Championship Manager 2010 Walkthrough – Playing a Match

Once all of your tactical information and team talk are completed, its time to send your team onto the pitch and hope that they follow your instructions to the letter...

Championship Manager 2010 comes with a brand new 3D match engine that illustrates your players in real time making the moves and playing in the manner you dictate to them.

(Note that there is no compulsion to use the 3D match engine – this can be disabled to allow users with slower PCs to enjoy the game via the traditional text commentary. The remainder of this article will focus on the 3D match engine however).

Watching the game can be quite entertaining but since you’ll often be watching your own team (although it is possible to check out your opposition before you play them via the 3D match engine) there is no time to be entertained. You need to make sure your team plays as instructed and adapts to changes in circumstance on the pitch.

To begin the kick off, you need to click the green “play” arrow in the upper left of the display. Before you do this however, make sure you know where the Substitutes and Tactics button is. It’s to the right of the play button and features a green and red arrow facing in opposite directions. This is the most vital button in the entire Championship Manager 2010 game. The situation on the pitch may require you to find this in order to make substitutions and changes to your tactics at the drop of a hat. Make sure you have your mouse pointer close to it at all times.

Once the match is under way, keep an eye on the fitness of your players. This is signified by a number under 100 (and ideally above 90) floating above your player. If a player is involved in the action in some way, their name and condition will be displayed. Look out for a pale yellow number turning blue. In this situation, you need to substitute your player as their condition has dropped below an acceptable level, and they will need resting for at least one match.