Codemasters have recently released a press release with new details and screens about the latest of their acclaimed football management series LMA Manager (that’s ‘soccer’ management for all you yanks). What new tactics have they got up their sleeves to have LMA Manager 2007 geared up for the big match? Click more to find out.

Football management sims are somewhat of an acquired taste, requiring patience and time and at least some basic knowledge of the game. Arguably the 360 already has the best footie manager sim in the form of Football Manager 06, although for some it can be a little too intense and in-depth.

This is where LMA manager comes in, already regarded as the most console friendly management game around. Its laidback pick-up-and-play approach, 3D match engine and highly accessible menu system makes it the perfect alternative to the stat-a-thon and sometimes chore-like nature of football manager. So what’s new this time around? Well the major updates are as quoted below:

LMA Manager 2007 utilises a new game and database engine to handle more teams, a Transfer Market system with greater depth enabling more complex contract negotiations, a detailed 3D match section that brings the reality of match day to life and a host of advancements that specifically take advantage of the formats’ capabilities. The training system has also been upgraded on all platforms to make it the most realistic training system yet in the LMA series.

The other key points listed in the press release include Codemasters willingness to stress that the title makes full use of the 360 pad, making sure that all the info you need will only be one or two button presses away. All the big transfers are included, but any that aren’t completed in time for when the game goes gold, the fruits of the ever-manic transfer window can be download for free once the game is released. There are also now far more teams on offer from well over 50 Countries.

One of the most pleasing aspects for management fans is that Codemasters have eliminated the frustrations of lengthy pauses waiting for other matches in all the leagues to be processed. This is because the 360 and PC versions of LMA use a ‘multi-threading system’, which means boatloads of data can be filtered through fairly speedily without the boring stoppages.

Personally I’ll be very interested to see how this game plays out, as a fan of previous efforts since the old PSOne days, the game tended to be a little on the easy side once you’d gotten your first couple of seasons out of the way, it would be nice if they jacked up the difficulty somewhat. That said, with Football Manager at the other end of the spectrum, both games compliment each other perfectly and can both cater for what ever mood you happen to be in.

For the rest of the details, head over to the dedicated page over at the Codemasters website. LMA Manager 2007 will hit the Xbox 360, PC and PS2 sometime in september.