Football and computers proved uneasy bedfellows for many years before we reached a time when brands like FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer and Championship Manager crossed over from niche bedroom activity into mainstream culture.

Football can often be seen as intrinsically resistant to new ideas and the move to develop action and management simulators was initially viewed with a mixture of amusement and bemusement by those in the game. Stereotypical thinking suggested that while geeky kids with squints stayed at home and played games inspired by football, real kids went out and actually played it.

This motley gallery of football game adverts from decades past demonstrates why that viewpoint held sway. Technically the games were invariably rubbish of course; feeble facsimiles of the sport rendered via blocky pixels, bleepy noises and vague control systems. The clumsy and text-heavy marketing was little better and just emphasised inadvertently the amateur, back-bedroom nature of this fledgling industry.

At the very least these adverts prove a fascinating time-piece in showing us how far and how quickly the football game industry has advanced in a relatively short space of time.