Football Manager Touch 2019 – Nintendo Switch | Review

By Joe Anderson
| 28th November 2018
| Review, Switch
| 0

I’m one of the most passionate football fans around, in many ways football is life to me. I love Glasgow Rangers and often a result will dictate my mood for the entire day, and sometimes even the week. When we win, I’m elated, when we lose, I often end up in a state of minor depression, unable to get the result out of my head for a few days. Maybe it’s a Glasgow thing, or perhaps it’s just how football fans feel all over the world.

Of course when your team does lose you always think you can do better, “the manager made a mistake with his team selection,” or “he should have made a substitution after the equaliser,” the manager is never right and of course, you know better, so now is the chance to prove this and you can even do it inside the football stadium if you like, thanks to the arrival of Football Manager Touch 2019 for Nintendo Switch.

Football Manager has always been a pretty addictive game, seeing you sitting for hours at your PC, wondering where the time went. Well now, you can play anywhere in Sports Interactive’s portable version, which offers practically every option you need to prove that you have what it takes to be a Football Manager. The amount of choice and options in this version is mindblowing, allowing you to choose from any team in the UK, while you can also try your hand in foreign markets too, including the top two Bundesliga divisions, which are one of the new additions added this year.

Straight from the off, you’ll be met with an unbelievable amount of detail, which even for experienced players is an eye-opener. First up you’ll choose your teams philosophy. How do you want to play? Are you a defensive thinker? Or would you rather dictate play, dominating possession and playing tiki-taka football? You are the manager, so do you want to take control of training or leave it to the coaches?

This is just the start though, you still need to deal with the board and their demands. You have targets for the season and you’ll need to meet them. If you don’t then there’s probably someone out there who thinks they can do it better than you. Sound Familiar? Then there’s the transfer market to get your head around. You’ll need to scout the next big thing, but at the same time your squad needs to challenge now, so you’ll need to use the budget you have wisely, although make sure you don’t upset any of the current squad, plenty of games should mean you can keep everyone happy.

Depending on the team you choose you’ll certainly have plenty of matches to play. Rangers, for instance, are involved in the League Cup, Europa League, the SPFL and the Scottish Cup, so there’s certainly plenty of competitions to navigate. In my first season, I managed ok, second in the league and a League cup win made up for the disappointment of being knocked out of Europe to that last minute goal, while the less said about the Scottish Cup exit the better.

Next season is one to build on for me. I’ll need new players to build on the relative success of last season, after all, the goal is to win the league this year, Rangers fans don’t really do second place. So the pressure is on. Meanwhile, at home, everyone is wondering why I am ignoring them. Is that a grey hair? Well, it happens to most managers these days, one wrong move and you’re probably going to get sacked. I’m sure the wife and kids will understand if I play just five more games. It’s a busy part of the season and the team needs me.

This is the thing with Football Manager Touch though, you’ll always need just one more go, you’ll constantly be checking on your team to make sure that winning formula is still successful, whether you are in the kitchen, sitting next to your wife as she watches Eastenders or on the train, making commuting fly by, although just be careful not to miss your stop, you don’t want to explain to your boss that you’re late for work because you have a second job as a Football Manager, he probably won’t believe you.

Final Impressions

So there we have it. Football Manager Touch 2019 is as addictive as ever. With an update to make the graphics even more impressive than last year, new features to add even more depth and the option to get into matches quickly, this is a game which is perfect for the Nintendo Switch. If you’re not careful it could take over your life.

*Code kindly provided by the publisher for review*

Developer: Sports Interactive / Publisher: SEGA
Release date: 28/11/2018
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Platform Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch