To increase the feeling of "being there", tables are accessed via teletext, news from a newspaper and fixtures are available by clicking on a sheet attached to a clipboard.
It was distributed as shareware, with a fully functional demo in which the player could only select then Second Division side Brighton and Hove Albion.
[1] The review stating the game's graphic approach and coverage of business issues made it stand out in the crowded football management simulation market.
An update disk (also available as a stand-alone) named Ultimate Soccer Manager 98-99 Season Update Add-on was sold shortly after the game came out with statistics for the 1998-1999 season, which also included both Spanish and Dutch top two divisions, increasing the number to seven playable leagues.
While several bugs were ironed (such as a giving one of the assistants a wage of £99'999'999, and then after offering him a new contract he would start paying the club around £13M weekly, a glitch that carried from USM 2), it became clear that many teams would allow their superstar players to end contract, allowing the player to pick them for free (although with a large salary).
Similarly, you could loan a big-name player worth millions and then use him as a makeweight in transfer deals.
The data file was made available to download from the Facebook group titled 'Ultimate Soccer Manager Update'.
A community of developers and gamers also discovered the presence of a hidden cheat menu.
They release a small application named USM Tweaker allowing to alter some behaviors in the game, like preventing to be fired or pausing the transfer of players.