1. Livescore
Simplicity is often best. When all you want to do is check some scores sharpish, Livescore should be your only port of call. Not only are their quick to update once the goals fly in, the latest version features team line-ups and in-game stats too.
2. Forza Football
A bit different, this, in that it will canvas approval ratings of your team’s manager, team and chairman throughout the campaign. You’ll get a hive of information with Forza too, including live scores, line-ups, goal videos, tables, scoring charts, disciplinary/transfer news and lots more. A superb app.
3. Stats Zone
Just… going to leave this here. Really, though, it’s an app FFT is rightfully very proud of – there’s nothing else out there that will allow you to dissect games quite like it. Fed by live Opta stats, you can number-crunch nearly every worthy data point you can think of (passes, shots, dribbles, etc and so on) for matches in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, MLS and Champions League. It’s won an award and everything. And best of all, it's completely free.
STATS ZONE Free on iOS • Free on Android
4. Transfermarkt
The football nerd’s dream website is also available in app format. It’s arguably the best out there for its breadth of appearance data, and though the mobile version isn’t as good as its browser big brother (and also mainly in German) you can find stuff on here that other sites won’t have.
5. Live Football On TV
Free night? Can’t abide the thought of aimlessly scrolling through Netflix (again) only to decide it’s all rubbish (again)? This is the fastest way to find out which matches are on the box and when.
6 & 7. BT Sport/Sky Go
Whether you’re on the move or need to give up that precious first screen for Coronation Street, you’re pretty well covered with either of these two apps. BT Sport’s is the superior of the two – on European nights you can flick between matches seamlessly, but most impressively their ‘Enhanced Player’ allows you to re-watch any goals or big incidents via the timeline at the bottom of the screen. If you miss kick-off and want to watch the match from the start, just scroll back and enjoy. It’s also compatible with Google Chromecast, so you can beam it straight to your telly if needs must.
8. SofaScore
Similar to Forza Football, SofaScore offers you loads from scores, team news, referee info and everything else in between for nowt. If you invite enough mates to download it you’ll lose the ads too, but in truth they’re not that intrusive anyway. During a game you can pick up the key live stats and, uniquely, see how your team is faring with the action graph (shown below). They’ll even rate your players using their own Opta-based algorithm.
9. New Star Soccer
So good and beloved it’s won a BAFTA, NSS is an immensely fun and addictive game in which you control the fate of a lower-league 16-year-old with the aim of taking him to glory (we started in Germany, below, but there are plenty of leagues on offer). Along the way you’ll be forced to maintain your relationships with your coach, team-mates and aggravating girlfriends. Just don’t spend all your hard-earned in the casino. Or take a bribe. Or maybe just go ahead and do both of those things – see how we care. Has just been updated for the new season with new visuals, animations and effects, as well as a replay option. Oh and by the way, FourFourTwo now feature in it.
10. NewsNow
The worldwide news aggregator is ideal for filtering the news and stories you want to see about your club. Er, and that’s it basically.
11. Top Eleven
Fronted by Jose Mourinho, this is possibly the best mobile management game out there right now. With over 100 million players worldwide, you’ve got plenty of online action to get involved with, and the live player auctions make for entertaining (if often frustrating) events. If you keep up the good work there are trophies and higher levels up for grabs, so no excuses for losing interest here.
12. Bundesliga
If you’re a BundesNut, the league’s official app (also featuring the 2.Bundesliga) is not to be missed. Not only does it look great, it’s also filled with essential stats for the season on every player, and the latest news from the clubs you care about. There’s also some fine video content – and the option to get all of this stuff via push notifications. Probably not best for Bayern Munich goals, though, unless you like regular disturbances.
