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Many have tried to bring back the glory years to clubs with heritage and a history of success. Some have cried and failed, others have become legends: witness Walker at Blackburn, Keegan at Newcastle, Haywood at Wolves, Graham at Arsenal and most notably Ferguson at United.
Here is ZOO's ten-point plan to successfully re-awakening a sleeping giant:
- Make sure you know what you've taken on. "Then I came to Millwall, a club with a chip on both shoulders. " Mick McCarthy, former Millwall manager.
- Communication: make sure your players know what you expect of them "Our aim is to kick the shit out of everyone in the 3rd Division." Barry Hearn, Leyton Orient Chairman.
- Be respectful of the past "You should throw all your medals in here because you've won them by cheating." Brian Clough, bin-liner in hand, to his first team squad upon taking charge at Leeds United.
- Don't over promise "Scotland will win the World Cup. Tell everyone we'll be bringing it back from over there." Ally McLoud, former Scotland manager, redefines the word 'hubris'
- Don't worry about spending money... "Wolves, Derby, Blackburn: these fans with money pour it in, the club lights up, then it fizzles away. Doesn't work. End of story." Ken Bates, Chelsea Chairman.
- ... because you won't be there long enough to worry about it. "There's only two types of manager. Those who've been sacked and those who will be sacked in the future" Howard Wilkinson former Sunderland manager.
- Don't worry about the opposition - let them worry about you. "Alessandro del Piero reminds me of Robert Rosario when I had him at Coventry." Bobby Gould, former Wales manager doesn't rate the Italian striker.
- Don't let the competition get to you "... but I'll tell you, you can tell him now if he's watching this, we're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesborough and get something, and... and I'll tell you honestly I would love it, it if we beat them, love it." Kevin Keegan, former Newcastle manager.
- Never trust a football agent. "The conditions in Latvia are terrible! Most people only earn £28 a week. I offer these people a lifeline, I embrace them in this proud land of ours and say: "Come with Frankie Banks and earn two - maybe three times what you could staying in Latvia." Frankie Banks players' agent on why he represents only East Europeans
- Win at all costs. "I like to breed players that attack people." David O'Leary
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Premier Manager 03/04 is the series' most football focused title yet: a definitive next generation arcade management simulation that puts the fun back into the organised chaos.
Take control of any club from the four English divisions or top two divisions from across the continents premier leagues. Premier Manager 03/04 allows the user to indulge in fantasy football across Spain, Italy, France and Germany - all running simultaneously.
Also for the first time, the complete Scottish league program as been incorporated into the game. Can you break up the Old Firm monopoly and return the Scottish game to a state of competiveness not seen since the early 80's?
All the usual features are here as you'd expect: transfers, tactics, team management, squad rotation, finances and club development; except this time they've been given a complete overhaul and they're visually way beyond sleek and stylish. How? Well, ZOO has put the same team of experienced artists in charge that were responsible for the *GUIs on sports websites for UEFA.com, Rugby.com and Rugby League, F1 and the Football league, so the aesthetics haven't been governed simply by practical demands enforced by the programmers. Premier Manager 03/04 is a picture worth framing.
Again, the pressure inducing action takes place within a lush, interactive world. More environments have been added and more characters created as you go about conversing with the club staff and the media. Delegation is a brand new feature allowing the manager to pass on various roles to the backroom team and freeing the manager to concentrate purely on all things footy related, making for a more speedy and efficient season. The coaching staff now have more valid input and the manager has the option of asking for their advice when making decisions.
This Manager-Coach axis is used to winning effect with the all-new 2D match engine and these partnerships are key to success. Get it right and you could emulate Shankly/Paisley, Clough/Taylor or Ferguson/McClaren, get it wrong and it's more likely to be Cagney/Lacey or Canon/Ball. Premier Manager 03/04's new engine gives more scope for tactical involvement from the bench. More stat feedback is given to highlight differences in performance and skill, a tactical editor as been brought in to allow more creative freedom during a match, a set piece designer and most importantly the ability to bark out orders from the bench have also been included.
There is more to this game than just jumpers and goalposts. Innocence is a distant memory as the demands of the modern game catch up with the purists. Premier Manager 03/04 has been updated to reflect all that is distractive to the modern day manager; media intrusions, on and off the pitch politics, prima donna's, financial burdens, egos and agents. Graham Taylor will no doubt tell you how realistic it all is.
Improvements have been made across several areas to give the user a richer gaming experience. New enhanced player logic allows the quality of their performances to have a direct impact on their careers and player meetings have been incorporated to offer greater insight into the users personal performances and ability, as well as squad morale and dressing room politics.
Transfers are more true to life than ever with player power now governing transfers, allowing greater opportunities for those unhappy or those chasing a quick buck to leave the club. And if some of them really are mercenaries, you can engineer a move and have the player on his way quicker than you can say Jaap Stam. Damn, that pesky Bosman.
And the press. A world of pain if ever there was one. In Premier Manager 03/04 the Fleet Street bloodhounds are frothing at the mouth, there are more questions for them to ask, more dirt to dish and are now more likely to praise and criticise attitudes and performances in pursuit of attention grabbing headlines.
ZOO will not be held responsible for heart attacks or strokes.