Online Football Manager

One game that i would recommend is Online Football Manager. I think its a good game to start in if you're a beginner. And its free. The learning curve isn't that steep, and after a while, it gets pretty addictive.

The main interface

My Liverpool squad

Basically all you need to do in this game is login once (or twice if your really bored) a day and setup all your tactics, formations, substitutions and trainings. If you see any player you like on the transfer list, you can do that too, or put some of your players for sale.

Match statistics, makes for proud reading if you'd just thumped your opponent

As the matches are played once a day, you can't really do much but wait until the game is over and the league updated. For us in Malaysia, we are fortunate that everything gets updated everyday after 9am. Sometimes, this is my only reason to get to work on time. :)

More match statistics

Individual player ratings from the game

I've played about 11-12 seasons now, playing many different teams from the likes of Fulham, Middlesborough, and finally Liverpool. If you decide to use a smaller team, i find that the 4-5-1 formation works wonders against the stronger teams, home AND away. Use this formation together with:

• counter attack
• slightly defensive
• Defenders stay back
• Midfielders support defence
• Attackers attack only
  

The tactics screen. I've got my Liverpool team playing to a fluid 3-4-3 passing game

Also, i recommend anyone who tries out this game, to make full use of the 'training' facility. Generally, players at the age of 24 and below are the easiest to train, and more often than not, you can train them to be god-like within a few weeks.