Most people reckon they could do a better job than the gaffer. That's why football management sims are so popular. How else to explain the appeal of spending countless lost hours poring over statistics in the hope of unearthing the new Rooney? Everybody wants to be the boss. It's the only plausible explanation.

LMA Manager 2005 offers more than mere number crunching, though. It incorporates a real-time strategy element into live and fully animated 3D matches - where your tactical calls from the dugout actually affect what happens on the pitch. Sure, there are managerial responsibilities off the pitch to contend with too, but this real-time match element is what elevates LMA Manager into something all the more involving and entertaining.

Playing your part in one of the live matches is a bit like watching a game of Club Football (also by Codemasters) on automatic, except that you're able to issue instructions. If you've got a Live headset then you can use it to bark instructions directly at the game unfolding before you.

This year's edition comes with several notable new features and leagues, making it the biggest LMA yet. There are leagues in two new countries, Holland and Portugal, to test out your foreign management potential, plus the domestic Championship, League 1, League 2 and cash- strapped Conference to battle your way out of. Add to this the Scottish, Spanish, Italian, French and German leagues, plus scoutable teams from South America, and you've got a truly huge pool of players to choose from. Xbox Live also makes a comeback for this year's title, so once again player statistics will be periodically updated. Prepare to lose sleep.

Slowly but surely it will take over your life. Is that healthy? Depends entirely on whether your team is winning...