NEIL COTTON traces the evolution – and importance – of video games

The news that the Football Manager database will play a role in informing real clubs recruitment decisions via its integration into the Prozone Recruiter tool took me back to my earliest memory of playing a management sim. It was round my mate Kev’s house, us both poring over a green screen. I forget the title of the game, but it was pretty basic. Players would have a position and a simple rating and formations were limited to a few 4-4-2 variants. You’d choose your team, set the passing sty...