>Stat Attack

Previous versions of Champ Man have relied on the good will of fans to provide information on the players in the game. This time round the developers have taken a more specialized approach, employing the services of the Professional Football System, a long-standing agency who provide information to actual clubs and managers around the world. Established in 1999, the services of the PFS have been utilised by clubs from The Premiership, Serie A and La Liga, including no less than the mighty Real Madrid.

The PFS has a worldwide network of researchers covering over 50 leagues from as far afield as Australia, South Africa, South America, Asia, and Europe. The research team is largely made up of professionals directly involved with football, such as journalists and those working in administration at clubs. Their factual information includes such details as players’ height, weight, what foot they favour, and even if they are married or single. The single largest, most detailed and, most importantly of all, most accurate information resource on professional footballers and clubs available, it’s an invaluable source to clubs all over the world, and will prove priceless in CM5, the first game ever to use this data.

As well as providing hard facts, the PFS has been given strict guidelines by which to judge player attributes. These attributes will be categorised as Technical (passing, shooting etc), Physical (pace, strength...), Intelligence (positioning…) and Temperament, the latter introducing personality aspects that will affect such areas as contract negotiations, media dealings, and the relationship with the manager. There will also be a host of new stats, such as power, accuracy and feinting, all of which add to the overall impression of a player.

As an improvement on previous versions of CM, attributes will now be represented as a percentage to offer more fidelity, accuracy and flexibility. They will also be an absolute value, leaving gamers in less doubt as to a player’s qualities.

It will still be possible to identify future stars though, and attributes will fluctuate through such influences as age, experience and training. There will also be hidden attributes – such as big game mentality – that will become evident through coaching. With the help of PFS, the intention is to create the most accurate database available in any football management game.