Love of Champman is one of the more enigmatic sites on the scene. First there is its design, very different from the pack with its emphasis on scrolling marquees, animated gif links and use of Comic Sans MS as a staple font.

Indeed LoC took a lot of stick in its infancy (and here it is, as Alistair McGowan might say) for this, though apparently that was partly down to its attempts at self-promotion, which were, let's say, blanket. Too ugly, amateurish, and behind the times, seemed to be the nature of the nultitudinal rackings it received, and then there were the people who didn't like it.

I believe that this is unfair. As far s I am concerned, the unique look of Paul Gallihawk's site should be considered a strength, as he refuses to go down the usual design route that is more or less standard across the scene. I myself might have considered a different approach for CM Stuff if I wasn't such a sheep, but I am, so I haven't, and that's all there is to it.

Navigation via LoC's gifs (is the link to 'Hot Players' really a topless lady? Should this link be enlarged?) is its one major shortcoming. It could be the case that I'm conditioned into finding a site's sections neatly laid out in a left-hand frame, but here the site doesn't do itself any favours. For a start, the links are at the foot of each page, meaning that you have to scroll to the bottom to find out where to go next. This is a relatively minor quibble, but potentially a banana skin (look! I can do metaphors!) for the site as it's just not clear where the content is hiding, and in the one-stop shop world of the twenty-first century, isn't good enough.

Secondly, though you can find a description of where each link leads you via the miracle of mouseover, these aren't always obvious either. Fair enough, so you know what you're going to get if you click on 'CM History', but what does '6 Buttons' mean, and why would you want to find out? Otherwise, there are further small concerns. In various places, you are prompted to an article by a textual link, only to discover after some frustrating clicking that the link is actually via a floating arrow to the left of the aforementioned writing. Perhaps I'm just getting on in my frail dotage, but if links aren't accessible in a 'wipe yer bum' obvious sort of way, I lose interest quickly, and this surely isn't what LoC wants.

That aside, the site boasts an impressive 155 pages, and more than lives up to its name in terms of the actual content on offer. There's something for everyone here, from tips for the CM newcomer to a growing scene section, from downloads to an area all about some game called football (is it a console game?). To an extent, some care will have to be taken over who exactly the site is aimed at - the novice or more experienced players? Large concerns like The Dugout can afford to cover the entire gamut of the CM audience as it has the staff and resources to do so, but as LoC reminds us, it's a one-man affair, and at times there is a sense of half-heartedness in certain areas as it tries to cover so much at once.

All the same I was entertained for a reasonable amount of time. What struck me first was the writing, which was of a generally high standard throughout and managed a nice blend of matiness with quiet authority. This was shown at its best in the 'Make a CM site' (the first help guide on the topic that I remember seeing, though you fall over them now) and 'History' sections. There was nothing wrong with the advice pages for new gamers either, but in fairness, I'm hardly likely to wade through yet another series of helpful hints, am I?

I liked the section within 'Hot Players' where site contributors could submit their personal top five favourites, building up into a league table of overall top-rated stars (nice to see Falkirk's Mark Kerr romping out in front - he must be glowing!). Otherwise, the players area is simply a list of the recommended, segregated into bargain buys, youngsters, etc, but without any further description, and worryingly for users of the 'Find' engine in the game, giving the surname and position only. This doesn't make players impossible to search for, but how many lads called Costa (for example) are you going to pick up if you look under his name? Personally, I prefer a players section to tell me why I should want such-and-such in my team, which makes an exhaustive list somewhat turgid. But that's just me. Where would this great country be without its lists, after all? And its bloody queues?

The part of the site dedicated to football was decent enough, but unfortunately the best part was the links that led me out of LoC. There is a news page, which lists stories of note, though there is no opportunity to pick out the areas I might be particularly interested in. It was nice to see the links for Radio Five Live, TalkSport and Sporting Life, and in fact I'm listening to the former right now, so thank you for that. But herein presents a further concern for LoC. For me, given the choice between catching up with the latest in the football world from either, say the BBC, or LoC, there isn't any contest, is there? As I know from bitter experience, it is pointless to try to mirror the football world in any straight sense, as its just too fluid, and stuff is happening all the time. Besides which, the professional sites have trained journos to write their pieces for them, along with better access to the people who matter. We can't match this, so LoC would be better advised to take a more sideways look at the soccerball scene (as our friends the Yanks call it) and perhaps offer more opinion. Just a thought, mind.

On the whole, I did enjoy the site, and it is one of the few that I will always revisit. Its strengths are its size, the generally high quality of what is there and the clear enthusiasm for the game that courses through the work. This is very obviously a labour of love, and has the decent hit rate to match. It has a future too, and the page of ideas for the site and CM Diary attest to this. Paul did mention somewhere that he is going to be overhauling the site's design at some point, and though I hope he doesn't move away from the overall look of LoC, it is to be hoped that he will resolve some of the navigational shortcomings, if only because I think this will make the pages more accessible to everyone, and they deserve to be so.