Football Manager 2020 kicks off in November

(Image credit: Sega)

Football Manager 2020 is only a month away, once again combining the popular hobbies of football and looking at loads of data. Kick off begins on November 19.

My news editor predecessor, Joe Donnely, called Football Manager 2019 "the most comprehensive footie management simulation around," giving it a whopping 90. He went off to work at Celtic, so he knows a couple of things about the sport. Unfortunately, I know squat. Sorry!

Here's what you'll be getting up to in the latest edition:

Base yourself in 50 of the biggest footballing countries worldwide
Oversee a new era of success at one of 2,500 clubs at every level
Sign the best and mould the future—scout more than 500,000 real players and staff
Create your tactical vision and bring it to life on the training pitch
Kick every ball with our most immersive and smartest match engine to date

OK, then.

I've been informed by lots of people that if I was to ever be seduced by a sporty game (at least one that's not set in the future) it would be Football Manager. I'm all about my dense menus and fiddling around with armies and tactics, and I've lost countless days to management sims, and Football Manager apparently has all of that, but with athletes in little shorts instead of soldiers in plate armour. I'm not sold, but maybe I'll check back in 2030.

Football Manager 2020 is due out on November 19, but you'll get to check out the beta version two weeks before if you pre-purchase the game.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.