INTRODUCTION Can you take Mancester United to a historic treble League Champion, FA Cup & Littlewoods Cup? You start the season with a fully fit team and no suspended players, a luxury that few modern day managers enjoy! Undoubtedly the most famous football club in the world now brought to you by Krisalis in this action arcade game where you have complete management control. Features includes: Full Arcade Game; Penalties, Throw In's, Corners, Free Kicks, Action Replay, Referee & Linesman. Management Game; Team Selection, Injury Lists, Player Status, Player Training, Management Report, Cup Draw, League Fixtures. TEAM SQUAD This gives you details of the current available first team squad for United. Players that are unavailable through injury or suspension are not shown in this section. By moving the cursor over the players name and press Fire on joystick, the player's details will be displayed. This will include the player's ratings. These ratings are derived from the computer records of the player's attributes in sixteen categories, and which are then converted to a rating for the player relevant to his actual position in the team. These ratings will change throughout the season due to injury, form and results, aswell as by the successful use of training. You start the season with a fully fit squad and no suspended players, a luxury that few modern day managers enjoy! PLAYERS INJURED This section contains the players who are unavailable for selection due to injury. It also contains details of the injury and the number of weeks the player will be out for. Once a player is available for selection, however he may need a good deal of training to regain match fitness, particularly after a serious injury. PLAYERS SUSPENDED This gives a list of players suspended, if any, together with how many more weeks they have to serve in their ban. TRANSFERS This section allows you to buy and sell players to strengthen your squad. Buying a Player: To try to buy a player you position the cursor over the icon of figures and press Fire. You may then select either to view the transfer list of players available, or scout for a player. The transfer list is the list of players currently being circulated by their clubs that are available for transfer. This information is being circulated to all clubs, not just United. The player has a club valuation, which is based on his actual player ratings. If you wish to try to buy a player at the asking price then simply select the buy option in the usual way. If you wish to bid for a player then you can adjust the bid price by changing the player's valuation up or down in tens of thousands using the mouse cursor. Once you have made a bid then the decision of the club is given. If you are successful in buying a player then that player is immediately included in the first team squad. If you elect scout for a player the computer will then display alist of potential players for purchase. The price of the player will be higher this way as the selling club will not be so willing to sell. Selling a Player: To sell a player you must click on the Player Leaving Icon. You can then indicate which player you wish to put on the transfer list. Once a player is on the list other clubs may bid for him. If another club is interested in one of your players, either on the transfer list or not, then one of these icons is displayed. If you click on this icon then he will make you an offer on a player. You may then elect to accept, refuse, or if you so wish, insult the chairman for his derisory, in your view, offer. Selling players will generate funds for you to strengthen the team in other areas, or simply look for a replacement. TRAINING Training takes place on the days between matches and follows a set schedule. As manager you are free to alter the training schedule of any or all of the players according to their needs. Each player is assigned training to certain aspects of his game, and may train on any four in each week. The manager may change either the content or the emphasis of the training for each and every player. Throughout the season the players needs in training will alter as their fitness and form varies with results. Each session has a positive effect on the players attributes that it is designed to affect so that over the season the benefits will show themselves in the player ratings. In certain circumstances, however, training can have a negative effect, both on fitness and morale. Heavy training also increases the risk of incurring injuries during training. Training requires balance and thought. Too little and the players will lose fitness and form. Too much and the players will be tired and injury prone. GAME OPTIONS This section allows you to save off partially completed seasons onto formatted disks, and also includes a disk formatting option. This is accomplished by following the on-screen prompts after selecting the relevant SAVE/LOAD/FORMAT option. The central icon represented by the Question Mark allows you to adjust the game parameters. Set Game Time - allows the player to set the arcade game duration to any time between 10 and 90 minutes in 10 minute steps. Change Language - allows the player to choose the language the game is presented in, with the default being English. Change Name of Manager - the default setting is, of course, Alex Ferguson, but this allows the player to change the manager to any name he likes. Define Keys For Joystick - allows the player to select his own