Read all the reviews about the installation problems so decided to wait until it all settles down before purchasing this game, bought yesterday and had it running via steam first time, i loaded it with no problems at all, works fine has'nt crashed and playing as i would expect.

A favourite game of mine spoiled by the problems with installing and activating the game. It doesn't install a rootkit but you do need an internet connection or to spend some serious time on the phone to activate. If you change hardware or reinstall your OS regularly this process could be very annoying.

I feel for all you guys that cant play the latest installment of the Football Manager series for whatever reason but I think the game is great.

I got the game for christmas and it installed first time using Steam and runs great on my 2 year old Acer laptop that only cost ??600. The 3D match engine even runs fine and it hasn't crashed once.

The 3D match engine isn't great, at first I used the 3D match engine but I didn't like it, as soon as i reverted to the classic pitch the magic came back. The game isn't vastly different to 08 so to all those people who have turned your backs on FM give it a second chance, its a great game.

This game has been met with a lot of criticsm on release. And having purchased a boxed copy myself I can certainly see why. The game is bugged with problems (if you can actually get it working), and the security issues on installation are a joke.

However, being in the position I am (luckily), after a week of failed installations and no luck with the activation number I was provided, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase the game for a second time off Steam. I had no problems what-so-ever taking this route. The game downloaded in about an hour and over the last couple of weeks has been continually updated and patched with no trouble or effort on my part. This is certainly the way I would advise anyone looking at this page to purchase the game.

The game itself is pretty much identical to last years instalment and wheather you think thats a good or bad point depends on your own point of view. Myself, I thik the game is almost perfect as it is and does'nt need any radical changes, but a facelift may be needed within the next year or two to keep it feeling fresh. The 3D match engine does'nt add or take away much to be honest, I use it but it is far from neccersary.

So my conclusion is that if you are a fan of the series then by all means make the effort to buy the game, just make sure to use Steam and keep away from the retail boxed copy. The fact that I had to purchase the game twice is a slap in the face to me and the consuming public at large, luckilly I could give the boxed copy to my brother who after a month of e-mailing and phoning has finally managed to get it working.

if you can get this product to work you must be lucky, i have tried for two weeks and its now in the bin. i will not buy any other software from this company..