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The world's best-selling footie management game is back with the kind of improvements that even Wenger couldn't wiggle a disapproving finger at. Yes, it's Football Manager 2014 for the PC (including Mac and Linux!) and PS Vita. And no, a Range Rover Sport and a Cheshire residency are not included in the asking price. Sorry.

What is though are over 1,000 improvements and one big overhaul - it's the kind of back-of-the-box bullet points that will bring a smile to the faces of longterm FM fans plus a feeling of trepidation; the worry that something might have been broken, spoiling the almost illegally addictive nature of a landmark series that has been letting you boss about pro footballers for over 20 years.

The big change is to the game's tactics system - we can hear FM fans taking a sharp intake of breath from here - which in the past has been operated by sliders and toggles for exacting detail. These have been ripped out and in their place, there's a much simpler system of giving your team instructions such as "Player wider" or "Defend deeper". And when used in combination with new abilities to instruct individual players, it actually adds up to a more real, free-flowing experience - not simply a dumbed-down one. Now go ahead and take a deep breath, FM fans, and relax...

Away from such a seismic change are a huge host of tweaks - enjoy a more refined menu system, enhanced AI, improved player animations, a new Challenge Editor and an updated and far-reaching FM Classic mode whose saves can be shared across different platforms, meaning you can play your game on any computer or a Playstation Vita. Toilet time will never be the same again, never mind halftime.

Then factor in the more sophisticated board and media interactions and a much-needed injection of realism into the transfer and contracts process, and you have a new installment that is more than a mere update. And one that should reassure fans that even after two decades, the Football Manager series shows no sign of resting on its laurels, getting into trouble in nightclubs or spending too much time with ex-girl-band trophy wives. So as that famous football pundit, erm, Alan Partridge might say: "Back of the net!".