keys to control the arcade section of the game. Change Names of Players - allows the player to change the name of players in the United Squad, although not their rating, to allow him to play alongside Bryan Robson. Set Difficulty Level - this unique feature allows the player to set how well the computer will play, either as United, their opponents or as both. This will enable him to play the computer opponent at varying levels until he can win at 100%, at which point he can reduce his own efficiency! Change Game Type - allows the player to choose between a full management simulation, or a pure arcade game. Set Keymap - selects the appropriate keymap for the computer based on the flag selected. PROGRESS CHART The player can keep his eye on the results and tables as well as his own popularity through the Daily Sport newspaper. Good or bad - the news is here first! THE MATCHBALL This takes the player to the matchday section of the game. The player can also review the league tables and fixture list at this point. This may affect the team selection, and show how well future opponents are doing. The player may change the name of any team in the Division to a team of his choice. That team will then be automatically included in the fixture list. Should Manchester United progress to the latter stages of the Cup competitions then the cup draw will be displayed 'Live' on screen for the player to watch. MATCHDAY SECTION Once the player has decided to go to the next match then the manager's job really begins. First he must decide his formation and the players he wishes to play. Formation To choose formation single click on the number representing your choice of the following formations: 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-4, 1-3-3-3, 2-3-5 After you have made your choice of formation a list of players available for selection will appear, and you will then be asked to select your team by clicking on the name of the player. Once the match is over then the computer will update both the fixture list and the league table with the other results from the day's fixtures. In addition the Daily Sport will give the press verdict on the result of the season's progress in typical tabloid fashion. On completion of the match, the manager is returned to the Management section of the game, where he can check out the progress of the team in the league, or the health of his squad. Any players injured during the match will be added to the injury list, as will any players who have gained suspension through yellow or red cards. He can then begin again the process of strengthening his squad, and adjusting the players training schedule. During the season the manager may wish to save his progress to date, so as to return to his position later. He can do this by clicking on the game options icon. This will allow the player to enter the section of the game that allows him to save out or load in a previously saved position. To perform any of these operations the manager simply has to select the appropriate icon and follow the on-screen prompts. ARCADE SECTION On entering the arcade section the player will be in view mode. To enter play mode use joystick after kick-off. In view mode the computer will play the game so that player can watch and suffer just like a real manager. The players will carry out their instructions to the best of their ability. In play mode the manager controls the team either through the joystick or keyboard. The player nearest the ball at any time is highlighted. This changes as the ball moves around the pitch. By moving the joystick the highlighted player moves in the chosen direction. Once in possession the player can run with the ball using the method above or kick it, either to pass or shoot. The ball is kicked in the direction the player is facing by pressing the fire button, and the duration of the press dictates the power of the kick. A rapid, quick press of the button will kick the ball along the ground with a reasonable strength. Two quick presses will chip the ball with a reasonable strength. Holding fire down will set the strength of the kick depending on how long the fire button is held. If the fire button is pressed again the ball will be chipped, otherwise passed along the ground. When not in possession the player can challenge for the ball by interposing a player as the opponent runs with the the ball. A sliding tackle may be performed by pressing the fire button. CORNERS For corners in play mode a cursor will appear on the screen which you must position where you want the ball to land. There is a strict time limit which you are allowed to take corners before the computer will take them for you. This will stop any time wasting. FREE KICKS For free kicks in play mode a cursor will appear on the screen which you must position where you want the ball to land. There is a strict time limit which you are allowed to take free kicks before the computer will take them for you. This will stop any time wasting. PENALTIES If you have been awarded a penalty move the joystick in the direction you wish the ball to go as viewed from behind the player who is taking the penalty. Press fire to take. If a penalty has been given against Manchester United hold the joystick in the direction you wish the gooalkeeper to dive as viewed from behind the goalkeeper. After the ball is struck you cannot change direction. The season can be played with any combination of View and Play watches, as the player requires.