Top Eleven 2015 – Be a Soccer Manager Review

Previously a Facebook game, Top Eleven 2015 – Be a Soccer Manager has made its way to iOS, allowing you to compete with friends and strangers to be the best soccer manager around. It's not as in-depth as the likes of Football Manager 2015 Handheld, but it does have the benefit of allowing you to duke it out with real players.

Working kind of like the freemium grind of other free-to-play games, Top Eleven 2015 is a matter of diving in often to set up your team, before waiting for a match to kick off. Each match is at a set time of day, with extra credit gained for being around to watch things unfold live. Unfortunately those matches are quite tedious to watch. You can change tactics on the fly, switching from soft tackling to bone crunching tackles for instance, but each match plays out slowly and you don't get to see any action other than a text box highlighting the important stuff.

Outside of those matches that come along a few times a day, you have more power. You can move your squad around, switching out substitutes as and when needed. Each player is ranked by a star value so you don't have to be an expert in statistics to know how well someone is performing. More importantly, you can work on training your team outside of matches. There's a choice of practice matches or cardio training, as well as stretching, with each choice boosting your players's abilities. Again, it's kind of hands-off with a progress bar dictating how they're doing, but it means you're always moving forward.

Similarly, you can work on upgrading your stadium, which in turn helps you in other ways such as by reducing the chance of your team getting injured. And of course it's all about patiently waiting for things to complete, adding to the daily grind.

Top Eleven 2015 works best when you're competing against friends, rather than strangers. Lacking the depth of other soccer management titles means competition is where the longevity lies. At times, success feels a little too easily dictated by how often you remember to grind out training, as well as whether you're willing to spend real money on the many boosts that are available.

For those looking for a more authentic soccer management experience, Top Eleven 2015 – Be a Soccer Manager probably isn't it. It's a little too stop and start in nature, and lacks sufficient content. It is, however, full of busywork.