I say 'new' because the most significant part of it is that it restores the left-hand vertical navigation bar that was ditched, we thought permanently, in Football Manager 10. The first thing that strikes you when you load up Football Manager 15 is the attractive 'new' user interface. New player interactions allow you to pick different emojis to send to players while they're away on internatonal duty. Sadly this is the first edition in quite a few years where I fear this may be the case. Particularly if they jeopardise the very thing that makes the game so special. Still, as a product on an annual release cycle that asks players to shell out a not insignificant amount of money each year, even if all they really want is updated squads, the changes that are made must stand up to a certain amount of scrutiny. Regardless of new features, design changes, graphical overhauls and so on, this enduring quality should never be forgotten.

For a football fan, Football Manager enables you to create stories and knit together memorable experiences that are simply unparalleled in modern gaming. And I begin in this way not just for the sheer pleasure of sharing Football Manager stories, but also to serve as something of a disclaimer for what lies ahead.

Yet, now, I feel strangely attached to the area. I have never been to Ellesmere Port, or anywhere along the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, for that matter.

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