developing your humble ground through careful financial planning into an international super-stadium.

However, the more laid-back Terry Venables among you may prefer a more direct route through the game, and this is where LMA 2004 comes into its element. The great quick start option allows you to pick a team from 778 clubs from 31 countries, but, at the end of the day, everyone just picks their favourite British club don't they?

Of course, you can still tweak any aspect of the club you like, but at any time during proceedings you can just set the CPU default settings (which are actually pretty sensible) and jump straight to the next match. Info on the club comes via email to your laptop, yet this can also be turned off to speed up proceedings. Before the match you can change formation and tactics of your squad, and then much like EA's Total Club Manager, LMA 2004 allows players to watch an undetermined 3D match. The match's outcome can be significantly affected by issuing commands via the Dugout Shouts, creating a refreshingly different action/management hybrid. The handy pop-up menu allows commands like 'Attack’, 'Keep Possession’ and 'Press’ to be issued via the triggers and White and Black buttons, and these both genuinely have an influence on your team's performance, making for an involving managerial experience.

You can't beat a bit of realism however, so dig out those throat sweets because you'll be hoarser than Frankie Dettori once you get on the Live Communicator. The same Dugout commands can be shouted into the headset for the ultimate touchline experience, and although you may feel stupid hollering "KEEEEP!" at the TV, a successful result causes immense satisfaction. Including all the most recent transfers, and further stats available via Xbox Live, LMA 2004 is easily the most accessible and intuitive management sim out there and should see you well into next season. Until LMA 2005, that is.

1. Very accessible
2. Play through at a varying pace
3. Voice commands enhance gameplay

1. Bad crowd effects
2. Only twelve players, and no Live play

Power
Loads of menu screens don't tax the Xbox, but rendering 19,000 different players certainly does.

Style
Players in the 3D matches are suitably detailed, but the crowd effects are awful.

Immersion
Easily negotiable menus, the majority of which can be ignored for a more immediate experience.

Lifespan
Tons of teams and downloadable transfers via Xbox Live give this legs well into the summer lull.

Summary
A great management sim. Intuitive and accessible, greatly improved by using voice commands. Back of the net!